Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Seeing Xia Liuqing's appearance, Xia He immediately had an idea; the little Taoist's method was now in place.

"Jin Feng'er... is she about the same age as you, sir? Then I should call her Grandma Jin Feng."

She blinked her big eyes and asked sincerely, "Is Grandma Jin Feng exceptionally gentle, understanding, and wise, so that Grandpa Xia would still remember her so fondly after all these years?"

These words really struck a chord with Xia Liuqing, who unconsciously straightened her back and the wrinkles on her face seemed to smooth out.

"Hey! Little girl, you're right!" Xia Liuqing stroked her beard, gazing into the void as if lost in fond memories.

"Jin Feng'er is more than just gentle and understanding! She is the most insightful person in the world! She is clever but not worldly, and she treats people with sincerity and without any impurities!"

"Those eyes, they're so expressive! One look from them and all your worries disappear! And she's so resolute; once she's made up her mind, she never looks back—that's true character! And when she smiles..."

The old man talked on and on, as if he could talk for three days and three nights, praising Grandma Jinfeng to the skies.

Xia He nodded repeatedly, "Grandpa Xia, your description is so wonderful! It makes me want to meet Grandma Jin Feng. By the way, my surname is also Xia; maybe we were family hundreds of years ago!"

These words made Xia Liuqing feel even closer to Xia He, and her gaze became even more amiable as she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes! We both have the surname Xia, this is fate!"

Cheng Mo watched silently from the side, inwardly marveling at Xia He's resourcefulness; with just a few words, she had brought this old sycophant... no, I mean, Grandpa Xia, so close.

Xia Liuqing smacked her lips twice, looked at Xia He, then glanced at Cheng Mo, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "Kid, your girlfriend is not only beautiful, but also honest and insightful! Treat her well, or this old man will... I..."

He hesitated for a long time before swallowing back what he was about to say—"I can't beat them!"

Xia He, ever understanding, came to his rescue, smiling and saying, "Don't worry, Grandpa Xia, the little Taoist is very good to me. Besides, he'll need me to push his wheelchair when he gets old. If he's not good to me, I'll push him into the sea when he's old."

Xia Liuqing laughed heartily: "The little girl is right!"

Cheng Mo maintained a smile.

Xia Liuqing turned to Cheng Mo, her tone much more casual: "Kid, to be honest, judging from your training methods, back in my day, I would have looked down on you the most. You only talk about fate and never about your nature. How many hurdles on the path of cultivation can you overcome?"

Xia He immediately chimed in, "Grandpa Xia, the young Taoist priest can't sense Qi innately. If he could, he would have already mastered the art of cultivating his nature. Why would he need to go around asking others for guidance?"

Xia Liuqing twitched his mustache: "Hey, I was just using an analogy, and you're already defending your own!"

Xia He tugged at Xia Liuqing's arm and shook it: "Hehe~ I was just saying it casually. After all, the little Taoist really can't understand it, so I had to ask you, sir, to take a look at him."

Cheng Mo's expression was slightly strange. Watching the interaction between the old man and the young man, he inexplicably felt a sense of déjà vu, like a grandfather and grandson, while he himself seemed to be just watching from the sidelines... a gigolo.

Xia Liuqing chuckled, then turned to Cheng Mo, her expression becoming more serious: "Kid, let me ask you first, how much do you know about the methods used by us entertainers?"

Cheng Mo shook his head: "I only knew about the way of performing gods before. Gods originate from the primordial spirit and the consciousness spirit, which are the three souls and seven spirits. Only these two inner gods can imitate the charm of the gods."

Xia Liuqing nodded: "This is indeed the foundation of godhood. However, this is only the initial stage. To go further, one needs to steal people's faith in gods and reach the stage of invoking the gods, which is somewhat similar to the divine fighting techniques of the Shangqing School. It requires the right tools."

Cheng Mo's gaze naturally fell on Xia Liuqing's hands.

