Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 272 [The Six Ding and Six Jia Guidance Technique] (6200)

Chapter 266 [The Six Ding and Six Jia Guidance Technique] (6200)

Unfortunately, Chen Yan did not meet the easy-going and shrewd business owner that Shen Shiqi had mentioned.

The current owner of the general store near the Pili River at the entrance of the village is a young man—not exactly young, he looks to be in his thirties.

The former grocery store owner is dead.

"At the beginning of the year, while he was on a cargo ship, he fell into the water and drowned. The current was too strong in that section, and no one dared to go down to rescue him. When they finally retrieved his body downstream, his stomach was already swollen, and he couldn't be saved."

The current boss spoke with a hint of regret in his voice.

The current owner of the grocery store is said to be the nephew of the former owner. Fortunately, he had experience working in the city, including two years on a construction site. However, he broke his leg and could no longer make a living in the city, so he returned to his hometown.

After the previous owner died, he took over the grocery store and the business of transporting goods by boat.

Similarly, he also took over the two wooden houses behind the shop, which were used as temporary accommodations for boatmen.

"Each bed costs three yuan per night, and two yuan more if meals are included. Rice is unlimited, and the dishes are one meat and one vegetable. The meat is dried fish, and the vegetable is stir-fried chili peppers."

Chen Yan immediately handed over ten yuan: "Two beds, meals included."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Stir-fry the chili peppers and dried fish together, don't separate them, it'll save some fuel."

The boss glanced at Chen Yan and smiled, "Young man, you certainly know how to manage money."

Having probably spent two years away from home in the city, the boss's Mandarin was understandable to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan looked around his general store—it was actually quite rudimentary.

Like shops in other cities, it had a few shelves, but actually didn't have much on display.

As for the wide variety of snacks that supermarkets in the city have shelves full of, they don't have those.

The items on display are everyday items, such as towels, toothbrushes, and toiletries.

As for snacks, there were only some cheap candies and dried fruits displayed next to the counter.

Inside the back are rice, noodles, and various condiments such as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and sugar...

There were also some dried mountain products and dried vegetables.

Intrigued, Chen Yan bought a bag of dried vegetables and filled it to the brim.

After thinking for a moment, he grabbed a large handful and gave it to the boss: "Put this in the pot and stir-fry it with the vegetables tonight."

The boss glanced at Chen Yan and nodded.

As can be seen with the naked eye, this village has no land route to the outside world and relies solely on the Pili River for transportation, resulting in a severe shortage of supplies.

With time to spare before dinner, Chen Yanxian and Shen Shiqi returned to the makeshift "hotel" at the back.

After entering the room, Chen Yan sighed.

This room... well, it's only slightly better than a dormitory.

Because it was located near a mountain and on the banks of the Pili River, the room had a persistent dampness that wouldn't dissipate.

The bedding on the bed looked suspiciously colored, neither black nor yellow, and had an indescribable stench of sweat.

I touched it; it felt a bit damp.

Chen Yan glanced helplessly at Shen Shiqi, as if to say, "Is this the place you said you could stay?"

He wasn't without hardship; he grew up in the countryside with his grandmother, but that place was clearly much wealthier than this one.

He had experienced the hardships of living in the open and sleeping in the snow in the borderlands, outside the Snow Cliff Pass.

But Chen Yan has one thing in common: he is not afraid of hardship.

He's afraid of getting dirty.

He glanced at the bedding, which reeked of sweat and grease, and decided: even if a venerable one held a knife to his throat, he would never be allowed to sleep in such bedding at night!
But when she turned around, she found that Shen Shiqi was already lying on a bed, resting with her eyes closed.

Chen Yan couldn't help but admire this young man.

Hmm, maybe he was seasick and vomited until he was exhausted.

Chen Yan turned and walked out of the room.

The owner was outside. He brought a water bottle over and placed it at the door, saying, "You're lucky. There haven't been many ships coming these days, so the rooms are all empty."

They said it was two beds, but it's like you've got the whole room to yourself—you're getting a great deal!

Chen Yan smiled, took out a pack of Fu cigarettes from his pocket, and handed one over.

