Chapter 103: You''re All Abnormal 30

On the Path to the Great Dao

Fu Leisheng''s impression and memory of Black Pot fluctuated between moments of clarity and periods of muddled confusion.

After Black Pot glanced at him a few more times, Fu Leisheng''s impression of this dog became blurry without him even realizing it, even blurring the dog''s purpose, thus resolving his misunderstanding of Black Pot and making everything seem normal again.

When he looked at Black Pot again, no matter what the dog did, he felt it was perfectly reasonable.

—Having a dog at home can always subtly influence certain things. Therefore, he felt it was normal for him to be influenced by the dog.

"Our countryside isn''t like the city; we often have trouble with evil spirits here."

After paying respects to his Godmother and offering incense to Scholar Zhu, completing his morning rituals, Chen Shi introduced the local customs and conditions of the countryside to Fu Leisheng, saying, "During the day, when the moon is only a crescent, the evil spirits that appear are often the weaker ones. At night, it''s best not to go out easily, as the evil spirits are more powerful. Before going out, you must make preparations, hang peach wood charms around, and it''s best to carry a lantern painted all over with Five Yang Lightning Illumination Talismans. It''s even better to paint the image of Grandmother Mount Tai on the lantern. Remember, it must be completely covered; leaving even one spot unpainted is not acceptable. You also need to beware of ghosts blowing out the lantern. Some little ghosts emerge from underground and blow directly at the lantern. If it goes out, they''ll swarm you and eat you."

Fu Leisheng carefully noted down the key points. He might have to live in the countryside for a long time, possibly even for the rest of his life without ever returning to the county town.

The countryside was safe. If you committed a crime and hid in Qianyang Mountain, the bailiffs rarely searched the countryside thoroughly, often just conducting a perfunctory search before giving up.

Hearing from Chen Shi that the private school teacher in the town had died and no new one had been appointed, he planned to return to his old profession and open a private school in Qiaowan Town.

Chen Shi introduced things methodically. At that moment, Old Lady Wuzhu emerged from the melon field, asking cheerfully, "Little Ten, did you pass the county-level imperial examination? Did you become a scholar?"

"I did," Chen Shi said.

Old Lady Wuzhu then turned around, picked several watermelons and muskmelons, stuffed them into his arms, and said with a smile, "Little Ten has made something of himself. If your grandfather were still alive, wouldn''t he have thrown a few banquets to celebrate joyously? Don''t think these are too little, eat them first. If you want more melons, come pick them from the field yourself."

For the first time, Chen Shi felt the power of being a successful scholar.

"Passing the county-level imperial examination and becoming a scholar is a top-tier event in the countryside. By custom, a banquet should be held."

Chen Shi said to Fu Leisheng, "But my family only has me, so there''s no need to hold one."

Fu Leisheng shook his head. "Being a scholar isn''t that useful. In the county town, it''s still okay, scholars aren''t that numerous. But when you get to the provincial capital, scholars are everywhere; you could hit two with a single brick. And when you reach a place like the Western Capital, the number of scholars is downright terrifying."

"We country folk don''t know that. We country folk think passing the county-level examination and becoming a scholar means you''ve made something of yourself, that you''re an official master."

The two talked from evil spirits to rural customs, gradually shifting the conversation to the small temple behind Chen Shi''s head.

Fu Leisheng originally thought the small temple replacing the miniature shrine was heretical and deviant. But Chen Shi argued that the function of the small temple was the same as that of the miniature shrine—both were places to nourish the Divine Embryo. Moreover, miniature shrines were also placed within temples, so having an additional small temple wasn''t really different.

"Besides, with the Divine Embryo inside the miniature shrine, and the miniature shrine inside the temple, protected from wind and rain, and still able to receive incense offerings, isn''t that showing even greater respect for teachers and adherence to the Way?"

Fu Leisheng thought about it and found it made a lot of sense.

Black Pot was filled with admiration for his little master.

He hadn''t even used any magic, yet Master Fu couldn''t detect anything unusual. He was much more skillful than himself.

In the end, their conversation still circled back to magic techniques.

Fu Leisheng, after all, was a private school teacher with an exceptionally solid foundation. He noticed many subtle errors in the execution of Chen Shi''s Ziwu Evil-Slaying Sword technique and helped him correct his postures, making his force application more standard.

After Chen Shi made the corrections, the power of the six sword techniques became even stronger.

Fu Leisheng was astonished.

