Chapter Ten: Nanping Bestows His Art

  The snowfall here in Nanping is even heavier, and there are far fewer pedestrians on the streets than last time I came. The road has already been covered with a thick layer of white, exceeding one foot deep. The houses on both sides of the street have been connected by rain and snow, and at a glance, it's like a snowy city in a fairy tale.

  Last time, Yu Feng rushed from Nanping to Fuzhou without stopping for a whole day. He set off at dawn and arrived just before nightfall. Now, he applied the divine movement technique to himself, rushing all the way to Nanping in less than three hours, even the fastest flying bird would find it hard to keep up with his current speed.

  Fortunately, he had cast a stealth spell on himself, or else he would have startled the secular world. After such a long sprint, there was still nearly half of his true yuan left in his body, which was much better than last time when his true energy was almost depleted. He didn't stay in the city for long and headed straight to the Li Mansion. He quietly snuck into the courtyard where Li Xiang practiced.

  As expected, this kid is indeed here on a snowy day. With a movement of his divine consciousness, he discovered that Li Xiang's internal strength level was significantly higher than it was more than half a year ago. It was clear that during the days when Yu Feng was not around, Li Xiang had been diligently practicing without any slackness in his heart. His state of mind was also stable and calm, without any signs of impatience or eagerness to achieve quick success. Yu Feng had always been worried that this kid would overexert himself and damage his meridians, which could lead to him going crazy. But now, even if he were to go crazy, he could pull himself back. This was what Yu Feng thought in his heart.

  Yu Feng deliberately made a little noise and then hid his own figure again.

  "Who's there? Come out." Li Xiangyi immediately turned around and held his breath, staring at the source of the noise.

  "What's going on with you sneaking around? If you don't come out, I won't be polite!" Li Xiang saw no one responding and was certain he hadn't misheard. He knew that if there was something in his line of sight, it wouldn't be able to move. Seeing no response, three arrow-shaped flying darts shot out in a triangular formation. These weren't like the wooden boards or copper coins used by Yu Feng before, but were actually made from refined iron forged in an ironworks and designed by Yu Feng himself for Li Xiang.

  "I said Li Xiang, Master just came back and you're treating your master with these flying darts?" Yu Feng smiled as he caught the three flying darts, appearing in the place where Li Xiang was staring at with wide eyes.

  "Master, you...you...how did you come out from there? Ah no, Master, you're back, I wasn't shooting at you, it was just a coincidence that I shot in your direction, but not at you..." What made Li Xiang's eyes widen and his mouth water even more than the master's return was the way the master appeared, to the point where he stuttered and spoke incoherently.

  "How can you, not yet? You've only just learned a bit of your master's skills and you dare to question your master's skills." Yu Feng looked at his disciple rushing over with such a silly expression and wanted to laugh, so he patted him on the shoulder.

  "Not bad, it's more solid than half a year ago, I suppose you've been practicing hard, the dart just now was pretty good, just a bit off target." Yu Feng said as he returned the dart to Li Xiang.

  "I said Master, don't use so much force, my shoulder is almost shattered by you." Li Xiangcai took the flying dart and immediately put it on the ground, desperately rubbing his left shoulder which was slapped by Yu Feng.

  "Master, I've only been learning this hidden weapon for less than half a year, and being able to hit you from just hearing the sound is already quite good, I've been practicing diligently for several months. Master, not everyone is like you, who's not much older than me but has learned so many things." Li Xiang said with a bitter face to Yu Feng.

  "It's been a long time since I've seen you, let's go and take a look at your parents. They probably still don't know I'm here yet. Lately, have I gotten into the habit of jumping over walls? Yu Feng thought to himself, these days he really had jumped over quite a few walls, hmm, this habit isn't very good, best to get rid of it early."

  After meeting Li Xiang's parents, Yu Feng took him to the training ground again, because Yu Feng was really not used to socializing and making small talk, so he excused himself by saying he wanted to check on his disciple's martial arts progress. He took a deep breath. Sigh, it's better to be quiet. Then, with a serious expression, he said to Li Xiang:

  "Axiong, in the future you mustn't be so polite to me, or else I'll run away immediately, got it?"

  "Don't worry, Master, I won't be polite to you. My parents are just used to being that way with people, let alone you're my master, don't blame them." Li Xiang said with a tongue-out expression.

  "That's good, because I don't know how to be polite to people, so when these things happen, I avoid them far away. You come with me, sit here, calm down." Yu Feng pulled Li Xiang to the side and sat him down.

  "Uh-huh, okay, what else should I do?" Li Xiang sat up straight and said.

  "Don't you worry about anything, I'll teach you medicine and some other things. Later on, no matter what happens, just keep your heart and mind intact, or else you'll become an idiot and I won't care." Yu Feng was thinking of using the Heart-to-Heart Transmission method to pass on his medical skills and experiences to him.

  "Alright, I understand." After hearing Yu Feng's serious tone, Li Xiang no longer dared to be careless and quickly calmed his mind, clearing away distractions.

  Only to see Yu Feng's hands pinched the law seal, slowly pressed on Li Xiang's Yintang, Li Xiang's body shook, but immediately calmed down, letting Yu Feng do as he pleased. At this time, Yu Feng had just guided the air into his body for a short time, so he still couldn't cast spells in mid-air, and now he still had to rely on the law seal to touch the person being treated, only then could the heart-to-heart transmission technique be successful.

