Chapter 345: No Wonder Immortals Love Riding Cranes

"Xiao Shimei, we'll wait for you at Second Third Shixiong's place!"

Such a voice came from the blue sky, and the white heron could be seen flapping its wings leisurely, having already slowly risen and gone far away.

The Junior Xiao Shimei still held her head up, her expression dull.

Lowering her head again, she looked at her own legs, looked at the bundle she was carrying, and scratched her head, actually feeling that she seemed a bit silly.

Her gaze shifted, and a colorful civet cat beside her was also looking up at the sky.

"You're silly too!"

The Junior Xiao Shimei said to it.

There was no other way; she had to pick up the cat, stuff it into the bag, raise her hand to salute Luo Gong, Master Fan Tian, and the others beside her, and with a little force under her feet, she left like a gust of wind.

There were many people in the city, so she had to restrain herself a bit. Once she was out of the city, she let go of her walking, and she was truly as light as a swallow, with wind under her feet, and her speed was even faster than the white heron.

From time to time, she raised her head to look at the sky.

And lowered her head to distinguish the direction of the road.

The white heron didn't fly fast, but it was steady; its body was always on a straight line, and it wouldn't bump up and down. Even when it rose or lowered, it was still very gentle. Even when it was flapping its wings, it was as leisurely and gentle as a person watching from below, unhurried, and wouldn't cause large vibrations.

And this Friend Bai He, after getting to know Lin Jue, had eaten a lot of non-toxic medicinal dregs and had also drunk some spiritual liquid, and had obviously grown much larger than an ordinary white heron, almost catching up to a white crane. Its strength and intelligence were also far beyond ordinary white herons and white cranes, and it was already on the road to attaining the Dao.

Lin Jue and the fox, after becoming smaller, were very insignificant on its back, whether in weight or size.

After Lin Jue adapted slightly, he felt he was sitting on a platform that, although not very flat, could be considered spacious. Relying on the wall-walking technique he had just initiated, he didn't have to worry about falling off, and because it was very steady, it was much more comfortable and pleasant than he had originally thought.

It was just like his own fox at this time—

This little thing wasn't afraid at all; it had already walked to the edge of the white heron's body, poked its head down to look a few times, then turned back to look at him, and only then walked back to sit down, scratching its head with its hind legs.

It was as relaxed as if it were on the ground.

Lin Jue then slowly stood up.

"Whoosh..."

No matter how slowly the white heron flew, there was obvious wind in the air.

It was fine when sitting before, but as soon as he stood up, his clothes and hair were all blown by the wind.

Lin Jue faced the wind and walked slowly to the edge of the white heron, near the neck and wings, and looked down. The vast rivers and mountains for thousands of miles, the square ancient city, and the imperial palace in the middle were all in full view.

"So the capital looks like this."

Lin Jue simply sat down and watched quietly below.

The commoners walking in the streets and alleys, the children looking up at the white heron, the courtyard he lived in, the government office of the Ju Xian Fu, the Guanxing Palace, and even the Zhen Jian Gong outside the city, the Yushan and the Daoist temple on the mountain further away, all entered his eyes from another angle, forming a picture completely different from when he was on the ground.

The spring light accompanied by the spring breeze was pleasant and refreshing, and the high altitude brought a vast perspective, which made one's heart and mind open. The two combined to form a rare sense of freedom.

Clouds and mist passed by his side and slipped away.

It felt as if he were also an immortal.

"No wonder the immortals in stories all like riding cranes."

Lin Jue was naturally happy in his heart and couldn't help but think, when could he be like a real immortal, riding the clouds and mist away.

It was the good scenery of spring; outside the capital, countless scholars and elegant ladies were stepping on spring on the green mountains, drinking wine and chatting, chanting poems and composing couplets. The white heron flew leisurely not far from the mountain top; he didn't know if anyone felt moved by this and composed poems.

