With virtue

After entering the house, Zhao Yunshu was still looking around at the structure and furnishings, but the white ape ignored her and turned to walk to the door.

Yuan Zhisheng said, "Stay here for a while, someone will bring you food. Get some rest. You can use the bed over there too. Take a nap, and someone will come in about two hours."

Zhao Yunshu nodded.

Then, Yuan Zhisheng turned and left, still as aloof as ever.

After the other party left, Zhao Yunshu did not rush to sleep, but instead looked at the yellow book and the bundle.

He stared at his master's name for a long time...

Then, he shook his head.

Let's look at the package first; it'll make us feel better.

Before leaving, he thoroughly searched the Taoist priest and confiscated all of his possessions without following the law.

When we took those items out and counted them, there were indeed quite a lot!

Most importantly, there are three spirit talismans, each one a masterpiece!

A "Prayer for Clear Skies" talisman has the literal effect of dispelling clouds and rain, bringing clear skies. This talisman is of very high rank, even surpassing the Six Jia Talisman, but it's not very practical for a novice Taoist priest. To obtain this item, one needs to set up an altar and a ritual space, perform ceremonies within it, then attach the talisman, light it, and burn one's own cultivation, incense offerings, or even one's own blessings and lifespan. Only then can one pray for clear skies.

The effect is very powerful; manipulating the weather is something only a true master can do. Unfortunately, the young Taoist priest doesn't have many opportunities to use it, and he's not very familiar with those rituals...

It's a bit strange, though. Praying for rain or sunshine is usually done by red-headed sorcerers. Why would Anhe, a black-headed sorcerer, carry such a talisman? Although such a talisman may not be very valuable to an individual, controlling the weather is still quite expensive.

Next is the Six Luo Ghost-Catching Talisman, which is also of extremely high rank. Although its name is simple, if it is pasted on the head of any ghost, even a thousand-year-old ghost king will likely be directly suppressed and absorbed into the talisman.

The six Luos mentioned above refer to the Heavenly Luo God, Earthly Luo God, Golden Luo God, Iron Luo God, Sun Luo God, and Fire Luo God. Their power is used to seal away ghosts and monsters. Therefore, the material needed to write this talisman is not ordinary cinnabar, but incense ash from the altar after worshipping these six gods. Each of these six gods must be worshipped six times.

The effort and money spent on the six ritual sites were considerable, hence the talisman is considered quite expensive.

A Water and Fire Transmission Talisman is also a good thing. With this talisman affixed to the foot, one can walk on water and bathe in fire, and be immune to water and fire. No wonder that Taoist Anhe was not afraid of me. If it weren't for my master's seven souls being on my body at the time, I'm afraid that he could have broken my fire spell with just one talisman.

That was close, that was close.

Besides the three highly valuable and high-grade talismans, he also had many good materials for drawing talismans in his bag, especially a set of fine brushes and paper, as well as matching cinnabar ink!

The ink stick was dark in color and felt as heavy as a brick in my hand. It emitted a distinct pine scent, so strong that it was almost smelly, but it was wrapped in oiled paper so I couldn't smell it normally.

I opened the oil paper and saw that only a small amount had been used.

A purple hair brush, and a pure purple one at that! Unlike cheap wolf hair brushes, the best purple hair brushes are called pure purple, while those with some mixed colors are called two-flower brushes, and so on, including three-flower, four-flower, five-flower, six-flower, seven-flower, eight-flower, etc. Only the finest hairs from the back of wild rabbits are used, and generally, wild rabbits from the mountains and forests of the northeast must be selected.

That place was already the Balhae Kingdom, the Mohe people in the northeast, or even Goguryeo. It would take thousands of miles to send it over. Moreover, only a few hairs are taken from a rabbit skin, and dozens of rabbits' lives are needed to make a pen, so it is extremely rare and precious.

However, rabbits from the Jiangnan region can occasionally be used, so this one belongs to Anhe Daoren and should have been made by a southern rabbit.

Purple hair brushes are precious, hence the poem: "Purple hair brush, sharp as an awl and as razor-sharp as a knife. On the rocks of Jiangnan, there is an old rabbit that eats bamboo and drinks from springs, growing purple hair. The people of Xuancheng collect them to make brushes, selecting one hair from among thousands."

