Chapter Thirty-Nine I am Shen Geng

  A clean desk with a small candle lit on it, under the window where light and shadow intersect, a young man is studying hard with his head down.

  The books in the pavilion were numerous, but most of them recorded history, and only briefly introduced the cultivation of Taoism. Xia Qiu knew that opening the seven orifices was the first step in formal cultivation, but she had no way of understanding the detailed steps involved. The small booklet left by Meng Du taught her almost all the answers to the questions in her mind.

  Ears, eyes, nose, mouth and seven orifices correspond to the four abilities of hearing, sight, smell and speech, which are the main channels for external information to enter the human body. At the same time, they are also heavily guarded gates that subject all information to rigorous checks and filtering, with only a tiny fraction getting through. Most crucially, they block out the heavenly spiritual energy that is vital for cultivators.

  The way of fire is not extinguished, and the spirit is the helper of the root of the Tao. The more pure and abundant the spirit, the more vigorously the root of the Tao burns.

  Ordinary people's resistance to spiritual energy is a kind of protection, their physical constitution is too weak, and even a small amount of spiritual energy can cause devastating consequences. Therefore, cultivators must first strengthen their bodies before they can open the seven orifices to accept more than ten times the information from before, and spiritual energy also enters with it.

  But at this time, the spiritual energy can only stay in the human body for a short period of time and will soon be lost. In the process of entering and leaving, the physical body of the practitioner will become more tenacious, just like the nest of birds, accumulating one grass and one feather until it is suitable for habitation.

  The sequence of opening the seven apertures is different for each person, but it can only be done one by one. Each time an aperture is opened, the process is the same:

  First, a certain ability is suddenly greatly enhanced, and the cultivator can only use it by concentrating all his energy. At this stage, overuse of supernatural abilities is harmful, and if not careful, it may lead to spiritual decline or even damage to internal organs.

  Then, after a period of practice and accumulation, this ability will suddenly increase greatly at some point and last for a long time. This is an important pass, countless voices come simultaneously, the most subtle scenes fill the eyes, the familiar taste suddenly becomes pungent, the mouth constantly makes sounds that can be heard from afar, even tens of miles away. The too strong ability becomes a torment, the cultivator must eliminate distractions at this time, focus on confronting his own extraordinary abilities, after passing the test, he will forever possess this ability and only need to concentrate a little energy to use it.

  Xiao Qiu saw a few lines of bold black characters, reminding cultivators that even after passing the test, they should not use extraordinary abilities frequently. Cultivation requires quieting the mind and obtaining enhanced senses of sight, hearing, and smell are only side effects of absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Long-term use will greatly interfere with cultivation itself, which is no different from abandoning the original intention to pursue trivial matters.

  Many children of cultivators have their Dao roots at a young age, but they still have to wait for several years before starting formal cultivation. The purpose is not only to temper the body but also to wait until their will is mature and they won't misuse their extraordinary abilities. Only then can they open up the seven apertures; otherwise, the consequences are unthinkable.

  It's extremely rare for someone to start cultivating in their mother's womb like the Left Stream of the Secret Realm, and it may take tens of thousands of years for one person to appear. He also paid a price for this, forever losing his ability to speak.

  The five Taoist children mentioned by Er Lang Shen are obviously in this situation, they did not start practicing early, but like ordinary Dao Gen owners, they entered the mountain gate at the age of ten or so.

  Xiao Qiu stood on the top of Lao Zu Peak, holding up a huge boulder, indicating that his physical body was already able to withstand the opening of his spiritual aperture. However, there was a problem: neither Meng Yuan Hou himself nor the small booklet he left behind could explain why the opening of one's spiritual aperture was risky and usually required careful supervision by a respected elder, as it was extremely rare for someone to achieve this without a teacher - not that it never happened, but such rare phenomena had always occurred among the descendants of cultivators.

  Someone like Xiao Qiu who has an ordinary background and awakened his spiritual roots very late can also achieve self-enlightenment, which is absolutely a first in Meng Yuanhou's impression.

  As soon as Xia Qiu finished reading the booklet and was about to close it, it suddenly caught fire and quickly turned into ashes, which were blown away by a gentle breeze coming in from the window.

