The story begins with the bride marrying off her daughter, and the woman, at the age of one hundred,

His fingers were steady, and he wielded the knife with lightning speed.

As sawdust flew, the shady wood quickly changed shape.

Soon, a wooden raccoon cat appeared in Chang Shou's palm. It wasn't exactly lifelike, but it had a charmingly naive look, lively eyes, and visible fur.

His gaze softened as he stared at the wood carving.

When I was young, I learned carpentry from a wandering Mohist knight for a while. I wouldn't say my skills were superb, but I could make some furniture without much trouble.

When his three granddaughters were young, he began to hone his skills, trying to carve small things for them, such as raccoons, dogs, birds, fish, and shrimp—things he often carved. Later, whether they were alive or not, he would carve these things for their birthdays.

Over time, his skills improved day by day.

He gradually grew into a qualified carpenter.

Later, he exchanged skills with bamboo weavers in the county and learned from each other, so that he could weave things like grasshoppers and baskets for his granddaughters.

Later, the subject of the carving and weaving became monkeys.

While I was still able to move around, I would carve and weave things for the monkeys every year.

Thinking of how lively and excited his granddaughters and the monkey were when they received the gifts, Changshou smiled from the bottom of his heart. His old face was kind and gentle, full of reminiscence and love.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into his mind.

He lowered his head and gazed once more at the wooden carving in his hand, a wide smile spreading across his face. Perhaps, besides spiritual cultivation, he possessed another skill—

Puppetry!!!

He read an ancient book in the Wan Juan Lou.

The text records the stories of Mozi, the founder of the Mohist school, and Lu Ban, who are said to have created the art of puppetry, one of the many arts of cultivating immortality.

This technique, also known as mecha technique, is only a little over a hundred years old. It's a relatively niche skill, sharing many similarities with puppetry. Perhaps when I cultivate to become an immortal and have a relatively long lifespan, I can try to learn this technique.

He secretly made a note of this.

Chang Shou collected his thoughts, put away his carving knife, dusted off the wood shavings, leaned on his cane, slowly stood up, and placed the raccoon wood carving next to the incense burner.

Chang Shou reached out and made a hand seal, chanting incantations.

He then pointed at the spirit of the Black Fox and uttered eight words clearly and distinctly:

"The soul returns, the spirit dwells in the tree."

Guided by Chang Shou, the soul of the Xuanli slowly flew into the wooden raccoon carving.

After doing all this.

Longevity brings a long and comfortable breath.

Before the incense had burned out, he sat cross-legged beside the incense burner, slowly inhaling the fragrance to nourish his own spirit, while simultaneously drawing upon and refining the surrounding spiritual energy to restore his magical power.

As the incense burned out, Changshou opened his eyes.

He walked to the table, picked up his brush and wrote, opened the book titled "Kindness" and began to write with focused concentration.

The rat demon from beyond the mountain bullies me, old and weak.

The yellow-haired weasel spirit of Lingshan is the protector of the rat demon.

[The round-faced, chubby chicken got involved with innocent people, but fortunately it realized its mistake and the grudge has been resolved. This chicken is reckless and easy to provoke, so it's best to avoid dealing with it in the future.]

……

It records a year's worth of grievances.

As a kind and honest person, one should be clear about right and wrong, repay kindness with kindness, and respond to injustice with justice.

Finally, Changshou drew a circle on the yellow-haired ferret to mark it.

His eyes darkened, but he was not afraid.

The yellow-haired weasel has the support of Lingshan Mountain and the help of monkeys.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Lingshan would never offend a dead monkey for the sake of a yellow-haired weasel spirit.

Keep the booklet safe.

Sensing the change in light, Changshou looked up. At that moment, the east was just beginning to lighten, the sun was rising, and soft orange-yellow light slanted in through the window.

The two little ones had already eaten and drunk their fill and were fast asleep.

Seeing that Changshou had finished his work, Linglu got up, called out a few times to greet him, and then calmly walked out of the house.

She has to go back to see her children.

