Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 36: The Confucian Cultivator Among the Demons
"This...is my intention so obvious?"

Baojiejun said slowly.

"About that."

Chen Ji thought about it and nodded seriously.

Baojiejun sighed.

"I wonder when did you discover it?"

"It should start from when fellow Taoist laid out the bamboo rice and bamboo dew and began explaining their origins."

Chen Ji spoke.

"Some tried too hard to tell me the value of these things."

"It's just a meeting. These things are too valuable. If we were to discuss Dao and Dharma, you wouldn't know my strength on our first meeting."

"After thinking about it, I think it's probably because you want to see me for something, and you already know me."

"Is it Senior Huai?"

Chen Ji spoke again.

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have responded to me immediately after you said that. Did you guys agree on that?"

"This……"

Baojiejun fell silent, not knowing how to start.

"It was my idea indeed."

Senior Huai's voice sounded slowly.

"You also know the difficulty of practicing as a plant."

"Most plants and trees, throughout their lives, are eaten by birds and beasts, cut down by humans, or destroyed by disasters. Very few can continue to absorb the essence of the heavens, earth, sun, and moon."

"But this is just ordinary plant cultivation, but Baojie Jun is a little different."

"Oh?"

Chen Ji looked at the bamboo forest in front of him curiously, trying to find out where the differences were.

"It's not the difference in qigong."

Senior Huai said slowly.

"Mr. Baojie, why don't you come and explain it yourself?"

"It should be!"

The bamboo shadows swayed gently, and Baojiejun spoke solemnly.

“Actually, I’m not a wild bamboo in the mountains.”

"Uh-huh?"

Chen Ji responded and realized something was wrong.

If the bamboo forest on Xiantai Mountain is not wild bamboo, what else could it be?
"I was originally a pen. My previous owner must have been a Confucian scholar. He used me to write many poems and essays, and I have left behind a lot of talent."

"I don't know what happened to me later, but I ended up living in Xiantai Mountain."

"At first, I had no consciousness. Later, I found that I seemed to have consciousness and wanted to survive. The tip of the pen turned into a bamboo root and took root again. The pen body grew into a bamboo, and later absorbed the essence of the sun and the moon and turned into a bamboo forest."

Baojiejun said slowly.

"Isn't this wonderful? Fellow Daoist, you have been able to transform from a dead object into a living bamboo, and have cultivated to such a level. Congratulations!"

"But... I found that absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon won't allow me to go any further."

Baojiejun's facial features twisted together and he said awkwardly.

"Ever since I reached this realm sixty years ago, I haven't made any progress by absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon. It seems that the demon's way of cultivation doesn't work on me anymore."

Senior Huai also nodded.

"Indeed, even the Emperor's Blood has no effect."

Chen Ji raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and realized that Baojie Jun’s situation was indeed not simple.

He had seen the explanation of Emperor Liujiang in the book.

The movement of heaven and earth is recorded in the Jiazi calendar. The Ghost Festival, which comes every sixty years, is the day when the Moon God nourishes the demons and ghosts in the world.

The moonlight that night contained the Emperor's fluid.

When the moon reaches its zenith, countless golden threads fall to the earth like rain.

Ordinary plants, birds and animals that are lucky enough to receive the care of Emperor Liujiang can shed their animal nature, open their spiritual wisdom and embark on the path of cultivation.

After being absorbed by the practicing demons and ghosts, it is equivalent to a hundred years of hard practice, and it is even possible to transform in one step.

Therefore, it is most valued by demons and ghosts and is extremely precious.

There is a big problem since Lord Baojie has received the Emperor's Flowing Juice but still cannot break through the realm.

After a pause, Chen Ji asked tentatively.

"Has Senior Huai ever seen it?"

"I've seen it, and there's nothing unusual. But Miss Bai and Mr. Su have also seen it and said..."

"say what?"

"Mr. Su said that I shouldn't be a demon."

"what is that?"

"It's a Confucian cultivator."

"Ok?"

Chen Ji was stunned.

My mind is a little confused.

After all, Mr. Su was a Confucian cultivator during his lifetime, and it would have been fine if he had remained a Confucian cultivator even after his death and transformation into a ghost, but how come even the bamboo monster is a Confucian cultivator now?

"What else did he say?"

Chen Ji asked subconsciously.

"He said that what has sustained me in my practice till now is not the essence of the sun and the moon, but the remaining talent from the beginning."

"It's just that time has passed too long and there has been no replenishment of talent, so the practice has stagnated here."

"The essence of the sun and moon absorbed later is just like ordinary plant cultivation. It strengthens the body's bones and has no way to break through the realm."

"If you want to continue practicing, you must improve your talents."

"I think I understand."

Chen Ji nodded.

Let’s figure out this isn’t a complicated situation.

Judging from his species, Baojie Jun should be a demon, but according to his cultivation method, he is a Confucian cultivator because he uses his talents to cultivate.

If we follow Mr. Su's idea, this should probably be considered a Confucian demon.

Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with Mr. Su.

Otherwise, you can go to Qingfeng Temple and show off to the old abbot.

There is no need to find myself to solve the problem now.

"Then what can I do for you, fellow Taoist?"

Chen Ji withdrew his thoughts and looked at Baojie Jun again.

Baojiejun bowed. "I heard Senior Huai say that fellow Daoist is exceptionally talented, and his casual recitations of waterfalls are timeless verses..."

"I didn't believe it at first. I thought the fox thought you were a master, so it might be biased. I just wanted to ask you to give it a try."

"But after hearing what fellow Daoist Feng Xu Yufeng said about his article, I believe that you are truly talented."

