owlsbooks Chapter 54: A Review of the Gains
Chapter 54: A Review of the Gains
The Way cannot be spoken of, for to speak of it is to err.
Zhong Xuan has been studying this head-regeneration technique for several days now.
Although I understand the key point, but...
He didn't dare to actually cut off the head of his own avatar to practice or try to prove that he had succeeded in the process.
Because of this spell, this thing... Zhong Xuan felt that the most difficult part was overcoming mental barriers and fear.
Even someone like him finds it extremely difficult to comprehend the terrifying reality of life and death.
To be certain that you truly know how to perform head-regeneration techniques, you must first put them into practice to discover the truth.
Zhong Xuan could not act in that way, "ignorant and fearless".
Some people think they've learned something and then actually dare to cut off their own heads.
And naturally, there are only two possible outcomes.
One type is someone who truly masters the skill and can remain unscathed even if their head is chopped off.
One possibility is that if you don't learn the skill, you'll be beheaded and truly die.
Zhong Xuan naturally knew how to avoid this method.
I will find an opportunity in the future to learn how to astral projection and possess other bodies.
Then, using the physical bodies of other beings, one can attempt to practice the Continuation of the Earthly Fiend Technique.
"The art of beast taming?"
"If I yell at them, they'll all obey."
Wukong didn't think the spell was powerful, and Junzhi, the timid girl, even scoffed at it.
Zhong Xuan sighed helplessly and asked again, "Then do you want to learn talismans?"
His Tai Xuan Illumination Qi Technique, however, was not something he could teach these two guys.
As for the methods of ancient Qi cultivators, they were not easily passed on because of the teachings of Bodhi.
Brother Wukong, naturally, can learn even when he is in human form, without any hindrance.
But Hu Junzhi was different.
Sure enough, both the monkey and the tiger shook their heads vigorously, clearly unwilling to learn the talismans that looked so daunting.
Just then, Feng Lisheng came from the peach grove behind.
Deep in the peach grove, fallen petals were scattered everywhere. He had built a wooden house in the grove, with a few blue stones piled up beside it and withered vines hanging under the eaves. He found the sight amusing.
Feng Lisheng shouted, "You two fools, instead of learning the fundamentals of Tao from your mountain god, you're chasing after trivialities here?"
Wukong said defiantly, "I want to learn! But I'm still learning the Three Character Classic. Once I've mastered it all, the Mountain God said he'll start teaching me the secrets to immortality."
Feng Lisheng gave an "oh," then bowed to the mountain god and said, "Sir, do you have the time to discuss with me the two transformation methods of the head-regeneration technique and the beast-taming technique?"
The mountain god nodded, waved his sleeve, and said to the monkey and the tiger, "Go back first and build a house on the slope opposite the peach grove. Remember to pay attention to the water and soil, and ask the local demons for advice, lest a heavy rain cause a landslide and wash away all your hard work."
As Zhong Xuan spoke, he turned to look at Feng Lisheng.
He said, "I'm still a bit short of free time. If I have to sort out the earth veins and energy of a hundred acres of land every day, Fellow Daoist Feng, if you don't mind, you can talk to me from the side, and I'll listen carefully."
As they were talking, Wukong shouted and beckoned Junzhi to run towards the back of the mountain god temple.
Beyond the peach grove lies a clear stream, its waters gurgling, its bottom adorned with smooth pebbles, and a few small fish darting about among them.
After crossing the stream, there was a meadow where a path had been cleared, with low shrubs and wildflowers scattered here and there, clusters of purple and white flowers.
After walking a few hundred steps along the mountain path, ancient trees towered beside the path, covered with moss. Suddenly, the view opened up before us, revealing a magnificent mountain landscape: distant mountains were like dark eyebrows, shrouded in clouds and mist, and at our feet was a wide valley slope covered with lush green grass, with several old pines stretching out at an angle, and the sound of the pines rustling in the mountain wind.
