Dongting Immortal Clan

On the night of the fifteenth of the first lunar month, the moon was big and round, hanging over Dongting Lake like a white jade plate.

As the weather warms up, the ice on the lake has melted away, and now, from a distance, it looks as if a full moon has appeared in the lake.

Chen Xiaohu sat cross-legged in the courtyard, wearing an old cotton-padded jacket, with a small cauldron beside him.

He has been sitting like this for two hours tonight.

The heart fire within the dantian had grown to the size of a fist, and the flame had changed from crimson to reddish-white. It was no longer the small, floating flame it had been at the beginning, but a solid, bright lamp, a miniature crimson sun.

Thirty-six strands of moonlight swirled around the flames, like silvery-white feathers, connecting end to end, circulating endlessly, emitting an extremely faint humming sound.

Tonight, after the thirty-six strands of moonlight gathered together, it felt as if something had been opened up in his meridians, and a pathway he had never perceived before suddenly became clear.

With each rotation of the moonlight, it solidified a little more, and its silvery-white light brightened a little more.

They originate from the dantian, ascend along the meridians, pass through the chest, throat, and chin, and emerge from the Baihui acupoint on the top of the head, where they converge into a cloud of silvery-white light mist three feet above the head.

Then it falls back into the body from the top of the head, descends along the meridians on the back, and returns to the dantian.

Thus, a complete cycle is completed.

After completing the lap, Chen Xiaohu felt a jolt throughout his body, as if an electric current had struck him from the top of his head, leaving him numb from head to toe.

Immediately afterwards, the fire in his dantian surged, leaping from the size of a fist to the size of a large bowl, its silvery-red light shining brightly, illuminating the entire dantian as if it were daytime.

The light surged from the dantian and spread throughout the body along the meridians.

It flows through the chest, illuminating the internal organs.

As it flowed down my arm, the veins became clearly visible.

The fluid flowed through my legs, and my muscles and bones made a subtle cracking sound, as if they were undergoing changes.

Finally, the light surged to the top of his head, condensed at the Baihui acupoint, and then cascaded down like a waterfall, enveloping his entire body in a silvery-red radiance.

From a distance, his head seemed to be supported by a magnificent canopy, radiating brilliant light, or it seemed to have condensed into a crimson lotus flower, the light falling down like roots, penetrating into his body.

To cleanse him of worldly desires and cultivate the foundation of spiritual practice.

The entire process lasted only the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

This reshaping process is not drastic; it's like a seed sprouting in spring, a transformation from the inside out, gradually expelling impurities from the body.

A moment later, the canopy above Chen Xiaohu's head retracted, and the silver-red light returned to his body.

He opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

The aura transformed into white mist in the air, shooting straight out for three feet before slowly dissipating.

"This is the second realm of the Spiritual Treasury, the Wood Embryo Realm."

Chen Xiaohu looked down at her hands. Her skin was more delicate, and her fingernails revealed a pinkish glow, indicating that her blood and energy were more abundant.

"His body radiated light, standing tall and majestic like a canopy; his spiritual consciousness was beginning to take shape, revealing every detail."

Without needing to look inside his body, he could clearly "see" the changes in his body, how his magical power circulated, and how his qi and blood rose and fell.

Externally, he can see the subtle, thread-like flow of spiritual energy around his body.

With a casual wave of his hand, the magical power within his dantian can be released, transforming into countless shapes in the air, and can also attach to external objects, adding a bit of power.

"Spiritual awareness is truly amazing!"

Chen Xiaohu's spiritual sense spread like a tide, quickly covering the entire courtyard. Soon, the sounds of conversation inside the house were reflected in his mind.

As he listened, a strange expression appeared on Chen Xiaohu's face.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Inside the house, Chen Chuansheng was chatting with Old Zhang about the future.

Having spent most of his life in the martial arts world, he had an incredibly sharp eye and could tell what the other person was thinking at a glance.

After spending more than half a month together, the Chen family treated him very well, truly regarding him as one of their own. They even generously showed him their ancestral cultivation methods.

Just as he thought, it was just a few words; many of the key points of cultivation were based on conjecture.

It was even worse than he knew.

After a pause, Old Zhang looked at Chen Chuansheng and said, word by word:

"Spiritual practice is not just about sitting in meditation and practicing qigong; you need to eat to cultivate yourself."

Chen Chuansheng was stunned for a moment:

"Want something to eat?"

"right."

Old Zhang stretched out his fingers and counted them one by one.