---

After the deer left, Changshou walked to the bed with his staff, picked up the two cubs, and placed them in the prepared fluffy nest.

Immediately, he left his house, sat cross-legged under the ancient Bodhi tree, facing east, and began practicing the Qi-absorbing method.

This Qi-absorbing method is called "Danxi Yulun Lingyuan Qi-absorbing Method", or simply "Lingyuan Qi-absorbing Method". It is derived from "Beiyuan Qi-absorbing Method" and is one of the results of Changshou's year of cultivation in Xieyue Sanxing Cave.

The practice route is slightly more refined than the "Northern Origin Breathing Method." Although it is only a minor adjustment, it has brought about a profound and qualitative change.

Not only does it greatly increase the efficiency of gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but it can also use water as a medium to draw in the essence of the moon and yin to supplement yang. At the same time, it uses water as a screen to gather the purple energy of the rising sun, filtering out the dryness and fire, leaving only the yang energy that nourishes the body and warms the flesh.

This method of breathing exercises has only been mastered for half a month.

Chang Shou had only been cultivating for a short time, but as the founder, he was already familiar with the process. Soon, a wisp of purple energy was separated from the vast ocean of purple energy and fell into the Scripture Pavilion.

Water vapors gathered between heaven and earth, forming a mist that enveloped Changshou's body.

The purple aura, filtered through layers of water mist, was already mild and harmless when it entered his mouth and nose, and was refined and absorbed by Changshou.

As wisps of purple energy entered his abdomen, a touch of color gradually returned to his aged face.

Fifteen minutes later, when he reached his limit, he began to practice Changshou Gong.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, and as his eyes opened and closed, a glimmer of clarity appeared in his cloudy old eyes.

He rose with his cane and went to the kitchen.

The monkey had already prepared breakfast for him and saw him happily jump onto the chair and wave.

"Hehehe, Old Man Chang, over here!"

The other disciples reacted in various ways.

Some might smile, appreciating the monkey's innocent and carefree nature; others might furrow their brows, disliking its restlessness and rudeness; still others might glance at it indifferently and then look away without expression.

But the monkey didn't care at all and continued to do as it pleased.

He was already used to being scrutinized like this.

In Old Man Chang's words—

They like their senior and junior brothers, and as long as they don't make any fundamental mistakes, no matter what they do, they will always like them.

If you dislike your senior or junior brothers, it's all for naught no matter how well you do. In their eyes, everything you do is wrong, and even living is a waste of air.

I am not a panacea, and I cannot be liked by all my fellow disciples. As long as I have a clear conscience, I only need to care about those who care about me.

Internal strife must be avoided at all times.

Upon hearing the sound, Chang Shou smiled, picked up his staff, and walked over, equally unconcerned about the other disciples' stares.

The monkey is a conspicuous bag.

Wherever they are, they attract a lot of attention.

Over the past year, I've gotten used to it.

Habits become second nature. He sat down naturally, talked to the monkeys naturally, nodded and greeted the immortals he was on good terms with naturally, and ate his breakfast naturally.

The meal is over.

Changshou did not leave.

Help the monkeys clean up the pots and pans.

The water in the basin swirls clockwise into a rapid vortex, causing the bowls and plates to rotate and quickly become clean.

Once everything is sorted out...

Changshou had the monkey follow him to the residence of the True Immortal.

Zhenli's small courtyard is surrounded by lush bamboo, which are vigorous and upright, with abundant branches and leaves that shade each other.

Step inside.

A rich bamboo fragrance, accompanied by a cool breeze, wafts over you.

The tranquil environment is so calming.

In the courtyard with its winding stream and floating wine cups.

Simmering tea over a low flame, its aroma fills the air.

Changshou and the monkey paid their respects to Zhenli in the pavilion.

After exchanging greetings, Changshou explained his purpose and recounted his experience from the previous night.

"Fellow Daoist Zhenli, those rat demons have committed countless evil deeds."

Now that Xuanli has perished, and the creatures of Triangle Mountain are in imminent danger, now that we know of this, shouldn't we step forward to slay the demon and protect the peace of this region?