Chapter 36: Ascending the Mountain

Tao Ji muttered, “So many apricots—we need to hide some; Miaohe doesn’t know restraint, she’ll make herself sick eating too much.”

Xuan Miao walked at the back, watching Pan Yun, who carried a bamboo basket and walked silently among them.

Come to think of it, she’s even younger than Miaohe—she’s just a child too.

Xuan Miao’s heart softened; she reached into Pan Yun’s basket and pulled out a cloth bag filled with herbs.

Pan Yun turned around.

Xuan Miao said without expression, “I’ll take it.”

Pan Yun glanced at the bag she’d taken and said nothing.

Neither Tao Ji nor Xuan Miao carried light loads, especially Tao Ji—he’d put nearly all the heavy items in his own basket.

Following the winding mountain path upward, they entered the forest, then emerged again, climbing along the mountain’s edge; before they realized it, the sun above was obscured, the sky darkened, and rain seemed imminent.

A wind rose in the mountains, rustling the trees loudly; mist and clouds arose from nowhere, rolling upward with the wind…

Moisture filled the air; Pan Yun felt refreshed, and her cultivation method activated involuntarily.

The black cat perched on her shoulder couldn’t help lifting its head and mewing toward the valley beside them: “The spiritual energy here is incredibly dense.”

Pan Yun felt this trip had finally been worth it.

It leapt into her basket, settled comfortably, stretched its limbs, and mumbled, “You should’ve found a place like this to cultivate long ago. With your past-life memories, if you’d started cultivating here from birth, you’d be far stronger by now.”

Pan Yun: [From birth, crawl naked from Beijing all the way to Mount Sanqing? Did I attain the Diamond Body? No food, no water, just open my mouth to the northwest and suck in wind to survive?]

The black cat fell silent immediately.

After a while, having reviewed its thoughts internally, it resumed: “What about when you grew older? Your body was weak; once you could speak, you could’ve asked your parents for permission to leave home under the pretense of becoming a Daoist cultivator. You didn’t have to come to Mount Sanqing—since there are places like this across the land, there must be other blessed lands too.”

“Maybe there’s one right in Beijing. I think you’re just lazy and too attached to your family.”

Pan Yun sneered: [Why should I work so hard? All the spiritual energy I’ve gathered over eight years has been eaten by you—I’ve gotten nothing. Must I be an orphan? In my past life I was an orphan; now I have both parents alive—do I still have to choose to become one myself?]

The black cat dared not speak again.

Tao Ji suddenly turned around, shrank his neck, and asked, “Why did you sneer?”

Xuan Miao, following behind, stared thoughtfully at Pan Yun and the black cat, then said to Tao Ji, “Keep moving—the mountains grow dark quickly.”

“Oh.” Tao Ji glanced back at Pan Yun several times; seeing she’d returned to normal, he stopped paying attention.

His steps were light; despite carrying heavy loads up the mountain, he seemed to exert no effort at all.

As the three climbed higher, the mist thickened; dewdrops and droplets formed on their hair and skin.

Pan Yun followed closely behind Tao Ji, yet could still see only his hazy silhouette—evidence of how dense the fog had become.

In the haze, Tao Ji suddenly coughed lightly and began to sing: “The—traveler in the mountains—”

Pan Yun was startled by his sudden voice; she heard him continue: “Mountains swirl, clouds and mist arise…”

His voice struck the massive rocks beside them, rebounded, climbed upward with the mountain’s slope, passed through moss, grass, and pines rooted in the stone, then echoed throughout the valley.

“How many cultivate in this land of mist and cloud? A hundred years spent carving paths, hard to pass on…”

The sound settled upon Pan Yun, lingering around her; her internal spiritual energy surged violently. Not only through her nose and mouth, but every pore on her hands, neck, and body opened greedily to absorb the spiritual energy drifting around her.

Tao Ji sang in a calm, harmonious tone: “When merit is complete, spirit reaches the true path—”

Spiritual power flowed gently through her crown palace, leaving one-fiftieth of its essence there before sinking along the Small Heavenly Cycle into her dantian. The fatigue from climbing vanished; her slightly accelerated heartbeat calmed. When she came to her senses, she realized she had already reached the mountain’s mid-slope, near the summit.

She stopped in surprise and looked downward.

In the time of one song, had she climbed so far?

Xuan Miao halted to wait for her, not urging her, but letting her slowly comprehend.

Pan Yun had never seen such a technique—one that could silently shorten distance and… aid cultivation.

She asked the older Pan Xiaohei: [Is this “shrinking earth into inch”?]

Pan Xiaohei replied: [Sort of. Same category.]

Pan Yun was confused: [Singing?]

This was worlds apart from her understanding of cultivation techniques.

Pan Xiaohei said: “Fool, it’s not Tao Ji who cast the technique—it’s the deity.”

Pan Yun widened her eyes and blurted out, “Deity?”

“Aren’t you coming?” Tao Ji, ahead, noticed they’d stopped and turned back. “Hurry up—the Sanqing Temple is just ahead.”

Pan Yun gripped her basket straps and broke into a light run to catch up. “Tao Shixiong , sing that song again.”

Tao Ji beamed proudly: “Nice, right? I sing it best.”

“It’s beautiful, beautiful—teach me. I want to sing too.”

