Longevity begins with slaying demons and eliminating demons

Chapter 153 Will Be Ling Jueding

At the same time, "White Tiger" Su Xiao also followed the instructions of the old Taoist with white beard, carrying an old axe, and prepared to chop firewood in this dense pine forest.

His true essence was also sealed by the mysterious power in the ruins, temporarily turning him into a mortal without any supernatural powers.

But the expression on Su Xiao's face didn't change at all.

He went straight to a bush, looked at the ax in his hand, and looked at the dead branches of the bush.

As the closed disciple of the Pavilion Master of the Jiange Pavilion, Su Xiao, who grew up under the admiration of everyone, has never had any experience in cutting firewood, nor does he know how to cut firewood efficiently.

After pondering for a moment, he picked up the ax and slashed at the branches in front of him in a gesture of swinging his sword.

Because the ax is heavy and blunt, there are obvious rust spots on the edge.

Su Xiao's violent strike only caused the whole bush to shake and shook off some withered leaves, but failed to cut down any firewood.

Seeing such a scene, Su Xiao frowned slightly.

He couldn't help but think of the scene when his master taught him how to learn swords many years ago when he first entered the Jiange.

That year, he was still an ignorant little boy.

Standing on the precipitous mountain top of the Shu land, holding a wooden sword in his hand, he stabbed fiercely at the puppet in front of him with all his strength.

"boom!"

The wooden sword and the puppet collided violently.

Su Xiao staggered back, only feeling his wrists tremble and his palms ached.

The puppet was unharmed and remained motionless.

A strong sense of frustration welled up in his heart.

He smashed the wooden sword to the ground, fell to the ground, cried loudly, and shouted "I will never practice sword again".

Master was not angry, but picked up the wooden sword from the ground, handed it to him, and said to him in a flat tone: "If you can't do it once, do it again."

"Then what if it still doesn't work?" The young Su Xiao raised his head and looked at the master with a pair of red eyes.

"Then come a hundred times, a thousand times."

"..."

Thinking of this, Su Xiao stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat off his face.

In his opinion, chopping firewood is the same as practicing swords.

If it doesn't work once, just do it again.

If you practice for a long time, you will succeed.

As long as you work hard, an iron pestle can also be ground into embroidery needles.

For nearly 20 years, he has been a firm believer in this.

So, he swung the ax again and slashed towards the dry bushes in front of him.

Once, twice, three times... dozens of times... hundreds of times...

His movements gradually became more skillful, chopping down firewood one after another.

It's just that the palms of his hands had a lot of blood blisters from repeated labor; when the blood blisters burst, it would be painful.

But he didn't care.

When he was practicing swords, he suffered a much more serious injury than this. Both hands were covered with calluses, and he was already numb to this kind of pain.

Time passed silently.

The firewood at Su Xiao's feet piled up more and more.

At this moment, two woodcutters in rough cloth shirts passed by Su Xiao.

They carried axes and each carried two bundles of firewood, singing folk songs loudly, and walked down the mountain.

But Su Xiao didn't realize it.

Unknowingly, in the process of swinging the axe, he had a new understanding of the secret sword technique "Ping Tian Jian Jue" of Jiange.

…………

Shangguan Jin took a deep breath.

Her ax slipped from her hand and hit a protruding rock, making a loud "clang" sound, and sparks could be faintly seen.

Sweat seeped from her forehead, ran down her cheeks, itchy; flowed into her mouth, salty.

There were more than one wounds on the fair and delicate skin of her palm, and the bright red blood flowed out, wetting her sleeves.

And her spotless robe was also covered with dust and mud at this moment.

Ever since Shangguan Jin became the fifth-rank doctor of the Exorcism Department and the head of the department, he has never been in such a mess.

After all, she has always been a person who pays great attention to her image.

Even when she was practicing swords, she would wrap her hands and body with real yuan, so as to avoid staining her clothes and leaving scars on her body.

Because of this, she was very depressed.

She didn't want Gu Xu, Su Xiao, Chen Yanping and others to see her slovenly appearance after reaching the top of the mountain.

At this time, two woodcutters wearing coarse cloth and carrying axes passed by her while singing folk songs.

After seeing these two people, Shangguan Jin's eyes lit up, as if he had seen a life-saving straw.

But she did not immediately rush forward to ask the woodcutters for help.

Instead, she hid behind the pine tree first, and smeared blood and mud on her robe to make herself look more embarrassed.

Then, she took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped off the dust and sweat from her face, so as not to cover her delicate and pure face.

At this time, she trotted to two passing woodcutters, bowed slightly to them, then raised her head, opened her eyes wide, and said in a very sincere tone: "You two brothers, I didn't want to disturb you at all." It's just that the little girl has encountered a little trouble. If she can't solve it smoothly, she will be punished by her elders. I see that the two brothers are kind, so I am here to ask the two brothers to lend a helping hand..."

