Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Cheng Mo and Ma Xianhong turned their heads to look at the same time.

Xia He stood at the doorway, a broken earthenware pot at her feet, shards and dirt scattered all over the ground.

Her eyes widened as she looked at Ma Xianhong, then at Cheng Mo who was supporting him. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was completely dumbfounded.

In Xia He's heart, a storm instantly raged:

"I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have left! I should have stayed with them!"

"How long have I been walking? Only half a day!"

"The little Taoist was perfectly fine before he went in, so how come the white-haired guy turned into this horrible state when I came back?!"

"What exactly were they doing in the meditation hall? Weren't they supposed to be testing the machines?"

"Could it be...could it be that the furnace wasn't used for cultivation? Actually, it was..."

"Ah! Little Taoist priest! I never expected you to... to actually like..."

"I should have realized it sooner! He was completely unmoved by my beauty! So that's where the problem lay!"

"I was so stupid, really. All I knew was that he was a Taoist priest, pure of heart and free from worldly desires..."

Seeing Xia He standing there motionless, Cheng Mo walked over to her. "Are you alright? Did you cut yourself?" He squatted down and looked at the shards on the ground, picking up a larger piece and examining it closely. "There's nothing in here. What are you doing with an empty can?"

Xia He was still immersed in the dramatic story she had imagined, enough to fill eighty episodes of a soap opera. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, and she didn't hear what Cheng Mo said at all. She muttered unconsciously, "I'm so stupid... really..."

Ma Xianhong sat in the chair, took a couple of breaths, and was finally able to speak in complete sentences.

Seeing Xia He's distraught appearance, he said weakly, "Miss Xia... don't misunderstand... I'm the one who suffered this time... not Brother Cheng..."

He pointed at Cheng Mo, "He's fine."

Xia He looked up blankly.

Cheng Mo was amused by her appearance: "Are you really worried about me? Don't worry, judging from your expression, it's Brother Ma who's suffering. I'm perfectly fine."

Xia He finally snapped out of her daze. The words the two had just exchanged instantly reached her ears, and she excitedly hugged Cheng Mo, exclaiming, "Wow! You scared me to death!"

Cheng Mo gently patted her back: "Okay, okay, I know you're worried about me, but you don't have to get so worked up."

Xia He released her grip and took a half step back: "...It's not that I'm worried about you." She added in her mind: At least it's not that I'm worried about your health.

Sitting in his chair, Ma Xianhong said weakly, "You two... could you please stop being so lovey-dovey? I'm still injured here."

Xia He jumped back abruptly, her pretty face flushed red: "Oh dear, Xiao Mozi, how could you do this? You know that's taking advantage of someone in distress!"

Cheng Mo: "...Fine, fine, I'll take advantage of their vulnerability."

Xia He hopped up to Ma Xianhong and leaned in to examine him closely: "Brother Ma, what happened to you?"

Ma Xianhong opened his mouth, his expression complicated: "...If you ask me that, I really don't know how to answer."

Cheng Mo picked up the broken pieces of the earthenware pot from the ground and threw them into a corner to prevent them from hurting passersby.

When he returned, he had roughly figured out Ma Xianhong's situation—it was probably due to excessive consumption of internal energy, which damaged his source.

But why?

"Brother Ma, have you overexerted yourself? Why is that?" Cheng Mo asked.

Ma Xianhong exclaimed, "This is a completely new experience I've never had before..."

Cheng Mo thought to himself: Why do these lines sound so familiar?

Ma Xianhong sighed and continued, "But I don't know why. I was just guiding the Qi of Heaven and Earth into the cultivation furnace, but in that instant, it felt like I was connected with Heaven and Earth. My consciousness seemed to leave my body, drifting between Heaven and Earth, completely merging into the true nature, forgetting myself and myself."

Cheng Mo recalled his feelings just now: "I felt the same way. But after getting out of that state, I was just a little lost, but otherwise, I felt refreshed."

Ma Xianhong frowned: "I don't know why this is happening either. Could it be because I'm the one in charge?"

By now, Xia He roughly understood what had happened.

She cursed herself for being too concerned; the young Taoist priest was clearly a straight man, how could such a thing happen?

After berating herself, she had a new question: "Brother Ma, didn't you say last night that the Body Cultivation Furnace uses the Qi of Heaven and Earth to infuse the human body, thereby activating the treasure within Little Mozi and opening the path to becoming an extraordinary being?"

Ma Xianhong explained, "That's the principle. But I haven't yet developed the ability for the cultivation furnace to automatically absorb the Qi of heaven and earth. This first step requires me to manually guide the Qi of heaven and earth into the cultivation furnace."

As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered, his thoughts returning to the events of the past, his brows furrowed as he pondered where the problem had occurred.

Cheng Mo patted his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts: "Brother Ma, you are feeling weak right now, you should rest more. Thinking too much may aggravate your exhaustion."

Xia He nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, please don't suddenly die, otherwise Little Mozi will be in big trouble."

Cheng Mo: "...If you can't speak properly, then shut up."

Xia He glared at him.

Ma Xianhong smiled and said, "I know my own body best. Brother Cheng, you see, I'm not out of breath now. It's true that I was exhausted just now, but it has also greatly improved my recovery ability, and it doesn't affect my normal thinking now."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Mo observed his condition closely. Although his face was pale, his spirits seemed to have recovered somewhat, so he stopped trying to persuade him.

He then raised another question: "Brother Ma, thinking about that feeling just now, it seems very difficult to escape it on your own. Did you stop because your internal energy was completely depleted?"

Ma Xianhong nodded: "That should be the case... I am ultimately no match for the ancient great beings, and I cannot truly float between heaven and earth." As he spoke, he seemed dazed and somewhat lost.

Although Cheng Mo felt a pang of regret, he did not linger after leaving.

In his view, everything in the world is based on oneself; without oneself, what do the world's affairs have to do with him? At the same time, he warned himself that if he were to fall into that state again, he must not become addicted to it and must remain vigilant.

However, he would not force his own ideas onto Ma Xianhong.

So Cheng Mo patted Ma Xianhong on the shoulder: "Brother Ma, there's no need to be too sad. The state of harmony between man and nature has existed since ancient times. Having a goal to strive for is always better than not even knowing what it is."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xianhong took a deep breath, perked up, and smiled, "I understand. Please wait a few days, Brother Cheng. Let's try again in three to five days."

Cheng Mo clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Ma."

Ma Xianhong waved his hand: "Not at all, I have also benefited greatly."

Xia He, listening from the side, pouted and said, "Alright, you two, stop thanking me like that. I almost forgot the important thing. Xiao Mozi, come on, let's go back and cook for your sister~"

Cheng Mo chuckled and said, "Alright, alright, I'll go back and cook for the young lady right away."

He turned to Ma Xianhong and asked, "Brother Ma, can you walk by yourself? There's a roast suckling pig left over from yesterday, you didn't get to try it, so you can come with us."

Ma Xianhong's eyes lit up, and he stood up, supporting himself on the armrest of the chair: "Let's go."