Chapter 481

"Brother Xiaoyuan, Feng Xionglin has arrived."

"Good, I'll be out immediately."

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan had entered the training ground and busied himself until now.

At this moment, on the altar before the youth, there were two auxiliary pits on the left and right; one contained the golden body of a Bodhisattva, and the other contained a bronze mirror.

Currently, Li Zhuiyuan had just set their placement positions; next, he still had to connect and integrate these two ritual objects with the training ground itself before they could truly exert their efficacy.

Fortunately, when renovating the training ground last time, Li Zhuiyuan had reserved space for future upgrades during the initial design phase; otherwise, he would have had to tear it down and rebuild.

Yet even so, this kind of "overlay" operation was a high-difficulty, precision task.

The youth walked to the water vat, dampened a towel, wiped the sweat from his face, then opened the restriction and walked out of the training ground to go with Tan Wenbin to welcome Feng Xionglin.

The proper etiquette had to be observed; after all, the man had dug up his own ancestors to use as a gift.

The small truck was parked at the front of the path, and Feng Xionglin was using the moonlight to size up the surrounding environment.

If not for the ghost messenger Zhang Li guiding him from the passenger seat, he likely would have driven the car straight into that peach forest invisible to ordinary people.

He hadn't expected that the true residence of the two Long Wang gates would actually be in such an ordinary place; perhaps, this was the true "great hermit."

Or perhaps, there was some great opportunity and great fortune here?

Feng Xionglin rubbed his bald head, and upon seeing Li Zhuiyuan and the others walking over from the front, he immediately reined in the exploration and scrutiny in his eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Thank you for your hard work."

Feng Xionglin smiled: "Senior is too polite."

Li Zhuiyuan perceived the weakness in Feng Xionglin's aura, which meant he had suffered heavy injuries.

So much time had passed since that wave in the small hell; during this period, Li Zhuiyuan had even led Tan Wenbin and the others to finish two projects and hold meetings, and Feng Xionglin had a large amount of merit to squander, so his previous injuries definitely should have healed long ago; it was impossible for them to have lasted until now.

Therefore, these must be new injuries suffered while digging up the corpses, and moreover, they were inflicted by the Feng family themselves.

Every generation of Lamp-Lighters, before lighting the lamp, would undergo a contractual division with their own inherited power; if they subsequently wanted to obtain assistance from that inherited power, the power would suffer karmic backlash.

Dividing resources and ritual objects, like Chen Xiyuan did by opening a separate cave dwelling in the Five Fingers Mountain region, was the norm, but he had never heard of anyone dividing up their ancestors' remains along with them.

Even if Feng Xionglin knew this was a heaven-sent deal, he couldn't go back and discuss it straightforwardly with his family; he hadn't undergone a second lamp-lighting.

Therefore, in order to avoid or minimize this karmic backlash, he could only play the role of a "thief," a thief who came to steal corpses.

He couldn't have a tacit understanding; he had to make his family unable to see his true identity—this was truly risking his life.

In fact, he had indeed almost died, dying in his own family's ancestral grave, reporting to his ancestors ahead of schedule.

However, he did not deliberately pull his clothes open to reveal the terrifying wounds on his body; this was a deal where his side was already profiting immensely, so it wasn't appropriate to play the victim during the transaction.

Li Zhuiyuan: "First, pay your respects to your elders."

Feng Xionglin nodded with a smile and said straightforwardly: "Right, let's inspect the goods first."

Runsheng, who had followed behind, exerted force to lift, and Li Zhuiyuan stepped onto the truck bed.

Feng Xionglin personally undid the seals and then opened the chains, opening all three coffins one by one.

The Feng family members were treasures from head to toe.

At this moment, the three corpses lying in the coffins, two men and one woman, were all "aged vintages."

This showed that Feng Xionglin hadn't used "defective goods" of low vintage to fool him.

"Senior, this is my grand-aunt..."

Feng Xionglin began to introduce them seriously; he had even brought the tombstones along, which was equivalent to labeling the raw materials and production dates.

The three corpses were not as lifelike as they had been in life, yet they were not dehydrated or shriveled, presenting a metallic luster of two blacks and one silver.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Your elders' appearances remain as they were."

Feng Xionglin nodded; he was satisfied with the inspection.

Tan Wenbin brought over an incense burner, and Li Zhuiyuan held the incense, flicked his little finger to snap the incense in half, performed a half-bow, and finally inserted the incense into the burner.

Seeing this, Feng Xionglin put away the smile on his face and followed the youth in bowing.

After paying respects, Li Zhuiyuan handed a notebook to Feng Xionglin.

Feng Xionglin was stunned for a moment, then reached out to take it.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, feeling somewhat incredulous—it was just... given?

Li Zhuiyuan: "Open it and take a look."

Feng Xionglin: "Senior, there's no rush."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I've looked at it, and you must look at it too; only then is it fair."

