Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Xuanqing Temple.

These three characters looked as if they had been carved with a sword. Zhuang Xing saw many sword-like marks on the rocks on the ground. He closed his eyes and seemed to see the figure of the person wielding the sword. Suddenly, he wanted to wield a sword.

Chapter 63 Xuanqing Temple

Zhuang Xing noticed that this flat cliff appeared abruptly in this area. He looked up and saw that there were more mountains ahead, but no path to the top. There was a straight cliff with a very smooth surface, just as smooth as the ground beneath his feet.

He always felt that the place where he was standing had never existed before.

He felt as if someone had sliced ​​the mountain horizontally and vertically, like cutting a cake, creating a place where a person could stand.

The entire mountain peak was cut off by that person, leaving such an extremely spacious space.

It was quite spacious. Behind the stone tablet were rows of buildings with white brick walls and neatly stacked blue tiles. Several tall pavilions emerged, and the ebony window frames were carved with clouds and cranes.

Zhuang Xing looked to the side; a few more steps and they would reach the cliff. They had already climbed to a very high place.

Looking down from here, you can no longer see the town at the foot of the mountain, but you can see a vast forest and river. Just a dozen meters below the cliff, he spotted a squirrel leaping from one side of the treetop to the other, its movements nimble and adorable.

The temple gate was wide open, and people were still going in and out. When they saw the group of people with children, a group of Taoist priests came out to greet them.

Master Qingxuzi exchanged a few words with the leading old Taoist priest, and then Zhuang Xing followed the group into the gate.

Behind the gate was a spacious area, and although it was noon, Zhuang Xing still saw many disciples practicing their swords there.

The box containing the giant clam demon was moved elsewhere, while Zhuang Xing and the others walked through a mahogany-lacquered corridor.

Two Taoist priests approached, one a senior female priest and the other a senior male priest.

“Boy, come over here.”

“Girl, come with me.”

The senior students greeted the people one by one, and Zhuang Xing knew that they were going to be taken to their accommodations.

Zhuang Xing then said goodbye to Yunling, saying that they would meet again at dinner. To Zhuang Xing's surprise, the child who had almost fallen down earlier actually walked to the side with Yunling.

He hadn't realized it was a girl before, but now, looking closely in the shadow of the eaves, well... maybe the girl's appearance was too androgynous, and her hair was too short, or maybe she was too thin and malnourished to tell the difference between her gender.

But she probably wasn't just taking advantage of the situation. Her senior brothers and sisters all had lists, and they only left with their people after calling out names according to those lists.

Zhuang Xing had a vague impression of the girl named Bai Yu, but she wasn't wearing the same training clothes as Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling. She wasn't a Taoist disciple, and probably wouldn't have any future dealings with him, so Zhuang Xing stopped looking at her and left with his senior brother.

“My name is Lingyi,” said the senior brother with a green tassel hanging from his waist. “You can call me Senior Brother Lingyi.”

As the senior disciple walked, he explained the precautions within the Taoist sect.

Zhuang Xing's mind wasn't on these rules; he was looking around, observing the place where he would be living from now on.

He saw a small waterfall flowing down the mountain, accumulating into a lake, where golden carp swam.

Beside the lake was a field, though not very large. It was enclosed by a bamboo fence, and some short medicinal herbs were growing in the black soil. Zhuang Xing recognized some of the plants, and it seemed to be a medicinal field specifically for growing spiritual herbs.

After passing through the medicinal herb field and a narrow path, we suddenly arrived at an extremely simple place.

Before Zhuang Xing hung long bamboo poles, with blue and white Taoist robes hanging on them, their hems fluttering in the wind like floating clouds.

A trickle of water flowed from the small lake near the medicinal herb field. Several young men with white sword tassels around their waists scooped water from the stream and squatted there washing their clothes.

Behind the boy were old tile-roofed houses. The senior student led them to the side of the house and gave them the keys.

