"The Tao can be Tao, but it is not the Tao. The name can be named, but it is not the name. The beginning of the nameless heaven and earth, the name of the mother of all things... The reason why the heaven and the earth can be long and long-lasting is because it does not generate itself, so it can live forever... . ….The most good thing is like water. Water is good and benefits all things without fighting. It is what everyone hates. Therefore, it is close to the Tao, lives in a good place, has a good heart and a good benevolence, speaks good faith, governs righteously and well, does good things and can do good things at the right time... ...."
It has been two months since Jiang Chen completely refined the mandrill inner elixir. It was late autumn again. In the Kunlun Courtyard, he was reciting Taoist classics loudly while flipping the broom in his hand to sweep away the fallen leaves on the ground. Red butterflies fluttered all over the courtyard in conjunction with the sound of wind chimes on the eaves in front of the palace.
In the past two months, in addition to working hard to practice martial arts, he has been practicing Taoism and comprehending the mysteries of heaven and earth. Seeking immortality and seeking the Tao is an extremely mysterious and wonderful thing. Although the Tao is invisible, as long as you are willing to go deep into it and find its secrets, you will be like a fish in water. The more you chew, the more profound and unique it becomes. Understand, simply enjoy it.
Or you can breathe and practice Qi on the roof in the early morning; or you can sit by the mountain stream and listen to the sound of the water; or you can go up to the roof at night and close your eyes to the moonlight to concentrate. The heaven and earth have been washed with fine nectar, refreshing and joyful.
"What a nameless mother of all things, what a supreme good as water!" At the door, someone suddenly clapped their hands in appreciation, and then, I saw a person clapping his hands and stepping across the doorway to come in.
Jiang Chen didn't look back, and knew that the visitor was Wang Yi, a scholar who lived in Qianshan. The two had known each other for more than a year, and he knew that Wang Yi was a man with talents and academic ambitions. Although the Wang family was rich, he could bear to be in the mountains. He studied hard behind closed doors in his study, and even though he had a lovely wife at home, he never slacked off. Not only did he have outstanding talents and learning, but he also had a cheerful personality. Therefore, since they met, they had a very congenial conversation and they often communicated with each other.
In Jiang Chen's eyes, the scholar named Wang Yi was a typical scholar. He devoted himself to studying the books of sages and sages, burning the midnight oil and reading the scriptures, just to be named on the gold list and become famous all over the world!
Perhaps, when every scholar first enters the officialdom, he is full of passion and ambition, wanting to serve the country and benefit the people. However, only after they saw more and experienced more could they understand the darkness of officialdom. If you can't follow the trend and can't stand firm, you can only retreat sadly.
However, regardless of whether he is a person from outside the country or a visitor from outside the world, although Jiang Chen understands this, he has no intention of ordering Wang Yi. He does not raise his head and just smiles casually: "Young Master Wang came very early today. Is there something wrong?" matter?"
"There is indeed something, and it is a huge matter concerning human life." Wang Yi's face was full of a teasing smile: "It seems that you have forgotten, Dao Zhiqiu, today is the beginning of the month, and I specially came to invite you to come with me. Go down the mountain to the market to buy rice and grain, lest you go to the Taoist temple and starve to death in the Taoist temple."
Hearing this, Jiang Chen couldn't help but be startled, thinking that the rice grain in the Taoist temple had indeed been almost consumed, he immediately responded with a smile: "This is true, Taoist cultivators have not yet become immortals after all. If I'm hungry for ten days and a half, I'm afraid I'll have to become a ghost and immortal." At that moment, he returned to the house, changed into black, locked the doors and windows, and walked with Wang Yi down the mountain. .
Along the way, the two chatted and laughed. After a while, they walked through a winding path, turned a corner, and saw several wooden houses in front of them, which was Wang Yi's study.
When the two of them passed by the study, suddenly, the study door opened from the inside, and a voluptuous woman came out and shouted to Wang Yi: "Sir, please be careful along the way, I will prepare a meal at home waiting for you." This woman was very beautiful, with a charming face, and a pair of charming eyes that seemed to be swooning around Jiang Chen.
When Jiang Chen saw her, his heart skipped a beat for no reason. He quickly lowered his head and walked quickly, exclaiming in his heart: "This woman... there is such a stunning beauty in the world, she is so beautiful... She is so beautiful that it is abnormal, isn't it?" He had no reason in his heart. He felt like he was being looked at by that woman, and suddenly felt uncomfortable all over his body. Even he, a dignified Yang Shen monk, felt as if he was being targeted by a bloodthirsty tiger. His heart was chilling, and he just wanted to get away quickly. go.
"Taoist Zhiqiu, Taoist Zhiqiu, wait for me... Ouch!" Wang Yi was talking to the woman, but when he saw Jiang Chen suddenly speeding up his pace, he was startled and confused, and hurriedly shouted and was struggling behind him. Chase, but after all, he is just a weak scholar. The mountain road is rugged, so he can't walk too fast. As a result, he accidentally falls to the ground and gnaws on the mud.
