The Nineteenth Chapter: Capturing Wild Horses with Wisdom

  Another year with blossoming flowers and lush spring grass.

  This afternoon, Yuxue took the four small ones to the grassland to pick some licorice and medicine. The four small ones were already four giant wolves, each about 4 feet 5 inches long and as big as a calf. They looked very majestic. During the day, they followed Yuxue, but at night, Yuxue thought their bodies were too big and they had become monsters, so she let them guard her tent and practice on their own. Day after day, they absorbed spiritual energy, and their inner elixir was already the size of a small finger. At this time, Huangjin transformed into a Vermilion Bird and stood on Xiaobai's head, occasionally turning his head to say a few words to Yuxue, sometimes even pecking at Xiaobai's head to make her turn left or right. Her eyes were good, and she would often spot large licorice plants or let the other three small ones hunt a few wild rabbits. The six of them wandered aimlessly like this. Suddenly, Huangjin turned his head and said to Yuxue:

  "There's something strange in the valley ahead."

  They had already quietly approached the valley near the Kunlun Mountains, six people without a sound. Only to see in front of them a vast and tranquil mountain valley dotted with poplar trees, east and west, with a mirror-like pond in between, where the grass was lush and green, and flowers were blooming everywhere, like a painting. A large group of wild horses that had run from who-knows-where were drinking water at the edge of the pond, eating grass, and roaming about. This group of wild horses was magnificent, with each one unique in size and strength. Yu Xue counted them and estimated there to be around four or five hundred horses. The leader was a white stallion, eight feet tall, extremely majestic, with hooves as large as bronze basins; its entire body was snow-white, without a single strand of discolored hair, and it was truly magnificent. As it ate grass, it would occasionally lift its head to observe its surroundings, perk up its ears to listen carefully, and remain vigilant. The six people held their breath, not daring to startle the horses, slowly retreating until they were far enough away, then stopped to discuss their strategy. They decided that Huang Jin would continue to monitor Yu Xue and the four younger ones, while going to inform the rest of the tribe. If they could capture them, it would be equivalent to a huge fortune. With such magnificent horses, the level of the Mongolian horses in the tribe would definitely be elevated. These horses had run out from the depths of the mountains. The tribe had always passed down the legend that the divine mountain had heavenly horses with wings that could fly and travel thousands of miles in a day. Now Yu Xue knew that what was called the "heavenly horse" might actually be a demonic horse. In the Kunlun Mountains, which stretched for tens of thousands of miles, with ravines and gorges crisscrossing everywhere, it wasn't unusual for a demonic horse to appear. Although this group wasn't demonic horses, they were indeed precious horses.

  The tribesmen were all delighted. Especially Hei Ri, who had been eager to grab the horse since early morning. He was a dragon-like ordinary horse, and as soon as he saw an animal, his instincts took over and he would tremble with fear. Don't even mention riding him - just walking beside him made him start to cower in fear! So when they were herding, others rode horses while he walked, which was quite comical. He had long wanted to get a good horse to satisfy himself, and now that he heard the horse was spirited, how could he hold back? However, the crowd knew they couldn't rush into it, or else they would scare them away, and the horses would escape back into the deep mountains, never to come out again.

  Everyone has discussed and decided to act according to plan.

  The sky was still dark, and the crowd divided into four routes. One route was led by Yuxue, who took 600 children to bypass the wild horses' escape route. The children's small stature and agility made them most suitable for this task. Another route was led by Heiri, who set up an ambush on the left side of the valley, laying down many tripwires in a pocket-shaped encirclement, waiting for the lead horse to run into the trap before closing in. This group had the most people, each holding onto their tribe's best horses, with felt wrapped around the hooves and cloth covering the muzzles. The other two routes were led by Amuer and Sihuo, who hid on either side without riding horses, planning to shout loudly, beat gongs and drums, and charge out when the time came, intending to scare the horses into the encirclement. Everyone was in position on three sides, waiting for Yuxue's signal before taking action.

  The sky was bright and the snow team had already reached the back of the mountain valley. Through the trees, a group of wild horses could be seen, some still lying down, others standing up eating grass and drinking water. The alert male horses surrounded the female horses and foals, occasionally looking around at their surroundings. The lead horse stood tall and straight like a spear, clearly having not slept all night but still full of energy and standing in the highest place. Suddenly it seemed to sense something and turned its head to stare at the trees on this side. Yu Xue saw that things were not going well and let out a long whistle, leading the children to charge out. From afar came the sound of four wolves howling and countless gongs and drums beating - this time even the women had joined in, bringing all the copper and iron utensils from their homes, everyone making a loud racket together. The noise was deafening on three sides, but the side with Hei Ri was quiet. The lead horse looked suspicious, but it had no choice, Yu Xue's side may have been children, but each one held a wooden knife and charged out together, shouting loudly and making a terrifying scene. Seeing that its retreat was cut off, it looked at the other three paths. Two of them were filled with strange noises and intense howling, it didn't hesitate any longer and led the horses to run towards the quiet side, right into Hei Ri and the tribespeople's encirclement.

