I use myths to create immortality

Chapter 85 84: The talent of a saint, passing the bamboo ridge, drinking muddy wine

This Chen Hai is a good person. He copied thousands of books, but he didn't realize any supernatural powers or Taoism. However, he possessed something more important than supernatural powers and Taoism.

The Sutra Library itself does not pass down any magical powers; what it has are just Taoist books, Taoist poems, classics, novels, geomancy maps, and insights into spiritual practice.

It is magical that these things can actually allow Chen Hai to integrate into one, and invisibly enhance his understanding.

It seems that after I return, I will have to immerse myself more in scriptures and books.

"The Taoist book says that there are saints and sages of great virtue, who may not be able to tie up a chicken or fight a soldier, but can still understand the secrets of the Tao, and their teachings can make plants and trees awaken their spirits and become spirits..."

"He is worshipped by thousands of saints; he sits on a golden lotus that falls from the sky and rises from the ground; a white ape offers fruit and a crane holds hazelnuts; he is not affected by war and is called a saint..."

"Junior brother, you have copied thousands of Buddhist scriptures and melted them into one. You have invisibly obtained the aura of saintliness. This is truly a great fate!" Ji Yuan praised.

Those who have made great contributions to the world and have done great deeds in ancient and modern times can be called saints.

Those who create grains and give life to living beings can be called saints.

Those who preach the Dharma and save the world can be called saints.

Strictly speaking, the immortals of the six religions opened up the way and spread the Dharma. They are also supreme saints and the leaders of the Hunyuan Sect.

Of course, Chen Hai could not reach this level, but he had a pure character and copied thousands of scriptures, and managed to cultivate a trace of saintly virtue.

This enhanced his understanding.

"Can I give you this holy aura?" Chen Hai looked at Ji Yuan and said.

"How can I possibly transfer this kind of thing to others? You got it yourself. Besides, it is of no use to me and may even be harmful." Ji Yuan chuckled.

The energy of Xuanhuang merit increases one's understanding, which is no worse than the energy of saintly virtue, but the uses are mysterious and different.

This kind of saintly aura comes from one's own inner clarity and sudden enlightenment. In fact, many top scholars and great Confucianists also have a little bit of it, but it is used for practicing Buddhism and is a consumable.

There are often rumors that in ancient times, there was a great scholar and sage who read thousands of books, had students all over the world and was surrounded by purple clouds. One day, he had the desire to leave the world and received the teachings from an immortal.

In one day, one can break through several levels, directly cultivate magical powers and spells, and fly into the sky and hide underground, but that kind of saintly spirit will also exhaust the foundation and will never disappear again.

Demons and foxes would seduce scholars and even sacrifice their bodies for them, just to plunder these things to practice their magic.

But what belongs to others is ultimately theirs, and if it doesn’t suit you, you will suffer from it sooner or later.

The Xuanhuang merit energy can transcend heaven and earth, and is a real long-term benefit to one's understanding. It is not a one-time consumption, so when it is displayed, it does not seem magical.

"How long can you fly with the sword at your current limit?" Ji Yuan asked.

The method of combining body and sword was an inspiration that Ji Yuan got from reading some sword-fighting novels in his previous life. The flying sword techniques in this life, such as flying or soaring in the clouds, mainly focused on controlling the sword to chop people, but not this kind of method.

"About a few hundred steps is the limit." Chen Hai thought.

This method of combining body and sword was extremely exhausting. He could only use it three times a day, each time taking several hundred steps.

If you take more, your body won’t be able to bear it.

But the speed is also fast, even better than Ji Yuan's full strength of controlling the wind.

The only defect is that it can only move short distances.

"Is it a thought?"

"No, I have to immerse myself in it for a long time before I can use it. The fastest preparation time will take at least a few breaths." Chen Hai told the truth without reservation.

"That's a pity, otherwise it would be considered a magical power." Ji Yuan also felt a little regretful.

Only when you can perform it by thinking can it be considered as supernatural power.

This is also the reason why supernatural powers can crush the mysterious skills and martial arts of gods and demons and transcend all laws.

No matter how powerful the spell is, one still needs to make gestures and regulate the breath before casting it.

Supernatural powers, even if only in their embryonic form, can be unleashed in an instant when the true seed of the Great Dao falls into the soul and primordial spirit.

With his supernatural powers at this level, he doesn’t even need mana to cast spells, but can directly mobilize the supreme power of heaven and earth.

This is also the fundamental reason why the mysterious skills of gods and demons can exist and even become popular. Not every Qigong practitioner has mysterious skills, but everyone can use a few weapons and martial arts routines, such as axes, halberds, hooks, swords, spears, and halberds.

