Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 3: Organizing memories, practicing the law: Chiji Heart Method, Jianyuan Record
In Shiyuan County, Southern Xinjiang Prefecture, the time has arrived between Zi and Chou. This is the time of the day when Yin and Yang interact, when the Yin energy between heaven and earth is at its strongest and the Yang energy is at its weakest.

A lamp was placed in the middle of the table, creating a circle of darkness and forming a blank space in the middle.

There were several people sitting around the table, leaning against the wall, and some chairs were empty.

"Mysterious light condenses into shape, and magical power manifests. The disciples of the big sects are indeed incomparable to us, the unorthodox sects."

It takes years of practice and repeated tempering of magic power to reach the point where it can be condensed and taken shape, and used by humans like a substance.

This kind of cultivation and purity of magical power, at least none of those present here who expel insects, raise ghosts, practice martial arts, or refine corpses can achieve it.

Even if he could do it, he couldn't be as glorious and brilliant as the previous Tang Dynasty Taoist official, who could do things with ease.

An old man in a grey robe and with a haggard face sighed like this. He had a copper bell hanging around his waist. Behind him, there was a very tall dark figure standing in the shadows, seeming to be there and not there.

His surname is Li and his given name is Jiuyou. He raises a corpse puppet and is considered a famous corpse master in this southern border area.

"Humph, what famous sect? Who among you hasn't killed a few disciples from a big sect? If he dares to cause trouble, I, Tu, will kill him just the same!"

The man who was speaking at this moment was wearing a rattan armor and was barefoot, with a sheathless long sword shining with cold light on his waist.

Although Nanjiang Prefecture is poor in resources, the deep mountains and swamps, as well as the pervasive miasma, also produce many resources for cultivation. Over time, it will naturally produce many local cultivators.

The same is true for Li Jiuyou and Tu Hong. In order to practice martial arts, he sneaked into the deep mountains and old forests, and ignored everything else. He practiced hard for ten years, learning to jump on the trees like a monkey. He jumped for five years in a row and fell countless times. In the end, he mastered the family martial arts to perfection.

With rattan armor on his body, a long sword in his hand, and some body cultivation secrets mixed with martial arts, Tu Hong is the strongest warrior in the Tu family. Even Li Jiuyou and You Po Po, who practice magic, have to give him some respect.

Because of Tu Hong's fierce aura, the candle in the middle of the table was flickered, and its light swayed to the corner of the room.

It was a person with disheveled hair and tattered clothes. This 'person' was crouching on the ground like a spider. Under the long hair was a pale female face, which looked extremely weird.

The moment it was illuminated by the candlelight, it suddenly shrank back like a spider, hiding behind an old woman in black clothes and silver hair.

"Tu Hong, you scared my Ku'er!"

The old woman in black clothes and silver hair was leaning on a cane. When she swung the cane, darkness suddenly enveloped her figure. Under the pressure of the cold aura, the fire on the table was almost extinguished.

A warrior's strong blood and evil spirits can harm evil spirits.

In fact, between humans and ghosts, ghosts are more afraid of humans, let alone a powerful warrior like Tu Hong.

"I don't care who you want to kill, but please don't implicate us. The Fire Cloud Cave Mansion's Red God Master is famous all over the world. Back then, Old Man Han said he had a past with this master, but we didn't believe him. Now the disciples of the Fire Cloud Cave Mansion have arrived. I believe you can kill him, but when the flying sword comes one day in the future, I hope you, Tu Hong, can still be as tough as you are today."

Zou Shepo was a rather beautiful middle-aged woman. When she mentioned the True Man Chi Shen Zi from Huoyun Mansion, the other three people present all changed color.

Although the people present were all accustomed to being domineering and arrogant in Ishihara County, and were inevitably a little arrogant, they were not so arrogant as to think that they could be compared with the national teacher who was respected by the entire Tang Kingdom.

It is said that this Taoist master has inherited the true teachings of the ancient sword immortals and has been practicing for hundreds of years. When he was young, he made a stunning appearance and shocked the world, and he could kill a dragon with a flying sword thousands of miles away.

