Chapter 109 Keeping an Appointment
Chapter 109 Keeping an Appointment
The 427th year of the Ming Dynasty passed quickly and was very fulfilling for Cheng Xinzhan.
This year began when "Taodu" was broken into two parts and went against the torrent of falling swords above Baiyujing.
I learned thunder magic at Cardinal Mountain, sword magic at Toujian Mountain, and alchemy magic at Baihu Mountain. These three things lasted throughout the whole year.
These three things are undoubtedly his biggest gains this year.
In one year, he learned all the Five Thunders, which attracted the admiration of the elders of the Five Thunders Academy.
His swordsmanship was no longer arbitrary and based on speed, but rather it was balanced and flexible, allowing him to advance and retreat freely.
He has gained some insights into the art of refining. He has recast "Tao Du" and refined "Qiu Shui". His first Five Elements Magic Sword is also about to be unveiled.
On the path of Qi training, he visualized the mountains, and the scenery inside the Earth Palace, where the divine Prince Bingling had begun to show his divine charm.
In the art of talismans, his thunder talismans and mountain talismans were even praised by Master Tongxuan.
And this was only the fourth year that Cheng Xinzhan had been studying Taoism.
There were also some episodes in the middle. For example, the reputation of Sanqingshan's sword skills spread through the mouths of guests who watched the sword fighting meeting in Baiyujing.
Many people know that there is a young disciple in Sanqing Mountain named Cheng Xinzhan.
For example, in August, the daughter of the Xiao family in Baiyujing brought hundreds of her servants to pay homage to Mount Sanqing.
For example, people from Longhu Mountain invited Sanqing Mountain to participate in the Dragon and Tiger Dharma Assembly next year.
In short, for Cheng Xinzhan, this has been a wonderful year. Perhaps, because his realm is low and he has not yet experienced decades of trials and tribulations, every year is wonderful.
This year, it was the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month in the midst of his busy schedule. As the New Year was coming to an end, he asked for leave from Baihu Mountain and his master Wen Sukong, and would be back on the second day of the New Year at the latest.
He promised to replace the door god stickers for the Miao village this year.
After getting permission, he left his physical body in the Worry-Free Cave and continued to practice Qi training and visualization. Early in the morning of the 29th, his soul rode on the bamboo body and set off, carrying all the weapons and daily necessities.
Of course, I was holding my third sister in my arms, and my brother was waiting by my side.
He came to Yulin Temple quietly and left a bottle of "Blood Activating Rejuvenating Pill" and a mirage pearl in front of the old abbot's door.
The "Blood-Activating and Rejuvenating Pill" was what he got from Feng Jihu. It was a pill that activated blood circulation and regulated essence. It was not very potent and was most suitable for elderly mortals like the old temple master.
As for the mirage pearl, it was given to him by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It contained a record of his participation in the sword-fighting competition. No one knew where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs got it from.
But it is just right to give it to the master of the temple now.
Because there is a scene in it where he shows "Autumn Water" to all the swordsmen.
This is the old master’s wish.
He put down the mirage pearl and left, and they never met again.
Afterwards, he went directly to his parents' grave without going back to the town.
My parents’ graves are well taken care of, with few weeds or shrubs, and it’s obvious that they have always been carefully tended.
He knelt down, kowtowed, and talked for a while, then burned talisman paper with the prayers for salvation that he had written in the sect before.
Then he left.
This time he went out not for experience and to see the world, so he did not walk slowly. He had already refined the "Yangming Yuntang Gang" and directly embraced his third sister, turned into a light cloud and flew away.
And now, Brother Deng is even more amazing. Unlike his third sister who is always lazy and sleepy, Brother Deng is very diligent in strengthening his body and consuming energy. He should have awakened the demon blood in his body and can cast some small spells by instinct. For example, now, when Cheng Xinzhan flies, he can evolve some wind, and Brother Deng can fly into the air and follow behind him.
