Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 70: Getting Started, Establishing a Bond

Fortunately, Liang Zhongzhi was not as bad as Zhao Yifu thought. After the black crane, another black wild goose landed and brought another message.

As for why it was Mo He who came the first time and Mo Yan who came this time?

This is very simple. Liang Zhongzhi is telling him implicitly: Your master is your master after all!
Zhao Yifu could only draw a cat well, but so what? He just wanted to draw cats now.

He started to read the message sent this time, cursing in his heart.

He thought Liang Zhongzhi would talk specifically about how to deal with the current situation this time, right?
As a result, this time the news simply did not mention that aspect of the matter, but only instructed Zhao Yifu to prepare some items and then go up the mountain to formally carry out the initiation ceremony.

This……

Zhao Yifu was suddenly speechless.

He suddenly felt that the mastermind behind the scenes was not a big deal anymore?
It's just that there are too many things on the list, or rather, it's a recipe for making 'incense for worshipping gods'.

There are a total of eighteen Chinese medicinal herbs that act as spices. It seems that the process is carried out according to the ordinary incense-making process, but in fact the most time-consuming drying part is replaced by drying with the heat of true qi.

If the previous process is normal incense making, then this last step suddenly elevates the incense making to the level of refining in the cultivation world.

As for those spices...

Zhao Yifu originally wanted to ask Wu Zhong to go look for the body, but when he saw this loyal servant working hard to dig a hole and bury the body, he decided not to disturb him.

He waited quietly all night, and then to show his sincerity, he went out early in the morning to purchase the spices.

To be honest, this process is quite special.

Because everything has a soul, and so do the spices you buy.

Zhao Yifu used his special clairvoyance to see and discovered that even the spices on a stall had different auras.

He was not in a hurry to buy all the spices, but carefully picked and chose them. He spent the whole morning picking out the most aura-filled spices in the entire street, and in fact, in the entire Moyang City. Finally, he met the requirement of eighteen spices.

Then he returned to his house to prepare incense according to the recipe.

When Zhao Yehe got home, he was already out of bed. He looked at Zhao Yifu, who came back from outside, and asked curiously, "What were you doing?"

Zhao Yifu said, "It's in preparation for formally becoming a disciple."

Zhao Yehe casually said, "Wouldn't it be better to let Wu Zhong prepare these things?"

Zhao Yifu said, "No, since you have decided to enter the sect, you must be sincere. I will do this myself."

Zhao Yehe didn't say anything. He had to recuperate anyway, so he just watched from the side.

Zhao Yifu brought out spices and some bottles and jars.

Then he took out a spice and started rubbing and crushing it in his hands.

"what?"

Zhao Yehe was surprised. He was amazed at his nephew's technique...mainly because he had never thought that the family heirloom Crane Claw Hand could be used in this way.

Zhao Yifu rubbed the spices quickly between his fingers until they were stretched out, and then rubbed off all the dust and impurities with his fingers.

The exquisite technique made the cats around panic and breathless. They wanted to escape but couldn't move, and wanted to turn their heads away but couldn't take their eyes away.

Watching those originally dried spices being kneaded by Zhao Yifu, they seemed to see their own bodies slowly opening up under the kneading of these hands...

It’s unbearable!
Zhao Yifu felt that his cats seemed a little strange. Why were they all meowing beside him?

He didn't have time to pay attention to them at this moment. After rubbing the spices with his fingers, he put each one into its own category.

Next there is a drying process to kill microorganisms and bacteria.

However, Zhao Yifu felt that this process could be omitted. He directly infused it with his true energy, and then used both hands to grind and stir the spices with his Lingxu finger strength.

In the following work, Zhao Yifu participated in the whole process with his true Qi.

After adding a certain amount of water, grind it into extremely fine powder.

Originally there should be many more steps here, but with the help of true Qi, they can all be omitted.

Even under the nourishment of true energy, the spice crumbs he rubbed with his hands became finer and finer, and the spirituality contained in them gradually grew stronger.

Zhao Yifu actually found some pleasure in the process.

He even exhausted his true energy several times for this, and continued to nourish it after recovering through meditation.

He also wet these spices again and again and continued to rub them.

He had been rubbing the spices like this for three days and three nights before he finally made two incense sticks, one large and one small.

The size of a stick of incense for offering sacrifices to gods is regulated. The large one is the full amount, while the small one has some materials left over that would be a pity to throw away, so he simply rolled a small stick of incense.

After making two incense sticks, one large and one small, to offer to the gods, Zhao Yifu breathed a sigh of relief.