The stronger the Taoist tradition, the more fertile land it can occupy. If Yang Yin Huan Gu was really more powerful than the orthodox Taoist lineage, then the current Tang Dynasty would not be devoted to Taoism.

"Let Qing'er go and test him first to see if we can make friends with him. If he's easy to talk to, I'm willing to give him over a hundred households to support him, and the three of you can gather another hundred households... If we still can't come to an agreement, then we can find a way to make him die of illness here. The miasma in southern Xinjiang is very serious. Even if something unexpected happens, I think that the Immortal can't let the lives of the entire county be buried with his disciple, right?"

"Then we will hide in the mountains. In a few years, we will still be the ones who have the final say here."

There are only about 5,000 households in the entire Ishihara County, but the four people present here can donate more than 200 households to support the Taoist priests without any effort, which shows how deeply rooted they are here.

Late at night, in a dilapidated temple on a hillside in Ishihara County, a young Taoist priest was silently reciting Taoist scriptures from memory on a shabby long table by the light of an oil lamp:
The "Chiji Heart Method" is the fundamental method of Qi training, taught by the real person Chi Shen Zi. Most of his twenty-four disciples mainly practice this method that directly leads to the golden elixir. However, Chi Shen Zi has a large collection of books, and he does not forbid his disciples from practicing other methods or even changing the fundamental method according to their own innate qualifications.

Just to point out in advance that frequent changes in the main practice method are not conducive to the practice of the Great Dao.

"Sword Source Record" is an auxiliary practice of the Chiji Heart Method. Because the cultivation of the Chiji Heart Method to a higher level requires the help of the domineering and sharp energy in the sword to break through, it comes with a set of Chiji's twelve basic sword techniques.

Lu Cheng inherited all the memories of his predecessor, and even the magical powers of the peak Qi training level, but he was completely unfamiliar with the magic and sword techniques that his predecessor Lu Cheng knew, and was unable to perform them.

Just like a person who has been ill for a long time gradually recovers, he may have some advantages when doing his previous job again, but it is impossible for him to take over completely without any unfamiliarity.

"Fortunately, there are a lot of wealth and elixirs in my Qiankun bag. Before these things are used up, it should be enough for me to protect myself."

With the best ink and paper, under the oil lamp, on the long table, Lu Cheng wrote down the contents of the two exercises in extremely ugly calligraphy over and over again, constantly thinking, recalling, pondering, and understanding. In particular, he recalled the key points, from the time Lu Cheng entered the mountain gate of Huoyun Mansion, to the teaching and guidance of Master Chi Shenzi.

A person's memories of more than 20 years are as vast as the sea. If one recalls them carefully, the time required is not much different from experiencing them again. Of course, Lu Cheng has his focus and choices.

When True Man Chi Shen Zi gave his opening lectures, he mostly talked about the fundamental ideas, the foundation of the method he was practicing, and the true meaning. Having the Tao but not the method, having the method but not the technique, is not beneficial for conquering wars, but is beneficial for practicing the Tao.

As his memories deepened, Lu Cheng felt as if he had turned into a little boy, sitting on a cushion among the mountains, listening carefully to the old man on the top of the mountain:
"The great road is invisible, giving birth to the heaven and the earth; the great road is ruthless, moving the sun and the moon; the great road is nameless, growing and nourishing all things; I don't know its name, so I call it Tao."

"The Tao has clarity and turbidity, movement and stillness. The sky is clear and the earth is turbid, the sky moves and the earth is still. Men are clear and women are turbid, men move and women are still. From the bottom to the end, all things are born. The clear is the source of the turbid, and the movement is the basis of the still. If a person can always be clear and still, all heaven and earth will return to him..."

"If people can always be clear and peaceful, all heaven and earth are theirs..." Because of the deep memory, when the master said this in dialect, Lu Cheng subconsciously followed suit.

As the memories ended, his mind gradually returned, and Lu Cheng could even feel that the originally fierce magic power in his body had become a little tamer.

For the same book, some people can benefit greatly from reading it, while for others, reading it is just a waste of time or even harmful.

