It was on the Yanxia Peak of Yunshan Mountain, in the ordinary Yunshan Temple, in front of a broken table in a kitchen that could definitely be considered simple, facing a table full of messy cups and plates, that Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou chatted about the future of Yunshan Temple and possibly even the orthodox Taoist sect.
In this special atmosphere with spiritual energy surrounding the falling starlight, two whole days had passed without anyone noticing.
The temperature was still quite high, but the plates on the table didn't even have any peculiar smell.
After sorting out the things in a not very systematic way, Ji Yuan took out the gift for Qin Zizhou, took out several books from his sleeve and placed them on the table. In addition to the two books written by Ji Yuan himself, there were "The Biography of the Outer Dao" and "The Strategy of Tongming" which he had treasured until now.
Qin Zizhou picked up each book and flipped through it. From his expression, Ji Yuan knew that he could see the Heavenly Book naturally. However, this was also expected. After all, he had a Divine Yang Body, and even if his cultivation was still very low, his essence was there.
As for the two books written by Ji Yuan himself, they record some basic techniques and methods, including sleight of hand, magic to charm the gods, and basic methods of controlling wind, water, thunder and fire, but they all reflect Ji Yuan’s understanding, and are definitely not ordinary stuff.
"When Lord Qin has time, he can read more of "The Biography of the Outer Dao" and "The Strategies of the Broad Light". Both books contain my notes and supplements, which will help you understand more about the world of cultivation. As for the other two books, they are mainly for the Taoists of Yunshan Temple to practice and try their hand at cultivation. For Lord Qin, they are just minor techniques. When he improves his way of wandering in the world in the future, his magical powers will surely be even more extraordinary."
Qin Zizhou put the book away in his arms and bowed to Ji Yuan again.
"Then Qin will keep it!"
After Ji Yuan nodded, they both looked at Qi Xuan and Qi Wen at the same time. After these two days, the two Taoists from Yunshan Temple should have almost woken up from their initial practice.
Sure enough, not long after, it was dawn again. When the morning light illuminated Yunshan Temple, the two Taoists Qingsong and Qingyuan opened their eyes naturally.
Looking at the dishes on the table and then looking around, Taoist Qingsong felt a little dazed.
"It's already daybreak!"
Ji Yuan felt that these words were familiar, but he did not point out the fact that two days had already passed.
"Master and I just sat there and slept all night?"
Qi Wen was a little surprised that he had sat on the stool all night with his back straight and did not feel any back pain. However, this surprise was soon replaced by a stronger sense of excitement.
Although he is in his thirties, Qi Wen still retains his childlike innocence and vitality.
"Master, Mr. Ji, Grandpa Qin, I saw a vision during my practice. I saw mountain streams, waterfalls, and clear pools of clear water, reflecting the sky, the stars shining brightly, and there was starlight casting down, and a spiritual breeze blowing gently. It felt wonderful!"
Qi Xuan also shared his feelings.
"I also saw a strange vision. I saw a peak of green and vigorous mountains spreading in the wind, and the stars in the sky shining and falling! Mr. Ji, does this mean that Qi Wen and I are both extremely talented?"
Ji Yuan thought for a moment and replied.
"Of course I have talent, but this kind of vision is an illusion that many practitioners will see when they first guide the Qi into their bodies. They won't see it next time. Only when they have cultivated to the point where they need to open a furnace and build a golden bridge can they regain the artistic conception. According to the theory of ordinary immortal cultivators, this illusion is usually best in the form of a single pure scene, such as a blazing fire or a flood. It's just that the Yunshan Temple's cultivation is special, so it's normal to use the reflection of stars as the best scene."
"Oh I got it… "
Upon hearing that it was an initial illusion that "everyone has", Qi Xuan and Qi Wen's excitement eased a little, but they were still very excited. They began to carefully feel the flow of spiritual energy in their bodies, and kept asking Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou questions in this regard.