The shopkeeper casually took the cigarette, lit it, and exchanged a few pleasantries with Chen Yan: "Young man, what are you doing bringing a kid to the mountains?"

"We're artists, here to sketch," Chen Yan said casually with a smile. "The child inside is my student."

"You're so young, and you're already a teacher?" The boss said with great respect.

He casually took a puff of his cigarette and chuckled, "Now that you mention it, I understand. Otherwise, I would have thought you were a child abductor. You look like a clean-cut young man, like a scholar."

I've met some painters before. A few came over in the summer, saying they were going to the mountains to paint, to write about life. They stayed at my place for a few days, and oh dear... they were very picky. They couldn't get used to the food or the sleep, and they kept spouting strange things.

I told you, even if you have money, where can you find a big hotel like those in the city here!

Don't want to stay? Go sleep in the mountains!

Chen Yan smiled upon hearing this, but did not respond. Instead, he inquired about the route into the mountains from the shopkeeper.

"It's not easy to get into the mountains." The shopkeeper shook his head: "There are no roads in the mountains, and we can't afford to build them here. There are two small paths leading into the mountains, both worn out by footsteps."

If you leave the village and keep walking along the mountain on the left, there is a pond in the end. In the past, people who came to paint liked to go there, but a few years ago the mountain collapsed and filled in the pond, so no one goes there anymore.

The other road is the route our locals take to go into the mountains to hunt for wild produce. It's very difficult to walk on, the road is slippery, and there's a mountain path involved, which is dangerous!

As he spoke, the boss pulled Chen Yan into the courtyard and pointed to a mountain in the distance from the village.

"If you go over there and reach the top, there's a cliff. Outsiders say the scenery there is beautiful, and later painters liked to go there. But let me tell you, it's not worth it. The road up the mountain is difficult to walk, and it's even more slippery going down."

A student who was studying art had previously fallen to his death.

Chen Yan chatted with the boss for a while longer, gradually figuring out the terrain in the mountains through small talk. Later, he simply took out half a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and gave it to the boss before turning around and going back to his room.

Shen Shiqi was so exhausted from vomiting that she lay on the bed for a while and eventually fell asleep.

When I woke up, I saw Chen Yan sitting in the room, sitting on a small stool on a bed board, writing and drawing with a pen in his hand.

Shen Shiqi stood up and then realized that Chen Yan had drawn a topographical map.

Shen Shiqi moved closer and stared at the picture for a while.

Chen Yan said in a low voice, "I got it from the shop owner. I can't draw a map, I just drew a rough direction based on what the owner said."

After squinting at the drawing for a while, Shen Shiqi pointed to a spot on the drawing.

"Go this way, this is the right direction."

Chen Yan looked up and glanced at Shen Shiqi.

The location Shen Shiqi pointed to was the one the boss mentioned, a place where there used to be a pond, but later the mountain collapsed and filled in the pond.

“This is the place.” Shen Shiqi said in a low voice, “The mountain here collapsed... Actually, it was when the old Taoist priest and that evil cultivator were fighting. They were fighting and running away at the same time. They fought again here, and a rock broke, causing a corner of the hillside to collapse.”

Chen Yan nodded: "But the boss said there's no way in this direction."

“There’s no road here.” Shen Shiqi sighed. “That evil cultivator escaped from here when he entered the mountains.”

Chen Yan stared at Shen Shiqi for a couple of seconds: "How about... you tell me the exact location, and I'll go into the mountains by myself. You can stay in the shop for a few days and wait for me here."

Shen Shiqi gave a wry smile, then looked at Chen Yan and said firmly, "Fellow Daoist, you should take me with you."

Take me with you, I'll be useful!

·
Dinner was the dish Chen Yan had requested: dried fish and chili peppers stir-fried together, plus a large handful of dried vegetables he had bought.

The taste was surprisingly delicious!
This place is in the mountains, near water, so it's very humid and doesn't get much sunshine.

So-called dried fish are actually dried in the shade.

It was salty, but had a strong fishy smell. The chili peppers neutralized the fishy smell perfectly, and the dried vegetables were so delicious that Chen Yan couldn't stop praising them.

