Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The inn was a crowded place, it was a place filled with worldly desires and temptations.
People from all walks of life congregated at the inn, and it would be a good training ground for Shen Lian to pick up interpersonal skills. That was precisely the intention of Old Master Shen.
Midnight,
Bright moon,
Phoenix tree.
There was no phoenix on the Phoenix tree, only the moon.
A crescent moon hung high in the sky, and at the same time, there was a full moon attached to one of the thick branches of the Phoenix tree.
That was not a full moon, it was a human head.
The human head was bright and shiny, reflecting moonlight in the night, which was why it looked like a full moon.
A youth stood next to him.
The wind breezed past his thin body, and his body wavered slightly, but he stood still as if his legs were rooted deeply in the ground.
The shadows swayed to the wind, as though they were green bamboos.
Finally, Shen Lian exhaled and a gust of white wind followed, it was long and dense.
“This Qigong technique, known as Shenzu Scripture, is one of the most refined Kung Fu in Jianghu. It was practiced by my Founding Master when he was searching for immortal Celestials. ” Ling Chongxiao remarked when Shen Lian finally exhaled.
Shen Lian had learned the oral incantation from the man in green prior to this and had been practicing accordingly.
The ‘zu’ in Shenzu Scripture refers not to feet, but to the completeness and sufficiency of spirit and Qi.
“The opponent could attack as brutally as he wanted, but all I needed was just a full breath of essential Qi.”
The incantation of the Qigong was extremely easy to understand. It was as easy to understand as it was hard to master. The first step to success required a person to be rid of worldly intentions, which would then allow said person to feel his innate essential Qi.
It might sound easy, but how many people in this world could attain spiritual calmness through concentration, what more to rid one’s mind of worldly intentions.
Even an enlightened monk with years of experience in cultivation could not just enter into a state of spiritual calmness as and when they wanted.
However, this was not a challenge to Shen Lian.
He cultivated according to instructions and readjusted his breathing tempo. He had nothing weighing on his mind; he was merely in the midst of the breeze and the moon.
Even though Ling Chongxiao already knew that Shen Lian had a lot of potentials, he could not help but to admit that he was indeed, prodigious.
Shen Lian knew that he was not a prodigy. This was credited to the book of “The Mastery of Senses”.
He had entered into a state of spiritual calmness through concentration and cultivated accordingly. He felt the essential Qi within him and manipulated it. Nurturing it within his meridians, it was as easy as moving his limbs.
He was not particularly strong, and his meridians were slightly congested. However, through the fine control he had over his essential Qi, he managed to unblocked part of the acupoints on the Shaoyin Heart Meridian of Hand on his first try.
Ling Chongxiao did not know that Shen Lian had entered into a state of spiritual calmness. He saw Shen Lian’s long exhalation and immediately knew that he was a rare talent in martial arts.
“I still don’t know what is your sect called?” Shen Lian heard Ling Chongxiao, asked in curiosity.
“Since you have asked, I will tell you that my Founding Master used to be a scholar, and he did not do well in the Imperial Exams. In devastation, he turned his attention to search for immortality through Daoism. Celestialism has always been detached from the society; it is not something that normal humans could casually encounter. One year, the Founding Master caught wind that the Celestials were dwelling beyond the sea. He took off alone and got caught in a storm at sea.
The Founding Master survived. He held onto a piece of plank and drifted along with the waves. He ended up on a beach.
The beach was part of an island with a huge surface area.
In the middle, there was a mountain surrounded by smoke and mist.
The Founding Master was impressed by the grandeur of the mountain. After a full day of rest on the beach, he walked towards the mountain. When he was at the foot of the mountain, he saw a great cliff extending all the way up to the sky, the word “Qing Xuan” was carved on it.
The surface of the great cliff was smooth, he had no idea how anyone managed to carve the two words on it.
Each stroke of the words was at least thirty meters long, with the width of one to two meters. They looked natural, and there was no sign that the words were carved on.
The Founding Master thought if it was not the work of a Celestial, how else did such wondrous and impressive sight come by?
The Founding Master walked along the mountain, the mountain was too big, and the forest was dense. He ended up losing his way and filling his stomach with any fruits that he could find. Luckily, he did not run into any vicious beasts or poisonous snakes.
“But in the end, he met an immortal celestial, and was gifted some secret texts?” Shen Lian smiled.
The plot was predictable, and something that Shen Lian came across often.
“I wish it was that simple. The Founding Master heard the sound of flute, and was glad that he could finally meet another human. Being lost for such a long time in the forest, he could not even find the great cliff anymore.
He did not expect to meet with the immortals anymore. All he wanted was to escape the forest.
The moonlight was bright that night, but it was cold in the forest. Even though the Founding Master had dabbled in Kung Fu, he was not in the state where he could stay unaffected by the cold and heat.
After hearing the sound of the flute, he walked towards the source of the sound.
The tune was strange, and it was not something that the Founding Master had heard before. It was low and relaxing, and almost ethereal.
He did not know how long had he been tracing the sound of the flute.
Then, he started to wonder. Even though he had not walked that far, but he was sure he at least walked a kilometer. Yet, the intensity of music remained the same as before; neither did it get closer nor did it get further.
It was as though the source of the sound was moving as he moved.
He picked up a scent; it was a scent of plum blossoms. As he took a few other steps, the two rows of trees flanking him were replaced by a plum tree.
Up ahead, there was a winding path covered with small green stones.
The sound of the flute was getting stronger. It sounded as though it was playing with the wind and was incredibly joyous.
The Founding Master got onto the path. The moonlight shone on the road of green stones, the light was sprinkling all over, and it looked like a stream of clear water.
The pleasant scent was refreshing; he felt the tiredness from before eased away.
It did not take long until he saw a huge plum tree. It was right in the middle of the path, and there was no telling how long has it been around. The branches were mostly empty. Like the night sky that was dotted by sparse stars, the branches were dotted sparsely by a few plum blossoms.
When he got nearer to the trunk of the plum tree, he noticed that there was a poem written on it.”
“What was the poem?” Shen Lian asked in curiosity. He found the story better than the usual Xianxia novels, and it was a lot more interesting.
The intriguing sound of the flute, the forest of plum trees, and the poem in the plum forest.
“The poem was ethereal.”
The moonlight shone deeply in Ling Chongxiao’s eyes, and he sang lowly;
“Chongyang of Mount Zhongnan, the world thought the Founding Master to be crazy.
The carefree days he lived, and the death freed him truly.
Accompanied by the clouds and the waters, befriend the void and emptiness,
Saw through the truth about the world, unlike the will of the masses.”
Shen Lian was shocked when he heard the line, “Accompanied by the clouds and the waters, befriend the void and emptiness”. It was not because of its ethereal quality, but that he had seen this before.
There was one year where he was bored out of his mind, and he was flipping through the poetry by Wang Chongyang. That particular line stuck with him.
Judging from his earlier readings, he did not expect Wang Chongyang or Quanzhen School to appear in this world. This was why he was so intrigued by it.