Wukong was delighted, squeaking and chirping, thinking that once his brother returned from the foot of the mountain, he would invite him to stay there for a while. The lively and vibrant spiritual energy all around made it feel very comfortable, as if it had returned to the days when it was halfway back on Flower Fruit Mountain.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
"The King is back!"
Dozens of different kinds of monkeys and monkey spirits all cried out.
It was precisely because of Wukong's joy that he found this group of monkeys on this mountain.
It turns out that a few days ago, after returning with Rakshasa, the mountain god transformed and left it here to learn the Three Character Classic, to recognize and read characters. At the same time, he also had Wukong build houses to temper its restless and unruly nature, so that it could calm down and study.
Even this precious land was provided by the monkeys who were easily subdued by Wukong.
"roar!"
Beside them, even more comfortable, was the White Tiger Taoist, who had revealed his true form. Although he was thin and bony, his roar alone made the monkeys tremble.
She said, "Get them to work quickly, don't let them slack off."
Wukong responded and went over to see how the monkeys were doing with their mud-making work.
It itself, however, struggled even more to lift large stones one by one, and then used iron tools to chisel and shape them into square stones, which were used to build a stone house that could last a long time and be sturdy.
.....
Down the other side of the mountain, in the Kingdom of Jisa.
Zhong Xuan squandered all the wealth that originally belonged to Qingyang Temple, letting it flow away like water, and then transformed the entire temple into the Cuiyun Mountain God Temple. The main hall, which originally enshrined the Three Pure Ones, now had its statues removed and replaced with a brand-new statue of the mountain god, and the ashes in the incense burner were replaced with fresh sandalwood. Even the preachers who used to come and disturb him no longer dared to come.
Perhaps he frightened them while practicing and perfecting the Hong Zhongdian?
Zhong Xuan wasn't sure either.
He is currently in his study, recording his insights, learning, and gains. The study is not large; against the wall is a pine wood bookshelf, piled high with scrolls and thread-bound Taoist books. Plain paper is pasted on the window frame, and the light that shines through is soft and serene. The ink in the inkstone is not yet dry, and several wolf-hair brushes hang on the brush holder.
There is a saying: wealth, companions, laws, and land.
He thought about the word "wealth" again and again, and realized that he didn't seem to have accumulated much wealth.
After all, since Bodhi Patriarch sent him and his monkey brother here, using the Cuiyun Mountain area as a small world, to test whether he was qualified to really grow out of a group of pine trees, and whether he was truly a "seed of the Dao".
The entire period of time has not even been a month.
The word "partner" does have some meaning.
"Yunniang." Zhong Xuan looked curiously at the white-clad woman who was engrossed in reading a Taoist book in the courtyard outside the window. The courtyard was not large, with several clumps of green bamboo growing in the corner of the wall. The bamboo shadows swayed, and a few withered leaves fell on the stone steps. The afternoon sun slanted down, gilding her white clothes with a layer of pale gold.
"What?" The Rakshasa woman turned her head to look, her expression unintentionally a mixture of anger and delight.
Zhong Xuan felt something and recited another line of Daoist scripture.
Immediately, Rakshasa did not feel joy upon hearing this; instead, her face darkened.
Without saying a word, she turned her head away and began to ponder the scripture, comparing it with the previous scriptures. Then she strode up and walked towards the meditation room, intending to immediately reflect on her internal condition and adjust the vital energy of her five internal organs.
Zhong Xuan withdrew his gaze, thinking that this was for the best.
He naturally didn't care about romantic love between men and women.
However, on another level, he did not want Rakshasa to be unable to find liberation because of himself. Or, relatively speaking, if Rakshasa's fate remained unchanged, it would be an ending that was neither good nor bad.
In order to harmonize the five elements, you will most likely encounter the Bull Demon King.
Through mutual assistance, she achieved the status of a semi-immortal and occupied an important cave dwelling on Cuiyun Little Immortal Mountain, but she was not considered a true first-class immortal.
