Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

For example, when Zhuang Xing went up the mountain, the Taoist priests used a kind of fire talisman, which was a very common type of fire talisman. It was very easy to make, and Zhuang Xing could draw it with just pen, ink and paper.

Even for Zhuang Xing, it was acceptable to carve with bamboo strips instead of paper.

Because his true qi is extremely sharp, it can leave marks and exert its effect even on hard bamboo.

However, Yunling cannot use bamboo strips to draw talismans; she can only use soft paper.

Actually, you don't necessarily have to use yellow paper to draw talismans. Xuan paper and silk can also be used to draw talismans. However, Xuan paper is too thin and not easy to preserve, while silk is too expensive compared to yellow paper, making it too cost-effective. Therefore, most of the time, talismans are made using yellow paper as the medium.

In addition to the ignition talisman and the wind-blowing talisman, Zhuang Xing also learned how to draw the family protection talisman.

The protective charm is a very special talisman, similar to a fire-starting charm and a wind-blowing charm. No matter who draws it, the effect is the same: to start a fire and create a wind.

However, the protective charm is not like that. Although it is called a "charm", it is actually just a way to seal the true qi of the person who drew the charm into it.

The reason why the protective talisman can repel mosquitoes, snakes, and rats is that it amplifies true qi in a way similar to a loudspeaker. These kinds of creatures have a strong ability to sense danger, and if the person who draws the talisman has a high level of cultivation, it can play a great role.

Especially for those demons who have not yet developed intelligence, seeing the protective talisman is like seeing the talisman artist himself. As long as the talisman artist is stronger than the demon, the demon will be afraid and dare not approach.

Moreover, depending on the true qi characteristics of the person who draws the talisman, the talisman can also have some additional effects. For example, the talisman drawn by Master Qingxuzi can ignite a flame when a demon approaches, causing a small explosion like a firecracker, thus alerting the people inside the house.

Zhuang Xing's protective talisman can release a sharp sword aura and can be used as an offensive talisman.

The protective talisman drawn by Yunling had a rather subtle effect. When they were learning how to draw the talisman, Master Qingxuzi had them stick the talismans they had drawn onto flowerpots.

A month later, Yunling's talisman finally showed its effect. Many flowers and plants grew in her flowerpot. Master Qingxuzi said that it would be more suitable to stick Yunling's protective talisman on the fence in the yard, so that the jujube trees, elm trees, cucumbers and radishes planted in the yard could also grow better.

In short, after the start of spring, Zhuang Xing's time was still filled with a fulfilling study life.

In addition, at Master Yuanyan's request, Yunling moved to that medicinal herb field and lived with Master Yuanyan.

That place was closer to Zhuang Xing's house, making it easier for them to meet.

After the spring arrived, Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling planted wheat seeds in the place where they had previously found wheat ears. With Yun Ling's true qi nourishing them, the seeds sprouted smoothly. There were very few wheat seeds, enough to plant in a small plot of land, so they didn't have to spend too much effort. They only needed to water the seeds every few days and check on them briefly.

As for the snake fruit seeds, Yunling planted them in Master Yuanyan's medicinal field.

Master Yuan Yan specially set aside a spiritual field for Yunling to practice on. She also gave Yunling some seeds of spiritual herbs that were relatively easy to grow. Yunling was completely in charge of planning that field.

"Didn't Master Yuanyan ask you where the snake fruit seeds came from?" Zhuang Xing asked.

“They asked, and I told them I found it in the village,” Yunling said. “My master didn’t ask any more questions. She also taught me how to mask the smell of snake fruit. As long as you sprinkle a cup of realgar wine every day when the snake fruit is in bloom, the snake fruit won’t attract snakes.”

At the level of Daoist Yuan Yan, one would likely look down on a relatively low-grade spiritual fruit like the snake fruit.

Zhuang Xing thought it was a good idea; planting them in the spiritual herb field meant they wouldn't be picked by other Taoist priests.

However, when Yunling and Zhuang Xing talked about the various rare and precious herbs in Master Yuanyan's little wooden house, Zhuang Xing's eyes widened. The little wooden house looked inconspicuous, but it might be the most expensive piece of land in the entire Xuanqing Temple.

Zhuang Xing was very happy that Yunling had managed to get in touch with Daoist Yuan Yan. With those spiritual herb seeds, Yunling could begin further cultivation of life-giving magic.

Zhuang Xing was studying on the mountain. Although the environment and food at Xuanqing Temple were quite good, after half a year, he was increasingly looking forward to the day he could go down the mountain. He wanted to become a disciple of Qing Sui as soon as possible so that he could go home to visit his mother and father.

That afternoon, he was practicing swordsmanship with his senior brother Lingyi at the sword-dancing platform when Zhuang Xing couldn't help but ask about his senior brother's trip down the mountain.