Feng Xionglin opened the notebook; the cover was an ordinary notebook, but the pages were of high quality. There was no text on them, but rather paintings. Feng Xionglin only tried to immerse himself in them slightly before immediately feeling a dynamic rhyme within, which resonated with the Feng family's fundamental art that he had learned.

"Hoo..."

He immediately closed the notebook. He had only looked at the first page, and having just grasped that first page, the effect was already so obvious. It was the real deal, and its value was even greater than he had anticipated. This notebook could correct and elevate the Feng family's fundamental art.

Feng Xionglin: "Many thanks, Senior!"

Such a straightforward trading style left Feng Xionglin deeply shocked; the "eighty-one tribulations" he had anticipated were all skipped, and he had directly achieved the desired result.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I actually don't like others calling me Senior."

Feng Xionglin tentatively called out: "Brother Xiaoyuan?"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded in response.

Feng Xionglin took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. Tonight was truly, damn it, satisfying and enjoyable.

Tan Wenbin signaled for Runsheng to lift two of the coffins, while he himself lifted one, sending the three remains to the training ground. Lin Shu You was left where he was.

Li Zhuiyuan said to Feng Xionglin: "There is nothing to do for now, so I won't keep you."

The notebook had already been given; what Feng Xionglin wanted to do most now was definitely to find a quiet place to heal his wounds while in seclusion, striving to achieve a new breakthrough before the next wave arrived.

Most importantly, Luo Xiaoyu could help set up formations in the village; keeping Feng Xionglin here would only help with farming.

Feng Xionglin didn't act coy, bowed and said: "Brother Xiaoyuan, whenever you have any business, Xionglin is at your command."

After speaking, Feng Xionglin opened the car door, preparing to get in and leave.

Li Zhuiyuan: "I'm not keeping you, but there's no need to leave so urgently."

Feng Xionglin: "Please enlighten me, Brother Xiaoyuan."

Li Zhuiyuan: "You should at least see the old lady of the house and light a stick of incense."

Feng Xionglin blinked hard: "It should be so, but the hour is late, and Xionglin dares not disturb the old lady's rest."

Li Zhuiyuan: "There are few guests in the house, and the old lady is waiting for you."

Feng Xionglin immediately said: "My sin, my sin. Please lead the way, Brother Xiaoyuan; there is no reason for an elder to wait for a junior."

Liu Yumei naturally wouldn't wait specifically for Feng Xionglin, but after Feng Xionglin delivered the "goods," A Li had to get up.

Li Zhuiyuan had mentioned it to Grandma Liu during the day; might as well just meet.

The door to the east room was opened, and A Li, dressed and groomed, walked out. She was draped in a purple velvet cloak; it was cold and windy outside, but the training ground was warm, making it convenient to take off.

Feng Xionglin was no longer a stranger to A Li, but at this moment, he still had to bow again. A Li nodded in response and turned to walk toward the training ground first.

Deep breaths, continuous deep breaths. After a long while, Feng Xionglin finally gathered his courage and walked into the east room.

Liu Yumei sat on a chair, wearing her usual everyday clothes.

The old lady no longer needed to rely on external things to bolster herself. When Feng Xionglin walked in, she only looked up once, which brought pressure to this young elite of the Feng family.

Feng Xionglin first performed the Feng family bow solemnly. After finishing, he knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Yumei like an ordinary junior.

"May the old lady be well and enjoy long-lasting fortune."

This set of actions wasn't for flattery; it was indeed from the heart. The Feng family wasn't the Long Wang family, and the stories he had heard since childhood were definitely centered on the successive Dragon Kings. To this generation of young people, Liu Yumei was equivalent to a character in a story.

Liu Yumei: "That silly guy in my family, I often say he's a block of wood with his qi gate opened on his forehead, but that's something that can't be helped. A martial artist still has to be meticulous and focused to be pure enough.

Your mind is too heavy, and too detailed."

Feng Xionglin, kneeling on the ground, dared not deny it and took the initiative to nod in admission.

Liu Yumei: "Being smart has never been a bad thing. In this world, no one will deliberately seek to become stupid. But the smarter a person is, the more they should learn to be transparent; otherwise, it's easy to be harmed by one's own wisdom, damaging the physique that is most important to a martial artist.

The Feng family is indeed unique in the martial arts world in terms of self-polishing, but no matter how finely one polishes the muscles, bones, skin, and internal organs, there is ultimately a limit. The further up the path goes, the harder it is to walk.

Read more books, see more scenery, cultivate your qi, and use qi to move your body; only then can you achieve harmony of spirit and form, and be broad-minded and healthy."

Feng Xionglin kowtowed again: "Thank you, old lady, for your guidance and instruction."

If what he had obtained from the notebook was at the level of technique, then what the old lady had just said was a supplement to the Dao. If one hadn't reached a certain height, one would only think the other party was deliberately mocking or lecturing oneself. Only after entering this threshold did one know the other party was pointing out one's state of mind.