  "Master, what's going on? How could you possibly teach me so many things at once and I remember them all? Is this the legendary Buddhist method of 'pouring the elixir into the top'? Are you going to become a monk?" Li Xiang opened his eyes and excitedly shouted, pulling Yu Feng to ask for an explanation.

  "You've just become a monk, this is Taoist magic, you think only Buddhism has it." Yu Feng's originally clear and elegant face turned pale, apparently the Heart Thought Transmission Technique had consumed too much of his energy.

  "Oh, Taoist magic, Taoist door, Master, aren't you already an immortal? Hmm, Master, your face is so pale, do you want to rest first? I'll have someone send over a ginseng chicken soup later." Li Xiang was originally still curious about some things and wanted to ask for clarification, but suddenly discovered that Yu Feng's face had turned pale, knowing that his master must have hurt his body when he used that magic just now, and couldn't help but feel heartache.

  "Master is fine, just a bit exhausted from using his divine sense, it's nothing to worry about, he'll be back to normal in a day or two. As for becoming an immortal, that's still far off, I don't even know if I'll see that hope in this lifetime." Yu Feng couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy towards the path of Taoism, the human heart is unpredictable, and the heavens are awe-inspiring!

  "Master, as long as you're okay, I was really worried that you'd hurt yourself teaching me these things. I'd rather learn slowly then." Li Xiang felt relieved that his master was fine and noticed that his complexion seemed a bit better than before.

  "Master, is there really a fairy among humans? As you just used the Taoist magic, is it true that there are also Taoist fairies in the world?" Seeing that Yufeng was fine, Li Xiang thought of clarifying the question he had at the beginning.

  "My master doesn't know if there are immortals in this world, but the skills he has learned in the mortal realm can indeed be considered as immortal magic. I just don't know what real immortal magic looks like. I said to Xiaoyu, why didn't you ask me to teach you these skills? Yu Feng also felt a sense of nostalgia, but thinking about how this kid didn't let me teach him these skills made him feel strange, and he wanted to tease him to see how anxious he would become."

  "Master, I haven't even mastered my current martial arts skills yet, so don't worry about teaching me these things for now, you'll definitely tell me when the time comes." Li Xiang chuckled foolishly and rubbed his head.

  "Hmm, your temperament has improved compared to before, I reckon it's also related to the Qing Xin Jue you've been practicing. This internal skill has a calming effect on the mind and heart. Otherwise, with your previous restless and impulsive nature, you wouldn't be able to remain so calm now." Yu Feng saw that he was no longer anxious or flustered, but instead seemed puzzled. However, this is also good, it will likely have a positive impact on his behavior and interactions with others.

  "Don't worry, I've already passed some things on to you inside, it's just that the memories related to this part have been sealed by me with the Soul-Sealing Technique. When your internal energy reaches the level of Innate, you'll understand. For now, learning this is also okay, but based on my own speculation, I think it's better for you to cultivate your internal energy first and then enter the gate of cultivating the Tao, which will make your foundation a bit more solid."

  I deeply understand this, anyway you're much luckier than me, you always have a master, I can only rely on myself to grope forward. Don't worry about the road ahead, when the time comes I'll teach it to you." Yu Feng had already understood his temperament and had long planned to lead him into the cultivation world as well. It's probably not so boring in this situation now.

  "Hehe, Master, I knew you'd be good to me." Speaking in a girly tone, Li Xiang himself felt a bit embarrassed.

  "Right, Li Xiang, although I'll teach you the Taoist arts, you must remember that first and foremost, the Taoist methods absolutely cannot be lightly transmitted. This is even more dangerous than clearing your mind of desires. A person who masters the Taoist arts can cause great harm if they do bad things, and no one in the secular world can stop them. Not transmitting it to someone without spiritual roots is an unspoken rule in the Taoist community. Although many people don't care about this, I'm telling you clearly, even though I've only known this for a short while myself."

  "People without spiritual roots cannot achieve immortality through cultivation, giving people hope only to let them down soon after. Moreover, such individuals spend a long time after cultivating just to prolong their lifespan, and many have done inhumane things under the desire for longevity. As for what spiritual roots are, you'll understand once you learn it - it's a simple method. If I hadn't discovered that you possess spiritual roots when I came over, I wouldn't be teaching you this technique. Furthermore, those who hold official positions in the imperial court will not be taught unless they abandon their posts to cultivate. Think about whether there are any immortal emperors or officials in the world and you'll understand."

  "Secondly, don't easily let outsiders know, understand? Not even your parents should be told, just say it's martial arts, and don't easily reveal in front of outsiders that you can do Taoist magic and the like. If in the future your Taoist skills are vast and profound, you can refine some elixirs to make your family members' bodies healthier and extend their lifespan a bit, this is no problem.

  The risks in the world of cultivating Taoism are too great, if you're not careful you'll lose your soul and scatter your spirit, without even having the chance to reincarnate. If you're not careful, it's possible that not only will you be implicated, but also your family members. Do you know?" Yu Feng then spoke with a serious face to Li Xiang, fearing that he wouldn't understand these taboos in the future.

  "Uh-huh, I know, from now on I will be more careful with these things." Li Xiang heard these words and also knew the importance of them, nodding all along, afraid that he would forget in the future.

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