However, judging from the fact that the residents near the Flaming Mountain had to hold elaborate ceremonies when she asked for help, it was probably in preparation for her advancement to the Earth Immortal realm, and that she was using some elements of the Immortal Path.
Thinking of this, Zhong Xuan turned around and with a wave of his hand, retrieved a book of rituals and instructions related to immortals from the bookshelf. The book's cover was slightly worn, and the edges were slightly curled.
"Master Zhang, the collection of books here is quite extensive. I wonder if it's your collection or that of the Green Goat Demon?"
"You brat! What good is it to spend all day reading these miscellaneous books instead of properly studying talismans!"
Zhang Chengming, who plays the wooden fish drum, almost always starts cursing.
Zhong Xuan shook his head and ignored him.
As for the word "partner," Zhang Zhenren can barely qualify for it for now.
After all, Ye Quanzhen had indeed learned another Earthly Fiend Technique from Zhang Zhenren these past few days, one of the seventy-two classic Taoist transformations, called "Soul Chasing." It could track other people's souls or lock onto them and pursue them.
However, Master Zhang did not provide all of it.
Zhong Xuan could probably understand.
He was probably afraid that after learning it, he would use it on Zhang Chengming himself, whose physical body had already been destroyed and who had become a spirit.
Therefore, he lost face in front of Ye Quanzhen and failed to recall his soul.
Zhong Xuan could also see that Zhang Chengming seemed to have a complicated attitude towards him.
It seems there is something they want.
This is quite subtle.
What do you want?
It wasn't asking him to release it from the wooden fish, nor was it anything else.
Instead, it's something more special...
Zhong Xuan vaguely sensed some clues that allowed him to get a hold of Zhang Chengming and extract many secret techniques or valuable information from him.
But as the thought crossed his mind, he let it flow through his mind without wavering.
Use all methods and means when necessary.
If you become fixated on it, you will fall into a trap.
But if you think you should use it freely, that's also a kind of obsession.
The key to its application lies in one's own mind.
The rules governing this are like the profound principles of the universe that cannot be clearly explained.
Zhong Xuan's gaze quickly swept over the book on immortality in his hand.
If nothing unexpected happens, Rakshasa will eventually have to abandon the cave dwelling she built on Cuiyun Mountain and become some kind of god for Western Buddhism.
At that time, she was quite strong and could barely hold her own against the Monkey King, who was a Taiyi Golden Immortal at the time. However, as long as she didn't use the Banana Leaf Fan, she would never be able to defeat him. If she insisted on fighting, she would only be killed by the stick in the end.
Therefore, when Rakshasa travels to the West about seven or eight hundred years later, she is destined to be afflicted by the Bull Demon King and the Banana Leaf Fan.
The first is a tribulation of love, and the second is a tribulation of relationships.
Zhong Xuan's mind is now clear and his soul is powerful, and all his past lives are clearly emerging.
Including one sentence:
"In Moyun Cave on Mount Jilei, there lived a Fox King who lived for ten thousand years. The Fox King died, leaving behind a daughter named Princess Jade Face. The princess had a fortune of a million, but no one was in charge of it. Two years ago, she visited the Bull Demon King, who was very powerful, and was willing to give up her fortune to become his son-in-law."
It was the Bull Demon King who abandoned his wife, Rakshasa, and moved to Mount Jilei, becoming a true mountain king who ruled the entire mountain.
At that time, Rakshasa had not yet truly refined "Emerald Cloud Mountain" into the foundation for her enlightenment, nor had she ascended to become a true first-class Earth Immortal. Thus, as long as the mountain remained, she would live as long as heaven and earth, with the ultimate goal of becoming an ancestor of Earth Immortals like the Great Immortal Zhen Yuanzi.
Rakshasa was raised with strict discipline and had a traditional mindset. She learned from the Bull Demon King that she had cultivated herself since childhood and that after arriving at Cuiyun Mountain, she was not allowed to see even a boy in or around her cave. She was very chaste.
