Chapter 5: Granting the Dharma

  After witnessing the romance between Xiaoyue and the boy from the neighboring village, Li Mu had a great improvement in his understanding of emotions. After several days of observation, Li Mu discovered that men and women are not only different in name, but also have many taboos between them.

  For example, you can't touch someone else's wife, you can't casually touch a girl's hand, and when going to the bathroom, boys and girls must be separated. A girl's private parts cannot be easily exposed, etc. Gradually, Li Mu understood why touching a girl's chest would cause such a big reaction from them. Li Mu felt ashamed and secretly complained: "Master is really something, not even mentioning such an important thing, letting me make a fool of myself." Li Mu scratched his head, suddenly his eyes lit up as he guessed: "Could it be... Master doesn't understand either?" He nodded his head very affirmatively afterwards.

  Another busy day, just observing men and women, sneaking around, forgot to eat. As the sky darkens, my stomach starts growling, I haven't eaten all day. Thinking of last night's delicious food, Li Mu can't help but drool. There were too many good things to eat, last night he only ate a rough estimate, and there were still many that didn't have time to taste before his stomach was already full. Today he wants to go and eat his fill.

  Thinking is doing, this is Li Mu's consistent personality. He pinched the earth escape technique and quickly walked towards the county town, with fat ducks and geese in his eyes.

  "Hey, hey, come back." Just arrived in the county town, it seemed that the aroma of meat had already been smelled, and just as they were about to indulge, they were suddenly pulled back by someone. Li Mu couldn't help but get angry, turned his head to look, and saw that it was the old landlord who had blocked their way.

  "What's wrong with you?" Li Mu frowned.

  "What are you doing?" The old land seemed more reasonable, his beard raised high and staring at Li Mu.

  Li Mu was taken aback, only to remember that this was his territory. The land had its own rules, and one couldn't cross the border to beg for food. But he wasn't going to beg for food, he was just going to find something to eat on his own, so the old land shouldn't interfere with him, should it?

  "I'm going to find something to eat, what's it to you?"

  The old land god was so angry that he stomped his feet and pounded his chest. He really didn't know how the heavenly realm could send such a foolish guy to be the land god. He asked angrily, "Do you have any money?"

  "No."

  "If you don't have money, that's called stealing. As a land god, our duty is to protect one side of the peace, how can we be guilty of dereliction of duty? If the superior deity finds out, I will be punished with thunderbolts. If I tolerate your theft in my territory, I will also be implicated. Yesterday, I let you off because you were new and didn't know any better, so I didn't report it to the Earth Mother Goddess. But there absolutely cannot be a next time."

  There are many taboos for cultivators, such as adultery, murder, theft, and so on. Li Mu had been influenced by them, although he often played some pranks, but he had never violated the taboos. Hearing what Lao Tudi said, it seemed that things were serious. He didn't care about others, but his master's words must be obeyed. His master forbade theft, so he didn't dare to offend. So his attitude improved a lot immediately, and he sincerely asked Lao Tudi: "Old man, is it okay to come and eat as long as you have money?"

  "That's right, with money, you can accomplish a lot in this world." Old Li saw that Lee Mu's attitude had improved significantly and his anger had dissipated by more than half.

  "Then where did the money come from?"

  In the past, he had always lived on Tongyuan Mountain and didn't have a place to use his money. This time, Tongyuan Daxian also intentionally took this opportunity to temper Li Mu, so he didn't make any arrangements, only giving him ten taels of silver before departure. Otherwise, with his influence, not to mention the four forces in Qingshui County, even among the gods of the world, there were few who dared to provoke Li Mu.

  Li Mu knew that money could buy things, but he didn't know much about it.

  Lao Tudi said, "We are only for the land, and we build a temple on our own land to worship and offer food. When locals or travelers pass by, some give money, while others give food. The money is basically like that."

  "Is there no other way?" Li Mu asked further.

  "It's gone."

  "Cut." Li Mu disdainfully glanced at the old land and said something that was equivalent to nothing. The people of Qing Water Village couldn't even fill their own bellies, let alone offer sacrifices to the land. Moreover, it was located by the sea, almost at the end of the road, and rarely did anyone pass through there in a year.

  Failed to find food, might as well return to my own territory and think of a solution slowly. The journey back was much slower than the way here, swaying and wandering back to the seaside, the sky had already darkened. The villagers of Qing Shui Village were busy all day, perhaps they were tired, every household closed their doors and windows, the entire village was pitch black. Only the yellow dog at the village entrance occasionally barked twice, then lazily lay down with its eyes narrowed.

  A person sat by the sea, waves crashing against the reef, making a roaring sound. A golden light emerged from the water and landed beside Li Mu, transforming into a delicate figure. It was indeed Long Nü Ao Ran. Li Mu glanced at her briefly before looking back at the sea with a lack of enthusiasm.

  Sell

  A water arrow hit Li Mu's head as he was lost in thought, followed by a soft shout: "Hey, you haven't greeted the master yet."

  Li Mu rubbed his sore head, glaring at Ao Ran with a hint of anger. Adhering to the principle that a good man does not fight with a woman, he endured for the time being and opened his mouth slightly: "Hello."

  Sell

  "No sincerity, just flattering the master." Ao Ran swung out another water arrow and hit the same spot again.

  "It's fine." Li Mu glared at her with a scowl.

  With a satisfied nod, he said to Li Mu: "I want to practice my magic here, you watch and don't let anyone disturb me." After that, he ignored Li Mu and stood alone by the sea.

  She didn't care about Li Mu, and Li Mu lay down freely on a flat stone he had found.

