Chapter 59: Rumors of the Guest

  Mufei Huang's confession brought a far greater impact on Xia Qiu than he had imagined. The next day, Xia Qiu first sought out Shen Hao and Da Liang Shen Xiuming, advising them to focus on their cultivation and not participate in his plan to reach the peak again. "Your cultivation has just begun to bear fruit, you should persist, don't let anything delay it."

  This made the two good friends feel surprised, but they couldn't say they disagreed. Da Liang opened his mouth and said uncertainly: "It won't delay for long, your physical strength has recovered, can't you climb up today?"

  Shen Hao thought for a moment more, "Did you hear some rumors?"

  Xiao Qiu shook his head. After talking with Meng Zixuan last night, he realized for the first time that he was too selfish. He only wanted to pull his companions forward together, but ignored everyone's true intentions. Not everyone can accept the reverse heavenly method. In fact, most people prefer the conforming heavenly method. On this path, there will be more companions and more guidance and protection.

  Meng Yuanhou was lonely among all of them, and Xiao Qiu thought that she should be too.

  "I didn't fall from the mountain yesterday just because of fatigue, I don't know why, but Yangshen Peak had no magic to block me, yet it was harder to climb than Laozu Peak. I need to find out the reason and think of a way to solve it, which may take a long time. You guys don't have to accompany me."

  "For a very long time?" Dalang disagreed, "Isn't it unnecessary? You just want to know the result of your own practice, right? Alright... go ask Lin Douchen, he'll definitely be willing to help you check."

  "Inspection of practice may use mind control techniques, I don't want anything else to enter my heart."

  Shen Hao and Da Liang both remembered Xia Qiu mentioning this matter, and Da Liang came up with a plan: "Xia Qiu brother, you can wait until the end of the month. You've already learned the method of storing thoughts, and on the next Thought Ancestor's Day, Flowing Light Treasure Mirror will definitely be able to make an appraisal for you."

  Xiao Qiu lowered her head and thought for a while, then raised it again with a determined gaze. "In my heart, those are already two separate things. Since I've set the goal of reaching the top, I shouldn't give up easily. Meng has been thinking about this for a hundred years, and when he comes out, I hope to see that one of his disciples is still learning his 'Reversal Technique'."

  "You don't owe him anything." Shen Hao was puzzled.

  "Yes. Moreover, Mengdu is not here, you don't even know what the art of defying heaven is - is climbing a mountain defying heaven?" Dalang was even more puzzled.

  Xiao Qiu felt it was hard to explain. Indeed, without Meng Yuanhou, he only had a vague concept of the heavenly rebellion technique and couldn't find a specific cultivation method. But he knew one thing: if he cultivated according to the heavenly law, he would soon forget Meng Yuanhou's teachings. He couldn't even explain to his two good friends that in the Si Gu cave, from start to finish, he had received guidance and help from Meng Du, even if it was just a dream, the two already had a master-disciple relationship.

  "Let me try it alone," he said with a hint of pleading, "If I don't finish it, I won't be able to sleep."

  Shen Hao and Da Liang exchanged a glance, both seeing worry and doubt in each other's eyes. This kind of persistence wasn't a good omen.

  To reassure her good friend, Xia Qiu made a promise, "After reaching the top, even if I can't leave Yang Shen Peak, I won't cause any more trouble and will focus all my thoughts on cultivation."

  Having convinced the two, it was easier for Xia Qiu to face the other partners in Ye Lin Town. They were eager to return to their usual cultivation path. Zuo Ci Mu Fei Huang stood at the back, always tense, and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Xia Qiu didn't mention the secret matter after all, revealing a grateful expression.

  Only Fangfang had a different attitude, after listening to Xia Qiu's suggestion, she didn't respond, but just said lightly: "I have my own cultivation method, whether it's against or with the trend, I will choose by myself, you don't need to worry."

  Then she suddenly turned serious, "Yesterday you pretended to chant a spell to deceive Zhou Ping and let him reveal his weakness. If he hadn't fallen for it, what would you have done? Admit defeat or get beaten up?"

  Xiao Qiu scratched his head, never expecting Fang Fang to blame him for this matter. "Fighting is a difficult thing... it's hard to think too much beforehand."

  That evening, the young men of Yelin Town did not come to watch Xia Qiu climb the mountain, and the other disciples also greatly reduced in number. Everyone's thoughts were similar: since people from the same town had all focused on their cultivation, why should they still waste their time?

  More than a dozen audience members were all disciples of the sect, and at first Xia Qiu thought they had come to make fun of him. But they actually followed him up the mountain, and after climbing twenty or thirty feet, one of the disciples closest to Xia Qiu said: "Master Mengdu once taught me that he left a deep impression on me. If he were still here, he would definitely support you in climbing the Nourishing Spirit Peak. He liked to let his disciples challenge all impossible things."

  "Thank you," said Xiao Qiu, delighted that there was still someone else who remembered Meng Yuanhou's disciple.

  That disciple politely nodded, "But I'm going down, the reverse heaven technique isn't suitable for me, but I hope you can succeed, really, Nurturing Spirit Peak is like a stagnant pool of water, Meng Doucheng once tried his best to stir it up, he's not here, now it's up to you." After finishing speaking, he pulled on the vines and went down the mountain, quickly disappearing into the night colors at the foot of the mountain.

  Xiao Qiu continued to climb up, and after about a hundred feet or so, he started to feel short of breath and his hands and feet ached. This was also a strange thing - Lao Zu Peak was even higher, but Xiao Qiu had never felt this tired even when climbing the eight thousand steps.

