A Scroll of Infinite Glory

According to Qiu Di, the two zombies should be carried back to town and burned as firewood, while Miao Song's body could be taken to the government office to exchange for a reward.

Miaosong had swindled quite a few powerful families back then, causing a very bad influence, so the reward money the government set for him was naturally even more generous.

Guan Luoyang was penniless at the moment, but after hearing Qiu Di roughly explain the amount of the reward, he was somewhat tempted.

When they returned to the town with these things, they found that in addition to the strong young men, there was now a Taoist priest.

He was a Taoist priest in his forties with a refined appearance. He wore a blue robe with the front overlapping the back, and a gray robe with wide sleeves and an open front. There were two rows of white trigrams on the collar, which extended to the hem.

Upon seeing this person, Qiu Di greeted him with some surprise, "Uncle-Master Jiuhe, what brings you here?"

"After I went to Peng County and killed that giant snake, I happened to pass by the area on my way back and saw that it was brightly lit, so I came over to take a look and found out about you."

Master Jiuhe glanced at the two zombies Qiu Di was dragging, then looked at Guan Luoyang carrying Miaosong's corpse, and asked, "And who is this?"

Qiu Di introduced them to each other.

Master Jiuhe was surprised and said seriously, "I didn't expect that it was this scoundrel Miaosong who controlled corpses and harmed people. Thank you for your help, young friend Guan. Otherwise, Qiudi was reckless and I'm afraid he would have been harmed by that villain instead."

Guan Luoyang said, "This kind of person who harms pregnant women deserves to be killed by everyone."

The young men and women of the town, having heard the whole story, gritted their teeth in anger. One of them said hatefully, "I'll go wake up the Lin family's son right now and let him see what happens to this scoundrel. Poor Uncle Wang is already mentally impaired; even if he gets his revenge, he won't understand."

Upon hearing the sound, Daoist Jiuhe looked over and said, "Is it because of excessive grief that you've lost your mind? Could you take me to see him?"

Qiu Di quickly spoke up: "My Uncle Jiuhe has superb medical skills; perhaps he can cure that uncle."

The man exclaimed happily, "Can it really cure him? Quick, quick, we'll take the Taoist priest there right away!"

The group of able-bodied men immediately dispersed. Some went from house to house, knocking on doors to tell everyone that the zombie had been captured. Others, following Qiu Di's instructions, prepared to gather firewood to burn the zombie.

There were only three or five of them, who led Daoist Jiuhe and the others to the home of the man surnamed Wang who had lost his wife.

Guan Luoyang followed as well.

That family lived in a more remote area, surrounded by a fence, with two vegetable plots and a path leading to their mud-walled, thatched-roof house.

Two white cloths were pasted on the door with glue to indicate that there was a funeral in the family.

The room was too small, and it would be too crowded if everyone went in, so Guan Luoyang and the others stayed outside.

Not long after Daoist Jiuhe entered the room, a sound of weeping came from inside. It was a man's voice, but it was hoarse and unbearable to listen to.

Qiu Di breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Guan Luoyang, "If you can cry, you're halfway cured."

Master Jiuhe came out and instructed the family's nephew: "I used acupuncture to smooth his meridians. His grief and depression didn't last long. He'll be fine after a good cry. He doesn't need medicine, but he needs to rest quietly for a few days and eat some light but substantial food."

The nephew immediately knelt down and repeatedly thanked Daoist Jiuhe. It took a lot of effort to help him up.

On the other side, the zombies had been transported to be set on fire, and many people in the town went to watch.

After finishing these tasks, it was almost dawn. Daoist Jiuhe and his companions declined the invitation to a banquet, accepting only a few strings of copper coins collected from the town, and prepared to set off back to the Black Heavenly Venerable Temple.

Guan Luoyang claimed he came to find relatives, but his relatives had moved and he had nowhere to go. Naturally, Qiu Di invited him to stay at the Black Heavenly Venerable Temple for a while.

He put Miaosong's body in a sack and set off, having removed the small pouches from Miaosong's waist beforehand.

As dawn broke, the three walked along a desolate path.

After examining the pouch containing the essence blood, Daoist Jiuhe sighed, "The most virtuous practice of self-discipline in Buddhism has been used by him in such a heinous way."

Qiu Di casually chimed in, "It's nothing special, it's a monk's stuff."

"What kind of talk is this? There are thousands of monks and hundreds of different teachings in the world; how can you generalize like this?"

Master Jiuhe gave him a serious look and said, "Back then, when the Southern Shaolin Temple protected the region and its people, resisting the Jianyi, nine out of ten of its three thousand disciples perished, and the rest were all wounded. If Emperor Zhaolie had not recovered Jiangnan and rebuilt the temple, the lineage of the Southern Shaolin Temple might have been scattered and extinct. Can such resolute courage be compared with a vile person like Miaosong?"

