Chapter 91

In a bamboo house, people were discussing the Dao again.

Outside the door, on a fallen tree trunk, two young-looking Daoists sat side by side.

The fox also lay on the tree trunk, resting her head on Lin Jue's lap. Lin Jue lowered his head, flipping through the fox's fur, pretending to look for lice. The fox had no choice but to blink her eyes, which were clear and ignorant; she didn't know what he was doing, but she didn't want to object either.

The junior sister pretended her legs were sore, stretched them out, and tapped them with both hands. After tapping for a while, she drew her long sword to observe if there was any rust.

In fact, both of them had pricked up their ears.

"These energies of heaven and earth are mostly in famous mountains and great rivers. Therefore, if you want to cultivate quickly, you must cultivate in these famous mountains and great rivers. We know of a few nearby deep mountains. However, speaking of which, it is not very good to cultivate in only one place; you must change often."

"So that's how it is! I was wondering why, as I cultivated, everything was clearly smooth and without error, and my magical power was deeper, but my cultivation progress was getting slower and slower! Looking at it this way, we Daoists who cultivate the Lingfa of heaven and earth cannot be confined to one place and must often walk between famous mountains and great rivers?"

"That is the principle."

"Are there any famous mountains around the capital?"

"Naturally, there are Yushan and Fengshan. Yushan is widely known, while fewer people know about Fengshan."

"Thank you for your guidance, Daoist master!"

"Why say these things..."

This group of people was talking about the Lingfa of heaven and earth and the Dao of mountains and rivers.

However, stones from other hills can serve to polish the jade of this one, and besides, spiritual energy and Lingfa have commonalities, so listening to them is also beneficial. Places suitable for the Lingfa of heaven and earth are also good for cultivating Yin-Yang Lingfa. Not to mention this, even ordinary people living there would be cultivating their character and refining their sentiments.

"It's getting late. I'm not staying on the mountain and have to go down to the village at the foot of the mountain to stay. I'll come back tomorrow to ask for your guidance, Daoist master..."

It sounded like they had finished speaking.

Lin Jue and the junior sister looked at each other.

One with a calm expression, the other with a solemn face, taking advantage of the fact that the people in the house hadn't come out yet, the two stood up simultaneously with great tacit understanding, without hesitation, and walked into the distance.

From the left came the voice of a young Daoist:

"As the saying goes, the transformation of all things has no constant form, and the variation of people has no fixed body..."

From the right came the voice of an old Daoist:

"What the earth carries, between the six directions, within the four seas, illuminated by the sun and moon, governed by the stars, recorded by the four seasons, and summarized by the Tai Sui—the things born of the gods have different forms, some short-lived and some long-lived, all of which are cultivation. Yet only the sage can understand all the principles within, and if one can understand some, one can attain the true Dao..."

This place was truly lively.

It was simply a large-scale holy land for cultivation exchange, and this kind of exchange was often very casual, not confined to any topic, venue, or form.

Lin Jue had never seen such a scene, and he also felt that it was only right for cultivators of the Lingfa Sect like himself, Daoists between mountains and rivers, to communicate with each other in this way.

The two listened constantly, with a strong sense of stealth.

But in fact, what if they listened openly? It was just for fun.

The junior sister thought it was fun.

Lin Jue accompanied her to play.

Mist began to rise, and the mountain forest produced smoke.

There were stone steps on the path, bamboo forests on both sides, and many stone lamp posts, all lit up.

The further down they went, the more wandering Daoists there were. Besides some extraordinary people from the martial arts world, there were also some martial artists.

They saw a few martial artists sitting together drinking wine ahead.

"This long sword of mine was originally unremarkable, just a good sword forged by a skilled old craftsman. But years ago, when there were disasters and bandits in my hometown, I used it to cut off the heads of over a hundred mountain bandits. From then on, every time at the transition between morning and evening, in a daze, I could always see some blood energy circling the blade, but when I looked closely, there was none..."

A sturdy martial artist boasted, his mouth full of wine:

"Until last year, when I used it to kill a mountain demon, the blade became two liang heavier out of thin air. It dances with the wind, and cutting ghosts is just like cutting people; with one slash, it breaks hands and feet."

Between his words, there was a bit of the heroic spirit of "a general boasting of his precious sword, whose merit lies in killing many."

