Chapter 3

Now, Zhang Qingyuan was somewhat impressed by Old Daoist Cheng Feng. In such a remote place, he actually managed to find it and build a Taoist temple. Even more amazing was that he somehow found seven fifteen or sixteen-year-old, handsome young Taoist boys to help him gather herbs, make medicine, and arrange for patients, making the scale almost comparable to a small hospital, and it was a full-service one at that.

If it weren't for knowing that the old Daoist had a good character and wouldn't do something as despicable as trafficking children, Zhang Qingyuan would have interrogated him severely and made him send these boys back.

The first time Zhang Qingyuan came, he got into a fight with Old Daoist because of his strange and disrespectful way of speaking.

After Zhang Qingyuan beat the old Daoist, who was regarded as a god by these young Taoist boys, to the point of begging for mercy, the boys looked at Zhang Qingyuan differently, all of them fearing him to death and stammering whenever they spoke to him.

After being beaten by Zhang Qingyuan, the old Daoist not only didn't get angry but also discussed martial arts and cultivation methods with him every day after treating patients, insisting on becoming sworn brothers. Out of helplessness, Zhang Qingyuan had to agree to his absurd request.

Therefore, these boys who feared him so much called him "Grand Uncle."

Of course, there was an exception, which was the old Daoist's granddaughter. Every time she saw him, she called him "Qingyuan Brother" nonstop. Thinking about this, Zhang Qingyuan couldn't help but criticize the old Daoist in his heart, wondering how a Daoist could have a granddaughter.

"Hmm," Zhang Qingyuan hummed, actually not wanting to be so distant from these boys. They were about the same age, but every time they saw him, they acted like rats seeing a cat. No matter how friendly Zhang Qingyuan tried to be, they wouldn't get close to him. Over time, Zhang Qingyuan just stopped paying attention to them.

"Where's the old Daoist?" Zhang Qingyuan asked the somewhat timid boy.

"Gr... Grandmaster is... is treating patients," the boy stammered, becoming even more afraid when Zhang Qingyuan asked, almost unable to speak.

Seeing the boy's state, Zhang Qingyuan helplessly touched his face, wondering if he was really that terrifying.

"Oh," Zhang Qingyuan shook his head and walked inside. The boy behind him patted his chest, looking as if he had been greatly frightened. Even though Zhang Qingyuan didn't turn back, he knew what the boy was doing, feeling even more speechless.

——

No matter what, Zhang Qingyuan still admired Old Daoist Cheng Feng. Just by himself, he managed to build a Taoist temple in nearly a year, which was already a feat for an ordinary person. Moreover, the temple had no modern elements, with materials basically all being bamboo.

Even more ingeniously, before building the bamboo houses, Cheng Feng dug a large pond over a meter deep. After compacting the bottom, he collected stones of various sizes from the mountain and laid them in the pond, then built the bamboo houses on the pond, connecting them with wooden bridges.

After several years of rain, the pond was filled with water, and the bamboo houses naturally stood on the water, surrounded by lotus leaves and flowers, green mountains, and trees, as well as nearby bamboo forests. There was no sense of abruptness or disharmony, but rather a natural and harmonious design that left Zhang Qingyuan in awe when he first saw it.

Even with the copper blocks in his backpack weighing over a thousand pounds, there was no shaking on the wooden bridges, and the bamboo had been soaked in water for nearly ten years. It was a testament to Cheng Feng's skill.

Zhang Qingyuan had never admired anyone except his master, but he genuinely admired Cheng Feng, at least in terms of building houses.

Walking on the wooden bridge, a cool breeze blew, and a fragrant aroma wafted. Admiring the lotus flowers in the pond, Zhang Qingyuan thought about having Cheng Feng build his future house as well. He returned to his bamboo house.

Closing the door, he placed the large bag containing the copper blocks and the painting easel and board on the ground, then went upstairs and sat on the bed to meditate.

Cultivation emphasizes harmony, aligning the body's meridians with the stars above and the earth's veins below, receiving qi from the center, and gradually incorporating the earth's and sky's spiritual energy into the body. As the cultivation method operates, the meridians expand, and the body is gradually strengthened from the skin, muscles, and bones to the internal organs.

Now, Zhang Qingyuan had already broken through the Qi Condensation stage and reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Due to his exceptional constitution, he could absorb the power of the sun, not just the stars at midnight like others.

Before the Foundation Establishment stage, Zhang Qingyuan basically meditated twice a day, once at noon and once at midnight. Compared to other cultivators, his speed was already twice as fast, and the power of the sun was even more abundant than that of the stars. Therefore, in just thirteen years of cultivation, Zhang Qingyuan had achieved what others would in sixty years.

A Foundation Establishment stage cultivator at the age of twenty-five was absolutely shocking.

Since he started cultivating, Zhang Qingyuan had used the power of heaven and earth to improve himself. His skin was smooth and white, his face was delicate, and he looked like a newborn baby. In recent years, his appearance had made countless women envious, lamenting the unfairness of the heavens—such good skin wasted on a man was truly a waste.

After two hours, Zhang Qingyuan slowly stopped meditating, feeling the true qi in his dantian grow stronger. A smile appeared on his face. "It seems that the Foundation Establishment stage can absorb much more spiritual energy than the Qi Condensation stage. At this rate, breaking through the initial stage and advancing to the middle stage shouldn't take more than half a year."

Just as he was savoring his cultivation insights, he heard a clear and crisp voice from downstairs, like a mountain bird: "Qingyuan Brother, are you there?"

Zhang Qingyuan smiled slightly, and without any effort, he floated down from the bed, answering as he went downstairs, "I'm coming!"

When he opened the door, a pure and innocent girl stood outside. She had black eyes, long lashes, a straight nose, and lips as soft and rosy as peach blossoms. Her flawless, delicate features and black hair cascading over her shoulders made her look like a fairy in her white floral dress. She was none other than Cheng Feng's granddaughter, Zhou Zhiyan.

The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old, the age of innocence and joy, but now her face was tinged with worry. Seeing the door open, she quickly and naturally took Zhang Qingyuan's arm, saying in a sweet voice, "Qingyuan Brother, can you help me with something?"

Feeling the softness of her touch, Zhang Qingyuan's body stiffened. This man who could beat the old Daoist to the point of not knowing north from south was now somewhat flustered in front of his granddaughter.

Although Zhou Zhiyan was only sixteen, she had already grown into a graceful young woman, with all the right parts fully developed, especially her ample chest. When she took his arm, she immediately touched the softness, but the little girl didn't seem to notice, tilting her head and looking at Zhang Qingyuan, who was in a daze, and then gently shaking him.

This gentle shake was almost fatal. Zhang Qingyuan felt a surge of heat in his abdomen and quickly focused his mind, using his cultivation to suppress the agitation. He took the opportunity to pull his arm away and smiled bitterly, "Zhiyan, what's wrong?"

"Ah, an old grandpa came today, and it seems he has late-stage lung cancer. Grandpa said there's no hope, but I really feel sorry for him, so I came to find Qingyuan Brother," the little girl said, tilting her head and wrinkling her nose, looking incredibly adorable.