Chapter 34: This Is What Is Called Cultivation Success

"Good morning!"

"Good morning!"

When they met again the next day, Jiang Shishi wore a sunny, cheerful expression, while Xiao Ya smiled shyly with her lips; both women were dressed in sun hats, slim-fit T-shirts, sun-protection outerwear, and casual trousers, identical in their youthful vitality except for the colors.

"Thank you for your trouble," Xiao Ya said first.

"You're welcome; I'm just here to eat and drink for free," Gu Zhao said with a smile.

Although he had activated his cheat and possessed magic power, Gu Zhao was still a young man full of vigor, and naturally he would not refuse the chance to hike with two beautiful young ladies.

"Then let's set off!" Jiang Shishi said, linking arms with Xiao Ya. "You pray for Grandpa's safety, and I pray for my own marriage; with so many Daoist temples on Qingcheng Mountain, surely at least one will answer!"

The three took a tourist bus straight to the foot of Qingcheng Mountain, then rode a sightseeing car to the scenic area's entrance gate; Gu Zhao, who had paid not a single cent, had long since slipped into tour guide mode.

"The cluster of buildings we just passed is the Qingcheng Mountain Daoist Academy, a school dedicated to training Daoist Priests; the number of people it admits each year is very limited, and getting in is no easier than taking the postgraduate entrance exam or the civil service exam," Gu Zhao explained. "And the curriculum is by no means easy either."

"What do they study?" Jiang Shishi asked.

"Of course it's Daoist classics, Daoist music, sacrificial rituals, calligraphy and painting, plus martial arts and laws and regulations," Gu Zhao said. "Perhaps each Daoist academy has its own specialty courses, but it's roughly these things."

Jiang Shishi sighed, "Indeed, they do learn a lot, but how do you know all this so clearly?"

Gu Zhao said in a low, lingering tone, "Because I once wanted to take the entrance exam for the Guangdong Daoist Academy and specifically looked into all this content."

Xiao Ya asked, "So you didn't take the exam later?"

Gu Zhao shook his head, his face turning somewhat gloomy. "No, I didn't pass. They said I was tone-deaf and had no musical sense; during the entrance test, not a single note I sang was in tune. If I really joined a group ritual, I'd only turn the scene into chaos, so they eliminated me."

The two women: "..."

What to do when you can't help but want to laugh?

Jiang Shishi snorted, "Don't rituals involve many people together? If you hid in the crowd, wouldn't you be inconspicuous..."

Gu Zhao spread his hands. "I'd like to, but they won't allow it!"

This time, Xiao Ya could no longer hold back and burst out laughing; to these two top students from a music conservatory, being tone-deaf was an incomprehensible phenomenon.

The sightseeing car stopped, the group disembarked, and Gu Zhao pointed to a cluster of buildings on the right. "That is Jianfu Palace, located outside the entrance gate of Qingcheng Mountain. In the Tang Dynasty, it was originally called Zhangren Guan, enshrining Ningfengzi, the Elder of the Five Great Mountains. Later it was renamed Jianfu Palace, and many immortals were added, but most importantly, it enshrines the Supreme Lord Laojun."

The group had come to tour Qingcheng Mountain specifically to pray for blessings, so they entered every temple they saw; thus, before even ascending the mountain, they first entered Jianfu Palace to worship the various gods, and only after coming out did they buy quite a lot of incense at the shop by the gate before entering the mountain.

Along the way, Gu Zhao explained the scenery to the two women, interspersing it with various immortal legends and stories from The Biography of Immortals, The Biography of the Immortals, and In Search of the Supernatural, portraying Qingcheng Mountain as a mountain of immortals and a blessed land.

"In the Taiping Guangji, it mentions that the Queen Mother of the West presented the True Form Diagram of the Five Great Mountains to Emperor Wu of Han, stating it was sought by the immortals of Qingcheng; in the Preface and Discussion on the True Form Diagram of the Five Great Mountains, it also says that the Elder of Qingcheng was appointed by the Yellow Emperor to oversee the Five Great Mountains, showing that at that time Qingcheng's status was even above the Five Great Mountains, reaching the level of the Queen Mother of the West."

