Chapter Twenty: Asking About the Body and Mind

  Cheng Jun returned all the way to the mountain slope where the Mountain God Temple was located, and before he even approached, he saw three figures in the snowy ground from a distance, like three statues.

  Cheng Jun furrowed his brow and stopped in his tracks, seeing that the only person sitting in the middle was wearing a dusty gray robe, with his legs crossed, sitting on the snowy ground. It was indeed the little monk. His eyes were slightly closed, without any joy or anger, his expression calm and serene, almost devout, with some of the demeanor of a high-ranking monk. On either side of him stood two Taoist boys, dressed similarly to Qingfeng Mingyue from yesterday, about the same age, but with completely different appearances, and without the Seven-Star Sword on their backs, clearly two different Taoist boys.

  Jing Yun's eyebrows furrowed as soon as he saw the figure in front of him, and he walked straight up without stopping.

  Upon hearing his footsteps, the two Taoist youths turned around simultaneously. They saw that both of them had calm and composed expressions, without any hint of arrogance like Qingfeng and Mingyue. Instead, they appeared humble and courteous. One of them took a step forward, bowed, and said: "May I ask if you are a fellow Daoist who is passing by Mount Wanma?"

  Cheng Jun's eyes flickered, and he saw that the Daoist boy was holding a red wooden box in his hands. After a moment of thought, he knew what they had come for, and nodded: "It's me."

  The young boy smiled and said: "I am Chunfeng, a Taoist disciple of Yuhua Daoist of Ziyun Pavilion. I have been sent by my master to invite you to visit Ziyun Pavilion for a gathering." As he spoke, he presented a wooden box with both hands.

  Cheng Jun raised an eyebrow: "This Yue Hua Lao Dao reacts quickly and can endure, really sending a formal invitation. Seeing this Chun Feng being polite and courteous, he also politely said: 'I don't dare.' He took over the gift box, opened it to take a look, and saw that inside there was only one invitation card, written on which was 'Fellow Taoist Purple Cloud Temple Yue Hua Dao person pays respects, respectfully inviting fellow Taoist to visit our humble temple.' At the bottom, a gift list was revealed."

  Cheng Jun didn't expect there to be a gift list, and on it was written "ten taels of gold, ten pairs of spiritual stones". He secretly smiled to himself, thinking that for a loose cultivator, twenty spiritual stones were already a generous amount, but adding worldly gold made it somewhat excessive. In the words of the cultivation world, it had been tainted by worldly vulgarity. However, he was now penniless and white-haired, so who was he to mock others? With a hint of a smile, he said: "I dare not accept the gift. I'll take down the note, and return the box with both hands. Tomorrow, I, Cheng Jun, will definitely go to Purple Cloud Temple to visit my friend Yue Hua."

  The boy outside the spring breeze was taken aback and said, "Aren't you going with us now?"

  "Spring Wind scolded, 'Hua Yu, don't be rude. Bring the gift over.' Hua Yu didn't dare say more and brought the gift box over. Cheng Jun also didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it. Spring Wind took a step forward and said, 'Since that's the case, we'll take our leave first. Master will wait for your arrival at Purple Cloud Temple tomorrow.' With that, he bowed again and left with Hua Yu."

  As soon as they left, Xiao Shang immediately recovered from his meditation state, and with a smile on his face, he jumped up and said: "Finally gone. I'm most afraid of seeing these two people, if Qingfeng and Mingyue came, they would only be arrogant, but I like it, and I'm not afraid to collide head-on with them. These two guys speak with a smile in every sentence, but also reveal a sinister aura, and can't do anything about it. I was bored to death after sitting here for an afternoon to pretend to be a big shot.

  Cheng Jun smiled and said, "Fortunately, I met these two people, only then did I think that Yue Hua Dao Ren looked like a decent person. If they were all as gentle and elegant as him, I wouldn't have been interested in meeting him at all."

  The little monk smiled and said, "You always speak in a very fierce tone." He paused for a moment, then solemnly said, "But you shouldn't have agreed to go with them. The Purple Cloud Temple is not a good place to go, it's like a dragon's lair or a tiger's den. And the old Daoist Yue Hua is not a good person to associate with, his smile that can charm the birds and flowers from the trees hides a knife, it's just one of his faces. The ruthless and merciless clear wind and bright moon is another face of his."

  Cheng Jun said, "I must go once and for all. I've already accepted the invitation, so this time I'll just take a look and then leave. If this play is to continue, I must make a move myself. Can't I just wait for him to lose patience and come to me? I haven't even seen his true colors with my own eyes yet, it's better not to drink the penalty wine when you don't respect the wine."

