Chapter 90: Soul and Flesh Combination 1
Chapter 90: Soul and Flesh Unite
"The Great Elder has come out of retreat."
"What? Didn't the Great Elder start his retreat five years ago and never show up again? There have always been rumors in the sect that the Great Elder..."
"Yes, even many hall masters thought that the Great Elder had gone to see the 'Mother of No Birth'."
"That's great. Now that the Great Elder has come out of seclusion, our sect finally has a backbone and no longer needs to be torn apart."
A piece of news came from Huangshi Cliff on the coast of the East China Sea. When the Lotus Sect disciples scattered around the country heard the news, they all headed towards Huangshi Cliff.
It was the place where the great elder of the Lotus Sect, who had not appeared for a long time, was in seclusion. It was also a dangerous place.
"The Great Elder had already reached the realm of 'Moving Objects' five years ago. This time when he comes out of retreat, I believe he must have at least reached the realm of Great Mastery of Moving Objects. He should be able to move our sect's sacred weapon with ease."
"Since the failure of our Lingnan uprising, there has been no master in our sect who has reached the realm of 'driving things'. With the great elder here, there is finally someone to take charge of Elder Tang's affairs."
"Before Elder Tang got into trouble, there was a rumor that if she was trapped in Jiangning Prefecture, it must have been caused by the Saint Lady sent by the Luo Cult."
"But weren't Elder Tang and the others killed by the government?"
"Who knows? Anyway, we must never trust the people of Luo Sect again."
"Yes, we must hurry to Huangshi Cliff and inform the Great Elder of this news, lest he be deceived by the Luo Cult's people and follow in Elder Tang's footsteps."
...
...
Xu Qing naturally didn't know that the Grand Elder of the Lotus Sect had come out of seclusion. He was currently instructing the members of the Fu Society on how to write eight-legged essays.
"Weizhong, I remember you weren't studying the Book of Changes, why did you change to the Book of Rites recently?"
Among the Five Classics, the Book of Rites has the most words. However, although the Spring and Autumn Annals has few words, the Zuo Zhuan is its commentary, which has a large number of words. In addition to other annotations, the content to be learned in the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals is the most. This has led to relatively fewer candidates taking the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals. Because there is less content to learn, the difficulty is lower.
What's more, in the imperial examination, if you write a few words wrong, it is very likely to be discovered and you will fail.
In addition, there are five classics rooms for the provincial examinations. For the other classics rooms with fewer characters, there are a lot of candidates, and generally there are more than two examiners, but for classics rooms with fewer candidates such as the Book of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals, there is often only one examiner to grade the papers.
People who often study cheating know that the difference in difficulty between dealing with one co-examiner and dealing with two or more co-examiners is incalculable.
Yan Shan hesitated and looked around, then leaned over to Xu Qing and whispered: "Book of Rites is easier to test."
This was all he said, and it was obvious that he had heard some rumor.
Xu Qing guessed that most likely the examiner from the Rites Department had some connection with Yan Shan.
Maybe the news about Enko has already started to spread.
Alas, the atmosphere in the officialdom is corrupted by this group of people. Before the policies from above are released, not only the people below know about them in advance, but even the people in the enemy country may know about them before ordinary people.
"Weizhong, then you should prepare well. If you have any questions, you can ask me."
Yan Shan was shocked: "Are you planning to transfer the Book of Rites as well, Gongming?"
Xu Qing said with his hands behind his back, "If I want to test you, I will test you on the most difficult subject. It's boring to test you on the easy ones." He paused for a moment and then continued, "As for the contents of the Five Classics, I have already mastered them by heart. If you ask me about the contents of the Book of Rites, I am definitely better than you. If you don't believe me, I will recite them backwards to you."
Yan Shan: “…”
He thought to himself, "Isn't it great to have a photographic memory?"
Well, having a photographic memory is really amazing.
The prime minister of the dynasty not only had a photographic memory, but he could also write different characters with both hands at the same time.
In his opinion, Xu Qing was simply following the template of the Prime Minister.
Xu Qing was not bragging. Among the members of Fushe, all of them were familiar with the Five Classics. Xu Qing gave instructions along the way, quoted classics, and pointed out the members' current shortcomings based on their level, and pointed out what content they needed to read next...
It can be said that every time Xu Qing came, the members were as happy as if it were a holiday.
And every time Xu Qing comes, his level is higher than the previous time, without exception.
Even ordinary members can feel Xu Qing's terrifying growth rate. The key is that Xu Qing's level of eight-part essays is already very high, and he can improve so quickly.
