Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 77: "Nine Questions on the Dao Foundation" and Building the Foundation of Heaven and Earth
"Mom, let's run away. We farm, the food is theirs, we hunt, the prey is theirs, we fish, the fish and shrimp are also theirs. Mom, I heard them say that the village elders will levy a peace tax in the near future. We can't live like this anymore!"

“But, but if we try to escape and get caught, we’ll be put into the Ghost Banner…” The skinny old woman was a little scared.

"Mom, we won't run far. I heard that a good Taoist official came to the nearby Shiyuan County. He slaughtered all the original village elders in Shiyuan County and bled them one by one. He took out the grain and land to distribute to the poor. Now it is the richest county in southern Xinjiang. We are also from southern Xinjiang. Why can't we go there?"

In this era, many people never left their land more than ten miles from birth to death.

Unless one really can't survive, unless one is mentally ill, who would be willing to leave their hometown and the land where their ancestors have lived for generations?
The family took out the grain that was originally used as seeds and cooked it and had a hearty meal.

Then Li Tie carried his mother on his back, took his younger brother and escaped under the cover of night.

However, this reckless behavior soon attracted a chase.

Woof woof woof.

First, hunting dogs followed in pursuit, and finally even monks were dispatched. It was not because they were wanted criminals who had committed serious crimes, but because the situation could not be allowed to continue.

A black banner fluttered in the wind, with black light emitting from it. The evil spirits that emerged from it even formed dark clouds, obscuring the moon in the sky, and pounced on Li Tie's family.

"A Tie, please leave me behind. A Tie, I have lived for forty years and I have lived enough. I will continue to live with your brother."

The old woman on Li Tie's back struggled, trying to jump off her son's back and feed the ghosts with her own flesh and blood.

"Mom, I promised Dad that I would take care of you in your old age, Mom, please don't move."

"Brother, run faster, run faster." Li Tong cried and shouted.

But how can a mortal outrun magic?
Their figures were quickly shrouded by the ghost fog, and dark ghost shadows pounced down, making the group of ghosts ecstatic.

"How dare you, demons and monsters, manifest yourself under the divine radiance of the Scarlet Lord!"

Suddenly, a big man in golden armor walked out from the void, holding a huge axe in his hand. With just one axe, he split the ghost fog, and with a sweep, he cut off the group of ghosts that were rushing towards him, and protected the three mother and children who were huddled together with their heads hugged behind him.

"You have crossed the line. This is under the jurisdiction of Master Lu of Chixin Temple. If you don't leave... I will kill you without mercy!"

Behind Tu Nuhu, two silver-armored heavenly soldiers, Zou Xiong and Zou Yong, appeared and stared at the middle-aged female cultivator holding the ghost flag.

To this day, almost every household in Ishihara County worships the tablet of Chijun, and as long as there are believers and the tablet is there, the heavenly soldiers and generals will arrive in an instant.

They are essentially ghosts. Although they have no physical bodies to practice, it is ten times more difficult for them to increase their spiritual power than for normal cultivators. However, they also have the advantage of being light and agile. If a cultivator wants to teleport like them, the level of spiritual power required is simply unimaginable.

"let's go."

The middle-aged female cultivator did not dare to provoke the Chixin Temple, whose reputation was growing, and could only leave unwillingly with her subordinates behind her.

On the other side, inside the Chixin Temple, Lu Cheng was exchanging insights on Taoism with the foundation-building cultivator who came to visit today.

The four essentials of spiritual practice are Dharma, land, companions and wealth. Although your own spiritual power is increasing day by day and you have not encountered any bottlenecks, you should still have necessary exchanges with fellow practitioners.

Otherwise, it would be too passive to wait until the need arises to make up for it.

Lu Cheng would set aside one day every month to exchange his respective cultivation experiences with a foundation-building cultivator.

But the one today was obviously special. She was a widow, and Lu Cheng didn't know why he had a special affinity with widows.

