Chapter 158: Questioning (Please vote for the monthly ticket at the beginning of the month!)

"Seeing the words is like meeting, unfolding the letter and relaxing the face.

Eleventh Sister, from today, I have started to practice the Alchemy Dao, and I deeply feel the difficulty of the Alchemy Dao. I ruined medicine sixteen times before I saw the alchemy succeed.

The first alchemy I refined today is called 'Eight Treasure Muscle-Generating Pill', and five pills were produced in one furnace. My teacher has already tasted the pill nature, and the elder said this is a good pill.

Taking this pill can whiten skin, clear the mouth, and fragrant saliva. I want to give it to you, but I cannot get away because of the heavy cultivation affairs, and the elders in the mountain do not want me to leave the sect, so it is shameful to say, I have to ask you to send someone to take it.

Remembering the parting at Changbai last time, Eleventh Sister said that after returning to Peacock City, she would come down to the world to find me, but the cicadas in the mountain have chirped three times, yet I still don't see anyone coming. This time taking the pill, if you have time, I hope you come in person.

In addition, the teacher asked me to collect more alchemy metal materials for my own use, but my inner alchemy cultivation is heavy, and I really don't want to spend time on this. Eleventh Sister runs a firm, please pay attention for me, and I can use the finished alchemy to offset it.

..."

After Cheng Xinzhan finished writing, he put the letter paper aside and closed his eyes to recall the details of today's alchemy, going through it over and over again in his mind.

Before, he thought his fire method was okay, but after trying it today, he realized his skills were so shallow.

Repeatedly chewing on what he learned yesterday, he didn't know how long it had passed, only heard two chicken crows from the Heart Mansion, and Cheng Xinzhan knew that the Mao hour had arrived.

He opened his eyes and found that the letter paper on the table had already responded, and it was written on it,

"The joy of receiving the book is like meeting again.

Congratulations to Xinzhan for entering the Alchemy Dao, wishing that after this, the furnace will rise and the alchemy will succeed, and the alchemy will return nine times.

If I have to say, Xinzhan is still humble. Learning the Dharma for one day and alchemy succeeding is something I have never heard of, and I don't know how to evaluate it.

I am an idle person, afraid that Xinzhan's cultivation is busy, so I dare not disturb easily. Since Xinzhan invited me, the idle person will come immediately, please set a time, Xinzhan.

Also, being able to get Xinzhan's first alchemy, I am really overjoyed. As for the metal materials, Xinzhan, don't be distracted by this matter, I will come to look for it myself.

..."

Xinzhan smiled and picked up the pen to reply,

"Eleventh Sister can submit the post today, and I will reply to Eleventh Sister with the specific time after I sign the post."

After writing, he hurried to Danxia Mountain to continue learning the Dharma, taking advantage of the fact that Master Ren hadn't come yet, and warmed up the furnace first.

It's just that on this day, no alchemy was refined. Ren Wushi took Cheng Xinzhan to recall the mistakes of yesterday and explained the key points.

Cheng Xinzhan thought about it for a whole night, but there were still many places he didn't understand. After this point by Ren Wushi, he immediately realized a lot.

And Ren Wushi was even more satisfied with Cheng Xinzhan, because when he asked Cheng Xinzhan about the improvement measures for some problems that appeared in alchemy yesterday, this young man could answer most of them. Even if there were really some he didn't know, he could guess one or two by comparing medicinal properties and cultivation, and basically could speak with substance.

This is very good, showing that this child had thought about it when he went back last night.

This day ended in the conversation and gestures of the teacher and disciple, and both were very happy.

Cheng Xinzhan said goodbye to his teacher, but heard Ren Wushi say,

"The council in the mountain has passed, officially appointing you as the White Tiger Envoy. The Sect Master asked me to tell you, go to the Inspection Mansion of Bai Hu Mountain tomorrow to collect your things."

"A White Tiger Envoy in the Second Realm, it has never happened since ancient times. I know, this should be the meaning of the immortal staying in the world, and the original intention should be to let you get familiar with the sect quickly and participate in the secret affairs early."

"However, you are also an alchemist now. We alchemists do things seriously and rigorously, with every detail. So after you become the White Tiger Envoy, don't treat this as an idle position, let alone care about face. In the future, you should pay attention and make some achievements for everyone to see."