By noon, all the questions that Qi Xuan and Qi Wen could think of had been answered. As for the others, they did not aim too high, knowing that they needed to practice slowly.
The two biggest hurdles in cultivating immortals are: the first is to sense the spiritual energy and guide it into the body, and the second is to internalize yin and yang in the small world to form a furnace for elixirs.
The reason why Ji Yuan was able to accomplish the task in one go was because he was extremely special. He did not need to go through the difficult process of visualizing the five elements, visualizing and stabilizing a piece of artistic conception that could accommodate the alchemy furnace, and connecting the five elements to transform yin and yang before trying to condense the alchemy furnace.
Even though Qi Xuan and Qi Wen have the magic method of creating the world, it is ultimately limited in its specialness. The difficulty of guiding the Qi into the body in the first step lies in the screening of talents, and the second step has to be honed slowly.
Wei Yuansheng's talent was not bad, but it still took him several years to form the alchemy furnace, build the golden bridge, and open up the elixir field. Only after consolidating it could he go down the mountain to see his mother. Qi Xuan and Qi Wen had so many years of Taoist visualization skills, so they might be faster, but their progress was definitely limited.
After Qi Xuan and Qi Wen's excitement passed, Ji Yuan stood up and was about to say goodbye.
When Qi Xuan heard that Ji Yuan was leaving, he became anxious.
"Mr. Ji, are you leaving now? You've only been here for a day, and I haven't treated you well yet. It would be better if you could stay for a year or two like before. You, your kindness in teaching me the Dharma... Can I ask you to..."
When it comes to spreading the Dharma at Yunshan Temple, Ji Yuan ultimately played the lion's share, with Qin Zizhou merely assisting from the side.
Qi Xuan was a little incoherent, and Ji Yuan quickly raised his hand to stop him.
"It's good that you have the intention. I will come back after I perfect the Wonderful Law of Heaven and Earth. Now I have to find those "words". Although I have passed on the law to Yunshan Temple, passing on the law does not necessarily require the master to succeed. You and I are friends of the same generation, so there is no need to go through such formalities."
Having said this, Ji Yuan smiled and looked at Qi Wen.
"And the Taoist priest's only disciple is Ji Mouyao. Are you willing to let him go? We can just keep everything as usual! As for the issue of cultivation, Mr. Qin will stay here."
Taoist Qingsong scratched his head and could only smile and agree.
"Everything remains the same, everything remains the same!"
The good thing about the two Taoists in Yunshan Temple is that they are very free and easy. After Ji Yuan explained it clearly, they no longer dwelled on this issue.
Qi Xuan and Qi Wen, together with Qin Zizhou, saw Ji Yuan off to the gate of the Taoist temple. After saying thousands of words to Ji Yuan, which morphed into "take care and see you later", Ji Yuan flew away in the direction of the previous hexagram.
As soon as Ji Yuan's figure disappeared in the sky, Qin Zizhou found that Qi Xuan quickly rushed back to the Taoist temple, and there was a voice coming.
"Qi Wen, quickly take out the few volumes of Tan Xuan that I treasured!"
"Ah? Oh oh, I'll go look for it!"
The master and his disciple entered the temple one after the other. One prepared writing brushes, ink and other items, while the other went to the room to rummage through the drawers and found two rolls of rice paper with scrolls.
Qin Zizhou was watching in the temple, not sure what the master and disciple were doing, or what Qi Xuan was doing, but he didn't ask. He was there anyway, so he would know.
As a result, Qi Xuan spread out a table in the main hall of the Taoist temple and prepared his writing brush and ink. For three whole days, he did not drink a drop of water or eat a grain of food. Even at night, he kept writing by candlelight. After three days, he lost a lot of weight and had two panda eyes, but he accomplished what he had to do in one go.
In the second half of the night on the third day, Taoist Qingsong laughed heartily as he looked at the paper rolls on the table in the Yunshan Star Observatory's main hall.
