[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-book-of-strange-tales":3,"chapter-the-book-of-strange-tales-the-book-of-strange-tales-chapter-25":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Book of Strange Tales",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2317305,4532,"Chapter 25: The Method of Wood Passage","the-book-of-strange-tales-chapter-25",25,"\u003Cp>His fingers touched the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ahead was the solid yet not cold sensation of wood, smoothed by lacquer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue widened his eyes, not daring to blink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t entirely to steal the technique—rather, the spell itself was wondrous and intriguing, especially for him. To any ordinary person in this world, such an experience would surely hold immense allure, yet most never encountered spirits or ghosts, and even if they did, they feared them, unable to persuade spirits to grant their requests or risk their safety in their hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without danger, few could resist the urge to experience passing through a wooden wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Lin Jue had extraordinary eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his sight, the wall’s qi flowed in intricate patterns, forming something mysterious—then suddenly, the spiritual luster of that qi flowed outside the wall, making the entire surface turn ethereal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sensation in his fingers became strangely altered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if the wall had changed, becoming like water or air, passable—or as if his own fingers and arm had become part of the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue’s finger slipped into the wooden wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Lin Jue immediately felt that familiar strange sensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tree spirit’s force did not cease; slowly pulling him, it moved from his fingertips to his palm, gradually drawing in half his forearm into the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feeling was icy and viscous, utterly strange, profoundly mysterious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you let go now, your arm will be stuck in the wood. I’ve heard some spirit sorcerers have no other talent—they trick people this way to harm them. So when you go elsewhere, don’t easily agree to let anyone pull you into a wall, or into water or earth either—they may not let you out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve learned.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Slowly pull your hand out.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue slowly withdrew his hand; only after it was fully free did he release the branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flexed his fingers, looked down at his hand—no abnormality—and touched the wall ahead; the sensation was unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This feeling was truly miraculous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marvelous, marvelous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Lin Jue was fairly certain—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ancient book had reacted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s the difference between the human cultivation method of ‘Wood Passage’ and the power you’ve just demonstrated?” Lin Jue asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not big, not small,” came the tree spirit’s voice from within the wall. “In all things under heaven, even within one category, techniques may number in the thousands, yet the Dao remains singular. Others say spirits and monsters originally walked ahead of human cultivators—human cultivators likely observed our plant spirits’ abilities and gradually devised similar techniques.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why do you know so much?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t know—once, all the spirits here secretly venerated a deity. Though no one has heard word of that Lady in many years, we still maintain contact.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Spirit matters are not for me to discuss with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, of course,” Lin Jue nodded. “I’m merely astonished—you who can’t leave home know so much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I could leave, I’d learn all this in a year. But since I can’t, I’ve spent decades to learn only this much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re already exceedingly learned.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue spoke both flatteringly and sincerely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat back on the nearby bed, adjusted the oil lamp wick, then let the flame sway as he continued asking: “Are there many spirits and ghosts here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not many, but some exist. Few in the city, though a few live among humans like people—though I won’t say who. Outside the city, in the mountains and wastelands, there are more. But since this isn’t remote or desolate, and there’s been no recent war, and it’s close to Qiyun Mountain, even wild spirits and ghosts here are rarely extremely violent or rampant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So Qiyun Mountain is truly powerful?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course. Qiyun Mountain is one of the Four Great Daoist Sacred Mountains. I don’t know the others, nor have I ever visited Qiyun Mountain myself—I only guess from legends that it must indeed be powerful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How so?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Some high-level spirit and ghost cultivators I know fear the name of Qiyun Mountain. Even the city’s City God seems connected to it. I’ve also heard rumors that some wicked spirits were defeated by Qiyun Mountain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here the tree spirit paused, then told him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That Yuanzhong boy sent a young man from the Wei family—he’s sitting right below, at the main gate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue thought a moment, then understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The house must still hold some valuables or precious items. Though Wei Yuanzhong had left, he couldn’t rest easy, so he sent a young family member to guard the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A natural thing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue said only that, feeling nothing of concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re quite carefree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It should be so,” Lin Jue replied indifferently, continuing to ask: “What about Yishan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yishan? Legends about Yishan are fewer, mainly because Qiyun Mountain venerates deities, while Yishan cultivates techniques. Also, Yishan is remote, rarely visited or exited—even I’ve heard little of it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Venerate deities? Cultivate techniques?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue sat in the Wei family’s upper room, utterly unafraid, chatting with the spirit, learning and absorbing knowledge about spirits and ghosts from this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tree spirit clearly understood human curiosity toward these mystical wonders, so it kept telling him what it knew, answering every question, explaining as they spoke—until Lin Jue finally understood why it knew so much despite never leaving home—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trees have no mouths, yet this one was remarkably talkative.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither Lin Jue nor the tree spirit noticed that outside the house, in the alleyway, besides the young Wei man sitting at the gate, a Daoist priest stood silently listening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The priest seemed fused with the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unaware, night passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue returned to the inn, opened the ancient book in his room—and as expected, another page had appeared:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Method of Wood Passage, one of the Five Elements Passage Techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heaven gives the Five Qi; Earth bears Yin and Yang—all can serve as pathways. Thus, Yin-Yang and the Five Elements each have passage techniques, sensed from Heaven and Earth, born of the Great Dao; practitioners move freely through all things. When mastered deeply, the technique harmonizes with all things; nothing can harm the practitioner, whether moving through metal and stone or walking through water and fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To learn the Five Elements Passage Techniques, one must resonate with the Five Elements, harmonize with them. Only those attuned may practice; those filled with scattered thoughts cannot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only those attuned may practice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is a special talent required?