After speaking, he raised the sword to swing it, and sure enough, the blade wind was biting.

Lin Jue had heard stories like this.

When the junior sister heard and saw this, she lowered her head and looked at the long sword she had captured.

The man put away the sword, sat down, and continued to brag.

Not far away, there was movement again.

By the time the junior sister shifted her gaze from her sword, she found that her senior brother had already walked toward that side, and the fox had also followed, having already turned her body toward that direction, and seeing she hadn't moved, she turned back to look at her.

"!"

The junior sister's expression tightened, and she hurriedly stepped forward to follow.

There was a group of people there, quite a few in number.

The two walked to the edge and found a gap to look in. In the middle was a middle-aged sturdy man dressed in hemp clothes, and beside him were a few young martial artists.

Only hearing the sturdy man in hemp clothes laugh:

"Since I, Shao, obtained this 'Mountain God Protection Method' from Snake Mountain thirty years ago, I have cultivated it to perfection. If I use my ability, it is three parts harder than the hardest stone in the world. If you can hurt me even a little with your martial arts, I will give you two liang of silver!"

Lin Jue became interested and leaned over to look.

Several martial artists clearly didn't believe it.

"Senior, don't talk big. If I slash with this sword, it would be one thing if it bled, but if it breaks an arm or a leg, the gods who have come to eat incense and receive offerings at this grand ritual might blame us."

"Hahahaha!"

The sturdy man in hemp clothes laughed heroically:

"If it were thirty years ago, I, Shao, would also fear knives. After all, even if it were a stone, it would chip if slashed by a knife. If you were the few masters rarely seen in the martial arts world, holding a divine weapon, I, Shao, would fear you a little. However, for you few, let alone your cultivation, even if your cultivation were up to par, these ordinary iron knives and swords couldn't hurt me at all even if they were broken."

Several martial artists looked at each other.

Lin Jue was also interested.

It sounded like some kind of protective method among the five elements.

Mountain God Protection...

It was more like Earth Element.

However, he had heard before that there were masters who practiced sword and blade techniques to the point of divinity, one sword could split gold and stone, one blade could break a millstone, and there were also masters of archery who could shoot ordinary arrows into mountain rocks.

The most famous was the story of the general in ancient times—

The general went out hunting at night. The light was dim, and he mistook a rock for a crouching tiger. He drew his bow and shot an arrow, focusing his spirit, and the arrow sank into the rock. When he went over and saw it was a rock, he was greatly surprised, but after knowing it was a rock, no matter how he shot, he couldn't shoot into it anymore.

There were more stories like this in this world.

As expected, when the few martial artists heard this, they felt both surprised and disbelieving, and all held their weapons to try.

"Let's agree first! If you can't hurt me, hehe, you all have to punish yourselves with a cup!"

"We will punish ourselves!"

"Let me exert my power!"

The sturdy man in hemp clothes took a deep breath, holding his breath and focusing his spirit.

In this instant, Lin Jue saw the circulation of the five energies from him, which was the trace of the guiding method in the cultivation of Qi.

In the next instant, the sturdy man in hemp clothes, from the neck down, had all turned into stone texture. His whole body looked like a stone sculpture, but it was very smooth, looking like the texture of a pebble or marble.

"To talk to you all, I won't change my head. You all don't slash at my head; just slash at my body!"

"Really slash?"

"Go ahead!"

"Offense taken!"

A tall and thin martial artist hissed as he drew the knife and sword from his waist. Looking at the sturdy man in hemp clothes who had turned into a stone sculpture, his eyes shone with strange light, but he didn't hesitate and stabbed with one sword.

This sword was exerted with full strength!

It wasn't just using strength from the hand, but exerting force from the feet, twisting the legs and hips, transporting the power of the lower body to the upper body, and then twisting the waist and swinging the shoulders, all in one go!

All the strength of his body was transported to his shoulders, and his arm only stabilized the long sword, serving as the transmission of this whole-body power—clearly, he was also a good hand who had practiced swordsmanship for many years. This sword was stabbed straight and swiftly, without any loss of power, all gathered at the tip of the sword, stabbing straight at the shoulder of the sturdy man in hemp clothes.

"Ding!"

A crisp sound came out.

"Oh no!"

The sturdy man in hemp clothes pretended to be surprised, but then grinned:

"Forgot to take off my clothes!"