Zhuang Xing's house was next to a birch tree, a very tall birch tree. Although it was late autumn, when you stood under the tree and looked up, the sky was still almost completely blocked by the tree canopy and the withered yellow leaves.

Bai Sui's disciples share a room in pairs, while other children share a room in groups of four or six.

Zhuang Xing got a new roommate, Da Chun, who came from the same village as him.

The two took the key and opened the door. A smell of dust hit them. The room seemed to have been unused for a long time, as the doors and windows were tightly closed.

Brother Lingyi said that they had to clean their own rooms, and after they were cleaned, he would take them to collect their bedding before nightfall.

Zhuang Xing placed his wooden box on the ground and, together with Da Chun, opened the window. The dust that had accumulated over the long period of storage was stirred up at this moment. Under the sunlight, the floating dust was particularly conspicuous. Zhuang Xing pinched his nose and waved his hand.

Only then did he turn around and carefully examine his room in the sunlight.

The room was small, about thirty square meters. Two stone beds took up most of the space. Near the door was a stone table with two wooden basins upside down on it. Next to the stone table was a water vat covered with cobwebs.

Several small mushrooms had sprouted from the cracks in the stone floor. Based on Zhuang Xing's experience, these mushrooms should be edible, but he felt a little strange about roasting or boiling the mushrooms growing in his bedroom.

After thinking for a while, he squatted down and pulled up all the mushrooms, then threw them out the window.

He watched as the small mushrooms climbed over the high wall behind the house and fell down the mountain. For some reason, he felt much refreshed.

After that, he and Da Chun cleaned their beds. Zhuang Xing chose the bed in the room because he liked the one by the window.

Da Chun went out and borrowed a broom from a neighbor. Before Ling Yi returned, they had already swept the dust off the bed.

Zhuang Xing sat on the stone bed and stretched. He thought that more than ten years ago, his mother and father lived in a similar place to him, perhaps next door. He felt that he was closer to his parents.

Not long after, Senior Brother Lingyi returned to find them, saying he would take them to the canteen for a meal.

Zhuang Xing was starving, and the mention of food made him jump out of bed immediately.

Led by their senior, they arrived at the canteen.

Zhuang Xing saw Yunling and raised his hand to greet her. It was past lunchtime, so there weren't many people in the canteen, but the canteen chefs still prepared hot meals for the new disciples.

That being said, Bai Sui's disciples had different lunches than the other children.

Once they arrived at Xuanqing Temple, they received some different treatment, since they were going to stay there for a year or two, and Xuanqing Temple couldn't possibly provide meat for every child.

However, if ordinary children bring money, they can also buy meat and vegetables to eat, which are cheaper than in the village, so they get some discounts.

After dinner, there were no special arrangements for the day. They were just asked to clean their rooms and rest for the night.

In the afternoon, Zhuang Xing and Da Chun gave the room a thorough cleaning. They scrubbed the water tank clean and scraped off the moss and dirt from the corners of the walls.

Da Chun borrowed a stool from his neighbor, placed it on the stone bed, stood on tiptoe, stretched out a broom, and cleaned the cobwebs on the ceiling until they were spotless.

In the evening, they went to Brother Lingyi's place to get their bedding and spread it on the bed.

The brand-new mattress had a pleasant, sun-kissed scent.

That night, Zhuang Xing wanted to chat with his new roommate a bit more, but not long after it got dark, he heard Da Chun snoring.

The guy fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, so Zhuang Xing had no choice but to close his eyes and go to sleep as well.

He had a dream in which his mother and father followed the Taoist priest Qingxuzi up the mountain when he was a child.

He dreamt that his mother was burning firewood in the kitchen, her face covered in soot. At that moment, a boy came over and carried the firewood for his mother. The two children took brooms and swept the withered leaves in the yard into a pile. Then, as it was getting dark, they went to the kitchen and each received a steamed bun. The girl broke off half of her bun and put it in the boy's hand. The boy, in turn, gave the girl the candy he had been hiding for a long time. All sorts of people walked past them, but they just sat in a corner where no one knew them, silently eating their buns and silently watching the sunset.

