Chapter 26

(I clicked to upload and went out for a meal, came back to see a 404, and got drunk. Well, shamelessly asking for recommendations and favorites again.)

The valley was like spring, and the fragrance of osmanthus had not dissipated even after the winter solstice, making it a true sanctuary.

Su Qinnian's gaze swept over the two young Taoist priests. Although the two poor Taoist priests spoke somewhat harshly, it was clear that they were straightforward and unbending, preferring to stand firm rather than yield, even at the cost of their lives.

"Speak your minds."

"Good! Brother, you speak straightforwardly, so we won't beat around the bush," Qing Yu said. "This wild mountain ginseng is quite important to us two. We plan to use it to exchange for the Heaven-Opening Pill for the outer court's foundation building. Otherwise, it would be reasonable for Brother to take half. But now, after some consideration, we will tell Brother a great secret today. After you know, you can choose to take half of the wild mountain ginseng or share the great secret with us. We are from poor families, and so is Brother, I believe. People from poor families have long been looked down upon, and we should help each other. We don't like to be indirect, and we detest cunning and deceit. But today, we take the risk to tell Brother, even if we have chosen the wrong person, we will accept it."

Mental energy enveloped a ten-zhang area, Su Qinnian closed his eyes and pondered. The two fat Taoist priests, seeing this, relaxed somewhat, and a smile gradually appeared on their lips.

Ten breaths passed.

Su Qinnian opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and his face, which was originally in his early twenties, began to change. In the shocked gaze of the two fat Taoist priests, it quickly transformed into the face of a boy around fifteen, slightly immature.

"Damn, are you human or a demon!"

The fat Taoist priest took a step back and screamed.

Slap!

The next moment, he cried out in pain, slapped on the back of his head by Qing Yu, who scolded, "Pig brain, even if the demon race can transform, can they escape the感应 of the Wudang True Wu Seven-Section Sword Formation?"

"I just exclaimed, and you hit me so hard, I'm still injured! I'm a patient!"

The fat Taoist Qing Ye glared, extremely suspicious that Qing Yu had already noticed that a piece of demon bear meat was missing from his bowl during last night's dinner.

"Xiaoyao Valley, Su Qinnian."

After Su Qinnian spoke these six words, Qing Yu and the others were completely speechless. Their gazes became somewhat strange, even Qing Yu seemed choked, and this seemingly refined young Taoist priest now seemed particularly out of place to Su Qinnian.

"You, you are Su Qinnian? Su Qier?" After a while, the fat Taoist Qing Ye said softly.

Glaring at the fat man, Su Qinnian said irritably, "Indeed, it is I."

"Really you!"

Unlike the fat Taoist, Qing Yu suddenly thought of something and looked at Su Qinnian with shock, his face full of disbelief, saying, "In less than a month, you have reached at least the fifth level of the Turtle Snake Technique! The fourth form of the Turtle Snake Fist has reached the essence!"

Sigh!

Qing Yu's words made the fat Taoist Qing Ye exclaim, drawing a deep breath, and he jumped in front of Su Qinnian, examining him from head to toe, pinching his shoulders and arms, only to be slapped away by Su Qinnian irritably.

Taking a deep breath, Qing Yu tried to calm his agitated heart and said, "It seems everyone has underestimated you. You are not depressed and self-destructive, but have been biding your time, accumulating strength, waiting to break free and surprise everyone."

Pausing, Qing Yu's face turned grim, staring at Su Qinnian with a somewhat unfriendly look, and said coldly, "Brat, how many times have you deceived us? Don't you want to explain?"

"Indeed!" The fat Taoist Qing Ye also realized, saying in a shrill voice, "You little brat, you have a lot of bad ideas. I've lost a lot! I never do a losing business, today I've lost big!"

After speaking, the three looked at each other and burst into laughter.

The laughter subsided, and the fat Taoist Qing Ye said in a serious tone, "Since you can be so honest, we will not reveal it. These days, oaths are just dogshit. Although I, Qing Ye, am just an ordinary Taoist from a poor family in the outer court, there are few people I can see eye to eye with. From today on, the three of us will stand together, back to back. If someone stabs us in the back, we will settle it in the next life."