He felt that he had probably never done anything so seriously before, but since this matter was related to his joining the immortal sect, he couldn't help but become serious and cautious.

Although he was very tired at this time, Zhao Yifu still said goodbye to his family and went to Moshan before dawn.

Compared to the books he couldn't read, he was really looking forward to officially joining the Danqing Sect and stepping into the world of cultivation.

Zhao Yifu walked forward, his body slightly sweating due to the excitement in his heart, and his mental state was extremely excited.

As a result, his face, which had not slept for three days and three nights, was constantly oily and he looked greasy and sloppy.

But Zhao Yi Fu didn't care about it at all. His heart was already burning with excitement during the twenty-mile mountain road.

I came to the mountain somewhat recklessly and arrived at the backyard dormitory area of ​​Molu Academy.

He met Mr. Cangqiu again, who looked very old.

Mr. Cangqiu smiled at Zhao Yifu and said, "You reckless child, why are you here like this?"

"But it doesn't matter. Go see your master. He has been waiting for you for a long time."

Zhao Yifu quickly bowed deeply to express his gratitude, then came to Liang Zhongzhi's door and said, "Master..."

His voice was a little urgent, and he only realized he was being rude halfway through.

He quickly stopped talking, feeling a little uneasy.

However, Liang Zhongzhi could probably understand his feelings, so he opened the door and asked, "Why are you going up the mountain just now?"

Zhao Yifu blushed when he heard this and said, "Master, didn't you ask me to prepare some incense to burn to the gods?"

Liang Zhongzhi smiled when he heard that, "There's no rush. I gave you the recipe just so you can prepare it in advance."

"I wanted you to go up the mountain to pay respect to the ancestors first, but it seems you burned incense first?"

Zhao Yifu nodded and took out his incense.

Seeing this, Liang Zhongzhi said, "Alright, then after paying homage to the ancestor, let's go pay homage to the Four Saints first." Zhao Yifu asked doubtfully, "Four Saints?"

Liang Zhongzhi said, "Yes, the Four Saints of Qin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting are actually people who have achieved the highest perfection in these four arts while on earth. Even after their death, they were granted the titles of Qin Saint, Chess Saint, Calligraphy Saint, and Painting Saint by the Heavenly Court."

"And the incense I asked you to prepare is for these four saints, to establish a karmic connection with them... your words are for the painting saint."

"After forming a bond with the Painting Saint, you can use Yang and spiritual energy as a price to have the Painting Saint send down divine thoughts to help you improve or comprehend the wonderland."

Zhao Yifu was amazed when he heard this. He said, "So Yang and spiritual energy actually have this function?"

Liang Zhongzhi said: "Of course it is so. Otherwise, do you think that Yanghe spiritual energy is only used to help with cultivation?"

"You should have discovered that, while Yanghe Spiritual Qi can help you get started in the early stages of cultivation, it's not necessarily stronger than the Qi you cultivate yourself."

"It would be a bit of a waste to use Yang and spiritual energy on myself at this time, but if I offer it to the Four Saints, the situation will be completely different."

Zhao Yifu nodded repeatedly after hearing this. In his understanding, Yang and spiritual energy should be some kind of "base currency", and its value is recognized even in the Heavenly Court.

It's just that mortals don't have the ability to use this kind of currency, so they need "middlemen" like the Four Saints to transfer it.

With this understanding, Zhao Yifu's thoughts suddenly became clear.

As for the process of meeting the ancestor...

Zhao Yifu finally understood why the seniors of the Danqing Sect said, "Our sect doesn't care about trivial matters."

Because they are really casual.

Zhao Yifu followed Liang Zhongzhi up the mountain until they reached the top of Moshan Mountain, where they found a Taoist temple that looked gray.

There is a plaque on this Taoist temple with three big characters "Danqingmen" written on it.

Zhao Yifu was confused. Is this the Danqing Sect?

Why does it seem to be worse than the Molu Academy at the foot of the mountain?

Could it be that there is something else going on inside this Taoist temple?
He followed Liang Zhongzhi inside and found that the Taoist temple was really just a tiny thing.

After entering, there is a small courtyard. At the other end of the courtyard is a slightly larger main hall, where the Five Wenchang Emperors are enshrined.

Well, there are five Wenchang Emperors in total. Since their ancestor is one of them, the Danqing Sect simply worships all five emperors together.

The two side halls on the left and right are slightly smaller. In this era, the right is respected, so on the right side of Wenchang Hall is the Calligraphy and Painting Hall, which enshrines the Saint of Calligraphy and the Saint of Painting.

