Human Tribulation

  Xun Daozi spent some time in Xundao Mountain Cave Mansion sorting out this trip to Hongyuan, and after retreating for several years, he gained a little.

  After leaving the customs, he thought about refining a stick for Liu Ling. In these years, Liu Ling has not rested, and his cultivation is very hard. With the company of San Yan Xue Shi Beast and Yu Qi Lin, his progress is rapid, and the first turn of Jiuzhuan Xuan Gong has been completed. In his spare time, he also followed San Yan Xue Shi Beast and Yu Qi Lin to manage the medicinal fields in the valley, and planted the collected spiritual grasses and elixirs, as well as the Ling Gen Xian Guo, which were sought after by Xun Daozi. He is not like Sun Wukong in "Journey to the West" who only knows how to waste and destroy things. He is also very filial to Xun Daozi, which makes Xun Daozi feel very satisfied.

  This time out of the pass, Xun Daozi wants to pick 'Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine' for Liu Ling's physical training and tempering. In the past, after giving it to San Yan Snow Lion Beast and Yu Qilin, the effect was extremely obvious. Now, for this disciple, Xun Daozi will not be stingy. Moreover, there are still many tens of thousands of years left, and there are also auxiliary spiritual medicines, which can be used to configure and refine with Liu Ling.

  Xun Daozi summoned Liu Ling, understood his cultivation status, gave him some guidance, and then returned to the Dan room to take out the 'Hunyuan Furnace' to refine the elixir and the stick used by Liu Ling.

  Decades later, Xun Daozi held a jade box in one hand and a dark golden rod in the other, with a triumphant expression on his face as he exited the Dan room and headed straight for the Bamboo Pavilion.

  Arrived at the Bamboo Pavilion, all around was empty, searching for Daozi, one buttock sat on a recliner, hand holding a jade box casually placed on an old tree stump tea table, a stick stood beside. Reached out to take a spiritual fruit from the tea table and took a big bite, sent a message to Liu Ling to come to the Bamboo Pavilion to see himself.

  Before long, Liu Ling flashed out of the fruit forest and rushed towards the bamboo pavilion. As she approached the bamboo pavilion, she slowed down her pace, stepped inside quietly, and bowed before Daozi, saying: "Disciple pays respects to Master!"

  Xun Daozi nodded and let Liu Ling get up, asking about his cultivation situation.

  Liu Ting humbly walked over, and Daozi nodded in approval. He casually picked up a dark golden rod beside him and handed it to Liu Ting, saying: "This is a weapon that I have refined for you, take a look and see if it suits your taste."

  Liu Ying respectfully took over the stick, but felt a weight in his hand, as if he couldn't grasp it firmly. He barely managed to stand upright with his movements, but his face showed some embarrassment.

  Xun Daozi looked at Liu Ling's embarrassed expression and smiled. This staff of Xun Daozi was made with a lot of good materials, the main material being the dark red unknown wooden rod that Xun Daozi had used before, mixed with many innate gold stones, even adding a bit of the leftover soil from Nüwa's creation of humans. The weight was astonishing, and in Xun Daozi's hands, it felt slightly heavy, let alone in Liu Ling's hands. It was already not easy for Liu Ling to hold onto it without having refined it through rituals. If Liu Ling wanted to use it easily, he would still need to refine it through rituals. Xun Daozi immediately taught Liu Ling the method of refining it through rituals.

  Xun Daozi saw the method of transmission and handed it to Liu Ling, then picked up the jade box on the tea table, opened it lightly, and inside were nine crystal-like, round and smooth, radiant dan medicines. A pungent aroma burst out of the jade box. Xun Daozi looked at the dan medicine with Liu Ling, closed the jade box, handed it to Liu Ling, and said: "This is a dan medicine made by Master using 'Nine Dragon Snow Jade Pine' pine nuts as the main medicine, assisted by many spiritual medicines, refined to temper the body and spirit. You take it and use the 'Nine Turns Mysterious Skill' to refine the medicinal power, which will have unexpected effects. You can go to the cave mansion to find a quiet room to close your doors and refine the medicinal power, and also offer this stick for sacrifice."

  Liu Ying respectfully accepted the jade box, bowed down to thank Xun Daozi, and then asked with respect: "Master, does this stick have a name?"

