Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 99 Blood Buddha Statue
Cloud Soup

"Laoma, the Immortal of Qingliang Mountain, is skilled in cooking and foraging. One day, Chen Sheng from Xiantai brought a fox to the mountain to discuss Taoism. Ma was delighted and prepared a soup with bamboo shoots from the clouds, five-colored mushrooms, and red sun fruit. The fox said that bamboo shoots from the clouds were rare and beneficial. Chen Sheng took the soup and indeed mastered the art of transforming clouds and mist."

After just a few sentences, Chen Ji began to check the technique of cloud and mist transformation.

"The Cloud and Mist Transformation Technique is a divine law of heaven and earth, discovered by a Taoist priest from Xuanshan while observing the clouds. Initially, one can transform into a cloud, avoiding violence. Those who have achieved advanced cultivation can condense a cloud body, acting like a human. Those who have reached a very high level can use their cloud and mist bodies to take the place of death. Those who have achieved great mastery can manipulate the clouds into a myriad of phenomena."

"It's a good technique indeed!"

Chen Ji was shocked after reading it. It was indeed a spiritual method of heaven and earth. Just looking at its power, it was far superior to the magic practiced by the fox in front of him.

But Chen Ji was not surprised by this, but by seeing a familiar name.

This cloud and mist transformation technique is actually related to Taoist Xuanshan.

I don’t know if it is the Taoist priest who appeared in “Xuanshan Guaitanlu” and in the dream.

However, several people present had previously said that they did not know Xuanshan, so it was not appropriate to ask too much at this moment. They could only swallow their breath silently and calm their minds.

"How? Is there any harvest?"

Seeing that everyone had finished eating, the old abbot looked at them with a smile and asked.

"Master's work is naturally excellent!"

Taoist Xiyun said.

"Now that I'm full, I can eat this. It's pretty good."

Mr. Su's ghost body has become much more solid, but he still maintains a stubborn attitude.

The old abbot was not angry. He just shook his head and looked at Miss Bai.

"Where's Fox Senior?"

"It tastes good, and my spiritual energy has become more concentrated, but I haven't gained anything else."

Miss Bai said seriously.

"What about Fellow Daoist Chen?"

The few people had originally had no hope, but when they saw Chen Ji raise his hand, clouds surged, and he actually turned into clouds, passing through the low table and cups without any hindrance, and turned into a human body again, clasping his fists to salute.

"Thank you for the soup, Master. I think I have learned it."

Chen Ji said slowly.

The wind was light and the clouds were clear. The courtyard suddenly became silent. All the foxes and ghosts were stunned by Chen Ji's actions.

The words of comfort I had prepared were stuck in my mouth.

The cloud-transforming technique really surprised them.

“So there are people who can really learn it?”

The old abbot was filled with emotion.

"I almost thought it was just a rumor, but I didn't expect to see one with my own eyes."

"Daoyou is indeed not a simple person."

"No wonder the saint bestowed talent upon me."

Mr. Su said that he was not envious but couldn't help but take a few more glances and came forward to look at Chen Ji's hands.

"Mr. Chen, could you tell me what this cloud and mist transformation technique feels like?"

"nature."

Chen Ji nodded, and did not hide his thoughts from them.

It is hard to say whether this technique was obtained from the bamboo shoots in the clouds or from the records of strange things.

But no matter how you calculate it, it is inseparable from the precious spiritual material, the Yunzhongsun. There is no problem in just sharing your insights.

So I'll skip other information and just talk about my feelings.

"When transforming into clouds, my hands looked like clouds, but I still felt like I had hands. It was just that the control was a little unfamiliar. I guess it was because I wasn't familiar with it yet."

"Something you can grasp?"

“I haven’t tried it yet, but it shouldn’t work.”

As Chen Ji spoke, he transformed his arms into clouds again and went to pick up the wine jug on the table.

Unfortunately, all I could see was clouds and mist, and there was no movement in the wine jug.

"What if we were to be restored to human form right now?"

“I haven’t tried it yet, so I might as well give it a try.”

"Wait a minute."

As soon as Chen Ji finished speaking, Miss Bai called him and casually condensed a ball of water in front of her.

"Try this, so you don't get stuck like in the escape technique, and end up hurting yourself."

"Yes!"

