1. Monument of Questions
The ruins of the Celestial Strategy Pavilion had transformed:
Structure: A spiraling tower of unanswered questions carved in stone
Foundation: Built atop the Hollow King's skull, now a silent lecturer
Function:
Those who entered forgot all doctrine
Their meridians rewrote themselves based on personal inquiry
The only rule: "No answer may last more than seven days"
Lin Feng tended its growth:
His wind chime scars sang when students debated
His mother's shadow weaved new questions from discarded theories
He'd occasionally erase his own name to demonstrate impermanence
2. The Comedy Archives
Bai Yu's scars became a living library:
Location: A traveling tent that appeared where dogma festered
Collections:
Slapstick Sutras: Combat techniques based on banana peels
Deadpan Scriptures: Meditation methods embracing boredom
Surrealist Scrolls: Cultivation manuals that changed genres mid-page
His final performance:
"The Enlightenment Stand-Up Special"
Last joke: "Why did the cultivator achieve nirvana?"
Punchline: "To ask the audience what comes next"
Effect: The tent folded into a joke and disappeared
3. The Prism Sundial
Ying Sha's monument measured time differently:
Method:
Crystals projected parallel timelines as shadow plays
Viewers could step into any shadow—but never return unchanged
The needle now rusted peacefully, its work done
Last Addition:
A new crystal showing Instructor Mu's redemption:
In this branch, she rejected the Pavilion's offer
Became a street food vendor selling memory-wrapped dumplings
Her stall stood where the heart-furnace once burned
4. The Unnecessary Teacher
Years later, a child approached Lin Feng:
Question: "How do I know which path is mine?"
His Reply: A gust scattering pear blossoms into question marks
The Lesson:
The child's meridians sprouted wild variations
The wind chimes sang a melody the child already knew
For the first time, Lin Feng had nothing to teach
5. The Wind Chime's Secret
Lin Feng's scars held one last revelation:
Material: Each chime was forged from a different lie he'd been told:
"Meritocracy" (shattered when struck)
"Infallible Masters" (played off-key)
"Redemption Through Suffering" (vibrated endlessly without resonance)
True Function:
When students asked uncomfortable questions, matching chimes would ring
The discordance guided rather than instructed
His mother's shadow wove new chimes from their breakthroughs
6. The Tent's Final Trick
Bai Yu's archives had a hidden feature:
Last Scroll: Blank except for "Write Your Own Damn Sutra"
Pen Provided: A quill made from his own funny bone
Catch:
Any doctrine written would immediately be challenged by:
A slapstick demon
A deadpan critic
A surrealist who altered the text mid-reading
The tent's final act? It packed itself up and became:
A beggar's sack (carrying revolutionary ideas)
A child's kite (scribbled with rude limericks)
Eventually, the first draft of a better cultivation world
7. The Sundial's Lost Shadow
Ying Sha's prism had one timeline even she hadn't seen:
Discovery: A crystal formed from Instructor Mu's dumpling steam
Content: A branch where the Tome won:
The trio became perfect teachers in a flawless but sterile system
Their monuments were standardized training modules
The shadow pulsed sickly sweet like osmanthus cakes
Purpose:
Served as vaccination against certainty
Viewers left allergic to dogma
The needle's rust bloomed into roses where this shadow touched
8. The First Student's Question
The child who asked "Which path is mine?" returned years later:
New Inquiry: "How do I teach without becoming you?"
Lin Feng's Action:
Plucked a wind chime (it dissolved to pollen)
Pointed to Bai Yu's empty tent site (now a comedy club)
Tapped the sundial (showing the child's own future as a mentor)
The lesson? "Education is measured by how quickly they outgrow you."
9. The Unwritten Beyond
Final glimpses of the new era:
Silver Strands: Became bridge-tenders between conflicting ideas
Humor Bees: Pollinated serious texts with absurd footnotes
Storm Seeds:
Planted where institutions grew too rigid
Sprouted whirlwind libraries of challenged assumptions
Watered by the tears of former authorities