She was dressed in a black gauze Taoist robe and a silver-white fox fur coat. She was graceful and elegant, especially her chest, which was as big as a pillow and as soft as cotton. Her pair of peach-like eyes seemed to be full of affection when she looked at everyone.

Today he brought his daughter here to present a Taoist book to Lu Cheng.

"This is the Nine Questions on the Foundations of Taoism written by Yue Shan Sanren, one of the Eight Jing Sects of the Middle Earth. It has only been circulated in a small area of ​​the Middle Earth in recent years. It should be helpful to the master's practice."

Hearing that it was from the scriptures of the Eight Scenic Sect, Lu Cheng also became serious.

Of the eight orthodox religions in China, except for the Three Immortal Islands overseas, the rest, including the Huoyun Mansion, the Xiantian Sect, the Western Region Tianhe Orthodox Religion, and the Guanghan Palace, have almost all been designated as state religions by the Tang Dynasty.

The time when the Eight Scenic Sect was declared the state religion was almost a thousand years ago. The Eight Scenic Sect was also known as the first major sect of the righteous path.

It is said that there are more than two hands of cultivators at the True Person Realm in the inner sect of the Eight Scenes Sect, and their foundation and reputation cannot be compared with emerging sects like the Fire Cloud Cave Mansion.

Unlike the Cangjian Palace, another orthodox sect that was dedicated to eradicating all evil, the Bajing Sect would occasionally pass down some Taoist scriptures for the monks of the world to discuss and practice, thus accumulating a deep amount of Taoist knowledge.

Among the monks in the world, is there any monk who dares to say that he has never read the scriptures of the Eight Scenic Sect and has never owed a favor to anyone?
Therefore, when he heard that it was a book from the Eight Scenery Sect, Lu Cheng reached out to take it. Madam Yuzhen handed it to him with both hands. When Lu Cheng took the book, he accidentally touched the hands of this Kun cultivator. Their hands were soft and tender, which made Madam Yuzhen's pretty face turn red and also made the Taoist's heart flutter.

However, Lu Cheng quickly gathered his mind and concentrated his attention on the Taoist book in his hand:

"The foundation of humanity is built for those with shallow foundations. After cultivation, one can condense his spiritual consciousness, increase his magical power, and live for 120 years. There is no point talking about the rest."

"Those who have built their foundation in the Dao have a far superior foundation in Dao. In the process of building their foundation, they use the corresponding method to gather a kind of magical power in themselves, which is often powerful and the means of defeating the enemy are amazing."

"The foundation of the Heavenly Dao is better than the former. It not only takes into account the accumulation of spiritual consciousness and magic power, but also completes the condensation of foundation-building supernatural powers. However, this kind of foundation-building is incredibly difficult. Without the inheritance of top-notch Qi training and accumulation techniques, as well as the practitioner's amazing understanding and perseverance, it is almost impossible for ordinary cultivators to achieve it."

"After thousands of years of deduction of the Dao, my Bajing Dao Sect has deduced a fourth foundation-building method in addition to the foundation-building of the three elements of heaven, earth and man, called the foundation-building of longevity. Although it is not as good as the foundation-building of the Heavenly Dao, it can be compared to the foundation-building of the Earthly Dao, which is also the foundation-building of supernatural powers."

"The foundation of longevity is based on the improvement of mana. It is easy to practice and it is also easier to break through when encountering a bottleneck in cultivation. However, although it is easier to improve mana when building the foundation with this method, there is basically no powerful means of protection, and one often becomes the weaker among the cultivators of the same level!"

"In addition to the four types of foundation building mentioned above, the Taoist masters in my Bajing Sect are also painstakingly deducing the possible perfect Taoist foundation method. Let's call it the Heaven and Earth Foundation Building. The cultivators who build their foundation with this method can get the benefits of the Heaven and Earth Foundation Building without suffering from its disadvantages. However, it often requires extremely special conditions to be able to cultivate it. With the development of Taoism, perhaps a thousand years later, the Tongxuan Realm will be able to crack the key..."