The Ziwu Evil-Slaying Sword had an upper limit to its power and range; once reached, it couldn''t be improved. He never expected Chen Shi could still enhance it further!

With his guidance, Chen Shi''s sword energy became more formidable than during the county-level examination. Back then, Chen Shi''s Thrust technique could reach over eighty zhang away. Now, it could reach a hundred zhang!

Fu Leisheng collected himself and said, "Chen Shi, your Ziwu Evil-Slaying Sword has a long range, but the farther the distance, the worse the accuracy becomes. Beyond a hundred zhang, the target becomes difficult to discern with the naked eye, so accuracy requires constant practice."

He used sword energy to cut down over a dozen wooden stakes, placing them a hundred zhang away, with cobblestones on top of each stake. "Use these to practice your spell accuracy. Once you can hit every single one, then practice while running. When you can still hit every one, practice hitting rapidly moving objects. If you can still achieve perfect accuracy, then when it comes to skillfully killing enemies, you''ll be able to handle anything with ease."

Chen Shi''s Ziwu Evil-Slaying Sword had tremendous power but lacked foundational training. He immediately began practicing.

"Black Pot, whenever your little master hits a cobblestone, you go over, pick up a new one, and place it on the stake," Fu Leisheng instructed.

Not long after, he saw the dog busily running back and forth and was surprised.

Looking closely, he saw cobblestones on the stakes a hundred zhang away exploding one after another with loud pops. It was clearly Chen Shi''s sword energy reaching a hundred zhang and accurately hitting those cobblestones!

The dog was constantly busy, precisely because it was going to place new cobblestones.

"So fast?"

Fu Leisheng was shocked. Then he saw Chen Shi start running, his speed increasing, his hand forming sword seals, continuously executing Thrusts!

"Pop!" "Pop!" "Pop!"

Cobblestones exploded one after another a hundred zhang away, still with extreme accuracy, never missing a shot!

Fu Leisheng picked up a pile of cobblestones, holding them in the fold of his clothes, and shouted loudly, "Chen Shi, a hundred zhang distance!"

Chen Shi understood. The two stood a hundred zhang apart, then simultaneously started sprinting. Fu Leisheng moved along a serpentine path, his steps turning and twisting unpredictably, his body movements erratic and elusive, constantly tossing up cobblestones one by one.

Chen Shi ran after him, weaving through the dense woods, and whenever he saw a cobblestone fly up, he would thrust with his sword finger.

Out of ten stones, he could hit seven or eight.

From morning practice until noon, Chen Shi had improved to hitting nine out of ten times, sometimes even hitting all ten.

Fu Leisheng was somewhat tired and shook his head. "No more, no more practicing. Chen Shi, how did you do this?"

"Wherever my eyes see, my intent arrives."

Chen Shi answered honestly. "Once my intent arrives, my spirit arrives. When my spirit merges with the sword energy, I never miss. It''s just that sometimes distracting thoughts interfere with my spirit, like a sudden flash of a thought, which can make the sword energy deviate slightly."

Fu Leisheng was even more shocked and exclaimed, "Your spirit can control sword energy over a hundred zhang away? Wait a moment! Black Pot, Black Pot, come here!"

Black Pot ran over.

Fu Leisheng cut a wooden plaque, wrote a line of characters on it, and had Black Pot carry the plaque in its mouth to a spot a hundred zhang away. "Chen Shi, use your spirit to look at the characters on the plaque. Can you see them clearly?"

Chen Shi concentrated hard with his spirit and suddenly became surprised. "I see it, blurry and indistinct, vaguely it''s... essence... qi... spirit three... essence, qi, and spirit threefold union!"

Fu Leisheng let out a long sigh and murmured, "It is indeed these five characters: ''essence, qi, and spirit threefold union.'' The threefold union of essence, qi, and spirit is a crucial step in the Golden Core Nine Revolutions, transforming the core into an infant. You must use the Golden Core as a seed, merge essence, qi, and spirit into the core, and then the Golden Core can transform into a yellow sprout. The growth of the yellow sprout is the Nascent Soul. I''ve read many books, searching for the mysteries of the Nascent Soul, but they all explained it vaguely and ambiguously."

He shook his head. The threefold union he had painstakingly sought but never achieved, he never expected Chen Shi to have unintentionally accomplished it!

"Achieving the threefold union is very simple."

Chen Shi was quite puzzled. "I cultivated the Seven Refinements of the Northern Dipper, then condensed the Golden Core, went through Seven Returns, Eight Transformations, and Nine Reversions, and naturally achieved the threefold union of essence, qi, and spirit."

