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

"I'm not praising myself, I'm just telling the truth."

Sun Wukong spoke righteously and eloquently.

Chang Shou's lips twitched. This monkey has become even more shameless since he obtained the secret to immortality.

They continued their conversation.

Half an hour later, the monkey helped Changshou back to the thatched hut. He refused Ke Da's offer to stay, waved his hand, and left gracefully.

Bodhi Patriarch also looked away.

After having his meal, Changshou returned to the guest house to enter into seclusion.

Sitting cross-legged on the couch, he focused intently on his two unexpected insights.

Inspiration bursts forth, thoughts surge forth.

Various principles are interwoven into the Daoist mind.

Within Changshou's lower dantian, two streams of energy, one warm and one cold, intertwined, their flow becoming increasingly mysterious, and the all-encompassing water-like quality within his magical power became more pronounced.

His internal organs were glowing.

My whole body was bathed in icy blue light.

The hair and beard shimmered with a warm, lustrous sheen.

As the spiritual energy hidden within him exerted its power, Changshou gained even more insights, a deeper understanding of the principles he had already grasped, and a keener understanding of the true nature of many new principles.

His Daoist heart gradually became clearer, and his insights were like pure water gradually wiping away the dust and grime from his heart.

Ke Da seemed to sense something, looked at the inn with a puzzled expression, and lowered his head to ponder deeply.

Although he cultivated himself into an immortal, his path differed from that of Fellow Daoist Changshou.

He inherited part of Emperor Yu's Taoist tradition, focusing on dynamic exercises. As long as he perseveres in practicing axe techniques, coupled with his exceptional talent, he will surely achieve success one day.

Chang Shou mainly practices stillness exercises and uses movement exercises as a supplement. Even if someone's cultivation level is higher than his, he can't give them much guidance.

I just feel that Fellow Daoist Changshou may have gained a lot from this seclusion, so it's best not to disturb him at this moment.

With this in mind, Ke Da gave the following instructions:

"Dayong, don't go to the inn unless it's absolutely necessary..."

He instructed his children, grandchildren, and three furry dogs not to disturb Changshou.

Since Changshou doesn't show up on his own, they don't need to urge him to eat, drink, or relieve himself. Anyway, this old man won't starve to death even if he doesn't eat for three to five days.

"Don't worry, Father."

"Coo coo~!"

"Meow~!"

【Okay! Okay】

The Ke family nodded in agreement.

They may not have much talent or know anything about cultivation, but they are self-aware and not arrogant.

Since their father (elder father) forbade them to disturb them, they would not disturb them, as long as the immortal master would not blame the Ke family for being impolite.

---

The sun and moon revolve day and night, but time cannot be stopped.

Changshou secluded himself for five days and five nights.

On the sixth day, in the dead of night.

The bright moon is shining, and the clear spring stone is flowing.

The door, which had been closed for several days, was finally opened.

Chang Shou, dressed in a wide-sleeved gray robe, came out carrying a cane.

Looking up at the autumn moon high in the sky, he stroked his beard, his face kind, his old face less wrinkled, his spine straighter than a pine tree, and he seemed to be in much better spirits.

His full head of silver hair and frost-like beard, in particular, reflected a slight silvery glow under the bright moonlight, as if moonlight were flowing between his beard and hair.

At this moment, he resembled an immortal.

The night is beautiful tonight, and Changshou's mood is even more beautiful.

After digesting what he had learned, he did indeed benefit greatly. Although his magical power did not make much progress, his cultivation level improved considerably, and his body became stronger and more powerful.

Bones as hard as mountains, blood flowing like streams.

He still looks like a centenarian on the surface, but his internal condition is that of a man in his fifties.

more importantly--

During his seclusion, his mastery of water techniques reached a new level, further aligning with the true meaning of "the highest good is like water."

Thinking of this, Chang Shou used his free left hand to form a hand seal.

The mountain air gathered and quickly condensed, soon creating a cloud of mist above the thatched cottage.

A short while later, the clouds became as heavy as lead.

Drops of water gathered, falling onto the thatch, dripping onto the walls, gradually growing larger, accumulating until the thatched hut was soon enveloped in a light drizzle.

It moistened the trees and nourished the flowers and plants.

Numerous green shoots sprouted from the entire thatched hut.