"After Xiao Hu'er sheds her wooden body, her body's need for food will be much greater than before. Ordinary rice and fish can only fill her stomach and cannot provide the vital energy needed for cultivation."

"He needs to eat spirit grains, spirit fruits, and the flesh of spirit beasts, as these things can nourish his spiritual roots and strengthen his magical power."

"The same applies to the Great River. Although the fire in the heart is small, it needs to be nourished by qi and blood to grow."

"Qi and blood come from food."

"The restoration of the meridians of the long river requires the nourishment of rare and precious natural materials."

Old Zhang put his hand down, sighed, and said:

"These things cannot be caught by fishing."

"Then what should we do?"

Chen Chuansheng was also very troubled and didn't know how to solve the problem, so he could only ask Old Zhang for help.

Old Zhang looked at him and saw that he also wanted to change and wasn't blindly sticking to the old ways. A hint of relief appeared in his eyes, and he said repeatedly:

"Now that you have embarked on the path of cultivation, you can no longer regard yourself as an ordinary person."

There are three things to do right now.

"I would like to hear the details."

Chen Chuansheng sat up straight and asked softly.

Old Zhang took a sip of hot tea and said loudly:

"The first thing is to find a way to send Xiao Hu'er to the city. He is about to be reborn. If he can be valued by the immortal master, it will be his good fortune."

"Spring has already begun, and I asked someone to inquire in the city, but the immortal master has not yet arrived."

Chen Chuansheng intended to send Chen Xiaohu to a sect of immortals to cultivate. It would be better to have a master to teach him than to stay at home and work in isolation.

Old Zhang nodded and continued:

"Since he is a celestial master, how can we mortals possibly fathom his abilities? You should have someone keep an eye on him first, and once we have news, we will send Xiao Hu'er to try."

"And what is the second thing?" Chen Chuansheng asked again.

"The second thing, however, was what Erlang told me."

Old Zhang said solemnly, "He intends to take back the Chen family's land and plans to borrow money from me."

What's your opinion on this matter?

Upon hearing this, Chen Chuansheng gave a bitter smile:

"Since he has spoken, he must have his own ideas, so I can only go along with him."

"Brother, don't worry that we'll embezzle your money. We can simply draw up a new contract. This land belongs to you, and the eldest and second eldest brothers can only cultivate it. We'll split the harvest fifty-fifty."

That's not what I meant.

Old Zhang interrupted him, pulled out his pipe from his waist, lit it, and took a satisfying puff, saying:

"As you know, I used to work as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) and made some money. I have land in several surrounding villages under my name. I am a widower with five deficiencies and three lacks in my destiny, and I have no nephews or nieces. It's useless to keep it. I used to rent it out to outsiders to farm."

"Now that I've taken them in as my godsons, I, as their godfather, naturally have to help them out."

"From now on, the fields in Baiyu Village will be handed over to Dalang and Erlang to cultivate. You can keep the harvest yourselves; I won't take a share."

"Only by farming during busy seasons, practicing martial arts in leisure time, and cultivating oneself in the quiet of the night can one be considered truly fulfilled."

"How can this be allowed?"

Chen Chuansheng opened his mouth to refuse.

Old Zhang shook his head and laughed loudly:

"I also want to give them the lease, but it's too early now. Without some tricks up our sleeves, we might not be able to hold onto this land."

"Don't be so quick to refuse; I'm not doing this without expecting anything in return."

Old Zhang's tone suddenly changed, and his voice became somewhat hesitant.

"Please speak, brother."

Seeing this, Chen Chuansheng quickly spoke up:

"If it's something my family can do, there's no reason why we wouldn't agree."

"it is good."

Old Zhang chuckled and slowly began to speak:

"Then I'll just say it directly..."

"I'm thinking that after Da Lang and Er Lang get married, their first child will take my surname, Zhang, regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl."

"I no longer yearn for carrying on the family line and continuing the ancestral worship. I only hope to have something to look forward to before I die... If you don't want to, that's fine too. Just pretend I didn't say anything, hahaha."

Old Zhang laughed awkwardly for a while.

"Can."

Chen Chuansheng did not refuse and readily agreed to the matter. Immediately afterward, he said with distress:

"Dajiang is already twenty-three, and Changhe is eighteen. Given my family's circumstances, it's really difficult to find them a spouse."

"I will speak on their behalf."

When Chen Chuansheng agreed to his idea, Old Zhang was overjoyed and couldn't wait to go and find wives for his two adopted sons that very night, so that they could get married as soon as possible and have a son.