Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 194 The Answer: The Day of Ascension!

Longhu Mountain, Tianshi Mansion.

The old Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing was holding a letter in both hands, looking at it from the left, right, up, and down, sometimes widening his eyes and sometimes squinting.

Zhang Zhiwei, standing beside him, looked strange: "Master, if you can't see the words clearly, let me..."

"Get lost! I'm not that old yet." Zhang Jingqing tossed the letter over irritably and said, "Here, take a look."

Zhang Zhiwei took the letter, read it quickly, and soon smiled, saying, "Since Huaiyi went down the mountain to travel, we haven't heard from him for a long time. It turns out he was called away by Brother Zhuge to help. That's good news, Master. Brother Zhuge will definitely not treat Huaiyi unfairly."

"Ha, help Chief Zhuge? Zhang Huaiyi is not worthy!" Zhang Jingqing sneered: "If there is anything that needs help, Chief Zhuge should be asking you."

"Take a good look at what's written in this letter. Wudang, Tangmen, Shangqing, Yanwu, even Jishetang... so many sects have been summoned. This is rather strange."

"Oh, Master, you're worrying too much. Don't you trust Brother Zhuge?"

"I'm worried about Zhang Huaiyi!"

Zhang Jingqing snorted, "With his personality, he's always good at hiding his talents when he's with you and me. I don't know how he ended up with so many young talents this time, and even the clan leader Zhuge. I'm afraid he'll do something stupid again and make our Celestial Master's Mansion a laughing stock!"

……

"Achoo!!" In the cave of He Renwei, in front of the most suspicious-looking 'footprint', Zhang Huaiyi suddenly sneezed loudly.

He rubbed his nose and muttered, "What's wrong? Did I catch a cold? No... judging by the days, Chief Zhuge's letter should have reached the Celestial Master's Mansion and the other sects by now."

Zhang Huaiyi couldn't guess what the elders of other sects were thinking, but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to get past his master. He would probably be questioned again when he got back.

Forget it, now is not the time to think about those things. He shook his head, turning his gaze back to the footprints in front of him, lost in thought.

It has been almost two weeks since Guan Yi 'locked' them here to comprehend the Dao, and none of the 36 people have cracked the answer yet. Apart from a few who feel that they are not talented enough and are giving up, most people are still actively trying to solve the puzzle.

Zhang Huaiyi was also deep in thought and felt that he had solved most of the mystery.

What is human?
One cannot be considered a complete person without self-cultivation.

The 36 people came from different sects and factions, but they all had one thing in common: after the disciples entered the sect, the first thing the elders taught them was 'posture'.

Only when both mind and body reach a state of 'uprightness', with an upright spine, can one's breath flow smoothly and perceive Qi!
The Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley and caves clearly symbolize the human spine and head. When walking along the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley, the energy there will make people automatically straighten their spines, and may even turn ordinary people into extraordinary beings!

They are clearly more comfortable crawling, and they are clearly faster on all fours, yet there is a group of freaks who insist on standing upright and becoming towering, strange beasts.

Humans are upright and indomitable!
This is certainly the right answer to what kind of person he is, but Zhang Huaiyi has tried various methods, whether it is injecting Qi into these footprints or checking the location of the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head, but he has not gained anything. These days he has noticed that many people are also stuck at the same stage as him.

Is it lacking in 'sincerity'?

He rubbed the itchy area below his nose, then suddenly paused—a cold? Had the cold air entered his body?

He looked down at the footprints.

There are two points on the soles of the feet that run through the body along the Foot Shaoyin Meridian, with their openings facing downwards; these are also known as bottomless caves. Because the openings connect to the ground, they are important gateways for the invasion of cold, damp earth energy into the body!

Could it be here? The Yongquan acupoint?!

If that's the case, then the answer to the word "honesty" will naturally become clear. As human beings, we tend to unconsciously lower our standards for ourselves.

Reality didn't allow it, and his abilities weren't up to par... Despite various forms of self-consolation, he couldn't achieve perfection in anything. But the master here didn't think so; at least when it came to what it meant to be human, he only accepted absolute perfection.

That is, absolutely towering and upright.

It's not just about straightening your spine, but also about pointing your head to the sky and your fingers to the ground.

Yes, that's it, it's solved!
If you inject Qi into the spring of these footprints, you will most likely be able to open that hidden place and get closer to the immortal destiny that Chief Zhuge spoke of!
Even Zhang Huaiyi was filled with excitement at this moment, but after only two seconds, he suppressed all his emotions and cautiously looked to his left and right.

