Chapter 403

How could a Heaven-Man directly inherited from Wudang be a stutterer?

Not to mention that the Heaven-Man realm washes the marrow, even broken hands and feet can be reconnected, let alone a small stutter. Just speaking of Wudang's inheritance, it is impossible to cause any chronic illness in the body.

It's just that the mysterious image of the old Daoist all the way here had already been deeply engraved in Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu's hearts, and they had even begun to feel that people who cultivate the Dao were probably like this... but the old Daoist suddenly performed a pile of etiquette fluently and appropriately.

He could even distinguish that it was appropriate to bow to Zhu Zai first.

Because according to the rules and common sense, Zhu Zai's official position was higher, so bowing to him first was correct. And precisely because of this, the old Daoist skipping him first would seem disrespectful.

But the old Daoist could also see the relationship between Li Miao and Zhu Zai, so he skipped the official position and bowed in order of age, so as not to offend either Li Miao or Zhu Zai.

Saying so much, it's just one sentence—the old Daoist is very clear-headed.

And he is definitely not a person who has become stupid from cultivating the Dao; he is very smart and also understands human feelings and worldly wisdom. Although that appearance before couldn't be said to be a disguise, it was definitely not his true nature.

This is what Li Miao meant just now.

Because when he saw the old Daoist on Mount Song, he was in such a mysterious, difficult-to-communicate state, which made Li Miao not want to spar with him, and also avoided his appearance at the Moon-Viewing Banquet later.

The room was awkwardly silent for a long time, and Li Miao waved at Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu.

"Go rest, we'll talk after you wake up."

Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu were just about to say they weren't tired, but before the words left their mouths, suddenly their eyes blurred, their bodies swayed, and an uncontrollable fatigue surged up, instantly knocking these two Jianghu experts into swaying in place.

"When you were traveling, you used the Daoist's true energy, but your bodies were your own. If that means were so easy to use, why would I need to rush back to Shuntian first?"

Li Miao smiled.

"Go rest."

Gao Anyu fell headfirst onto Cao Hanyan's shoulder, Cao Hanyan supported him with difficulty, apologized to Li Miao, and took Gao Anyu out.

The Emperor looked at Li Miao expressionlessly, Li Miao gave him a wink, and he understood that his situation shouldn't be let the old Daoist know for the time being.

Anyway, the Son of Heaven didn't need to talk about any etiquette, and saying too much would lead to mistakes. So he nodded, didn't speak, and turned to leave.

Only the old Daoist, Li Miao, and Zhu Zai remained in the room.

"Sit."

Li Miao beckoned, inviting the old Daoist to sit down.

The three sat opposite each other, looking at each other.

After a while, the old Daoist slowly opened his mouth.

"It wasn't intentional to deceive the lord before, it was really..."

Li Miao waved his hand.

"No matter, Wudang's tree is big and catches the wind, and it has survived to this day by knowing the measure and understanding advance and retreat. Since the Daoist can come today, the previous matters will be written off."

The old Daoist nodded in thanks.

And then Li Miao smiled and changed the subject.

"Daoist, I didn't cultivate Nature Cultivation before, so I couldn't see clearly... your realm is interesting."

"If I didn't misread, you are preparing to self-realize Jizhao? And you have already achieved some results, given time, you might not be able to achieve something."

Zhu Zai's hand stroking his beard paused, looking at the old Daoist.

The old Daoist was also silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

"Lord Li is indeed gifted, may I ask which Nature Cultivation path you have cultivated?"

"Xuanlan."

"In that case, is it Yingzhou's cultivation method?"

"No."

"That's good."

Li Miao frowned.

"What does the Daoist mean? What's wrong with cultivating Yingzhou's cultivation method?"

The old Daoist hesitated and didn't speak.

Li Miao leaned back on the chair, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and looked at the old Daoist with narrowed eyes.

With the set of etiquette the old Daoist used to enter the door, it was impossible for him to be someone who would "let slip." He wanted to tell Li Miao some things, but he had to pull it out, making Li Miao pay attention.

But Li Miao had no interest in arguing with him, just staring at him like that.

After a while, the old Daoist couldn't hold it anymore, sighed and said. "Zhang Sanfeng, Bodhidharma."

Li Miao frowned and said.

"What does that mean?"

The old Daoist said in a deep voice.

"Legend has it that Bodhidharma returned to the west with only one shoe, and Zhang Sanfeng flew up on a crane, what does the lord think?"

Li Miao raised his eyebrows and said.

"Just legendary stories."

The old Daoist nodded.

"That's right, legendary stories, that's all."

"The Martial Dao cannot communicate with the gods, and there is no immortal world or Western Heaven in this world to receive all living beings. If there really were, only Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng have gone up in a thousand years, wouldn't it be like a prison?"

Li Miao smiled.

"The Daoist's words don't sound like someone who cultivates the Dao. Forget it, Daoist, continue."

So the old Daoist continued in a deep voice.

"Therefore, whether it is Bodhidharma or Zhang Sanfeng, they have disappeared without a trace... this is also the question that Wudang, and Shaolin, have been seeking for these thousand years."

"This is also the reason why I am willing to come to Shuntian today and get involved in the court's struggle. It is also the reason why I confirmed with the lord just now whether you are cultivating Yingzhou's inheritance."

Li Miao frowned.

"How do you say that?"

The old Daoist said in a deep voice.

"He Shang Zhang Ren!"

Li Miao's twisting fingers paused, his gaze coldly sweeping over the old Daoist, and then meeting the shocked Zhu Zai.

He Shang Zhang Ren.

The last of the three words Ji Tianrui left for Li Miao, and the only clue that Li Miao hadn't found a correspondence for to this day. Yet he didn't expect it to be spoken by someone completely unrelated.

Li Miao sat up.

"Daoist might as well speak more clearly."

The old Daoist nodded.

"Actually, Wudang and Shaolin have always communicated with each other and cooperated a lot on this matter. Considering the time Bodhidharma disappeared, the first ones we considered were those figures who became famous a thousand years ago and were related to the talk of gods."

"Zheng Anqi Sheng is one of them."

Li Miao twisted his fingers and took over the conversation.

"But Zheng Anqi Sheng only inherited one path of Xuanlan, the realm of four paths combined, it's impossible to pose a threat to the two ancestors."

"But you still came, and you were still worried about whether I was cultivating Yingzhou's inheritance, so you suspect that the origin of Yingzhou's cultivation method is related to the disappearance of the two ancestors?"

The old Daoist nodded.

"That's right."

He reached into his bosom and took out an ancient book, sending it through the air to the table beside Li Miao, just happening to be opened to a certain page. This ancient book was preserved extremely well, other pages were very neat, only the opened page was yellowed and damaged, clearly having been flipped through countless times.

Li Miao looked over.

This book was called "Biographies of High Scholars."

The opened page was exactly about Zheng Anqi Sheng's matter.

And the first paragraph seemed to have been rubbed countless times by fingertips, the handwriting was blurred, and later it was traced again. Although there was only one sentence, it made Li Miao frown.

"Zheng Anqi Sheng, a man from Langya, studied under He Shang Zhang Ren, sold medicine by the sea, old and not an official, people of the time called him the Thousand-Year-Old Duke."

Li Miao's fingertips pointed at one place and read again.

"Studied under, He Shang Zhang Ren."

(End of chapter)