Going Up the Mountain

Tao Ji was muttering, "So many apricots, I need to hide some. Miao He doesn't know restraint, she might eat too much and hurt her stomach."

Xuan Miao walked at the back, watching Pan Yun, who was walking silently in the middle with a basket on her back.

Speaking of which, she was even younger than Miao He, also just a child.

Xuan Miao's heart softened, and she reached out, pulling a cloth bag of medicinal herbs from Pan Yun's basket.

Pan Yun turned her head.

Xuan Miao said expressionlessly, "I'll carry it."

Pan Yun glanced at the cloth bag she had taken, but said nothing.

Both Tao Ji and Xuan Miao were carrying heavy loads, especially Tao Ji, who had basically put all the heavy items in his own basket.

They followed the mountain path winding upwards, once entering the mountains and then emerging, walking upwards along the mountainside. At some point, the sun in the sky was obscured, the sky turned overcast, and it looked like it might rain.

The wind rose in the mountains, making the trees rustle. Clouds and mist appeared from nowhere, rolling upwards with the wind...

Water vapor filled the air, and Pan Yun felt refreshed. Her cultivation technique began to circulate involuntarily.

The black cat, perched on her shoulder, couldn't help but lift its head and meow towards the mountain valley beside them, "The spiritual energy here is so dense."

Pan Yun also felt that this trip was finally worth it.

It jumped into Pan Yun's basket and settled down comfortably, stretching its limbs. It grumbled, "You should have found a place like this to cultivate long ago. You have memories of your past life. If you had found such a place to cultivate right after you were born, you would already be incredibly powerful."

Pan Yun: [Right after I was born, naked, crawling from the capital all the way to Mount Sanqing? Did I cultivate an indestructible body? No need to eat, no need to drink, just open my mouth to the northwest and catch the wind to survive?]

The black cat immediately fell silent.

After a while, having mentally reviewed everything, it brought up the topic again, "What about when you were older? You were always sickly. Once you could talk, you could have completely asked your parents to let you leave home to cultivate under the guise of becoming a Daoist. It didn't have to be Mount Sanqing. Since there are good places like Mount Sanqing in the world, there must be other blessed lands.

Perhaps there was one in the capital. I think you're just too lazy and too attached to your family."

Pan Yun sneered: [Why should I work so hard? All the spiritual energy from the past eight years was eaten by you, and I didn't get any of it. I'm supposed to be an orphan? I was an orphan in my past life, and in this life, my parents are both alive, and I still have to actively become an orphan?]

The black cat dared not speak again.

Tao Ji suddenly turned his head, shrunk his neck, and asked, "Why are you sneering?"

Xuan Miao, following behind them, stared thoughtfully at Pan Yun and the black cat. She said to Tao Ji, "Let's hurry. It gets dark quickly in the mountains."

"Oh." Tao Ji looked back at Pan Yun several times. Seeing that she had returned to normal, he stopped paying attention.

His steps were light. Despite carrying a heavy load and climbing the mountain, he seemed to exert little effort.

As the three of them climbed higher and higher, the clouds and mist grew thicker. Dewdrops and water droplets clung to their hair and bodies.

Pan Yun followed closely behind Tao Ji, but could only see his hazy silhouette, indicating how dense the fog was.

In the mist, Tao Ji suddenly coughed and began to sing, "The--traveler in the mountains--"

Pan Yun was startled by his sudden outburst and heard him continue, "Mountains shrouded in clouds and mist..."

His voice struck the large rocks beside them, and as it rebounded, it traveled upwards along the mountain, passing through the moss, grass, and pines rooted in the rocks, and then echoed throughout the entire valley.

"Few cultivate in this land of clouds and mist, a hundred years to open the mountain, bitter transmission..."

His voice fell back onto Pan Yun, lingering around her. The spiritual energy within her surged. Not only through her nose and mouth, but all the pores on her hands, neck, and body opened, greedily absorbing the spiritual energy drifting around her.

Tao Ji sang in a gentle and serene tone, "When merit is full, the spirit travels far on the path to truth--"

Spiritual power flowed gently from her Mud Pill Palace, leaving one-fiftieth of the Spirit Realm before following the Lesser Heavenly Cycle's route and settling in her Dantian. The fatigue of climbing vanished, and her slightly rapid heartbeat calmed. When she came to her senses, she found herself on the mountainside, near the summit.

She stopped in surprise and looked down.

In the time it took to sing one song, she had traveled so far?

Xuan Miao stopped to wait for her, not urging her, but letting her slowly comprehend.

Pan Yun had never encountered such a spell before, one that could imperceptibly shorten distances and also... aid in cultivation.

She asked Pan Xiao Hei, who had lived longer, [Is this "shrinking the ground into an inch"?]