Xuan Miao followed silently. The path ahead widened, allowing two people to walk side by side with room to spare. Pan Yun squeezed beside Tao Ji; he nudged her inward and walked along the mountain’s edge. “You like singing? When we return to the temple, I’ll teach you.”

“Can’t you teach me while we walk?” Pan Yun said. “Walking only uses your legs, not your mouth.”

Tao Ji: “I’m afraid you’ll forget.”

“I have a good memory.”

This was the first time Pan Yun had treated him so kindly; Tao Ji didn’t want to keep refusing her, so he nodded. “Fine. I’ll start with the first line.”

Xuan Miao followed silently behind them, listening as Tao Ji repeated the song over and over. She turned her head toward the valley, utterly still.

Pan Yun learned it twice, sang it once herself—nothing changed. Her spiritual energy didn’t increase. Her heart ached like a cat’s claw. “Tao Shixiong , why when you sing this song do I feel something profound, as if my cultivation doubles?”

Tao Ji laughed heartily, first bowed respectfully to all four directions, then said: “Because the mountain deity likes it.”

Pan Yun: “Mountain deity?”

“Yes, the mountain deity. Come on—the temple’s right ahead.”

Pan Yun looked up and saw a flat area slightly higher ahead; through the thick mist, a structure faintly emerged. As they drew closer, she recognized it as a temple built of stone.

!. Du

The temple had two stories; incense sticks still smoldered halfway in the altar before it. She was about to ask more about the mountain deity when a figure burst out of the temple like a cannonball, racing straight toward Tao Ji.

Tao Ji extended a finger and pressed it against her forehead, halting her. “What are you running for?”

Pan Yun recognized her at once—it had to be Miaohe. She was truly round and plump, her face still chubby, her body sturdy, her large eyes sparkling as she stared at them, her face brimming with longing. “Master, did you bring me something tasty?”

Tao Ji sighed. “I did. First, greet your aunt.”

Miaohe immediately stood straight, bowed solemnly to Xuan Miao: “Aunt.”

Xuan Miao nodded. “Where’s your senior master?”

“Behind!” Miaohe spotted Pan Yun standing nearby, her eyes filled with curiosity. “Master, who’s this?”

Tao Ji hesitated how to introduce Pan Yun. He’d made her call him “aunt” on the journey, but becoming a disciple required mutual consent.

Neither his junior sister nor she herself seemed willing.

So… “This is a new little sister who just joined the temple. She’s younger than you—take good care of her.”

Miaohe nodded eagerly. “Of course! Of course!”

She rushed forward and seized Pan Yun’s hand. “Little sister, you’ll stay with me. Here, let me carry your basket.”

She eagerly began unstrapping the basket, then turned and locked eyes with the black cat inside.

She froze. Her mouth opened slightly; after a long pause, she whispered, “Wah—” then let go of the basket and cautiously reached to hug the cat.

“Mew—” Pan Xiaohei leapt down, stretched its body, then strolled calmly toward the temple.

Miaohe dashed after it. “Cat—!”

Tao Ji moved to stop her—Pan Xiaohei was Pan Yun’s treasure; on the journey, she hadn’t let anyone else touch it except him and Xuan Miao.

But Pan Yun didn’t mind. She grabbed Tao Ji’s arm and asked, “Tao Shixiong , you said the mountain deity—is it a real deity?”

“Of course it’s real,” Tao Ji was puzzled. “We’re in the mountains—what would dare impersonate a mountain deity?”

“No… I mean…” Pan Yun’s face flushed red; she hesitated before asking, “Does a deity truly exist in this world?”

Tao Ji: “…You’re cultivating Dao. You ask if deities exist? If there were no deities, how could your talismans be drawn or activated?”

“That’s just condensing spiritual power…”

“No,” Tao Ji said solemnly. “It’s invoking divine power. Whether talisman or charm, their efficacy comes from invoking divine power. Qi alone has form but no spirit—what use is your so-called spiritual energy if it lacks divine essence?”

He turned to Xuan Miao beside him. “Sister, you’re the best at talismans. This child’s gone astray—you must correct her.”

Xuan Miao had already noticed. That’s why she’d advised Pan Yun not to cultivate in the Prince’s mansion—wait until they returned to Sanqing Temple.

She didn’t understand Pan Yun’s method either; she hoped her senior brother could resolve the issue.

“There’s plenty of time. Let’s find our senior brother first.”

Their senior brother sat on a rock in the back courtyard, holding a basin, gazing at the sea of clouds while eating.

Seeing Tao Ji and Xuan Miao arrive with a child, he waved cheerfully. “You’re back? This is the Pan family’s child?”

He scrutinized Pan Yun; his smile faded. “Huh?” He grew serious. “How is it that such a young child already has such cultivation?”

Tao Ji said: “Senior brother, she’s impressive—she can hide within plum trees, knows arrays too. But her method… we don’t know who taught her. It feels strange, like she’s cultivated the wrong path.”

He chuckled, stroking his beard. “I think her disposition is excellent. Even if her method has flaws, she won’t stray far.”

Pan Yun immediately warmed to him and bowed directly: “Daochang.”

Today’s lucky number ends in 1. Screenshot as proof. Deadline: before next chapter update.

Today's lucky number is any number ending in 1, screenshot as proof, deadline before the next chapter update

(End of chapter)