  "You're the kind of person who can say things that boost others' morale and undermine your own prestige? Alas, it just so happens that if you agree to drag this out for another day, it'll be just in time. By tomorrow, we might not have to fear him anymore." As he spoke, a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

  "What's wrong?"

  The little monk could no longer hold back his excitement, clenched his fist and waved it, saying: "Come on, I'll show you something great." He then pulled him up the mountain.

  Cheng Jun was also a little curious, and followed him up the mountain to the temple of the mountain god. Although the temple of the mountain god was narrow, it had three rooms in front and back. The outer room was where Cheng Jun had lain before, except for the shrine, only a large bell was hung, which was already full and could not hold anything else. As for the two rooms behind, Cheng Jun had never been there before.

  The little monk led him to the middle room, which was roughly the same size as the outside, but with even fewer things inside. In the center of the room was a table, and on the floor was a rolled-up quilt, presumably the little monk's bed. In the corner of the wall stood a water vat, a jar, and some stacked rice, flour, and cured meat that had been sent over by Chaihuatou. On the back wall of the room, an angled door led to the next room in the back, but it was slightly ajar, making it impossible to see the path behind it.

  The little monk carefully approached the bed, pulled out a package from under the pillow, and carefully opened it. Inside was an ancient bronze mirror. He carefully wiped it clean and said, "This is something that the elder gave me before he left. It's a very important treasure. Luckily, the supervisor didn't see it, or he would have taken it away."

  Cheng Jun took a glance and immediately knew it was a rare magical artifact. It wasn't that the grade was particularly high, but its effect was extremely rare, hardly seen in the cultivation world. "The Mirror of Inquiry?"

  "Wow, it's actually called the 'Inquiring Body Mirror'? You're really knowledgeable, you even know this? Our elder doesn't even know what it's called! He just told me that this mirror was refined by a high-ranking monk with his heart and soul, and is connected to his spirit. When the monk approaches within a thousand miles of the mirror, it starts to show vague images. Within a hundred miles, you can see human shadows. And when the image becomes clear enough to make out facial features, that's when the monk will be standing right in front of us."

  As he spoke, he raised the mirror and said to Cheng Jun: "Take a look, take a look, can you see anyone's shadow?"

  Cheng Jun looked into the mirror and indeed saw a shadow reflected on it. Although he couldn't see the person's facial features clearly, their body shape and posture already revealed some clues. He said, "Not bad, judging from this reflection, that person must be about fifty miles away from here."

  The little monk was overjoyed and said, "Indeed you say so. A mere fifty miles, isn't it just a moment's journey? I've heard that the best of the thousand-mile horses can travel eight hundred miles in a day, but Master, how can you be even stronger than a horse?"

  Cheng Jun wiped his nose and said, "You're overpraising us. Generally, we can't outrun a horse." To be honest, ordinary cultivators who have just entered the Dao realm aren't necessarily faster than horses, let alone comparable to the endurance of a fine steed that can run for a thousand miles. However, it's true that they can climb mountains better than horses.

  "Anyway, whether it's tomorrow or in a few days, Master Shu will definitely return. We'll have an extra pair of hands then, and at that time, the old Taoist from Purple Cloud Temple won't be a problem either. Heh heh, when that time comes, I wonder if he'll still dare to marry Sister Chai..." Just as he said this, he suddenly realized he had misspoken and hastily stopped himself, revealing an awkward expression. However, he saw that Cheng Jun hadn't responded, instead flipping the bronze mirror over and over in his hands.

  Xiao He Shang said, "What are you doing? My Master's uncle may have been good-looking in the past, but now he can't be seen as anything special. If you really want to take a look at him, wait until he arrives and then face-to-face gaze your fill."

  Cheng Jun's mouth twitched, and he said, "Don't talk nonsense. I think this artifact is pretty good. This Body Mirror was originally just an ordinary artifact, with a grade below one product being common, which is the lowest level. However, this mirror has been sealed with an additional restriction by a master craftsman, forcibly raising its grade to two products, interesting."

  Xiao Heshang said: "A ban was issued, what does it say?"

  Cheng Jun Dao said: "As for this mirror, it is just a Buddhist technique 'Zhao Du Jin Guang' sealed inside. It only needs to be urged by spiritual energy to emit light, and it does not conflict with Buddhism."

  Xiao He Shang was both shocked and delighted, saying: "You say I have a Buddhist artifact in my hand that can release spells? I didn't know that the Golden Light of Salvation is such a powerful spell?"

