Chapter 278: Strange Guest Visits the Ancient Bamboo Forest

The sect's so-called "honing" is to send disciples down the mountain to settle their worldly affairs, so that they may henceforth devote themselves to the Dao; this, naturally, applies to those who still have wives, children, and elders at home.

As for Rendong, although he was born into a prominent family, the family fortunes had declined, and he was now alone, so naturally, there was nothing for him to settle.

There is another purpose for the sect sending disciples down the mountain: to have them travel the mountains and rivers, hone themselves in the mortal world, see the wave-sweeping grandeur, and taste the hundred flavors of the mundane world.

Although Rendong had not tasted the full bitterness of the hundred flavors, he had experienced the turmoil of his family; those days could be considered as having seen through the ways of the world and the hearts of men, otherwise he would not have committed himself to the Daoist Sect.

Therefore, upon seeing the Daoist notice issued by the Yuanqing Sect, Rendong was truly troubled for quite a while, as he did not know where he should go.

After Lingxiang learned of Rendong's worries, she suggested that he go to the Ancient Bamboo Forest to follow Zhuzhang Laoren and diligently practice the Five Elements Symbol Array.

Firstly, Lingxiang was preparing to go and scout for news of Yunmeng Marsh and would likely not return to Yuanqing for a long time, so she was truly worried about that old man; secondly, Rendong and Zhuzhang Laoren both possessed the Five Elements False Spiritual Root, and although they might not necessarily use the same methods, she thought there would certainly be some techniques worth Rendong's reference.

Rendong followed Lingxiang's advice and searched for the Ancient Bamboo Forest alone, but he forgot that there were Dharma Arrays in the Ancient Bamboo Forest; just as he was at a loss for what to do, he unexpectedly heard a familiar rolling sound coming from the forest.

It was the earth spirit coming to pick him up.

Lingxiang had previously given the bamboo flute to Long Qi and naturally knew about the Dharma Array, so she had notified Zhuzhang Laoren well in advance, and the earth spirit had been waiting here at the array entrance for a long time.

Now, after Rendong met Zhuzhang Laoren and stated his purpose, he stayed there. He had thought Zhuzhang Laoren would teach him how to cultivate, but he did not expect this old man to only order him to do chores—either fetching water and watering the garden, cooking meals, or repairing the house and looking after those precious bamboos.

This was not coming here to cultivate! This was clearly coming here to be a servant!

However, Rendong had no complaints; although he felt resentful, he still obeyed Zhuzhang Laoren's orders. Finally, one day, Zhuzhang Laoren beckoned him to sit down.

"Are you feeling aggrieved?" Zhuzhang Laoren sipped his wine with a smile.

Rendong originally wanted to reply that he dared not, but he felt that would be too hypocritical; furthermore, although he did not know how old Zhuzhang Laoren was, he had seen all kinds of people, so such concealment would be unsightly—it would be better to speak plainly.

"I am indeed somewhat unreconciled," Rendong replied respectfully after thinking it over.

Zhuzhang Laoren laughed upon hearing this: "Being unreconciled is correct!"

Rendong did not understand what Zhuzhang Laoren meant and wore a look of confusion.

"For people like us, who don't even count as having ordinary spiritual roots, it is indeed a bit unfair of Heaven, but if you resign yourself to fate, then you cannot blame anyone else. Therefore, you should be unreconciled."

"I have told you a thing or two about your little master's experiences; have you ever seen her give up? You have also seen the state of Qingwei Peak; she will naturally complain, but whether it is the bitter cold of winter or the scorching heat of summer, she has never been slack—this is what you should learn from her."

Rendong felt this was deeply true, but upon second thought, what did this have to do with being ordered around by this old man? However, he did not answer, only nodding his head.

"That little girl sending you here was truly a painstaking effort. The reason I have treated you this way these past few days is to temper your temperament."

"Your aptitude is already inferior, and although you have not resigned yourself to fate, you are somewhat impatient," Zhuzhang Laoren sipped his wine and continued: "I was young once too, and I have had the thoughts you have in your heart now. But since you have fallen behind others and are determined to devote yourself to the Daoist Sect, you must make long-term plans. The long path is rugged, the way is blocked and difficult, whether it takes a thousand days or a hundred years; if you cannot maintain a calm heart, you will sooner or later go astray."

Zhuzhang Laoren's words were earnest and hit the mark; Rendong was greatly moved, lowered his head to ponder for a moment, and then bowed to Zhuzhang Laoren in a Daoist salute.

"I will certainly not fail the senior's painstaking efforts!"

But before Rendong could stand up, he did not guard against Zhuzhang Laoren hitting him with a dull thud; Rendong was extremely puzzled, clutching his head and staring suspiciously at the white-haired old man before him who was putting on airs.

"Since you are following me in this cultivation, why haven't you changed how you address me? Could it be that you want to learn my things for nothing?"

"But..."

But he had already joined Yuanqing and studied under Fucang!

"Blockhead! You don't know how to be flexible!" Zhuzhang Laoren crossed his legs, sipped his wine again, smacked his lips, and said: "Do you think that little girl telling you to come here was just casual talk? She had the intention of finding a student for me. Besides, you taking me as your master, what does that have to do with whether she is your master or not?"

Upon hearing this, Rendong pondered for a moment, then lifted his robes and knelt down, singing out: "Master is above, please accept your disciple's three kowtows!"

Thus, Rendong became Zhuzhang Laoren's disciple, and also the only disciple Zhuzhang Laoren had taken in a hundred years.