Several other people also nodded.

"Just now I was so engrossed in my amazement that I forgot to remind you, fellow Daoist, that if you are trying out new techniques, you must be careful about your safety and it's best to find a trustworthy Daoist to protect you."

"If it's an ordinary spell, it's fine. But for something like attracting lightning or transforming clouds, if something goes wrong, there won't even be anyone to help. That would be a disaster."

"Is this still necessary?"

Chen Ji was shocked.

He seemed to have never thought about these things when he practiced magic before.

It seems that the only time I entered the Dao was with Miss Bai...

"Miss Bai, were you protecting me that day?"

Chen Ji suddenly thought of something and looked at Miss Bai.

"Not really. I also need to absorb the moonlight to practice, but you just happened to be comprehending the breathing method."

"I originally thought that if you went crazy, I would come forward to help, but it was useless."

"Can breathing techniques lead to obsession?"

"nature."

Taoist Xiyun nodded.

"The breathing method is to visualize the five energies of heaven and earth being absorbed into the body, but if something unexpected happens, it is the heaven and earth that are breathing the five energies from you."

"The universe is so vast. Not to mention a mortal who is just beginning to enter the Dao, even a cultivator with profound skills will die in less than half an incense stick of time."

"In the temple, young Taoist priests who want to enter the Dao are usually protected by teachers to prevent accidents caused by unstable aura."

Taoist Xiyun realized something and stared at Chen Ji.

"Fellow Daoist, are you unaware of this? Can you directly enter the Dao through breathing techniques?"

"I really don't know."

"That's a blessing."

"Mercy, mercy!"

The old abbot and Taoist Xiyun were both amazed.

Chen Ji shook his head and felt that he was very brave. He just wanted to learn some magic skills, but he didn't expect there would be such a crisis.

So he looked at Miss Bai and bowed solemnly to express his gratitude.

"Thank you Miss Bai."

"It's okay, sir, you have a great opportunity. Even if I don't protect you, nothing will happen. But you still need to be careful in the future."

"nature."

Chen Ji nodded, then looked at the water ball condensed by Miss Bai and continued to try the art of transformation.

The arm that turned into mist passed through the water ball. There was indeed a strange feeling of blockage in the middle part of the water ball, but the part exposed outside was normal.

When it condensed into a body again, it became a normal arm in the water, with no difference.

After repeating this several times, Chen Ji seemed to have mastered the trick and turned into mist again to try to lift the wine jug.

Chen Ji's entire arm seemed to be made of clouds and mist, but a human hand appeared at his wrist. He lifted the wine pot and poured wine in all directions with ease, his agile movements like a shadow puppet.

After a while, he put down the wine jug again, regained his human form, looked at the few people and bowed slightly.

"I'm just starting to learn the art, and I'm not very proficient yet. Sorry for the poor presentation!"

Everyone was stunned where they were.

After a long time, the old abbot was amazed.

"No wonder fellow Taoist has a natural talent for cultivation. He can use this technique so skillfully after just obtaining it. It is truly extraordinary."

"Is this considered proficient?"

Chen Ji felt a little ashamed.

According to the records of the technique, at this stage, one is considered proficient only when the whole body turns into cloud.

I can only control one arm to turn into cloud now, I am still far from it.

Taoist Xiyun was speechless for a moment and remained silent for several breaths before speaking.

"If you regard this technique as a water escape technique, do you know how long it took me to learn it before I could hide in the water?"

"how long?"

"One month."

"Ok?"

Chen Ji was stunned with surprise.

Taoist Xiyun was able to become the abbot of Qingfeng Temple and was able to fight against the Painted Skin Ghost, so his talent in cultivation must be good.

But even such a talented person would need to practice for a month before he could master the art of hiding his body in the water.

It seems that my speed is indeed amazing.

But at this time, Chen Ji didn't know what to say to comfort Taoist Xiyun, and whatever he said would seem like showing off.

Fortunately, the young Taoist priest Ziqing came running over and said that the craftsman who was repairing the statue at the foot of the mountain had sent someone to question him. The two of them went to hear the matter together, thus avoiding further embarrassment.

When Ziqing brought people over, Chen Ji realized that it was an acquaintance, the craftsman Song San who came to the pharmacy that day.

