Chapter Sixteen: Heading to Mount Song

  On the D654 bullet train from Jiangbei to Songshan, a woman leaned against the carriage with her eyes closed, due to pain she didn't have the slightest sleepiness even in the soft sleeper, but at this moment she was more curious.

  An ordinary man became so resilient in just a few days, if his resilience was caused by the persecution he suffered, then where did the things he cultivated come from? A strange posture, but it gave him an inexplicable charm that she had only seen on top martial arts masters. Moreover, his occasional exposure of incantations and techniques made it seem like this man with no secrets still had a biggest secret that nobody knew.

  ……

  "Hiss, hiss, still as a mountain, not moving a single thread" Lying softly in bed, I cursed strangely, damn it, I was ruined by "Tú Lù Zhēn Jīng". After repelling the veiled woman in the tunnel of Villa No. 7, I took Lan sister to Mount Song by train. Since there was still plenty of time, I tried to cultivate "Tú Lù Zhēn Jīng"

  "The True Classic of Postures" consists of 13 volumes, with 9 volumes containing 9 strange postures and corresponding incantations. The remaining 4 volumes cover topics such as talismans, divination, medicine, and battle formations, with a vast amount of content that I barely understand. So, I'll start with the 9 posture diagrams. The first diagram is not difficult, simply spreading your legs apart, leaning back, and grasping your toes with both hands, resembling a yoga pose.

  I thought to myself, although I've never practiced yoga, I'm a sports enthusiast and won awards at the university games, so this pose should be no problem, but ten minutes later I realized I underestimated "The True Classic" - my hands and feet were all cramped.

  "Lan, sister Lan, come and help me up quickly, I can't get up" Feeling my hands and feet getting more and more painful, I couldn't bear it anymore, so I hurriedly called out to sister Lan for help. If this goes on, my hands will be crippled.

  "What's wrong?" Lan sister seemed to be thinking about something, and after being called awake by me, she was surprised, but still insisted on coming over to help me up. But with just one effort, her face turned even paler. She had been badly injured before, and that veiled woman didn't show any mercy at all. Lan sister seemed to be no match for her.

  "It's nothing, just my poor practice," I replied casually, lying on the soft couch with a somewhat dizzy feeling. If Kou Qianzhi saw me practicing like this, he would definitely kill me, because I don't understand how to cultivate at all. Real cultivation is extremely dangerous, and if you're not careful, you could lose your life. In ancient times, beginners basically had their masters or seniors by their side to guide them carefully, so it's unlikely that someone could become a top master just by finding an ancient manual, because who knows when they might accidentally go crazy from practicing."

  "Practicing skills! What skills? Last night, I seemed to hear someone calling you 'disciple' when I was digging the tunnel entrance. Was that your master?" Lan Jie frowned and said, practicing skills isn't that simple, she's really worried that I've been deceived.

  "Well, that's my master, Kou Kenchi. What I practice is what he taught me." I replied, this Kou Kenchi looks quite impressive, but I've never heard of him before, probably because he's not a famous person or anything.

  But seeing Lan's expression as if she had seen a ghost, I knew I was wrong again. "What's wrong, is there something wrong, Lan?"

  "You, do you know who Kou Kenchi is?" Lan Jie said with some trembling.

  "I know, my master, something about Wei T'ai Wu's national teacher, the ancestor of Tian Shi Dao, oh, right, what is Tian Shi Dao? I've only heard of Mao Shan"

  "You, you're doomed, haven't you heard? During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, one of the two most famous Daoists was Kou Qianzhi. This person's Daoist skills and political tactics were extremely formidable. Not only did he develop from a rural village into a national teacher in just a few years, but he also indirectly promoted the first anti-Buddhist movement in history. Have you heard of Emperor Taiwu's persecution of Buddhism? Don't be deceived," Lan sister said with a "you've been deceived" look on her face. She knew these historical facts from her training days, because Li Huaguang was also a Daoist believer, so his bodyguards had some knowledge of famous Daoist figures, after all, they were going to interact with Daoist priests."

  "I'm impressed, my master is so powerful, he was involved in the Three Wu's destruction of Buddhism, alas, unfortunately he died early, otherwise I would have had a big hug, what Three Gods' Way, one slap to death" I really didn't know that Kou Qianzhi guy had such an awesome background, the Three Wu's destruction of Buddhism, that's something I can even see in my high school history textbook, it's truly amazing.

  "You, don't pretend to be stupid, Kou Qianzhi has been dead for over a thousand years, how could he be your master? Don't be deceived by others, the skills you're practicing won't be some kind of evil technique, right?" Lan sister said as she showed me the information on her phone from Baidu.

