The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 189

“My health is much better than yours, why are you worrying about me?”

Feng Qingyang looked disdainful.

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong could only offer an awkward yet polite smile.

"Alright, you came to see me during the New Year for more than just a drink, right? Just say what you have to say."

After a few rounds of drinks, Feng Qingyang spoke directly.

He had noticed before that Linghu Chong's expression was somewhat abnormal when he arrived, as if he was struggling with something.

Linghu Chong smiled awkwardly upon hearing this.

"If you're too embarrassed to say it, I'll say it for you."

Upon seeing this, Feng Qingyang said, "You want to hand over the Dugu Nine Swords that I taught you to the Huashan Sect?"

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong lowered his head as if his secret had been exposed, not daring to look directly at Feng Qingyang.

"You want to hand over the Dugu Nine Swords to your sect to enhance the Huashan Sect's foundation. This shows that you have a strong sense of belonging to the Huashan Sect. And the fact that you consulted me before doing this, without acting on your own, proves that you respect me as your grand-uncle. I am very pleased."

Feng Qingyang said slowly.

He was indeed pleased. He had already handed over the Dugu Nine Swords to Linghu Chong, and Linghu Chong could hand it over to Yue Buqun without consulting him. After all, even if he knew, what could he do? Could he go down the mountain and attack the Huashan Sect?

But Linghu Chong didn't do that; instead, he came to ask for his opinion.

Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong looked up at Feng Qingyang with hope in his eyes, but Feng Qingyang just stared at him and slowly uttered two words.

"No."

Linghu Chong was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything.

He was taught the Dugu Nine Swords by Feng Qingyang, and Feng Qingyang did not allow him to teach the swordsmanship to others, so he could not say anything.

"Don't think I'm hiding something and don't want the Dugu Nine Swords to be passed on."

Feng Qingyang then said, "You should know that the Dugu Nine Swords is different from other martial arts in the world. It is an extremely profound sword technique that not everyone can learn. Without sufficient talent, one cannot learn this sword technique."

"Besides being able to truly reach unfathomable levels, the threshold for mastering a top-tier martial art is extremely high, and this threshold alone is enough to stop most people in the world."

"Putting everything else aside, just take your photographic memory for granted. How many people in the world can do that? You have an excellent memory, extraordinary bone structure, and exceptionally high talent in swordsmanship. You are a natural talent for swordsmanship, which is why I taught you the Dugu Nine Swords. If you were a fool, I would rather bury the Dugu Nine Swords with me in the ground than pass it on to you."

"Moreover, if mediocre people are shown profound martial arts but cannot comprehend them, it will be fatal to them. They will not reach the threshold for practicing the ultimate techniques, and they will probably remain stagnant for decades. The ultimate techniques are like a delicacy that they can look at but cannot eat. No matter how tempting the delicacy is, it is useless if they cannot eat it. On the contrary, after seeing the delicacy, they will find it difficult to swallow the coarse food they usually eat. This will be devastating to their mental state."

Feng Qingyang calmly looked at Linghu Chong and said, "You should know that not everyone is like you; the majority of people in the world are mediocre."

Linghu Chong remained silent.

"However, since I have passed on the Dugu Nine Swords to you, it is not that I will not let you pass it on to others. After all, I passed on the Dugu Nine Swords to you in order to prevent this supreme sword technique from being lost."

Feng Qingyang stood up, picked up two wine jars, turned and left, his voice carrying over.

"However, you must choose your successor carefully when passing on the Dugu Nine Swords. Don't pass it on to those who are not talented enough."

Feng Qingyang's meaning was simple: he could pass it on, but it could only be passed on to geniuses.

Linghu Chong stared blankly at Feng Qingyang's departing figure.

"Grand Uncle, there's a jar that's mine..."

……

Feng Qingyang carried the two jars of wine back to the cave, a smile on his lips the whole way, until he saw the mess at the door of his house, at which point the smile disappeared.

Feng Qingyang stared wide-eyed at the ravaged herb garden, his lips trembling slightly, as he began to identify the bodies from his memory.

