Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 628 - 628 627 Golden Jade Book

628: Chapter 627 Golden Jade Book 628: Chapter 627 Golden Jade Book An Jinlan brought out an object, which was one of the two Pocket Worlds of the Anhe Daoist Sect—the Sensing Spirit Pocket World.

It was that bonsai-like landscape piece, which he had entered once before stepping into the Tongxuan realm.

There were some gains, but due to the limitations of his realm, the gains were not too substantial.

The bonsai was placed right here.

Everyone could see and feel it—most cultivators here had entered and exited it many times and were very familiar with this basic Pocket World within the sect.

Now, based on the aura revealed by the landscape bonsai, they needed to engrave an essay, to see whose work most closely matched the Sensing Spirit Pocket World.

Mundane writing values the use of ornate language, coherence, and deep references.

But engraving scripture is different; it is more like the most ancient pictographic script, containing profound principles of heaven and earth.

If the characters became too refined and detailed, they would lose much of their elusive and indescribable meanings, which is why such ancient engraving scriptures could still exist today.

This is a form of assessment, except it’s not about combat power or cultivation realms but the ability to pass on one’s understanding; the Daoist Sect values this greatly.

They don’t care if a phenomenon-level character might appear but are better at accumulating ordinary things over time, eventually transforming from quantitative to qualitative change.

In this sense, this An family assembly used this method to evaluate the disciples’ abilities in engraving scriptures, which was both unexpected and reasonable.

The only difference was using the Sensing Spirit Pocket World as the target, which posed a significant challenge for these Natural Realm cultivators—it was difficult to produce a profound and substantial piece of engraving scripture.

However, it had to be admitted that it was precisely the difficulty that made it possible to clearly distinguish the varying abilities in engraving scripture among the cultivators.

The future of a True Disciple determines the future of a Daoist tradition.

Some traditions focus on realms, some on combat power, and some on inheritance.

Anhe Daoist Sect places greater emphasis on inheritance.

With the topic set, the cultivators immediately started crafting their Golden Jade Books.

The materials weren’t complicated; they took a blank jade plate and recorded their understanding of the Sensing Spirit Pocket World with engraving scripture in hopes of perfectly aligning with the essence of the Pocket World.

Some were pondering in deep concentration, others in meditative insights, some trying to grasp a particular inspiration, and some began writing without hesitation—a multitude of approaches.

Although no promises were made, and there were no special rules, the Anhe Daoist Sect hosted such a Dharma assembly in a private setting for the first time after decades of turmoil, which certainly signified something.

This battle for the True Disciple had already been delayed by a dozen years compared to normal circumstances, and there weren’t many opportunities left.

Like this An family assembly, gaining the approval of North An and the two Masters would mean success was halfway there.

As for South An and the other three Masters…

that would be a different stroke of luck.

As Hou Niao noticed that the surrounding cultivators had already started, he felt somewhat overwhelmed.

Like engraving scripture, such a practice was a fundamental learning direction for cultivators of the Jinxiu Continent.

Every cultivator would have touched on it more or less upon entering the path, though the emphasis and importance varied greatly.

Anhe Daoist Sect considered this aspect significant, whereas Shan Sect’s Quanzhen held the opposite view.

As for himself, it would be dishonest to say he completely lacked understanding, but to claim proficiency would be overestimating his ability.

With his usual focus on practicing the sword, how could he spare time for these nebulous teachings that would benefit future generations?

He sighed inwardly; although he had received approval from Master Xiao Zhen, seizing this opportunity still required his own effort—nothing would fall from the sky.

He began to observe the landscape bonsai carefully, trying to find something different about it.

Although he wasn’t an expert in engraving scripture, he believed that in the Tongtian realm, compared to other cultivators, his understanding of nature was not off by a bit.

The intricacy of engraving scripture largely depended on the individual cultivator’s understanding of the Dao—it was merely an unconventional mode of expression.

Pictographic scripts like engraving scripture inherently had no fixed rules and belonged to a realm where one could create freely.

The core of it was whether what you expressed came close to the essence.

Therefore, he was not entirely without a chance.

So far, he had yet to make his final decision, on which Daoist tradition’s True Disciple he would become.

The path ahead was unclear, requiring a clearer perspective.

As he focused his attention on the exterior of the Sensing Spirit Pocket World, the landscape bonsai, a gradual insight began to dawn on him.

The so-called scenery stems from within; the external expressions of this landscape bonsai were actually the manifestations of its internal changes.

The entire ecological and natural system had certain flaws—whether these were issues inherent to the Pocket World itself or caused by a Great Cultivator deliberately to distinguish their abilities, was unclear.

This was something he could discern, and in fact, all the participants could see.

But how to express such flaws through the Golden Jade Book and propose effective improvements required individual ability.

As time slipped by gradually, although there were only a little more than a dozen Golden Core Upper Cultivators present, Master An and Master Xiao Zhen were surely watching them silently within the estate, simply not showing themselves.

An hour passed, and some cultivators, quick in their deeds, had already completed their Golden Jade Books.

Once someone started, the others hastened, and more and more people finished.

Finally, within two hours, all participants had completed their tasks.

But the assessment had only just begun.

Who created the Golden Jade Book that best matched reality?

Who saw the deepest?

Who was most constructive?

Whose work could influence the actual condition of the Pocket World?

Such matters were hard to convince everyone if judged by older Upper Cultivators, as there would always be personal factors involved, making it difficult to find a balance.

The reason for using Sensing Spirit Pocket World as the benchmark for this assessment was now revealed.

Without appraisal by the older Upper Cultivators, the level of skill depended solely on the Pocket World itself.

The cultivator at the forefront threw his Golden Jade Book forward.

The book entered the Pocket World, and immediately, changes occurred within the small world, which then reflected back onto the exterior of the landscape bonsai.

Everyone could determine, by observing the natural changes of the bonsai, the impact of the cultivator’s insights on the Pocket World.

Was it beneficial?

Harmful?

Or no reaction at all?

Would the change be a superficial fix or target the core?

Was it a cursory try, or did it penetrate to the essence?

There could be no deception in such performance because the Pocket World operated by its own rules, beyond manipulation.

Once each participant’s Golden Jade Book had been presented, high and low stood clear.

And there was little left to argue.