In the Five庄观, the two young disciples questioned Jiang Yuan.
The two young disciples said, “Brother Guangxin possesses great magical power and profound cultivation. Our master often praises him. We hope Brother Guangxin can show mercy and enlighten us regarding our confusion.”
Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, “It is not that I do not wish to, but I am unable to explain the Dao to you both.”
The two young disciples asked, “Why is that?”
Jiang Yuan replied, “You two disciples do not know, I am merely a small cultivator following the Bodhi Ancestor in my practice. Although I possess some magical power, it is due to my master’s teachings. I have diligently cultivated to achieve the little power I have today, but if I were to explain the Dao, I would not be sufficient. Only those with high virtue and profound understanding can speak of it. If I were to shamelessly take it upon myself to teach you, would that not harm you?”
The two young disciples said, “What Brother Yuan says is true, but we do not understand. Brother Guangxin, what is the relationship between cultivation and explaining the Dao?”
Jiang Yuan smiled and walked outside, instructing the two young disciples to follow him.
When they reached the temple door, he turned back and asked, “Can you tell me how you walked here earlier?”
The two young disciples looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.
Jiang Yuan laughed and said, “Do you understand now? Cultivation is like walking. You can learn to walk, but if I were to teach you the principles of walking, it would be difficult. It is not something that can be explained by someone who has walked for many years. The same applies to cultivation and explaining the Dao. You can learn to cultivate, but to explain the Dao, it must be someone with high virtue and profound understanding.”
The two young disciples suddenly realized and bowed, saying, “Brother Guangxin, we understand!”
Jiang Yuan then ceased to speak further.
As the sun set behind the western mountains, he was about to return to his room for quiet cultivation when he noticed the two young disciples playing in the evening light, inviting him to join them.
He did not refuse and played with them.
When evening came, he returned to his room to quietly cultivate, only thinking of achieving success in his cultivation as soon as possible.
...
Meanwhile, a mountain called ‘Egui Mountain’ lay a thousand miles away from Wanshou Mountain.
Within this mountain resided a strange creature, a black bear that had transformed into a spirit, known as the ‘Mountain God of Egui Mountain.’ It had opened a cave and gathered various demons from the surrounding areas, making it a perilous place.
On this day, within the cave, the black bear spirit heard from a small demon that a fateful opportunity had arrived.
The spirit perked up and asked, “What kind of fateful opportunity?”
The small demon knelt and said, “Great King, you do not know, but it is an incredible fateful opportunity! There are demons saying that on Wanshou Mountain, a miraculous herb known as the Grass of Rebirth exists!”
Upon hearing this, the spirit grabbed its two red copper blades and was about to strike down the small demon, cursing, “You want to harm me! Who doesn’t know that there is a Grass of Rebirth on Wanshou Mountain? That is the ‘Immortal’s Abode of Eternal Life, a place where one lives as long as the heavens!’ If I go to take the Grass of Rebirth, won’t that just lead to the Celestial Master of the cave boiling me in oil?”
The small demon, trembling in fear, replied, “Great King, spare my life! The Celestial Master has gone far away, and there is no one on Wanshou Mountain. There are wind demons saying that there are still dozens of Grass of Rebirth in the mountain!”
The spirit was startled and asked, “Is the Celestial Master really not there?”
The small demon replied, “Not there, not there! There are only three young disciples in the temple. Among those three, only one has some small magical power, while the other two are useless.”
The spirit said, “If we go up the mountain to steal the Grass of Rebirth, what will we do if the Celestial Master returns?”
The small demon said, “Great King, that Grass of Rebirth, just by smelling it, one can live for three hundred sixty years! Eating one can grant a lifespan of forty-seven thousand years! If the Great King possesses such longevity, then when you dive into the North Lu Prefecture, no matter how great the Celestial Master’s powers are, how could he find you?”
The spirit put away its two red copper blades, feeling a stirring in its heart, wanting to deceive itself, and said, “Is there really no one guarding that place?”
The small demon replied, “Just three young disciples. If the Great King uses his powers, those three young disciples can be easily dealt with. In the Five庄观, no one will stop the Great King. The Grass of Rebirth is right before us, and immortality can be obtained, immortality can be obtained!”