If spells could be cast by thinking, Qigong practitioners would not need to practice weapons.

Many times, when faced with a sudden attack from the enemy at close range, there is no time or opportunity to make hand gestures and one can only block with weapons.

When the enemy is close to you and his martial arts and strength are far superior to yours, and his weapons are powerful, like the 'Ruyi Jingu Bang' and the 'Shangbaoqin Dingrak', which can instantly unleash a force of hundreds of thousands of pounds, no matter how powerful you are, you will basically be killed in one or two rounds, and be treated like a chicken.

If the enemy's martial arts skills are slightly higher, you can still find a way to get away and create some distance, and find three to five breaths of free time to chant spells and cast spells.

Unless one has supernatural powers like Ji Yuan who can summon the wind and rain, and in an instant the world changes coldly for thousands of miles and the invisible yellow sand rolls, it can be said that the mysterious skills and magic weapons are suppressed instantly.

In addition, magic weapons and magic tools can also be cast instantly, and of course they can also suppress the mysterious skills of gods and demons.

Regardless of whether they are qigong practitioners, demons, or monsters, when it comes to protecting oneself from enemies, the most important things are magic weapons, supernatural powers, magical weapons, magic instruments, special skills, martial arts, and spells.

The two were talking in the yard when Gu Lingmiao also came over.

"Sister Gu Ling, it's not a good idea to just waste time here. Why don't you take the spiritual objects to Beiyang first, and Chen Hai and I will attract the enemy in Ming?"

"Yes, Senior Sister, we can't just stay here until the enemy comes for a day, right? What if the enemy doesn't come for a hundred years, then..."

Before Chen Hai finished speaking, Gu Lingmiao waved her hand and said, "Of course I know, but I always feel uneasy, as if I was being stared at by a poisonous snake lurking in the dark, like a thorn in my back."

She was feeling hesitant and irritated, so she came to discuss the itinerary with Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan sat under the tree, sipping his tea: "You are so hesitant, aren't you wasting your time?"

It was a bit disrespectful to speak to a senior sister like this, but Gu Lingmiao didn't care. Instead, she asked, "Junior Brother Ji, what do you think..."

Chen Hai's mouth twitched slightly, he turned around, and sneered in his heart: "Senior brother is still awesome! Although Senior Sister Gu is proficient in magic and has been domineering and resolute in the past, she is a woman after all, and has no opinion at a critical moment. Senior brother is still the one who makes the decision for Teng Haifeng."

Ji Yuan's eyes glanced towards Caijie Ridge, hundreds of miles away from Caizhu City.

His sight seemed to be able to penetrate the layers of roofs and city walls, and see the person who was eyeing him in the dark over there.

"You and the other junior brothers take the 20,000 kilograms of spiritual sand and go first, take a detour and fly away, and rush to Beiyang as soon as possible."

"Junior Brother Chen and I, or just me alone, will hire a few carriages and set off in a big way to take the shortcut to Beiyang."

Gu Lingmiao asked: "Those people are not fools. If two groups suddenly appeared and went their separate ways, wouldn't they be suspicious? And if this happens, Junior Brother will be in danger."

"We want to make them confused. If they know that we have two groups of people, then they will only have three options: the best, the middle, and the worst."

"The worst option is to abandon Senior Sister and come to surround me. But this way, Senior Sister might be allowed to go to Beiyang. Then, Senior Sister can rely on the protection of the Xiao family in Beiyang to cultivate a magical weapon. Then they will have miscalculated."

"The middle strategy is to concentrate our forces and attack one side first. But as long as one side is attacked, the other side will definitely come to support. Obviously, they don't have enough strength to take us down, so they are hesitant to act. They can't possibly implement this middle strategy."

"Then the only best strategy is to split the troops into two groups. One group will use the weaker ones to contain the attack and prevent us from coming to support them. The other group will use all the strong ones to destroy our group first, then turn back and work together to destroy the other group."

Gu Lingmiao was surprised: "In that case, wouldn't that be exactly what they want?"

"Otherwise, they don't know the strength of Chen Hai and I, and they don't even know about the existence of the two of us in advance. If we split up, they will also split up. The enemy will be stronger when they gather together, and weaker when they split up."

Gu Lingmiao fell into deep thought: "Then...what if they choose the worst strategy and don't attack you, but come to surround me instead?"

"Otherwise, that would be the middle strategy. As long as you hold on for a while, Chen Hai and I can quickly pick you up."

"The most important thing is that you are very powerful. If they attack you first, they may not be able to take you down in a short time. Instead, you can hold them back while we come to support you."

