The author of this article

Chapter 298 Crossing the Lake
Qingyun Tianxia has always prioritized the path of immortality, and opera is considered a low-class pastime; no one would bother to pay attention to its inheritance.

Moreover, with taxes levied, ordinary people struggle to survive. It's already a miracle that these old artisans have been able to pass on their skills for three generations.

Some veteran artists starved to death, and some were beaten to death because of taxes; these were not uncommon occurrences.

Fortunately, there weren't many folk storytellers, so various opera forms borrowed from each other, which is why many arias were not lost.

Old Zhao regarded shadow puppetry as a means of making a living. He only knew that he could get a reward if he performed well, but he didn't think it was that important where the story came from.

Ji You didn't get the key information, but she wasn't disappointed.

If something that even immortal sects are deliberately hiding is heard directly in these entertainment performances, then one should really be cautious.

However, the fact that such things can be heard from casual singing indicates that the knowledge related to the Night's Watch has not yet been lost.

"Does the old gentleman have a book he often reads?"

"Yes, I do have one; it's in my suitcase."

Old Zhao snapped out of his daze and took out a wooden box with chipped paint from his pair of belongings.

Opening the lid of the wooden box revealed a collection of tattered handwritten manuscripts, which appeared to be quite old.

"May I take a look?"

"Of course, please feel free to do as you please, young master."

Ji You took out some loose silver from his pocket and handed it to Old Man Zhao. Then he asked the waiter to bring a chair, sat down in the dimly lit backstage of the teahouse, and began to peruse the handwritten storybooks.

This is the script for Old Zhao's shadow puppet show.

When veteran craftsmen pass on their skills to younger generations, they first have a stack of storybooks like this, which the apprentices are required to memorize as an introductory lesson.

What is recorded here are all the selections that the old artist knew throughout his life.

Ji You didn't have time to listen to all the performances. After all, all the taverns and teahouses in Qingyun Tianxia not only had performances, but also song and dance. It would take several months to hear the whole show.

So whenever he hears something he cares about, he'll spend some money to directly read the scripts of those artists, just like he does now, to save time.

He was somewhat disappointed that he hadn't brought his brother-in-law along.

If it were Yuan Chen, he could stare at it all night without blinking.

However, just as Old Zhao said, his shadow puppetry was adapted from the Sanxian story.

To adapt the story to his performance, his scripts had been revised several times by his ancestors, incorporating many original passages that could attract audiences.

For example, the domineering young master who loves to hear stories like "The young lady from a noble family falls in love with me" and the young master from a noble family who loves to hear "My fate is in my own hands, not in the hands of heaven" have both been changed beyond recognition.

However, Ji You still found some key information. For example, in the shadow puppet shows of Old Zhao, in the scenes about Da De slaying the evil spirit, that "Da De" was always alone.

According to the understanding of shadow puppetry, it is naturally easier to perform alone, since a shadow puppet is easier to control when one person is performing.

However, the story of the drum ballad that Ji You listened to recently was also a story of a lone hero.

If different interpretations share the same premise, the likelihood of it being adapted is very small.

This is indeed different from what Ji You originally thought.

He always thought the Night's Watch was an organization that secretly selected suitable prodigies, manipulated them, and made them give up the glamorous world for the sake of the world and join the organization.

But now it seems that the Night's Watch has always been a single person.

Immortal cultivators have a longer lifespan than mortals, but the maximum is only three or four hundred years. The Night Watchmen have changed from generation to generation, but there is only one person in each generation.

As for the other parts of the story, there was too much exaggeration, and Ji You couldn't tell the difference. So, after thinking about it for a while behind the dimly lit stage, he returned the storybook to the box.

As dusk falls, night slowly descends.

The nearby teahouses and taverns became brightly lit, attracting various immortals and dignitaries.

The boss seized the opportunity and changed the performance repertoire to songs and dances popular with the local playboys.

Ji You got up and left the teahouse backstage, returning to the inn where she had just been.

After spending the night in bed, Ji You got up and left the city in the faint morning light, crossing mountains and forests to reach the next place with a relatively rich spiritual energy.

He then sat cross-legged and, as he had done in the previous days, began to inhale and exhale the spiritual energy within, igniting the spiritual fire to refine his body.

When the spiritual energy could no longer be supplied, he got up and left, found a teahouse and paid to have a performance of a sanxian storytelling.

In this cycle, Ji You gradually traveled from the border of Zhongzhou to the southwest.

"The opportunity to break through the barrier is almost here..."