There were also children flying kites on the mountain; the white heron flying in the sky was almost level with the kites. When the children saw it, they pointed and shouted "Immortal Crane" loudly.

Seeing the Daoist walking on branches and water on the treetops and river surfaces of the mountain peaks, they also exclaimed that it was an immortal.

All the sounds reached Lin Jue's ears.

Two or three quarter-hours was a hundred miles of mountain and river scenery.

He set off at noon, and by the afternoon, he had already arrived at Langfeng County.

There was another important reason for this: Lin Jue was not familiar with the road from the capital to Langfeng County. Moreover, looking from the sky, even the places he was usually familiar with became strange and exotic, so he was even less familiar with it. Only the fox had pressed a paw print, which could distinguish a direction, but a long time had already passed.

He had to distinguish the direction and find the Daoist temple.

The white heron circled in the air a few times, and relying on a wisp of blue smoke, it finally found the Daoist temple in the deep mountains.

Immediately after, the white heron just spread its wings without moving and flew downward leisurely, straight into the Daoist temple. It was only when it was very close to the ground that it flapped its wings a few times.

"Brush..."

The pear tree in the Daoist temple was still withered, but suddenly welcoming the white heron on its branches, it trembled.

What was strange was that Second Third Shixiong's Daoist temple was so remote, yet in this New Year season, there were actually two pilgrims.

There were only pilgrims, no Daoists.

The two pilgrims had just walked out of the hall when a white heron suddenly flew down, and they couldn't help but turn their heads to look at the treetops.

It was a white heron, yet it looked like a white crane, pure white, unstained by dust, with a crown of feathers on its head, an elegant posture, standing on the treetop, yet it made a strange movement of shifting its body.

It inexplicably gave people a feeling of "letting the guest down."

Just like a horse with spirit making it convenient for its master to get down.

Immediately after, something that surprised them happened—

From the back of the white heron, a Daoist figure really came down; it couldn't be seen clearly, but immediately after, a white smoke rose, and a figure really landed in the smoke. When the smoke dissipated, it was indeed a young Daoist.

"This..."

Both of them were stunned, looking at each other.

This Daoist came down from the crane...

If this isn't an immortal, what is?

"Eh?"

But seeing the immortal looking at them, he seemed a bit surprised, then smiled and saluted them, opening his mouth to say:

"The two benefactors need not be surprised. I am the Junior Shidi of the owner of this Daoist temple. Knowing that this Daoist temple is built remotely and my Third Shixiong also likes quiet, I thought no pilgrims would come, so, haha, if I startled the two benefactors, this poor Daoist apologizes here." As soon as the two heard this, they were startled again and hurriedly returned the salute.

While bowing, they couldn't help but turn their heads and look at each other again.

It is true that this Daoist temple is built remotely, but people who love to drink wine will not stop going to buy wine just because the alley is too deep; real fine wine never fails to spread its reputation just because the alley is too deep. The same principle applies: real immortal experts with Dao attainments are mostly in the deep mountains, but they live in seclusion because of the deep mountains, and the deep mountains gain fame because of the immortals. Anyone who is sincere in seeking the Dao will not fail to visit the immortals just because the mountains are high and the road is long.

There were rumors throughout Langfeng County that an immortal expert lived in this Daoist temple, so even though it was indeed built remotely, people still came to offer incense during festivals.

It's just that there weren't many people.

But they didn't expect that when they came today, it was originally a leisurely heart, and they actually encountered an immortal visiting, and the immortal opened his mouth and actually said he was the Shidi of the owner of this Daoist temple.

They knew an immortal expert lived here, but they didn't know it was a real immortal who lived here.

The two exchanged glances and were about to speak when they suddenly heard a sentence:

"Not to be spoken of to outsiders."

Raising their heads again, the immortal had already turned and left.

A white fox followed him, jumping.

In looking through them one by one...

