Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Tu Junfang was stunned.

The wind on the riverbank seemed to calm down for a moment.

The young Taoist priest before me was of orthodox Taoist lineage, yet he was not at all pedantic; he knew his Quanxing identity, yet he showed no prejudice whatsoever; now that he was entrusting his life to him, his eyes were so clear that they made me feel ashamed.

Tu Junfang has been in the world of supernatural beings for many years and has seen too many people: hypocrites from reputable sects, true villains from the Quanxing sect, mediocre people who fear him like a tiger, and clever people who want to take advantage of him...

But I've never seen anyone like Cheng Mo.

Is this kid... naive to the point of being stupid, or simply pure to the extreme?

Tu Junfang suddenly felt a little envious of the little Taoist's master. What kind of mindset must the master have to be able to teach such a disciple?

Tu Junfang was overthinking it. How could Cheng Mo be completely unguarded towards him? He was simply doing this in pursuit of the Dao.

Of course, the key point is that he is confident in his ability to counterattack—years of training by the old Taoist priest have already formed a conditioned reflex, and he can easily detect and fight back against anyone who harbors ill intentions towards him.

Tu Junfang took a deep breath, suppressed his distracting thoughts, stepped forward, and placed his right hand on Cheng Mo's shoulder.

"Relax, don't resist."

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint black aura appeared in Tu Junfang's palm. The aura was cold and viscous, slowly seeping through Cheng Mo's Taoist robe, attempting to penetrate his body.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Tu Junfang's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

Cheng Mo blinked: "...Sir, shall we begin?"

"Shut up," Tu Junfang hissed, channeling his full power into his corpse energy.

But the black aura swirled around Cheng Mo's skin, like water droplets falling on a lotus leaf, unable to penetrate no matter what.

It's not impossible to force your way in, but then it will no longer be "crossing the Qi" but "attacking the Qi," which will turn into a direct confrontation between the two sides.

Tu Junfang slowly withdrew his hand, and the black energy in his palm dissipated.

He stared at Cheng Mo with a complex expression. After a long while, he shook his head and sighed, "No."

"Your body... or rather your life, has been tempered to an unbelievable level. The Qi of ordinary extraordinary people is naturally isolated from your body surface, and although my corpse Qi is special, it cannot enter."

He paused, his tone a mixture of helplessness and surprise: "I've never seen anything like this before."

After listening, Cheng Mo didn't show any disappointment on his face. Instead, he smiled and said, "I see."

He straightened his Taoist robe and bowed deeply to Tu Junfang, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

Tu Junfang waved his hand: "No need for thanks, I didn't help you."

He turned to leave, but felt a mix of emotions he couldn't quite describe.

"Please wait a moment, sir."

Tu Junfang paused, a hint of impatience in his voice: "What else is there?"

Cheng Mo walked to his side and asked, "Sir, are you familiar with the 'Three Lives White Bone Zen'?"

Tu Junfang turned his head and raised an eyebrow: "Of course I know. It's a method that combines the Buddhist concepts of the Three Lives Reincarnation and the White Bone Contemplation, using visualization of white bones to counteract greed, break through the illusion of self, and realize impermanence. Why are you asking about this?"

"What does 'three lives' mean?" Cheng Mo continued to ask.

"The three lives refer to the past life, the present life, and the future life," Tu Junfang said eloquently. "Practitioners need to observe the essence of life from the perspective of the three lives and break free from attachment to the life of one lifetime. This is similar to the dual cultivation of Tao, nature, and life, only the paths are different."

"What about the White Bone Zen?"

"White Bone Zen, also known as White Bone Contemplation, falls under the Buddhist category of the contemplation of impurity," Tu Junfang said calmly. "It centers on visualizing one's own body and the bodies of others transforming into white bones, used to counteract greed, break through the attachment to self, and realize impermanence. Our Three Demons School has studied this method, intending to learn from it..."