After being bathed in rain, the tender green shoots grew rapidly, becoming lush and verdant in the blink of an eye.

Flowers bloom in profusion outside the window, their petals slowly unfolding, their hearts bursting forth with fragrance.

In a short while, the Ke family courtyard was bursting with flowers, a riot of colors, a breathtaking sight.

The vegetable garden in the backyard was nourished by the sweet rain. After the rain, the clouds and fog dispersed, and the bright moonlight once again fell into the thatched cottage, illuminating the backyard.

The vegetable garden yielded a bumper harvest.

The entire backyard was packed with fruits and vegetables, piled one on top of another.

Smelling the aroma of fruits, Chang Shou smiled broadly.

"A loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise."

Having been expelled from the Crescent Moon and Three Stars Cave, his mood improved even further, and he gained a more open-minded perspective on things. In short:

Nothing matters more than life and death.

His mind became more serene and his spirit more open-minded. Ironically, he turned misfortune into blessing and gained a true understanding of the meaning of water.

The highest good is like water.

Water benefits all things without striving, and dwells in places that others disdain, thus it is close to the Way.

His water is special.

Perhaps the way of oneself lies in this.

Since discovering this, Changshou has studied this method in depth, and even tried to combine it with the spiritual cultivation method, constantly exploring the quality of water nourishing all things.

Although there were some gains, there were no major breakthroughs.

This time, his understanding of the highest good being like water focused on vitality. He not only learned how to create clouds and rain, but also found that the life force in the rain was greatly enhanced.

The immortals obtain a method within the Dao, and a technique within that method.

No two leaves in this world are exactly alike; a thousand people have a thousand faces, ten thousand people have ten thousand interpretations, yet the techniques are the same.

For a living being to attain the Dao Fruit of Immortality, in addition to meeting the requirements of cultivating one's nature and achieving perfect merit, one also needs to comprehend a technique unique to oneself.

Although Chang Shou's previous techniques were innovative, they were only minor, lacked strong personal imprint, and were not fully realized.

Although he didn't fully grasp it this time, he understood half of it.

All beginnings are hard.

He has already overcome the most difficult situation.

Further study and refinement in the future will significantly reduce the difficulty.

---

Enjoy the moonlight for a while.

Chang Shou returned to the inn with his cane.

He slept fully clothed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Inside the main room, Ke Da, who had been startled awake but remained lying motionless on the bed, closed his eyes again and mumbled in a half-asleep state:

"Brother Chang's magic is quite good. We won't have to worry about going hungry in the future. No wonder he comes from a farming family; the magic he has mastered is so practical."

Soon, snoring filled the main room.

The morning stars are few and far between, and the dawn light is faint.

The next morning, when Ke Da's descendants woke up, they were overjoyed to find the changes in the courtyard.

Stepping out of the house, Chang Shou looked at the grateful Ke family and explained with a smile:

"I have troubled you all for many days. I have nothing of value to offer but some meager magical skills. I will offer you fresh flowers and fruits as a token of my gratitude."

"You're too kind, Immortal Master. You are I..."

The Ke family quickly waved their hands, both excited and polite, showing even more enthusiasm towards Changshou.

They felt that this immortal's magic was much more effective than their father's (great-father's) magic.

I had breakfast.

Chang Shou and Ke Da walked out of the thatched hut together.

Changshou plans to build a hermitage on Fangcun Mountain, so he needs to find a suitable and auspicious place.

Ke Da had been in Fangcun Mountain for many years and was more familiar with the place than Chang Shou. He needed this fellow Daoist to guide him and help him.

[By the water, in a peach orchard, amidst a bamboo forest...]

After hearing Chang Shou's request, Ke Da quickly thought of a place and immediately took Chang Shou there.

Half an hour later, halfway up the mountain.

The two immortals stood on a piece of ground.

To the south of this place is a bamboo forest, to the north is a waterfall, and there are a few scattered mountain peach trees nearby.

"What do you think of this place, fellow Daoist?"

"Very good! I'll have to work hard from now on, fellow Daoist."

Satisfied, Chang Shou asked Ke Da to help him out.

Ke Da laughed loudly: "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I've been doing this kind of thing for many years. For me, cutting bamboo is just a routine matter."

talking.

He stepped into the bamboo forest and brandished his axe.

In an instant, a cold glint flashed, and a bamboo grove collapsed.