The Grand Sacrifice Draws Near, and Turmoil Begins to Stir

The Grand Sacrifice Draws Near, and Turmoil Begins to Stir

Jiang Sheng spoke!

Hearing Jiang Sheng's words, Tian Ming'an jolted awake and forced himself to gather his spirits. "This boy will simply continue kneeling."

"Have you never considered that even if I accept you in the end, I might teach you nothing?" Jiang Sheng asked again.

But Tian Ming'an said, "This boy seeks the Dao with all his heart. This resolve will not change."

"You truly will not regret it?" Jiang Sheng asked.

Tian Ming'an gritted his teeth. "I will not!"

Jiang Sheng smiled. "Then continue kneeling."

The excitement that had just risen in Tian Ming'an's heart sank once more, but he still forced himself to endure. He knelt for an entire day, only struggling to his feet at dusk and staggering down the mountain.

Jiang Sheng watched Tian Ming'an descend the mountain, his eyes devoid of either sorrow or joy.

On the ninth day, Tian Ming'an climbed the mountain again. Though Tian Guofu felt sorry for him and wanted several people to carry him up, though his mother wept and begged him to give up, Tian Ming'an still went up the mountain.

Leaning on a tree branch, he made his way before the Daoist temple. In the depths of winter, he knelt motionlessly on the ground. Eight days had already frozen his body half-ruined, yet Tian Ming'an still dropped heavily to his knees.

At the hour of the dragon, Jiang Sheng slowly opened his eyes and looked at the motionless figure kneeling outside the hall in the cold wind. "Still got breath in you?"

Tian Ming'an murmured, "This boy... is still alive."

"Mm. That's good."

As Jiang Sheng's words fell, Tian Ming'an suddenly felt the icy wind around him vanish. A warm current filled his body, restoring a trace of warmth to his stiff, freezing limbs.

"Can you stand up on your own?" Jiang Sheng asked again.

Tian Ming'an gritted his teeth and climbed up from the ground. "This boy can."

Jiang Sheng nodded again. "Then come in."

Tian Ming'an's heart pounded wildly with excitement. He suppressed it and entered the hall, immediately finding it incomparably warm within, utterly unlike the killing cold of the world outside.

Jiang Sheng opened a scroll of Daoist scripture and slowly said, "Is there anything you wish to ask?"

Tian Ming'an was somewhat apprehensive. "Daoist Master, are you willing to accept this boy?"

Jiang Sheng nodded. "Mm. Your attitude is passable."

Tian Ming'an froze, then asked in confusion, "Daoist Master, this boy often reads storybooks. In them, when great masters accept disciples, besides sincerity, they also examine their hearts in seeking the Dao, their character, and their comprehension."

"Daoist Master, will you not test why this boy seeks the Dao?"

Jiang Sheng glanced at Tian Ming'an. "Why you seek the Dao has nothing to do with me. I merely saw that your heart was sincere."

Tian Ming'an was stunned. That was right—what did his reason for seeking the Dao have to do with anyone else?

As long as his heart was sincere and he pursued the Dao with unwavering resolve, that was enough. Why did he need to tell anyone else?

Jiang Sheng continued, "In truth, I do not expect you to possess much comprehension. But your character is indeed not bad. Stay by my side for now. Whenever I recite scriptures each day, come and listen."

Tian Ming'an hurriedly said, "This disciple will remember."

Jiang Sheng considered for a moment, then added, "Those who cultivate must first temper their bones and body. You are still far from cultivation. First temper your sinews and bones well; only then shall we speak of sensing qi and drawing it into your body."

Tian Ming'an nodded repeatedly. "This disciple will keep Master's teachings firmly in mind."

"Find yourself a place to sit." As Jiang Sheng spoke, he began slowly chanting from the Daoist scriptures.

Tian Ming'an found a prayer cushion and sat cross-legged, quietly listening to Jiang Sheng recite the scripture.

Once he began listening, an entire shichen passed.

At the hour of the snake, Jiang Sheng looked at Tian Ming'an, who was still immersed in the scripture, and did not forcibly wake him.

It was not until the hour of the goat that Tian Ming'an came back to himself. Seeing the sun hanging high overhead, he was somewhat dazed. "A single scripture scroll actually immersed this boy so deeply that I did not notice the time. More than two shichen passed before I came to my senses."

Jiang Sheng chuckled softly. "The road of seeking the Dao stretches long and far. In the future, you will need to live secluded in these mountains for years on end. Can you endure loneliness?"

Tian Ming'an's expression was resolute. "This disciple can endure it."

Jiang Sheng neither affirmed nor denied it. "I shall believe you for now. Go down the mountain first. Return and inform your grandfather and parents, then come back up tomorrow."

"Gather well with them today. In the future, such reunions will not come easily."

But Tian Ming'an smiled. "This disciple thinks that once I achieve something in cultivation, I should be able to bring my family together again. Perhaps then I may even help Grandfather, Father, and Mother prolong their years and increase their longevity."

"Heh. It is not bad to have something to hope for. Go down the mountain." Jiang Sheng waved his hand.

Tian Ming'an rose and respectfully bowed to Jiang Sheng, then headed down the mountain in high spirits.

Watching Tian Ming'an depart, Jiang Sheng thought of the kindly old man who had cared for him as he grew up, then died of old age. Looking again at the snow-covered mountains beyond the hall, he let out a faint sigh. "The Great Dao. Immortality. Even if one attains enduring life and gazes upon the cycle of the mortal world, even if one lives ten thousand eight hundred years, in the end, when the child wishes to care for them, the parents are no longer there."

"One day, that boy will have tears to shed."

With that, Jiang Sheng swallowed a Spirit-Gathering Pill and resumed his cultivation.