Feng Xionglin stood up and went to light incense for the spirit tablets on the offering table.

After lighting the incense, he bowed to Liu Yumei:

"Old lady, please rest. This junior will take his leave."

Liu Yumei waved her hand.

Feng Xionglin backed out of the east room.

He looked up at the starry sky, feeling quite a lot of emotion in his heart.

"Brother Xiaoyuan, I'll be going first. Please stay."

Li Zhuiyuan made a gesture of seeing a guest out.

Feng Xionglin went down to the dam, got into the car, and just as he started it, he saw Tan Wenbin walking toward here carrying a bag.

"Brother Tan, does Brother Xiaoyuan have any other instructions?"

Tan Wenbin threw the bag in his hand through the car window and said:

"Herbs grown at home, a small token of my heart. Heal your wounds well."

After flicking away a cigarette butt, Tan Wenbin walked back.

Feng Xionglin sat in the car, first biting the cigarette, then rubbing his two fingernails to create sparks to light it.

A mouthful of smoke was slowly puffed out from his nostrils, and he picked up an oil-stained rag from the dashboard, "creak, creak" wiping his bald head.

Feng Xionglin smiled.

The most powerful way to win people's hearts in this world is when you know they have no need to win yours.

Reversing, turning around, and driving back to the village road entrance, Feng Xionglin slowed down and asked the figure under the pavilion:

"Still not resting?"

Zhang Li: "My lord, have a safe journey."

Feng Xionglin: "Is there anyone else tonight?"

Zhang Li only bowed to see him off.

Feng Xionglin honked the horn: "Forget it, I won't ask. Leaving, see you again!"

After the small truck drove far away, Zhang Li stood up straight again; he still had to wait for Lord Luo Xiaoyu tonight.

Tan Wenbin returned to the training ground.

Brother Xiaoyuan was at the altar, testing the formation.

Runsheng and Lin Shu You, under A Li's direction, were dismantling the remains of the three Feng family members.

Their group had all crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, so naturally, they wouldn't be afraid of corpses, but the scene of A Li, in such an exquisite and dignified manner, holding a charcoal pencil there and signaling to A You how to cut, still made people feel somewhat surprised.

Tan Wenbin washed his hands and joined in.

This busyness lasted the whole night.

A Li's side had already initially processed the raw materials.

At this moment, Runsheng was using a Yellow River shovel to polish bone fragments, Lin Shu You was using a golden mace to pound liver and gallbladder, and Tan Wenbin was threading needles for human tendons.

A Li was conducting a new round of remaking for the three sets of talisman armor.

Last time in the Ghost Street, limited by the talisman armor's load-bearing capacity, the two generals of increase and decrease hadn't been able to exert their full strength after receiving the sacrifice.

After this remaking, the two of them wouldn't have to be cheerleaders anymore and could return to the stage.

A Li also didn't practice martial arts, but her blood porcelain bottle could summon melee-type evil spirits; this set of new talisman armor was mainly to facilitate liberating Li Zhuiyuan.

"Hum... humming... humming... humming!"

The training ground formation operated.

It seemed as if the sound of sutra chanting rang out all around, and even more gentle Buddha light shone down.

The first reaction of everyone who had been busy all night was that the fatigue on their bodies had diminished a lot.

The blood porcelain bottle that A Li had placed in the training ground began to shake; the girl turned her head to look at it, and it quieted down.

Runsheng rubbed his neck somewhat uncomfortably, but soon adapted.

Tan Wenbin sniffed; the resentment in his body was somewhat suppressed at this moment.

This was still the effect before Brother Xiaoyuan had officially activated the Bodhisattva golden body; it was just the basic influence brought by the golden body after being embedded in the training ground.

Immediately following, rays of light and shadow emerged, condensing into figures, either practicing martial arts, performing techniques, or guiding formations.

This was the function of the bronze mirror; in the future, when conducting teaching, the teaching medium would no longer be limited to wooden dummies and could possess richer changes.

Li Zhuiyuan spoke: "In the previous wave, I came into contact with so many Lamp-Lighters and observed their various fighting styles and methods.

They just weren't as strong as you in absolute strength, but in terms of experience and technique, they were actually superior to you.

I will try to simulate them one by one; you will suppress your strength to the same level or one level lower than them to engage in combat with them.

In short, adjust your state and prepare for class."

"Understood!"

"Understood!"

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked down from the altar.

A Li continued her work while looking at the youth.

The youth's complexion was somewhat pale; he had been doing high-intensity mental work all night, his energy could handle it, but his body was under a burden.

Li Zhuiyuan understood and went to get a can of Jianlibao.

A Li withdrew her gaze.

Li Zhuiyuan took a sip of the drink,

and asked:

"The sky is already bright, where is Luo Xiaoyu?"

Luo Xiaoyu had lost contact.