"Only by attacking us who are weak first, they will be able to kill me and Chen Hai in a short time before you arrive, and then work together to kill you."

To most people, Ji Yuan's only claim to fame in the sect was that he escaped from Pei Lingming with his martial arts skills.

"Besides, there is no perfect plan in the world. Senior Sister, don't worry too much. Make a decision quickly."

"Brother, what a great idea!" Chen Hai was the first to praise.

"Then let's do as you say, but it will have to be modified a little bit." Gu Lingmiao said thoughtfully.

"Take half of the spiritual sand and half of the essence each way; this way, as long as one of us arrives first, we can use it as collateral to ask the Xiao family to help, or exchange it for the Red Crow Feather first."

This was quite appropriate, and Ji Yuan naturally had no objection.

The repairs were almost done and the plan had been decided. There was not much to stay in this small bamboo-picking town, so everyone packed their bags and set off immediately.

Gu Lingmiao and more than ten people directly raised the clouds and traveled 26,000 miles to the east, turning towards Beiyang.

Ji Yuan and his companion bought a few horse-drawn carriages, loaded them with straw, and drove them towards Caizhu Ridge.

On the winding mountain road of Caizhu Ridge, Ji Yuan, carrying two whips on his back, and Chen Hai, who was carrying a sword on his back and a wine gourd in his hand, each drove a carriage and walked in front and behind.

"Junior Brother Lingkun, why are you smiling all the way?"

"Hahaha, I was wondering if Senior Sister Ling Miao may have great Taoist power and powerful magic, but she is still a woman after all. She lost her own opinion at this critical moment."

Chen Hai sipped his wine, his handsome face flushed: "Brother, you are still awesome. We still have to have you in charge of Teng Haifeng."

"Heh..." Ji Yuan sneered: "Then you underestimate her."

The drunken Chen Hai was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"She came to us because she wanted us to switch places with Ming, but she couldn't tell us directly because it was extremely dangerous and we would have to be sacrificed if things went wrong."

"And she is confident that she can shake off the pursuers. At worst, she can abandon those ten fellow apprentices and go to Beiyang."

"What she hesitated about was how to persuade us to sacrifice. Not what to do. She has a stronger opinion than you." Ji Yuan shook his head and drove the carriage away.

"Ah! This..." Chen Hai was stunned.

Are people's hearts so sinister? "Of course, this is just my speculation, and the facts may not be so; but no matter what, the danger level here is higher than Lingmiao and the others, so you have to be careful."

Ji Yuan did not take Ling Miao's rivals Ling Che and others seriously, but it is always right to be cautious and not underestimate any enemy.

"Brother, you are right; but with your supernatural powers and martial arts, you are invincible; I have just mastered the swordsmanship, and I also want to kill a few people to try, so it doesn't matter if I kill a few people." Chen Hai changed his mind and said.

He felt that what Ji Yuan said made sense.

Gu Lingmiao was a woman, and she was as beautiful as a fairy. Without her cold-blooded and decisive tactics, she would have died without a burial place long ago. How could she have cultivated profound Taoism and gained a high position in the peak?

If such a person steps on a poisonous snake, he will chop his foot off without blinking an eye. He does not seem to be as hesitant and shy as a little girl.

But Chen Hai also thought of Ji Yuan’s idea.

He knew that Ji Yuan was very powerful, so powerful that he was not afraid of these conspiracies and tricks. Instead of dragging it out, it would be better to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

So Chen Hai said it would be a good opportunity to kill a few enemies along the way and practice his swordsmanship.

"Haha, okay, if you don't meet him, it's fine. But if you really meet someone so blind, I'll let you take action first." Ji Yuan replied.

"Brother, how far is it from Caizhu Ridge to Yangjing?"

Yangjing is the capital of the Beiyang Dynasty.

"The Caizhu Ridge is 7,200 miles wide. Going west through the 432-mile Caizhu Ancient Road, you will find Zhushan County of Beiyang State on the opposite side." Ji Yuan knew the geography of Zhongzhou like the back of his hand.

"Zhushan County has 38 counties and a radius of 28,000 miles. If you take the highway to the northwest for 3,100 miles, you will reach Yangjing, the imperial capital of Beiyang State, across Zhushan County."

"In other words, totaling up, there are still 3,532 miles?" Chen Hai asked.

"Yes; this is the nearest path. After Caizhu Ridge, it is flat and fertile, and the road is easy to walk on."

For them, traveling more than three thousand miles by horse carriage would be slow and take two months.

If you just walk, you can go faster. You can travel 800 miles a day, and you can reach the destination in about four days.