  Yu Xue hastily led the team to chase and merge with Si Xiao. Everyone finally gathered together, and the wild horse group was completely surrounded.

  Hei Ri and others saw the lead horse enter the encirclement, immediately flipped over, and countless lassos were thrown onto the horse's halter. The targets were all the most ferocious male horses. The lead horse let out a mournful whinny, turned its head, and wanted to charge out again, but saw that the retreat route had long since disappeared. Suddenly, it felt a flash of human shadow in front of it, and someone was already riding on its back. It desperately bucked, but the person on its back didn't move, and instead gradually tightened their grip on its belly, causing it to feel so much pain that it almost fainted. Moreover, an extremely frightening aura emanated from this person, making it tremble with fear from the bottom of its heart. In the end, it let out a long whinny and stood still, no longer struggling.

  This man was Hei Ri. As soon as the lead horse entered the enclosure, he immediately fixed his eyes on it and mounted its back in a flash. The crowd hadn't even seen his movements clearly when the lead horse was already tamed. Seeing that the lead horse could indeed carry him, he was overjoyed and burst out laughing loudly, and amidst the sounds of people and horses, everything became clear and distinct. The other horses saw the lead horse being tamed and felt a terrifying aura, so they gradually calmed down and were led one by one to the tribe's stable using ropes and horse rods. Some of the young horses didn't even need ropes and obediently followed their mothers.

  The battle to capture the wild horses ended in such an anticlimax. Everyone agreed that Hei Ri's contribution was the greatest, and if he hadn't tamed the lead horse so quickly, they would have had to go through even more trouble. Now that all the horses had been caught without exception, Hei Ri deservedly took the credit.

  That afternoon, the tribesmen all gathered around the horse enclosure. Except for the lead horse taken away by Hei Rui, there were still many good horses left. The tribe leader announced: except for Yu Xue and Yu Yan who could choose one first, each household could send one person to choose a horse as a mount. The crowd rubbed their fists and palms, all eyeing the most spirited wild horses.

  Yu Xue had already set her eyes on a horse. It was a small, white mare that looked like the lead horse and was probably its descendant. Its entire body was covered in pure white fur, without a single speck of dust. Although it was still young and not yet fully grown, it would definitely be very beautiful when it grew up. She used a lasso to pull out the white horse, mounted it, and galloped towards the grasslands. The white horse was quickly tamed by her. Yu Xue looked around and saw that no one was nearby, then dropped a drop of Xuanyu dew into its mouth and used her magic to create fake meridians and leave behind a foundation for internal dan. Although the white horse was in pain and sweating profusely, its eyes soon cleared up and it became intelligent and affectionate, licking Yu Xue's hand warmly. Yu Xue laughed and patted its head:

  "You're so clever, I'll call you Baixue from now on, and you can follow me."

  Bai Xue nodded and whispered softly. From then on, except for the four juniors, Yu Xue had one more horse demon by her side.

  Yu Xue walked towards the tribe with Bai Xue, not riding her. Not far from where they started, Huang Jin stood on Xiao Bai's head and came to find them with San Xiao. Seeing Bai Xue, Huang Jin smiled:

  "Good, more horse demons!"

  Two people chatted and laughed as they walked towards the tribe, and then saw Yu Yan riding a small black horse coming over. The year before last winter, after Yu Xue brought Hei Ri back with her gold, she found an opportunity to quietly tell Yu Yan about her cultivation and asked if she wanted to learn. Yu Yan had always followed Yu Xue in reading books and admired her knowledge and martial arts skills. After listening to Yu Xue's explanation of the pros and cons of cultivating, she only said one sentence: "Sister learns, I naturally also want to learn." From then on, Yu Xue taught her the upper part of the Xuan Nu True Classic's breathing method and let her move in with herself to live in the same tent, so that she could guide her at any time. After more than a year, Yu Yan cultivated to the middle period of building foundation, while Yu Xue herself reached the middle period of golden elixir, both making rapid progress.

  At this time, Yu Yan already knew that Huang Jin was the divine bird Phoenix and also knew that Hei Ri was the divine dragon. However, Yu Xue didn't tell her about the matter of the Sealing Beast Bell - it's better if fewer people know about the Sealing Beast Bell aside from the three of them. As they walked and talked, Yu Yan saw that Bai Xue had become a horse demon and suddenly felt envious, wanting to transform her own little black horse as well. Yu Xue then followed the same method and soon another black horse demon appeared. Yu Yan named it: Wu Yun.

  Just as he was about to take a step, everyone burst out laughing. Suddenly, Hei Ri appeared, holding that horse under his armpit and running towards them at full speed. The horse didn't dare move, its four long legs dragging on the ground as it was carried along, looking extremely comical. Originally, when they first started, the horse could still barely carry him, but with Hei Ri's impatient personality, he urged the horse to run faster and faster until it suddenly fell to the ground - it couldn't hold on any longer. Hei Ri's eyes lit up as he thought of transforming the horse himself. However, if he used his dragon powers, the horse would become a dragon-horse, which was too extraordinary! The horse would grow scales, spit clouds and mist, and be too eye-catching. Therefore, he came to find Yu Xue. Yu Xue once again concocted something according to her methods. In an instant, three more horse demons appeared in the clan.