"How did Master Song get here?"

Taoist Xiyun asked.

"The headmaster sent me here. Someone in the medicine hall said the Taoist priest had returned to the mountain to do some work, so I hurried over to let him know." "What's so urgent? Is there something wrong with the statue of the Five Great Mountains?"

Taoist Xiyun looked at him in confusion.

Song San waved his hands hurriedly.

"It's not the statue, it's the workshop. The workshop is haunted!"

"Hmm? Tell me more carefully, where did the ghost come from?"

Taoist Xiyun's expression turned serious.

Although Tiejin Town does not have a city god, it is the closest to Qingliang Mountain and is the place where Taoist priests from the mountain stay when they come down from the mountain, so demons and ghosts are not often seen.

The workshop is full of craftsmen, and the yang energy is strong. If there were demons causing trouble, it would be understandable, but how could there be ghosts causing trouble?

Song San did not delay and hurriedly told what happened down the mountain.

Chen Ji was listening on the side and gradually understood what was going on.

The workshop where Song San worked was run by people from the same village. They were all related to each other, and they usually did a lot of work such as repairing temples and sculpting statues of gods.

In addition to carving statues of the Five Great Emperors, there are also some other statues being carved.

The accident this time was related to a Thousand-Armed Guanyin statue that was to be carved two days ago.

"This was recently commissioned by a temple on the mountain. They said a believer dreamt of Guanyin enlightening them, and that offering a Thousand-Armed Guanyin statue at the temple would fulfill their wish. That's why they asked us to make this statue."

"I didn't expect it to be haunted. The wood looked fine at first, but every time the carving knife fell, it left a blood mark. The carver even had a nightmare that night."

"What dream?"

"A woman with disheveled hair came to the carpenters and said we were so cruel that we demolished her house to build the Buddha statue. She would not let us go and would make us suffer the pain of slow slicing."

"We didn't take it seriously at first, but when we woke up this morning, several of the craftsmen had blood marks on their bodies, just like the ones carved on the Buddha statue!"

"Believers offering sacrifices to Buddha, isn't that a good thing? How could it be haunted?"

Chen Ji was very confused.

Although most of the techniques he learned came from Taoism, the mustard seed Sumeru technique is also a magical power of monks.

After chatting with Taoist Master Xiyun and others, I also learned that the power of the Shamen is strong, and even in terms of incense, they are more powerful than the Taoists.

It does sound a bit strange that such a thing would happen when believers worship the Guanyin statue.

Song San shook his head.

"We don't understand these things. We are just worried that we will miss the day when the Taoist priest wants to invite the statue, so we came here to ask if he has any solution."

"Why don't you go find the monk?"

Chen Ji asked curiously.

"If there's a problem with the statue, we should first consult the Five Great Emperors. If there's no problem, we should consult the master of this temple."

"This... I have also looked for it. I went to the temple to look for the master this morning."

"They didn't agree?"

"I did agree."

Song San hesitated.

"But the master said that this matter has nothing to do with them. It was the believers who found the wood themselves and wanted to offer it to the Buddha."

"From the beginning to the end, they have never seen this piece of wood or the Buddha statue. If there is any deviation between them, it has nothing to do with them. If they want to exorcise demons and catch ghosts, they must pay a hundred taels of silver as a normal incense fee."

"One hundred taels? That's quite a lot."

Song San sighed again.

"If we can really exorcise the demon and catch the ghost, the believers are willing to pay this one hundred taels of silver, but the master of the temple said that if we can't deal with it, the silver will not be returned."

"Can it still be like this?"

Chen Ji clicked his tongue.

I originally thought that the fifty taels of silver from Qingfeng Temple was a sky-high price, but now it seems that it was a kind-hearted act.

It is truly unscrupulous for a master like the one in the temple to take money but not do anything.

"Master, we have no other choice but to come to the mountain to ask for your help."

"Just heard from down the mountain that the bloodstains on the sculptors' bodies have gotten much darker. If we can't rescue them soon, I'm afraid they'll be skinned alive in a few days."

"Master, please save me. I'll give you some silver... If you can catch this demon and save my brother, I won't take a penny from the statue this time!"

Song Sanchao Chen Ji knelt down and kowtowed.