Before the River God Grand Sacrifice began, he needed to raise his cultivation to the late Foundation Establishment stage as much as possible. Only then would he have sufficient confidence in dealing with the demons and fiends within the river.

The next day, Tian Guofu brought his son, daughter-in-law, and Tian Ming'an up the mountain. The three first bowed to Jiang Sheng and presented the customary gifts for a teacher, after which Tian Ming'an formally knelt and kowtowed three times to Jiang Sheng.

Once Tian Guofu departed with his son and daughter-in-law, only Jiang Sheng and Tian Ming'an remained in the mountain Daoist temple.

For a time, the Daoist temple gained several degrees more quiet solitude and loneliness.

Tian Ming'an had good character. After feeling melancholy for only a moment, he regained his spirits. He followed Jiang Sheng, continuing to listen to Daoist scriptures, then swept the temple, practiced martial arts on his own, and cooked his own meals.

Although Jiang Sheng had already abstained from food, Tian Ming'an could not. Every day, he had to draw water, chop firewood, cook, clean the inside and outside of the Daoist temple, and practice martial arts to strengthen his body.

Such days were undoubtedly somewhat arduous for the twelve-year-old Tian Ming'an, yet he persevered nonetheless, even finding some joy in them.

Every day, Jiang Sheng also set aside time to instruct Tian Ming'an in martial arts.

Watching Tian Ming'an practice his punches and kicks before the hall, Jiang Sheng said, "Remember this: those who cultivate cultivate the heart, cultivate their nature, and cultivate the body."

"The fleshly body is a precious raft for crossing this world, containing essence, qi, and spirit. Once cultivators sense qi and draw it into their bodies, they will not immediately become much stronger."

"Fists, kicks, sabers, and swords still play a crucial role during the Qi Refinement stage."

"Even a cultivator at the late Qi Refinement stage faces mortal danger if caught unprepared by a powerful bow or heavy crossbow, or if a body cultivator at the middle Qi Refinement stage closes in on them."

"Penglai cultivation does not merely cultivate techniques, but the body as well. Only by cultivating both nature and life is one following the righteous path of Penglai."

Tian Ming'an replied loudly, "This disciple will remember!"

Jiang Sheng said no more and continued watching Tian Ming'an practice martial arts. The sight reminded him of when, after seeking the Dao at eight years old, that old man had taught him martial arts.

This image of those who came before teaching those who came after, passed down generation after generation, gave Jiang Sheng another trace of insight into the word inheritance.

In the days that followed, Jiang Sheng went from teaching Tian Ming'an every day, to once every three days, then once every seven days.

Tian Ming'an's talent was good, allowing Jiang Sheng to save much time. In truth, this instruction also served as a verification of Jiang Sheng's own cultivation, faintly reflecting his own path.

Time passed day by day.

Before they realized it, the depths of winter had passed, and the twelfth lunar month was nearly over as well.

As the River God Grand Sacrifice drew nearer and nearer, the atmosphere within Qingshan County grew increasingly strange.

Jiang Sheng's killing of the Eight Wolves of Dongjun had indeed intimidated the evil cultivators for a time. But after several bold ones tested the waters, they confirmed that as long as they did not approach Qingping Mountain, they would not draw out the terrifying Daoist Master Jiang Sheng. Thus, they became active once more.

This time, Xu Xiao had also hardened her heart. Using the talismans she had spent a great price to purchase from Jiang Sheng, she successively tracked down the whereabouts of several Foundation Establishment evil cultivators.

Then Xu Xiao joined forces with Wang Tianfang, Li Hao, Han Li, Qian Ming, and the other Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivators, killing four or five Foundation Establishment evil cultivators in succession.

Following Jiang Sheng's example, they hung the corpses of those evil cultivators before the county yamen, using the bloody facts to intimidate them once again.

Though the evil cultivators' activities had been cowed, rumors began spreading through the city again.

At first, they circulated only within a small circle. They claimed that County Magistrate Zhang wanted to kill the River God because he was dissatisfied that the sacrifices had nothing to do with him, and that he actually wished to take a share of the River God Grand Sacrifice.

As the rumors spread, they turned into claims that County Magistrate Zhang wanted to fashion a golden body for himself, enjoy incense offerings, and seek immortality.

As they spread further, they became claims that County Magistrate Zhang had long since made an agreement with those Rogue Cultivators: after killing the River God, they would divide up the people of Qingshan County. County Magistrate Zhang would seize the county seat, while the Rogue Cultivators would seize each of the towns.

Then all of Qingshan County would become their independent kingdom, where they could kill people for amusement as they pleased.

The rumors grew more outrageous with every retelling, yet quite a few foolish commoners believed them. After all, sacrificing six pairs of virgin boys and girls at the River God Grand Sacrifice each year kept the county blessed with favorable winds and timely rains. Why would the county magistrate go to such trouble for no reward to kill the River God?

Was it not simply because he wanted to replace him?

As these rumors spread, many local gentry and wealthy merchants even began to doubt Zhang Qingyun's intentions.

Moreover, evil cultivators had been repeatedly causing trouble in recent days, killing people to practice their arts. Bloody cases of lives harmed occurred from time to time, and the grisly scenes of severed limbs, shattered bodies, and blurred flesh and blood had truly terrified those gentry.

Thus, the gentry and wealthy merchants all wanted an explanation from Zhang Qingyun, the county magistrate.

And once the gentry and wealthy merchants took the lead, the common people who caught wind of it became even more convinced that the county magistrate harbored sinister intentions. One after another, they petitioned for the county magistrate not to disrupt the River God Grand Sacrifice.

Before Zhang Qingyun had even made his move, the people under his rule had bound his hands and feet.