On the bank of the East China Sea, Yuan Tianyi stands on a boulder.
The night was dark and moonless, but a crescent-shaped jade plate hung in the sky above Yuan Tianyi's head, quietly emitting a soft radiance, illuminating the nearby sea area for tens of miles.
The sea breeze swayed gently, rolling up white waves.
This is the place where Yuan Tianyi practiced "Space Birth and Destruction Sea Glazed Jue" sixty years ago, left Luofu, and saw the sea for the first time.
Sixty years are like a white horse passing by, like a snap of the fingers.
The legends in the world are not all true. At that time, Fairy Cangyue, Cihang Jingzhai's most outstanding and beautiful disciple for decades, was standing beside him. Fairy Cangyue extended her hand to him, but he put this bead in her palm.
At that time, Yuan Tianyi devoted himself to Taoism, and cut off his relationship with Fairy Cangyue, but when he stepped into the secret realm of heaven and man, Yuan Tianyi did not expect to have a thousand knots in his heart. I tried to untie those knots, but this knot couldn't be untied after all. Now this bead is in front of my eyes, and it can finally be released. Once this bondage is removed, maybe I can really take the last step and transcend the world, but the scenery is still the same now. When I saw this bead again, it was already like this In the hands of a young beggar. The nephrite jade is warm and fragrant, still in the mouth and nose, but the man has passed away. In Yuan Tianyi's eyes, he didn't know whether it was joy or sadness.
He stood quietly for a moment, then slowly turned to face the young man beside him, "You have heard what the man said just now in Shuzhong, I can promise you a request, as long as I can do it, I will help you." You're done."
The sea breeze was cold and damp, the young man was dressed in ragged clothes, his face was blue with cold, but Yuan Tianyi used magic to sweep him from Sichuan to the East China Sea thousands of miles away, during the time Yuan Tianyi was standing still, the young man did not say a word. Hey, seeing Yuan Tianyi asked him straight in the eye, he replied: "Can you accept me as an apprentice?"
"Accept you as an apprentice?" Yuan Tianyi glanced at the young man, "Money, fame and fortune, even if you want gold and silver to fill a house, rich as an enemy, I can help you do it, you really don't want anything else, to be my apprentice?"
"Yes." The boy nodded.
Yuan Tianyi didn't say a word, the young man suddenly saw a silver light flash in his eyes, and immediately felt a fiery air blast directly in his heavenly spirit, and there was a sudden change in front of him, instead of standing on the huge rock by the sea, but He fell into a volcanic crater in the air, and the bottom was full of hot and fiery lava. As soon as he fell into the magma, the boy's flesh and blood were scorched and festered, and his scalp was so painful that it seemed to explode. He couldn't help but want to let out a terrifying cry At that time, he couldn't cry out, and hot magma poured into his mouth and nose, burning all inside. But it didn't die, the flesh had just been scorched and festered, and tender skin was born again, and the cycle went on and on, with constant pain and suffering.
"You see that none of them are my opponents and envy my supernatural powers, so you want to be my disciple? But do you know that cultivating the Tao is like picking chestnuts out of the fire, cultivating my Luofu secret method, physical and mental, all without experiencing endless pain and suffering." Yuan Tianyi's faint voice suddenly fell from the sky. When the sound disappeared, the boy realized that he was still standing on the boulder by the sea, but the painful feeling of scorched and festered flesh seemed to still stay in his body, and the bean-sized beads of sweat immediately drenched his whole body.
"Like today, it's just a little pain. When you really cultivate, you will suffer and see horrors hundreds of times and thousands of times more than this. I, Luofu, are different in preaching. You are sure, don't do anything else. , want to be my apprentice?" Yuan Tianyi said with a slight displeasure, shaking his sleeves when he saw that the young man was in extreme pain and couldn't help panting for breath.
