Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Xia He straightened up, took out a small cloth bag, and handed it over with both hands: "Master, this is our first meeting, and I didn't know what you liked. I saw this in Fengtian and thought you might like it, so I brought it back."

Cheng Shou took the cloth bag, opened it, and took a look.

Inside was a small wooden carving, about the size of a palm. It depicted a crouching cat, its tail wrapped around its body, its head tilted to the side, and its expression languid.

The knife skills weren't particularly refined, but they captured the essence of the character, especially the eyes, which were half-open and half-closed, bearing a striking resemblance to the giant fox.

Cheng Shou held the wooden carving, turning it over and over to look at it several times, liking it more and more each time.

"You've taken a good look at me, girl." He carefully put the wooden carving back into the cloth bag and tucked it into his sleeve. "Come on, come inside and sit down. I'll make you some tea. It's wild tea from the mountains, roasted by myself; you can't get this kind of tea anywhere else."

Xia He smiled and followed her inside.

Cheng Mo stood at the courtyard gate, watching this scene, and his lips twitched.

How come he didn't know Xia He had prepared a gift?

Duo Duo, carrying the big fox, passed by him, looked up at him, and asked, "Senior brother, why aren't you going in?"

Cheng Mo: "..."

Erzhuang also passed by him, looked up at him and said, "Senior brother, your sister is better at making Master happy than you are."

Cheng Mo: "..."

The two little girls entered the courtyard hand in hand.

Dahuang squeezed past Cheng Mo's legs and brushed his tail against him.

Cheng Mo stood at the gate of the courtyard and took a deep breath.

Fine.

He stepped into the courtyard.

Cheng Shou had already laid out the tea set. The wild tea brewed had a clear, bright color and a strong aroma that was invigorating.

Xia He held the teacup, took a sip, and her eyes lit up: "Master, this tea is really delicious, better than any tea I've ever had."

Cheng Shou laughed so hard his beard was shaking: "If you like it, drink more. Take two packs with you when you leave; there are plenty on the mountain."

Xia He nodded repeatedly, "Thank you, Master!"

Cheng Mo sat down next to him, poured himself a glass, and downed it in one gulp.

Cheng Shou glared at him: "Like a cow chewing on a peony!"

Cheng Shou and Xia He started chatting, from Cheng Mo's embarrassing childhood stories to daily life on the mountain, from cultivation insights to things down below. Xia He was sweet-talking and knew how to talk; she quickly made Cheng Shou beam with joy.

"The young Taoist priest also told me that you are the person he admires most."

"Hahaha~"

Cheng Mo stood to the side, his lips twitching even more violently—when did he ever say such a thing?

Cheng Mo put down his teacup: "Master, please don't just drink your tea. What do you think about Duoduo and Erzhuang almost being kidnapped?"

Cheng Shou's smile vanished.

He placed the teacup on the table and circled his finger along the rim: "What exactly happened?"

Duoduo immediately raised her hand: "I know, I know!" She then stood up and vividly recounted her experience on her way home from school.

After Duoduo finished speaking, Erzhuang added a few details.

The two little girls took turns explaining the whole process clearly.

Cheng Shou patted the two little girls on the head: "Good, good, you did the right thing."

Then he dialed a number.

I answered after it beeped twice.

The voice on the other end was very respectful: "Hello, Uncle Cheng."

Cheng Shou said calmly, "Little Zhao, my apprentice was almost kidnapped down the mountain..."

Cheng Mo watched the old Taoist priest make a phone call, then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Consciousness sinks.

interior.

It's still the same.

Mountains, rivers, meadows, and trees. Fish swim slowly at the bottom of the river, cats lie dozing on the bank, and deer stand in the shade of trees, their ears twitching from time to time.

Everything is more vibrant than before.

The river water was clearer, revealing the pebbles on the bottom. Dewdrops on the grass blades reflected the light. A breeze rustled the leaves.

Cheng Mo stood in the center of the interior scene, looking up at the void.

The interior reveals the underlying logic of how this world works.

If we consider the world as a massive mechanical structure, then every event and every choice a person makes corresponds to the rotation of a gear within that structure.

A tiny gear turns, driving a larger gear, which in turn drives an even larger gear, and so on, layer by layer, ultimately propelling the entire world forward.

Divination is simply tracing this process backwards.

Starting from the final answer, we work our way back layer by layer to find the first gear that started turning.

Cheng Mo took a deep breath and asked, "Who ordered the kidnapping of Duoduo and Erzhuang?"

He carefully perceived everything within the interior—

The entire interior space began to shake. Starting from the ground beneath Cheng Mo's feet, arcs connected and intersected with each other, forming an extremely complex transmission network that spread outwards.

Each arc is a drive shaft, and each intersection is a gear set.

The vibration is transmitted along the drive shaft, causing the first gear set to start rotating.

The gears mesh and rotate.

The drive shaft transmits power to the next gear set.

The second gear set started turning. Then the third, the fourth, the fifth...

The entire interior scene has become a huge transmission system, with each layer advancing and each link interlocking.