This brush has a heavy handle and a sharp, hard tip. Its bristles are long and sharp, making it suitable for writing strong, upright, and square characters. It has always been valued by calligraphers, and Taoist priests also value this characteristic when drawing talismans. Hence, there is a saying: "Colorful purple bristles, elegant red seal script."

There is also a packet of cinnabar, as well as some other materials for drawing talismans, such as Bletilla striata, yellow wine, rootless water, honey, incense ash, etc., to draw different talismans according to different situations.

That packet of cinnabar must be the most valuable; its color was as bright red as blood, and the particles were fine and uniform. The young Taoist priest could tell at a glance that it was made from the finest arrowhead sand.

In addition, there was a large bundle of high-quality yellow paper, which was soft and tough, and looked like it was made of layers of bamboo membrane, much better than what the young Taoist priest usually used.

An inkstone, which looks like it's carved from mutton fat jade, is capable of grinding fine ink.

The preparation of ink is also a very important skill. If the ink is prepared well, the characters will be smooth, round, and black. If the ink is prepared poorly, the characters will be obscure and unclear. In the context of imperial examinations, this could be the difference between success and failure. In the context of drawing talismans, it could be a matter of life and death.

Therefore, preparing the ink is of great importance. This inkstone and ink stick, along with that pile of talisman-drawing materials, are all top-grade!

The first update is on suduɡu.cc, with no typos. If you don't see the ".cc" suffix in the address, you'll be taken to the first update site. This entire set of items—paper, ink, brush, and inkstone—would cost a thousand taels of silver in the market! And even then, you might not be able to find it!

The young Taoist priest happily accepted the equipment; with this set, the quality of his talismans would be elevated to a higher level.

In addition, there were some loose silver coins, about ten taels.

And the short sword used by the Yin God. After being tied with a red rope, this sword could be controlled remotely by the Yin God and could even clash head-on with his iron sword without breaking. It was no ordinary sword, but it seemed to be without any problems.

However, the red rope on it is clearly not a good thing. I'll burn it with fire magic once I recover my strength.

As for the other things, Zhao Yunshu couldn't figure out their origin and usage for the time being, but since they were magical artifacts, he could figure them out slowly in the future.

After tidying up like this, I felt better and the oppressive atmosphere dissipated. In the end, so many good things came in, which is also good for mental health.

He comfortably put everything away, and then Zhao Yunshu opened the yellow book and looked at the latest page.

Tonight's battle, the page on the white ape in the yellow book is much more detailed, but perhaps because Yuan Zhisheng is not dead, it is not a visualization.

The latest picture is different.

The page with the master is at the very end.

The atmosphere, which had just eased, became heavy again. He took a deep breath and opened the book with trembling hands.

The painting depicts an old man who appears quite robust. Despite his age, he still possesses a muscular physique, with half-white hair and beard, and wears an old Taoist robe. He is none other than the old Taoist priest.

This painting is extremely realistic and moving; it is also a painting of the quality of a visualization.

He used his contemplation technique to look at it and felt as if the person in the painting had come to life. The old Taoist priest slightly turned his head and looked over the paper, as if he were looking at his good-for-nothing disciple with a hint of disdain, but also a hint of joy.

Zhao Yunshu stared at the portrait, rubbed his eyes, and then looked down at the words.

"Li Han":

Li Han was originally from Youzhou. He learned boxing and martial arts from a young age and was quite skilled in archery and horsemanship.

Before he reached adulthood, he was registered as a soldier and followed the army on campaigns. He served for three years, and was strong and skilled with a sword. He was the first to scale the walls and was promoted to captain for his military achievements. He led the army for a year and personally witnessed thousands of corpses and rivers of blood. He grew tired of killing, abandoned his post, and fled back to his hometown at night. He married and had children. His wife and children lived on a few acres of poor land, and his relatives were all still alive. Although poor, he was at peace.

One day, Li Han went into the mountains to hunt and chop firewood. When he returned, his home had been destroyed by war, and his entire clan had perished. Li Han had been in the mountains for several days and was the only one who escaped the disaster. His parents, wife, and children had all died in the chaos of war, and no one in the entire village had survived.

