Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul.

When people walk on muddy roads, the icy mud and water are often knee-deep.

Every step was like walking on thin ice, for fear of slipping and sinking into a swamp.

Li Chang'an did not use any supernatural methods. After suffering several losses and falling into the swamp several times, he found a long stick by the roadside and used it to probe the ground as he walked to avoid sinking in again.

After entering the grasslands for some time, Li Chang'an, like the Alaya consciousness of his predecessors, found himself in a desperate situation with no food or water.

He looked up at the sky, where eagles were circling overhead.

Instead of trying to shoot down and eat the eagle, he followed the example of his ancestors, drinking rainwater and eating wild vegetables.

A week later, the grasslands began to grow denser, the mudflats and swamps decreased, and in the distance, under the blue sky and white clouds, taller mountains began to appear.

He entered the plateau region and began to experience altitude sickness.

Altitude sickness is something that often affects people who are physically stronger; in fact, the more severe the reaction is.

Because the stronger the body, the greater the oxygen consumption, and the stronger the cardiopulmonary function, the more obvious the reaction to hypoxia.

Li Chang'an possessed extraordinary vitality and physical qualities far exceeding those of ordinary people, and the altitude sickness he experienced was also far greater than that of ordinary people.

He, who hadn't been out of breath during the long journey, finally began to pant.

Li Chang'an quickly adapted his body to the low-oxygen climate of the plateau by adjusting his breathing and blood circulation.

He continued walking across the vast alpine meadows.

The sun in the sky was extremely scorching. Unlike the sweltering heat of lower altitudes, the sun on the plateau was exceptionally intense due to the lack of thick clouds and moisture to block the ultraviolet radiation. When the sun shone on exposed skin, you felt little warmth, only a stinging, needle-like pain.

If an ordinary person walks around for several hours without any protection, their skin will inevitably suffer severe sunburn and peeling.

It was thanks to Li Chang'an's amazing physical constitution and his foundation in cultivating both body and mind that he was able to trek through such an extreme natural environment.

After walking a long way, Li Chang'an found a shady rock to stop and rest.

During his rest, he encountered a pack of wolves. The pack surrounded him, their eyes gleaming with an eerie green light.

Li Chang'an neither drew his sword, nor summoned his Dharma form, nor released any killing intent or pressure; he simply watched the wolf pack quietly.

But the wolves dared not move forward. They instinctively felt fear, as if the being before them was some kind of natural disaster, like a landslide.

The two stared at each other for a moment. The fierce glint in the alpha wolf's eyes disappeared, replaced by fear and awe. It whimpered, tucked its tail between its legs, and led the pack away in a very disheveled manner.

Li Chang'an watched the wolf pack leave, and then continued on his journey.

The pack of wolves that left didn't go far. They circled around and set their sights on a herd of yaks on the other side of the hillside.

It wasn't a wild yak, but a domesticated one, with a bell around its neck, grazing with its head down.

The wolves crouched low and crept into the grass, their roles clearly defined: some wolves scattered to drive away the others, while the others targeted lone calves.

In nature, wild yak herds are not afraid of wolf packs; they have a complete collective defense system.

But domesticated yaks are different. They have long been domesticated by humans and have lost their ability to work together. When they hear the howl of wolves, they do not form a defensive circle, but instinctively scatter and run wildly.

The person in charge of herding was a young woman, wearing a heavy Tibetan robe, her face tanned dark red by the high-altitude sun.

She clearly lacked experience in dealing with wolves. When she saw the wolves appear and the cattle herd scatter, she panicked and ran in the opposite direction of the cattle herd's escape, ending up in front of a large group of frightened yaks.

Dozens of enormous yaks, their eyes red, charged wildly toward her.

The cows' hooves thundered, the ground shook violently, and the cowherd girl turned pale with fright, her legs went weak, and she stumbled and fell on the grass. She quickly got up and ran again, but the dark herd of cows had already rushed close and was about to trample her into mincemeat.

Li Chang'an stood at a distance, quietly watching this scene, his face expressionless, like a completely detached bystander, as if everything was irrelevant to him.

But just as the herd of startled yaks charged and came within ten steps of the cowherd girl...

A beam of white light shot out from the top of Li Chang'an's head.

The Guardian of Judgment descended from the sky like a god, his over ten-foot-tall figure blocking the cowherd girl's path. His two enormous white wings stretched forward, like a soft shield protecting her from behind.

The next second, the charging cattle crashed into the Dharma Image's wings. The wings used a clever technique, dispersing, absorbing, and neutralizing the force of the impact layer by layer. The cattle were bounced off balance, stumbled, and rolled on the ground several times, mooing in pain, but they did not suffer any fatal injuries.

