I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 8 A Long Road Ahead
Beside the No. 26 courtyard of the Jiazi building, a clear stream meanders by.

The stream flows down from the mountain peak and eventually flows into Xiaqi Lake, so it is a constantly rushing stream that also blocks the path along the lake.

Fortunately, there are several large stones scattered along the stream. It is unknown who placed them there. Although they have not been carved, they are enough to serve as stepping stones.

Ying Chan stepped across the stream on the stone surface and arrived at the gate of the 26th courtyard of the Jia character.

The courtyard is quite large, stretching no less than a hundred steps from the east wall to the west wall. It is unknown when it was built, but the bricks and tiles of the gate and walls bear the marks of time and carry the charm of bygone eras.

Ying Chan confirmed that there was no mistake and felt very satisfied. He then said to the fairy in his bosom, "Fairy, we have arrived."

However, the expected response did not come.

He looked down and realized that Cai Que'er was curled up in his arms like a ball of fluff, clearly asleep.

Ying Chan smiled wryly.

Aside from being incredibly intelligent, Cai Que'er was no different from any other bird. She must have been tired during this time, so she relaxed and fell asleep in his arms.

Ying Chan stopped calling it, and made his movements even smaller, gently pushing open the door himself.

"Squeak..."

The wooden door was open on both sides, revealing the interior scene before one's eyes.

Upon entering, one finds a spacious courtyard paved with neat stone slabs, with some green buds peeking out from the cracks, yet it doesn't appear cluttered.

On either side of the courtyard, there are some buildings. On the left are several houses, the purpose of which is unknown. On the right is a pavilion, surrounded by a stack of blue bricks, with a towering tree whose shadow shades half of the courtyard.

In addition, a figure also came into view.

He stood in the center of the courtyard, his hands outstretched as if embracing the sun, moving slowly. As he moved, the light around him changed, as if transforming into a thin layer of radiant light that flowed around him, which was truly astonishing.

Ying Chan looked closely and discovered that the man was actually a minor Taoist priest.

Although he was called a child, judging from his appearance, he was at most twelve or thirteen years old. His skin was fair and tender, and his baby fat had not yet disappeared. However, he was much taller than ordinary children, and he was not dressed as a child.

Clearly, he was not a Taoist acolyte, but a 'disciple' who had formally entered the Taoist academy for cultivation.

Ying Chan was somewhat surprised.

He knew that the courtyard was not a private residence, but he had not expected that his neighbor would look so young.

Considering that the other party appears to be practicing martial arts, one should explain that there is no intention to disturb them.

But as he entered the courtyard, Xiao Dao seemed to sense something, and quickly and slowly stopped practicing his cultivation, opening his eyes.

Ying Chan's eyelids twitched, as if a sharp, piercing light was shooting out from the little Taoist's eyes.

However, this illusion was fleeting. When he looked into Xiaodao's eyes again, he only saw a gleaming divine light.

Ying Chan thought for a moment, then stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, fellow Daoist."

“I am a new Taoist priest, Ying Chan. I hope my neighbors will be lenient with me in the future.”

The young Taoist had just finished practicing his cultivation and quickly straightened his clothes to return the greeting: "Greetings, fellow Taoist."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were carefully choosing his words: "I am Li Xuanying, and I live in the west wing. The main wing and the east wing are unoccupied. You may choose whichever you prefer. If you need help with cleaning, please let me know."

Ying Chan found Li Xuanying's childish face and serious demeanor quite amusing.

However, to prevent the boy from thinking he looked down on him, Ying Chan could only reply in a serious tone, "Thank you, fellow Daoist, I can do it myself."

Li Xuanying nodded, but remained standing there.

Ying Chan finally realized that although Li Xuanying was mature and willing to appear composed, he still lacked experience in getting along with people.

His own rejection seemed to leave him somewhat at a loss.

He thought for a moment and then tentatively said, "However, could you please help me understand the environment?"

Li Xuanying breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "That's only right."

As she spoke, she pointed to a small pavilion in the courtyard and began to introduce it, saying, "This is the alchemy room shared by everyone in the courtyard. However, when Senior Brother Xu was here, only he used it. I have never used it before..."

"Senior Brother Xu?"

“Hmm.” Li Xuanying said, “Senior Brother Xu originally lived in the East Dormitory, but he joined our sect two months ago, so the East Dormitory has become empty.”

"I see."

Ying Chan nodded, but still had some doubts: "I heard that a courtyard usually houses three people."

"But according to you, fellow Daoist, this place wasn't full before?"

Li Xuanying answered seriously, "It's fully booked."

As he spoke, he pointed to the large tree in the courtyard: "Brother Dao, can you see it?"

"I heard that decades ago, this tree developed a spiritual nature. After the Taoist priest in the courtyard came to see it, he said that it had become a spirit."

"It is also said that it has long been in the Taoist temple, where it has heard the Taoist teachings and thus developed a spiritual nature. This is a matter of fate, and if it can take human form in the future, it can become a disciple of our sect..."

"Later, it was also considered a disciple of the Taoist temple and 'occupied' a room in the temple."