"Agreed."

Qing Yu nodded, looking at Su Qinnian, "It seems your current situation is not good. Hiding and even degrading yourself must be unusual. It seems someone is secretly watching you, wanting to harm you."

Su Qinnian nodded. He also noticed that among the two, the fat Taoist Qing Ye was straightforward, though he seemed unreliable, he was honest, while Qing Yu was somewhat out of place but more meticulous, often guessing details from a few words, usually getting it right.

Half an incense stick later.

Qing Yu's gaze became solemn, "After so many years, the black hands of the bureaucracy have extended into our Wudang Mountain. The Taoist priests in the miscellaneous service hall definitely don't have the nerve. The source might not even be in the outer court, but on the twenty-seven peaks, where someone has broken the taboo."

For martial artists, even in the martial-loving Han Dynasty, it is not allowed for disciples and family members of martial arts families and sects to enter the bureaucracy and control the government. All the officials in the court are from the martial arts examination, only commoners and children of official families can participate. Even for the latter, to prevent factionalism, only three generations can take the examination, and the fourth generation is not allowed to take it. By the fifth generation, the political connections have weakened, and the network has broken, allowing them to re-enter the government.

For martial arts sects and families, especially ancient traditions, it is absolutely forbidden for bureaucratic forces to infiltrate. Collaboration between disciples and the bureaucracy is a major taboo, punishable by wall confinement, or even the removal of martial arts and expulsion from the sect. Of course, this involves the entanglements between the martial arts world and the imperial court, which have never been resolved since the founding of the Han Dynasty over five thousand years ago.

"If you can build a foundation and cultivate inner family true qi, it will make some people wary and less likely to act rashly," the fat Taoist Qing Ye said. "You are still a criminal, and unless you are killed, Wudang will not care or investigate. But once you successfully build a foundation and become an outer court disciple, Wudang will have top figures create a life tablet for you, place it in the ancestral hall, and rank you. If you fall, the life tablet will shatter, and Wudang will thoroughly investigate, and no one can easily escape, even if the imperial court acts, the Three Mad Taoists of this generation are not to be underestimated, and the power of destiny cannot be defied."

"Building a foundation, building a foundation, out of the millions in the Han Dynasty, how many can successfully build a foundation? It's not as difficult as ascending to the heavens, but it makes many martial artists hesitate," Qing Yu sighed. "To complete the foundation-building technique and open the dantian to cultivate inner family true qi, one must have the insight of death and the dissolution of the Dao. Even with Wudang's deep foundation, among the outer court disciples, it is rare for one in ten to successfully build a foundation, and often one or two will die, unable to control the power of creation. For ordinary martial artists, in some third- and fourth-rate traditions and families, it is rare for one in a hundred to build a foundation, and about half will die."

"But we are not without a chance," Qing Yu's eyes gleamed, his voice becoming low, "Now, one wild mountain ginseng is far from enough. We need at least three foundation-building pills from Master Jingwu. Two months ago, we discovered a spirit world in the Qingyang Peak's Qingyang Stream."

Spirit world!

Su Qinnian frowned. He had heard of top martial artists cultivating a spirit, but not of a spirit world. He recalled some Daoist scriptures he had read, but they only mentioned it in passing, without much detail.

The fat Taoist Qing Ye leaned in and explained in a low voice, "A spirit world refers to the spirit of a top martial artist, but at least one who has passed four lightning tribulations. After their death, if the spirit does not dissipate, it can form a spirit world. This spirit world is vast and mysterious, containing the void in a mustard seed, and has many wondrous properties."

"For the past two months, we have entered the outer court's scripture hall and read many Daoist scriptures and notes written by our Wudang predecessors, and finally made some discoveries," Qing Yu continued, even showing a hint of excitement, "We found that the spirit world in the Qingyang Stream is likely the legacy of the last peak master of the Qingyang Peak lineage, the Great Yuan Immortal, who lived five hundred years ago." (I clicked to upload and went out for a meal, came back to see a 404, and got drunk. Well, shamelessly asking for recommendations and favorites again.)