Who taught him to practice swordsmanship like this?

That night, Su Baichen had a dream in which a beautifully sculpted girl bowed and thanked him.

The person made no sound, but disappeared without a trace after bowing in thanks.

Su Baichen was still surprised.

However, his spiritual senses detected that the girl had left behind a last wisp of true yang energy when she disappeared.

This wisp of true yang energy represents the girl's last existence in this world.

In Su Baichen's perception, the true yang energy was like a candle flame in the wind, which could be extinguished at any moment... just like the old saying goes: when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out.

This wisp of true yang is probably the "light" of the human body.

With a touch of regret, he extended his spiritual sense to touch that wisp of true yang.

The next moment, this ray of true yang energy flowed into his body like a swallow returning to its nest. He felt a warm, yet not intense, force enter his body, making his entire upper body feel as if it were soaking in a hot spring.

This was the final gift from that evil spirit.

Of course, this true yang energy didn't have much effect on Su Baichen; it simply entered his upper body meridians, allowing them to be better nourished.

At this point, Su Baichen had already woken up from his dream without realizing it, and quickly began to circulate his true energy to savor and digest this warm energy.

At this moment, at least the meridians in his upper body were widened slightly.

The next morning, Magistrate Guo personally paid a visit.

Su Baichen was cultivating and, disturbed, had no choice but to go out to meet him.

"What does Lord Guo mean by this?"

Su Baichen looked at the gifts that had been moved in and asked with a hint of helplessness.

Magistrate Guo said, "It's only to thank the Taoist priest for saving my child."

Su Baichen nodded and said straightforwardly, "Okay, I'll take it."

Not at all polite, that's really something.

Magistrate Guo felt a little uneasy.

Su Baichen's frankness made it seem like he was putting everything on the table, losing the subtle beauty of the conversation.

Magistrate Guo hesitated for a moment, then said meaningfully, "When Master Fenglin was alive, I often went to bother him and listen to his sermons..."

Is this an attempt to get closer to someone?

Upon hearing this, Su Baichen nodded and said, "My senior brother instructed me before he left that if there is anything amiss in the county, I can come to him."

Magistrate Guo decided to be more direct: "I am well aware of the young Taoist's good intentions. I have come here to invite the young Taoist to move to the county town... after all, Taoist Fenglinzi originally lived in the county town."

Su Baichen shook his head: "What Lady Guo says is incorrect. I have my own reasons for staying here."

Magistrate Guo was puzzled for a moment, and hesitated, unsure whether he should offer another word of advice.

Su Baichen preemptively cut off the conversation, saying, "I appreciate the county magistrate's kindness, but I'm staying here to cultivate. If I leave, can it still be considered cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Guo could only say regretfully, "In that case, let's leave it at that."

"I only ask that if the Taoist priest has free time, he could come and visit the county government office..."

Magistrate Guo exchanged a few polite words and then took his leave.

Su Baichen looked at the eight loads of gifts they had left behind. They contained fresh meat and cured meats, as well as brocade and silver coins, which was quite complete.

He said, "Brother Qingmozi, let's cook and eat these fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables today. Fresh meat can't be stored for long anyway, so it's best to eat it now."

Qing Mozi shook his head and said, "I have kept this vow all my life, and I cannot break it because of this."

Su Baichen shook his head: "What a pity. Has Senior Brother ever had a decent meal in his life?"

Qing Mozi was speechless for a moment.

He entered the mountains as a young man to observe the precepts, and now, in his twilight years... he probably hasn't enjoyed any of life's pleasures.

Su Baichen thought for a moment, then added firewood to the stove to start a fire. He then quickly cut the large pork leg into pieces, blanched it in water, and then added seasonings to stew it.

Not having enough oil to cook, he could only stew a pot of pork hock.

Once the pork hock soup was ready, he served Qing Mozi a large bowl of it and brought it over.

"Eat up, senior brother, try my cooking. I learned this from our master."

He placed the large bowl of meat soup in front of Qing Mozi, then turned and left.

Qing Mozi was stunned for a long time. She looked down at her wrinkled hands and finally picked up her chopsticks to take a bite.

The rich aroma of meat greatly stimulated his taste buds.

The main reason is that Su Baichen cleaned it extremely thoroughly, leaving no trace of fishy smell.

Otherwise, Qingmozi, who has been used to a simple life, might not be used to eating meat all of a sudden.

But after tasting the meat, Qingmozi's body developed a great craving for the bowl of meat soup in front of her.

Before I knew it, I had finished the whole bowl of meat and even drunk all the broth.

Qingmozi patted her belly contentedly, and fell into a deep sleep without thinking about anything that night.

The next day, Su Baichen was surprised not to see Qing Mozi getting up early to tidy up the yard.

He walked into the courtyard, sensed it, and noticed that Qing Mozi's aura had become very weak.

He walked up to Qing Mozi's room in astonishment and knocked on the door.

"Come in……"

The weak, sluggish voice of an old man could be heard from inside.

Su Baichen pushed open the door and went in, only to find Qing Mozi looking like she was on the verge of death.

"Senior brother, how... how did you become like this?"

Su Baichen felt nervous. Could it be because of the bowl of meat he had given her last night?

Qing Mozi looked at Su Baichen with trembling eyes, and said with a hint of reluctance, "Junior brother, it seems that my time has come."

"Junior brother, there's no need to blame yourself. Just as you said, I've kept the precepts my whole life, but I haven't found any joy in life, and I haven't even begun my spiritual practice."

"It's a good thing to finally be able to have such a delicious meal."

Su Baichen remained silent, knowing that it was his fault.

Qing Mozi had lived a simple life, and his frail body was used to plain food. Suddenly being stuffed with such a large meal of meat... his body couldn't adapt.

However, Su Baichen did not give up. He immediately reached out and placed his hand on Qing Mozi's body, injecting his pure yang true energy in an attempt to prolong Qing Mozi's life.

However, to his dismay, Qing Mozi's body was like a raft riddled with holes; any true energy injected would flow out through the many "holes," making it impossible for it to accumulate and remain within his body.

"Sigh~"

He sighed, his heart filled with bitterness and guilt.

However, Qing Mozi suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "This, this is... true qi?"

Su Baichen was taken aback, then replied, "Yes, this is true qi."

Qing Mozi immediately looked at Su Baichen and said, "Junior brother, please let me feel the true energy again, okay? As long as I can feel it for a little while longer, I will die without regret."

Qingmozi's lifelong obsession was to be able to embark on his own path of spiritual practice.

Now that he knows he is about to die, his last wish is to experience the feeling of cultivation one last time.

Su Baichen hesitated for a moment, then made a decision: "Senior Brother Qing Mozi, why don't I demonstrate the process of entering the Dao cultivation realm for you?"

As he spoke, he unleashed the "Illusory Yin Eight Transformations" on Qing Mozi.