Chapter 64 Auspicious Purple Qi Comes from the East (Thanks to the "Masterpiece" Alliance Leader)

Before dawn, Zhuang Xing heard a rooster crowing outside and woke up from his sleep.

He opened his eyes and stared blankly for a few seconds.

For a few seconds, he almost thought he was still at home. During the twelve days of travel, he was either sleeping in the open or crammed into a large dormitory. Only yesterday and today was he able to have a bed to himself.

He slept so comfortably that he instinctively felt like he was lying on that familiar bed.

However, he quickly came to his senses and remembered that his senior brother Lingyi had said he should get up early today.

He sat up, put on his clothes, folded the quilt, took a basin and a towel, and went outside to fetch water to wash up.

After Zhuang Xing tidied himself up, Da Chun yawned and got up as well.

Da Chun brought a wooden basin outside, while Zhuang Xing stood under the big birch tree, practicing his daily warm-up exercises.

To outsiders, this warm-up routine seems unremarkable; it's just an ordinary exercise.

Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling had already practiced in front of Daoist Qingxuzi, but it didn't attract much of the Daoist's attention, so he practiced every day with peace of mind.

After performing a set of warm-up techniques, a wisp of purple cloud appeared on the horizon.

Zhuang Xing discovered that the place where he was standing was a platform with an extremely wide view. There was only a low wall next to the big birch tree, and looking out of that wall, the beautiful rivers and mountains came into view.

A cool breeze blew in his face. The morning autumn wind was supposed to be a little chilly, but Zhuang Xing didn't feel cold at all; his body was quite warm.

He watched as the stream cascaded down the cliff from a small opening beneath the low wall, the column of water resembling a line, an extremely thin silver thread that seemed to connect heaven and earth.

Purple clouds rise from the east, and water falls from the blue sky.

He looked up at the sky and the earth and felt so insignificant.

Suddenly, I remembered a line of poetry I had memorized before: "We are but mayflies in the vastness of the universe, a mere grain of millet in the boundless ocean."

In this boundless universe, what is his little worry?

He suddenly felt his mind clear, and the slight depression that had been weighing on his heart for the past few days was instantly dispelled, so he practiced the warm-up exercise with even greater ease.

With each breath, his breathing became increasingly steady.

Looking back at the sheer cliff face, he felt a sense of traversing the river of time.

He had a vague feeling about it yesterday, and the urge to wield the sword became increasingly obvious.

It was dawn, the beginning of a person's day, and as the sky gradually brightened, his mind became increasingly clear.

He felt himself entering a special realm, where even with his eyes closed, he could seem to "hear" the breathing of all things.

Without thinking, he gripped the wooden sword in his hand and began to wield it with a mysterious rhythm.

Beneath the birch tree, he lightly wielded his wooden sword. The birch leaves that had fallen the night before shifted and moved with his steps, slowly gathering at his feet to form a circle.

This scene attracted a lot of attention.

Those Bai Sui disciples who had been practicing for some time put down their wooden basins and stood there silently watching Zhuang Xing practice his sword dance.

They remained silent in perfect unison, sensing a unique charm in Zhuang Xing's every move. Although they weren't the ones wielding the sword, they were still deeply moved as they watched.

Zhuang Xing sensed that someone was watching him, but he was completely immersed in this wonderful state of mind. He didn't want to stop at this moment, nor would he stop at this moment.

It was at this moment that several Taoist priests arrived at the disciples' living area.

The disciples made way for the Taoist priests. Lingyi, who had led Zhuang Xing and the others to check in yesterday, looked at Zhuang Xing with some doubts. Just as he was about to ask, a whisk was placed in front of him.

Uncle-Master Qingxu smiled slightly and shook his head at Lingyi.

Lingyi then bowed, took a step back, and stood behind his Uncle-Master Qingxuzi.

Like everyone else, he silently watched Zhuang Xing practice his swordplay. After a while, his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

The obstacle that had troubled him for so long suddenly showed signs of being overcome.