"So you don't have to come here every day in the future. Come in the first ten days of every month. In the middle and late ten days, you cultivate yourself and do a good job of inspection."

"In these three days, the first day I told you the general outline of the Alchemy Dao, the second day I taught you how to open the furnace and refine alchemy, and the third day I taught you how to summarize mistakes. In the future, you can also refine alchemy according to this order. Think about the alchemy theory before opening the furnace, concentrate on refining alchemy, and summarize the mistakes after the alchemy is successful. Only in this way will the progress be fast and the foundation will be solid."

Cheng Xinzhan was extremely fortunate in his heart at this moment. Master, Ancestor Tongxuan, Master Tao Jianxian of the Arctic Division of Shuji Mountain, Master Di Jianping of the Penglai Division, Fu Shouzhen, Zhou Shouxin, Sun Duheng and other teachers of the Five Thunder Institute, Master Jiang Weishan of the Weaponry Institute of Bai Hu Mountain, Master Ke Weixi of Toujian Mountain, and now Ren Wushi, the teacher. All the teachers he followed to learn the Dharma along the way taught him earnestly.

Outsiders say he is a genius, but without these good teachers, although a genius is still a genius, he will inevitably walk slower, and even take some detours.

He bowed deeply to Ren Wushi,

"I obey Ren's teachings."

Ren Wushi nodded with a smile.

————

The next day.

It was another early start, and he arrived at Bai Hu Mountain at the beginning of the Mao hour.

He was relatively familiar with the Inspection Mansion of Bai Hu Mountain. Among the two divisions and two institutes, he was half a disciple of the Weaponry Institute, often went to the Puppet Institute to visit, had simple dealings with the Inspection Division, and was not familiar with the Inspection Division at all.

Today he went straight to the Inspection Division he was least familiar with.

So he specifically got up early to avoid finding the wrong way and delaying the time.

The Inspection and Inspection Divisions in the Inspection Mansion, like the Yingyuan Mansion of Shuji Mountain, all have to sit in the office. According to the rules in the mountain, you have to arrive before the end of the Mao hour and the beginning of the Chen hour to sign in.

The Inspection Division is in the deepest part of the Inspection Mansion, a deep courtyard, dark and heavy.

There were people on duty in front of the gate. Cheng Xinzhan knew this was the duty shift, but he got up a bit early, and finding the Inspection Division was relatively smooth. At this time, it was not even a quarter of the Mao hour, so he waited at the door.

However, as soon as he walked near the gate, the person on duty recognized him and told him that the Mountain Master and the Division Master were waiting for him inside.

Cheng Xinzhan was a bit surprised. Why so early? It was already past summer and into autumn, and the sky was still dim.

Cheng Xinzhan walked into the courtyard, but found that there were already many people inside. The disciples coming and going were all silent, but they were walking very fast, looking very busy.

It was very similar to the scene when Cheng Xinzhan first entered the Yingyuan Mansion.

These disciples of the Inspection Division all had the Bi'an embroidered on their Daoist robes. This Bi'an divine beast also pursed its lips tightly, only its eyes shining brightly.

These people saw Cheng Xinzhan come in, they should all know the news, and looked at him curiously.

There was also a person who took the initiative to lead Cheng Xinzhan inside, but didn't say a word along the way.

And what puzzled him most was that such a large courtyard, gray walls and black tiles were fine, why were the lights in the courtyard so dim, with a little orange-yellow shining through the lanterns, like the flickering incense ash in a dilapidated mountain temple.

Is this the Inspection Mansion or the Underworld?

All the way to a room in the deepest part, the person leading the way stopped at the door and signaled Cheng Xinzhan to go in.

This room was very strange, with a door hole, but no wooden door installed on the door hole.

Anyone coming and going in the courtyard could see the situation in the room. Of course, the people in the room could also see the situation outside.

He nodded in thanks, then stepped in, and found that this room was also dark, dark enough to make people unable to see the whole picture.

But this should be a study, or an office. A table was placed facing the door hole, full of files, and there was a green lamp on the table.

Two people were standing in front of the table at this moment.

One person he had seen before, not tall, but burly, with a square face. It was Gong Weijian, the Mountain Master of Bai Hu Mountain.

The other person had drooping eyebrows and hanging eyes, a long face and a narrow forehead, with a few sparse whiskers under his chin. He had never seen him before.