“Hahahahahaha… I did it, I did it, I didn’t expect that I could draw it, I really drew it!”
Qi Xuan's spirit was radiant at this moment. Qi Wen and Qin Zizhou, who heard the noise, also rushed over. In addition to seeing Qi Xuan excitedly picking up the pen, they also saw the two paintings on the table.
These are two standing portraits. One shows Qin Zizhou, a man with white eyebrows and beard, stroking his beard with a kind face. The other shows Ji Yuan, wearing a wide-sleeved long robe and with indifferent eyes, standing with his hands behind his back.
"I have tried before, but when I wanted to recall Mr. Ji's face, the details were always blurry, not to mention painting it. Today I finally managed to draw it!"
"Wow, Master, you are so amazing. The painting is so realistic. It looks like Grandpa Qin and Mr. Ji have walked into the painting. Grandpa Qin, please come and take a look!"
Qi Wen clapped and cheered on the sidelines, looking left and right with excitement.
Qin Zizhou looked at himself and Ji Yuan who were speaking, stroked his beard and exclaimed in admiration.
"I didn't expect that Taoist Qingsong's painting skills are so amazing!"
"Hehe, thank you so much, thank you so much, this is the only time, I can't do it again! Oh, there's still one more thing."
After Qi Xuan finished speaking, he concentrated and held his breath, and carefully wrote the words "Qin" and "Ji" on each of the two paintings before he really put his pen to paper.
"Mr. Qin, you and Mr. Ji are the founders of Yunshan Temple. Qi Xuan and I may not use this title, but the younger generations of Yunshan Temple must not forget the basics!"
"Haha, whatever you want. Mr. Ji has no right to interfere with you in this matter."
Qin Zizhou was quite free and easy. Seeing Taoist Qingsong's serious expression, he did not refute. He didn't care anyway. Moreover, when the right time came for the gods to travel around the world of cultivation, Yunshan Temple and even more places would have offered sacrifices to them. As for Ji Yuan, Qin Zizhou would not be in charge of him.
In the sky northwest of Yunshan Temple, Ji Yuan, who was walking quickly on the clouds, felt something in his heart. After counting with his fingers, he looked back in the direction of Yunshan Temple.
"The painting is amazing, but the calligraphy is a bit ugly..."
With this sigh, Ji Yuan tacitly agreed to Taoist Qingsong's behavior. As for Qi Xuan's handwriting, although it was far inferior to Ji Yuan's, it was also neat.
. . .
The northwestern border of Zuyue State borders Tingliang State. However, because of its long-term hostility with Dazhen, in order to avoid being attacked from both sides, Zuyue State's national policy towards Tingliang State has always been extremely gentle.
When Ji Yuan flew over this place, he took out the scroll of "Sword Intent Letter" and calculated frequently, and then kept correcting the direction of flight.
Not long after crossing the Zuyue border, they arrived at Moyuan County, the famous ink-producing town of Tingliang State. When they arrived here, Ji Yuan's speed slowed down, and he fell from the clouds not long after entering Moyuan County.
There are many steep mountains around, but compared with the many famous mountains Ji Yuan had seen before, they are obviously not as lush. The barren high mountains are mostly covered with local pine trees, while the lower areas are mostly tung tree and lacquer tree, which are also important raw materials for ink sticks.
After walking around for a while, Ji Yuan neither went to Moyuan County nor entered any villages. He walked in one direction with great purpose. The faint scent of ink wafted through the air, indicating that there should be an ink workshop in the distance.
After walking for a while, when they reached a small river, a hunchbacked old man who could be seen clearly by Ji Yuan suddenly flashed in the blurry vision. He was leaning on a crutch and looking around by the river, and even used the crutch to support himself to climb up and look into the distance.
The old man obviously saw Ji Yuan as well, but he just glanced at him and pretended he didn't exist. He continued to do his own thing and then walked quickly upstream.
Ji Yuan's eyes flashed and he looked thoughtful.
'Our own land? What are you doing?'