  After a while, the young generation of the four major sea clans will gather in the East Sea. Ao Ran, as the host, naturally cannot lose face in front of them. If she can cast the Ice Condensation Technique with her hundred years of cultivation, she will surely astonish the four directions and open the eyes of all dragons. In order to make a name for herself at the gathering, Ao Ran has been practicing the Ice Condensation Technique since half a year ago. She is talented and quick in learning magic, and is also one of the few in the dragon clan. Last night, she was about to succeed, but unexpectedly, Li Mu appeared out of nowhere, making her mind uneasy, and she forgot all her magical skills and techniques.

  He had cast the spell several times in a row without success, and Ao Ran couldn't help but feel anxious. Thinking that he was about to succeed yesterday, but was interrupted by Li Mu, making himself feel nothing now, Ao Ran couldn't help but feel annoyed again. He stopped casting the spell, pointed at the seawater near Li Mu, and lightly poured the seawater over Li Mu's body, soaking him thoroughly.

  "What's wrong?" Li Mu sat up helplessly, this set of clothes was really suffering, and he didn't know how many more days he could wear them. He only had this one set of clothes.

  "I'm not happy. Hmph!" He snorted and turned up the corner of his mouth, then ignored Li Mu again and continued to practice his ice condensation technique.

  Li Mu shrugged helplessly, happy or not, he had to suffer. As the middle-aged landowner said, this stubborn dragon girl was indeed not to be trifled with. His whole body was soaked through, so Li Mu simply took off his outer garment, wrung it out and hung it up to dry. With nothing else to do, he sat down on one side to watch Ao Ran practice her magic. Li Mu had practiced many spells before, such as the Thirty-six Heavenly Gates Transformation, controlling thunder and fire, summoning wind and rain, and so on.

  The Tao and the law are nothing but a "borrowing" word, all the spells are borrowed. Xiao Ke borrows the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and Da Ke borrows the power of heaven and earth. At that time, moving mountains and filling seas is not a difficult task. Although the dragon clan's spellcasting and human spellcasting have some differences, they are different paths with the same goal, and ultimately cannot escape the word "borrowing". Li Mu took a look and knew what kind of spell Ao Ran was releasing.

  Ice Condensation Technique, just a few days ago I could still cast it instantly. When dealing with Hong Zhe Long Jun, the instant Ice Condensation Technique froze the entire Hong Ze, even Hong Zhe Long Jun couldn't break through in a short time. This little dragon girl in front of me only has a hundred years of cultivation, wanting to practice this technique is really difficult for her. Heaven gave them very long lives, but compared to humans, their innate talent for cultivating techniques is far inferior to that of humans.

  Li Mu had after all "bullied" her before, and felt a little guilty about it. Seeing how serious she was about practicing, he decided to give her some pointers.

  "No, no, the left hand gesture is completely wrong, the middle finger should be raised. The right hand's guiding method is also incorrect, it should be a unified spirit, concentrated and divine, the incantation and hand seal should match, fully feel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, don't have any distracting thoughts in your mind, only then can you cast the Ice Condensation Technique." Li Mu said from the side.

  "Hmph, what do you know with your small piece of land?" Ao Ran instinctively retorted, glaring at Li Mu before continuing her practice. However, Li Mu's words had indeed left a deep impression on her. Although she said that out loud, in her heart, she was looking at Li Mu with newfound respect. How could someone from such a small piece of land possess such profound magic? She tried practicing using the method Li Mu mentioned, and the effect was indeed much better.

  As she chanted her spell, the surface of the sea in front of her gradually calmed down. However, it only lasted for a second before continuing to hit the coast again. Ao Ran stomped her foot in annoyance, preparing to continue once more.

  Li Mu scolded from the side: "Fool, what are you thinking about? Your heart can't have any distracting thoughts."

  "Pffft!"

  As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, a huge water ball fell from the sky and directly smashed him into the sea. Ao Ran angrily said: "Dare to scold your master as a fool, don't want to live." She was very wronged in her heart, if it weren't for yesterday's affairs leaving a shadow in her heart, would she still need Li Mu to teach? It's strange that there are no distractions in her mind.

  "Alright, alright, I didn't say anything." Li Mu was also somewhat indignant. He was pushed by the seawater to the edge of the reef, pinched the soil and slipped into the stone, then jumped ashore.

  She ignored Li Mu and continued to practice. She worked hard to calm herself down, using the techniques Li Mu had taught her to experiment again and again. Li Mu's method of casting was much easier than what she had used before, and soon she saw results.

  Li Mu learned the true method of Taoism, and his master was Tongyuan Daxian. Ao Ran's learning was only taught by her father, Longwang. The two masters were not on the same level, so their magic must be different too. Longwang can't compare to Tongyuan Daxian.

  Practicing until midnight, she finally successfully cast the Ice Condensation Technique when the moon was setting in the west. Overjoyed, Ao Ran jumped up on one leg and spun around in mid-air, her movements indescribably elegant and beautiful. Although she's already over a hundred years old, but converted to the lifespan of dragons and humans, her personality is roughly equivalent to that of a 15 or 16-year-old human girl.

  It's getting late, she has to hurry back. Otherwise, her mother will scold her again when she finds out. She came to Li Mu's side and said proudly: "You did a good job today." After that, she was about to turn around and leave.

  "Does he have any money on him?"

  Li Mu looked at him strangely and asked: "What's wrong?"

  "Lend me some first."

  He patted his waist, took out a pearl and threw it to Li Mu, "No silver, only this. You performed well today, consider this a reward." Then, he transformed into a golden light and jumped into the sea.