Speaking of this, she changed the subject and said in a softer tone: "Of course, if you two have something urgent to do, there is no need. I will try to find a way to solve the problem..."

"What trouble do you need our help for?" one of the woodcutters interrupted her and said to her.

Shangguan Jin lowered his head and described in detail the bitterness of chopping firewood.

During this period, she kept emphasizing that she was a weak woman who could not chop wood, and at the same time she did not forget to praise the two woodcutters for their experience and skills.

Hearing her words, the two woodcutters smiled and readily agreed to her request.

In the next period of time, with their skilled techniques, they helped Shangguan Jin cut two tall piles of firewood and tied them up with hay.

At this moment, Shangguan Jin's mood was relaxed and joyful.

She felt that she had a chance to become the first person to reach the summit of Mount Lao.

…………

Gu Xu was not in a hurry to chop firewood.

Looking at the blunt and rusty axe, he couldn't help frowning slightly.

According to his estimate, if he wanted to chop wood with this broken axe, he would need to chop for several days before he could obtain two bundles of firewood as requested by the old man with white beard.

Although he doesn't mind suffering.

But he always felt that such a test set by Kongxuan Sanren should not be as simple as it seems.

He stood under the pine tree and looked around.

In the field of vision, it is full of gloomy and green; the surrounding is extremely quiet, only a slight sound of wind can be heard.

At this moment, his eyes fell on a light brown stone under the pine tree.

It is smooth on one side and rough on the other.

The silver-white moonlight shines through the pine branches and leaves, casting dots of light on its surface.

With extensive knowledge, Gu Xu recognized that this stone is a piece of "sandstone", a sedimentary rock mainly composed of quartz and feldspar.

This rock has many uses such as construction, utensils, headstones, floor tiles, vases...

And, the whetstone.

"Sharpening a knife is not the same as chopping firewood." This is the truth that Chen Jisheng emphasized in front of Gu Xu more than once.

Chen Jisheng was always worried that under the pressure of life, Gu Xu would desperately pursue the speed of practice, and ignore the preparations that should be made during practice.

Such as sufficient elixir, such as a solid foundation, such as a peaceful mind...

Of course, judging from the actual situation, Gu Xu has always been more stable than Chen Jisheng imagined in the process of cultivation.

So at this moment, when he saw this whetstone, a faint smile appeared on Gu Xu's face.

He went straight up and began to sharpen the ax with a "hoo hoo hoo" - use the rough side of the stone to polish the curl and rust of the axe, and use the smooth side to sharpen the axe.

The stone seemed to have a magical power, which made the ax in his hand look new and gleaming in no time.

Next, it's time to chop wood.

But Gu Xu didn't know any skills in chopping firewood.

Most of the books in the Exorcist Department's Cangshu Pavilion are related to practice, and it is impossible to teach him things that mortals do, such as chopping firewood, farming, and raising fish.

At this moment, rough and loud folk songs came from the depths of the pine forest.

Gu Xu raised his head and saw the two woodcutters carrying axes and firewood striding through the shady pine forest.

At first glance, they looked like two ordinary people with no cultivation.

"But the problem is... on this isolated Laoshan, how could there be mortals living for a long time?" Gu Xu immediately realized a serious problem, "What's more, in 23 years, the villagers at the foot of the mountain were all unfortunate in the mysterious massacre. killed."

He quickly came to the conclusion that these two villagers, like the white-bearded old man, were probably just illusions.

Immediately afterwards, he began to think again: What is the purpose of Kongxuan Sanren creating the phantoms of the two woodcutters?

After a while, he had an answer in his mind.

He went straight to the two woodcutters and bowed his hands politely to them. At the same time, he claimed that it was his first time chopping wood, and his technique was a little rusty, hoping that the two woodcutters could provide some pointers.

The two woodcutters readily agreed.

One of them demonstrates and the other explains.

They told Gu Xu that chopping wood seems simple, but there are actually many details that cannot be ignored.

For example, the hands holding the ax cannot be held too tightly, because in the process of chopping wood, there will be a huge force to form a rebound, which will make the tiger's mouth hurt-but if you pinch the ax a little, the rebound will be stronger. Lighter, will not hurt yourself, and can save energy;
For example, if you encounter a tree burl when chopping wood, you have to chop it several times, because the tree burl is usually very hard;
For example, when cutting firewood and needing to divide a tree section, you must first set up the tree section, kick off the horse step, and then use the ax to break it down—the horse step must be good, and the feet cannot be too close together , otherwise if the ax hits the air, it will hurt your feet or other parts of your body;
For another example, the length of a piece of firewood is best not to exceed [-] centimeters—whether it is long or short, it is not good to burn in an earthen stove;
……

Gu Xu gained a lot from the words of the two woodcutters.

Relying on "bowen qiang memorize", he firmly remembered all the skills the woodcutter said.

