One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

Early morning at Cuiwei Mountain.

The thin mist in the mountains and forests had not completely dissipated, and the air was filled with a refreshing fragrance of grass and trees.

"Inhale the pure energy of heaven and earth, sinking it into the sea of ​​qi; exhale the turbid energy of the five internal organs, dispersing it into nothingness..."

Under the old locust tree in the courtyard, Jiang Shou slowly put away his stance and exhaled a long breath of turbid air carrying a faint white mist.

He stood up and stretched. His bones crackled and popped softly.

Although yesterday's intense "chase" with Gian left him with a bad blow, the soreness has completely disappeared after a night's rest.

After a morning of practicing the "Guardian of Oneness" breathing technique, the true essence in his dantian was slowly rotating, radiating vitality. With each breath, a tiny bit of energy from the true essence would be released, nourishing his limbs and bones. The feeling of being filled with inexhaustible energy and having clear hearing and vision made him want to roar to the sky.

"Cultivating immortality, what a damn great civilization!"

Jiang Shou patted his belly with satisfaction, then turned and walked into the main hall.

He took out some high-quality sandalwood incense he had bought in the county town, lit three sticks, and respectfully placed them into the brass incense burner in front of the Three Pure Ones. Then he also lit a stick for his grandfather's memorial tablet in the side hall.

"May the Ancestral Master bless me, may the Old Man bless me, please grant me more lucrative quests where gold is hidden in the soil, I will be eternally grateful..."

Jiang Shouzhen was muttering to himself with his eyes closed when suddenly, his extraordinary hearing keenly detected a series of heavy footsteps and the clanging of metal coming from the winding mountain path outside the Taoist temple.

"Pilgrimage visitors are already here so early in the morning?"

Jiang Shou opened his eyes, patted the incense ash off his hands, and strode out the door.

As soon as I peeked out, I saw two strong men struggling to walk up the stone steps leading to the Taoist temple.

The one in front was carrying a long, heavy object wrapped tightly in a large red silk cloth on his shoulder; the man behind him was carrying a lightweight aluminum ladder in one hand and two large gift boxes with high-end trademarks in the other.

Jiang Shou squinted and took a closer look. The man carrying the heavy load in front of him looked somewhat familiar. "Hey, isn't that Da Long, the helper who moved the bed at Wang Daqiang's house in Lingxia Town?"

Da Long and his companion were exhausted and covered in sweat. When they looked up and saw Jiang Shou standing at the door, dressed in a blue Taoist robe and exuding an ethereal aura, they quickly quickened their pace and jogged over to him.

"Master Jiang! Good morning!" Da Long put down the heavy load on his shoulder, panting heavily, and greeted him with utmost respect.

"So it's Master Dalong." Jiang Shou made a Taoist finger gesture with one hand, nodded slightly, and looked at the long, rectangular object covered with a red cloth. Knowing the answer already, he asked, "Why did you rush here on the mountain road so early...?"

Da Long wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned, "It's like this, Master Jiang. Our boss, Wang Daqiang, noticed when he accompanied the old lady to your temple to offer incense and fulfill her vow that the plaque above the temple gate was really dilapidated, and the characters were almost illegible."

Da Long's tone was full of admiration: "After the boss went back, he mentioned it to the old lady, and she nodded repeatedly! Shouyi Temple is a great benefactor to our family, so we must keep this place up! That's why the boss spent a lot of money to find the best woodcarver in the county, and they worked day and night for two days to make a new plaque for you. They had the two of us deliver it to you on the mountain this morning!"

As he spoke, Da Long stepped forward and ripped off the bright red silk cloth covering the long, narrow object.

"Whoosh—"

In the morning sunlight, a heavy and imposing solid wood plaque was prominently displayed before Jiang Shou's eyes!

The plaque is made of the finest black walnut wood, dense and with a deep, glossy base. At the very center of the plaque, three powerful characters, "Shouyi Temple," are carved in a flowing, elegant style. Most importantly, these three characters are entirely gilded with genuine gold leaf!

When the sunlight shone, it was so dazzling that it almost blinded anyone with titanium alloy eyes!

Jiang Shou stared at the gleaming golden plaque, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

"Holy crap!" Jiang Shou mentally gave Wang Daqiang a huge thumbs up, practically wanting to give him a five-star review. "This fat guy is so damn savvy! He felt that 20,000 yuan in incense money wasn't enough to show his sincerity, so he even got such a prestigious gold signboard! This boss is a real pro!"

Although he was incredibly excited inside, Jiang Shou's face remained calm and composed, showing no signs of being surprised by praise or criticism.

He sighed softly and shook his head: "Boss Wang is really thoughtful. In fact, those who cultivate themselves do not care about these external appearances, but since it is the sincere intention of Layman Wang and the old man, I will accept it on behalf of the patriarch."