"So after you choose your house, no one will move into the remaining one."

"Such a thing is true..."

Ying Chan listened with a sense of wonder. Looking back, he saw that the big tree was swaying slightly, whether it was due to the mountain wind or the tree was truly signaling to him.

Then, Li Xuanying introduced the remaining rooms: "This is the kitchen, this is the woodshed... However, no one has ever cooked in the courtyard, so if you want to cook, you'll have to chop firewood yourself..."

Finally, there were three houses.

"Actually, the rooms are all furnished in a standard way," Li Xuanying said. "Brother, you can choose any room you like."

“In that case, I’ll also choose the East Dormitory.” Ying Chan thought for a moment and then smiled. “Since Senior Brother Xu lived in the East Dormitory, then the Main Dormitory must be Senior Brother Shu’s residence?”

“Now that ‘Brother Tree’ is still in the courtyard, how can I take his place?”

Li Xuanying paused for a moment before saying, "Absolutely, absolutely."

Ying Chan smiled slightly, pushed open the door, and went into the east room to take a look.

The entrance leads to a small hall, with a study on the left and a bedroom on the right. Although no one has lived there for two months, it is still very clean and requires little cleaning to settle in.

“Oh, right.” Li Xuanying stood outside the door, seemingly just remembering something, and said, “There are still some Taoist books in the study, which Senior Brother Xu gave to me before he left. My study couldn’t hold them all, so they are all left here.”

"If you like it, you are welcome to read it. But if it is not suitable, I will move it to the main room for the time being."

Ying Chan was overjoyed, but after thinking it over, he said, "It would be inconvenient for you to look through it if I keep it here. Let's move it to the main room."

"I will borrow it from you then."

Li Xuanying readily agreed.

So the two of them made several trips back and forth, moving dozens of scriptures and Taoist texts into the main house.

By the time the last stack of Taoist books was neatly placed down, the sky outside was already ablaze with the colors of dawn.

Ying Chan's accumulated fatigue from the past few days suddenly surged up, and a thunderous rumble echoed in his stomach.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you mentioned earlier that the courtyard has never had a meal service. How do you manage to get your meals?"

"Oh, I have some pills here." Li Xuanying took a yellow gourd from the window of the west room, uncorked it, tilted it, and poured out a pill: "If you are hungry, brother, you can take one first."

Ying Chan accepted the pill without ceremony and swallowed it. Soon he felt a warm energy rising in his abdomen and spreading throughout his body.

In a short while, the feeling of hunger dissipated, and his strength was mostly restored.

Ying Chan couldn't help but ask in surprise, "What kind of pill is this?"

"This is the Five Essence Pill."

"It is a precious furnace in the Taoist temple, which is refined by absorbing the five elements from heaven and earth. One piece can meet the human body's need for three days of essence."

"One pill can meet the needs of three days?" Ying Chan asked in surprise, "With such a pill, wouldn't we be able to save countless hours for cultivation?"

"Exactly."

Ying Chan was even more intrigued and asked, "How do I obtain this pill?" "The Five Essence Pill is originally intended for the disciples of the Dao Academy," Li Xuanying said. "Of course, the Dao Academy doesn't teach us to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor. So when we go to get the Five Essence Pill, we need to pour some magical power into the treasure furnace to keep it running."

"I see……"

"Does Brother Dao possess any magical powers?"

Ying Chan himself was not very clear: "I have learned a breathing technique, but it is very superficial and I can't say that it has any magical power."

"Is that so?" Li Xuanying thought for a moment, "It doesn't matter. When I get the Five Essence Pills in the future, I will prepare some for you, fellow Daoist."

How can this be?

"Neighbors in the same courtyard should help each other."

Li Xuanying became serious again, and finally said, "When Senior Brother Xu was here, he said the same thing."

Now that things have come to this point, any further refusal would make Ying Chan seem too uncooperative.

Rather than dwelling on these things, he decided to keep them in mind. Therefore, without further hesitation, he cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I'll trouble you, fellow Daoist."

Li Xuanying listened, but suddenly felt a little awkward and said, "Brother Dao, you can actually call me by my name."

"Hmm?" Ying Chan thought about it carefully and realized that calling you "fellow Daoist" all the time was indeed too formal, so he smiled and replied, "Then I will take the liberty of calling you Xuan Ying."

Changing the way they addressed each other immediately eased the awkwardness.

“That’s very good.” Li Xuanying smiled as well: “However, since you are older, I shouldn’t change my form of address.”

Despite this, he still changed his address from "fellow Daoist" to the more intimate "senior brother".

Time flew by as we chatted, and before we knew it, the sunset had faded, and the stars and moon rose into the sky.

Ying Chan began to feel tired, so he decided not to suffer any longer and bid farewell to Li Xuanying before returning to his room.

The door was closed, and the room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

Ying Chan suddenly realized that there were no candles in the room, so he gave up the idea of ​​packing his bags. He simply propped up the window to let in some moonlight and then threw himself onto the bed.

He had assumed that upon entering the Taoist academy, he would have countless daydreams.

