Tao and Heaven

Chapter 19 Only Practice
【Heavenly Marrow Exhaustion】

[Jade Purity Sword Technique First Style: Frost Flower]

Gu Wen pointed towards the candle that was about to go out, and a faint curved sword energy dripped from his fingertips. A gust of wind outside blew out the candle flame.

He looked around and saw no one around, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately flew into a rage. If the jade sword had consciousness, he would grab it by the collar and scold it: You, with your crappy sword skills, want to compete with the immortal mind method?
There are nine styles of Jade Purity Sword Technique. You need to understand the Jade Purity Sword Intentions before you start, and then each style will lead you to a higher level. I don't know if it is the standard of the Three Pure Ones Taoist Sect, or the heritage of the top immortal sects, but the sword techniques and Taoist scriptures also come with many insights and great insights.

According to the records, the lethality of each move of the Jade Clear Sword Technique increases exponentially, and there are many cases where people can master sword moves in battle and turn the tide. The first move of the Jade Clear Sword Technique, Frost Flower, is recorded as follows: [The sword emerges from the frost flower, and a hundred miles are covered with frost.]

He doesn't ask for a hundred miles of frost, he doesn't even need ten meters, as long as he can chop people down.

But this can't even blow out a candle, and the sword's power is as bent as a forked urine!
Get your money back!
Gu Wen let out a breath. The good qualities he had gained from years of hard work allowed him to calm down, analyze the problem, and seek truth in a pragmatic way.

Yu Hua would not lie to himself. If there was nothing wrong with the Yuqing sword technique, then the problem might be with me.

Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and he looked at the beginning of the Jade Purity Sword Art, and the method of nurturing the sword intent.

[At first it was dark and mysterious, but the sword's power was clear and bright.]

Raising the sword, sharpening the sword, and breaking the sword are repeated over and over again to nurture the sword intent, until the sword intent alone can pierce the clouds and achieve perfection.

The key point of Yuqing Sword Art is to cultivate the sword. He has comprehended the first sword move, but this does not mean that Gu Wen can use it. His sword intent is still fragile, like a strand of hair.

The destiny is not an initiation, but enlightenment, which enables him to understand the practice.

The higher the level of comprehension of the mental method, the faster the practice will be. However, his magic power will not be able to transform into hundreds of years of skills in an instant, and the same applies to sword techniques.

So you still have to practice on your own?
It looks like this peerless genius will have to postpone his visit.

Gu Wen curled the corners of his mouth. Seeing that it was not yet completely light outside, he calmed his mind, closed his eyes, and practiced meticulously.

Outside, the sound went from the crowing of cocks to the bustle, and from the bustle to the midday tranquility, and then back to silence again.

He was in the middle of a busy city, meditating and practicing without moving, and he would only deal with people from outside. But Gu Wen was already a big businessman standing at the top of Dragon Bridge, and basically there was nothing that needed to bother him, except for the summons from the palace, which could be handed over to Jiang Fugui.

Practice, only practice is true.

Money can be used up, status can be abandoned, everything is for the sake of becoming an immortal! ——
In the palace, an elegant young man stood outside the courtyard with a melancholy look on his face. He picked a pear blossom, sniffed it and looked at the courtyard.

Seeing this, Otomo Feng Xiang hid his face and wiped his tears, sincerely moved by the deep affection of his master. In this world, perhaps only the prince could be so affectionate to a woman, and it would be a strange story if it spread among the people. Of course, most people would not pay attention to how affectionate Zhao Feng was, but would rather want to know what kind of fairy could be so obsessed with a prince.

A donkey came out with a swagger, its posture and movements were very similar to those of a human, and the people in the palace had become accustomed to it, and many people even called it a great immortal.

It is not surprising that ordinary people attach divinity to certain animals, and the donkey is happy to be called by others, as it is a fun way to kill time.

Another great source of fun comes from Zhao Feng.

It came in front of Zhao Feng, who bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, senior."

Zhao Feng knew that the other party was not a simple mount, and was more powerful than the immortal mentioned by the servants in the palace, and was even on par with his father.

The donkey said, "Boy, it's no use for you to wait here every day."

Zhao Feng bowed his head and asked humbly: "Senior, please give me some advice."

"You know that this goddess in our sect has a great background. She has countless admirers in the sect, and most of the cultivators are beautiful." The donkey paused for a moment, and Zhao Feng asked someone to send the elixir. Then it continued, "The skin is not the most useful for cultivators. Cultivation is to fight for life from heaven, so talent is the most important. But in addition to this, Yu Hua also likes music, chess, calligraphy and painting. You can cater to her interests, but this girl generally does not accept gifts from outsiders."

Zhao Feng understood and said, "I will send more elixirs and calligraphy and paintings to you in the future."

"Ruzi can be taught."

The donkey grinned, its teeth were white and cold, as if they could bite through fine iron.

Then it walked back to the courtyard leisurely. Zhao Feng, who was behind it, wanted to say something but stopped. He followed it and said, "Senior, can you say hello to Fairy Yu Hua for me?"

The donkey glanced back and said, "This is another price."

"The boy naturally understands."

Zhao Feng took out another pill with a painful feeling.

The donkey took the money to do the work. Just as it returned to the yard, it saw Yu Hua coming back over the wall. Before it could reply, the other party had already returned to the house with a sleepy face.

Practicing mental skills can relieve fatigue and replace sleep, but Yu Hua helped Gu Wen practice all night long. Not only did it not relieve fatigue, but it aggravated it.

"Yu Hua, the Zhao family kid is looking for you."

"I'll talk to you when I wake up in the afternoon."