The tip of the sword didn't go in at all.

The martial artist was startled.

Another martial artist was changed.

This time it was someone using a knife. The sturdy man in hemp clothes returned to human form, rolled up his sleeves, turned into a stone sculpture again, and let him slash.

This martial artist still exerted his full strength.

"Clang!"

The long knife broke in response.

"Oh no!"

The sturdy man in hemp clothes was surprised again, but smiled: "Little brother lost a knife. Although this knife is poor, I'm afraid it cost two or three liang of silver?"

Several martial artists all tried it.

Even the two martial artists behind, knowing they couldn't hurt him, were surprised by this kind of magic that didn't often appear in the martial arts world, and curiously wanted to try it.

Sure enough, none of them could hurt him.

Several martial artists had to bow repeatedly, but they only offered a few compliments, honestly admitted defeat, and drank a bowl of wine. Some even smiled and bowed, saying they got a bowl of wine for nothing.

Lin Jue's eyes flickered, and he looked at the junior sister again, but couldn't help saying:

"Senior, may I try?"

The eyes of many people looked over at once.

"You?"

The sturdy man in hemp clothes looked at him. Seeing that although he carried an iron sword, he didn't look like a martial artist, but was wearing a Daoist robe, he guessed he was a Daoist, and his eyes lit up. However, seeing his young face and that he didn't seem very old, his spirit returned to normal.

"Are you a Daoist?"

"A Daoist from the Fuqiu Peak of Yishan."

"Do you have true transmission? Do you know magic?"

"I know a little."

"What magic do you use?"

"I don't have any magic that can break your technique, Senior; I just want to broaden my knowledge," Lin Jue guessed his purpose.

"It's fine. I've also met martial artists who know magic," the sturdy man in hemp clothes said. "If I transform into mountain stone, Mountain God Protection, I am invulnerable to knives and guns, water and fire. I have blocked the fire of Daoists, the lightning strikes, the poison dragon stabs of insidious Daoists, and the golden light fingers of monks. You can try it; consider it an exchange."

"Thank you, Senior!"

"If you lose, just drink a bowl of wine!"

"Okay!"

Lin Jue walked into the crowd.

The sturdy man in hemp clothes exerted his Qi, and his torso became a stone sculpture.

"Senior, are you practicing the guiding method?"

"Good insight! You really have ability!"

"You are too kind..."

Lin Jue reached out and touched the stone. It was no different from ordinary hard stone, and he felt nothing in his heart, which meant the ancient book had no reaction.

"I will use my palm."

"Not using a sword?"

"My ability to use a sword is far inferior to the few before me."

"As you wish!"

Lin Jue didn't say much more, just gathered some pure Yang spiritual power in his hand and patted him.

"Slap..."

A crisp sound, and his palm went numb.

Lin Jue immediately felt the attainments of this person in this technique—

Although this person had not practiced Lingfa and only had half of the Qi-nourishing method, he could not have much cultivation, but he had practiced this technique bitterly all his life, and I am afraid he had reached the realm of a master.

He wanted to penetrate his magical power, and although he was very restrained, this magical power was blocked by more than ninety percent, and at most a little bit penetrated. And he seemed to have strong resistance to this pure Yang power.

It was indeed a good skill.

"You really have some ability!" The sturdy man in hemp clothes spoke first, "It made me feel warm!"

"Senior's magic is profound; I am ashamed of my inferiority."

Lin Jue said this, unable to help showing a look of regret.

There was no such feeling in his heart.

Thinking about it, this Senior's magic was cast on himself and not on him, and when he was running it, Lin Jue couldn't see the operating principle of this magic, so naturally, it couldn't trigger the ancient book's reaction.

"Which Daoist are you from again?"

"Returning to Senior, Fuqiu Temple of Yishan."

"Haha! Nothing more than that!" The sturdy man in hemp clothes laughed heroically, "Drink, drink!"

It was originally just a casual remark when he was in high spirits to boost his own heroic spirit and take pleasure, but he didn't expect that after he finished speaking, a young girl wearing a Daoist robe and carrying a sword stood in front of him.

"What? Little girl? Do you want to play too?"

Even less did he expect that the young Daoist was drinking wine, and when he turned his head to glance, he was greatly shocked.

"Junior sister! No!"

It actually made the sturdy man in hemp clothes stunned.