"Nowadays people say, 'After visiting the Five Great Mountains, one need not look at other mountains; after visiting Huangshan, one need not look at the Five Great Mountains,' but in comparison to Qingcheng, they are all just younger brothers."

Gu Zhao thought for a moment and added, "Of course, I am speaking from Qingcheng Mountain's perspective; if one went to worship the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak or the Ancestral Master Chen Tuan of the Western Peak, that would be a completely different perspective."

The three did not take the cable car; instead, they passed through Yile Wo to Shanyin Pavilion, then worshipped at the Quanzhen Daoist Temple, and afterward worshipped at the Ancient Celestial Master's Cave.

"Inside the Quanzhen Daoist Temple are enshrined the Five Northern Masters of the Jin Dan and the seven disciples of True Person Chongyang," Gu Zhao commented. "Although the Northern and Southern schools of Internal Alchemy have already merged, the Five Southern Masters are still often overlooked; truly pitiful."

"The Zhengyi Dao and the Quanzhen Dao are so close; in modern times they are quite harmonious, but one wonders whether, when they met in ancient times, they greeted each other by debating scriptures or by fighting." Gu Zhao looked back at the Quanzhen Daoist Temple from the entrance of the Ancient Celestial Master's Cave.

Jiang Shishi giggled, "Didn't you say the Quanzhen Dao is more capable in combat?"

Gu Zhao nodded. "That's why the Quanzhen Temple is ahead, intercepting a portion of the incense offerings first."

Xiao Ya glanced at a Daoist Priest passing by not far away. "You must absolutely not say such things inside the Ancient Celestial Master's Cave; you might get beaten."

Gu Zhao laughed heartily and stopped complaining further, only asking, "We've passed so many Daoist temples along the way; haven't you drawn a lot yet?"

Xiao Ya shook her head. "We'll draw one at the Taishang Laojun Pavilion on the summit."

Gu Zhao nodded; Xiao Ya was a filial Miss, and only by reaching the summit could her sincerity be truly shown.

Thus the three climbed the mountain again; the two women gradually grew breathless and covered in fragrant sweat, but when they looked at Gu Zhao, they found his breathing steady, no sweat on his brow, and he showed not the slightest sign of fatigue.

"Your body is in such good shape!" Jiang Shishi exclaimed, this time with absolutely no ambiguity. "Is cultivating the Dao really this effective?"

Gu Zhao replied, "It is effective only when one has achieved cultivation success."

"What do you call cultivation suc—" As soon as Xiao Ya spoke, a child of about ten years darted past the three and ran upward, his speed not slow at all, while at the same time the voice of an adult calling out from behind cut off Xiao Ya's question.

"Slow down!"

"It's hard to walk ahead!"

"Be careful not to bump or fall!"

Xiao Ya sighed, "Children really have so much energy!"

Just then, the child had already run to a corner ahead of the three, and while running, turned back and waved, "I know! I'll be careful; I'll wait at that pavilion ahead..."

The words had barely fallen when he stepped into empty air, and his body toppled toward the slope beside him.

In the strict sense, this place was not too dangerous; the stone steps were wide enough, and although the slope on the side was steep, there were grass and trees to block the way, so with a little care, there was absolutely no risk of slipping, which is why no guardrail had been built on the outer edge.

But the child had happened to dodge around pedestrians on the stone steps to the outer edge, and when he turned back, he happened to step into empty air; if he rolled down the slope for dozens or even a hundred meters, the situation would be uncertain.

Many people saw the instant the child stepped into empty air, as if they had already seen the child rolling down the slope.

"Ah!" A piercing scream rang out.

"Swish!" The sound of robes cutting through the wind swept past.

The child's entire body had already left the stone steps and was rolling down the slope.

Gu Zhao, however, shot forward in a single stride, stepped off the stone steps and into the slope, and charged toward the child's falling form from the lower side.

The distance between them was not far; Gu Zhao merely used a tree for leverage to reach below the boy, and in the instant their bodies crossed, he grabbed the other's collar with one hand.

Then, holding the already petrified child by the collar, he moved sideways while gripping the tree, and very quickly returned to the stone steps.

After setting the child down, Gu Zhao snapped his fingers and said to Xiao Ya, "This is what is called cultivation success."