Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

The old Taoist priest didn't look at the letter, but looked at Zhuang Xing and said, "You seem to have something on your mind?"

“Disciple wishes to visit the capital…” Zhuang Xing said.

"Do you want to go to the capital to see it?"

"Perhaps not."

Do you feel distressed in the temple?

“There are some.”

“When I was young, I also traveled down the mountain.” The old Taoist picked up his teacup and took a sip. “At that time, I was very happy. I had traveled all over the country. But I had seen enough. So I came back to the mountain.”

“If you only want to go to the capital, then you can go with the prefect of Yidu. But you should know that what you want to see is not just the capital.”

Zhuang Xing fell silent. He thought of Da Chun, Xiao An, the panda and Yun Ling, and then he thought of himself.

"If you want to go down the mountain, then go down the mountain." The old Taoist priest said calmly, as if he could see through his thoughts. "But I have one condition: on your journey to the capital, you must not travel by canal, you must not ride a horse at high speed, and you must not associate with government soldiers. You must walk to the capital step by step, with your feet firmly on the ground. Are you willing?"

After a moment of silence, Zhuang Xing replied, "This disciple is willing."

“Alright.” The old Taoist nodded. “When you meet the prefect, tell him that I am getting old and don’t want to travel far anymore. Let the young people go out and travel more.”

"As for the reward, this is a matter of fate that you have already made. You can handle it yourself, but remember not to bring matters of state to Xuanqing Temple."

"In addition, I have a few old friends down the mountain. If you get to the vicinity, you can visit them for me. If you have decided on a departure date and are willing to go, you can come to me again, and I will write a few letters for you. Their Taoist practices are quite different from those of Xuanqing Temple. You may gain some insights from them."

"Disciple understands." Zhuang Xing nodded, finished his tea, performed the disciple's salute, and went out.

Since I'm planning to go out, I definitely need to go back and prepare.

However, he wasn't in a hurry to leave; he was just somewhat eager to try.

When he returned to the house, he happened to meet Uncle Wei, who had brought food for the panda.

Xiao An and her father chatted casually. When her father came to see her, she appeared in her spirit form and talked to him a lot.

When Uncle Wei saw Zhuang Xing return, he was taken aback for a moment, but was naturally very happy.

Zhuang Xing told Uncle Wei about his trip to the capital, and after only a short while back, he was leaving again.

When he wasn't home, he had to ask Uncle Wei to tidy up the house for him.

Yidu is neither too far nor too close to the capital. If you ride a horse on the official road or take a boat on the canal, and just focus on getting there, you can reach your destination in half a month at most.

However, if you travel step by step on foot, it would take two or three months to complete the journey.

Master Qingxu told him not to be impatient. In fact, he wasn't planning to walk too fast. He wanted to see more things he hadn't seen before along the way.

If you set off in early spring, you probably won't arrive in Beijing until summer.

Once he returns, he won't need to walk anymore; he can simply walk along the canal. He should be able to return in July or August.

Looking at it this way, it will still take quite a long time, about half a year.

He hadn't considered taking the pandas and Xiao An with him. Five red pandas would be too conspicuous, and they simply preferred the peaceful life in the Taoist temple. If they were to come with him, their cultivation wouldn't be sufficient, and they would not only be a burden, but they probably wouldn't want to either.

But Xiao An, after hearing Zhuang Xing's words, said, "Brother Zhuang Xing, please take me with you too."

"I promise I won't cause you any trouble. I'm not exactly dead, but I'm not exactly alive either. I want to go out and see the world. Maybe...maybe there's a way to eat and walk like a human again..."

After hearing Xiao An's words, Zhuang Xing consulted Uncle Wei for his opinion.

Uncle Wei asked, "Young Taoist priest, do you find it troublesome to bring my daughter along?"

“If Xiao An is willing to hide inside the Yin-Yang Stone and not come out to see anyone, then it won’t be a problem. But… that might be a bit depressing, like someone who is awake but can’t go out and move around. A day or two is fine, but if it goes on for too long, he might get suffocated,” Zhuang Xing said.

When he travels along official roads and stays at inns, he will inevitably encounter many people. If he were to carry a little female ghost with him, ordinary people would definitely be terrified.

“I’ve always done it this way, haven’t I? I can’t just hold it in for a day or two, I won’t get sick from it! Daddy, please let me go with Brother Zhuang Xing,” Xiao An said.

Uncle Wei looked at his daughter, scratched his head, and said, "Young Taoist priest, you heard it too. Please take my daughter with you. I believe in your abilities and I'm sure you can bring her back safely."

Zhuang Xing carefully considered the pros and cons. If Xiao An could really hold back, then there would be no problem.

Moreover, when traveling, there aren't always people around. When no one is around, or when everyone is asleep at night, Xiao An can come out for some fresh air.

“Since Uncle Wei says so, then alright, I’ll take Xiao An with me.” Zhuang Xing nodded.

"Great!" Xiao An beamed, his illusory figure circling around Zhuang Xing.

Chapter 176 Special Permit for Talismans

Seven days later, Zhuang Xing was ready to descend the mountain.

He went to the mountain market to buy talismans and pills, and had Master Wu sharpen his sword. He left his dry food and water to buy in the town at the foot of the mountain.

He didn't carry much; he just carried a bundle containing his money and the letter.

I should first visit the prefect of Yidu to explain my plan to walk to the capital and travel along the way, and then set off from the official road in Yidu.