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or must one, like with the Fire-Aversion Art, sense the spiritual luster of fire? If someone cannot sense the spiritual luster of wood, who has never liked plants since childhood, can they not learn it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue frowned, guessing, and reached out to pinch the page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, words echoed in his mind:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of the Five Elements Passage Techniques, Earth Passage is most commonly used and most dangerous; Water Passage is next in commonality and danger, yet still useful; Wood Passage is less so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Method of Wood Passage originated among plant spirits. Cultivation requires closeness to wood and plants, and a Five Elements talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beginners may pass through living wood; further cultivation allows passage through dead wood. The advanced may pull others into plants and hide themselves within thinner, oddly shaped, or even smaller vegetation. Legends say the fully accomplished can move by means of interwoven roots and touching branches—roots unbroken, branches dense—traveling a thousand li in a day; no wooden object in the world can harm them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Insufficient Five Elements talent prevents practice; inability to sense the spiritual luster of wood prevents practice. Those who casually cut trees or uproot living grass find it hard to reach high levels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When performing the technique, discard mental distractions as much as possible. If you cannot, you will fail to master it—and risk becoming stuck inside the wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merely hearing the introduction, Lin Jue sensed much that was mysterious and elusive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How does one become close to wood and plants?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And those who recklessly cut trees and pull up weeds—could they really be blocked from mastering this art? Was it because they lacked reverence for plants?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing further, the mystery grew even more ethereal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue half-understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the next several days, he remained in Danxun City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had originally planned to leave the next day—even after Wei Yuanzhong’s invitation, he intended to sleep one night and depart. But after chatting nearly all night with the tree spirit and learning the Method of Wood Passage, he could not ignore this debt. And since the spirit’s power still rested in the Wei family’s hands, Lin Jue stayed in Danxun City, waiting for them to retrieve the talisman from the Qingdimiao in Luosu County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, he was studying the Method of Wood Passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether regarding the technique itself, or the concepts of “becoming close to wood and plants” or “sensing the spiritual luster of wood,” there was no better teacher than a tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the greatest cultivators might not surpass it in this regard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five days later, outside the city, in the wasteland mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wei family had long followed the tree spirit’s instructions: all male servants had worked together to dig up the stump along with its root ball and soil, hired a cart, and exerted great effort to transport it to the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dug a hole, transplanted, covered with earth, watered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was done with utmost care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue lent a hand, then stood aside, watching closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If left like this—a stump with no branches or leaves—it would surely not survive. What remained depended on divine aid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the so-called Qingdi Talisman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Temples and statues of Qingdi were rare in the world. Years ago, in Luosu County, one of his few earthly statues had gathered dust. A destitute man, stranded in the wild, soaked by rain, suddenly saw the statue half-washed away and half-buried in mud, and felt his own fate mirrored in it. Moved, he dug it out, cleaned it, and placed it inside a nearby temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This act may have moved Qingdi—or Qingdi may have already wished to reappear and gather incense offerings—so he appeared in a dream, granting the man a divine talisman and teaching him to draw talismans, making him temple keeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this divine talisman, he set up an altar, performed rituals, and drew talismans to borrow Qingdi’s divine power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was said the temple keeper gradually became greedy: whenever someone requested a talisman, he demanded several taels of silver. Whether the Wei family feared the tree spirit’s revenge, sincerely repented, or feared their filial impiety becoming known—or punishment after death—their sincerity was clear, and they truly obtained a talisman from the temple keeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Lin Jue watched as they brought a bowl, burned the talisman, chanted prayers, and placed the ashes into water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gurgle...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if harmonizing with something, a strange reaction occurred—the talisman, once in water, did not extinguish but continued burning to ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wei family poured the water over the stump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue felt something, turned his head toward the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huuu...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a hot, silent summer day, a sudden cool breeze blew in from nowhere, as refreshing as spring, stirring the hair and robes of everyone, leaving the Wei family bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, turning back again—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without warning, a tiny sprout had appeared at the edge of the stump, and it grew rapidly, sprouting a slender shoot nearly a foot long, thin as a grass stem, which trembled in the wind and unfurled several tender leaves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue could not help but widen his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the Green Emperor and divine power truly exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How miraculous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, one must step out to gain such insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tender leaves still trembled in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jue stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems the elder has no further worries. Thank you for answering my questions these past days,” Lin Jue bowed deeply, “I shall take my leave now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he straightened up, several pieces of peach resin lay atop the stump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint voice seemed to urge him to take them, though he could not quite make out the words.\u003C\u002Fp>",2009,"2026-06-20T14:45:35.226Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","099ec4d9a7113acc733892882388d9d611c1e8025140802cbfb2bb3f7a9b4f4b","the-book-of-strange-tales-chapter-26","the-book-of-strange-tales-chapter-24",608,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-book-of-strange-tales-cover.jpg"]