As he said this, he suddenly realized something and turned to look at Cheng Mo: "You want me to use the White Bone Temple in order to sever the Three Corpses?"

Cheng Mo smiled and shook his head: "Since Mr. Tu is so familiar with the Three Lives White Bone Zen, he must have already tried this method."

Tu Junfang remained silent for a moment, then said calmly, "The paths of cultivation are different. Although Buddhism and Taoism have commonalities, I cannot achieve the same goal through different paths."

"So I never intended for you to use Buddhism to cultivate your Daoist mind," Cheng Mo changed the subject. "However, the concept of the Three Lives White Bone Demon Zen might not be entirely useless—do you remember the 'Three Battles with the White Bone Demon' in Journey to the West?"

Xia He, who had been listening quietly, suddenly raised her hand, her eyes sparkling: "I know, I know!"

They both looked at her at the same time.

Xia He puffed out her chest and said proudly, "The White Bone Demon's three transformations correspond perfectly to the Three Corpses!"

She counted on her fingers, as if reciting a familiar story:

"The first time, the White Bone Demon transformed into a beautiful village girl, carrying vegetarian food to lure Tang Sanzang. Pigsy was aroused by her, and Tang Sanzang felt pity for her—this perfectly corresponds to the lust, gluttony, and attachment to the flesh described in 'Xia Shi Peng Qiao'!"

"The second time, the White Bone Demon transformed into an eighty-year-old woman to search for her daughter. Tang Sanzang, enraged by Sun Wukong's killing, recited the Tightening-Headband Mantra as punishment—this perfectly embodies the anger, delusions, and intense emotional fluctuations of 'Zhong Shi Peng Zhi'!"

"The third time, the White Bone Demon transformed into an old man with white hair to search for his wife and daughter. Tang Sanzang firmly believed that the old man was a good person and foolishly drove away Wukong—this corresponds to the folly, ignorance, and inability to distinguish right from wrong in the 'Shangshi Pengju' (a mythical creature)!"

After she finished speaking, she raised her little face, with an expression that said, "Praise me!"

Cheng Mo clapped his hands and laughed, "Well said! Miss Xia is indeed intelligent."

"That's right~" Xia He's tail was practically wagging in the air.

Tu Junfang frowned, staring at Cheng Mo: "Are you suggesting that Wu Cheng'en, when writing 'Journey to the West,' subtly included the metaphor of severing the three corpses? That Buddhism is the Tao?"

"Neither," Cheng Mo shook his head. "What I meant was, although your cultivation is insufficient, you cannot practice both Buddhism and Taoism..."

Tu Junfang's face darkened—"Can't you speak properly, kid?!"

"...But we can borrow the concept of the Three Lives White Bone Zen to create an external magic weapon to temporarily seal the Three Corpses."

Upon hearing the second half of the sentence, Tu Junfang's expression softened slightly, and he revealed a thoughtful look: "An external magic weapon?"

"Yes." Cheng Mo's eyes turned serious. "I have some ideas for this magical artifact—"

"Use an adult water buffalo skull as the core. The buffalo is resilient and its skull is strong, symbolizing the breaking of attachment and greed. It needs to be fumigated with sandalwood for seven days, and the Heart Sutra should be recited 108 times each day, visualizing the emptiness and light hidden within the bone."

Tu Junfang imagined that scene in his mind and was slightly tempted.

Cheng Mo continued, "The upper, middle, and lower parts of the ox skull are inlaid with white crystal, lapis lazuli, and obsidian respectively—white crystal corresponds to the upper dantian, suppressing greed; lapis lazuli corresponds to the middle dantian, suppressing anger; and obsidian corresponds to the lower dantian, suppressing ignorance."

"The skull is wrapped with 108 cow bone beads, symbolizing the severing of the 108 afflictions. It is also paired with a red string, borrowing the imagery of the 'red light of the hair growth palace' in the White Bone Radiance Contemplation."