It's fortunate that it was wings; if it were a technique like the Golden Light Mantra, these yaks would have been smashed to pieces.

The frightened herd of cattle was stopped in place by this winged celestial being, unable to move forward an inch.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the chaos among the cattle, the wolf pack had already killed a lone calf and was feeding around the carcass.

Li Chang'an stood at a distance, glanced at the wolf pack feeding, then at the cattle and the herdsmen protected by the Dharma Image, and with a thought, withdrew the Dharma Image and turned to leave.

Survival of the fittest, the cycle of life and death.

Wolves eat cows, cows eat grass; this is the most basic law of nature.

The shepherdess collapsed to the ground, still shaken. She stared blankly at the empty meadow before her. If it weren't for the few yaks rolling around on the ground, she would have thought that the huge winged figure she had just seen was just a hallucination she had before she died.

She turned her head thoughtfully, but only caught a fleeting glimpse of a retreating figure.

The cowherd girl stared blankly in that direction, then suddenly knelt down, pressed her forehead deeply into the soil, and whispered Tibetan Buddhist chants.

She was reciting "Chuje," the Yama protector in Tibetan Buddhism who governs death. He appears with a stern and wrathful appearance, yet he can dispel evil spirits and protect believers.

His image was depicted on the murals in the temple, covered in flames, with wings on his back, holding a ritual implement, and stepping on a demon. She felt that it looked very similar to the one she had just seen.

Chapter 169 Zhang Lingyu Returns to the Mountain

Li Chang'an embarked on his journey alone. In many places, there was no road at all, only dense bushes, overgrown vines, and steep cliffs. But none of these were obstacles to his progress.

He wouldn't take detours; whatever the terrain ahead, he would tread straight ahead, even if it was a cliff or precipitous wall, he would climb up and down with his bare hands.

He was covered in dust and looked no different from a beggar, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

During this time, he traveled through many remote villages and saw ordinary people living in the mountains. There were old farmers working hard under the scorching sun, children reading aloud in mud houses while wiping their noses with their sleeves, and old women carrying bundles of firewood taller than themselves on their backs along mountain paths...

He took in these real scenes one by one, without judgment or interference. He simply watched quietly, feeling the resilience of the people at the very bottom of this land.

These images transformed into vibrant seeds within his Alaya consciousness, waiting to one day blossom.

……

Meanwhile, at Longhu Mountain, at the Celestial Master's Mansion.

After a long period of training away from home, Zhang Lingyu finally returned to the mountain.

When the junior brother returned from his training, the Celestial Master's Mansion was bustling with activity. Several of the older senior brothers were very happy and greeted him warmly.

Some middle-aged Taoist priests also came out to greet Zhang Lingyu, their junior uncle.

But Zhang Lingyu was not as happy as he had imagined when he returned to the Celestial Master's Mansion.

He kept his head down, his face was pale, his eyes were darting around, and his lips were tightly pursed, as if he was holding back something he couldn't say. He seemed somewhat uneasy.

His fellow students noticed his unusual behavior and asked him what was wrong.

"Lingyu, did you encounter a tough opponent down the mountain and get discouraged?" Rongshan asked, patting his shoulder.

Another senior student came over and said, "Have you been wronged? Tell me, and I'll stand up for you."

Protecting one's own is a long-standing tradition at Longhu Mountain, but Zhang Lingyu kept his lips tightly pursed and refused to say anything until the Old Celestial Master came over.

Knowing that Zhang Lingyu was shy, the old celestial master took him away and brought him to his room.

As soon as the door closed, Zhang Lingyu, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly dropped to her knees and knelt heavily in front of him.

The old master looked at his disciple kneeling on the ground with his head bowed, feeling somewhat surprised. He muttered to himself, "What's wrong? A tiger descending the mountain kneeling? How did this kid learn my most treasured skill? Did he suffer some kind of shock down the mountain and suddenly have an epiphany?"

Just as he was about to ask, Zhang Lingyu said in a trembling voice, "Master... this disciple committed a grave mistake at the foot of the mountain."

"What terrible mistake have you made?" Zhang Zhiwei frowned slightly.

"me……"

Zhang Lingyu raised his head, his face flushed red. He stammered and hesitated, his lips moving several times, but he couldn't utter a single complete sentence.

Seeing his expression, the old master knew that the mistake might be serious. He didn't urge him, but simply watched him quietly.

After a long period of mental preparation, Zhang Lingyu took a deep breath and finally mustered the courage to recount the general events of his journey down the mountain. He said that during his training, he met a woman from the Tengshan Sect. Feeling they were both righteous people, he decided to travel together for a while, and then…

Zhang Lingyu stammered "then" for a long time, her face turning so red it looked like it was about to bleed, but she refused to continue.