“Back then, I went down the mountain after practicing at the academy for half a year,” said Senior Brother Lingyi. “As long as you break through the key points and cultivate true qi, most disciples can reach the bottleneck within half a year. At this time, they will have also entered the basics of many courses. The Taoist priests will then have the Chi Sui disciples lead the Qing Sui prospective disciples down the mountain to practice.”

"However, it depends on the situation. Usually, only after identifying the specific type of monster can Bai Sui disciples go down the mountain. For example, Ling Hui waited for more than a year before he and his senior brothers went down the mountain."

Chapter 76 Notice at the Foot of the Mountain

"So, the time for going down the mountain is arranged by the instructors?" Zhuang Xing sheathed his wooden sword.

“That’s just how it is for Bai Sui disciples,” Senior Brother Lingyi said. “After becoming a Qing Sui disciple, you can arrange your own schedule to a certain extent. Once you become a Qing Sui disciple, on the first day of each month, you can go to the town at the foot of the mountain. If the officials have something to ask of you, they will entrust the people in the town to post notices. You can take a look at those notices yourself, and if there is anything suitable, you can go out. Sometimes it doesn’t necessarily have to be about exorcising demons.”

"Is that so? Where are those notices posted?"

"There's an inn at the entrance of town. You should have stayed there one night before you came up the mountain. The notices are posted on the notice board in the courtyard on the first floor by the Taoist priest of the inn."

"I see."

Zhuang Xing was completely focused on the town at that time, and he didn't expect that the place where the notice was posted was actually the inn. He hadn't even been to the inn at all.

The senior brother explained the specifics, saying that when he arrived at the foot of the mountain, the teachers and senior brothers and sisters leading the group would explain it to him.

There seems to be a rather complex evaluation system involved; it's not simply a matter of choosing whichever notice you like.

Moreover, Xuanqing Temple has always emphasized teamwork in exorcising demons; even a disciple of the Red Rice Sect cannot exorcise a demon alone.

When a disciple who has received the notice goes out, there must be at least three people working together, one of whom must be an experienced leader.

The purpose of doing this is to minimize risks and respond to emergencies.

In those days, transportation was underdeveloped, and it was inevitable that people would spend the night in the suburbs. Having two or three more people could help distribute the night watch work and prevent it from becoming too stressful.

After all, it takes a lot of resources and time to train a disciple, and Xuanqing Temple is the last person who wants their hard-won disciple to die outside.

The reason for strictly controlling disciples' outings is to reduce risks.

These rules will not be relaxed until the disciples of Ako are established.

Becoming a disciple of the Red Rice Fields already makes one a backbone of the Xuanqing Temple, but it is not an easy thing. It usually only takes three to five years to go from White Rice Fields to Blue Rice Fields, but it may take ten or fifteen years to go from Blue Rice Fields to Red Rice Fields.

You can only be allowed to become a member of the Akako sect when the elders in the temple believe that you can stand on your own, take care of yourself, and have the capacity to take care of your fellow practitioners.

Zhuang Xing immediately realized that he had been tricked by Daoist Qingxuzi. No wonder the old Daoist said that once he became Chi Sui or Hei Sui, he could go home at will.

A disciple of the Red Harvest Sect, if not a first-rate master, must at least be a second-rate one, capable of traveling to most places in the world.

In fact, the disciples of the Red Harvest Sect already possess the ability to venture out into the world, and they can leave whenever they wish. The Xuanqing Temple cannot force them to stay.

But Brother Lingyi said that in the past hundred years, only three disciples have left the sect on his own.

“One of these three disciples is Heisui,” Senior Brother Lingyi said. “I’ve only heard about it. It’s said that he became a disciple of Heisui at the young age of nineteen. The elders all think that he will become an elder of Xuanqing Temple in the future, and perhaps he can take over the position of sect leader.”

"But thirty years ago, His Majesty heard that there were fairy islands overseas where one could find the elixir of immortality, so he summoned all the talented people in the world and built a treasure ship."

"After learning this news, that senior brother left a letter, donated all his wealth, and then went to the East China Sea to sail with the treasure ship."

"However, to this day, there is still no news of that senior brother. We don't know where he is or whether he is still alive in this world," Senior Brother Lingyi said with some emotion.

"Did that senior brother leave in pursuit of immortality?" Zhuang Xing asked, looking up.

Cultivating true qi can only prolong life, not grant immortality. Even a remarkable person like the White Lotus Hermit will eventually age and die under the relentless passage of time.

If there really were something like Tang Sanzang's flesh that could grant immortality by eating it, Zhuang Xing thought he would probably want to look for it too.

However... he turned around and thought that if he were the only one who could live forever, spending hundreds or thousands of years in solitude, it might not necessarily be interesting.