  Hei Ri saw the horse's transformation and although he still feared it, riding on it was no longer a problem. He was delighted and named it Bai Yue. He also laughed loudly: "Hei Ri and Bai Yue complement each other perfectly! Following me is its good fortune."

  Yuexue took advantage of the gathering to discuss with everyone the matter of spreading the teachings. This year, after the spring began, there were also people from the clan who wanted to send dozens of children to learn martial arts from Yuexue. Yuexue first let them wait and thought that it would be better to spread the teachings and establish a sect than to learn martial arts. Seeing that the time had come, he showed his divine power, astonishing the clansmen. The four of them made a plan.

  A few days later, Hei Ri did a series of things that made the tribe people marvel, such as summoning wind and rain, conjuring thunder and lightning. To him, it was child's play, but to ordinary people, Hei Ri instantly became like a god. If he had shown off his powers when he first returned to the tribe, people might have thought he was a monster, but now that they had spent so much time together, everyone loved and respected him, and didn't suspect anything of him, instead blaming him for not showing off his divine powers earlier. Seeing that the tribe accepted Hei Ri, he announced that he would take on disciples, but only children who were not yet married, because although both men and women could practice the Nine Heaven Mystic Scripture, it required starting from childhood to cultivate.

  At that time, the people of the tribe were discussing it enthusiastically. Seeing their own children could become gods, they naturally rushed to it. Some tribesmen were in pain and despair, including a dozen or so 18- and 19-year-old boys and girls who had been following Yuxue to learn knife skills and had just gotten married. They had long been amazed by Yuxue's skills, and now they realized that it was because of the Black Sun Sect's transmission method. Seeing that they had lost a great opportunity to rise to the next level, how could they not be heartbroken? The Mongolians were originally martially inclined, and even when there was nothing going on, everyone would practice archery and wrestling. Now, the tribe's martial arts were flourishing, and even 30- or 40-year-old housewives would practice their knife skills in their free time. Therefore, those who did not meet the conditions were heartbroken, while those who met them were overjoyed.

  That evening, all the clansmen gathered in the field. All those who met the conditions stood out, totaling over 600 people, ranging from five to eighteen years old. Amu Tie also stood at the front with his small chest puffed out.

  Hei Ri and Yu Xue carefully divided them into two groups. One group was of higher quality, younger in age; the other group was of average quality, slightly older in age. Each group had over 300 people. Hei Ri announced that Yu Xue would be the eldest sister (Da Shi Jie) and Yu Yan would be the second eldest sister (Er Shi Jie), each responsible for one group. Each group first separated into males and females to determine their order of seniority. Suddenly, the scene became lively and extraordinary, with some even arguing over who was older, insisting that they were the elder, until it was necessary to ask family members to provide proof. After a long time, the determination of seniority came to an end. Hei Ri instructed them that from then on, when meeting, everyone would address each other as "Shi Xiong" (older brother) or "Shi Mei" (younger sister).

  The three of them had already discussed and decided on the rules. First, they couldn't use their Taoist skills to bully ordinary people. Second, after becoming a Taoist, they couldn't do bad things or commit evil deeds. Third, fellow disciples must unite and help each other. Next were some additional precautions. For example, for now, they had to hide their true abilities and not reveal their cultivation of the Tao to outsiders, nor display their Taoist skills in front of others, and they had to maintain a youthful appearance, among other things. The last point made many older children blush. Yu Xue was currently 14 years old, her determination to cultivate the Tao was firm, and she thought it was only natural that Hei Ri would repeatedly remind them with a serious expression, but she felt a bit annoyed and embarrassed in her heart. Hei Ri actually had good intentions, saying these words for the sake of the children's families. He knew that when some children reached a certain age, their families would arrange marriages for them, and even if the children opposed it, they couldn't convince their families, so he spoke up beforehand.

  From that day on, Yuxue and Yuanye taught them Chinese every morning. Without a foundation in Chinese, many commonly used terms in cultivation couldn't be explained or translated into Mongolian. In the afternoons, they took them to the uninhabited valley to pass down the oral secrets, and each person dispersed to find a quiet place to cultivate. Yuxue, Hei Ri, Jin, and the four juniors protected them as their guardians. At night, after the tribe members fell asleep, everyone continued to cultivate on their own, with each person diligently striving to be the first. Some tribe members got up at night and saw people meditating everywhere in the tribe, knowing they couldn't disturb them. By then, cultivating had become the most fashionable thing in the tribe.

  It wasn't long before all these children successfully built their foundations and formally entered the Dao Gate. With their current foundation, they were indeed different from before. The Four Images Sword Technique, which had been practiced for a long time but to no avail, was now unexpectedly showing signs of success, although it didn't seem as swift and fierce as Jade Snow's, at least it could be wielded with some power, which was quite impressive.

  Thus, the Department of Philosophy became the Department of Religious Studies.