Chapter 2

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In Jiangnan Province, deep in the Siming Mountains.

The mountain road wound its way up, like a large snake entering the dense greenery. Despite the high altitude and numerous towering trees, the sun still scorched the asphalt, making the air hot and steamy. Standing on the asphalt, one could even see the scenery ahead distorted by the heat.

At this moment, a young man, around twenty years old and slender, was walking briskly on the asphalt road. He carried a travel bag almost as tall as himself on his back, a painting easel taller than a person in one hand, and a large painting board in the other.

Even so, it could only be said that this young man was somewhat different from the norm, choosing to climb the mountain at such a hot time and carrying so much. But if one looked closely, they would notice his uniqueness—though he was walking, his steps were abnormally fast, each step covering several meters.

"I wonder what my master is thinking, making me run up and down the mountain road every noon, and carrying so many copper blocks. Doesn't he know I'm already at the initial Foundation Stage? These things are useful for the Qi Condensation Stage, but not much for me."

Thinking of his master's strange requirement, Zhang Qingyuan felt somewhat helpless. However, his master had been teaching him for years, and they were like father and son. Moreover, his master's cultivation was so high that he wouldn't make him do useless things out of boredom. But until he understood this matter, Zhang Qingyuan felt somewhat frustrated.

Climbing the mountain at this hour was already unusual for Zhang Qingyuan, but if people knew that his backpack was full of copper blocks, they would be shocked. Not only that, but Zhang Qingyuan wasn't even out of breath, and there wasn't even a small sweat bead on his forehead.

Of course, it wasn't completely deserted at this time. Two cars were approaching from behind, and as soon as Zhang Qingyuan sensed the cars, he slowed down, walking like a normal person.

The first car was a Land Rover, with a powerful engine and high ground clearance, perfect for climbing slopes. It was also Zhang Qingyuan's favorite car, and he couldn't help but glance at it a few times.

Although the car windows were reflective, with Zhang Qingyuan's cultivation, he didn't even need his eyes; a single sweep of his divine sense revealed everything inside the car.

The first car had four people inside: three young men and a middle-aged man. Zhang Qingyuan's quick scan revealed that all four were skilled in martial arts. The middle-aged man, by secular standards, was at the initial stage of the Postnatal Realm, equivalent to the second level of the Qi Condensation Stage. The other three, though not at the Postnatal stage, were still martial arts experts in the secular world.

The second car was a Mercedes ambulance, with no hospital markings, clearly a private vehicle. The driver was also a young man, similar to the three young men in the first car, all with considerable martial arts skills.

For this group to have such "experts" accompanying them, their status in the secular world must be significant, either from a wealthy family or high-ranking government officials.

On the ambulance bed lay an old man, his eyes tightly closed, his breathing weak. Zhang Qingyuan, at the initial stage of the Pre-natal Realm, had a divine sense that wasn't very strong. The car passed by him in an instant, so he couldn't determine the old man's illness up close.

Beside the old man sat four people: two who looked like doctors and nurses, and a middle-aged couple.

Clearly, the middle-aged couple were the old man's children. The middle-aged man had a calm and composed demeanor, exuding an aura of authority, but even so, his eyes betrayed a hint of confusion.

The woman had finely drawn eyebrows and a clear complexion, with just a touch of light makeup that was perfectly appropriate. There wasn't a single wrinkle around her eyes, and in her well-tailored formal attire, she appeared plump and well-endowed, with a prominent chest. To the uninitiated, she looked no more than thirty years old. But with Zhang Qingyuan's discerning eye, he could see that although she was well-preserved, her real age was around thirty-five or thirty-six.

Looking at the old man on the bed, the woman's eyes were filled with anxiety and worry. "Dad, we're almost at Doctor Chengfeng's place. Just hold on a little longer."

The old man's breathing was somewhat labored, and he slowly opened his cloudy eyes. Despite this, the fleeting glint in his eyes revealed his past glory. However, the pain had taken a toll on him, making him look somewhat listless. With each breath, the age spots on his wrinkled face trembled, clearly indicating his suffering.

The old man struggled to look at the woman but didn't speak, clearly unable to even open his mouth.

The middle-aged man, sitting beside the old man, saw his discomfort and frowned, his lips tightly pressed together. He looked at the doctor across from him and asked, "President Jiang, is this Doctor Chengfeng really that skilled?"

The doctor, with white hair and in his sixties, replied, "Vice President Huang, I've been a doctor for forty years and would never joke about a patient's life. Although I can't guarantee that my teacher can cure Vice President Huang's illness, if he can't, then no one in the world can."

Vice President Huang nodded, feeling slightly reassured. He then turned to the young man driving and said, "Xiao Zhu, tell Uncle Daozi to drive faster."

"Yes, Young Master," the young man, Xiao Zhu, replied briefly, then picked up the car's walkie-talkie and repeated the middle-aged man's words.

The two cars sped up, kicking up a cloud of dust on the asphalt road as they raced past Zhang Qingyuan.

"Looks like they're going to see Old Niu Bi for treatment." Knowing the situation inside the cars, Zhang Qingyuan understood their destination: the Mingyang Temple to see the old Taoist, Chengfeng.

"This Old Niu Bi is quite generous to the poor but charges the rich heavily. Every visit costs at least a hundred thousand or more. Damn, this money is too easy to earn... I wonder what Old Niu Bi does with all that money?"

Seeing the cars drive away, Zhang Qingyuan muttered to himself, then picked up his pace, resuming his "high-speed" walking, covering several meters with each step.

In the first Land Rover, the middle-aged man called "Uncle Daozi" by the middle-aged man was now somewhat uneasy. As they passed the young man, he felt a sudden chill, as if he was being watched. He turned to look at the young man but saw nothing unusual until the car was out of sight. He remained deep in thought, no longer as calm as he had been when he was resting in the car.

The cars didn't drive for long before they reached a cliff, where the asphalt road ended, leaving only a narrow, winding path through the forest along the cliff edge.

Unable to drive further, the group got out of the cars. The middle-aged man, called "Uncle Daozi" by Vice President Huang, led the four young men over. With the help of the group, the old man was slowly lifted onto a stretcher.

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"Damn, finally here!"

Seeing the Mingyang Temple, nestled among the greenery, Zhang Qingyuan finally let out a sigh of relief. The journey was at least thirty kilometers, with over twenty kilometers of mountain road and less than ten kilometers of rugged mountain paths. Although he wasn't sweating or feeling any discomfort, he mentally resisted it, so even the simplest tasks seemed tedious.

Zhang Qingyuan got up at seven every morning, went to the cliff at the top of the mountain to paint, and came down at nine, taking over an hour to reach the bottom. Then, he would rush back by noon, doing this every day for nearly a month during the summer vacation.

"If it weren't for the divine sense of the old man, I wouldn't have to go through this every day. I could practice in the morning, enjoy the scenery, paint a picture, and then have some of Chengfeng's precious bamboo leaf green wine. What a life, tsk tsk..."

Zhang Qingyuan walked slowly, thinking about Chengfeng's wine, feeling content. In a few steps, he entered the main gate of the Mingyang Temple.

"Grand... Grand Uncle... You... are back?"

Inside the temple courtyard, a young Taoist boy, who had been watching the gate, stood up in a panic. He didn't care that the herbs in his basket had spilled all over the ground, and despite his efforts to remain calm, he couldn't hide the fear in his eyes.