……

In a valley several dozen miles away from Caizhu City, a group of soldiers were also resting. At first glance, they were all dressed as Taoists, each carrying a weapon, and their faces were filled with murderous intent.

A dark cloud flew across the sky, landed on the ground, and transformed into the gloomy figure of Master Wu Yin.

"Senior Brother Wuyin, what's the situation?" Ling Che stood up and asked.

"They no longer went one after the other, but split into two groups and left the city..." Master Wuyin recounted what he had seen.

In fact, Ji Yuan and Chen Hai had been hiding all the way, but they were exposed when they entered Caizhu City.

Master Wuyin and others were not fools. When they saw two groups of Qi-refining practitioners entering the city one after the other, they naturally knew that they were one light and one dark.

"That's perfect! If the forces are divided, they will be weak. I think we should make a concerted effort to capture Lingbao Taoist's group first, and then go on to kill Gu Lingmiao!" A young woman in a thin shirt with wide sleeves and a golden hairpin on her head spoke.

Ji Yuan is also a well-known talent in the sect. He escaped from the fighting maniac Ling Ming and served as the deacon of the scripture review.

"Junior Sister Lingjue is right, but Taoist Lingbao has no other skills except martial arts and the wind-summoning magic, so he is easy to kill. On the contrary, Lingmiao's Wanli Feiyan Arrow is extremely powerful." The Taoist in yellow clothes with double hooks on his back spoke with a rough voice.

Of these two people, the one wearing the golden hairpin is Xue Lingjue, the master of Yujing Peak. She is as beautiful as Gu Lingmiao and is very skilled in the mysterious light illusion technique. She has no grudge against Gu Lingmiao, but is a cousin of Xue Lingche, so she accepted Lingche's invitation with a large sum of money.

The Taoist in yellow clothes with a short beard and double hooks on his back is Wen Lingyang, the master of Wugu Peak. His skills are not that great, but he has a magic weapon called "Mist Film" that can disperse fog for a hundred miles. He was also invited by Lingche.

In addition, there is a burly man with a green face and red hair. This man is the master of Mingshu Peak, Dong Lingshan. He is an extraordinary person who has cultivated the extraordinary skill [Heavenly Needle] since he was young and is also an extremely powerful and famous person.

Together with Master Wuyin, Xue Lingche who is proficient in Nine Dragon Fire Technique and swordsmanship, and hundreds of carefully selected cultivators from the Five Peaks, they constitute the entire force for this robbery.

Among them, Master Wuyin, with his vicious and violent personality, was chosen to be the leader, but the real caller was the organizer Xue Lingche.

"No! If it's as you two said, this is not safe..." Xue Lingche shook his head.

"What should we do then?" Dong Lingshan asked in a buzzing voice.

"In my opinion, they are in the light and we are in the dark, so why not..."

……

Bamboo picking ridge.

On both sides of the mountain path and on the cliffs, many ragged people were climbing rocks and cutting bamboo with axes in their hands.

Caizhuling is the place where Yue and Beiyang cut bamboo and collect bamboo shoots, hence the name.

There are mountains upon mountains and mists floating in the sky. The bamboo in the mountains does not grow thick and is only as thin as a toothpick. It only grows on cliffs and is called thorny bamboo, and has thorns on the joints.

The thorny bamboo is relatively straight. It is said that it takes a hundred years for the thorny bamboo to grow to the thickness of a thumb. It is as hard as iron and cannot be broken by a knife, making it extremely difficult to cut down. Its shoots are tender and delicious, and are also called cliff bamboo shoots. Ancient qigong practitioners picked them and took them to prolong their lives.

Bamboo shoots from cliffs were tribute to the royal families of the Yue and Beiyang dynasties. Hundred-year-old thorny bamboo was an excellent material for making arrows. Therefore, the governments of the two countries put great pressure on the villagers and required them to hand in a certain amount of thorny bamboo and bamboo shoots every year according to their household registration.

Therefore, there are many shops, tea stalls and hotels along the mountain road. Every ten miles or so, you can come across a tea shop, which are all used by bamboo pickers and passing merchants.

There are dense forests of pine, cypress and bamboo on both sides; the scenery is quiet and pleasant.

"Gentlemen, these are fresh bamboo shoots just harvested from the mountain, a specialty of Zhushan. Please buy two kilograms to try!" Under the sign of a lonely roadside bamboo shed wine stall facing the wind, an old lady who was staggering in the sun was waving to attract customers.