Upon seeing the remains of his family members, he was overcome with grief and wept for a whole day until his tears ran dry and blood flowed out. Then he let his hair down, packed his clothes, and went into the mountains. He fished, hunted, and gathered fruit to eat, and slept in mountain caves and thatched huts. He no longer cared about worldly affairs or the warmth of human life.

Later, he encountered a strange man in the wilderness. The man looked middle-aged and carried a long sword. When asked his name, the man answered truthfully.

The Taoist priest laughed and said, "I am Lü Dongbin. You have a predestined connection with me. I will impart the Tao to you for three days." The man called himself Lü Dongbin and spoke with him for three days and nights, imparting three methods each day.

The first day he was taught swordsmanship, the second day he was taught observation techniques, and the third day he was taught talisman techniques.

Li Han was slow-witted and could not memorize everything even after three days and nights of effort. He only mastered half of the sword technique, 30% of the observation technique, and a little bit of the talisman technique.

When the Taoist left, I bowed and asked for my master's name. The Taoist said, "If you remember me, remember me as Lü. If you want to know your lineage, you can answer Yuntai." After saying this, he disappeared into thin air.

After the strange man left, Li Han wandered in the mountains, feeling that his learning was not yet proficient. He dared not claim to be a disciple of the immortal, nor did he dare to use the name of Yuntai Temple. So he called himself a wild Taoist, did not receive a certificate of ordination, and traveled around.

Wherever he went, he slew demons and evil spirits, helped the good and kind, and used talismans, water, and medicine to save people. He hated evil as if it were his enemy, and he would kill any demons he encountered. Although he did not often leave his name, there were still people in the martial arts world who knew him. When people asked about his master, he would just smile and not answer.

However, he harbored a deep-seated thought: every time he slew a demon or an evildoer, he would think of the faces of his wife, children, and parents, vowing to kill all the evil villains in the world and avenge his family.

For decades, evil in the world has never ceased.

During the great chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, demons and ghosts roamed freely, and the cruelty towards the people intensified. The Tang Dynasty collapsed, the regional military governors slaughtered each other, bones were exposed in the fields, the old and weak starved to death, the fields were barren, dogs and pigs ate people, and the dead lay piled up on the roads.

From youth to old age, over several decades, Li Han's sword claimed countless lives, yet the evil deeds of the world only increased, and he could not stop killing them. He slew countless demons, but instead of decreasing, the demons became even more rampant.

As his heart grew increasingly disheartened, he became despondent. Although he still eliminated demons and killed evildoers whenever he saw them, it was merely a decades-old habit, no longer motivated by good intentions or a desire for a living. He only hoped that one day he would die on the path of punishing evil, so that he would not have lived in vain.

But fate is unpredictable. While traveling through desolate mountains, he encountered an abandoned child. Li Han initially intended to ignore him, but after taking a few steps, he turned back and finally took the child into his arms. He carried the child to a stream to wash him. The child was only five years old, with a very beautiful face, white as snow and as clear as jade. The child cried incessantly, opening his eyes and smiling, a smile without any worries. Li Han's withered heart was suddenly moved, and he took the child as his disciple.

This boy is naturally unruly and often tries to do dangerous things. He has a very explosive temper and often gets into trouble, which always leaves Li Han to run around cleaning up the mess. However, he is extremely filial to his teacher.

From then on, Li Han never spoke of "dying on the road" again. His old hatred gradually subsided, and his obsession gradually disappeared. He no longer drew his sword lightly, nor did he show off his skills. When he encountered evil demons and giant ghosts again, he avoided them as if they were not far away. He no longer fought them. Instead, he continued to travel around with his disciple, hiding in various places, teaching and spreading his teachings. Wherever he went, people said that he was just an ordinary old Taoist priest.

Later, he built a hermitage in Dingzhou, where he brewed wine and grew vegetables. When he reached the age of seventy, he was free from illness and pain. One day, after waking up from a midday nap, he found the sun already setting. He first prepared dinner, and after the dinner was cooked and he had finished drinking tea, he sat on a futon and passed away with a smile.