Cheng Xinzhan stepped forward two steps and saluted,

"Seen Mountain Master Gong, seen this Daoist."

Gong Weijian nodded and introduced on his behalf,

"This is the Division Master of the Inspection Division, Ma Jingyi. This is Cheng Xinzhan."

Cheng Xinzhan immediately saluted Ma Jingyi again,

"Seen Division Master." Ma Jingyi nodded at Cheng Xinzhan, with a very small range, almost invisible, and didn't speak.

"Although the White Tiger Envoy has high authority, the appointment is decided by the Sect Master and the various mountains. But the position is still set in the Inspection Division. In the future, the mistakes you point out outside must also be recorded in the book, reported to the Inspection Division for filing, and the annual salary is also issued by the Inspection Division."

Gong Weijian said.

Cheng Xinzhan said yes.

"The White Tiger Envoy has a special White Tiger Dharma robe and pen book, which is kept by Jingyi. Jingyi, give it to Xinzhan."

Ma Jingyi nodded imperceptibly again, without even lifting his eyelids. It seemed he was like this to everyone.

Ma Jingyi flipped his palm and turned out a wooden tray, on which was a silver bracelet, a vermilion pen, and a book with white paper and black cover.

Cheng Xinzhan looked at it, but didn't see the Dharma robe?

"Put on the bracelet, put it on your left hand."

Gong Weijian said.

!

Cheng Xinzhan nodded and picked up the bracelet.

This bracelet was extremely heavy, ice-cold to the touch, looking like silver, with a pattern of a white tiger chasing the wind carved on it.

He put the bracelet on his left wrist. A brilliant light flashed on the bracelet, wrapping Cheng Xinzhan's whole body. After the brilliance dissipated, he found that his original Daoist robe had changed.

He was originally wearing one of the standard Daoist robes of Sanqing Mountain, a lake-blue Daoist robe. The patterns on it were unified throughout the sect: on the chest was a mountain mist diagram, three high mountains, clouds and mist, and on the back was a Post-Heaven Taiji Eight Trigrams diagram. Besides that, on his left chest in front of the heart mansion was a miniature red dragon. This was the cloud carriage "Dragon Carriage". Although he rarely used "Dragon Carriage" to travel since he could step on the air, he had kept this cloud.

But now, the base color of his Dharma robe seemed to have been deepened, changing from lake-blue to dark cyan. The red dragon on the left chest and the Eight Trigrams on the back were still there, but the mountain mist diagram on the chest had become a white tiger diagram with claws and teeth.

And the most miraculous thing was that if you looked at the white tiger on the robe, you would find that this white tiger was moving, as if it was about to leap out and choose someone to eat.

Gong Weijian looked at Cheng Xinzhan and nodded with a smile,

"Not to mention anything else, young people look better in the White Tiger Dharma robe, not showing old age."

Subsequently, he pointed to the remaining pen book and said,

"This is your inspection pen book. Everyone in the Inspection Division has one, but yours is extra thick. As a White Tiger Envoy, whenever you find anyone or anything that corrupts the sect style or hinders the sect atmosphere, you can face-to-face point out their mistakes and record them in the book. If there is any dispute or dissatisfaction, you can bring them to the Inspection Division for public debate. If there is any oral obedience but no change, the sect has its own punishment."

Cheng Xinzhan picked up the pen book.

"Wear this bracelet on your right hand, and the Dharma robe will not appear. Wear it on your left hand, and the White Tiger Dharma robe will appear. Wearing the White Tiger Dharma robe and holding the pen book is the White Tiger Envoy. In Sanqing Mountain, those who are questioned must stop and explain, or not accept public debate, or listen to training and rectification. There is no third way. If anyone ignores the White Tiger Envoy, it is a violation of sect rules, and the Inspection Mansion will come forward to lock them up."

Cheng Xinzhan looked down at the pen book in his hand and the Dharma robe on his body, feeling the weight of it.

He looked at the dim sky outside the door and the people coming and going in the courtyard, then looked at Gong Weijian and Ma Jingyi, steadied his mind, and asked,

"Division Ma Sizhu, may I ask, according to the rules in the mountain, those who sit in the office should arrive at the end of the Mao hour and the beginning of the You hour. That is, arrive at the office before eight quarters of the Mao hour. Why is it not even a quarter of the Mao hour now, and the Inspection Division is already bustling? Division Ma Sizhu, did you privately change the rules of the mountain gate and order the fellow disciples in the division to arrive at the office early?"