Chen Yan didn't recognize what kind of vegetable it was. The texture was somewhat similar to dried plum vegetables, but also different.

The dried vegetables absorbed the fish broth perfectly, making them very fresh and chewy.

The dish was made by the shop owner's wife, and it was served in a large bowl.

Chen Yan originally intended to just eat a few bites of this dish, but unexpectedly he ended up eating two bowls of rice in one go.

The portions of the dishes were quite good, and there was a generous amount of dried fish. After a moment's thought, Chen Yan realized that it was probably the half-pack of cigarettes he had given her that afternoon that had had an effect.

The boss's wife couldn't speak Mandarin, was quiet and reserved, and very thin.

After finishing their meal, Chen Yan and Shen Shiqi returned to their room. Shen Shiqi lay down on the bed—he really didn't mind that the bed was dirty.

However, Chen Yan lifted the covers, sat directly on the bed, and began to meditate.

In fact, Chen Yan was still wondering why Shen Shiqi insisted on bringing him along.

If he didn't bring the child, Chen Yan could transform into a bird using shapeshifting magic, so there would be no need for him to travel by boat to get here.

Even when they go into the mountains, they can simply flap their wings and get in.

Chen Yan glanced at Shen Shiqi, who was already breathing heavily, and pondered to himself.

Is it useful to bring you along?

·
Unlike other children her age who sleep a lot, Shen Shiqi wakes up on her own in the early morning.

After getting up, he busied himself washing his face and brushing his teeth, and even brought Chen Yan a mouthwash cup filled with water and a toothbrush.

Sensing Chen Yan's questioning gaze, Shen Shiqi smiled calmly: "I'm used to it. I grew up in an orphanage. I'm used to getting up early every day and taking care of the younger siblings, helping them wash their faces and brush their teeth. Every morning is like a battle. Otherwise, the director alone couldn't manage." Breakfast was a bowl of thin porridge, accompanied by two flatbreads. The flatbreads contained chopped vegetable leaves, which Chen Yan could roughly recognize as the same type of dried vegetable he had eaten before, but they were the kind that hadn't been dried properly.

The entrance...

It doesn't taste good, it makes my throat hurt!
Fu Tou drank a bowl of porridge and filled his stomach with water, but then he saw Shen Shiqi finish the bowl of porridge mouthful by mouthful and eat the two vegetable pancakes clean.

Seeing the child straining his neck and looking like he couldn't swallow, Chen Yan realized that he didn't like this food; he was just used to hardship and didn't want to waste it.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Chen Yan, carrying a backpack and accompanied by Shen Shiqi, who was also carrying a backpack, said goodbye to the boss and headed out.

Walking through the village on the stone-paved roads, the slippery feeling was quite uncomfortable.

The houses on both sides were very dilapidated, with very few even being brick or tile houses; most were mud houses made of a mixture of earth and wood.

There are hardly any people left in the village; most of those remaining are elderly, and you can hardly see any young faces.

The two walked through the village, all the way to the other side, and only saw three or five people.

The village is dilapidated; perhaps only the dock near the water at the village entrance still has some value—it allows passing ships carrying goods to stop and rest.

Apart from that, the village is like a stiff, dying person.

The road into the mountains is difficult to travel.

These paths, which are purely "made by people's footsteps," are often slippery because they haven't been built with a roadbed. In these lush mountains, after a rain, the weeds on both sides will gradually cover the original path within a few days.

The rocks were uncomfortable to walk on, and the soil was slippery.

Chen Yan and Shen Shiqi walked for about half an hour. Shen Shiqi was already panting heavily. Their trouser legs and shoes were wet, stained with dew and grass juice of questionable color.

Chen Yan felt somewhat helpless: "Otherwise, I'll just take you back. With your small frame, how far can you walk in the mountains? To put it bluntly, you're a burden to me right now."

Shen Shiqi tried her best to lift her small face: "Trust me, fellow Daoist! Taking me with you will really be useful!"

"What exactly is it used for?"

Faced with Chen Yan's question, Shen Shiqi fell silent again.

"Okay, so it's another case of not being able to say, right?" Chen Yan said helplessly.