After a while, they arrived at Poyang Lake, and the south bank. He also took a look at the osmanthus forest along the way.
The last time I came here was summer and the trees were lush and green, but now it is all white.
The shores of Poyang Lake were frozen, and he flew inside. His body had turned into a light cloud, and with the help of wind magic, his speed was faster than that of Jiang Yanxing and Jiang Yuexing, who were in the second realm. He soon saw the island of Jinxiang Sect, and he landed towards Mingguang Hall.
But this time he had no one to lead him, and someone came to greet him as soon as he approached.
"Please tell Taoist Xuan Hui that an old friend visited us the summer before last."
Cheng Xinzhan said.
The guard laughed when he heard this, "Master Cheng, you don't recognize me, but I still remember you. Last year, you saved my son's life, how could we forget it? Master Cheng, please come in."
The man extended his hand to lead the way for Cheng Xinzhan.
He was a little surprised, then smiled and followed them.
As soon as I landed on the ground, I heard a loud shout,
"Benefactor!"
He knew who was coming.
Jiang Nanjing walked over quickly, got close, and bowed deeply.
"Meet the benefactor."
Cheng Xinzhan helped him up and told him not to be so polite. Soon after, Jiang Nanjing's uncle, parents, and teacher also came.
Several people sat down in the hall.
"I can still vividly remember the demeanor of Taoist Master Cheng at the Huanzhu Tower Sword Fighting Competition!"
As soon as he sat down, Jiang Yanxing said with a smile.
Cheng Xinzhan was a little surprised, "You were there that night too?"
Several people smiled and nodded.
"We were in Peacock City at the time. We originally wanted to go and pay a visit to the Taoist priest after the sword fight was over. However, the Taoist priest's flying sword was damaged at the time, and he was in a hurry to return to the sect, so it was inconvenient for us to go forward and greet him."
Jiang Yanxing explained.
"I only knew that your spells were extraordinary, but I never thought that your attainments in swordsmanship were also so high!"
Jiangnan Jing exclaimed in admiration.
Then Jiang Yanxing and Jiang Yuexing also echoed.
"We were already very surprised when we saw the Taoist priest in the physical sword arena, and we were also astonished when we saw him take first place in the magic sword arena. But we never expected that he would be the one to fight Emei alone with several swords in the end. We are speechless."
Jiang Yanxing was in awe, and finally the wife of the headmaster of Emei appeared, letting the spectators know that those flying swords were all from Emei. And the scene where Cheng Xinzhan controlled the sword with his magic and appeared in the sky to bid farewell to the owner of Huanzhu Tower was also truly reflected by the Yingyue Mirror, letting everyone know that the owner of the red flying sword that overwhelmed Emei was actually Cheng Xinzhan from Sanqing Mountain.
He was proficient in physical sword, magic sword and flying sword.
Many flying swords were knocked down, and the Five Swords of Emei besieged Cheng Xinzhan. The last thirty flying swords left were all from the Taoist tradition of Shu.
This obviously made Huanzhu Louzhu very unhappy.
In the end, Huanzhu Louzhu didn't even hold the flying sword competition again. After Cheng Xinzhan left, the old sword immortal directly announced that the remaining thirty flying swords were tied for first place!
The reward given by Huanzhu Louzhu to the first place in the flying sword field is a "Pure Heart and Little Desire Pill" per person.
This undoubtedly made the behavior of the thirty Shu flying swordsmen joining forces to shoot down other people's flying swords a joke.
But in the eyes of the spectators, the real leader in the flying sword field is still Cheng Xinzhan from Sanqing Mountain.
In the eyes of the spectators, Cheng Xinzhan won three prizes in a row.
Cheng Xinzhan smiled when he heard this, but did not continue the conversation. Instead, he asked Jiang Nanjing,
"How are you doing with that spell?"
Jiangnan Jing puffed out his chest.
"My benefactor, I have reduced the seventeen-word spell to nine!"
