Chapter 40

In the midst of the enthusiastic martial arts practice within the temple, the eldest and third senior brothers, after the morning chanting, established "morning exercises," where they practiced martial arts together. This, like the morning and evening chanting, became a daily routine that everyone in the temple had to follow.

With a large family of over sixty people, including the fire workers, they lined up neatly and practiced martial arts together. They first practiced the "Yǎngqì Peiyuán Gōng" (Cultivating Qi and Nurturing Essence Technique) adapted by the Grandmaster Língxū, and then practiced the "Qīngyún Thirty-Six Sword Techniques" improved by Qīngxuán.

Since the temple had no other internal cultivation techniques besides the "Kūnwú Yuányù Gōng" (Kunwu Primordial Jade Technique), and the characteristics of the "Kūnwú Yuányù Gōng" were too distinctive, it could not be directly taught to ordinary disciples to prevent leaks of identity.

Moreover, the "Kūnwú Yuányù Gōng" was the early stage of the "Tàiyǐ Xuányuán Níngyù Gōng" (Taiyi Mystic Primordial Jade Technique), which was the signature skill of the "Kunwu Mountain" sect. How could it be easily taught to ordinary disciples?

Therefore, the disciples in the temple had always practiced the basic Daoist internal cultivation technique, the "Peiyuán Gōng" (Nurturing Essence Technique), and their progress had been slow. After Língxū received inspiration from Qīngxuán and modified the "Yǎngqì Peiyuán Gōng," the disciples' internal cultivation finally showed some improvement, and they finally experienced the extraordinary power of internal energy.

Many disciples successfully broke through and developed a sense of qi, becoming true martial artists.

With this change, the Qīngyún Temple began to shed its image as a common folk temple and gradually developed into a formal major sect.

It was quite normal for the disciples not to see the "old immortal" for a long time. Even in the early years, the founder often secluded himself to practice martial arts, and the internal and external affairs of the temple were managed by the eldest disciple Qīngzhèng and the third disciple Qīngsōng.

After seeing Qīngxuán practice the "Yǎngqì Peiyuán Gōng" using Tai Chi, Língxū was greatly inspired and had been in seclusion ever since. Besides researching the new technique, it seemed that his previously stagnant cultivation level had also shown signs of improvement.

Língxū was a martial arts enthusiast and a martial arts genius. Otherwise, he would not have become one of the highest-level direct disciples of the Kunwu Sect at the age of twenty, nor would he have learned the first two levels of the "Tàiyǐ Xuányuán Níngyù Gōng."

The old Daoist master diligently practiced and remained in seclusion.

Given the current momentum, he would not easily come out of seclusion until the sect's grand competition.

The changes in the Qīngyún Temple were comprehensive, from top to bottom. At this time, as the most diligent disciple in the history of the Qīngyún Temple, the young Daoist Qīngxuán was diligently practicing and did not realize the profound significance of the changes in the Qīngyún Temple.

After several dozen days, time passed quickly.

The Qīngyún Temple was surrounded by green mountains, and willows swayed in front of the gate.

It was early summer, and another morning arrived.

The gate of the Qīngyún Temple creaked open, and two sleepy young Daoist boys dragged brooms out of the gate. One was tall and sturdy with a thick beard, his face slightly swollen and bandaged. The other was much shorter, with a fair complexion and delicate features, but he squinted as if he had trouble seeing clearly.

The tall, bearded one was Mǎ Yúnyǒng. After the previous battle, he was severely injured. He had only just recovered a bit and was eager to get out and do something.

The morning air was fresh.

Mǎ Yúnyǒng yawned widely, stretched, and felt some pain in his waist and abdomen, but it was no longer a big issue.

Damn, lying in bed for over a month, my bones were almost rusted. But that fight was really exhilarating.

Just as he was feeling satisfied, someone behind him bumped into him, causing him to stagger. The person who bumped into him fell backward, clutching his head in pain.

Mǎ Yúnyǒng looked back and couldn't help but laugh and sigh, "Yún Cōng, your eyesight won't get better. You should buy a cane to avoid falling down the mountain and hurting yourself."

Yún Cōng, rubbing his head and getting up, said resentfully, "Sorry, sorry, Senior Brother Mǎ Yúnyǒng. Little Uncle said that if I practice internal cultivation well, my eyesight can be cured... Besides, why did you suddenly stop? You made me fall."