However, thinking of that "Spiritual Reliance," he gritted his teeth and swallowed his complaints.

Although Shen Shiqi was physically weak, he had strong willpower. Although he stumbled along the way, he never complained or uttered a word of hardship or fatigue.

Several times, Chen Yan couldn't bear to watch anymore and offered to let him rest and catch his breath.

“Your body…” Chen Yan sighed.

"Didn't you use your vital energy to guide me through my meridians and check me out? My weakness is due to congenital deficiency. There are several blockages in my meridians, and my qi and blood have also been contaminated with turbid qi. My innate destiny is mixed. With this body, I will be a sickly person when I grow up and won't live long."

When Shen Shiqi said these words, he had a relaxed smile on his face, as if he were talking about someone else, not himself.

"Actually..." Chen Yan hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "If you take good care of your body... well, if you can follow the path of cultivation, break through the Heavenly Barrier, and become an entry-level cultivator..."

"I wouldn't even dare to think about it." Shen Shiqi's tone was strange: "My body is so mixed it's unbearable to look at. My affinity for vital energy is probably exceptionally low among mortals. With this kind of physique and talent, even if you fed me a whole jar of pills, it wouldn't be enough to become a cultivator..."

"My body is too weak. If I take too many pills, my body won't be able to handle the effects. I might just rupture my meridians and die."

“If you are willing, I can be your caregiver. When you are circulating the medicinal power, I can inject my vital energy to help you circulate blood and promote blood circulation. As you know, with your constitution, you need a cultivator of considerable cultivation to help you circulate the medicinal power when you take pills to strengthen your body.”

Chen Yan's tone became somewhat serious.

One reason was his familiar fondness for Shen Shiqi—it was as if he saw his own stubborn self from his youth.

Another reason is curiosity about Shen Shiqi's mysterious background.

"Forget it, fate is predetermined." Shen Shiqi shook his head indifferently: "I accept my fate. Right now, saving the headmistress is the most important thing for me. As long as she can live, I don't care if I die at any time."

Chen Yan wasn't a gossipy person, and he didn't say anything more like, "If you live longer, you can take care of her for a longer time."

With Shen Shiqi's intelligence, he couldn't possibly be unaware of these principles without Chen Yan saying it.

Chen Yan glanced at the time, smiled faintly, and gently kicked Shen Shiqi's leg: "Alright, you've rested enough, let's continue!"

Around noon, the two arrived at a place.

The hillside has clearly collapsed, the original vegetation has disappeared, and the mountain wall is an irregular layer of collapsed rock, with the soil having fallen and collapsed.

At the foot of the mountain, there was indeed the remains of a pool.

The pool has disappeared, but a large amount of earth has been piled up here, forming a dilapidated earthen mound.

There were also some rotten branches and leaves buried in it.

Chen Yan glanced at Shen Shiqi: "This is the place. Which way do we go from here?"

Shen Shiqi held her knees and panted for a while before finally raising her head. Her head was covered in sweat, and her face was flushed to an almost sickly red.

"Fellow Daoist, your skill in talisman techniques must be quite good, right?"

"Hmm?" Chen Yan was taken aback, then nodded and said, "I have indeed learned some talisman techniques."

"Then, have you learned the Six Ding and Six Jia Guidance Method?"

Chen Yan glanced at Shen Shiqi somewhat awkwardly.

Shen Shiqi sighed.

Chen Yan said somewhat embarrassedly, "I've learned the Six Ding Six Jia Talisman, but as for guidance techniques... I haven't learned them yet."

Chen Yan was lying.

Among the talismanic arts left behind by the old lady, there is the Six Ding and Six Jia technique, but there is no record of any guiding techniques.

Shen Shiqi's expression didn't change much as he nodded: "Having learned the Six Ding Six Jia Technique, you have a foundation. The rest isn't too difficult. Here's what you'll do: take out the talisman paper, cut it into a talisman figure, and activate it using the Six Ding Six Jia Technique..."

Chen Yan then took out a stack of talisman paper, lay down on a rock, took out a fox-tail pen and a slaying tool, quickly drew several talismans, and cut them into the shape of talisman figures.