"Let's get some spirit stones and find a place to break through the barrier."

Ji You muttered to himself, then walked to the nearest city and found a spirit stone shop.

He had been training his body tirelessly for the past few days, and the feeling of tightness surrounding his body had reached its peak, as if a highly elastic barrier was enveloping his entire body, preventing his physical body from further strengthening.

This is a limitation inherent in living beings, akin to a shackle binding the human body.

This also means that after spending more than half a year lingering after returning from the sacred land of the sages, he finally reached the first barrier of the boundless physical body.

Body tempering and breakthrough are different.

Body tempering can be interrupted at any time due to insufficient spiritual energy; the only consequence is that the spiritual fire goes out.

However, breaking through the barrier requires directly shattering and breaking through the physical limitations.

If this process is interrupted due to insufficient spiritual energy, the consequences will be severe, and there is a possibility of backlash.

Therefore, he needs to use spirit stones to maintain a continuous flow of spiritual energy, thereby increasing the feasibility of breaking through the barrier.

Thanks to the large number of Snowfield Demon Stones that were sent to Kyushu earlier, the price of spirit stones has now returned to its previous level and is no longer as expensive as it was during the New Yuan era.

He purchased a large quantity of spirit stones from the shop, stored them in his storage gourd, and then left.

Heading south along the main road in the city, and then west, Ji You entered a mountain forest.

They then traveled through low mountains and finally arrived at a large, round lake in a low-lying area.

The entire area around this large lake is shrouded in mist, which, refracted by the dewdrops, makes it appear like a blue crystal embedded in the earth, filled with spiritual energy that flows around the lake.

Ji You walked to the lakeside and found several young practitioners sitting in meditation not far away.

Seemingly disturbed by the footsteps, all the young practitioners who were in meditation opened their eyes and looked at Ji You with a hint of vigilance and intimidation in their eyes.

Ji You didn't pay any attention and found a flat place to sit down.

There are several minor clans in this area, so it's not surprising that other cultivators are appearing here.

He straightened his robes, took the spirit stones out of his gourd, and smashed them one by one, letting the essence of the spirit stones dissipate.

Upon seeing this, the young disciples who were cultivating by the lake exchanged glances, then got up and headed towards the opposite bank of the lake.

Ji You had already closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. The abundant spiritual energy began to flow into his body through his breathing. Then, with a thought, the spiritual fire within his body began to burn fiercely.

In an instant, the intense feeling of being bound suddenly pressed down, making him feel as if he had been pushed into a swamp, and even his breathing became extremely heavy.

Fortunately, Ji You was mentally prepared and only let out a muffled groan.

Then he clenched his fists and began to exert force, his energy gathering from his limbs and bones, constantly colliding with the invisible shackles.

Peng!
Peng!
Like a god beating a drum, the muffled sound of separation and impact began to intensify with his heartbeat.

"Uncle, there are outsiders cultivating at our Longquan Lake!"

"Where did this person come from?"

"I don't know."

In a courtyard house not far to the west of the lake, the man and woman who had just been meditating by the lake were now kneeling in the front hall.

This is the ancestral home of the Huai family in Zhongzhou, and these men and women are all members of the Huai family.

Although the Huai family is not a well-known name in Qingyun Tianxia, ​​they are considered a relatively large family in this area.

Longquan Lake did not belong to their family, but because the other powerful families around it were weak, and the concentration of spiritual energy was not very helpful for the enlightenment and cultivation of the upper five realms, and could not compare to the effects of elixirs, some large families were not interested in it. So the Huai family took this place as their private property.

At this moment, the elder of the Rongdao Realm sitting in the high hall couldn't help but turn gloomy when he heard that someone had gone to Longquan Lake uninvited.

"What realm does the newcomer belong to?"

“His cultivation level is higher than ours, which cannot be confirmed, but he looks very young.”

Just then, another middle-aged man appeared outside the door: "That person is at the same level as me, the Profound Realm."

The elder of the Huai family frowned upon hearing this: "To have reached the Tongxuan Realm at such a young age, one must be a direct descendant of a prominent family. But to come uninvited like this is still too impolite."

"What does the clan elder think?"

“The Tongxuan Realm is already an expert, so I will personally capture him, find out which family he belongs to, and ask his family to send someone to apologize and take him away.”

The white-haired elder rose from his chair and led his family members out of the room.

The Huai family does not exist independently. Like the Qiu family, which is backed by the He family, they also have powerful families to rely on, so they are naturally not afraid.