"Brother, how about getting some to try? I've heard that these cliff bamboo shoots are tender and delicious. We must try them..." Chen Hai said with a flushed face, shaking the empty gourd, his eyes fixed on the banner with the word 'wine' on it.

"I think you are drunk, why do you want to taste bamboo shoots?" Ji Yuan was speechless.

They had been traveling for four or five days since leaving the city, and there was nothing unusual. They were not in a hurry to travel, so they followed Chen Hai, stopped the carriage, and walked towards the roadside wine stall.

The wine tent was not big, made of bamboo fences and thatched roofs. It was bright and spacious with five tables seating three or two guests, and the kitchen was at the back.

"Old lady, get me two plates of your fresh bamboo shoots to try. Also, get me two jars of good wine and fill my gourd. I'll have enough money!" Chen Hai threw a handful of money on the table.

"Please wait a moment, gentlemen. I will go and filter the wine first." Facing the guests holding knives and swords, the white-haired old woman seemed very humble.

At that time, wine was made purely from grain fermentation, so it contained a lot of impurities and needed to be filtered out.

"Old lady, are you running the shop alone? Can you handle it? Where are your family members?" Ji Yuan seemed to be chatting as he looked at the old woman who hobbled into the kitchen.

He looks to be around fifty years old, which is an age when he should have many children and grandchildren.

The old woman paused as she poured the wine, and replied, "I fell to my death while cutting wood more than ten years ago. My son went to work as a soldier to repair the dike of Luan River, two thousand miles away, a few years ago. He has not returned since then, and my daughter-in-law ran away long ago, leaving me with only a little grandson, who is seven years old this year."

"Where's your grandson?"

"He was young, but very sensible. Every morning in spring, before daybreak, he would go up the mountain with his dog and knife to pick bamboo shoots. He would usually come back in the afternoon."

"I see." Chen Hai felt a little sympathetic.

Ji Yuan didn't say anything, always feeling that something was wrong. He looked around and saw high mountains and dense forests, which could be called a barren mountain and old forest.

There was a vague and eerie silence, and a solemn and murderous aura.

But this old lady is indeed a mortal, and there is nothing wrong with what she said.

He stepped on Chen Hai's foot.

Chen Hai looked up in confusion.

Seeing Ji Yuan's expression, Chen Hai seemed to be thinking about something.

At this time, the old woman brought up two jars of wine, and brought large bowls to pour for the two of them.

Even after being filtered, the wine still looks a bit white, like rice soup.

Chen Hai couldn't wait to pick up the bowl, but when the wine reached his lips, he paused, his eyes shining with a fascinating light, and looked at the old woman: "Old woman, I think your wine is very turbid, is there something wrong with it?"

"Master, you are joking. You were the one who watched me filter the wine. Besides, there is an official camp not far ahead. How dare I?" The old woman lowered her head in fear, not daring to look at Chen Hai's eyes that were like swords piercing people's hearts.

There are official camps every few dozen miles in Caizhuling, with dozens of soldiers stationed there. They are responsible for collecting the thorny bamboo and also for maintaining local public order.

"Haha... I was just joking." Chen Hai turned around, picked up the bowl and drank it all.

"The wine is good, come and have a drink, brother." He picked up the jar of wine and drank madly, spilling the wine all over his chest.

Ji Yuan also drank two bowls. The two of them exchanged glances and simultaneously held the wine in their mouths, without swallowing a single drop.

Soon, he fell asleep.

"Master? Two masters?" The old woman looked increasingly frightened and called out in a low voice.

The other customers in the store had left long ago, leaving Ji Yuan and the other two crawling on the table without any sign of life.

The old woman walked forward and felt the breath of the two men. She was shocked and touched their necks with trembling hands, but she did not feel any blood at all.

"Ah!" The old woman screamed and fell to the ground, terrified.

Just when she was at a loss, a loud laugh came from the top of the mountain: "Hahaha! You old hag did a good job."

"Go to the kitchen and get a knife. Chop them into pieces and feed them to the dogs. Then take the embroidered bags off their bodies and give them to me. Then you can take your grandson back." The person who spoke had a shrill voice.

The old woman looked in the direction of the voice.

With her cloudy eyes, she could only vaguely see a sesame-sized figure in yellow standing on a cliff about twenty miles away, winding along the mountainside.

"Why, if you don't do it, you'll see your grandson smashed into a pulp..."

"Oh no, your eyes are blurry, you old ghost. You can't see it from such a distance." The short Taoist in yellow clothes was holding a seven or eight-year-old baby in one hand, who seemed to be struggling and crying.

With the help of magic power, the sound extended dozens of miles along the wind and was clearly heard by the old woman.

(End of this chapter)