Time flew by, and two months passed; in these two months, Zhuzhang Laoren taught Rendong much of the Five Elements Path and also imparted a few techniques of the Array Formation.

It really must be said, Lingxiang's prediction was indeed correct.

Although he had a False Spiritual Root, he possessed all of the Five Elements; Lingxiang inferred that Rendong should start with the Five Elements Path, which is why she borrowed Zhuzhang Laoren's hand to make a bamboo fan Dharma treasure, and when at Qingwei Peak, she had mostly selected books related to the Five Elements for Rendong.

In these two months, Rendong felt the Suidong Fan becoming increasingly handy; although it lacked power, he could use the Five Elements transformations with ease, and now he could even disassemble and combine the symbol carvings on the Suidong Fan, unexpectedly exerting unusual effects.

Also, because of his mastery of the Five Elements power, Zhuzhang Laoren tried to teach him the way of the Array Formation. Firstly, what Rendong learned was all Instrument Array Technique, which did not have harsh requirements for cultivation; secondly, array formations are mostly connected to the Five Elements, which perfectly matched Rendong's spiritual root.

And Rendong indeed gained some small achievements in array formations.

Although he could not master them well at first, he was diligent enough, and after many unremitting attempts, he finally touched upon a few methods.

This day, Rendong was chopping wood while recalling the new array formulas Zhuzhang Laoren had taught him yesterday, when he suddenly heard a rustling sound in the bamboo forest, along with the sound of dry branches breaking.

Rendong was immediately alert and hurriedly stopped his movements.

Deep in the bamboo forest of Zhuzhang Laoren's small courtyard, layers of Dharma Arrays were laid out within a certain radius; let alone people, even animals could not enter, and only those earth spirits would not be affected by the Dharma Arrays. And for these two months, Rendong had seen those earth spirits often; they usually traveled by rolling and rarely used their legs.

Furthermore, the sound of those footsteps was clearly that of a person. But who could break Zhuzhang Laoren's Dharma Array?

Could it be Lingxiang?

Just as Rendong was holding his breath and focusing his attention, a figure appeared in the bamboo forest, looking like a man.

Rendong was greatly shocked and hurriedly pulled off the bamboo fan at his waist, carefully hiding it.

The figure did not seem to be affected by the Dharma Array, walking over with a very relaxed manner; when Rendong saw the person clearly, he could not help but be greatly surprised.

The person looked like a youth, yet had a full head of white hair combed meticulously, while his robes were tattered and worn.

In just a moment, Rendong regained his senses.

For this person to be able to do this so easily, I fear it is not that simple!

When the person walked closer, he hurriedly channeled his Qi and pinched a seal. A ball of fire headed straight for the person's face, but the person showed no panic, only looking curious, and with a lift of his finger, he fixed the fireball in front of him.

It was at this moment that Rendong leaped out; while pinching a seal, the Suidong Fan disassembled, and two fan blades flew out like tokens, circling around the fireball before flying back into the fan.

A violent wind rose around the fireball; what was originally a ball of fire suddenly turned into a fire dragon, the dragon's roar echoing and trembling incessantly.

The person seemed to have taken an interest and actually moved, dodging the dragon that was constantly chasing him, but after only a while, the fire dragon dissipated.

"Tsk!"

The person smacked his lips, looking somewhat regretful, and at this moment, Rendong spun and pressed the attack, but the person caught his fan with just two fingers.

"Oh? Hiss~" The person made a strange sound and stared at the Suidong Fan, examining it for a long time: "This thing is made wonderfully, but it's a pity; with your cultivation, you are not yet able to control it."

Hearing this, Rendong was instantly furious and struck a palm at the person's chest. The person did not dodge, letting the palm wind strike him.

"Thump!"

With a muffled sound, Rendong only felt as if his palm had hit cotton. It was at this moment that he heard Zhuzhang Laoren coming out, cursing and swearing.

"I only took a short nap, what are you brat making all that clatter for..."

The words were not finished before they came to an abrupt halt; Rendong was curious and turned his head to look, only to see Zhuzhang Laoren with a grave expression on his face.

"Yo! Zhuyin, long time no see, I hope you have been Wuyang!" That person tilted his head and greeted Zhuzhang Laoren, as if the two were old friends who had not seen each other for a long time.

After a long while, Zhuzhang Laoren finally spoke, ordering Rendong to withdraw.

"You have come." As if he had known this person would return, Zhuzhang Laoren just sighed and invited him into the house.

Zhuzhang Laoren ordered Rendong to stay in the courtyard and work properly, forbidding him from approaching; Rendong had no choice but to obey, yet his heart was even more curious.

Half an hour passed before Zhuzhang Laoren and that person came out; the two walked out of the courtyard, and that person suddenly turned his head and said: "In the future, I will have to trouble you to look after my disciples and grand-disciples a little."

Zhuzhang Laoren sighed, just shook his head, and then waved his hand: "Go, go!"

That person said nothing more, cupped his hands in a salute, turned around, and entered the bamboo forest.

Seeing this situation, Rendong was even more puzzled: that person's salute just now was merely an ordinary bow between peers, but looking at his appearance, he was only at the age of weak crown, so how could he be so disrespectful to Zhuzhang Laoren?

"Master, who was that person?" Rendong could finally no longer suppress the curiosity in his heart and leaned forward to ask.

Zhuzhang Laoren only sighed, looking at the place where the visitor had disappeared without answering; after a long while, he spoke as if to himself:

"I fear there is going to be another bloody storm!"