There were paper figures cut from palm-sized talismans lying on the rocks, with runes drawn by Chen Yan using a fox-tail pen.

Shen Shiqi stared at Chen Yan's fox-tail pen for a couple of seconds, then nodded: "Fellow Daoist, your pen is quite remarkable."

Chen Yan didn't reply. He focused on finishing the drawing and made a total of eight paper talismans. He only stopped making them when he heard Shen Shiqi say, "That's enough."

Then Chen Yan put away his equipment, took two steps back, made a hand seal, chanted an incantation, and then spat out a ball of energy.

Instantly, the eight paper figures that were lying on the stone stood up!
Turning around, I saw that Shen Shiqi had already opened the backpack he was carrying and solemnly took something out and handed it to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan took it and saw that it was a piece of wood with faint traces of dark red color that had seeped into the wood grain.

"This is the peach wood sword left behind by the old Taoist priest after his battle with that evil cultivator. The old Taoist priest's peach wood sword had wounded that person, and it was stained with that person's blood."

After speaking with the old Taoist priest, I went to a place where they had fought, retrieved his sword, and sawed off the blood-stained part to preserve it.

Shen Shiqi explained casually, then whispered, "Now I'll recite the incantation for the Guidance Spell for you! Remember it well!"

After he finished speaking, he recited a mnemonic rhyme fluently.

Of all the cultivation fields, runes were the one that Chen Yan had mastered the most. Upon hearing this incantation, he was first surprised, finding it quite ingenious. After listening to it once, he was also delighted!

He silently recited the incantation several times, and according to the incantation, he channeled his vital energy to unleash the spell.

"go with!"

With a flick of his finger, the eight paper figures instantly began to fly.

The blood-stained fragment of the peach wood sword that had landed in Chen Yan's hand spun rapidly once, then fluttered away like butterflies into the distance into the mountains!

Become!

Chen Yan's eyes lit up.

Shen Shiqi, standing beside him, also looked at Chen Yan with curiosity: "Fellow Daoist, you have quite the talent! This guidance technique, I only had to recite the incantation to you, and you learned to use it in one go."

Chen Yan squinted at the direction the paper figure had gone, feeling quite pleased with himself.

It wasn't because of Shen Shiqi's praise.

But...

This guidance technique, this spell, is quite impressive!

Another gain!
Chen Yan also knows a similar "tracking" talisman technique, but that one uses fate and primordial spirit to track...

He used it before to track down the mastermind who hid in Hong Kong City and tampered with and stole Lu Sisi's fate.

However, that spell has limitations, since it relies on fate and the primordial spirit to track things.

In practical terms, how many opportunities are there to grasp the enemy's destiny and essence?

The tracking was successful because Chen Yan was tracking Lu Sisi's destiny! And Lu Sisi's destiny had been stolen by the other party, which was why he was able to track them down.

But if it were another enemy, and they didn't steal Lu Sisi's destiny, where would Chen Yan go to track them down?

The guidance technique that Shen Shiqi taught is much more practical!

As long as there is even a single drop of blood from an enemy, you can use blood energy to track their location!
Even just now, when I looked at that incantation, even if it wasn't blood, as long as it contained anything from the other party, as long as it was tainted by their aura or even their spirit, it could be tracked!

Hair, the hem of a worn garment—anything goes!

However, its only weakness is that the effective range of this spell is not as far as that of the Destiny Tracking Spell.

Back then, Chen Yan used his fortune-telling tracking technique to locate his enemy in Jinling Prefecture, which was far away in Gangcheng!
But the guidance technique that Shen Shiqi taught... has a much smaller range.

·
The paper figure drifted further and further away, heading towards a more difficult, pathless area in the valley.

Chen Yan raised an eyebrow, took a deep breath, and looked at Shen Shiqi: "Fellow Daoist, please forgive my rudeness."

After saying that, he grabbed Shen Shiqi, tucked the child under his arm, and quickly slapped a Lightness Talisman on his body, then used the Lawful Escape Technique!

Chen Yan leaped into the air, his movements swift and agile, and he sped off into the mountains!

(End of this chapter)