In this regard, Xu Qing doesn't need to hide his shortcomings at all.
He just wanted to shock the members with his academic tyrant attitude.
Then they will worship him as God.
God of imperial examinations!
Moreover, in the eyes of scholars, the top scholars are the most worthy of respect. When the great scholars of the time give lectures, they are often well attended. Even if you are a second- or third-class Jinshi, you dare not be rude to the big names in the academic world.
With Xu Qing's professional guidance, the members of Fushe actually made rapid progress in their studies. However, they themselves did not have much reference for this rapid progress.
After all, every time they feel they have made progress, they find that they are actually getting further away from Xu Qing.
In addition, most of the members of Fushe came from ordinary backgrounds and were very motivated to climb up.
With the resources provided by Xu Qing, they can devote themselves to full-time study without worrying about lack of various materials, and they can also learn from students of the same level from time to time.
This is much more than what I learned in the provincial and county schools.
Of course, you still have to go to the provincial school or the county school.
They are not Xu Qing, who only went to the provincial school once at the beginning of the school term and always took first place in the regular examinations.
The key point is that no one thinks Xu Qing got the first place by relying on connections.
Although the provincial school was actually under the control of Prefect He.
Apart from anything else, the couplet "The sound of wind, rain and reading" outside the Fushe Gate, which is full of the feelings of family, country and the world, has now been widely circulated in the area of Nanzhili. In time, it will definitely penetrate into the hearts of scholars all over the world.
With just this couplet, Xu Qing has already won the hearts of scholars in Nanzhili.
At this time, Xu Qing called himself "the bright one of today", and at least he could get the evaluation of "people of his time expect him to be", instead of being evaluated as "people of his time do not approve of him" like his old predecessors.
...
...
After leaving Fushe, Xu Qing came to Meixiang Cottage, which was Su Lianqing's solo residence in Tianxiangyuan.
Su Lianqing dismissed the maids, closed the door, and said in a serious tone: "Something bad has happened. The great elder of the Lotus Sect has come out of retreat. This old man is not dead."
Hearing this, Xu Qing said calmly, "What's going on?"
Su Lianqing told Xu Qing the news he had received.
She has her own independent secret line, so she has access to a lot of information about the Lotus Sect.
It can be said that Su Lianqing's greatest role now is that he has an intelligence network that even Xu Qing cannot ignore. Due to the special system of Luojiao, this line is independently managed by Su Lianqing. Although there is a list of people above, the people below cannot directly contact them without Su Lianqing.
Xu Qing listened carefully to what Su Lianqing said.
Only then did I realize that this man was once a powerful figure in the Lotus Sect. He had not appeared in five years. Many hall masters in the sect thought he was dead, but they didn't expect him to be still alive.
The emergence of such a prestigious figure can indeed give a shot in the arm to the now fragmented Lotus Sect.
The key point is that the great elder of the Lotus Sect has a close relationship with Elder Tang. To be precise, the two were mistresses when they were young.
Whether for the purpose of revenge for Elder Tang or to win over Elder Tang's followers, it is necessary to avenge Elder Tang.
"I have received news that Elder Tang once left a message to his subordinates, saying that if anything happens to her, it must be my fault."
Su Lianqing was both angry and amused when she said this, "The higher-ups also sent people to ask me if I did it."
Xu Qing: "How did you respond?"
Su Lianqing sighed: "I have no choice but to admit that I was using someone else's knife to kill someone."
Su Lianqing also had his own considerations. Elder Tang's faction was the most opposed to Luojiao taking over Lotus Sect, and Su Lianqing's excuse was indeed very legitimate.
If Su Lianqing refused to admit it, it would arouse the suspicion of the Luojiao headquarters.
Faced with the dilemma, she had no choice but to accept it.
It's impossible that she has become a traitor to Luo Jiao.
However, the Luo sect as a whole did not blame Su Lianqing at all for using a knife to kill someone.
Sure enough, when it comes to religion, heretics are more hateful than pagans.
In the eyes of the Luo Sect Headquarters, if Elder Tang does not follow the headquarters' route, he is a heretic.
What Su Lianqing did was very beautiful.
But it is not easy to praise this kind of thing. Just not criticizing it is a kind of praise in itself.
Su Lianqing actually felt that this was a bit magical.
She used to work diligently, but was criticized a lot by her superiors. Now she has become a traitor, but is recognized?
What a worldly thing.