Cheng Mo stood in the center of this huge mechanical structure, feeling every rotation, every transmission, and every engagement.

The power originates from the initial vibration source, passes through hundreds of gear sets for speed changes and steering, and finally converges into a fist-sized ball of light.

Cheng Mo did not directly touch the light sphere.

He continued to observe.

After the light sphere condensed, the entire transmission system did not stop operating; the power started from the light sphere and was transmitted back along another path.

This is a feedback loop.

The light sphere receives power, generates an answer, and then feeds the answer back to the transmission system in some form. After passing through layers of transmission, it waits to be transmitted into Cheng Mo's consciousness.

Cheng Mo reached out and probed into the sphere of light.

A stream of information exploded in his mind, automatically transforming into a form he could understand.

The answer surfaced in my mind—

Chen Jinkui, the leader of the Shuzi Sect.

Following this answer, Cheng Mo observed the entire process. The gears, the drive shafts, the meshing and transmission—every trace was clearly imprinted in his consciousness.

The command transmission path of the Technique Sect, the identity of the executor, where they learned about Duoduo and Erzhuang, what their original plan was, and what their backup plan was after failure.

Everything was clearly presented in Cheng Mo's mind.

"I see."

Cheng Mo's consciousness surfaced, he opened his eyes, and murmured to himself, "I think I understand everything."

Xia He turned to look at him: "Little Taoist priest? What did you figure out?"

Cheng Mo stood up and stretched his neck: "The person who kidnapped Duoduo and Erzhuang was Chen Jinkui."

Cheng Huihui was taken aback: "Who is Chen Jinkui?"

Cheng Shou slapped him: "Have you gotten so confused staying in Changbai Mountain? Don't you know anything about the world of supernatural beings?"

Cheng Huihui covered her head, her tail bristling: "If you hit me again, you think I won't get angry?!"

Cheng Shou snorted, ignoring him, and turned to ask Cheng Mo, "This name sounds vaguely familiar..."

Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Huihui leaped over, swishing its tail, and lashed Cheng Shou across the back: "Cheng Shou! You don't even know it yourself! I'm going to beat you to death!"

Cheng Shou cried out "Ouch!" and immediately started running around the Taoist temple, laughing as he ran, "Hehehe, I can't hit you, I can't hit you."

Cheng Huihui chased after it, its tail swishing loudly: "Stop right there!"

Xia He looked at this scene and felt it was very familiar.

Oh, isn't this the scene where Grandpa Xia chased the little Taoist priest?

So that's where the little Taoist priest inherited his mischievousness.

Cheng Mo watched speechlessly as the two people, whose combined age was unknown, chased each other in the courtyard.

"Stop messing around, you two. Do you want to know?"

Cheng Shou slammed on the brakes, and Cheng Huihui jumped up and lashed him with her tail before stopping, satisfied. She then looked at Cheng Mo and asked, "Who exactly is that guy?"

Cheng Shou rubbed his aching lower back: "The leader of the Shu Zi Sect."

Cheng Huihui glanced at him sideways: "You remember now?"

Cheng Shou snorted: "Nonsense, I know about the big events in the world of supernatural beings."

He turned to look at Cheng Mo: "Did that guy have nothing better to do than provoke our Liangyi Temple? With his small group of people from the Shuzi Sect, they're no match for me!"

Cheng Mo did not answer directly, but closed his eyes again.

He didn't ask any questions this time.

He used his understanding to deduce it.

It's not divination, it's deduction.

The interior shook again.

Cheng Mo did not passively accept the power transmission, but actively turned one of the gears.

The gears turn, the drive shaft vibrates, and power is transmitted along another path.

This path is more complex than the previous one, with more gear sets and more frequent gear changes and turns.

But Cheng Mo could clearly perceive the rotation of each gear, the change in the direction of each transmission, and the torque conversion of each meshing.

Finally, the answer emerged.

Chen Jinkui actually believed that Cheng Mo had mastered the Feng Hou Qi Men technique.

And all of this started because the word spread by the people at Na Du Tong that Cheng Mo had instantly mastered the Samadhi True Fire...

Cheng Mo was both amused and exasperated. Could this thing really be understood like that?

He has no idea what Samadhi Truth is...

Cheng Mo suddenly stopped.

Wait a minute.

As for Samadhi Fire, I think I might actually be able to master it.

Samadhi Fire is nothing more than a flame that burns the soul, which originates from the spirit of the upper elixir, the qi of the middle elixir, and the essence of the lower elixir in the human body.

This thing simply draws upon the body's energy; it doesn't involve any profound magical principles.

Cheng Mo raised his right hand, palm facing up.

He rubbed it on the left and on the right.

A pale blue flame appeared in his palm.

Inside the room, the moment the flames appeared, the entire space distorted.

The small animals that were swimming happily cried out in terror and scattered in all directions.

Cheng Mo glanced around the interior.

The vibration stopped.

The interior has returned to normal.

The little animals cautiously peeked out from their hiding place, watching the ball of fire with wide eyes.

The flame hovered quietly in Cheng Mo's palm, like a blue flower.