"So I beg you to help me practice."

"Um……"

Chen Ji's brows twitched slightly, he always felt that these words did not seem to be good words.

But he was also quite curious about how Baojie Jun practiced Confucianism.

So I waited for him to continue speaking.

"Mr. Su told me a few methods. Reciting and understanding Confucian classics, feeling the will of the sages, if you can understand, then you can practice."

"Indeed."

Chen Ji nodded.

Mr. Su had told him this method and taught the foxes in the same way, but the progress was quite slow and the foxes made no progress after several years of study.

"I originally thought I was a demon made of grass and wood, and didn't care about time, so I asked Miss Bai to find the classics of the saints and read them day and night."

"But I never thought it was of no use at all, and my talent didn't improve at all."

"I later asked Mr. Su and realized that I could only recite but not understand, so I didn't make any progress."

"What about attending classes with a fox?"

Chen Ji asked.

Since Senior Huai has the method of sending spirits via flying leaves, Lord Baojie should also have the talent.

"I've tried that before, but it still didn't work very well. It's probably because of what Mr. Su said about not being compatible with demons."

"Oh! I understand."

Chen Ji nodded.

Miss Bai said this once.

The classics he talked about are more suitable for the thoughts of monsters, and may help Baojiejun understand it better.

If this is the case, then accumulating talent seems to be an option.

"I'm afraid this will waste too much of your time."

Baojiejun said embarrassedly.

"So Mr. Su came up with a more pleasing way for me."

"what?"

"He said that since ancient times, talent has been reflected in poetry and prose. If a fellow Taoist could write a poem or article for me, the talent contained in the article would be enough for my cultivation."

Chen Ji was stunned and even admired Mr. Su's idea.

Although he had never seen other Confucian practitioners, he felt based on his intuition that Su Yu's understanding of Confucianism might far exceed that of ordinary Confucian practitioners.

Otherwise, this method would not have been proposed.

At least it does make sense at first glance, and he wants to give it a try.

Even if it fails, there will be no danger.

There is only one thing, I don’t know which piece to write better.

It is indeed not easy to write about bamboo, show talent, and preferably demonstrate one's cultivation.

Chen Ji was thinking about something when his eyes accidentally glanced into the depths of the bamboo forest. His eyes lit up and he discovered a different place.

There was a bamboo in the bamboo forest that was different from the other bamboos. It had light and dense spots on its body, layered like scales.

Its shape is not straight up into the sky, but curved and coiled, like a snake with its head raised upwards.

"Fellow Daoist, what's going on?"

Chen Ji pointed to an exceptionally thick bamboo in the bamboo forest and asked.

Baojiejun looked back and suddenly realized.

"That happened a long time ago, when I didn't know how to practice cultivation. A long snake often coiled there to rest. Over time, even the shape of the bamboo changed. Later, the snake's skin was left behind, and for some reason, it grew inside the bamboo."

"I thought it was strange at the time, and I don't know why it has become like this now."

"Excellent, the poem is here!"

Chen Ji withdrew his gaze and smiled slightly.

I was thinking about how to write something, and this bamboo happened to bring me an idea.

"White flowers sway like phoenix shadows, green branches move like dragon patterns. Leaves sweep the southeast sun, branches carry northwest clouds."

Chen Ji spoke, walked slowly forward, and recited a poem from his memory which was not very famous but was quite suitable for the current needs.

With every sentence he recited, the lush aura of Baojiejun became stronger.

With every step he took, a hazy shadow appeared behind Baojie Jun.

After the four sentences were read, the entire bamboo forest crackled and the bamboo shoots collectively grew several meters long. A vitality bloomed from the bamboo forest, and even Chen Ji felt relaxed both physically and mentally.

Let’s look at Baojiejun himself.

The bamboo that Chen Ji chose was as green as jade, crystal clear all over, and the dragon scales and horns on it were more obvious.

If someone didn't know the situation, they would probably think there was a dragon lurking on the bamboo.

Behind Baojie Jun's body, a shadow of a long bamboo like a dragon was already propped up in the sky, extending to an unknown distance.

"Did he really succeed?"

Senior Huai's voice sounded slowly, somewhat incredulous.

It took Baojiejun a long time to come back to his senses.

Bow respectfully.

"Sir, you are truly unparalleled in talent!"

He originally just listened to Mr. Su's words and wanted to give Chen Ji a try.

I didn’t expect that it would be completed so quickly?

The problem that had troubled him for decades was solved so easily.

The mountain breeze blows and the bamboo forest whimpers, mixed with the bitterness and joy of more than a hundred years.

All of them turned into bamboo rice and bamboo dew on the bamboo tray in front of him.

"Sir, I cannot repay your kindness. Please do not despise me for this little bit of bamboo rice and bamboo dew. Once I have consolidated my cultivation, I will find another gift to express my gratitude."

"This……"

"Just accept it. It will be convenient for him to gather these in the future. Sir, you still need to go to the Monster Conference. You can trade the things of Lord Baojie with other monsters."

"If you don't accept it, he'll feel bad."

Senior Huai said slowly.

"In that case, thank you for the gift, fellow Taoist. I'll invite Mr. Su to discuss Taoism with us another day. I'm also curious about the Confucian cultivators among the demons."

"must."

After agreeing on a time, Chen Ji accepted it with peace of mind, then stood up to say goodbye and flew back home.

Now it’s time to meet the fox!
　Thanks to Clown Mask xhh for the reward. The author would also like to ask for some recommendation votes, monthly votes and follow-up reading. Thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)