Cheng Xinzhan's voice was very clear.

It was also very loud in the quiet Inspection Division.

It was so loud that the people walking in the courtyard heard it, so the courtyard became even quieter.

Ma Jingyi finally lifted his eyelids, as if this action was very strenuous for him. He looked at Cheng Xinzhan's face, then looked at the white tiger on Cheng Xinzhan's chest, straightened his face, and answered,

"Yes."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, started to turn the book to the first page, and then wrote on the blank paper,

"Ming Year 432, July 5th, a quarter of the Mao hour, questioning the Division Master of the Inspection Division of the Inspection Mansion of Bai Hu Mountain, Ma Jingyi,

The recording is as follows:

..."

"According to sect rules, Mount Sanqing operates on the master-disciple transmission of Dharma, where disciples respect and listen to their masters. The authority of any administrative office is only valid for official business and only during official hours. As far as I know, these fellow disciples in the department are not all your disciples. So, may I ask, Director Ma, when you ordered your fellow disciples to arrive at the office early, was that said during official hours, or outside of them?"

Ma Jingyi was silent for a while and said,

"I don't remember."

Cheng Xinzhan shook his head,

"Division Ma Sizhu, you are a great cultivator in the Golden Core Realm, how can you not remember? Just now Mountain Master Gong told me that those who are questioned by the White Tiger Envoy must stop and explain, or not accept public debate, or listen to training and rectification. Is lying the third way?"

Ma Jingyi was silent for a while and said,

"During official hours."

Cheng Xinzhan said,

"During official hours, you can only assign official business. The office hours of various offices in the sect are set by several Sect Masters and are not within your authority. You violated the sect rules."

"I remembered wrong, it seems to be outside official hours."

"Outside official hours, you have no right to instruct fellow disciples in the division. You still violated the sect rules."

Ma Jingyi was silent again.

"I ask you again, in the face of the White Tiger Envoy's questioning, you lied first, and then were ambiguous and changed your tune. Is this despising the White Tiger Envoy?"

Ma Jingyi shook his head and answered quickly,

"No."

"Then is it because the current White Tiger Envoy is young and weak, and you look down on him in your heart, so your attitude is frivolous?"

Ma Jingyi was silent for a while, then nodded.

"Please answer in words."

"Yes."

Cheng Xinzhan recorded it truthfully and asked again,

"The office of the Inspection Division is dim, and there are no lights at night. What is the reason? Is it intended to create a low and depressing atmosphere to intimidate the fellow disciples in the division or the fellow disciples who come here for public debate?"

Ma Jingyi's cheeks were squirming, and the sound of grinding teeth could be heard clearly in the room. He really didn't expect that this young man who had just put on the White Tiger Dharma robe would break the internal affairs of the Inspection Division and ask them in public.

Cheng Xinzhan saw that Ma Jingyi didn't answer for a long time, just clenched his fists and bit his teeth, so he urged,

"Division Ma Sizhu, please answer."

Ma Jingyi nodded with difficulty and said,

"Yes."

Cheng Xinzhan also nodded and said to Ma Jingyi,

"Division Ma Sizhu, there are many questions about you, such as whether you abused the official power of the office, whether you ordered late retirement, but I won't ask these in detail. Naturally, fellow disciples from the Inspection Division will come to question you later. Please don't treat them like you treated me."

After speaking, Cheng Xinzhan no longer looked at Ma Jingyi, turned a new page in the book in his hand, and wrote,

"Continuing the previous text, questioning the Mountain Master of Bai Hu Mountain, Gong Weijian,

The recording is as follows:

..."

After writing, he turned to look at Gong Weijian, the Mountain Master of Bai Hu Mountain, and asked sternly,

"Mountain Master Gong, Division Ma Sizhu tampered with official hours. Did you know about it as the Mountain Master of Bai Hu Mountain and the Mansion Master of the Inspection Mansion?"

Gong Weijian looked at the overly young White Tiger Envoy in front of him and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He thought:

Yes, how could the immortal be wrong? It was in vain that this group of people argued with the Sect Master for a long time.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 159 =====