Xia Liuqing didn't hide anything, raising his hand: "Young man, you have a sharp eye. This old man's tool is these gloves. He uses them to collect and seal the power of people's faith in the gods. When the time comes to use them, he can naturally borrow the power of the gods."

Cheng Mo suddenly realized: "So, Grandpa, the steel whip you used wasn't a physical object, but rather a manifestation of the power of faith?"

Xia Liuqing nodded: "That's right. There's another level above the traditional performing arts, but that's meaningless to you, since you don't really want to inherit our lineage."

Cheng Mo went straight to the point: "Then how can I borrow this power of faith, or, through it, touch myself?"

Xia Liuqing scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed: "Your situation is too special, I really can't say for sure... Let's try first."

This time, he really went all out, taking off his precious gloves and handing them to Cheng Mo: "Kid, if you can't sense the Qi, you naturally can't perceive the power of faith. Try to comprehend it using the ones sealed in this set of equipment."

Cheng Mo took the gloves, put them on, closed his eyes, and focused all his attention on his hands. The gloves felt nice to the touch and fit his skin well... Other than that, he felt nothing else.

He began to move his body, as he usually did when practicing martial arts, but after a long time, he still did not feel anything special.

Cheng Mo stopped what he was doing and opened his eyes.

Xia Liuqing was even more anxious than Xia He, and immediately leaned closer to ask, "How are you? Do you feel anything?"

Xia He also stared at him expectantly.

A hint of disappointment flashed across Cheng Mo's eyes: "No, I didn't feel anything."

Xia He also let out a disappointed "Ah!": "How could this be..."

This was exactly what Xia Liuqing had expected.

He stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "If you could feel it just like that, you wouldn't have been completely without Qi all these years ago."

His expression turned serious: "Boy, next, you need to completely let go of your guard. I will use my own Qi as a guide to set up an altar and summon the gods to help you build a divine mask."

Cheng Mo nodded: "Come on, Grandpa Xia."

Xia Liuqing warned, "Let me make this clear from the start: if you do this, your life and fortune will be in my hands. I'm ruthless, aren't you worried?"

Cheng Mo smiled nonchalantly: "Confucius said, 'If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening.' If you, sir, can truly let me feel what Qi is, that will be enough."

Upon hearing this, Xia Liuqing's face showed a moved expression.

In his life, he had seen countless people seeking the Dao, but only a handful of people could disregard life and death like Cheng Mo, just to question the Great Dao. And those few were all people he could only look up to.

If Cheng Mo knew what Xia Liuqing was thinking at this moment, he would probably flatter her by saying: "You have been a staunch sycophant for decades, which is truly admirable."

Xia He stood to the side, pursing her lips, not saying a word to stop her, but her fists were already clenched tightly.

She had already made up her mind that if the old man showed any sign of wanting to harm anyone, she would immediately smash his head open.

Of course, neither of them knew that Cheng Mo actually had his own trump card.

Two years ago, Master Cheng Shou could no longer move even a fraction of his body with external force; Tu Junfang's attempts also proved that the Qi of ordinary extraordinary people was difficult to penetrate.

Although Xia Liuqing's methods were unusual, the possibility of success... Cheng Mo only held onto that tiny bit of "what if" expectation.

Cheng Mo completely relaxed and nodded to Xia Liuqing: "Grandpa, come on."

Xia Liuqing said no more, calmed her mind, and raised her palm to strike Cheng Mo's Tanzhong acupoint on his chest—

boom!

A muffled thud.

Xia Liuqing was sent flying backward, landing a few steps away on the ground. Her face was full of confusion and bewilderment. After a long while, she murmured, "No... this isn't right!"

Xia He's eyes lit up, and she quickly ran over to help the old man up, asking with concern, "Are you alright, Grandpa Xia?"

Xia Liuqing pointed at Cheng Mo, who was still standing in the same spot, and looked at Xia He with a blank and helpless expression: "He tricked me... This young man has no sportsmanship!"