The spirit’s heart was moved, and it began to plot to seize the Grass of Rebirth and gain immortality.
As the saying goes, ‘The external path obscures the true nature, the Wood Mother hides the true heart.’
...
Meanwhile, in the Five庄观, half a month had passed.
Jiang Yuan and the two young disciples were guarding the temple, nurturing themselves day by day, patrolling in the afternoon to ensure that there were no disasters or difficulties within the temple.
On this day, during the night of the Hai hour, Jiang Tong’er sat cross-legged in the Dao room.
In this nurturing, his primordial spirit was in harmony with five others, gradually storing the medicinal energy of the great medicine ‘Black Essence.’ However, to completely store this medicinal energy, it would still require a considerable amount of time.
Not to mention that there were still three great medicines, and the major Zhou Tian acupoints within his body had yet to be opened.
Jiang Tong’er thought to himself, “Indeed, this is a slow grind. At this rate, it will take decades to achieve success. It is better to take it slow before the union.”
Having thought this, he got up to patrol the Five庄观.
It was the Hai hour, and by the time he finished his patrol, it would be the Zi hour.
In these days, although no demons dared to cause trouble, he could not be careless.
Jiang Yuan donned his purple robe, held a dust whisk in hand, and tied a Yu Ding around his waist.
He pushed open the door and walked outside.
He had a route in mind, starting from the ginseng fruit orchard, making a round, then patrolling the Sutra Hall, and after completing his duties, he would return to his room for quiet cultivation.
As he stepped out of the Dao room, he felt a sense of unease.
He focused his qi and opened his eyes, only to see black mist swirling around the mountain peak, indicating that demons were approaching.
Jiang Yuan said, “I have just left Ling Tai Fangcun Mountain to bid farewell to my master and have guarded this mountain for a long time without seeing a single demon. Yet today, there are demons daring to invade. I sense that this demon possesses some power.”
He stomped his foot and leaped a hundred zhang towards the outside of the Five庄观.
Before long, Jiang Tong’er landed outside the Five庄观 and headed up the mountain peak, focusing his qi to observe.
He saw three or four ruffians rushing up the mountain.
The leader of the ruffians was plump and heavy, yet moved silently, clearly a seasoned thief.
Jiang Yuan secretly observed and understood that they were here to steal ginseng fruits.
Such ruffians coming up the mountain knew that the Celestial Master had left, but they were unaware of his methods and dared to bully others.
He gripped the Yu Ding tightly, picked up the dust whisk, and leaped towards the ruffians.
After a while, he landed in front of the ruffians, startling them greatly.
They did not realize their presence had been revealed and retreated two steps.
Upon closer inspection, they saw Jiang Yuan’s celestial demeanor and felt a sense of fear.
One of them asked, “Who are you?”
Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “You ruffians, entering Wanshou Mountain, still ask me who I am?”
The black bear spirit’s momentum weakened and said, “I must have taken a wrong turn.”
Jiang Yuan pointed at the black bear spirit and said, “Who are you trying to deceive? You came up the mountain at dusk to enter the temple. What do you intend to do? Do you think I do not know? I see that your cultivation is not easy, so quickly retreat to avoid disaster.”
The black bear spirit had a mind to retreat, and Jiang Tong’er’s celestial appearance was taking shape, causing the demonic spirits to feel intimidated.
The small demon behind stepped forward and said, “Great King, this is just a young disciple. The Grass of Rebirth is right in front of us, and immortality is within reach!”
Upon hearing this, the spirit’s greed was not extinguished.
Its eyes glinted green, and its mouth was white as it drew its two red copper blades, intending to kill Jiang Yuan and enter the temple to consume the Grass of Rebirth.
Jiang Tong’er saw this and understood that he was being incited.
The desire to connect with the Wood Mother was the most taboo in cultivation.
This was a sword that harmed the body; if one acted, disaster would surely follow.
The young disciple saw the black bear spirit attacking and stepped forward to confront it, striving to protect the Five庄观 from harm.
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(End of Chapter)