Chapter 32

Just then, the old Daoist spoke first.

"It is a matter of fate. I originally intended to take a disciple on this trip. I thought I had an affinity with Qingyao, but now that I think about it, before I found Qingyao, I had already heard of the little lay practitioner's affairs."

"When was that?"

Lin Jue could not help but feel very puzzled.

"After I finished dealing with the demon in Qiuru, on the way to Danxun, I met a lay practitioner surnamed Wei. He said there were demons in his home and invited me to take a look." The old Daoist said with a smile, "After I arrived in Danxun, I first visited the City God Temple to pay respects and inquire about the situation. I didn't want to get involved, but on the way, I happened to pass by, so I thought I would go and take a look."

Lin Jue found this very surprising.

"What day was that?"

"The day the little lay practitioner dealt with the demon."

"So that's how it was." Lin Jue was even more surprised, "That really is fate."

"The little lay practitioner truly has a bit of chivalry. You had only practiced the Qi-nourishing method for a few years, yet you dared to go to the Wei family to deal with a demon."

"It's complicated."

Lin Jue sighed before saying:

"It's all because that Wei Yuanzhong was quite cunning. He used the fact that I had beheaded two monster monkeys in Danxun as an excuse to talk to me and invite me to dinner. I thought—I thought he respected my courage. By the time I realized it, I had already eaten the food and drunk the wine, and my clothes had been taken away by him to be washed. If I didn't agree, I wouldn't have been able to save face.

"Secondly, I had already seen demons and ghosts in the village, and I had seen them on the road while seeking the Dao. Not to mention that I relied on a burst of courage to turn danger into safety, I also relied on that courage to remain calm and composed. This courage cannot be lost.

"Moreover, his elder brother had done me a favor by lending me a blade.

"Finally, I also wanted to see a monster."

"You do have some courage." The old Daoist asked again, "Then why did you dare to behead that monster monkey outside the city?"

"That monster monkey damaged my book satchel and luggage; it infuriated me."

"Would you risk danger just for a book satchel and luggage?"

"The Daoist does not know, but my family is poor. The satchel and the books inside were all gifts from others, and the water container was made by my uncle's own hands. If they were damaged by those monster monkeys and I didn't retaliate... come to think of it, it's nothing, but I truly couldn't calm my heart! Besides, there was a martial artist with me, so why not?"

"You do have a bit of the wanderer's spirit." The old Daoist shook his head, "Do you know that I heard your name even before that?"

"Hmm?"

"Two days before that, I was traveling along the official road and passed through a wild bamboo forest. I stayed overnight at a temple with some merchants and heard an interesting story."

The old Daoist said with a smile.

The young girl beside him widened her eyes, glancing at Lin Jue.

"I heard that one night a while ago, a little scholar on the road repelled demons and ghosts and returned a merchant's lost mule. The monks in the temple, considering him brave and kind-hearted, invited him to stay alone in the attic. The monster in the attic also considered him brave and kind-hearted, so it invited him to chat all night and entrusted him with its remains and some money. They thought he was a man of his word, but to their surprise, the next day they discovered that although they had only asked the scholar to take a portion of the money as travel expenses—a gift of gratitude—the scholar had taken it all, leaving nothing behind."

"I had my reasons! Didn't their families go back to find them?"

Lin Jue frowned, puzzled.

"So those two ghosts cursed in the temple for two nights, making it audible throughout the entire temple, and even wrote poems on the wall to scold him. But within two days, their families came to the door, saying they had already received the money the two ghosts had buried, explaining the reason why the scholar had done so, and dug up their remains to take them back. The temple often talks about this matter; I wonder what those two ghosts think." The old Daoist continued, "Before the little lay practitioner dug up all the money, did you never think you would be misunderstood?"

"I was in a hurry at the time. I dug it up secretly, fearing someone would discover me, and there wasn't much time to consider. Perhaps there were aspects I didn't consider well." Lin Jue said, "But I am at peace with myself."

"That peace of mind is truly rare."

The old Daoist smiled slightly, walking very slowly: "But what if their families had taken the money but not returned to move their remains?"

"That would be the fault of their families, not mine. Besides, this place is not far from Qiyun Mountain or my home. Life is long; I would eventually return to take another look. If their families hadn't come to move their remains, since I had taken the travel money they gifted, what would be the harm in personally sending them back?"

"So that's how it is..."

Lin Jue was still frowning, thinking about what the old Daoist was trying to say, and he had a rough guess in his heart.

"Seeking the immortals and asking about the Dao is inherently difficult, but wanting freedom and longevity is even harder." The old Daoist said with a sigh, looking at the little scholar before him as if seeing his former self.

"One must always seek it."

"Do you know that the methods of cultivation in this world can generally be divided into three categories?"

"I do not."

"The first is Talismans, the second is Alchemy, and the third is Spiritual Arts."

"Talismans, Alchemy, Spiritual Arts?"

Lin Jue silently noted these three terms.

"Qiyun Mountain is indeed a rare immortal mountain in the world, but it is one of the holy lands of the Talisman Sect."

"Please instruct me, Daoist."

"Freedom and longevity are two words: freedom, longevity." The old Daoist said, "The Talisman Sect worships divine beings; perhaps there is a possibility of being ranked among the immortals and extending one's life, but it is not free."

"Is it really like that..."

"The Alchemy Sect and the Spiritual Arts Sect are similar; both cultivate the self. Nowadays, the world is dominated by the Talisman Sect, and both the Alchemy Sect and the Spiritual Arts Sect are very much in decline. Among them, the Alchemy Sect is the oldest tradition, focusing on internal and external alchemy. Most of the time, they cultivate in the mountains, ignoring human affairs. The Spiritual Arts Sect is a later path of cultivation, earlier than the Talisman Sect but later than the Alchemy Sect. It also cultivates the self, but does not nourish internal alchemy or refine external alchemy; instead, it cultivates spiritual arts and practices supernatural techniques."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue knew how to choose.