Only then did Jiang Chen come back to his senses, and quickly stopped walking and turned back to help him. Wang Yi grinned in pain and couldn't help complaining: "Master Zhiqiu, why are you walking so fast? It seems like there is a ghost chasing you behind you. Same."
ghost? What's a ghost? Master Tao himself also raises a female ghost! There is nothing to fear about nature. But if it were a monster with more than five hundred years of practice, it would be terrible! Even if Jiang Chen has a devilish heart and kills without calculation, he will naturally feel fear when encountering a fatal threat. At this moment, Jiang Chen felt a little creepy. He hurriedly looked back and found that they had already reached the mountain. Outside, when he got to the official road, he wiped his sweat and asked quickly: "Master Wang, what happened to the woman in your study? I have never heard you mention that your wife also moved to the study."
Wang Yi chuckled: "Her name is Yunrou, not my wife Chen."
"What about you?" Hearing these words, Jiang Chen became more sure of his guess, and his words were already a bit restless.
Wang Yiqie's face was so excited that he even forgot about the pain in his body. He responded with great pride: "Speaking of it, this is my fate. When I came to the study two months ago, I bumped into someone at the foot of the mountain and passed out on the ground. Yunrou, I heard from her that she was originally a young lady from Zhezhou. Due to a disaster at home, her whole family was robbed. She finally escaped and ended up living here. I saw her homeless and pitiful, so I took her in. she!"
Hearing this, Jiang Chen's heart brightened. This encounter was basically the same as the one when he met Dong Xiaoyu. There was nothing he didn't understand. At that moment, he let out a cold snort, with a hint of amusement. Shao asked: "Is it as simple as just taking her in?"
"This..." Wang Yi suddenly felt a little embarrassed when he heard Jiang Chen's question. After all, he was a scholar, so he still understood etiquette, justice and integrity, but there was obviously a long way to go before he understood and followed it. With a blushing face, he hesitated and replied: "Miss Yunrou and I fell in love at first sight. After getting along for a few days, our feelings gradually deepened, so we couldn't help but do some things that turned our clothes upside down... "
"Alas." Jiang Chen sighed pitifully, looking at Wang Yi as if he were looking at a dead person: "Then... do you think there is anything wrong with your girl Yun Rou?"
"What's wrong?" Wang Yi laughed: "I said that you, Taoist Master Zhiqiu, are a little too worried. Yunrou is virtuous, kind and gentle, and the food she cooks is very delicious. By the way, go back to the mountain. Later, you come to my place for dinner, just in time for you to taste her craftsmanship."
What rice? I'm going to eat at your place, what a joke! Jiang Chen is not Wang Yi, a nerd who knows nothing. The other person just looked at him and his blood boiled. From this, he can see that the other person is obviously not a mortal, at least he is a person with more than five hundred years of practice. The monster, no matter how bad it is, is still a ghost king or something, but it is much more powerful than the female ghost Dong Xiaoyu raised by himself. Fourth, only a master in the Yang Shen Dacheng realm like an old Taoist priest can be sure to surrender to such monsters, but he was But I didn't feel confident at all.
Thinking of this, he quickly waved his hand and declined: "It's inconvenient. Prince, you still have to study hard. It's really inconvenient for me to go and disturb you..."
"Why is it inconvenient? You don't have to study for a while, so you are disturbed." Wang Yi said with a smile: "Moreover, when I went up the mountain to find you, Yunrou told me that the mountains and fields are barren, and I and Zhizhi The two of you, Qiu Daochang, live in isolation, so they should interact frequently and take care of each other. Just now, she told me that we just met in a hurry and didn't have time to give you a gift, so she asked you to come to my study in the evening so that she could apologize in person."
apologize? It's not enough to pay for your life... Jiang Chen broke out in cold sweat, but he didn't say what he really thought. After all, if there was no evidence, how could Wang Yi believe him
While talking, the two continued on their way, but Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel a little worried at the moment. Recalling the feeling when he saw Yun Rou just now, he already knew that the other party was definitely not a kind person. This was a world where monsters were rampant, and those monsters and evil cultivators , they tend to eat human flesh and blood to increase their spiritual practice, so he and Wang Yi have obviously become flesh and blood in each other's eyes. The previous Zhiqiu Yiye had never experienced this calamity, because he had never made friends with Wang Yi, and he could not even refine the mandrill inner elixir. He only used his rudimentary alchemy skills to refine it into a few bad ones. Such low-level elixirs can elevate one's cultivation to the realm of Yin Shen Dacheng.
Therefore, when Jiang Chen replaced Zhiqiu Yiye, refined the mandrill inner elixir, and befriended the scholar Wang Yi, his destiny had deviated from the original track and entered another brand new track.
"How can this happen?" He hesitated, but suddenly thought that even though Yun Rou was powerful, she shouldn't be much more powerful, otherwise there would be no need to disguise herself as a beauty and sacrifice her looks to seduce Wang Yi. In the face of mortals, those monsters with advanced cultivation are usually easy to catch and devour directly, so there is no need to go to such trouble.
"Is it because he was injured? Or has some defect?" Jiang Chen's eyes suddenly lit up, thinking that with his own ability, even if he couldn't subdue the opponent, he should still be able to protect himself. If Wang Yi watched helplessly, This friend whom he still had some friendship with was killed, which was absolutely not his wish.
Thinking wildly along the way, he unknowingly arrived at the small town of Yuncheng. It was a clear day and the beginning of the month was a good day to go to the market. The streets were full of pedestrians. Jiang Chen was suddenly awakened by the lively noises around him. He raised his head blankly, his mind still fluctuating...