Xu Qing pondered for a while and said, "When do you think the great elder will come?" "At least after the Lantern Festival, which is the Lotus Sect's big festival. It's only a month away, and it will be New Year's Eve soon. Before that, they won't take action."
Xu Qing nodded: "Then there is still time to prepare."
Su Lianqing: "Actually, can I go out and avoid the limelight?"
Xu Qing: "We have killed monsters that have reached the level of exorcism, so why should we be afraid of him?"
Su Lianqing was curious: "Aren't you afraid that this might be dangerous for you?"
She felt that if it was those people in the upper echelons of the church, it would be normal for them to sell themselves out.
Xu Qing: "You are useful to me. In this world, if you want to get benefits, you always have to take risks. The key is whether it is worth it."
Su Lianqing: “…”
Although Xu Qing's truth was hurtful, Su Lianqing felt safe.
In any case, Xu Qing is really a boss who makes people feel safe.
She recalled how Xu Qing had been so calm from beginning to end during the battle against the three-tailed black fox. Most of the successful rebel leaders in history had this kind of psychological quality.
She was probably a little bit obsessed. Even though Xu Qing had never admitted that he was a traitor, she always unconsciously regarded Xu Qing as a big traitor.
Su Lianqing couldn't help but imagine that if Xu Qing became the founding emperor, she wouldn't expect to enter the harem, but being a female official would be nice, and she could also keep an eye on the harem for Xu Qing.
When you think about it, it’s quite exciting.
Seeing Su Lianqing lost in thought, Xu Qing tapped her head and said, "Pack up tonight and come find me."
"Ah, have you figured it out?" Su Lianqing was half happy and half shy.
Xu Qing rolled his eyes, "Fuck you, I'm planning to go to Qixia Mountain again, you come with me."
He planned to explore the cave of the three-tailed black fox. This required someone to keep watch outside. At the moment, Su Lianqing seemed the most suitable person.
Xu Qing intuitively felt that the secret cave in that cave was likely worth more than the three-tailed black fox itself.
After Xu Qing gave Su Lianqing instructions, he returned home.
...
...
"Sir, this is the fur coat that Captain Zhang sent over." Xu Fu respectfully handed over a fur coat. It was pure black in color and was made mainly from the fur of a three-tailed black fox.
Sergeant Zhang was the soldier who raised the Fire Cloud Horse for Xu Qing.
Xu Qing used money to get in touch with people in Yingtian Prefecture, so that his team could be stationed in Jiangning Prefecture for a long time, ostensibly in preparation for the bandit suppression after the beginning of next spring.
Sergeant Zhang is also a talented person. He not only knows how to raise horses, but also how to make armor.
Xu Qing got some fur from a three-tailed black fox. It was very light and warm, and tougher than cowhide, so it could be made into leather armor.
However, leather armor is a prohibited item, so Xu Qing asked Sergeant Zhang to make it in the style of a leather robe. In fact, it is a piece of leather armor, but in appearance, it can also be said to be a leather robe.
With this black fox robe, Xu Qing's defensive ability was naturally greatly enhanced.
In addition, Xu Qing also had a fox tail and a hind leg bone. Su Lianqing suggested that he keep them for making magic tools in the future.
Xu Qing was not surprised that the black fox robe was delivered in time, because he had accumulated a wisp of blessing energy and decided to go up the mountain to explore the secret cave after tonight and then consume the blessing energy.
After the energy of fortune is consumed, it can resolve disasters and increase the possibility of obtaining opportunities. The timely delivery of the fur coat in front of him was obviously the result of a blessing from some unknown fortune. This should further reduce the danger of him going up the mountain and greatly increase his hope of obtaining opportunities.
Moreover, at present, no new black air has appeared in the destiny, which also indirectly reflects that there is no major danger in this journey.
This can also be considered as another way of seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune.
But it also requires personal efforts and it is not something that can be achieved for free.
Xu Qing ordered Xu Fu to step back, lit a brazier, and then tried to move the fur coat close to the brazier. He found that there was no obvious burning sensation, so he gradually became bolder in his attempts and finally came to a conclusion.
This black fox robe really has the effect of avoiding fire.
He didn't try it for no reason. He had this feeling when he saw the three-tailed black fox stepping on a fire last time without its fur being damaged. The result confirmed that his judgment was correct.
Moreover, when Xu Qing asked Sergeant Zhang to make the leather coat, he had to select fire-resistant materials, and the thread used was the hair of a three-tailed black fox.