"But that kid waited for you for a whole night. After all, he is the son of a true monarch. We also need the help of the Zhao family to find the elixir of immortality." Bang!
Yu Hua closed the door and frowned. Donkey accepted bribes again and again. The Zhenjun of the sect had constant transactions with the Zhao family and never asked her about it.

Can these insects really help the master reverse life and death?
Nothing happens in January, and on April 13th, it is the Grain Full Moon.

It rained continuously and the rivers were easily filled. The people in the city worshiped the God of Chariots. Among the sacrifices, they offered a cup of clean water, which was sprinkled into rivers, lakes, paddy fields and dry land, praying for abundant water.

Gu Wen took over the weaving factory in the palace, which had been burned down due to the riots some time ago, but fortunately most of the weaving machines were preserved, and only manpower and materials were lacking.

The former was not in short supply. In this era, all women could weave. He could easily recruit large numbers of refugees with half the wages and sufficient food. What Bianjing lacked the most now was the unemployed. As long as he could recruit all these people at a very low cost, he could make money anyway.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you can deal with the jackals and tigers in official clothing. From the Beijing officials to the petty clerks, they can all take a bite out of you. Many times, the money you earn is not enough to maintain relationships.

Therefore, all big merchants have to rely on a noble person.

With the support of the palace, no one would cause trouble for Gu Wen, and it would be easy for him to make money and buy medicine. No wonder.

Jiang Fugui walked in from outside and whispered in Gu Wen's ear: "Master, there is a problem. The silk cannot be collected."

"why?"

"There is a war. Zezhou County is being plundered by the Hu cavalry. The county soldiers are defending the city and dare not go out to fight. The 3,000 Hu cavalry are rampant over a 500-li area, so that no one dares to walk on the official road. Now we can only take the Jiangnan Road and transfer to the ship along the Qianjiang River to transport it to Bianjing."

"All the heavy taxes and levies are used to feed their bellies."

Gu Wen waved his sleeves in disappointment and left the textile factory in a carriage. He knew that the textile factory could not be opened. He had originally wanted to make a thousand taels of silver from the new silk on the market to buy medicine.

The only way to make money now is
The carriage was moving at a steady pace. Jiang Fugui, who was sitting beside him, kept looking at Gu Wen with his peripheral vision, his face flickering with hesitation. He said, "Sir, the major grain merchants asked you to do a notarization. I know you don't like to get involved in these things, but this time they are giving you three thousand taels."

Merchants do business in a very underworld way, and big deals often require prestigious people in the industry to notarize them.

Every year of disaster is a good opportunity to make money. When grain prices go up, officials are happy to receive money, grain merchants make a lot of money, wealthy people borrow money, and the market sells themselves. Everyone is satisfied with the whole process.

As for their water house, or Wen Ye as one of the people in charge of Longqiao, they may not make the most money, but they definitely have the greatest influence. If you open a shop and do business, you will definitely need water.

"Don't go."

Gu Wen looked straight ahead and spoke calmly without a trace of hesitation.

Although Jiang Fugui was still somewhat unwilling that if he didn't make the easy money, others would earn it, but Gu Wen was the boss.

"Fugui, there is some money we cannot make, and there are bigger surprises waiting for us to deal with than making money."

Gu Wen rubbed the calluses on his palms and looked at the refugees outside the window. Bianjing strictly controlled the influx of population, and it was impossible for refugees to enter the city.

They were all originally from Bianjing, and they were forced to be homeless even under the emperor's feet. So what was the situation outside?

"During this time, you should bring all your family members to my house."

Jiang Fugui was startled. He was also a smart man, so he asked cautiously, "Master, do you think there will be another civil unrest?"

"Yes for sure."

Return to the house.

Before Gu Wen could even sit down, a group of officials knocked on the door. The leader held a document in his hand and said arrogantly, "The Holy Emperor is here, the world is peaceful, and the people live in peace. However, there are barbarians in the north who despise the Holy Emperor's authority and plunder our Daqian territory. The court wants to send troops to drive out the barbarians and even go north to fight them. The people of Bianjing have the responsibility to provide the money and food needed to train the imperial army to fight the barbarians. This year's sales tax, capitation tax, banknote tax, and door stall tax will be increased by 10%."

"All the arrears of taxes in the past 20 years will be recovered and paid, no matter if they are big households or small households."

The taxes for this year were collected last year, and the taxes for this year were collected the year before last. How dare you still pay this year? You Zhao family really think you live too long. Why don't you collect all the taxes from the past 100 years?
Gu Wen cursed inwardly, then obediently paid a total of one thousand taels of tax.

The deposit was 6,500 taels, and after deducting 1,000 taels from miscellaneous taxes, there was a balance of 5,500 taels.

This is just the tax for his mansion and all the servants. If the Longqiao Water House is included, it will be more than ten thousand taels. Fortunately, the water house behind the palace does not have to pay taxes.

This one thousand taels was not a small amount even for Gu Wen. He could only keep three thousand taels in his hands in a year. The other hundreds of thousands of taels were given to Zhao Feng. The so-called wealthy merchants were not even half as rich as the literati.

He has been spending money like water recently, not because he earns so much on weekdays, but because Gu Wen knows that the return on his investment in cultivation will be tens of millions times greater.

Damn Zhao family, forbearing!

The harvest celebrations during the Grain Full season came to an abrupt end as the collection teams of officials advanced. The wailing continued into the night, and even in the evenings approaching summer, the cold wind was still howling.

Gu Wen no longer went out. He locked himself in the depths of his mansion to practice martial arts, ignoring what was happening outside.

In this world, he can only protect himself.

(End of this chapter)