He didn''t think it was that difficult.

The Seven Refinements of the Northern Dipper refined bones, heart, blood, flesh, skin, qi, and spirit. Among them, the Yaogang refinement targeted the spirit. Through diligent and arduous practice these days, his spirit had long since become extremely powerful without him realizing it. His qi and blood had also been tempered a thousand times; he could now be said to have a Sacred Embryo Dharma Body!

Originally, after achieving the Sacred Embryo, his physical body was the Divine Embryo. Now, having achieved the Dharma Body, his qi and blood permeated his entire body, and he could perform spells effortlessly and at will.

Fu Leisheng asked, "What are the Seven Returns?"

Chen Shi said, "After cultivating the Golden Core, the core refines jade nectar and jade liquid, which return to the meridians, qi, blood, essence, bones, marrow, form, and spirit."

"What are the Eight Transformations?"

"Transforming meridians: meridians stop as if dead. Transforming qi: qi gathers and condenses. Transforming blood: blood turns white like milk. Transforming essence: essence solidifies into jade-like gems. Transforming bones: bones become like red jade. Transforming marrow: marrow transforms into mysterious frost. Transforming form: form becomes pure and body becomes wondrous. Transforming spirit: spirit transforms boundlessly."

"What are the Nine Reversions?"

"The Golden Core reverts to the kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, spleen, core, qi, essence, and spirit."

Fu Leisheng stood there dumbfounded, like a wooden chicken, foolish and motionless for a long time, with two clear streams of tears flowing down his face.

Chen Shi was inwardly surprised. The Seven Returns, Eight Transformations, and Nine Reversions were clearly contents covered in most of the cultivation techniques on the stone tablets outside the True King''s Tomb; they weren''t unusual things. Was it necessary to be so devastated?

"This is the method for refining the Great Medicine of the human body!"

Fu Leisheng wept profusely, then suddenly laughed heartily, his laughter sounding like crying. "This is the method for refining the Great Medicine of the human body! This medicine requires no external seeking; it only needs internal refinement. Through Seven Returns, Eight Transformations, and Nine Reversions, the Great Medicine of the human body forms itself! There''s absolutely no need to buy spiritual elixirs and miraculous medicines to break through barriers, nor to seek higher methods!"

He acted like a madman, crying and laughing.

"I''ve researched for twenty years, twenty years! I always thought that after the Golden Core Nine Revolutions, my qi and blood were insufficient to break through the barrier. I thought I needed to refine spiritual elixirs as the Great Medicine to break through. I never expected the Golden Core itself is the Great Medicine!"

"The Golden Core is the Great Medicine!"

He knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly. "I''ve wasted twenty years! I should have cultivated the Nascent Soul long ago, but I wasted twenty years! How many twenty years does a person have? But it''s not too late yet!"

He jumped up, acting foolishly, and shouted, "With the Golden Core''s Seven Returns, Eight Transformations, and Nine Reversions, I can plant the Golden Core, grow the yellow sprout, and cultivate the Nascent Soul!"

"Chen Shi, you are my teaching master! I kowtow to you!"

"I''ll kowtow a few more times!"

"Dog, I''ll never doubt you again! I kowtow to you!"

He acted crazily. The dog was quite surprised and, imitating him, kowtowed back a few times respectfully.

Fu Leisheng wouldn''t relent and insisted on kowtowing. So, the man and the dog kowtowed to each other, matching each other kowtow for kowtow.

Chen Shi stood quietly to the side, waiting for him to return to normal, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Aren''t the Seven Returns, Eight Transformations, and Nine Reversions things covered in normal cultivation techniques? Has Master Fu never seen them before?"

After a long while, Fu Leisheng finally regained his senses from his frenzy. Thinking of his earlier loss of composure, he couldn''t help but feel somewhat embarrassed.

"Um, Chen Shi, Black Pot, don''t tell anyone about this matter."

He stammered. "I still have to teach in the town in the future. If this gets out, people will laugh at me."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Heavenly and earthly manifestations are both my manifestations; seeking gods and ghosts is not as good as seeking oneself. If the Golden Core isn''t the Great Medicine for breaking through barriers, then what''s the point of refining it? Just to be better at fighting?"

Fu Leisheng''s mind returned to normal, filled with shame. "I haven''t taught you much. Instead, you''ve taught me a great deal. I''m ashamed to be a teacher."