Cheng Xinzhan's face froze when he heard this, and then he started to cough violently. After finally catching his breath, he didn't even want to talk about this topic anymore. He took out a small bottle from his arms and handed it to Jiang Yanxing.
"This is?"
Jiang Yanxing took the gray bottle and didn't know what it was.
Cheng Xinzhan explained,
"Since you were all there that night, I don't need to explain too much. This is the 'Yangming Yuntang Gang' that Senior Sword Immortal gave me. I thought your hall name is 'Mingguang Hall' and you practice the Mingguang magic in the Jinxiang. This spiritual Gang should be useful to you, so I came here specially to give it to you. I have used a lot of this Gang myself, and there are about two grains left here. It's too little for Dan, but it should be enough for you to understand the meaning of the law. Don't despise it."
There was silence in the hall for a long time, and it was so quiet that you could hear the sound of people swallowing saliva.
This is Ganglu!
After a while, the lead bottle suddenly seemed to become hot, and Jiang Yanxing hurriedly returned the lead bottle to Cheng Xinzhan.
"Master, this gift is too great. We should not accept it without any merit!"
Cheng Xinzhan stood up and stuffed the bottle into Jiang Nanjing's arms. His smile was bright and warm.
"Senior, when I came here before, the gifts you brought were not insignificant. Didn't I accept the gold seal, the cave stone, and the basket full of talisman arrows?"
He will never forget those who are good to him.
"This, this, this..."
Jiang Yanxing stuttered a little. The gift he had given before was to thank Taoist Cheng for saving Jiangnan's life and teaching him the Dharma. He never thought that the gift was too heavy. He didn't expect that Taoist Cheng still cared about it!
At this time Jiang Yuexing asked, "Did the Taoist priest go to southern Xinjiang after leaving here last time?"
Cheng Xinzhan didn't know why he asked this and nodded.
"The Taoist priest should have sold talisman arrows in Southern Xinjiang. The talisman arrows had the mark of our Mingguang Hall on them."
Jiang Yuexing smiled and said, "Hongmuling and Baimanshan fought for several years until the emergence of the 'Purple Fire Rotten Peach Evil'. Some time before that, the talisman arrows of my Mingguang Hall suddenly became a hot commodity. Many people contacted the hall and wanted to buy them, saying that the effects were particularly good. When I thought about it, it was exactly the time when the Taoist priest left the Jinxiang Sect. The method of making my talisman arrows has never changed, only that batch was handed over to the Taoist priest as empty shells.
“So that batch of talisman arrows were not produced by my family, but by the talismans drawn by Taoist Cheng.
"However, because the Taoist's talisman arrows have gained a good reputation in the southern border battlefield, my hall's business has improved a lot."
Cheng Xinzhan also laughed when he heard this, he never thought there would be such a follow-up.
"We have also prepared some small gifts..."
Cheng Xinzhan couldn't bear to hear him say this, so he waved his hand to stop him and said,
"My dear seniors, and Jiangnan, you are all busy with your cultivation, so I will not disturb you. I will take my leave now and see you again in the future!"
After saying this, Cheng Xinzhan bowed, and without waiting for anyone to react, he walked out of the hall and ascended to heaven. He was gone.
Jiang Yanxing held the lead bottle in his hand, looking at Cheng Xinzhan's receding figure from afar, and couldn't help but say:
"It's really a deity!"
----
Leaving Poyang Lake, he headed west and soon saw the Ganjiang River, the largest river in Yuzhang.
Although he was flying this time, the route he took was the same as last time. He looked down at the broad and majestic Ganjiang River and felt relaxed and happy.
However, the last time he crossed the Ganjiang River, it was the season of abundant summer water. Although the sound of water is still surging now, the water surface is much less than in summer. He even saw a sandbar exposed in the middle of the river, which he didn't notice last time.