What was that senior brother, whom he had never met, thinking? And what was his reason for going on that treasure ship? Zhuang Xing was a little curious at this moment.

"In the letter left by that senior brother Heisui, there was only one sentence," senior brother Lingyi said in a low voice. "He said that he wanted to leave that small mountain village when he was very young."

"Leave that small mountain village..." Zhuang Xing pondered the meaning behind the sentence.

Although only this one sentence was left, Zhuang Xing felt as if he could see the excited expression on his senior's face when he wrote it.

Outside the mountain village is Xuanqing Temple, but what is outside Xuanqing Temple?

That senior brother probably just didn't want to miss this opportunity, he just wanted to go to places he had never been before, beyond the mountains, beyond the sea, to embark on a great adventure that he might never be able to turn back from.

Zhuang Xing could understand this feeling. He felt that he was somewhat similar to his senior brother. He was already imagining what kind of great adventures his senior brother Hei Sui had encountered. Perhaps there were sea monsters the size of islands in the deep sea, or perhaps countless unheard-of spiritual herbs grew on a misty fairy island...

"I really want to get down the mountain soon..." Zhuang Xing looked up at the azure sky and uttered this sentiment.

"Then practice your skills diligently." Senior Brother Lingyi patted Zhuang Xing's head.

Judging from Zhuang Xing's height and appearance now, he doesn't look like a child at all. The effects of the pearl tempering liquid have been absorbed by Zhuang Xing, and he has grown much taller.

"If you work hard, you should be able to go down the mountain before the Cold Dew this year. However, if your studies are not up to par by the Frost's Descent, you will have to wait until next year."

"I don't want to wait another year." President Zhuang sighed, shook his head vigorously, and picked up his wooden sword. "Senior brother, let's continue practicing our swordsmanship."

"Okay." Senior Brother Lingyi nodded, and the two of them practiced together again on the sword-dancing platform.

...

Thus, spring goes and summer comes, and the sun and moon revolve.

The tender leaves on the birch tree turned emerald green and lushly covered the canopy.

The cicadas chirped tirelessly as Zhuang Xing spent his days at Xuanqing Temple.

That night, after he had taken a bath, he sat under the big birch tree, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan to cool off, when he suddenly noticed that the leaves of the big birch tree had also turned yellow and many had fallen down.

He looked up and saw a bright moon like a jade plate. It was already the fifteenth of August, and the autumnal equinox was just around the corner. In two more months, he and Yunling would have spent a full year in the Taoist temple. Time really flies.

The next morning, he and Yunling went to check on the wheat they had planted. The wheat ears had formed, tinged with a gradual golden yellow, and the harvest was just around the corner.

They were not impatient and lived their lives practicing martial arts in a peaceful and stable manner.

The wooden swords in their hands had long been replaced with iron swords; they no longer used the swords they practiced with.

That afternoon, after finishing class at the school, Master Qingxuzi suddenly called out to Zhuang Xing and Yunling.

Master Qingxuzi said, "Go back and prepare, and go down the mountain tomorrow."

"Understood, disciples." The two replied with their heads bowed.

They were all prepared.

Chapter 77 Mountain Demon

“This time, Linghui will be leading the team. In addition to the two of you, there is also a disciple named Qinghui, who is already waiting at the foot of the mountain,” said Daoist Qingxuzi. “Go back to your rooms this afternoon to pack, and head to town before noon tomorrow.”

"Linghui will explain the specifics to you. This is your first time going down the mountain. If you don't understand anything, just listen to Linghui's instructions. Remember not to be impatient."

"In addition, I have two more things to give you. Please come forward."

Zhuang Xing and Yunling nodded and stepped forward.

Master Qingxuzi untied the bag at his waist and took out a stack of talismans that he had drawn beforehand.

“These three are Xuanhuo Talismans.” Daoist Qingxuzi placed the three talismans in Yunling’s palm. “Yunling, you are quick-witted and intelligent, with both inner and outer beauty, but you are good at studying medicine and Daoist magic and not good at fighting. If you encounter a demon that gets close, activate this talisman and an ordinary demon will die with one blow.”

"But the purpose of this trip down the mountain is to broaden your horizons. You will have to decide for yourself when to use this talisman and when not to. I believe you can make the right judgment."

"Disciple understands." Yunling accepted the three Xuanhuo talismans.

"These three are spirit energy talismans."

Master Qingxu nodded and placed the other three talismans in Zhuang Xing's palm.

"Zhuang Xing, you are exceptionally intelligent. On your first day on the mountain, you had already grasped some of your master's sword intent, and your true qi is even more radiant. However, you are still young, and when surrounded, you may feel powerless. If you encounter difficulties, activate this talisman. Within half an hour, it can make your true qi stronger. But remember, you can only use one spirit qi talisman per day. If you use a second one, after the effect ends, you will faint from exhaustion."