Walking to the back of the Daoist temple, the owner of the Daoist temple had already sensed his arrival and was standing at the door of the Alchemy Pavilion, watching him quietly.

That was a Daoist wearing an extremely loose Daoist robe, with wide sleeves; although he still looked young, his eyebrows and eyes already showed a clear middle-aged state, but his expression was as calm as ever.

"Third Shixiong, long time no see."

"Long time no see," Second Third Shixiong's calm expression remained unchanged. "How did you come?"

"Riding a white heron."

"White heron?"

Second Third Shixiong looked up at the sky.

"A newly learned magical art. If Third Shixiong is interested, I can also teach it to Third Shixiong, so that it will be more convenient for us to visit and gather in the future."

"Why did you suddenly come to find me?"

"Naturally, I missed Third Shixiong."

"Then why didn't you come during the New Year?"

"It was too cold during the New Year, my magical art hadn't reached home, and the timing wasn't right."

"Hm..."

Second Third Shixiong had always had a calm temperament; he nodded and didn't ask much, just looked behind him:

"Where is Xiao Shimei?"

"She should be right behind, she'll be here soon."

Just as he was speaking, the two pilgrims discussed for a moment and were about to go down the mountain when they saw another Daoist coming by stepping on treetops and bamboo branches, light as a flying bird, bringing a clear breeze, causing the forest to shake, and directly crossing the courtyard wall into the Daoist temple.

The two pilgrims were stunned again.

"She's here," Lin Jue smiled at Second Third Shixiong. "Third Shixiong must thank us. Anyway, as long as you hide in the Alchemy Pavilion, attracting a few more pilgrims won't disturb your peace, and instead, it can save you the trouble of going to the city to buy things or using things from the mountain to exchange for money."

"You're getting a bit like Old Three."

Second Third Shixiong glanced at him, shook his clothes, and walked out quickly.

In the backyard, the three of them met.

The Junior Xiao Shimei's cheeks were flushed, carrying a bundle, panting a little, but she seemed to enjoy it.

"Second Third Shixiong!"

As soon as the Junior Xiao Shimei saw Second Third Shixiong, she smiled and shouted. Seeing Lin Jue, she took off the bundle again and handed it to him, saying: "Third Shixiong, your luggage."

Lin Jue sensed the gaze Second Third Shixiong cast at him.

And he could only pretend not to see it, took the small bag, took the colorful civet out of it and threw it on the ground, and then took the Xiao Shimei's luggage out of the cloth bag and handed it back to her.

The colorful civet stretched.

The fox licked the fur on its chest.

"Third Shixiong, have you been well?" The Junior Xiao Shimei asked.

"Food and drink, everything as usual," Second Third Shixiong replied, glancing at Lin Jue. "I have heard quite a few rumors about 'Lin Zhenren' in the capital."

"Eh? It's spread here already!" The Junior Xiao Shimei was tired and hadn't caught her breath, but she seemed completely unaware, surprised as usual and answering as usual.

"The pilgrims said so," Second Third Shixiong said. "It seems that the two of you have made great progress in your Dao attainments."

"I am very diligent! And Third Shixiong found a Five Elements spiritual method suitable for me. I am now practicing the Five Elements spiritual method, and it is very powerful!" The Junior Xiao Shimei said, looking left and right, as if looking for something. "Third Shixiong, didn't you say in your letter that you wanted to take an apprentice? Where is the apprentice?"

"Didn't find a suitable one."

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

The Junior Xiao Shimei seemed a bit disappointed, and also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"You came to find me, you should have something to do, right?"

"I missed Third Shixiong!"

"You learned this from your Little Third Shixiong, right?"

"Yes," the Junior Xiao Shimei nodded, then said honestly, "Little Third Shixiong obtained the Great Yin-Yang Method, so he came to find all the Shixiongs."

"Hm?"

Second Third Shixiong stopped his footsteps immediately.

His usually calm expression also became solemn.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 346 =====