After crossing the Gan River, he flew straight to Nanyue. Here he stopped for a while and walked around the mountain. He saw the sword energy soaring into the sky and Hengshan Mountain flying.
This time, the scenery he saw was different from the last time he passed by.
Perhaps, this is the meaning of spiritual practice. When you look at the mountains, rivers and everything in the world at different times, you will always gain different things. These changes sometimes come from the changes in the mountains and rivers, and sometimes come from the changes in your own realm and state of mind.
It has only been two or three years. If it had existed for thousands of years, what kind of changes would we see?
After leaving Hengshan, he went to Miaojiang with joy, and still entered the mountains from Wugang.
The last time he came, he just visualized the Pleiades, and those snakes, insects and evil creatures didn't dare to come near him. Now he has practiced Dragon Thunder, and the evil creatures ran away feeling the power of heaven.
When the brother smelled the familiar scent, he ran all over the mountain, and drove out some guys who were sleeping in the caves.
He came to the creek again. The water was rushing but not frozen. He scooped up some water and washed his face. The cold winter water refreshed him.
He walked upstream and soon saw the Miao village.
Even in winter, the Miao people were not idle. Some were tidying up the fields, some were clearing the canals. He looked further and found that some were hunting in the snow. At this time, if he followed the footprints of foxes and rabbits on the snow, he would often get something.
"Wang! Wang! Wang!"
When the brother turned into a white wind, he rushed into the village, shouting all the way, leaving a string of plum blossoms in the snow.
As soon as the brother entered the village, the village was in chaos. The villagers shouted and cursed, not knowing what had gone wrong with the dog. However, as they cursed, they felt something was wrong. How could there be such a strong dog in the village?
The old village chief was still the old village chief after all. He was thrown to the ground by the other boy. He grabbed the big white dog that was licking his face with its tail madly. Suddenly he understood. He laughed loudly, rolled over, got out from under the big dog, and jumped up again, shouting,
"It's Master Yun who is back! It's Master Yun who is back!"
He ran out of the village laughing loudly. Although he was old, he ran like a vigorous man.
Sure enough, as soon as he walked out of the village gate, he saw a young Taoist holding a calico cat in his arms, walking slowly towards him with a smile on his face.
"What are you all standing there for? Call back those who are out. Oh, and don't call back those who are hunting. Let them catch as much as they can before coming back. Let's have a bonfire party tonight!"
The old village chief saw that the villagers who followed behind were staring at Taoist Yun in a daze without moving, so he immediately started shouting and giving orders.
Everyone dispersed and went about their business, making the already strong New Year atmosphere even more lively.
When the brother understood what the old village chief said and heard that someone was hunting outside, he looked at his master, and when he saw the master nod, he immediately rushed out of the village.
Cheng Xinzhan smiled. It seemed that the food tonight would not be bad.
The old village chief came forward to receive Cheng Xinzhan and welcomed him into the village.
"We thought that Taoist Master Yun was busy and couldn't come this year!"
The old village chief said with a smile.
"Munaigong, I said I would send door gods to everyone!"
Cheng Xinzhan also answered with a smile.
As soon as he entered the village, he saw several Miao women carrying buckets and rags into his house.
The old village chief glanced at him and asked nervously,
"Master Yun, can you stay for a few days before leaving?"
Cheng Xinzhan nodded, "Of course I have to stay for a few days."
Hearing this, the old village chief's face lit up with smiles.
"How has the village been these past two years?"
"Okay! It's fine!"
The old village chief began to talk to Cheng Xinzhan happily.
With his brother around, hunting trips would naturally return with a full load. His brother stayed close to his father, but he was already much taller than his father.
At night, there is a bonfire party with singing and dancing. The men and girls of the Miao village take out the ox-horn wine they prepared last year and pour it into the guests' mouths one after another.
Cheng Xinzhan never refuses anyone who comes.
Asking for a monthly ticket at the beginning of the month~
Comments and messages are welcome~
(End of this chapter)