Therefore, even though the Bull Demon King abandoned her, she still served him wholeheartedly when he returned, despite her resentment. She even entrusted him with the secrets and control of the innate spiritual treasure, the Banana Leaf Fan, as if she naively believed that husband and wife were truly one. Even though the Bull Demon King no longer lived with her but moved to Moyun Cave on Jilei Mountain as a son-in-law, he was still a permanent resident.
Because of those things, Sun Wukong later got drunk and thought that the Bull Demon King had really found a new love and forgotten the secret of the Banana Leaf Fan, so he told him the secret incantation to manipulate it.
"Um....."
Zhong Xuan withdrew his gaze and identified Rakshasa as an ally that could be won over.
If fate allows, perhaps I can enlighten him and guide him onto the path of the Great Mystery.
His path lies in mutual growth and development; competition is also a form of healthy development.
Then the remaining couple should also be counted starting from the mountain god.
First, there is the realm of understanding, whether it is the level of magical power cultivation or the ability.
Brother Monkey is the first one.
Bodhi Patriarch is the second one; he is a companion, a person, and also, for the time being, his patron.
The Rakshasa woman was the third, and they became entangled in a conflict of interest due to the imbalance of the five elements.
Then there's the White Tiger Demon, and Tiger Lord Zhi is the fourth.
This skinny tiger demon was so thin, yet it was a rare vegetarian tiger demon.
She disliked fishy smells, and after gaining wisdom early on, she would only eat meat after it had been processed, unless it was exceptionally fresh.
Hu Junzhi, who has reached the Three Flowers Realm, can be considered a core member of the Cuiyun Mountain faction.
It doesn't refer to the mountain god temple, but to the entire Cuiyun Mountain area, which is considered to be of an upper-middle level.
Then there's Feng Lisheng, who's practically an ally.
This creature's true strength has probably reached the level of a great demon, meaning it has passed the Five Elements Convergence and is a terrestrial immortal, one realm higher than Rakshasa.
It is a powerful demon of the Loose Immortal level, but it does not seem to be good at fighting.
Zhong Xuan didn't believe it completely either, at least not as much as he believed Hu Junzhi.
Counting down from there, it's just about relationships on the human side.
Because the officials and such on the side of the mountain god are actually not very respectable.
They can only be considered servants who depend on the mountain god, and they still need time to be trained and grow.
That must be the case.
To establish a foothold, you need a core group of trusted confidants and subordinates.
Therefore, we cannot look down on them because of their low strength at this time.
Finally, there are the partners on the human side, which make up three.
Ye Quanzhen, Abbess Jingyuan, and Abbess Jingchen each have their merits.
This is how it is with wealthy couples.
The character "地" (dì) should be simplified.
A large area around Cuiyun Mountain has been developed in recent days, covering an area roughly the size of two football fields, enough for a pack of mountain tigers, a family of jade rabbit spirits, and fire fox spirits to now move in and live there.
They are now digging new burrows to live in.
Then he also occupied the Qingyang Temple in Jisaguo.
Zhong Xuan was thinking about these things.
Suddenly, someone came and disturbed him.
He was a Taoist boy wearing a Taoist robe.
The child looked on with utmost reverence and admiration, and bowed respectfully as he arrived.
It was the same beggar who had been begging for food near the preaching square a few days ago.
Seeing that some of them were practicing the Zhongquan style of body-shaping martial arts with him and were doing quite well, Zhong Xuan weighed their physiques and decided to take them in as his disciples.
As for the original Taoist acolytes from Qingyang Temple, they were taken to the Mountain God Temple by Rakshasa.
With the mountain god's incarnation possessing the combat power of an immortal, suppressing those young Taoist disciples of Qingyang Temple would be incredibly easy for him, and there was no need to worry about anything going wrong.
"Wang Sheng is here again! He's kowtowing vigorously outside the temple."
"Oh?"