  Cheng Jun Dao said, "Buddhist magic has always been the nemesis of evil spirits. Stand back and let me demonstrate." As he spoke, he pressed both hands on either end of the copper mirror, gave it a slight turn, and the reflective surface changed direction. Cheng Jun formed a hand seal and shouted, "Rise!"

  The mirror suddenly rose with a layer of golden light, as if the brass had suddenly turned into pure gold. The golden light was dazzling and captivating. The golden light flashed several times, and then suddenly emitted a beam of light, rushing forward.

  The little monk was originally delighted and surprised, but when he saw where the golden light was heading, he couldn't help but exclaim: "This is not good."

  The golden light, without any deviation, happened to rush towards the door between the middle house and the back house. With a loud crash, the door panel disintegrated into powder under the illumination of the golden light, revealing the dark and gloomy back hall. The golden light advanced unimpeded, charging into the darkness within the back house.

  However—

  That majestic golden light, surging and pouring into the back room, fell into darkness, but like a mud cow entering the sea, there was no news. The golden light behind continued to shine in continuously, but the front was still without a single ray of light, as if this small room was an endless abyss, absorbing all the light.

  Suddenly

  A moment later, the light faded away, and everything returned to normal. Only Cheng Jun stood in the house, holding a mirror and staring at the back hall with a faint cold smile, muttering: "Indeed formidable."

  The little monk was still in shock and stuttered: "Y...y...you..."

  Cheng Jun smiled and said, "I apologize. Fortunately, this small temple has the blessing of the Bodhisattva. Otherwise, with my reckless behavior, wouldn't I have destroyed an ancient temple? Just now, I also tested it, and indeed, this mirror has spiritual power. You'd better keep it safe." He handed the mirror back with both hands, but in his heart, he was secretly surprised that this attempt to probe had been fruitless.

  Probe.

  Cheng Jun borrowed the mirror to probe Hou Tang, not because of a sudden interest, but because this little monk also had too many intriguing aspects. For example, when Cheng Jun first arrived at the temple, he was unconscious and anyone who saw him would only think he was sick or seriously injured. However, the little monk knew that he was deeply absorbed in meditation and even thought to use the bell to wake him up, which is not a common person's understanding. Moreover, although the little monk repeatedly said that he didn't understand anything about the cultivation world, his words revealed that he had some knowledge of certain rules. Nevertheless, if one were to say that he was knowledgeable, it would be unreasonable; how could a child like him know anything in the declining Wan Ma Temple?

  Unless he has a powerful backer.

  Cheng Jun didn't think that Little Monk had any ulterior motives, but this wasn't to say that the people behind him were harmless. He also paid attention to the mysterious atmosphere in the back hall, which didn't feel right.

  It's just a smell. Cheng Jun didn't see it, but with one sniff of his nose, he knew that what was hidden inside wasn't anything good. That's why he temporarily used the mirror to probe around.

  Unfortunately, it was all in vain for the time being, but Cheng Jun didn't mind. There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

  The little monk showed a worried expression, hesitated for a moment, and said: "This treasure mirror has such magical powers. Tomorrow, take it with you to the Purple Cloud Temple to try your luck. If my master can't arrive in time, perhaps he will be able to protect one or two people."

  Cheng Jun suddenly smiled awkwardly and said, "Don't blame me, little Zen master. Although the treasure mirror is powerful, it's limited by its quality and can only be used once every three days after being illuminated by golden light. I've just wasted it. Forgive me, forgive me."

  Xiao Heshang was speechless for a moment, then heard Cheng Jun say: "I don't know if the fur of this wrapped mirror can be given to me?"

  The little monk said: "This is naturally no problem, you can take it away."

  Cheng Jun thanked him and turned to leave the temple, rubbing the gray fur in his hand. He glanced back at the temple and thought to himself: The secret hidden in the back hall of that small temple is something even Ziyun Pavilion doesn't dare to step over the Thunder Pond for - indeed formidable. Never mind, my priority now lies with Ziyun Pavilion; I can deal with the things hidden in the dark later.

  Zi Yun Guan is a pass he must go through, not referring to tomorrow's gathering, but rather the several months he spent in Wan Ma Shan, all of which are related to Zi Yun Guan.

  This unremarkable piece of fur in my hand is actually a rare and precious material, the pelt of a Fire Mouse. It's just what I need to create talismans. With my skills, even this small piece can be used to draw twelve talismans. If I use it carefully, I should be able to get through this ordeal.