After his death, his three souls and seven spirits did not disperse. Later, they were stolen by someone, but his disciple Zhao Yunshu took them back. His seven spirits finally returned to stillness and did not cause any more trouble.

Its abilities are twofold:

Firstly, swordsmanship. He received half of Lu Zu's swordsmanship. Although he did not master it completely, he had spent decades driving away demons and slaying ghosts, killing people and fighting to the death, facing countless enemies. He had developed his own style and made a name for himself. When he wielded his sword, he moved back and forth with the wind and without a shadow. Even real fire and water could not get close to him. It was a pity that he lacked half of the complete set. He had the foundation of flying swords, but not the method of flying swords.

The second method is the inner vision. This method of contemplation was passed down by Lü Zu and is the orthodox lineage of Yuntai Temple. When sitting in meditation, one should contemplate the inner vision in a state of concentration. As soon as the intention is there, the signs will appear. One will feel a breath rising from the center of the body, continuous and intermittent, rising and falling. One should maintain sincerity and listen attentively. The six senses will be at peace, and the fetal breath will be concentrated. One should not close or count the breath, but let it be natural. One should forget the breath and unite with the spirit, returning to chaos, reaching the extreme of emptiness and the steadfastness of stillness. The mind will not be moved by thoughts, there will be no coming or going, like a clear mirror hanging in the chest. The Qi of the five internal organs will naturally appear. With prolonged practice, one's eyes can see inward, and the Qi can circulate on its own. If one takes medicine, the medicine's effects can return to the meridians on its own. One can also see the inner vision of others.

He could use secret medicine to stimulate his spirit, and within his inner vision, the five internal organs would have spirits and the nine palaces would have masters, giving rise to various methods. He could then see through ghosts and spirits, find peace in the six palaces, harmonize the three souls and five internal organs, and maintain his complexion. He could even return to infancy, which was the way to immortality. However, Li Han was dull-witted and only mastered 30% of it, so it was not complete.

I've finished reading the yellow book.

Perhaps the old Taoist priest was already in the state of a ghost with seven souls when he disappeared, so he was still included in the yellow book.

Seeing the old Taoist's visualization, the young Taoist fell into deep thought. He didn't use any visualization techniques; he just stared blankly at the beautifully painted scroll. If it were the young Taoist himself, he certainly wouldn't have the money to hire an artist to paint it.

Looking at it this way, we really have to thank the Yellow Book.

If it weren't for the Yellow Book, he would never have seen that face again in his life, and just a few days ago, he didn't really feel like it was happening.

The thought that if it weren't for this picture, he might gradually forget what this face looked like in the future, and eventually, no one in the world would remember it anymore.

Thinking about it this way, he suddenly felt very apprehensive.

Without realizing it, he touched one of them and said, "Old man... I really didn't expect that. I'm sorry, I didn't leave you a picture or anything."

"But at least it's made up for it. I'm going to sleep now."

The young Taoist priest wasn't prepared to carefully examine the visualization diagram; he was in a hurry to learn something and just wanted to sleep.

He put the yellow book away, found a blanket to cover his belly button, and then lay back down.

But after falling asleep, he vaguely felt like he was having a dream.

He felt as if he had returned to that dilapidated little Taoist temple from before.

Beneath the sparse shadows of the woods, an old Taoist priest with gray hair was slowly practicing his swordplay. Zhao Yunshu only noticed that his movements were not fast, and his footwork was not unusual; he was just repeating the same few most common movements.

Thrust, chop, point, flick.

Pick, break, intercept, slash.

Cut, cloud, hang, frame.

That's all there is to it. As mentioned before, these are techniques the young Taoist priest has practiced for many years. (See Chapter 72 for details)

He had practiced these moves countless times over the past twelve years, so much so that he was extremely familiar with them, even finding them somewhat clumsy and rustic, lacking any real spirit.

But seeing the old Taoist priest use this technique now, it was as if he had never seen it before.

They're all the same things, just like those so-called famous mountains and strange rocks. They're all just rocks at their core. Some are just rocks, while others are like immortals pointing the way, monkeys watching the sea, golden roosters crowing at the capital, or eighteen arhats facing the South China Sea.

It all depends on how you arrange it; the stone is there, perfectly natural.