Yueshan Sanren's "Nine Questions on the Foundations of Taoism" is profound and subtle, and also contains comments on the various methods of Qi training in the world.

Lu Cheng was dazzled by what he saw. Sometimes he frowned and shook his head, and sometimes he clapped his hands in praise.

"Ouch."

When Lu Cheng finally came to his senses after hearing the sound, he saw the little girl in white clothes next to him. Her legs were numb from sitting on the mat. She wanted to stand up, but her legs went weak and she knelt on the mat.

Madam Yuzhen, who was standing by, was so distressed that she reached out to support her daughter.

It was not until then that Lu Cheng noticed that it was originally morning with bright sunlight, but now it was already dark and late at night.

Fortunately, the little girl made some noise, otherwise Lu Cheng would have been lost in thought for a while, and when he came back to his senses, he might have found that it was still daylight.

"Madam, I am so sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment. Have you two Taoist friends had dinner yet? Steward He, please prepare a banquet for the two guests today." "As you wish, sir."

Manager He knew that the master was engrossed in reading, but she knew that people who practice Taoism can have sudden enlightenment, so she would not make a sound to disturb him. As for the mother and daughter, she did not care about them without Lu Cheng's instructions, and at most she would add some tea.

Lu Cheng and Madam Yuzhen were fine throughout the whole day, but the little girl just drank some tea, and her face turned blue with hunger. Lu Cheng felt apologetic and gestured to He Lan, who prepared a more sumptuous dinner than when the four Xuanyin people came to visit.

However, seeing that what was served were only white rice, lake fish, fruits, vegetables, and a bowl of meat soup, the mother and daughter looked a little disapproving.

Until the first chopstick of food enters the mouth.

Spiritual food is not only rich in spiritual energy that nourishes the body, but it is also many times more delicious than ordinary food.

"oops?"

"This is... spiritual food!"

Madam Yuzhen and her daughter Yun Ling'er looked at each other, and then both of them immersed themselves in enjoying the food:

The chalcedony rice was soft and delicious, the spirit fish was fat and juicy, the fruits and vegetables were fresh and refreshing, and the bowl of meat was even more meaty. Madam Yuzhen was still a little reserved and gentle.

Yun Ling'er devoured all the spiritual food on the table like a whirlwind, even licking the bowls as if they had just been washed, and then looked at Lu Cheng with burning and pitiful eyes.

"Hahahaha, please feel free to help yourself, my two Taoist friends. Although the food at my Chixin Temple is simple, it can still fill you up."

At this time, Manager He brought a plate of rotten fruits to Lu Cheng. Madam Yuzhen and Yun Ling'er both looked distressed when they saw these fruits.

Spiritual fruits are not easy to rot. These ones are obviously not stored properly for a long time after being picked, which is why they are in this state.

But when the Taoist Lu Cheng waved his sleeves, a golden light flashed, and a pale golden insect covered with hideous spikes lay on the rotten spiritual fruits and began to eat them voraciously.

Lu Cheng had no choice, as the Hundred Poisons Golden Silkworm Gu was just fond of this. During this period, the Hundred Poisons Golden Silkworm Gu brought back another piece of pure white iron stone for Lu Cheng.

After Lu Cheng looked through ancient books to verify, he found that it was the legendary sword-refining ore Taibai Gold Essence. This ore was enough to refine fifth- or sixth-order flying swords.

What else is there to say? The golden silkworm Gu likes rotten spiritual fruits so just give it to eat. It doesn't like to suck human brains, so why can't this hobby be satisfied?

"Golden Silkworm Gu with Hundred Poisons!"

Madam Yuzhen cried out in surprise after seeing the golden silkworm Gu.

"Madam, do you recognize this kind of Gu insect?"