"This... Master Song, there's no need to be like this. Since this concerns the statues of the Five Great Emperors, I'll go and take a look."

Chen Ji said slowly.

"Great, now they are saved."

Song San said excitedly.

Chen Ji shook his head.

"It's not certain yet. There are too many demons and ghosts in the world. I don't know what kind of demons and ghosts they encountered yet. I can only go and see first."

"If you encounter something I can't help, you'll have to seek help from someone else."

"understand!"

Song San nodded hurriedly.

Taoist Xiyun also stood up.

"This matter is also related to me, so I will go with you."

"That's fine too."

Chen Ji nodded.

It just so happened that he didn't know too many monsters and ghosts, so he felt a lot more at ease with Taoist Master Xiyun by his side.

So he asked Taoist Xiyun to tell Miss Bai to go back to the mountain first. He would go down the mountain to catch ghosts and then go to the medicine hall to wait.

Afterwards, he went down the mountain with Taoist Xiyun and Song San.

Soon, the talisman ship landed.

I have arrived near the courtyard where I placed the order that day.

The door was locked, and even the lights in the nearby shops had been turned off early, so there was no sound at all.

There were a dozen or so people standing or lying not far away outside, all of them were the craftsmen I had seen that day.

When they saw Chen Ji, everyone looked relieved and grinned.

They didn't know how to catch ghosts and get rid of monsters. They only knew that Chen Ji had caught ghosts on the road and dealt with plague ghosts before, and that he was a capable Taoist priest.

Now that he's here, at least I'm saved.

So a group of people bowed respectfully.

Chen Ji took a quick look and saw dense blood marks on several people's bodies, as if they had been chiseled.

It seems that what Song San said is true. I am just curious why they are all gathered here?

Song San signaled them not to come over, and then he slowly spoke to Chen Ji.

"There's a ghost in the yard, and they don't dare go home. They'll have nightmares if they go home anyway, so they decided to gather here so they can look after each other."

"Where are the neighbors?"

"We've already told them that this place is not peaceful, so they've all moved somewhere else to rest."

Song San saw Chen Ji looking around and took the initiative to explain.

Chen Ji nodded.

At this time, he still thought of telling the neighbors, which shows that he is really kind-hearted.

Then he used the Qi-gazing technique to look towards the courtyard.

Sure enough, one could see a lot of black air emanating from the courtyard.

"It's really haunted."

"Not weak at all."

Taoist Xiyun said slowly.

"It seems the world is really in chaos."

"We just caught the Painted Skin Ghost, and now demons and ghosts are appearing. They weren't this frequent in previous years."

"Alas, I'm afraid this grand ceremony won't be peaceful either."

Taoist Xiyun sighed, expressing countless bitterness.

Chen Ji didn't say anything else, shook his head slightly, and told Song San to open the door and go see the Guanyin statue that was in trouble.

Song San took a deep breath to build up his courage and then stepped forward to unlock the door, revealing a bloody wooden statue in the yard. It was just a simple shape and had not been finely carved, but bloodstains were already visible on the statue.

"Master, that's the one."

Song San pointed far away, his body trembled, and he didn't dare to look any further.

Chen Ji looked carefully at the life-size statue of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin.

The ghostly aura in the courtyard just now was indeed emitted from the Guanyin statue.

Now that we have entered the courtyard, we can see more clearly.

The Buddha statue only had a rough shape and was now covered in blood. It didn't look like a sculpture, but more like a skinned living person standing there, staring at the three people with a pair of empty eye sockets.

Chen Ji shuddered for no reason. It felt like he was being stared at by something.

Looking at Taoist Xiyun again, he was also looking at him in surprise.

"Did the Taoist priest feel it too?"

"Well, Fellow Daoist Chen, be careful!"

Taoist Xiyun slowed down his pace, drew out his peach wood sword, and held a hand full of talismans.

Chen Ji thought about it and realized that he didn't have so many things to prepare, so he just took a deep breath and prepared the cloud and mist transformation technique.

Then approach the Guanyin statue.

After taking only two steps, they felt the scene in front of them suddenly change. The Thousand-Armed Guanyin statue, which had not yet been carved, suddenly opened its eyes and looked at the two of them with blood in its eyes.

"Are you also the ones who came to tear down my house and carve Buddha statues?"

(End of this chapter)