  "Don't worry, my master is definitely real" After reading the materials, I was shocked again in my heart, but at the same time, I also looked forward to this Songshan trip even more. Although Kou Qianzhi said that those were just external objects and couldn't be relied on, in today's world, the rich rely on equipment, while the poor rely on mutations. Since mutation is not possible for me, I can only rely on my master's equipment.

  "What kind of kung fu are you practicing? The Taoist secret manual is mainly based on heart method, what you just practiced is rarely seen" Lan sister saw that I was so sure that Kou Qianzhi was my master, and couldn't help but ask, can one still pay respects to a master after over a thousand years?

  "Oh, it's 'Tú Lù Zhēn Jīng'" I replied, since Lan sister sacrificed herself to save me, I have considered her as one of my own people, and didn't think about keeping it a secret at all.

  As expected, Lan Jie listened to my words and her mouth formed an "O" shape again. She snatched the phone from my hand, fiddled with it for a while, and then handed it back to me. "You take a look yourself, what is this so-called 'True Scripture of Pictures' you're talking about?"

  I picked up my phone and took a look, damn it, Baidu's information shows that the True Scripture of the Diagrams is actually a ritual book for Taoist worship, the kind that teaches you how to kneel and bow, I'm going to die, this Kou Qian won't be cheating me, will he?

  But thinking about it, Kou Kenchi has no reason to harm me either. He's the previous owner of the Rinne Eye, and from his expression when talking about his experiences, I can tell he was also deeply hurt by it. If he wanted to harm me, there's no need for such a method; killing me directly would be simple enough, or if not that, then crippling me would also be easy.

  So I had to explain, "Lan sister, the Ture Record I cultivated should not be this existing one. Kou Qianzhi said it was passed down by his master, while Baidu says it was passed down by an immortal, so it should be very secretive. Moreover, after Kou Qianzhi became the national teacher, his disciples all indulged in pleasure and did not pass on the Ture Record."

  "Alright, since you're so insistent, I won't interfere with you. Can you tell me what you're going to do at Mount Song this time? The Shaolin Temple can't protect you," Lan sister sighed and said. This kind of question didn't need to be debated. Historically, who knows how many important Buddhist and Taoist scriptures were lost? Who knows whose hands they fell into now? But I'm determined to go to Mount Song, which makes Lan sister suspicious. The Shaolin Temple was famous for producing high-ranking monks centuries ago, but now it's just an empty shell, ruined by that dead fat guy, turning a Buddhist temple into a company. I don't know if Bodhidharma knew about this and would come back to kill him.

  "Don't worry, I'm not going to Shaolin Temple, I just went to get some things left by my master." As I said this, my eyes sank. From now on, I won't rely on anyone else, others are unreliable, I can only rely on myself.

  "Kou Qianzhi's stuff, Song Mountain is a Buddhist holy land, how can there be Taoist things, and with so many people there, are you sure it wasn't taken away by someone?" Lan sister asked doubtfully, she didn't know that Song Mountain had a Taoist temple.

  "I know what you're wondering about. Nowadays, whenever people mention Mount Song, they think of Shaolin Temple, but they've forgotten that China's famous mountains were originally Taoist sacred sites. My master was practicing in Mount Song when Bodhidharma was still wearing open-crotch pants, so no one would take anything from Taishi Mountain because nobody even knows about it." I replied with a somewhat cold tone, not sure if it was due to Kou Qianzhi's influence on me, but at this point, I'm really not interested in Buddhism. It all feels too hypocritical, and after reading so many negative news articles about monks online over the years, my dislike for it has only grown stronger.

  Once it involves Buddhist and Taoist issues, Lan sister won't speak anymore. This kind of faith issue can't be discussed at all, because every discussion will turn into a debate, which will lead to a war of words, so let's just believe in our own faith.

  The train arrived at Dengfeng soon, after all, Jiangbei is not far from Henan, just a few hours by car. When I arrived in Dengfeng, I didn't stay long and took Lan Jie directly to Mount Songshan. After all, I don't know what those people from San Shendao are capable of, whether they have calculated where I am. If they knew, it would be another fierce battle, but now I have no ability to resist at all.

  Mount Song, the sacred land of Quanzhen School of Taoism, was formerly known as Wai Fang, Song Gao and Chong Gao. It is located in western Henan Province, belonging to Funiu Mountain Range, and situated northwest of Dengfeng City, which is the middle one of the Five Great Mountains. The total area is about 450 square kilometers, consisting of Taishi Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain. This time I went to Taishi Mountain instead of Shaoshi Mountain.