In his memory, Lu Cheng was able to benefit from every sermon given by True Man Chi Shen Zi, but his predecessor Lu Cheng obviously could not do that. Many times he would even be distracted and talk and laugh with other disciples.

If he didn't attend the class, Lu Cheng would not appear in his memory. Every time this happened, he would hate Lu Cheng so much that his teeth would itch.

"Sure enough, people who are blessed don't know how to appreciate it."

Sort out the magical power and practice swordsmanship.

One is static exercise and the other is dynamic exercise, but both are principles of cultivation.

When the magic power is cultivated to the ninth level of Qi training, even if there is no practice, the magic power will increase during passive operation. This is certainly a good thing for most cultivators in the world, but not for Lu Cheng who almost went astray.

Not only is he afraid to practice Qi cultivation now, he also has to rely on the power of movement and stillness to continuously consume and purify the magic power in his body. This is not easy.

"I can understand the meaning of each of the twelve sword moves of Chiji, including nine defenses, two attacks and one change, and even improve them. However, the interaction between sword moves and the mana in my body, and even the guidance of the external heaven and earth energy, are areas I don't understand at all. I need to practice them myself bit by bit."

Lu Cheng performed each sword move in accordance with the rules, carefully savoring the meaning contained in this set of introductory sword techniques.

As time passed, the ancient sword in Lu Cheng's hand was infused with magic power and hummed faintly. A thin mist like smoke appeared faintly above the pure green sword edge, just like the air distorted by high temperature.

At the same time, outside the ruined temple, a cute little green snake crawled up to the windowsill and peeked inside from the broken window.

Inside the temple, the young Taoist danced faster and faster as he became more proficient. The sword light gradually moved like a dragon or snake. Driven by his magical power, his spirit was infused into it. A flash of sword light passed through the gap in the broken window and entered the eyes of the green snake.

The green snake seemed to be hit hard and fell over immediately, then slid off the windowsill and remained motionless for a long time, as if dead. After a long time, it moved again and began to crawl, fleeing out of the ruined temple.

After a long time, the swordplay of the young Taoist in the dilapidated temple came to an end as he began to pant and sweat broke out on his body.

As Lu Cheng made a hand gesture with his left hand in front of him, he released the long sword with his right hand. The ancient green sword flew out of his hand but did not fall to the ground. Instead, it floated in the air, circling like a swimming fish according to the Taoist's will, and then it was sheathed with a clang.

"No, this level of swordsmanship is completely unsuitable for actual combat. The sword is sluggish and cannot be controlled at will. Close combat swordsmanship is too dangerous. There is no room for reaction to changes. Once the body is damaged, the future of the Tao will be affected."

Combining the memories of his previous life, Lu Cheng knew that this was how a Qi training cultivator controlled a sword.

The cultivators in the Qi training stage do not have spiritual consciousness, and they control flying swords and magical instruments entirely with their own magic power. Therefore, the sense of sluggishness in sword control can only be reduced by improving their proficiency. If they want to control it at will, they must be promoted to the foundation building stage and condense spiritual consciousness. Only then can they control the sword as they please by thinking.

"Sword fighting and magic fighting require the right time, right place, and right people. My current right people and right people are not enough because I have been possessed by the devil. So I might as well work on the right time, right place, and right people."

The predecessor Lu Cheng focused more on magic than swordsmanship. He never made any in-depth research in swordsmanship, but was quite talented in magic and had a lot of memory.

Just to find those spells that are easy to repair, easy to use and powerful, Lu Cheng still has to search carefully in his memory.

That day, as it grew darker, feeling exhausted, Lu Cheng washed up and began to rest.

Monks in the Qi training stage still need to sleep. As their cultivation becomes deeper, they will gradually practice fasting, become sleepless, get closer to the heaven and further away from people, and even gradually forget that they were once mortals.

However, in Lu Cheng's view, sleeping is one of the great enjoyments in life, and he will not give up the enjoyment of sleeping. Even if he practices, it is to make himself happier and happier, not just for the sake of practicing.

(End of this chapter)