Emperor Zhaolie refers to the man named Guoxing. When he was alive, he only accepted the title of Prince of Yanping from the Southern Ming Dynasty and refused to accept even the title of Prince. After he died, his son became emperor and his grandson posthumously granted him the title of emperor.

Qiu Di Nuonuo said, "I'm just saying that some of their methods can easily lead to demonic possession, not that they are all bad people."

Master Jiuhe advised, "The Daoist is one who is pure and well-informed. If one does not know the facts, one should not harbor prejudices."

"The matter of the Southern Shaolin Temple is long gone, but more recently, there is the Venerable Master Yanglian of the Motian Temple, who hated evil as if it were his enemy and was upright and honest."

"From Abbot Mukah downwards, all the high monks of Nalanda Monastery have for many years been determined to guide some of the evil arts and black magic practices in Southeast Asia into the right path, so that they may benefit the people. They are of noble character, and we should also have some respect for them."

Seeing Qiu Di nod repeatedly, Daoist Jiuhe said no more, and tied the bag in his hand tightly. "The essence blood inside has been tainted by evil energy after being swallowed and expelled by the zombies. After you go back, put it in the Demon Suppression Hall and let it be baptized with incense for seven days to purify the evil energy. Then bury it properly to comfort the innocent."

Master Jiuhe then turned to Guan Luoyang, opened another bag to reveal black pills inside, and said, "Young friend Guan, these are pills made primarily of yin-type fir wood shavings, mixed with several other herbs containing yin energy. They can be used to raise ghost children or to feed zombies, but this medicine can also be used to cleanse bones and marrow. It is quite precious. Please keep it safe."

Guan Luoyang waved his hand and said, "I don't know how to use this thing."

He didn't want this in the first place.

After hearing this, Daoist Jiuhe pondered for a moment and said, "Young friend Guan was able to break through the minor precepts of the intermediate level, so he must have achieved at least one of the four great achievements in martial arts."

"If you haven't achieved the Mercury Blood Silver Marrow attainment, and you trust me, I'm willing to use these shavings of Yin Fir wood as a catalyst to prepare a medicinal bath for you, as a way of repaying your kindness to Qiu Di. What do you say?"

Guan Luoyang's eyes darted around, and he asked directly, "What are mercury blood and silver marrow?"

Daoist Jiuhe asked in surprise, "You don't know?"

Guan Luoyang frankly said, "A few years ago in the Guangzhou area, I was taken in as a disciple by an old man who lived in seclusion in the mountains. In recent years, I have only focused on practicing my skills and have never asked him about my progress in martial arts."

Daoist Jiuhe understood: "No wonder you have such skills at such a young age. Your focus is undivided, and your spirit is concentrated. There is no better way."

He explained it to Guan Luoyang.

The saying goes, "Martial arts refine the body, while Taoist arts refine the spirit."

Taoist magic and incantations rely on a person's spiritual insight to exert their power, while boxing and martial arts are entirely based on the physical body.

The earliest styles of boxing are untraceable, but since the Song Dynasty, the sons of military families and skilled knights have used Taoist terminology to describe the realm of boxing, believing that the highest level of martial arts is achieved in four aspects.

It is called: Golden Skin and Jade Network, Mercury Blood and Silver Marrow, Water and Fire Immortal Robe, and the Circulation of Qi and Blood.

Guan Luoyang grunted and thought to himself: All that fancy stuff, isn't it just about training muscles and bones, skin and qi?

They chatted along the way, and on their way, they exchanged Miaosong's body for a reward at the government office. As the sun rose higher, not far ahead, halfway up a small hill, the gate of a rather grand temple came into view.

Nearly a hundred stone steps lead from the foot of the mountain to the main hall of the temple. Guan Luoyang stepped onto the steps and looked up to see a black plaque with gilded decorations hanging high above.

The term "Black Heavenly Venerable" is the local name for Zhenwu the Great in Jiaozhi (Vietnam) and throughout Southeast Asia.

The real name of the Black Heavenly Venerable Temple is "Fengzhao Zhenwu Shrine".

Suddenly, a shadow swept across the eaves of the mountain gate, and a beautiful and dazzling figure entered Guan Luoyang's field of vision, rapidly magnifying before his eyes.

call! !

The wind swept by, and we passed each other by.

Guan Luoyang looked back.

A large peacock, adorned with green and gold, with its colorful and fluffy long tail, nestled into the arms of Daoist Jiuhe.