Yuan Tianyi only felt that if he said this, the young beggar would definitely change his mind. But to his surprise, the boy who was hunched over because of the pain looked even thinner in the sea breeze, but his face showed a firmness that had never been seen before. After nodding vigorously, the boy who bit his lip with He replied with a burning hoarse accent, "I'm not afraid."
Yuan Tianyi looked at the young man indifferently, "I can agree to accept you as an apprentice, but according to the rules of my Luofu sect, if you want to enter my Luofu, you must pass the entry test. I can't favoritism about this. If you fail, then You can’t make any other requests, have you thought about it clearly?”
The hunched young man nodded vigorously again.
Yuan Tianyi frowned slightly, this was obviously an ordinary mountain boy, but the more he looked at it now, the more he felt that this skinny boy was different. A pair of clean eyes shone with fiery light, which was different from the fear and numbness of ordinary beggars.
Could this be the cause and effect in the world that I still can't find out
Yuan Tianyi looked again at the blue-glowing bead in his hand, and when he looked up again, the brilliance of the crescent-shaped jade plate that had been hanging over Yuan Tianyi and his head disappeared silently.
A white and bluish brilliance rose from the bank of the East China Sea and headed south at a speed ten times faster than the sword lights of Shushan.
"Blessed by the gods!" On the distant sea, on the fishing boats that got up early to fish in the dark, several fishermen looked at the white and bluish brilliance, and all bowed down in fear.
***
Yuan Tianyi took the boy to a high mountain valley.
Are you going to take an entry test here? Yuan Tianyi didn't say anything, and the young man didn't dare to ask. And in front of this is a strange scene, a deep blue mirror-like alpine lake, surrounded by mountains and jungles, with unknown shrubs and flowers growing all over the shore, many of which are hung with berries of various colors. But it was April, when the spring was warm and the flowers were blooming, there were pieces of white ice floes floating on the surface of the lake. When the young man looked carefully, he saw that under the deep blue lake bottom, there were pieces of transparent ice floes floating continuously. out.
Yuan Tianyi, who was barefoot, walked to the edge of the lake, and the bead fell from his hand into the lake.
This bead, which makes most of the ascetics in the world lose their Dao heart and go crazy for it, was just thrown by Yuan Tianyi into the dark blue lake where thin ice flakes would emerge from the bottom of the lake.
The bead fell into the water, but it did not sink. It was rippling with the waves, and suddenly burst from it like a cocoon. The young man was surprised to see that a sapling quickly grew out and floated on the water. The branches and leaves were transparent, like ice flakes It was as crystal clear, "What is this?" The young man couldn't restrain his nature and couldn't help asking.
As soon as the words came out, the young man felt uneasy. The group of people like Hetu and Lieyang Daoist were like ants in front of Yuan Tianyi, but in his eyes, Yuan Tianyi was the real god. Asking, I naturally understand it as an offense.
But Yuan Tianyi downplayed it, "This is Jingtu, which blooms for a hundred years and bears fruit for a thousand years. After it bears fruit, it will wither and die. This succulent bead is the seed it produces."
"Isn't there always been only this one plant? Isn't it very lonely?" the boy said.
"Lonely?" Yuan Tianyi was startled. Immediately after seeing the small but vigorous Jingtu plant floating on the lake, he said in his heart, "Ignorant young man, what do you know? There is nothing in this world that is not lonely."
This is a mountain range with a warm climate, sufficient moisture, and dense trees. It is quietly dormant in the deserted barrenness.
With the speed of Yuan Tianyi's flying in the sky, when he set off from the East China Sea, it was only late at night, but when he arrived in this valley, the sun was already rising. Out of the valley, the young man saw thick mist of various colors rising from the mountains, and suddenly saw a few colorful poisonous snakes entangled on the branches. Although they were several feet away from the original sky, those poisonous snakes He had already avoided everything, but the sight of poisonous snakes and insects everywhere, and the desolate scene made the young man couldn't help but ask, "What kind of place is this?"