However, as they approached Longquan Lake, they vaguely sensed a faint heat.

It was still early spring, and the air was chilly, making any signs of heat quite noticeable. However, the Huai family elders were in a very aggressive mood, so they didn't pay much attention and continued their walk around the lake under the guidance of their younger relatives.

But as they walked, they felt the heat growing stronger and clearer.

Just as they began to have doubts, a tremendous pressure suddenly slammed into their shoulders, while a chilling aura rose up in their hearts.

The elder who had reached the Fusion Realm was somewhat better off, only feeling a throbbing headache and goosebumps all over his body, while the younger disciples were in a state of complete darkness and had difficulty breathing.

The faces of the people whose backs were bent under the weight changed drastically as they felt the intense heat emanating from the sun.

Then, that powerful energy dissipated with a roar.

But after only a few breaths, it attacked again.

Like the ebb and flow of the tide, they could feel an even more ferocious power than before, as if it were struggling to break free from something.

The moment the energy dissipated, the elder at the Fusion Realm grabbed two disciples and rushed away, returning to the courtyard and closing the gate tightly.

"Elder..."

"Don't make a sound. Tell the children in the family not to go to the lake for the next two days!"

The Huai family elder gave a low shout, his forehead already covered in fine sweat.

For two days, the Huai family kept their doors tightly shut, and no one went out. Only a few elderly people in the family secretly kept checking on the situation.

Three times a day, morning, noon, and night, I felt that the aura by the lake was becoming increasingly powerful.

Twice, the sun rose and the moon set at dusk, as the spiritual fire surged ever onward.

Ji You, sitting by the lake, was covered in sweat, and his lips were gradually turning pale.

He had broken free from that restraint multiple times, and the feeling of being tightly bound was no longer as intense as it had been at the beginning.

So he gathered the last bit of energy he had left and, with a deep breath, rammed into the tight confinement that was binding him.

An immense force surged fiercely within his sturdy body, like a landslide or a tsunami. Just as he was nearing exhaustion, he heard something inside him make a cracking sound.

In an instant, all the pressure vanished, and at the same time, a feeling of exhaustion surged from his limbs and bones.

The first barrier has finally been overcome.

He opened his bright golden eyes. Although beads of sweat kept dripping down his forehead, he felt refreshed all over.

The art of body tempering is a brutal path. As he broke through the barriers, he did not gain any divine abilities, but the hardness of his physical body and his pure power increased significantly.

After catching his breath, Ji You clenched his fist and swung it forward, the powerful force of the punch instantly causing the large lake in front of him to surge.

Then he gently closed his eyes and fell backward into the grass.

Early spring is cold, and the flowers have not yet bloomed, but in one area beside Longhu Lake, the flowers and leaves suddenly unfolded under the moonlight due to the temperature.

One, two, the flower stamens gradually unfold...

As dawn broke the next day, Ji You sat up from among the grass, surrounded by a profusion of flowers.

More tiring than playing the "fake best friend" game all night...

After calming himself down a bit, Ji You went down the slope, took off his clothes, and jumped into the lake.

After washing away the sweat from his body, he flew out again, using the steam of his energy to turn the water droplets on his body into a cloud of smoke. He then continued to breathe in spiritual energy until his body began to slowly fill up.

The most energy-consuming step in the entire body-refining process is breaking through the barrier.

As the barriers are broken through, the amount of spiritual energy needed on a daily basis will return to normal levels, and there will be no need to deliberately seek out places with abundant spiritual energy for the time being.

Next up is the second stage...

Ji You muttered to herself, glanced up at the villa across the lake, and then walked away.

I'm hungry, I need to get something to eat.

He left the jungle and traveled westward, having a big meal in the nearest city. Afterward, he continued to train his body and listen to music, going back and forth repeatedly.

After breaking through the first barrier, he spared no effort to approach the second barrier. Without the distractions of worldly affairs, his speed was much faster than in Shengjing.

As for listening to the music, he still hadn't found the key.

Perhaps this is the downside of mutual borrowing; most of the singing and performing sounds almost the same.

Southwest of Zhongzhou lies Kangle County, a major county in the Qingyun Kingdom, even more prosperous than Guangming County, where many aristocratic families reside.

Ji You traveled this way and entered the city several days later.

What puzzled him was that this was clearly a large city, yet it appeared incredibly desolate.

There were no pedestrians on the road, only some stray dogs and cats.

The taverns and teahouses along the street were not open. Only a few businesses and one restaurant were open, but they were all quiet.