After explaining these techniques, the woodcutter sang folk songs again and drifted away, and soon disappeared from Gu Xu's vision.

Gu Xu held the handle of the ax and looked at the lush green vegetation around him.

He suddenly remembered another sentence Chen Jisheng once said to him: "There is always more than one path to practice."

Going in the right direction is better than running around blindly.

Coupled with the fact that Gu Xu's time is really limited, he must cultivate to the realm of a saint before the age of 30.

He will often try to find the optimal solution in the process of practice.

Thinking of this, he smiled slightly, followed the instructions of the two woodcutters, and started chopping firewood.

His movements were a little jerky at first, but soon became smooth, as if lifting weights was light.

The firewood piled beside him were of the same length and smooth incisions—at least in terms of appearance, they were much prettier than those randomly chopped by "White Tiger" Su Xiao.

…………

The top of Laoshan.

A gust of cold wind blows.

Thick clouds and mist began to surge, like the waves of the sea.

The two little road boys standing outside the gate of the ancient building were still discussing the young people climbing the mountain.

Xiaodaotong in black said with a blank face: "The immortal master once said that a person's attitude towards cultivation can be seen from the simple matter of chopping firewood. This is indeed the case!"

Xiao Daotong in white replied: "Senior brother is right. That beautiful woman has good aptitude, but she is too scheming. If the immortal master is still in the world, he will definitely not like someone like her."

The little Taoist boy in black went on to say: "The young man with the sword is a man of perseverance. It's just that in his heart, it seems that he only has his own way, but he can't put other people's things in it."

Xiaodaotong in white said: "Brother is right. He may be able to become a successful sword cultivator, but he is not a suitable inheritor."

The little boy in black said: "Actually, the immortal master once said that if you keep walking the path that others have walked, you have a chance to become a powerful practitioner; but if you want to become a saint-level powerhouse, you must step out of your own path." path of.

"If this young swordsman can really follow his path, maybe he can really make a difference."

The little Taoist boy in white: "By the way, senior brother, what do you think of that handsome Fu Xiu?"

The little boy in black was silent for a long time before slowly opening his mouth and said: "All the choices he has made so far are what the immortal master wants to see; if the immortal master is still in this world, he should appreciate him very much."

The little Taoist boy in white frowned and said, "But senior brother, there are too many karma involved in him—letting him inherit what the immortal master left behind may not necessarily be the right choice."

The little boy in black retorted: "What you said is wrong. We only need to do things according to the instructions of the immortal master, and we don't need to have our own ideas. If he really reaches the top, then he is the best successor."

The little boy in white sighed: "Senior brother is right."

…………

The first person to complete the task of chopping wood was undoubtedly Shangguan Jin.

Carrying two bundles of firewood on her back, she came to the white-bearded old man resting under the pine tree with his eyes closed.

The white-bearded old Taoist opened his eyes, looked at her black robe stained with mud and blood, and then at her clean and bright face, and said calmly, "Have you finished all the firewood I asked you to chop? "

Shangguan Jin nodded, and put the firewood obediently on the ground in front of the old Taoist.

The old Taoist frowned: "These firewood... you probably didn't chop it yourself, did you?"

Shangguan Jin smiled embarrassedly: "Because I'm not very good at this matter, so I asked others to help."

The old Taoist pondered for a moment, then commented: "You are a very smart person. It's just that I don't like people who are too smart."

After the words were finished, the entire pine forest - together with the firewood on the ground and the ax in Shangguan Jin's hand - disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Shangguan Jin's sealed primordial essence surged in her body again.

Only at this moment, she found that the climbing path in front of her was suddenly interrupted.

At the end of the road, there is a high cliff.

Under the cliff is the boundless East China Sea.

There is no longer a road to the top of the mountain.

At this moment, she finally understood what the white bearded old man meant by "I have never liked people who are too smart".

That sentence was equivalent to pronouncing her failure.

Her mind suddenly went blank.

Unknowingly, she raised her head again to look at the cloud-wrapped and unreachable summit of Mount Lao, only to feel that the sockets of her eyes were moist.

She knew that maybe she would never have the chance to go there to see the stunning scenery.

"Oh, I just hope that our 'Shenji Battalion' won't be wiped out here!" Shangguan Jin thought to himself with a bitter smile on his face.

Thinking of this, she turned around and walked down the mountain along the way she came.

The fairy fate has just come to naught.

…………

On the way down the mountain, Shangguan Jin saw a familiar face.

That was Chen Yanping from Xiangyang.

At this moment, he was bruised and bruised all over his body, and he fell down on the side of the road, his face looked ashen, and there was no expression in his eyes.

When Shangguan Jin passed by him, he raised his head and said in astonishment: "Sir Shangguan, you also failed?"

Shangguan Jin smiled: "Climbing to the top...it's not as easy as we imagined."

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(End of this chapter)