  Taishan is the legendary birthplace of Yu, the wife of Emperor Shun's wife Tushan, and it is also a sacred place for Quanzhen Taoism. However, compared to Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, its fame is far inferior. As a result, there were not many tourists along the way, while the road to Mount Song was bustling with people. But I didn't care about these things, the fewer people, the better for me.

  "What are we doing at Taishan, don't tell me that Ke Qianzhi put the things in Zhongyue Temple" Seeing me running up the mountain, Lan sister was a bit puzzled. The most famous place on the mountain is indeed Zhongyue Temple, and it's likely that there are things from over a thousand years ago there.

  "No, if I were in the Zhongyue Temple, I wouldn't need to bring all this stuff." I patted my backpack, which was a temporary purchase - a large mountaineering bag. Inside, apart from some medicine for healing wounds that I had prepared for Lan Jie, it was all food and water. This had used up all my savings, and could be considered my last stand. If I lost, then I would truly be beyond salvation.

  Mount Song belongs to the Funiu Mountains, with its main ridge within Dengfeng County, stretching over 60 kilometers. The central part of Mount Song is divided by the Shaolin River, with Junji Peak in the middle, Taishi Mountain to the east and Shaoshi Mountain to the west, and Mount Song being the general name. In ancient times, people considered Taishi as the main peak of Mount Song, but Taishi has few peculiar peaks, rising and falling like a sleeping dragon from east to west, hence the saying "Mount Hua stands upright, while Mount Zhongyue lies down". Wulong Peak is one of the 36 peaks of Taishi Mountain.

  Midnight, the starry sky is shining brightly, but I am still walking in the mountains and forests. The area of hundreds of square kilometers is really too vast, and the memory map given to me by Kou Qianzhi is from a thousand years ago. The changes that have taken place over a thousand years are really too great. Roads that didn't exist before now do, and roads that did exist are now overgrown with ancient trees. What's even worse is that Lan Jie's injury has relapsed. Lan Jie's injury is an internal one, and when it acts up, it becomes extremely severe. Now she can't even walk anymore.

  "Let me down, take the gun and go." After walking for another stretch, my physical strength was almost completely exhausted. When we stopped to rest, Lan Jie stuffed a handgun into my chest. Although Mount Song didn't have any tigers or wolves, there must be wild boars, and it's very dangerous in the mountains at midnight.

  "No, Lan Jie, take a rest for a while, I'll take you away. It's too dangerous for one person to be here." I shook my head in refusal. I knew she only had one handgun on her, and if she gave it to me, what would she do? Most importantly, if the enemy were to catch up, Lan Jie wouldn't have the ability to resist, and either way, being captured or killed was unacceptable to me.

  "I have a way to leave, really, Lin Hao. I, Li Lan, sending you here is already repaying your kindness to my siblings. You can go now and don't come back again." Lan's expression turned cold as she saw me showing signs of being close to her mother-in-law, and she replied.

  "Lan sister, stop pretending, I know you're a good person. Bringing me out probably wasn't Li Huaguang's intention either. I've repaid your kindness, but you haven't repaid mine yet. I won't give up on you, Kou Qianzhi's treasure has a share for you."

  "I don't want your treasure, you can have it yourself, Lin Hao. Are you TMD stupid or something? You need to be scolded by others to know what's good for you." The more I didn't let Lan Jie stay, the more she wanted to stay. When she heard that I was going to divide the treasure, she suddenly became anxious and wanted to scold me.

  But I'm not buying it, I take out the climbing rope from my backpack, tie a knot and plan to bind Lan Jie to me. As soon as she sees the rope, she starts struggling and tries to hit me, but she's heavily injured now, no match for me. Before long, I've got her tied up on my back and start walking.

  Lan sister first scolded me loudly on my back, and later she tore and bit me, but I didn't respond. I just followed Ke Qianzhi's memory to find the cave he mentioned. It wasn't until midnight that I found the entrance of the cave in a valley. It was very hidden, but there were obvious signs of human activity.

  "Lan sister, Lan sister, I found it, I really found it!" I exclaimed excitedly after confirming the location, but Lan sister didn't respond to me, she hadn't said a word to me for over an hour already.

  "Lan sister, Lan sister what's wrong" But the next moment I felt something was off, because the Lan sister behind me was so hot. Putting it down and taking a look, I suddenly panicked and slapped myself hard.

  Because I really did something wrong.