"My ginseng!"

"My Ganoderma lucidum!"

"My He Shou Wu!"

"And my snow lotus!!"

Every time Feng Qingyang recognized a medicinal herb that had been harmed, he felt a heartache so intense he could hardly breathe. But when he saw the messy footprints on the ground, he immediately recognized the culprit.

"You damned idiot!!!"

Feng Qingyang was furious.

He had always felt that after decades of seclusion, his mindset had become calm and undisturbed, but now a donkey had shattered it.

Feng Qingyang, who was extremely angry, felt a little better when he saw that a small number of flowers and plants had not been ruined.

It's alright, at least they left him some.

But when Feng Qingyang saw that the flowers and plants were still relatively intact, his expression couldn't help but darken again.

These flowers and plants are of little value; he used them to decorate the ginseng and he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum).

Feng Qingyang felt a bit depressed at this moment.

It would be better to ruin them all.

Feng Qingyang gritted his teeth.

"Who the hell raised this donkey?! If you come again, I'm going to stew you!!!"

……

"Don't go there again."

After descending Jade Maiden Peak, Jiang Ning gave Maodou some instructions.

"The flowers and plants there were planted by someone. You ruined their plants, and you're lucky they didn't do anything to you. But don't go there again. Mount Hua is so big, there's plenty of grass for you to eat."

Maodou grunted and nodded listlessly at the donkey's head.

Chapter 268: The Assessment

Although Jiang Ning unexpectedly learned of Feng Qingyang's secluded location, he didn't take it to heart and treated it as just an interlude.

After returning from Jade Maiden Peak, Maodou rushed to the kitchen. Jiang Ning went back into the house and took out a tortoise shell from under his pillow. The shell was covered with dense writing.

"Cultivate inner peace and regulate qi, gather your essence and calm your thoughts..."

Quiet cultivation of Qi is the foundation of practicing Innate Qigong. This means that one must first learn to be still. If the mind is not still, the Qi has nothing to rely on, which will lead to an inability to concentrate the mind and thus make it impossible to practice Innate Qigong.

Calming the mind is only the first step. The second step is to focus one's mind and stop thinking. Although one's spirit is concentrated after calming the mind, it is often a time when distracting thoughts arise and one is prone to wild ideas. At this time, what needs to be stopped is the wild thoughts. Only by stopping them can one meet the basic requirements of practicing the Innate Skill.

"Keep your mind focused on the void, concentrate your intention on the energy center, at the time of sperm production, observe the timing of sperm collection..."

Jiang Ning murmured the incantation and mental techniques of the Innate Skill, then shook his head after a moment.

He has memorized the incantation by heart, and can even recite it backwards, but it is of no help to his breakthrough. Cultivation is not something that can be achieved by simply knowing the incantation and mental techniques. Perhaps his time has not come, or perhaps his mental state is not right.

Jiang Ning put the tortoise shell back under his pillow and then sat cross-legged on the bed to practice the breathing techniques of the Innate Skill. Although he had reached a bottleneck, he couldn't say that he had completely stopped practicing.

Five days later.

Following the departure of Qingcheng and Emei, Abbess Dingyi, Daoist Tianmen, and Master Mo Da are also going down the mountain.

“Two nuns, Brother Mo, Brother Tianmen, why don’t you stay at my Mount Hua until June and then go to Mount Song together? Why rush? I’m worried that the demoness’s men haven’t left Shaanxi yet, and I’m afraid you’ll be ambushed on your way back.”

Yue Buqun said with a sincere expression.

At this time, he led the Huashan Sect members to see off the various sects.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Yue, it shouldn't be a problem."

"That's what Master Dingyi said."

"I already routed those witches' henchmen last time, and with the cold weather now, they probably won't come back."

Mr. Mo and Taoist Tianmen shared the same idea.

Ever since Master Mo received the list from Lu Bai, he has been eager to return to Hengshan. Tianmen Daoist, on the other hand, couldn't stay any longer because his several senior uncles had already returned to Taishan before him. He was afraid that Yu Panzi and the others would cause some trouble.