In fact, in the previous dynasty, a kind of fire-proof robe called fire-washed clothes was popular. However, this kind of clothing material caused irreversible damage to the human lungs, so it gradually disappeared in history.
At present, straw raincoats made of palm wool are still quite popular among the powerful circles of the Dayu Dynasty.
Brown hair is a rare material, most of which is produced overseas. This has led to the emergence of a large number of pirates smuggling brown hair in the southeast because the profits are too great.
The main purpose of wearing a straw raincoat is to keep out the rain. Therefore, the rich and powerful like to wear it on rainy days and go boating, which makes them look very elegant.
But the one that can avoid water is definitely not as impressive as Xu Qing's black fox robe that can avoid fire.
Xu Qing still had some fox fur left, and planned to make another fox robe. Considering the habits of the powerful and wealthy in the Dayu Dynasty, it might come in handy in the future.
...
...
Qixia Mountain, Black Wind Village.
"Welcome the great commander to come out of seclusion."
King Lin Tianwang walked out of the stone chamber where he had been in seclusion. His skin was more lustrous and translucent than ever before. At the same time, his entire head became bald.
This was not because Lin Tianwang had seen through the mundane world and entered Buddhism. Rather, he had finally entered the realm of internal organ training, and his qi and blood had entered a new realm.
Hair is the tip of qi and blood.
After Lin Tianwang mastered the Juling Xuan Gong, he deliberately restrained his qi and blood, which caused the hair to fall out.
Of course, it is not difficult for him to grow it, but it will waste energy and blood.
When you get older, save as much as you can.
After King Lin entered the stage of internal organ training, he got rid of the old and took in the new. Even the internal organ damage caused by the last battle with the three-tailed black fox began to repair after he entered the stage of internal organ training.
Even some hidden scars from early years gradually disappeared in this process.
Practicing the internal organs is also a sign of entering the stage of "transforming strength" in martial arts.
Only martial artists who practice internal energy can develop "transforming energy".
The so-called "Hua Jin" means that any part of the body can emit a hidden force that is more powerful than Ming Jin. The so-called "Eighteen Falls with a Touch of Clothes" in martial arts is just a manifestation of "Hua Jin".
Of course, King Lin has just entered the stage of Hua Jin, and it will take a long time of practice for him to reach the state of great success where the dark energy spreads throughout his body.
This is a slow and steady process, and also a process of "unity of body and soul".
Because the hidden power is trained throughout the body, it is actually the "unity of spirit and flesh".
At this point, one's soul and body are closely integrated, and one can move the bones, muscles and tendons of the whole body at will...
In addition, the soul is integrated into the physical body, achieving "unity of spirit and flesh". The soul can be seen with the naked eye, and the reaction is faster.
Even though King Lin is only at the initial stage of "unity of body and soul", he can still see the soul with his naked eyes.
It must be said that his ability to reach this level, apart from the bonus of the blood and flesh essence of the three-tailed black fox, was also related to the process of capturing the three-tailed black fox.
For a warrior, every dangerous battle will stimulate his potential.
The more intense the fighting, the more it can improve one's martial arts skills.
In the process of this kind of fighting, one's own martial arts will naturally be integrated into one.
“Practicing the internal organs is just a new starting point towards the realm of Martial Saint, but I finally have the qualifications.” King Lin felt lucky. If it was three to five years later, even if he successfully killed the three-tailed black fox, he might not be able to enter the realm of practicing the internal organs, get rid of the old and take in the new, and re-refine his qi and blood.
This is a new starting point, and it gives him unlimited possibilities for the future.
If he could become a martial saint one day, he would be able to come and go freely even in the midst of thousands of troops. By then, not to mention founding a country overseas, he would have the opportunity to dominate a remote area of the Great Yu Dynasty.
Why is it not certain? It is rumored that there are four great martial saints in the world today.
Among them, the Dayu court occupied two positions.
If one becomes a Martial Saint, he can live to be over a hundred years old without losing his fighting prowess. At most, his endurance will not be as good as that of a man in his prime. He can even live to be over one hundred and twenty years old.
The most commendable thing is that the Martial Saint has been able to get rid of the suffering of old age and illness, and can accurately predict the date of his own death. He no longer worries about dying in his sleep one day because of his old age.
This kind of accuracy is completely different from the monks in the temple predicting their own death date.
The masters in the temple predict the time of their own death. This is to deceive the ignorant people. In fact, when that day comes, even if the master does not die, his disciples will send him away.
(End of this chapter)