Who taught him to practice swordsmanship like this?

Qing Mozi is seventy-three years old this year. He passed the test of Changchun Palace when he was nine years old and became an outer disciple. He thought that he could cultivate true qi in three to five years at most and then enter the sect to formally cultivate.

Who knew that he would waste sixty-four years like this, always stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage, the Qi Cultivation stage, and unable to condense his first wisp of true qi.

He had worn out the scriptures but could not understand them. Fortunately, he was content with his situation and simply lived a simple life of reciting the "Eternal Spring Sutra" to complete his duties. He stayed away from the hustle and bustle of the world and lived quietly for many years.

In Su Baichen's eyes, this should have been a temperament perfectly suited for cultivation, so why has it been wasted until now?

However, since they were not close acquaintances, Su Baichen simply greeted Qing Mozi politely and exchanged pleasantries without pressing further.

Qing Mozi led the way to a row of houses behind the main hall of Xuanmiao Temple.

"Junior Brother Bai Chen, you may choose any room. Don't worry, I clean these rooms regularly, they are all very clean."

Su Baichen sincerely thanked him, "Thank you very much, Senior Brother."

It's a rare sight in the cultivation world for a twelve-year-old boy to call an old man in his seventies or eighties, who could be his grandfather or even great-grandfather, "senior brother."

Su Baichen settled into his room, thinking he'd just get through the night. He still longed to go home and visit his family. After all, he'd spent the first eight of his twelve years in Su Family Village, and he couldn't bear to leave.

But when this feeling of "not being able to let go" arose, he suddenly realized why Feng Linzi had suggested that he must come out at least once.

This is what it means to sever worldly ties. When he can let go, it means that his worldly ties are severed.

Once Su Baichen understood this, he decided to "make the best of a bad situation."

However, he thought of his two other companions who had entered Changchun Palace together from here, and he also remembered that he should take care of their families.

The next morning, when Su Baichen got up, the old Taoist priest was already doing his morning prayers.

Good morning, Senior Brother Qingmozi.

He greeted them.

Qing Mozi was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard outside, reciting the "Changchun Jing" with great concentration.

Su Baichen received no response, so he shrugged and didn't bother him anymore.

He cupped his hands in greeting, then turned and left.

After he left, Qing Mozi put down the scripture in his hand with a complicated expression, looked in the direction Su Baichen had left, and sighed softly...

The sigh was very soft, but it still reached Su Baichen's ears.

He paused slightly, and could roughly guess what Qingmozi was thinking: the old Taoist priest probably couldn't face him!

Su Baichen pretended not to know and headed towards his hometown, Su Family Village.

He had traveled this road once before in an oxcart, and at that time he only felt the birds singing and the flowers blooming, and the journey was long.

But now, as he retraces his steps, he feels that time has flown by.

However, when he saw the outline of Sujia Village in that field of green seedlings, he suddenly felt a little depressed.

Why?

Because even though he had returned to his hometown, he suddenly didn't know who he wanted to visit!

Childhood friends?

He was reincarnated with his memories intact; it's no wonder he couldn't get along with those little kids.

So close?

His mother had long since passed away, and he had no close relatives left in Sujia Village.

There were many neighbors who helped the mother and son on a regular basis, but he would only wish them a good life and would offer help when needed, without much desire to visit them.

Now he was confused. What was he supposed to do back here?

However, since we've already come all this way, it would be really inappropriate not to go and take a look.

But suddenly he became very afraid of seeing people.

It's not fear, but rather a fear of trouble, which makes me somewhat irritable.

Driven by this mindset, he used illusion magic to completely conceal himself.

He suddenly became "invisible" and swaggered into Sujia Village.

This small village still looks full of vitality.

The children who looked familiar had grown up quite a bit and were helping their families with farm work in the fields.

The younger children continued to run wildly on the ridges of the fields, carefree.

Seeing this scene, Su Baichen couldn't help but smile, feeling a sense of peace in his heart.

He suddenly felt a sense of detachment from the world... It's hard to imagine that a twelve-year-old child could have such a mindset as that of an elderly person.

A smile gradually appeared on his face.

He severed all ties with the world... He knew what to do.

As he entered the village, he carefully examined each household in Sujia Village.

He would fetch water to fill the water tanks of any family that was short of water, and he would cut and collect firewood to secretly store it away.

Then, a simple "peace charm" was quietly carved on the doorposts of each household, and then covered up with wood ash.

His talisman-making skills weren't great. He only practiced the basics of the "Yin Talisman Treasure Talisman" before moving on to more advanced techniques. After all, this skill required a lot of patience, and he had to hone his talisman-making skills little by little.

Even so, this simple "peace charm" can still help the people of Sujia Village avoid having their homes invaded by evil spirits.

After he had done all that, he turned around and left Sujia Village without hesitation.

If anything happens here in the future, he will naturally come again, but this place can no longer hold too much of a place in his heart.

Severing worldly ties doesn't mean severing responsibilities, but rather severing the attachments in one's heart.

Su Baichen finally arrived at a small hill about two miles from Sujia Village.

This is the cemetery of Sujia Village, and naturally, his mother is also buried here.

He stood in front of his mother's grave for a while, then picked some wild fruits and flowers and placed them in front of the grave, and cleared away the weeds on the grave mound...

With a sigh, he knew that what was buried here was only his mother's body, while her soul had long since been reincarnated.

But in this place where his mother's body was buried, Su Baichen still held onto the last trace of lingering attachment in his heart.

He recalled the image of her, dragging her weakened body, stubbornly raising her young child with gritted teeth... He realized that his last concern wasn't about seeing his mother again, but rather... he wanted to find the man who abandoned them and ask if he still remembered his wife.

But that's about it.

Su Baichen was momentarily lost in thought, then quietly left.

Nothing happened in Sujia Village, which is good.

Now he can stay at Xuanmiao Temple in peace and wait for the chaos to pass.

Sometimes, however, he just wanted some peace and quiet, but trouble would always find a way to get to him.

On this day, he was meditating peacefully to cultivate his qi when he suddenly felt an unsettling aura coming from the port of Hekou Town.

In my spiritual perception, this aura was extremely ominous, much like the deathly aura emanating from a pile of corpses...

He was startled and quickly got up to head towards Hekou Town.

He couldn't just sit idly by in this situation; he had to find out what was going on.

Master said that there are many evil spirits causing trouble outside. Could it be that he has encountered one?