"Finally, the processed ox skull was crafted into a three-linked lock-shaped pendant. The three links were engraved with the seal characters for greed, anger, and ignorance. When wearing it, one should visualize the lock anchoring to the three dantian (energy centers) to block the flow of delusional thoughts."

He finished speaking in one breath and looked at Tu Junfang: "This object does not cultivate the internal, but only suppresses the external; it does not resolve the magic, but only sets up obstacles. However, if worn for a long time and combined with visualization, it may gradually weaken the activity of the three corpses, buying time for their eventual elimination."

Tu Junfang frowned and pondered for a long time before slowly asking, "How did you come up with the method for refining this?"

Cheng Mo shrugged: "I just came up with this on my own. Whether Mr. Tu believes it or not is up to you. I'm just offering you a suggestion as a way of thanking you for your help earlier."

The riverbank fell silent again.

In the distance, the faint sounds of the county town could be heard, while nearby, only the rustling of the wind through the withered grass could be heard.

After a long while, Tu Junfang suddenly laughed.

His smile was tinged with helplessness, relief, and a mix of indescribable emotions.

He straightened his sleeves, then solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Cheng Mo: "I have remembered what happened today. Whether this method succeeds or not, I appreciate your kindness."

Cheng Mo returned the greeting with a serious expression: "You're too kind, sir."

Tu Junfang straightened up, gave Cheng Mo a deep look, then glanced at Xia He who was blinking beside him, and finally said, "The journey of life is long, take care. Farewell."

After saying that, he turned around, and with a few leaps, disappeared into the woods at the end of the riverbank.

After he left, Xia He sidled up to Cheng Mo, tugged at his Taoist robe sleeve, and said with sparkling eyes, "Little Taoist, you're amazing! You even convinced that strange old man!"

Cheng Mo chuckled: "There's no persuasion involved, it's just an exchange."

Xia He shook her head: "It's not that simple. That strange old man has been following me for a long time. No matter what I said before, he wouldn't leave. But when you told him about the bull skull magic weapon, he turned around and left."

Cheng Mo didn't reply, and started walking along the riverbank towards the county town.

Xia He immediately caught up with him and walked alongside him, her light pink hair shimmering in the autumn sunlight.

Her eyes darted around: "That ox skull magic artifact, can it really help him sever his three corpses?"

Cheng Mo continued walking: "Theoretically it's feasible, but in practice... there will always be problems. Moreover, external things are ultimately just aids; the key lies in whether he can seize this opportunity to truly understand his own nature and find his own path to liberation."

"Oh—" Xia He drawled, seemingly understanding but not quite, "Aren't you afraid that strange old man might fail to refine it properly and cause you trouble again?"

"Why should I be afraid?" Cheng Mo turned to look at her, utterly puzzled. "I asked him to help me activate the Three Corpses, but he failed. As a thank you, I shared my knowledge of magical artifacts with him. It was a simple exchange, neither of us owed the other anything. Why would he cause me trouble?"

Xia He blinked: "If he really helps you lure out the Three Corpses... what if your idea doesn't work out? He'll definitely think you're playing him and cause you trouble."

Cheng Mo paused slightly, thinking carefully.

"If he can truly help me draw out the Three Corpses, then I will be indebted to him. I cannot just talk about it; I must work with him to figure it out and adjust it until we can create the magic weapon—only then will we be even."

Xia He opened her mouth slightly, looking at Cheng Mo's calm profile.

She understood somewhat.

This young Taoist priest seemed to have an internal set of rules for his actions. He would always express his gratitude when asking for help, and he would always repay any favors he received.

For him, there seems to be an invisible scale for what he gives and what he receives, neither taking more nor less.

She suddenly laughed out loud, took two quick steps, and gently bumped Cheng Mo's arm with her shoulder.

Cheng Mo was slightly swayed by her bump and looked at her in confusion.

Xia He smiled and said, "Little Taoist priest, you're really interesting~"