However, by this time, he had no thoughts left and soon fell into a deep sleep.

This sleep was not dreamlike at all, yet it was extremely long, so much so that when Ying Chan woke up, he was somewhat dazed.

Seeing that it was still dark outside the window, he thought he had slept for a whole day and night. Then, looking closely, he realized that although it was still quiet outside, there was a sense of life about to sprout in the mountains.

It turned out that it was still dark.

Suddenly, a burst of colorful light caught his eye. It was a colorful sparrow that had hopped onto his chest, its round eyes staring at him.

"Taoist priest, you're awake."

"Fairy," Ying Chan smiled and asked, "Did you sleep well?"

"Excellent!" Cai Que'er hopped onto the windowsill and cautiously looked outside. "Taoist priest, do you think I can go out for a stroll?"

Ying Chan thought for a moment and said, "As long as the fairy doesn't wander into other courtyards, there should be no problem."

"Really?" Cai Que'er visibly became excited.

"I'd like to go into the woods and see if there are any other birds."

It was eager to try, but before leaving, it still asked, "Would the Taoist priest like to come along?"

"No, thank you." Ying Chan turned over and stood up, replying, "I have other things to do. Please make yourself at home, Fairy."

"Ok."

The colorful sparrow felt a little regretful, but its curiosity about the outside world quickly overwhelmed it. It flew out of the window and over the courtyard wall.

Ying Chan didn't worry too much.

After the colorful sparrow left, he stretched his arms and legs and soon felt a long-lost surge of energy.

This surprised him.

Although I slept well last night, the fatigue that has accumulated over a long period of time should not have subsided so easily.

"Is it because I took the Five Essence Pill yesterday?" Ying Chan asked thoughtfully. "Or is it because I am currently in the Daoist academy?"

The location of Xuandu Taoist Temple must be a treasure land full of spiritual energy.

It seems perfectly normal that one's physical energy recovers faster when immersed in such an environment.

At this thought, Ying Chan suddenly had a thought.

He learned the breathing technique from the old Taoist Yunshan, but has not made any progress in his practice for a long time. He wonders if things will improve here.

Once a thought arises, it is difficult to calm down. Ying Chan immediately sat down on the couch and calmed his mind to adjust his breathing.

Just then, some noises came from outside, seemingly from sunrise. A rooster crowed, followed by the chirping of birds. Were they colorful sparrows? They didn't seem like it…

Ying Chan suddenly realized that the noise had disturbed his breathing, and he couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

He was somewhat puzzled as to why the Taoist temple did not set up a quiet room within the buildings.
Wouldn't eliminating external distractions be beneficial for spiritual practice?
But in the end, he still managed to focus on these distracting thoughts. As his mind calmed down, he gradually felt his body exhaling stale air and inhaling spiritual energy with each breath...

Half an hour passes in the blink of an eye.

Ying Chan could feel that he had replenished his 'vital energy' again, but he still couldn't grow any further.

"That's all."

In this situation, continuing to breathe in and out is useless.

Ying Chan had already calmed down, so he wasn't too disappointed at this moment, but he vaguely confirmed one thing—

The breathing technique was indeed incomplete, and it was impossible to make any further progress.

Fortunately, he has already entered the Taoist academy, and will have the opportunity to learn the true methods of cultivation in the future.

Before that, Ying Chan still needs to learn cloud script and thoroughly study the basic Taoist theories one by one...

This is undoubtedly a long road, but he has made ample preparations to walk it.

"Phew..." Ying Chan exhaled the last breath of air, opened his eyes, got up and went out to wash up.

He was worried about waking Li Xuanying, so he deliberately moved very quietly.

No sooner had he finished washing up than he heard the courtyard gate creak open, and Li Xuanying pushed it open and entered.

"Xuanying," Ying Chan greeted him, surprised, "I saw your door was tightly closed, I thought you hadn't gotten up yet."

"Senior brother is joking," Li Xuanying said. "I only need to meditate for one hour each day to maintain my full energy and spirit."

"I see." Ying Chan nodded.

It seems that although Li Xuanying is young, he has already entered the Taoist academy and his cultivation is not shallow.

"Oh, right." Li Xuanying took out a porcelain bottle from his bosom: "Take this Five Essence Pill, Senior Brother."

"Five Essence Pills?" Ying Chan was surprised again: "You went out so early, could it be for this?"

“No, that’s not it,” Li Xuanying said. “I climbed to the summit to gather qi.”

"Gathering Qi?" Ying Chan looked back at the peak forest.

At this moment, it seemed as if a morning mist had risen, and the peaks, starting from the middle of the mountain, were already hidden in the clouds and mist.

The cliffs are thousands of feet high and steep, giving one a sense of how precipitous the summit must be.

"Hmm." Li Xuanying remained calm and simply said, "Gathering qi at the summit at sunrise is very beneficial for cultivation."

Ying Chan suddenly recalled his earlier thoughts, and now he understood why there was no quiet room in the house.

If one cannot even subdue a little noise, how can one sit still and calmly gather qi atop cliffs and precipitous peaks?

(End of this chapter)