  A voice came from afar, another fellow disciple who was also taking care of a younger brother: "The air is getting thinner and thinner, the Nurturing Spirit Peak is not meant for ordinary disciples to climb up, let's go down."

  Xiao Qiu persisted in climbing a few more zhang, but that was all. He could fight against the fatigue of his body, but he couldn't cope with the increasingly thin air, so he had to descend the mountain.

  Xiao Qiu did not give up, from then on, he practiced normally during the day, and after dinner, he would come to try again. At first, there were still some disciples following him to climb together, and occasionally, curious people came to watch. Five days later, only Xiao Qiu was left alone.

  One person climbs the mountain, one person comes down, and then one person looks up. The height is always over a hundred zhang, making it difficult to move forward even a little bit. Xia Qiu knows that there must be some way to get through this thin air barrier. During an afternoon's concentrated thinking class, Xia Qiu seeks help from Teacher Du.

  "Thin air? That's indeed a problem." Lin Suan could emit two voices at the same time, one reciting scriptures to help his disciples cultivate, and the other conversing with Xiao Qiu. The entire Si Zu Hall was quiet, with only the two of them still awake, "For someone who has opened up the Three Fields, this isn't a problem. Even if there are various restrictions on Yang Shen Peak, he can store some air before climbing the mountain. You now..."

  "Lin Dao Jiao, can you help me check my cultivation?" Xiao Qiuning would rather be affected by the Controlling Heart Technique, he wanted to know if he really had this strength.

  Lin Xiao smiled and shook his head, "Unless the Sect Master or the First Seat permits it, no one can casually inspect a disciple's cultivation. Wait a bit longer, on the next Thought Ancestor Day you will know, the Flowing Light Treasure Mirror won't remain silent again."

  Although he didn't get any specific help, Xia Qiu remembered a sentence and started to "store air" as much as possible. As a result, he was able to climb higher, but could only advance more than 200 meters before having to leave some air to go down the mountain, otherwise he would faint and fall directly to the ground.

  More than 20 days later, Xiao Qiu still couldn't make any further progress. He was no longer the focus of attention for his fellow disciples, who had grown accustomed to his eccentric behavior. Some people who looked down on him claimed that Mu Xingqiu showed signs of demonic possession, while most others ignored his mountain-climbing with an attitude of "it's none of my business".

  In the last few days of this year, another thing stirred up the entire Yangshen Peak, with a greater impact than all the things Xia Qiu had done so far - the new disciples of the other eight major sects were coming to pay their respects to their ancestors and confirm the inheritance.

  Having raised disciples before, he rarely spoke at length about this, "Every year on January 8th, the new disciples of the Eight Great Schools will take turns coming to Mount Pao to pay their respects, they only stay for three days, they are not restricted by the Nourishing Spirit Peak, and can leave at any time, so you must seize the opportunity, make friends with many people, remember to keep your eyes wide open, otherwise you might regret it."

  Some people understood and smiled, while the younger disciples looked puzzled, "We are all Taoist disciples, what's there to look at?"

  The slightly older disciples of the sect revealed an unprecedented strange smile, refusing to answer in public. Before long, the answer was spread through various rumors: The Liangshan Sect, one of the nine major sects, only accepted female disciples and had extremely high requirements for appearance.

  "It's absolutely dazzling." This is the same conclusion as all the rumors.

  Not all disciples were interested in this, Xia Qiu heard about Luán Jiāng Shān and first thought of Fēng Pópó, he found Fang Fang, "Fēng Pópó is a disciple of Luán Jiāng Shān, I heard it from the Ancestor Master on Lǎo Zǔ Fēng."

  "Wind Grandma, unfortunately she won't come." Fangfang missed the short and plump old woman very much, still keeping her handwritten letters, which were originally written to acquaintances in Xijicheng, but Fangfang and Xiaqiu didn't make it as planned.

  "If I really see the Wind Grandma, I would ask her a question. She is obviously a Taoist and has lived in Ye Lin Town for many years, why didn't she remind everyone before the demon's arrival?" Xia Qiu said with a hum, actually he was also very grateful to the Wind Grandma, but recently his progress in climbing the mountain had been slow, which made him feel unhappy.

  Rumors about Luán Jiāng Shān have been growing, and there have even been several disputes between male and female disciples. Finally, during one class, Lin Dōu had no choice but to use the time for concentrated meditation to remind his disciples: "This year's rumors are too excessive, especially you, Liú Yǎng disciples. You're not in your first year on Yǎng Shén Peak, you should understand the rules, yet you're actually fueling the rumors, which really disappoints me."

  Lin Xiao was the most gentle of all the instructors, but when he occasionally became strict, the effect was very obvious. Many male disciples blushed and lowered their heads, not daring to look him straight in the eye.

  "I'm not qualified to comment on other sects." Lin Sao's tone already had a judgmental meaning, "But I want to remind you that the cultivation method of Luanshan is completely different from other sects. Since you are disciples of Pangshan, don't be wishy-washy and it's best to keep a distance from guests."

  It seems that these words were still not clear enough, so Lin Xiao added another sentence, "The farther the better, you are all children and have not yet reached the time to come into contact with worldly affairs and Taoist affairs."

  If it weren't for the last sentence, Lin Daoyi's reminder would have been more effective. As a result, at lunchtime that day, all the new disciples were asking what "Fanyuan" and "Dao Yuan" were.

  Xiao Qiu was another exception, eating and thinking about something else: the disorderly thorny mountain that only accepted female disciples, and the interrupted inheritance of the twenty-nine female Taoist priests, did they have any connection?

  (Collection needed, recommended)