"Where can one seek the Great Dao of Spiritual Arts?"

"It can be sought on Mount Yishan."

"Mount Yishan..."

Lin Jue paused, then continued to ask: "I wonder about the Fuqiu Peak where you are..."

"Mount Yishan, Fuqiu Peak, Fuqiu Temple; I am the temple master."

"..."

Lin Jue stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening.

Hearing this, how could he not know that this old Daoist wanted to take him as a disciple?

Perhaps when he was in Danxun County, he heard him talking to the tree demon and guessed that he was the person he had heard about in the temple two days prior; his two days were Lin Jue's ten-plus days.

Their meeting on the road yesterday, including going up the mountain together, whether intentional or accidental, now that Lin Jue thought about it, felt like a test from this old Daoist. This conversation was like an inquiry after the test.

As for Lin Jue's previous doubts, they had long since vanished with these words.

Qiyun Mountain was not suitable for him, and the master of a temple on Mount Yishan with true Daoist practice and true inheritance was right in front of him, yet he hadn't known it all along.

And this old Daoist had tested him—

This was a good thing.

A place that tests one's character when taking a disciple was enough to smooth over many of his worries about an unknown place of cultivation.

"I wish to take you as my master, Daoist! I wish to follow you to seek the immortals and ask about the Dao!" Lin Jue said.

"Have you thought it through?"

"I have!"

"Your natural talent is high; you have both character and wisdom, and your future achievements will be limitless. Your ambition is also high, but our Fuqiu Peak is not that high. My lifespan is not long, and I won't live for many more years. What you must know is that if you truly have a heart to seek the immortals and ask about the Way for longevity, I and Fuqiu Peak can at most send you on your way. Seeking the longevity you require at Fuqiu Peak is absolutely impossible."

"I will never regret it."

"Good, good, good! But then again, if you truly want to seek freedom and longevity, what Daoist temple in this world could contain you?"

The old Daoist smiled after saying this and continued to step forward: "Then follow me back to Fuqiu Peak on Mount Yishan. Once we reach the temple, the two of you will perform the grand master-disciple ceremony, and only then will you be considered to have entered my sect."

"Understood."

Lin Jue felt something indescribable in his heart for a moment.

Finally, he had a master, a place where he could come into contact with Daoist arts and supernatural techniques, and finally, he could stand in a place with a broader view to see what this world was really like.

He couldn't help but feel both expectant and nervous.

The old Daoist was named He Xianyu, with the Daoist name Daoist Yunhe.

The young girl was named Qingyao, from Liu Village in Qiuru County, and her surname was also Liu.

Lin Jue followed the old Daoist toward Mount Yishan. Since he was to be his disciple, he naturally shouldered the miscellaneous tasks of gathering firewood, making fires, fetching water, and asking for directions along the way; he would have had to do these things while traveling alone anyway.

The young girl did not speak much; she didn't look very old and appeared delicate and weak, yet she also did these things.

When Lin Jue gathered firewood, she gathered firewood; when Lin Jue made a fire, she watched the fire; when Lin Jue fetched water, she followed behind holding the water bag, seemingly unwilling to let Lin Jue do it alone, and seemingly competing with him to see who was more diligent, unwilling to be weaker than him.

Lin Jue often asked the old Daoist about cultivation.

The old Daoist had no airs and conversed as usual.

He learned that when the old Daoist went down the mountain, he had originally brought a disciple, first going to the Great Ritual at Qiyun Mountain, and then going alone to other prefectures to visit old friends he had made in his youth, only returning now.

He had originally intended to take a disciple along the way, but he hadn't expected to meet Lin Jue after taking in the little girl.

That evening, by the side of a wild mountain road.

Lin Jue sat cross-legged under an ancient tree.

In front of him was a pile of burnt-out campfire and several split bamboo tubes, inside which traces of cooked food could be faintly seen, indicating that the three of them had eaten a full meal.

The night was growing deep, and Lin Jue was not practicing the Qi-nourishing method, but rather using the shade of the tree to feel the spiritual resonance of Wood.

That piece of "Earth-Wood Essence" was tucked into his bosom.

It really worked; Lin Jue only had to carry it on his person, and it would constantly and naturally release the essence of Earth-Wood spiritual resonance. If he entered the state he often entered when nourishing Qi, he could also feel the profound spiritual resonance upon it—a kind of thickness and stability, and a kind of infinite vitality.

Between his breaths, he gradually smelled the woody fragrance coming from the ancient tree behind him. The night wind blew, and the leaves rustled, as if outlining the shape of the tree's branches and leaves.

With the old Daoist sitting beside him, Lin Jue naturally did not worry about demons or ghosts on the road.

He only knew that his "Wood Escape Technique" was likely about to have a beginning.

According to the old Daoist, these were all supernatural arts of the Spiritual Arts Sect.

He wondered what kind of supernatural powers Alchemy and Talismans were.

Unconsciously, his consciousness dimmed, and the night passed.

Waking up in the morning, the diligent young girl had already fetched water for them, and after washing up, they continued on their way.

Within two days, they were almost at Mount Yishan.

It was indeed remote here; the paths they walked had become small trails.

Daoist Yunhe led them through the dense forest, stood on a small slope, pointed to the distant mountains, and said to them: "That is Mount Yishan. In ancient times, the Red Emperor once refined alchemy here."

"The Red Emperor..."

"Do you see that mountain peak that looks like scissors? The one next to it is our Fuqiu Peak."

"I see it."

Lin Jue looked up and felt it was very high.