Ji You stepped into the restaurant, found a seat, and sat down. Then, a waiter came over with tea: "Sir, what would you like to eat?"

"Give me two dishes that the chef is good at, and a bowl of rice."

"Okay, sir."

Ji You placed the silver on the table, then asked, "Why is the city so quiet? Even the teahouses and taverns are closed?"

The waiter in the restaurant lowered his voice after hearing this: "Young master, you must be from out of town. In our Kang'an City, an immortal has passed away, and an order has been issued to strictly prohibit singing and dancing."

"Which immortal?"

"The immortal of the Lang family is an elder of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. It is said that he lived to be over a hundred years old, which can be considered a peaceful death. Now he has been sent back home, which can be considered a return to his roots."

Ji You frowned after hearing this: "It's one thing to strictly prohibit singing and dancing, but why can't we see a single person on the streets?"

The waiter lowered his voice even further after hearing this: "The Lang family has given an order that all people should mourn together, and every household should send someone to attend the funeral. If you had come earlier, you might have been able to see the procession carrying the funeral banners."

"Such a large-scale operation?"

"Sigh, an immortal..."

With teahouses and taverns in Kang Le County closed, the food stalls became more crowded, and the diners around were all talking about the immortal from the Lang family.

Ji You ate and listened attentively. After emptying his bowl and plate, he left the restaurant and headed to Wangyang Mountain.

The Lang family is one of the in-law families of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. The deceased immortal was named Lang Kun, an elder at the beginning of the Yingtian realm.

He cultivated in the Mountain and Sea Pavilion for many years. After the age of 108, he began a secluded retreat to break through to a higher realm and prolong his life. He emerged from seclusion not long after the beginning of the new year this year and passed away in the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. His disciples sent him home, allowing him to return to his roots.

He heard this from the conversations of the diners, but he was slightly puzzled.

The realm of Yingtian is incredibly close to the Heavenly Dao. They may not know the secrets of Heaven, but they should have a very clear understanding of their own lifespan.

Logically speaking, after calculating his own time limit, he should have returned home in advance to pass on his skills or pass away peacefully, instead of dying directly on the mountain and being carried back by others.

Moreover, it died not long after the New Year, and it's only now that it's been sent home, which is far too slow.

He came to a hillside on the north side of Wangyang Mountain and looked at the Lang family's Taoist temple from afar. He saw white banners fluttering on the green mountain, looking like snow waves.

From time to time, cultivators who came to pay their respects would fly through the air and land on the mountain peak with their robes fluttering.

Ji You watched for a while, then her gaze fell on the foot of the mountain, where she saw a stage being lit up, seemingly preparing for a performance.

In front of the stage, people from all directions, all dressed in white, were prostrate on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

The play on stage was performed for them, to publicize the merits of this Elder Lang and to inspire gratitude in all people.

Ji You had heard of such things before, but she only scoffed at them.

Whether it's a celestial sect, a noble family, or a celestial estate, they all sit in seclusion deep in the mountains, do no production, are worshipped by the masses, and eat human blood buns.

When someone like that dies, I really don't know what they'll have to say that's worth praising.

Bullying men and women? Sucking the blood of the people?

Ji You had no interest in such matters; she only thought it was quite good that another immortal who had been eating offerings for free had died, and then she turned to leave.

But just then, an opening narration suddenly came from the foot of the mountain, causing him to stop abruptly.

"Iron armor, glistening with dew, guards against the chilling night; demonic forces from all sides threaten to breach the walls."

"A sword pierces the fading stars on the ancient ramparts, a lamp supports a solitary shadow pressing down on the perilous peaks."

"The wind howls through the withered trees, sounding like the howling of demons; the clouds split open, revealing a blood-red plate in the sky."

"I've stayed up all night to keep my promise, for the world will not allow the night to end."

The soft, melodious singing drifted into Ji You's ears on the night breeze, sending a sudden shiver down her spine. She turned to look down.

On the high platform, a martial arts performer appeared, holding a wine pot in his left hand and a sword at his waist in his right. To the tinkling of the music, he spun and dodged around on the platform.

Judging from the movements and the marks on the props, this is not a newly staged play; it must be a long-standing tradition.

Immortals who sit in seclusion deep in the mountains and are worshipped by the blood of countless people may not have much merit to praise, but no one says they can't draw inspiration from other people's stories.

Ji You circulated his spiritual energy and drifted towards the foot of the mountain.

(End of this chapter)