No one else has probably cracked it yet. If I were the first, wouldn't that be too conspicuous?
His usual tendency to conceal his abilities resurfaced, and he felt he should wait. The people around him were all outstanding individuals; it would be safer to wait a few more days, until a certain opportunity arose, until five or six people had 'taken the lead' in understanding, before going to explain to Clan Chief Zhuge.

Just then, Zhang Huaiyi suddenly felt a hand land on his shoulder from behind. "Have you figured it out?" Guan Yi's voice rang in his ears: "Not bad, you're the seventh one. Find a place to rest. Once we have three more people, I'll take you all into the hidden place to comprehend the next round."

what?
I'm the seventh one?!

Zhang Huaiyi's lips twitched. He turned around and saw the ambiguous smile on Guan Yi's face. He immediately realized that even his inner thoughts had not escaped Guan Yi's eyes. He had been planning to hide his abilities until seventh or eighth place, but it turned out that he was actually seventh from the start?!
Ugh, so embarrassing... so embarrassing!
……

Three days later, exactly half a month after being 'locked' in the He Weiren Cave, 10 out of the 35 people excluding Wu Gensheng gradually solved the mystery of He Weiren and Cheng.

As it turned out, only eight out of the original 36 people had mastered the 'miracle skill,' not only because they were the only ones who returned, but also because they possessed the talent to master the miracle skill.

Of the ten, the original eight were all present. Even Duanmu Ying, who seemed unreliable, understood the secret of the Yongquan acupoint thanks to her family's medical knowledge. As for the carefree Ruan Feng, he also solved the mystery seemingly casually.

The other two are Dou Ruchang, the painter of the secret painting, and Wei Shufen, the witch doctor of the Miao tribe.

The former was the oldest among the 36, possessing a wealth of knowledge. The latter was the only one among the ten who hadn't solved the puzzle, yet managed to crawl an answer out of the footprints using a Gu worm.

Once the ten people were gathered, Guan Yi called the 36 people together again, called out the names of the ten people one by one, and said, "Everyone, ten people have already gone ahead of you."

"Huh? There are already ten people?"

"What?! Zhang Huaiyi, didn't you say you had absolutely no clue the day before yesterday?!" Feng Ping exclaimed in shock.

"Yingzi, you figured it out too?" Huang Fang looked equally incredulous. "Shufen too?!"

"Uncle Thirteen, do I really have to comprehend it too? I don't have that ability!" Tian Xiaodie cried.

The ten who had figured it out could only give the rest of the group a helpless look. Master Zhuge forbade them to speak, especially since they had a chance to become immortals. What a terrible sin it would be if we ruined your chance because of our loose tongues.

Guan Yi smiled and said, "Then we'll take our leave first. Good luck to everyone."

Leave? Hmm, if we secretly observe where Mr. Zhuge led those ten people...

As some people were thinking this, they saw the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams array plate appear under Guan Yi's feet in the next moment, and those whose names he pointed out and who had comprehended the truth began to glow, and spatial passages opened up around them.

Tian Xiaodie sighed, "Thirteenth Uncle, in order to prevent us from discovering where the passage is, you actually used the Eight Gates Transporting Technique to move ten people at the same time?!"

Aren't you afraid of getting tired?! And was the purpose of organizing this whole process to put pressure on us?!
Guan Yi and the ten others disappeared, leaving the remaining people looking at each other in bewilderment. Some were distressed, while others secretly encouraged themselves. Meanwhile, Zhang Huaiyi and the other ten had already entered the Nine-Bend Cave and found the stone tablet.

"This is... a classic text on alchemy?"

"Being human is not easy..."

"It's actually Master Ziyang?!"

"Ancestor Dan!"

"It is said that when the Alchemist was 99 years old, he did not pass away peacefully, but ascended to heaven with the rising sun... No wonder people say this place is a place of immortal destiny. The questions of 'what is humanity' and 'sincerity' are actually the selection riddles left by the Alchemist!!"

After the initial shock, the ten people calmed down and began to read. Once they solved the previous riddles and saw the words left by Dan Zu, the final answer to the riddle became surprisingly easy to find.

Soon, the three Taoists from Zhang Huaiyi, Zhou Sheng, and Zheng Zibu looked at each other, their eyes flashing with shock.

Liangshan shaman Feng Tianyang and family-trained sorcerer Gu Jiting were a step behind, but both had already attained enlightenment.

The remaining five people lack knowledge in this area and need more time to make the connection; some may never even come up with the answer because they have never heard of it before.

At this moment, Guan Yi said, "The speed at which the final solution is solved depends only on the system you have learned. You can speak directly if you have any ideas."

The five looked at each other and said in unison:

"The Double Ninth Festival is the Taoist day of ascension to immortality!"

(End of this chapter)