Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 14 Dream Taoist

"Dream Taoist"

"Chen Sheng of Xiantai Mountain could see ghosts and understand the language of birds and beasts. He often associated with foxes, ghosts and demons. He sought the Tao, but could not practice. He stumbled upon a method in a book. A demon in his dream said it was the true method, so he practiced it. After half a day of observing the qi, he mastered the breathing method in one day and finally entered the Tao."

"So this is still possible?"

Chen Ji was also surprised after reading it.

He originally thought that the new story would be related to Senior Huai or Mr. Su, after all, he had experienced a lot with them.

I didn’t expect that everything was included and I even got the breathing method directly.

After thinking carefully, I found that there seemed to be more content in my mind.

At this time, Chen Ji was also a little unsure about the way this book of strange stories recorded stories and gave rewards.

But now that I have been taught the breathing method, I will not worry about anything else for now, but go out and practice and give it a try.

Having just returned from Miss Bai's yard, Chen Ji didn't want to go there again.

However, it is not very safe to find a place to practice breathing techniques elsewhere in the mountains.

Chen Ji was just about to practice by candlelight in the house when he heard a knock on the door.

"Mr. Chen, Bai Er is here to visit."

Chen Ji opened the door and saw Bai Er standing at the door with his nose covered.

"Shouldn't you be taking classes with Mr. Su? Why are you here?"

"Mr. Bai Erhe has taken leave to practice at the stove, watching the fire. I'm confused about something, so I've come to ask."

"What's the matter?"

"Master said that fire is hot air. I should observe fire in the same way as I observe air. Between breaths, the flames rise and fall naturally. This is the correct way to control fire. But between my breaths..."

"how?"

Bai Er lowered his hand, revealing the charred hair on the tip of his nose and half of his beard that had been burned off.

"Singed hair."

Bai Er spoke in shame.

Fox fur is an extremely private matter, and it takes great courage to tell a person of the opposite sex about it.

Chen Ji wanted to laugh, but realized it was not the right time.

He carefully examined the tip of Bai Er's nose.

"Have you applied the medicine?"

"There's a burn ointment that Miss Bai prepared for me. I've already applied it."

"Then tell me slowly how you got burned."

Ordinary burns are nothing more than being too close to the fire, but Bai Er has already achieved great success in his practice and should not be so reckless.

"I didn't swallow it all when I was breathing, so I burned it."

Sure enough, Bai Er spoke exactly as he had guessed.

"Take me to see it."

Chen Ji also wanted to see how the fox practiced the fire breathing technique.

Soon, by the stove in the medicine hut, Bai Er demonstrated his cultivation process again.

The flame in the stove is gentle, which is exactly what warmth is.

If you roast some potatoes, sweet potatoes or chestnuts, it should be delicious.

Chen Ji had a flash of thought and looked at Bai Er again.

She had begun breathing fire.

He breathed normally as he did during the lectures. Initially his eyes were evasive and it was a bit difficult, but he soon became serious and could see the flames rising and falling with his movements between breaths.

However, Chen Ji could see even more clearly with his Qi-watching technique.

There was no flame in the stove, only a ball of bright white hot air, which approached her and then fell back to its original place as Bai Er breathed.

There was also a layer of bright white heat on Bai Er's body, but it was not as bright as the breath from the stove.

"Suck!"

Bai Er gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. The flames in the stove suddenly burst out and rushed straight towards Bai Er's face.

"boom!"

It was as if fireworks exploded, and a ball of fire instantly dissipated on Bai Er's face, and his eyebrows, eyes, hair and beard were all black again.

"Sir, that's it!"

Bai Er almost started to cry.

"I see."

Chen Ji nodded, already understanding the problem Bai Er was facing.

"You're worried that the flames will hurt you, aren't you?"

"Yes……"

Bai Er pursed his lips and nodded.

"Although the gentleman said it was heat, I think it was also flames, so I hesitated."

"Of course this won't work."

"How about I demonstrate it for you?"

Chen Ji shook his head and then spoke softly.

"Sir, can you also practice cultivation?"

Bai Er asked in surprise.

"Today I was lucky enough to be able to see qi, and I am already a cultivator."

"Congratulations, sir!"

Bai Er was very excited.

"It takes at least several decades for other monsters to gain wisdom and enter the Tao. It is a great joy for you to achieve enlightenment today."

"but……"

Bai Er hesitated again.

"Miss Bai taught me the method of breathing fire for three months before I started to see any results. I can now inhale the flame of a candlestick. Sir, you are a beginner, and this flame will hurt you."

"It should be fine."

Although Chen Ji was nervous, he also felt an inexplicable sense of certainty.

Seeing that Bai Er was still worried, he spoke.

"I have you here to protect me. If anything happens, just pull me away."

"Alright."

Bai Er nodded and stepped aside to let Chen Ji try.

Chen Ji looked at the flames and his mind moved. He closed his eyes and adjusted his mind. He felt that he was back to the situation when he was practicing at noon.

The stove fire crackled, and the warm flames danced on the firewood, and everything in front of me was covered with a thin red atmosphere.

When I opened my eyes, I saw this scene.

With a slight thought, the flames in the room disappeared, leaving only the pure energy of heaven and earth. Chen Ji looked at the warm breath in front of him and took a deep breath.

It felt like eating noodles. The warm air in front of me went through my mouth and nose and was swallowed into my stomach. My whole body suddenly felt warm, and the air on my body blended with the fiery air and became even warmer.

Bai Er on the side widened his eyes and opened his fox beak, unable to believe what he saw.

There was clearly still a trace of human breath when Chen Ji was speaking, but when he closed his eyes and opened them again, his entire body seemed like a part of the room. If he wasn't looking at himself, he wouldn't even be able to sense his presence.