  Xiao Qiu blew out the candle and lay back down on the kang, no longer using her extraordinary hearing.

  Being different is a strange feeling, mixed with the pride of being superior and the fear of being abnormal. For Xia Qiu, this contradictory feeling was especially clear. He opened his eyes, thought for a moment, turned over and went to sleep, throwing all his emotions far away.

  The next day, before dawn, Zhang Lingsheng had already shouted loudly to wake up his disciples. He was a person who had opened the seven orifices, but he strictly followed the precepts and rarely used the four supernatural abilities.

  Xiao Qiu's body was still sore all over, but after walking a few steps outside, she felt a bit better. As she walked out the door and breathed in the fresh air, her spirits lifted, and the pain in her body became negligible.

  Seeing Xiao Qiu appear, many children enthusiastically greeted him, and some even ran over from the other end of the courtyard. Xiao Qiu responded with the same enthusiasm to everyone, he still remembered the two different opinions he heard yesterday, but didn't want to pay too much attention to it, his goal was to cultivate the Tao, and he didn't want to be disturbed by these small things.

  It's fine as long as you understand the truth, thought Xia Qiu.

  First, they practiced a set of Bone Tempering Fist. Xia Qiu stood beside Shen Hua as usual and whispered to him when he went to fetch the staff after finishing his practice: "No need to find Xin Yu Tao for revenge."

  Shen Hao's face showed surprise, "Who is it that has been talking too much, Mu Fei Huang?"

  Xiao Qiu shook her head, "No one leaked the secret, I just happened to know that it wasn't Xin Yutao who made the stone roll down, but..." Xiao Qiu pointed to the real culprit with her eyes.

  "Zhang Lingsheng?" Shen Hao's voice was even lower, there were too many people around, he picked up a stick and bowed his head back to his original position. "You mention this and I seem to recall that Zhang Lingsheng also wanted to get the reward, he participated in mountain climbing two days ago, climbed quite fast, passed by me, but he didn't climb to the top, nor did he meet you guys, it's indeed very strange."

  "That's it, we'll be heading to Yangshen Peak for training soon and will have nothing more to do with Zhang Lingshen. He can't cause any harm and there's no need for us to waste our time on him."

  Shen Hao was still seething with anger, but he had the self-awareness to know that beating Xin Yu Tao would be easy, while seeking revenge against a Daoist who had already opened seven apertures would be asking for trouble. "Let's wait until we've achieved success in our cultivation..."

  Xiao Qiu smiled, the young men of Ye Lin Town were the most reliable partners, he hoped that everyone could go further.

  The stick fight began, and Xia Qiu's opponent was still Xin Youtao.

  "You've recovered quite well." Xīn Yòu Táo didn't know he had just narrowly escaped disaster, his tone was still very arrogant and a bit excited. Every morning he suffered under Xiǎo Qiū's stick, although there were miraculous healing medicines, he still hoped to counterattack with a few sticks. Today's Mù Xíng Qiū looked extremely weak, standing there even swaying slightly, it was the perfect opportunity he had been waiting for.

  "Your days of lenient sparring are numbered, what are you waiting for? Make your move, use all your might!" Meng Yuanhou always felt that his disciples were not hitting hard enough and wanted to stimulate their fighting spirit in every way possible. Now he had a new idea, walking among the crowd with his staff, shouting loudly: "At the end of the month, I will hold a martial arts competition, the winner will be rewarded with three gold ingots. Don't think you don't have a chance, I don't care who has the best staff skills, I only see if you've used all your strength, those who fight with abandon, even in defeat are winners!"

  If it's just about comparing who's better or worse at stick fighting, many kids will immediately lose confidence in competing, after all, no one wants to compare with the strongest few kids, but making an effort is a competition with oneself, and almost everyone has a chance of winning.

  Meng Yuanhou's goal was achieved, the shouting in the courtyard suddenly became several times louder, the sticks hit more frequently, and the shouts were connected into a piece.

  Xin Yutao went all out from the start, but he misjudged, Xia Qiu looked weak and frail, swung his stick with great force and accuracy, far surpassing his usual strength, the first stick hit Wangzi's head and left a visible lump.