Upon hearing that Jiang Shou had accepted the gift, Da Long breathed a sigh of relief and quickly handed over the two large bags he was carrying: "Immortal Master, these bags contain some top-grade Da Hong Pao tea from Wuyi Mountain, a few boxes of premium agarwood, and fresh fruit, all brought to you by our boss as a token of our respect."

"Please thank Boss Wang for me." Jiang Shou took the bag.

Da Long turned to his companions and said, "Come on, Xiao Hu, set up the ladder, let's quickly help the Immortal Master put up this new plaque!"

The two got right to work. In less than twenty minutes, the new plaque with the words "Shouyi Temple" engraved in gold was hung steadily above the two vermilion doors.

Although the walls of this Taoist temple are still covered with withered ivy and the gate is still in its shabby state with peeling paint, the moment this gleaming gold plaque is hung up, the entire Shouyi Temple's prestige is instantly elevated by more than one level! It emphasizes "understated luxury with profound meaning".

"You two have worked hard. Please come in and have a cup of tea before you leave," Jiang Shou politely invited.

"No, no, no!" Da Long and the other man waved their hands repeatedly, pointing towards the pavilion halfway down the mountain path. "Immortal Master, you're too kind. Our truck is still parked down there, and we have several decoration companies to deliver to today, so we won't disturb your cultivation any longer."

Jiang Shou didn't insist any further, nodded slightly, and watched the two of them quickly descend the stone steps.

Until their figures completely disappeared.

Jiang Shou then turned around, put his hands on his hips, tilted his head back, and stared in a daze at the golden signboard above the gate that gleamed in the sunlight. His mouth was practically stretched to the back of his head in a wide grin.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Jiang Shou smacked his lips, unable to resist complaining to the air, "Old man, old man, look at you! You've spent your whole life on the mountain, clinging to that piece of broken wood that's practically rotten to dust as if it were a treasure. And look at your grandson, me! I've only been in business for less than half a month, and I've already replaced the signboard with one made of pure gold! That's what you call vision! Hahaha... Am I truly an unparalleled genius of the Taoist sect?"

Just as Jiang Shou was smugly talking to himself in front of the plaque.

"Well……"

Suddenly, without warning, the Suihanling talisman in the pocket of the underwear radiated warmth.

Jiang Shou's face lit up with joy. "Wow! We just hung up the new sign and business is already coming in!"

He looked around like a thief, making sure there wasn't a soul in sight, before eagerly reaching into his pocket and pulling out the faintly warm black wooden plaque.

Sure enough! The two characters "岁寒" on the surface of the wooden sign were shimmering with a faint blue light.

Jiang Shou gently rubbed the surface of the card with his thumb. With a soft "rustling" sound, four lines of new divination characters, radiating a lustrous glow, slowly emerged from the blank space on the back of the wooden card:

[Kan Hexagram, Line 63] [Thunder rumbles in the night, blood splatters before it; a terrified soul falls, its spirit loses its place.]

[The man from the Dongcheng Porcelain Factory lies unconscious on the third floor of the county hospital, his spirit restless.] [A talisman should be used to summon his soul back to his body.]

Jiang Shou's smile gradually faded as he stared at the four lines of text, his brows furrowing slightly.

Compared to the previous divination for the child who lost his soul in Nanxi Lane, this divination conveyed a sense of tragic and bloody oppression.

Thunder in the night? Blood splattered before him? A terrifying fall? This clearly means that on a stormy night, this person witnessed an extremely terrifying, even bloody, event, and may have even fallen from a height, resulting in extreme fright!

"The people from the Dongcheng Porcelain Factory...are lying on the third floor of the county hospital?"

Jiang Shou stroked his chin, quickly extracting the key information. "Dongcheng Porcelain Factory, that's an old state-owned factory in the eastern suburbs of Qiyun County. It seems to be on the verge of bankruptcy in recent years. The patient lying on the third floor of the county hospital... the third floor of the county people's hospital inpatient department? He's unconscious, his mind wandering..."

This condition is generally referred to as a deep coma or vegetative state in modern medicine.

In folk metaphysics, this is called "soul separation syndrome"! It means that when a person is subjected to extremely terrifying stimulation, their three souls and seven spirits are directly frightened out of their body and cannot find their way back to their body, so the physical body remains in a state of deep sleep!

Upon seeing the final solution, Jiang Shou's initially excited face completely fell.

"It is advisable to use a soul-summoning talisman to guide the soul back to the body..."

We need to use a more advanced [Soul-Summoning Talisman] to forcibly pull the soul back?!

"Good heavens..." Jiang Shou swallowed hard, looking at the Suihan Token in his hand.

"Grandmaster, can't you be a little more understanding of my beginner's skills? I have to draw talismans again!!"