On the left is the Qinqi Hall, where the Qin Saint and the Go Saint are enshrined.

There are only nine statues in the entire Taoist temple, and they are all covered with dust. If there were not incense burning in each hall, Zhao Yifu would probably think that this is a wild temple.

Liang Zhongzhi said to Zhao Yifu, "Let's go to the main hall to pay our respects to Yan Zu first."

Zhao Yi Fu quickly responded, then entered the hall and saw that the statue in the center was actually a scholar carrying a sword.

Liang Zhongzhi said, "This is Yanzu, Emperor Fuyou, one of the Five Emperors of Wenchang."

Zhao Yifu suddenly felt something was very strange. There was also the word "Fu" in his name. It was naturally a coincidence, but he always felt that there was an unusual fate.

So without waiting for his master to speak, he kowtowed before the statue of Emperor Fuyou.

Liang Zhong nodded with satisfaction and said, "The ceremony is now complete. You are now one of the true disciples of my Danqing Sect. You can call me Master."

Is this it?

Zhao Yifu was stunned. This was too casual.

So this sect is just casual, then what was he emphasizing before... Well, if he hadn't been so particular before, he probably wouldn't be qualified to go through such a casual initiation ceremony now.

He couldn't help but ask, "Master, where are the people from Danqing Sect?"

Liang Zhongzhi pointed at himself, then at Zhao Yifu and said, "You and I here, along with Teacher Cangqiu at the foot of the mountain, are all the people from Danqing Sect in Moshan."

There are also stone spirits in the Dharma-teaching caves, but they shouldn't be considered "people".

Zhao Yifu said helplessly, "Are our Danqing Sect members so rare?"

Liang Zhongzhi smiled but said nothing. Seeing that the young man was getting very anxious, he said, "How could that be possible? It's just that everyone is tired of the scenery of Moshan. Many people have gone to various famous mountains and rivers to study and live."

Zhao Yifu suddenly understood. He had forgotten that most of the people in this sect were literary youths. If they were literary youths, how could they not have some artistic pursuits?

Liang Zhongzhi added, "Those are the hermit faction. The career-seeking faction also serves in the officialdom. If you gain experience in the officialdom in the future, you will encounter them."

So, people in this sect like to hang out outside and don’t like to stay in their own sect.

No wonder there is not even a guard at the "Danqingmen" Taoist temple in Moshan. It doesn't need a guard.

In other words, the so-called outer gate Molu Academy at the foot of the mountain is actually the main building?
Liang Zhongzhi then introduced the other four Wenchang Emperors to Zhao Yifu. They are: Zitong Emperor, who protects the literary fortune of the south; Kuixing Emperor, who is in charge of success in the imperial examinations; Zhuyi Emperor, who judges the quality of articles; and Wenheng Emperor, who symbolizes loyalty and righteousness.

Well, our ancestor, Emperor Fuyou, is the patron saint of scholars on their way to the imperial examinations, so he wears a sword.

After paying homage to the remaining four emperors one by one, Liang Zhongzhi took him to the side hall on the right.

He said, "The one on the left is the Painting Saint. You should worship with incense and then wait for this stick of incense to burn out."

Zhao Yifu asked: "And then?"

Liang Zhongzhi said: "Then you can go down the mountain. The Four Saints are reserved, so good things take time."

The implication is that nothing can be accomplished this time and we have to try a few more times.

"Alright, go and burn incense to the Painting Saint. I will go down the mountain now."

"Once you're done here, you don't have to look for me. Just go find Senior Shi Ling directly."

"The teacher hasn't finished his homework for today yet."

Having said this, the great hermit scholar in the secular world waved his hand irresponsibly and ran away, leaving his little disciple behind.

Zhao Yifu was speechless for a long time, and finally came to the side hall with a very complicated mentality. He lit the incense to the statue of the Painting Saint, who was holding a half-opened scroll in one hand and thinking with the other hand.

There was no sense of ceremony in the process.

But Zhao Yifu still tried to make it as ceremonial as possible.

After lighting the incense, he knelt three times and kowtowed nine times, and then knelt on the cushion in front of the statue and waited patiently.

Although Liang Zhongzhi said that it usually won’t work the first time.

But which teenager doesn’t have a dream?
What if he is the special one?

Therefore, the incense burned slowly, and the expectation in Zhao Yifu's heart also slowly faded away during the burning of this incense stick.

It seems that there is really no hope for this first stick of incense.

(End of this chapter)