Yuan Tianyi stood under a straight mountain, looked at the desolate mountains shrouded in moisture with his hands behind his back, and said slowly, "This is where Luofu is."
The young man didn't know if Luo Fuzong's cave was like the fairy cave in the legend, filled with celestial energy and rich liquid, but at least the poor mountains and rivers he saw before his eyes were far from those fairy caves in the legend. The morning sun dyed a layer of golden light on his and Yuan Tianyi's faces. The straight mountain behind him and Yuan Tianyi has a heart-stopping steepness. The white rain and fog shrouded it, and it was impossible to see how high it was. There are no roads or steps on the mountain, only an old black iron chain hanging from the top.
"Three miles to the south from here, there is a hut where the local Miao Yi live in the wild. The Miao Yi people are simple and honest, and there is food and water in it. If there are people passing by for a while, they only need to replenish food and fill up the water when they leave. You haven't spent the night. Sleeping, the body is also weak, you can go there to rest first." Yuan Tianyi has always been like the ice floes in the floating ice lake to the boy, quiet and cold, suddenly said so many words at this time, the boy was a little dazed, but But I heard Yuan Tianyi pointing at the straight mountain behind him, "This peak is nameless, but my Luofu Sect is on top of this mountain. If you can reach the top of the mountain, you will be considered as my disciple of Luofu. If you can't, then Go out of the mountain by yourself."
Yuan Tianyi's words were cold and decisive, without any room for turning around. The young man looked at the dreadful steepness and the iron chain hanging down in the clouds, but he didn't say anything more. After saluting Yuan Tianyi, he broke a branch by himself, pushed aside the bushes and grass, Walking towards the cabin where Yuan Tianyi said Miao Yi stayed, he quickly disappeared into the dense rainforest.
"Master", the boy's figure had just disappeared into the woods, and an old figure appeared behind Yuan Tianyi. His gray hair was loose and messy, and the wrinkles on his face were like hills and ravines, but the most striking thing was Two deep scars on the left cheek. The old man wears the local Miao Yi costume, and the batik blue cloth has a smoky color. It is the most normal situation for such an old man to sit quietly in the stilted building of the Miao Yi cottage, smoking a hookah with dim eyes. But now this old man standing beside Yuan Tianyi respectfully
The eyeballs were the same color as the rising sun, shining with a light that did not match his age. Looking at the direction in which the young man disappeared, the old man said softly: "Master, this young man is resolute and patient, and has good aptitude. He seems to be a real talent."
"Really? Old Zhaonan, you haven't entered the world for a long time. You don't know that the world is full of wars and starvation everywhere. This young man's eyes are full of unwillingness and anger, not resentful of his own fate, and he has a courage to support him out of thin air." Yuan Tian Yi looked at the old man coldly, "If you talk about temperament and aptitude, Lao Zhaonan, you should also know the truth of seeing people's hearts over time."
***
Several log cabins are located on top of the hill. These wooden houses are all built with logs from the mountains, and they look very simple. The mountain is extremely high, as high as thousands of feet, piercing through the thick clouds and mist. Looking from the top of the mountain, one can only see the peaks of the mountains sticking out of the sea of clouds.
Lao Zhaonan lit the Jiajia in a black iron pot with his back facing Lielie Shanfeng, and then put the burnt ashes into the Huangzhong rhythm tube. The focused expression seemed to be polishing a fine piece of porcelain.
"Cathode yang is born, it depends on climate change, why bother?" Looking at Lao Zhaonan seriously watching the reed ash flying in the yellow bell tube, a volume of "Jinding Qiyuan" that makes many monks envious and heartbeat The Jinsi brocade was casually thrown on the wooden table beside him.
Lao Zhaonan raised his head and looked at Yuan Tianyi, who was barefoot and looked like he was not a man in the world, and smiled, "This can pass some time. Master, there should be a heavy rain in three days' time?"