"Are you asking for a beating?" Mǎ Yúnyǒng waved his fist, trying to look intimidating, but then sighed, remembering that Yún Cōng couldn't see clearly. "A man should have great aspirations and courage. You should know I don't bully the weak... Hmph, I'll let you be for now. When your eyesight improves, I'll show you the power of my fists."

Knowing Mǎ Yúnyǒng's tough exterior and soft heart, Yún Cōng, the young Daoist, didn't take it seriously and laughed, continuing to sweep the ground.

Mǎ Yúnyǒng leaned against the gate with a large broom and said, "Sigh, I won't be able to participate in this year's sect competition. What a pity."

"Stop joking. You're only seven, and the senior brothers are all teenagers, with the eldest brother over sixteen. Who would compete with you? Please don't use this as an excuse to be lazy. Help me sweep the ground faster," Yún Cōng complained while sweeping.

"Hmph," Mǎ Yúnyǒng sneered, then demonstrated a series of punches to Yún Cōng, who was working. "Do you think the second senior uncle will bring back many new disciples this time?"

At this, Yún Cōng stopped and said with longing, "No matter how many they bring back, I won't be the youngest anymore."

Indeed. The two sighed.

In the Qīngyún Temple, except for the two young treasures of the eldest senior uncle's family, Mǎ Yúnyǒng and Yún Cōng were the youngest in terms of seniority, martial arts, and age. Mǎ Yúnyǒng was seven, and Yún Cōng was six. While they were the most cared-for junior brothers, being constantly given way to was also a painful thing. Especially for Mǎ Yúnyǒng, who challenged everyone but found no one willing to fight him, which eventually led him to challenge Qīngxuán.

Thinking of those frustrating days, Mǎ Yúnyǒng sighed again.

Mǎ Yúnyǒng and Yún Cōng were from secular families but were not orphans. Mǎ Yúnyǒng's father, Mǎ Dàshànrén, was once a notorious bandit in the southwest. He turned over a new leaf and became a wealthy man after being persuaded by the second disciple Qīngyán of the Qīngyún Temple. He became a well-known philanthropist. As for Yún Cōng, his father was a bookkeeper in charge of the warehouse in the county office of Qīngyáng Town, a government employee. However, due to having too many children, Yún Cōng, the fifth child, was weak and sickly from a young age. A fortune-teller said that only by dedicating him to the gods could he be raised, so he was sent to the Qīngyún Temple at the age of four.

In the "Yún" generation, Mǎ Yúnyǒng and Yún Cōng were the last to join the temple.

Yún Cōng put aside his thoughts and continued sweeping.

After sweeping for a while, he was suddenly bumped. Looking back, he saw Mǎ Yúnyǒng. "Why are you disturbing me instead of sweeping your side?"

"What? Your side? I've always swept this side. I told you your eyesight is bad, but you didn't listen. I've already swept it clean. Why are you sweeping it again?" Mǎ Yúnyǒng shouted, eyes wide.

"Really?" Yún Cōng's eyesight was poor, and he wasn't sure if he had swept the wrong area. "Oh, sorry."

"Forget it, go back and sweep the other side," Mǎ Yúnyǒng said, trying to hide a smile.

"Okay, okay," Yún Cōng said, dragging his broom to the other side and starting over.

Mǎ Yúnyǒng almost burst out laughing.

While Yún Cōng was sweeping and Mǎ Yúnyǒng was secretly laughing, a clear and melodious song echoed from the mountain below.

Life is empty, nature is empty,

Both self and objects forgotten, wisdom prevails.

All is one in the void.

Cultivate the divine power, harmonize with the eternal,

Return to the pure light in the universe.

The formless spirit pervades everywhere.

It was a song called "Chángsīxiān" (Longing for Immortality). The singer was graceful and elegant, with an indescribable charm. A figure in green moved with the song. When the song began, the person was still at the foot of the mountain, but by the end, they were already at the temple gate.

---

By today, A Zhai has already published over 100,000 words. In the next 100,000 words, the protagonist Yè Qīngxuán will have another extraordinary encounter, and a supreme martial arts technique from a Jin Yong novel will be born. Can you guess what this martial arts technique is? It will be completely unexpected...

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