"And then? And then what happened?"

The old master was getting a little anxious. Although he looked like a sage, he loved to listen to gossip and gossip people. And what such people often hate most is when others are telling stories and keeping things in suspense, taking long breaths, and leaving only half the story untold.

He straightened his face and said in a serious tone, "Speak quickly, or I'll have to slap you."

Seeing that his master was angry, Zhang Lingyu steeled his heart, blushed, and loudly proclaimed, "Disciple...disciple couldn't control himself and committed a grave mistake, having a sexual relationship with that female Daoist from the Tengshan Sect, which has disgraced the sect's reputation!"

As he spoke, Zhang Lingyu suddenly collapsed to the ground and began to weep bitterly.

"what?"

Zhang Zhiwei looked at Zhang Lingyu, who was kneeling on the ground and wailing, with a puzzled expression.

He thought it was some earth-shattering mistake. He had even been wondering if Zhang Lingyu had accidentally killed someone. He was thinking about whether to take Zhang Lingyu to turn himself in and then call Zhao Fangxu, the fat guy, to see if he could get leniency and a shorter sentence!

As a result, this is it?

He paused for two seconds, then suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter: "Hahaha, I thought it was something serious! What kind of big mistake is this?"

Seeing his apprentice crying his eyes out, Zhang Zhiwei laughed until tears almost streamed down his face.

Zhang Lingyu was stunned by his laughter. She looked up with teary eyes, not knowing what she had said wrong.

"I thought it was something serious." Zhang Zhiwei laughed loudly, "Lingyu, we are the Zhengyi Sect, not the Quanzhen Sect, so we don't have any prohibition on marriage."

"The desire between men and women is a natural human instinct, a matter of course. Once a relationship has occurred, it has occurred. Why are you making such a long face?"

"I thought you'd really committed some capital crime down down the mountain—murder or arson. Hahahaha..."

The old master laughed so hard he almost fell over. He wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, he felt that Zhang Lingyu's experience was incredibly meaningful.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: This kid has actually come to his senses! Not only did he find a Daoist partner, but he also turned a budding romance into a real relationship. Wow, his blockhead disciple has really made something of himself!

Back when I went down the mountain to gain experience, I didn't do anything this outrageous, did I?

Even Zhang Huaiyi with big ears doesn't seem to have the guts.

Wow, each generation is better than the last!

The Celestial Master was very satisfied with Zhang Lingyu's performance.

This satisfaction wasn't because Zhang Lingyu felt it was something to be proud of that he had found a female Daoist friend.

Rather, he felt that Zhang Lingyu had always kept a high profile and lived in the perfect expectations others had of "Master Lingyu".

But this experience actually made him realize something, and he followed his heart and had a relationship with a woman.

What does this mean?

This shows that he has finally been honest with his desires!

He started being his true self!

And this is precisely the true meaning behind Zhang Zhiwei's decision to send him down the mountain for training.

He stopped smiling and his tone softened:

"Very good. You did very well in this training. I am very satisfied with the results of your trip. As previously agreed, I will formally teach you the Thunder Technique."

Zhang Lingyu's crying stopped abruptly. She raised her head in disbelief and asked, puzzled:

“Master, isn’t the cultivation of thunder magic required to remain a virgin? This disciple…this disciple is no longer a virgin.”

Speaking of this, Zhang Lingyu couldn't help but feel a deep sadness. Ever since he was defeated by Li Chang'an, he had dreamed of learning thunder magic so that he could get revenge and restore his master's reputation. But why couldn't he resist? Just thinking about it filled him with regret!

Chapter 170 Enlightenment in the Mortal World

Zhang Zhiwei waved his hand dismissively and said, "So what? On our Longhu Mountain, isn't there a Yin Five Thunder technique that allows cultivation without needing to be a virgin?!"

“But…” Zhang Lingyu’s expression faltered slightly, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Zhang Zhiwei saw right through his thoughts: "What's wrong? You don't like Yin Wulei?"

"No, no," Zhang Lingyu quickly explained, worried that her master would think she disliked the sect's methods. "This disciple wouldn't dare to dislike them. I just feel... I feel..."

The old master could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his hesitant manner.

Yin Five Thunder, also known as Water Dirty Thunder, is pitch black like ink and viscous like mud when unleashed. It sucks out bones and marrow, impures the mind and destroys will. It is completely different from the upright and extremely yang appearance of Yang Five Thunder. It is normal for Lingyu to be somewhat resistant to it.

"What do you think?" the old master asked in return. He was somewhat hoping that Zhang Lingyu would say that Yin Wu Lei was ugly and shameful.

"No, it's nothing. This disciple is willing to cultivate." Zhang Lingyu ultimately didn't say it aloud.