Yuan Tianyi didn't answer, looked at a sharpened ax and some chopped firewood scattered in another place, and asked thoughtfully: "Old Zhaonan, how long have we not used fireworks?"
Lao Zhaonan scratched his hair, "Three years? Or five years? It's too long, I don't know."
"Yeah, it's been too long, and you already have to do these things to pass the time." Yuan Tianyi looked at Lao Zhaonan and said, "I devote myself to the Tao, hoping to understand the mysteries of all beings. For sixty years, you know that I see What's up?"
"Master completed the Liuli Jue of Emerging in Space and Destroying the Sea sixty years ago. This old slave is dull, how can he see what Master sees." Lao Zhaonan shook his head.
"The weak eat the strong, this is the law of nature, and the way of heaven works." Yuan Tianyi said solemnly: "You have no intention of harming others, but others have the intention of harming you. If you don't kill people, people will kill you."
"What the master said is true. It's just that I'm old enough." Lao Zhaonan's eyes were filled with optimism, "The master is here, I am here, and the master is gone. What is the limit of life and death?"
"Do you think he can really climb up?" Yuan Tianyi turned his head away and said nothing more. His slender fingers, which would make any woman in the world jealous and mad, flicked out a mysterious formula in an instant, and traces of white clouds dispersed and turned into A beam splitter with more than eight feet, the scenery from the bottom of the mountain to the mountainside clearly appears on the beam splitter. It is said that only an ascetic at the level of an earth immortal can cast a tyrannical spell that can deflect most of the attacks of immortal spells, but it is only used by him as a spying mirror. Most ascetics will definitely be shocked when they see this practice I feel that he is like a nouveau riche reckless, but this kind of spell that requires a lot of energy doesn't seem to have any effect on him at all.
Lao Zhaonan rubbed his rough hands. He saw that the thin boy was struggling to climb up the iron chain. The iron chain and the surrounding branches had scraped scars on his palms and body. He was still climbing up with all his strength, but for a child of twelve or thirteen years old, the mountain was too steep and high. After climbing less than a quarter of the way, he was finally exhausted and slowly slid down.
"It seems that I can't climb up." Lao Zhaonan never doubted Yuan Tianyi's words, but after saying this sentence respectfully, the old man with a Miao-Yi accent grinned: "But master, when I saw him, I think he's a little bit different."
No matter how Lao Zhaonan thinks that the boy is different from others, there is no record in any of the Luofu sect's classics that because of someone's appreciation, he climbed to the sky and got something for nothing. What Lao Zhaonan did the next day was still like a dead person sitting still for a long time, and then began to move out a stone mortar that had not been used for a long time, and began to pound millet slowly like a real old man in his dying years , quietly watching the hunting mountain wind blow away the golden chaff from the stone mortar.
At noon three days later, the first thing Lao Zhaonan did after waking up from sitting upright like a dead man was to grin. On the platform in front of him stood Yuan Tianyi who seemed to be one with the heaven and the earth. At this moment, the spectroscope that needs to consume a lot of energy quietly floats in the air in front of Yuan Tianyi.
"This kid is not stupid." Old Zhao Nan's golden eyes shone brightly. Just like three days ago, the boy was still trying to climb up. He had more scars on his body, but his hands and waist were tied with ropes made of strips of cloth. When he was exhausted, he would Tie the rope to the iron chain, like Lao Zhaonan hanging bacon two days ago, hang himself on the iron chain to rest for a while. In the past, the boy never exceeded a quarter of his height, but today the boy is already approaching the mountainside.
"It took so many days to come up with such a method, isn't it stupid?" Yuan Tianyi said disapprovingly, "What's more, you can climb up like this?"
Lao Zhaonan didn't speak, but squinted his eyes and turned to look at the four-cornered bronze wind chime that he hung on the wooden house. Now these wind chimes jingle and jingle, and there are pleasant sounds, and a rainstorm that often occurs in the Luofu Mountains has officially kicked off.