"OK then."

Yue Buqun said, "Please take care on your journey, everyone. See you again at Mount Song in June."

"Ah."

Master Dingyi and Master Mo nodded.

Tianmen Daoist cupped his hands and said, "Sect Leader Yue, farewell."

Yue Buqun smiled and said, "Brother Dao, please take your time. If you have time later, I will play a few more games of chess with you."

Upon hearing this, Tianmen Daoist's face darkened slightly.

These past few days, Yue Buqun has been dragging him to the chess pavilion to play chess. Yue Buqun has had a great time these past few days, but Tianmen Daoren's experience has not been pleasant.

He can play chess, and his skills are quite good, but he's almost sick of it after playing for the past few days. He probably won't touch a chess piece for months after he goes back.

"Goodbye."

The Taoist priest from Tianmen cupped his hands in greeting, then led the disciples of Mount Tai away.

"Senior Brother Yue, farewell."

Master Dingyi also bid farewell to Yue Buqun and then left with the Hengshan disciples. Among the Hengshan disciples, Yilin couldn't help but turn around and glance at Linghu Chong among the Huashan disciples. She saw a young girl standing next to Linghu Chong.

Seeing the disappointment in Yilin's eyes, Yilin felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.

Before coming to Mount Hua, the person she most wanted to see was Linghu Chong, but after finally meeting him, her feelings were hard to describe.

"Sigh, everyone's gone, and Mount Hua is all deserted again."

Seeing the various factions leave one after another, Lu Dayou couldn't help but sigh.

"What? Feeling bored and have nothing to do?"

After seeing off the various factions, Yue Buqun heard Lu Dayou's words.

Lu Dayou looked surprised and quickly shook his head.

"Master, no, no, what I meant was..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yue Buqun interrupted him.

"I'll find you something to do."

Yue Buqun said, "The fifteenth is coming up in a few days, the day of the sect's internal assessment."

Upon hearing this, the Huashan disciples present were all surprised, but then they became tense.

The assessment was suspended due to special reasons, and now the sects that came to support the Huashan Sect have all left one after another. The Diancang Twin Swords also left long ago, so it is normal for Yue Buqun to propose to restart the assessment.

Although they had expected it, they were still a little nervous when they heard Yue Buqun mention it in person, just like taking an exam.

"However, you don't need to participate in this assessment. This assessment is mainly to see how well your newly recruited junior brothers have practiced during this period. Your assessment will not begin until next month."

Yue Buqun then added a sentence to reassure the Huashan disciples.

"Dayou, Taojun, I plan to have Ning'er preside over this assessment. You guys can assist her from the side."

Upon hearing Yue Buqun's instructions, Lu Dayou and the others quickly bowed and said, "Yes, Master."

Yue Buqun nodded, as if he had just casually arranged something, and went back to his room after returning to Mount Hua. However, the Mount Hua disciples who remained were in an uproar, whispering among themselves.

"The junior brothers actually sent Junior Brother Jiang to take this assessment."

"Shouldn't we let the eldest brother preside over this?"

Some Huashan disciples were puzzled as to why Linghu Chong wasn't allowed to take the exam this time, but instead Jiang Ning was chosen to preside over it.

But this discussion only lasted a short while before stopping, without causing much of a stir.

After all, Jiang Ning's strength is now second only to his master Yue Buqun in Huashan, which is obvious to all. Even though Yue Buqun made this arrangement, they didn't feel there was anything wrong with it. At most, they would just discuss it.

Yue Lingshan was a little worried about Linghu Chong's feelings.

"Senior Brother, don't worry, my father..."

"fine."

Linghu Chong looked at her, knowing what she was going to say, and smiled, "Master knows I find things troublesome, so he makes all the work done by Junior Brother so I won't get tired."

Hearing Linghu Chong say this, Yue Lingshan carefully examined Linghu Chong's face and found that there was nothing unusual about his expression. He didn't seem to be lying or forcing a smile, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

The three days passed quickly.