  Xin Yutao was caught off guard, let out a tragic cry, turned his head and ran. Originally he could still exchange a few blows, but at this time he had no will to fight, only dodging back and forth in the crowd. Not having run far, he collided with Meng Yuanhou, who picked him up and threw him towards Xiao Qiu: "You won't die, why are you running!"

  It wasn't long after dawn that the fight ended, and Xin Yu Tao's body had more bruises than ever before. Panting, he said to Xiao Qiu: "Once we reach Nurturing Spirit Peak, you won't be so smug. There, it's not about physical strength, but about comprehension."

  Xiao Qiu raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond. Although he opposed private revenge, having the opportunity to beat Xin Yutao was still a pleasant feeling. Wang Zi wasn't the mastermind behind the giant stone rolling down, but his actions of forcing Xiao Qiu and Fangfang to release the demon species were still unforgivable.

  Xiao Qiu handed back the stick and suddenly felt like someone was staring at her when she stood up.

  She turned her head and met two sharp gazes.

  Even when practicing the Bone Fist, Xia Qiu had already noticed this child. In fact, no one could ignore him, and he caused more whispers than Xia Qiu and Er Liang Shen Huiwei combined, with Shen Huiwei himself constantly staring at him.

  The boy was about ten years old, with a well-proportioned build, neither tall nor short. His black hair was styled in a high bun like an adult Daoist priest, and his facial features were flawless, so perfect that they didn't seem humanly possible. His expression was slightly melancholic, as if he hadn't yet gotten used to being in an unfamiliar place. Er Lang Shen You had once said that he was very shy, but Xiao Qiu saw a deep-seated pride in him, and Xin Yu Tao seemed like a farmer's son in comparison.

  But his pride was so natural that everyone felt it was a matter of course, and even the teacher, Mr. Meng Yuanhou, would nod slightly when walking past him, treating him completely differently from other children.

  There were four others beside him, two women and two men, all about the same age, each one stunningly beautiful, Xiao Qiu was willing to swear to anyone that he saw a layer of faint soft light on these five children.

  The eye contact ended immediately, and Xia Qiu didn't see any emotions in the other's gaze, as if there was only pure curiosity.

  It was just a brief eye contact, but it caught the attention of many children. Er Liang Sheng You ran over, excitedly whispering: "They are actually true Taoist disciples, I really hope to be friends with them."

  Xiao Qiu also wanted to, but recalling the elegant voice he overheard yesterday, he felt a bit annoyed. That voice and its owner were very well-matched, announcing in a subtle way to everyone: he would choose his friends, while others couldn't choose him.

  In the dining hall, five Taoist disciples sat around a table, eating food that was different from others, with only half a bowl of rice and a few green vegetables, simple and light, but they ate very seriously, as if it were a solemn task.

  They ate quickly, then the leading boy stood up. He was not tall and majestic in appearance, but the dining hall suddenly fell silent.

  Xin Yutao looked at him with great expectation, only to find that he didn't come over, and his disappointment was written all over his face.

  The boy walked straight to the table of young masters in Ye Lin Town, and bowed solemnly to the stunned Er Liang Shen Xiuwei, "My name is Shengeng, I hope to join hands with fellow Taoists from now on."

  Er Liang suddenly stood up, happiness came too suddenly, he was flustered and said: "I... I'm called Shen Xiuyi..."

  Shen Geng nodded again and turned to Xiao Qiu, "I also hope to join forces with this Taoist friend to promote the Pangs Mountain Taoist teachings."

  "My name is Mu Xingqiu, and that's also my wish." Little Autumn replied as she stood up, feeling it wasn't very polite to remain seated.

  Shen Geng's favoritism only extended to these two, and he ignored the other young men from Ye Lin Town. He then walked over to a table of female disciples and cast his gaze at Xiao Qingtuo.

  Xiao Qingtao was so excited that her whole body was trembling, tightly grasping Fangfang's arm, unable to utter a single word.

  "Non-demons can learn the way." Shen Geng's tone was unchanged from before, still elegant and slightly cold. "But I don't suggest you befriend her until she proves herself to have truly severed all ties with the demon tribe."

  Xing Geng left with four companions, and for a long time no one spoke in the dining hall, only the monotonous noise of the village women scraping wooden buckets.

  (Collection needed, recommended)

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