  "Since I have never given you a name, you may call yourself whatever you like!"

  Liu Zong got up and respectfully exited the bamboo pavilion, following Daozi's instructions to go find a quiet room for closed meditation.

  Xun Daozi waited for Liu Ling to leave, then brewed a pot of tea and drank it. He got up and went to the valley to take a look around, checking on the growth of various spiritual herbs. He also prepared some spiritual tea to bring with him to see his master Yuan Shi, seeking his guidance on the matter of the underworld.

  In the valley, Xun Daozi walked around in a circle and returned to the bamboo pavilion. He sat down on the reclining chair, thinking about when he would go to Kunlun Mountain again. Suddenly, he remembered the small settlement of the Wu tribe's Hou Tu department that he had encountered when searching for the Ling tea in the Xun Dao mountain. The faces of Shi Yong, Shi Ba and others appeared vividly in his mind, with their straightforward smiles and ardent gazes. At this time, all these memories became clear and bright.

  At the same time, Xun Daozi also felt a hint of doubt in his heart. The Wu tribe from that small settlement was somewhat different from the Wu tribe he had seen later on. He hadn't noticed it before, but now that he thought about it again, he realized this difference. The Wu tribe from that small settlement were much more robust and taller when they were in human form compared to those he had seen elsewhere. Shi Yong, Shi Ba and others were around two zhang tall at the time, while Xun Daozi was just a tiny figure beside them. He hadn't noticed it then, nor did he remember it later, but now that he thought about it again, it seemed quite special.

  Xīn heart movement, seeking the Taozi feels it is necessary to go and take a look at this small residence of the Wu tribe's Hou Tu department. In those years, from Xun Dao Mountain to there, he spent quite some time, now in less than half an hour, can also be considered as his neighbor of Xun Dao Mountain. At that time, he received favors from him and others, not only obtained a rare spiritual tea plant, but also got the 'Hun Yuan Furnace' treasure, should he return this favor?

  With this thought, Xun Daozi didn't summon the San Yan Xue Shi beast and the Yu Qi Lin, instead he left the cave alone, activated the "Zhong Di Jin Guang Shu" technique, and a golden light headed towards his remembered little dwelling place.

  The "Vertical Golden Light Technique" is now extremely fast, and soon they arrived at the place in their memory. When they looked up, it was completely different from before, with many people coming and going everywhere, including both witches and humans. It seemed that they got along quite well.

  Xun Daozi walked towards the gate of the dwelling place, and on the way, he met many Wu and human tribes who would bow to him, ask about his well-being, and Xun Daozi would smile and return their greetings one by one.

  As they approached the gate, several Wu warriors were waiting. Xun Daozi walked forward and bowed his head: "Please report to Shi Yong tribe leader that old friend Xun Daozi has come to visit."

  A sturdy man among the guards made a fist to Xun Daozi and said, "Please wait for a moment, Master!" He turned around and quickly entered the gate, rushing straight to a stone temple in the middle.

  In the stone temple, more than a dozen sturdy men and women of the Wu tribe were sitting cross-legged, their faces showing sorrow and bitterness. Each one had tightly closed mouths, staring at each other without speaking.

  At this time, the strong man guarding the door outside came in to report: "Report to all the elders, there is a Taoist priest outside the door who claims to be an old friend of the clan chief and has come to pay his respects!"

  The robust man in the middle wearing a linen garment with a stern expression spoke up and said: "May I ask what you are called?"

  Zhuang Han replied: "The Taoist calls himself 'Xun Daozi'."

  A majestic and robust man bowed his head and muttered: "Xun Daozi, Xun Daozi......" as if trying his best to recall who this person was.

  After a long time, a man with a wide and deep scar on his face next to the majestic and robust Han suddenly spoke up: "Xun Daozi, Xun Daozi...... Could it be that......" As he said this, his eyes were fixed on the robust Han in the middle.

  A robust and majestic man with a stern face saw the scar-faced man staring at him, listening to his muttering, not knowing what he wanted to say, also stared back at the scar-faced man.