This time, although the old Taoist priest was no longer with him, he still had a companion besides Xiao An.

Yunling also arrived. She stood gracefully in front of the temple gate, ready for her long journey.

Yunling is now a disciple of the Red Rice Sect. Red Rice Sect disciples have a high degree of freedom, unlike when she was a Green Rice Sect disciple, she could only go down the mountain on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Some disciples of the Red Rice Temple would apply to the temple to go down the mountain together to travel and cultivate, sometimes for two or three years before returning.

However, Yunling's identity is rather special. She is an inner disciple of Master Yuanyan and doesn't have much free time on weekdays. Zhuang Xing didn't expect that Master Yuanyan would actually be willing to let her travel this time.

Perhaps wanting Yunling to broaden her horizons, Zhuang Xing obtained a letter of introduction from Daoist Qingxuzi. He remembered a place called Hundred Flowers Valley, which was famous for cultivating spiritual plants and refining spiritual medicines. He thought it would be like having her as an exchange student.

Maybe so, anyway, it's good to have more company.

"Let's go."

"Ah."

The two traveled together, taking a little female ghost with them down the mountain.

Inside the Seven Records Studio, Qingxuzi and Yuanyan were watching the figure gradually disappear.

"Aren't you afraid that he'll end up like Song Yu, going down the mountain and never coming back?"

“We can’t just force people to stay. Besides, you’ve already tried, and you can’t force them to stay. I believe he will come back. What he sees is different from many others. The capital and the emperor can’t keep him. What he really wants to see is not that kind of thing.”

"..."

"What exactly did that child say to you? Given your personality, how could you let her go?"

“She didn’t say anything, but I rarely see her ask for help. In the past, no matter how much homework she had, she could finish it on time and never asked me to give her more time. But this time she asked me for help. She said she was afraid that things were not stable down the mountain and that if something happened, she would not be able to see the people she wanted to see.”

"You have moments of weakness too."

"When people get old, they see things more broadly."

Five days later...

In the pitch-black night sky, a crescent moon hangs alone.

The pale, cool moonlight spilled across the earth.

In the deserted countryside, a faint campfire flickers gently, bringing a touch of warmth to the silent night.

Beside the campfire, Zhuang Xing watched as Yunling scattered seeds—seeds of the Earth-Hidden Vine.

She brought many seeds of the Earth-Hidden Vine down the mountain. After these seeds were buried in the soil, they quickly sprouted, disappeared into the ground, and vanished without a trace.

Even when Zhuang Xing focused his Qi into his eyes, he could not see the aura of the Earth Hidden Vine.

Because they are blocked by the soil, only living things and creatures emit "qi". Soil, stones and the like are inanimate objects and cannot be seen.

With Yunling's earth-hidden vines, there's no need for anyone to keep watch at night; any monsters that approach will be immediately bound.

Yunling also hung bells on the growing vines so that if there was any unusual movement, the sound of the bells would wake them up.

It's much more convenient and allows people to sleep peacefully.

Moreover, these seeds are not disposable. Yunling's life-giving magic has reached a new level. She can not only control the growth of plants, but also make them revert to their original state.

However, the seeds must be ones that she has nurtured herself for some time, such as these soil-hidden vines. She would collect the seeds in the morning.

In addition, she can use these vines as tent supports.

It's very simple to use. Just like now, she controls some vines to stand up, and then Zhuang Xing casually covers them with a cloth and ties it up. A tent with simple rain and wind protection is ready. The whole process takes no more than two minutes and is very convenient.

If necessary, she could even weave the vines into an airtight "shell," but that would consume a lot of true qi. For the five days of their journey, they simply spent their nights like this.

"We'll be on the main road tomorrow," Zhuang Xing said. "Then we can sleep at the post station instead of camping out in the open. After another two or three days of walking, we'll reach Yidu."

"What's Yidu like?" Xiao An asked, huddled by the fire.

"It's huge. You have to look up to see the top of the city wall. It's over ten meters high," Zhuang Xing said.

Xiao An looked up, seemingly trying to imagine just how tall the city wall, which was over ten meters high, really was.

"I wonder how my aunt's family is doing."

Yunling sat on the straw mat, with her black horse lying down beside her. She stroked the horse's neck. The horse was eating tender grass while lying down, and it seemed to be enjoying it.

"Let's go see them then," Zhuang Xing said with a smile. "And Little Jasmine, I haven't seen her for two years."

"Mm." Yunling nodded.

Zhuang Xing slept quite well that night.

The next day, after walking for half a day, they reached the wide official road.

More people left.

Once here, Xiao An no longer appeared. As agreed, she obediently hid inside the Yin-Yang Stone at Zhuang Xing's waist.

There were some changes in his memories of the official road and the village. He noticed that the trees on both sides of the official road were not as lush as before.

Many trees had already been cut down. Near the post station, where it was easy for soldiers to catch them, it wasn't obvious yet, but when you walked along the middle section, many trees had been reduced to just stumps.

It seems that many people, despite the harsh winter, are still risking being punished by being beaten to come here to chop firewood.

We walked and looked around along the way, and after two days, we saw the city wall of Yidu.

There were many people coming and going at the ferry crossing. They saw a cotton field with lots of cotton planted there.

Zhuang Xing went to see the prefect first, and Wuzhui returned to its old home. It seemed that it did not expect to be able to come back. When it entered the old stable, Zhuang Xing saw a trace of resentment on its horse's face.

It was already afternoon when Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling met with the prefect.