Seeing that Chen Shi was still full of energy and vigor, he suddenly remembered something. Earlier, while practicing sword techniques, Chen Shi''s true energy had remained at its peak state almost the entire time, with hardly any breaks for recovery!

"How profound is his true energy cultivation? Even a Golden Core realm cultivator couldn''t withstand such consumption!"

Fu Leisheng was shocked and doubtful. Students at Wencai Academy practicing this technique often had to stop and rest after four or five sword strikes, slowly recovering their energy. During recovery, they needed to eat and drink well. If their family wasn''t affluent enough and the children couldn''t get enough meat and eggs, it would even hinder their cultivation progress. Being able to practice twice a day was already considered coming from a well-off family.

Even after obtaining a Divine Embryo and passing the provincial examination to become a provincial graduate, one couldn''t casually release sword energy all day; true energy depletion also required recovery.

Even after cultivating to the Golden Core realm, one couldn''t recklessly expend true energy.

Take Fu Leisheng himself, for example. With his Golden Core Nine Revolutions, if he extravagantly expended true energy like Chen Shi, practicing the Ziwu Evil-Slaying Sword arduously all morning would also deplete his true energy, forcing him to recover.

He had a Divine Embryo to regulate his true energy, and it was still like this. Chen Shi didn''t have a Divine Embryo, yet his recovery speed was so fast. It was truly astonishing.

"Could it be a problem with Chen Shi''s cultivation technique? He achieved the Golden Core without a Divine Embryo, which suggests his technique must be flawed."

A thunderous thought struck Fu Leisheng''s mind, as if a spring thunderbolt had hit the top of his head, shaking him until he felt dizzy. "But why does his technique contain the method of the Great Medicine of the human body, while the orthodox technique I cultivate does not? Not only does my technique lack it, but the technique Master Zeng cultivated also didn''t contain the concept of the Golden Core as medicine!"

The technique Master Zeng cultivated was a high-level method passed down by the Li Family. Why didn''t it contain the concept of the Golden Core as medicine either? Why did breaking through and cultivating the Nascent Soul still require separately refining spiritual elixirs to assist in breaking through the barrier?

Fu Leisheng didn''t dare to think too deeply. The more he pondered, the more terrifying it seemed.

The two returned to the village to find the villagers of Huangpo Village setting up a banquet. The food was already cooked, waiting for them to arrive.

"Our village finally has another successful scholar after all these years! Old Chen isn''t here, but we must still celebrate!"

Grandma Yuzhu smiled as she pulled Chen Shi to the banquet, seating him in the place of honor. "Master Fu, you''re an educated man, sit here!"

Chen Shi was overwhelmed by the unexpected honor, tears streaming down his face. Fu Leisheng also felt the warmth of the countryside.

Black Pot also got a seat at the table, sitting at the children''s table to eat. Strangely, none of the villagers found it odd.

During the banquet, Old Lady Wuzhu, who had studied for a few years, even told Chen Shi a story about a man named Zhou Chu who eliminated three evil spirits plaguing the village. Meaningfully, she said, "Little Ten, you''re a scholar master now. Think about what you should do?"

"For eliminating evil spirits in our village, I''ll only charge three taels of silver!"

Chen Shi patted his chest forcefully, assuring the villagers. "After I become a master, I''ll use less force when preying on and exploiting the villagers!"

The villagers wanted to curse, but when they thought about other masters using their full force when preying on them, and Chen Shi using less force as a master, their anger subsided. They were all happy and cheerful, and the banquet was filled with joy and harmony.

In the afternoon, Granny Sha walked over carrying a basket, smiling. Behind her followed the Bearded Man and a blue goat walking on two legs.

Seeing the blue goat walking on two legs, Fu Leisheng didn''t feel anything was amiss at all.

"Countryside sheep and dogs are mostly like this," he thought to himself.

"Little Ten, the Mountain Lord''s new temple is already built. It''s time to invite the Mountain Lord to take residence in the new temple and perform the consecration and incense-lighting ceremony," Granny Sha said with a smile.

The blue goat nodded repeatedly and spoke in human language, "You can no longer borrow the Mountain Lord''s name to commit evil deeds!"

Hearing the goat speak human words, Fu Leisheng felt somewhat dazed. He looked at Black Pot, feeling there seemed to be something not quite right here.

Black Pot glanced at him. Fu Leisheng''s mind returned to normal, thinking, "This is the countryside; it''s probably like this. No need to make a fuss. Right, it''s me who''s a bit abnormal, always overthinking things."