  The scar-faced man spoke up: "Can the clan leader remember whether it was over 10 million years ago or over 20 million years ago? To be honest, I don't recall exactly how many millions of years ago it was either. The clan leader brought a Taoist to our residence, beat us up, and had that Taoist give us some pointers?"

  The majestic-looking man raised his head, narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment before lowering his head to ask the scar-faced man: "Are you talking about him?" His eyes were filled with doubt.

  The scar-faced man nodded and said: "I think it's him!"

  The majestic Hanzi stood up - over 6 feet tall - and said: "Go out and take a look."

  Outside the gate of his residence, Xun Daozi watched the busy Wus and humans with a warm glow in his eyes, not minding the wait at all.

  Just then, the strong man who had gone in earlier led two men out. These two men were about 6-7 feet tall and were indeed two giants. They looked around and suddenly recognized the Stone Brave Tribe's leader, Shi Yong, and his powerful shaman, Shi Bao, on horseback.

  Two giants came out of the door and saw a man in a white Taoist robe, Xun Daozi, smiling at them. After a slight pause, they immediately recognized him as the Taoist who had stayed with them before - Xun Daozi. The two men suddenly beamed with smiles and stepped forward, clasping their fists to their chests: "We didn't expect the Taoist master to arrive, we didn't come out to greet you far away, please forgive us!"

  "The poor monk came uninvited and disturbed you, I hope the patriarch will not be offended!"

  The three of them burst out laughing and Shi Yong led the way, with Shi Ba following closely behind. The three of them walked towards the stone temple in the middle of their residence.

  As they entered the Stone Hall, everyone in the hall stood up and faced the three of them. Shi Yong's loud voice rang out: "You can still remember Xun Daozi, hurry up and come to pay respects to the Daoist master!" The sound shook the air with a buzzing echo.

  Among the crowd, several people who had seen Xun Daozi before showed a joyful expression. They all clasped their fists and said: "We've met Master Dao!" Their voices were like thunder.

  The disciple kowtows and bows in return.

  Shi Yong invited everyone to sit down and ordered fruit to be served.

  After sitting down, Shi Yong spoke up and said: "I don't know what you're here for!"

  Xun Daozi glanced at the crowd in the hall, seeing that many had reached the Great Witch boundary, and the rest were also high-ranking Force Witches and Art Witches. Although there was a smile on his face, it couldn't hide the sorrow in his eyes. Xun Daozi didn't point it out, but instead responded to Shi Yong's words: "I'm idle, so I recalled that I once passed by here years ago, and received hospitality from all of you, so I came to take a look at old friends!"

  Shi Yongdao said: "It's rare that Master Dao still remembers us. In the past, we benefited greatly from Master Dao's guidance and have not had the opportunity to express our gratitude in person. Today, I'm grateful for Master Dao's visit and would like to take this chance to thank him for his guidance back then!" He finished by bowing with a fist and making a courtesy call.

  Xun Daozi raised his hand to support him, but Shi Yong's body couldn't bow down. This courtesy couldn't be performed. The shock in Shi Yong's heart was not trivial. As a high-ranking Da Wu, equivalent to the cultivation of Taiyi Golden Immortal, he was unable to bow down even with Xun Daozi's support. His strength must have been extremely high. Shi Yong also had a high self-esteem within his clan and didn't expect Xun Daozi to surpass him by so much. After feeling shocked and fearful, he immediately stopped trying to perform the courtesy and only clasped his fists in respect.

  Xun Daozi saw Shi Yong withdraw his hand and also withdrew his own, opening his mouth to say: "This humble Taoist has received many favors from all of you in the past, but never expressed gratitude. Today it is this humble Taoist who should be thanking all of you!" After finishing speaking, he bowed his head to the ground as a gesture of respect.

  Everyone in the room was busy saying they didn't dare.

  After seeing everyone's panic, Xun Daozi spoke again: "I see that all of you have worried looks on your faces, as if there is something difficult going on. I don't know if it's okay to ask, but if I can help, I will definitely lend a hand."

  Shi Yong and the people in the hall looked at Xun Daozi with a sincere expression, exchanged glances with each other, and finally, Shi Yong let out a long sigh and said something that made Xun Daozi's eyes widen in shock.

  PS: Thanks for the leader's visit and reward! Wishing everyone happiness!