Lu Cheng usually wouldn't summon the Golden Silkworm Gu in front of others, but today he was happy when reading his favorite Taoist book, and it was time to feed the Golden Silkworm Gu, so he summoned it in front of two outsiders. However, he didn't expect that the Golden Silkworm Gu, which had been extinct in southern Xinjiang for hundreds of years, would be recognized by Madam Yuzhen at a glance.

Upon hearing this, Madam Yuzhen cautiously took a few steps forward and watched the spirit insect eating for a while. After a while, she let out a breath.

"It is just a larva in the Qi training stage. I have seen records of this insect in Taoist books. You must cultivate this insect well. When it matures, it will become the Golden Silkworm King. At that time, you can dominate the world with just this insect."

"Ha, I don't expect it to help me dominate the world, just be a little more obedient and bite me less. Madam, do you have a book about the golden silkworm Gu that records a hundred poisons? Can I borrow it to take a look?"

Hearing about the book that recorded the poisonous golden silkworm Gu, Lu Cheng certainly wanted to read it, perhaps he could gain some useful experience.

"It's not that I don't want to show some respect to you, but Ling'er and I have been traveling around the world, and I read that volume of Taoist books many years ago. Now I really can't remember where I lost it."

"That's fine, but this temple is forcing you to do so."

After dinner.

"It's too late tonight. It's not safe for you two Taoist friends to go back to the cave. Why don't you stay in my Red Heart Temple for a night?"

"Then it is better to obey than to be respectful."

The beautiful mother and daughter looked at each other, bowed and accepted.

Yun Yuzhen and Yun Ling'er, mother and daughter, live in Chixin Temple, so Lu Cheng can also read "Nine Questions on the Foundations of Taoism" for another night. This Taoist book contains many inspiring and thought-provoking viewpoints. Lu Cheng has just obtained it and almost feels like he can't put it down.

On the other side, inside the wing.

It was already too late tonight, and Yun Yuzhen and Yun Ling'er, mother and daughter, washed up and prepared to go to bed. Although Manager He arranged two rooms for them, the mother and daughter were very close, so they slept on the same bed.

"This Chixin Temple Master is gentle and elegant, always reading. He is not as bloodthirsty and murderous as the rumors say. He is also very generous. He is completely different from those Taoists who usually covet your beauty and are eager to enter your house just by giving you a little spiritual object. The Chixin Temple Master does things in a proper manner. He just reads books and does not ask for anything."

The night was deep, Yun Linger was hugged in the warmth and softness that almost suffocated her, she was jealous and happy as she talked to her mother privately.

"Well, it seems that if I ask this Taoist priest to be Ling'er's stepfather, Ling'er will not object!?"

"Ah, Yun Yuzhen, you are being naughty again. Don't you think about how old you are? How can the master of Chixin Temple, who is so outstanding, be interested in you?"

"You are talking nonsense. I am only 28 years old, at the prime of my youth and beauty."

"Twenty-eight years old refers to me. I am fourteen this year and will be sixteen in two years. It does not mean that you will be twenty-eight."

On the other side, inside the Chixin Temple, is the main room.

Lu Cheng was pacing back and forth in the room, flipping through the Taoist book in his hand.

Manager He Lan was talking about the recent large number of refugees fleeing to Ishihara County.

"Master, in just this month, there have been more than 500 refugees pouring in from outside. If this continues, I'm afraid something bad will happen."

"Ishihara County's land and industry can no longer support these people?"

"That's not the case. With the addition of these refugees, many industries have been quickly established, making the county's businesses more prosperous. However, the village elders in each county are angry but dare not speak out. If this continues, I'm afraid something will happen sooner or later."

Lu Cheng smiled when he heard this, then put down the Taoist book in his hand and said on the table:
"It's best for them to continue to endure this anger without saying anything. Otherwise... Although this temple knows that it is not a high-level cultivator, but even if the land of a thousand miles in the southern border is turned upside down, I don't think anyone will blame this temple for it."

(End of this chapter)