And the flames in the stove.

When Chen Ji breathed, all of them drilled into Chen Ji's stomach like fire dragons.

At this moment, Chen Ji's lips moved, as if he was savoring the taste of the fire.

After feeling the magic of this breathing method, Chen Ji also understood what the Taoist meant when he said that the air of heaven and earth can be breathed, but it would be somewhat harmful to the body.

The warm breath entered the body and flowed through the internal organs, causing a burning pain that was bearable. However, if it stayed for a long time, it would still harm the body.

Then he looked at the dry firewood in the stove again and slowly exhaled the heat in his chest.

He spurted out another fire dragon like a juggler, and all of it fell on the firewood, even more powerful than before, and steam began to rise from the pot again.

"how?"

Chen Ji looked at Bai Er and asked.

"Mr. Talented!"

There was no more disbelief in Bai Er's eyes, and he was completely impressed.

She had studied the martial arts for several months before she could even get started, but Chen Ji had only been practicing for half a day and was much more powerful than her. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she really wouldn't have believed it.

Then he thought of something else and looked sad.

"Sir, isn't this the advantage of cultivation? You only need one day to learn the same technique, but it took me several months."

"Maybe I'm just special. Miss Bai also said that ordinary people don't have talents like mine."

"Besides, only a tiny fraction of humans are capable of spiritual practice. Even if they do, their lifespan won't be as long as that of an enlightened fox."

"Humans and foxes are different. It's just the way it is. Don't overthink it."

"Now that you have mastered the art of controlling fire, you should work hard at your training and not let external things distract you."

Chen Ji again counseled Bai Er.

"Is that so? Then I understand. Thank you, sir. Bai Er will definitely work hard to train and strive to be admitted to the Fox Academy, and become a fox as upright as Miss Bai."

"Let's go back together."

Chen Ji smiled and left with Bai Er.

Even when he returned to the house, he was still immersed in the joy of learning new skills.

Control fire.

This is a serious technique that can be used for self-protection.

Ordinary demons and ghosts are also afraid of fire. If they can practice to the point where they can spit out flames at will, they can probably go down the mountain and take a look.

Apart from visiting Hejian Prefecture when he was a donkey, Chen Ji had never been to the villages and towns outside this world, and he was also a little curious.

Moreover, when he was spewing fire just now, Chen Ji clearly felt some enlightenment.

The same thing he told Bai Er.

You don't need an open flame to control a fire.

If you have enough faith, the heat in your chest can still burst into flames.

But now that he had tried it once and it was getting late, Chen Ji planned to try again another day.

soon.

The moon shone, insects chirped, and Chen Ji fell into a deep sleep.

But this dream was a bit strange. It was not what I thought or imagined during the day, but it appeared out of nowhere in a Taoist temple.

I couldn't see the statues enshrined in the temple clearly, I could only vaguely make out the word "Xuan Miao" written on the tablet.

The moon was bright outside the window, and the stars were sparse. From afar, I could see a low table and cushions placed in the courtyard of the Taoist temple. Three people were sitting opposite each other, seemingly discussing something.

There was a man sitting in the north wearing a Taoist robe. His face could not be seen clearly, but only a sound like the sound of Huang Zhong Da Lu could be heard.

"Have you learned the Qi-observing method I mentioned last time?"

"Master, I already know how to do it."

They both answered at the same time.

"How does it feel?"

“It’s truly mysterious!”

"From now on, everything in the world has its own aura. This is much more advanced than the previous aura-observing method."

"Okay, this is how the Dharma should be. Since you understand the Dharma, I will teach you the breathing method today."

After saying this, he seemed to sense something and turned around to look at the place where Chen Ji was hiding in the main hall of the Taoist temple.

"It just so happens that a friend is here today, it means I am not alone!"

The sounds of Huangzhong and Dalu rang out again, and the breathing method began to be explained.

Chen Ji heard that these were what was recorded on the paper, but they were even more mysterious than what was recorded on the paper.

Chen Ji could understand it at first, but gradually he found it obscure and difficult to understand. When he continued to listen, he felt dizzy and had tinnitus, and he could no longer hold on.

Just as he was about to hold on, the Taoist's voice rang in his ears.

"Your understanding is good, but you still lack some energy. Let me give you a word of advice."

"Qi is the energy of heaven and earth, and it is also the energy in the heart. Only by expressing one's true feelings can one have righteousness!"

"If you don't understand, come back next time. Why force it? This isn't the way. The time hasn't come yet!"

After he finished speaking, Chen Ji's eyes went dark and he woke up immediately.

When he opened his eyes, he found that he was still in the fox tribe's hut. The light on the table was calm. Looking around, there was no Taoist temple, Taoist priests, demons or ghosts.

But the Taoist's voice of preaching was still echoing in my ears, and I felt a little dizzy.

"Is it a dream? It might not be too real."

When I stood up, I felt a stagnation in my chest, so I turned my head and exhaled.

Suddenly, a two-foot-long flame burst out in front of my eyes.

Chen Ji finally woke up.

The few words spoken by the Taoist became clearer and clearer.

"Isn't this a dream?"

Chen Ji rubbed his head, suddenly thought of something, and opened "Strange Stories" again.

I found that there are some things in the above content that I had not noticed before.

"I dreamt of a demon telling me that this was the true Dharma, so I began to practice it."

Before, he thought that this was talking about Xuanshan's dream method, so he didn't pay much attention to it. He didn't expect that it actually meant that he wanted to enter the dream and see this practice method with his own eyes.

"What a master's skill! Is this Xuanshan? I have to go and see it when I get a chance."

Chen Ji swallowed his saliva, and his eyes became more eager.

(End of this chapter)