Pan Xiao Hei: [It counts as that, a similar type.]

Pan Yun was confused, [Singing?]

This was worlds apart from the spells she understood.

Pan Xiao Hei said, "Fool, it wasn't Tao Ji who cast the spell on you, it was a god."

Pan Yun's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but blurt out, "A god?"

"Aren't you coming?" Tao Ji, seeing them standing still, turned back and called out, "Hurry up, the Sanqing Temple is just ahead."

Pan Yun tightened her grip on the basket straps and ran to catch up, "Senior Brother Tao, can you sing that song again?"

Tao Ji said proudly, "It's nice, isn't it? I sing this song the best."

"It's nice, it's nice. Teach me, I want to sing it too."

Xuan Miao quietly followed.

The road ahead gradually widened, allowing two people to walk side-by-side with room to spare. Pan Yun squeezed in to walk alongside Tao Ji, but he gently moved her to the inner side, while he walked closer to the mountain edge. "You actually like singing? I'll teach you when we get back to the temple."

"Can't you teach me while we walk?" Pan Yun said. "Walking only uses my legs, not my mouth."

Tao Ji: "I'm afraid you won't remember."

"I have a very good memory."

This was the first time Pan Yun had treated him so nicely. Tao Ji didn't want to refuse her all the time, so he nodded, "Alright, I'll teach you from the first line."

Xuan Miao silently followed behind the two, listening to Tao Ji teach Pan Yun over and over. She turned her head to look at the valley where there was no movement at all.

Pan Yun practiced twice, then sang it herself once. There was no change, and her spiritual energy didn't increase. She felt restless, like a cat's claws were scratching her heart. "Senior Brother Tao, why is it that when you sing this song, I feel a sense of the profound and mysterious, and my cultivation doubles?"

Tao Ji laughed heartily. He stopped, bowed to the four directions, and then said, "Because the Mountain God likes it."

Pan Yun: "Mountain God?"

"Yes, the Mountain God. Let's go, we've arrived at the Daoist temple."

Pan Yun looked up and saw a flat area slightly higher ahead. Behind the thick fog, a building vaguely appeared. As they got closer, she saw it was a Daoist temple built of stone.

The temple was two stories high. Incense was still burning in the incense burner in front, only half-burnt. She wanted to ask more about the Mountain God when a person rushed out of the temple with a "wa ah wa ah" sound, charging at Tao Ji like a little cannonball.

Tao Ji held out a finger and pressed it against her forehead, stopping her before scolding, "Why are you running?"

Pan Yun recognized her at a glance. This must be Miao He, because she was indeed plump and round, with baby fat on her face and a sturdy build. Her big eyes sparkled as she stared at them, her face full of longing. "Master, did you bring me delicious food?"

Tao Ji responded helplessly, "Yes, I did. Go and meet your Martial Aunt first."

Miao He immediately stood at attention, put on a serious little face, and bowed to Xuan Miao, "Martial Aunt."

Xuan Miao nodded and asked, "Where is your First Martial Uncle?"

"In the back!" Miao He saw Pan Yun standing beside them and her eyes were full of curiosity. "Master, who is this?"

Tao Ji didn't know how to introduce Pan Yun for a moment. Although he had let her call him Martial Uncle along the way, becoming a disciple truly required mutual consent.

Neither the Junior Sister nor she seemed very willing.

Then... "This is a new sister at the temple. She's even younger than you. You need to take good care of her."

Miao He nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay."

She immediately grabbed Pan Yun's hand. "Junior Sister, you can live with me. Here, let me help you carry it."

With that, she eagerly helped her take off her carrying basket. As she turned sideways, her eyes met the black cat in the basket.

She suddenly quieted down, her mouth slightly agape. After a long while, she slowly let out a soft "wa--", let go of the carrying basket, and carefully reached out to hug the black cat.

"Meow--" Pan Little Black leaped forward, jumped directly onto the ground, stretched its body, and swaggered towards the Daoist temple.

Miao He took off to chase after it. "Kitty--!"

Tao Ji wanted to stop her. That was Pan Yun's treasure. All the way here, she hadn't let anyone else touch it except him and Xuan Miao.

Pan Yun didn't seem to mind. She pulled Tao Ji and asked, "Senior Brother Tao, is the Mountain God you mentioned a real Mountain God?"

"It's a real Mountain God," Tao Ji said, a little confused. "This is in the mountains, do you think anything else would dare to impersonate the Mountain God?"

"No..." Pan Yun's face turned red. After carefully considering, she asked, "Are there really gods in this world?"

Tao Ji: "...You cultivate the Dao, and you ask if there are gods? If there were no gods, how would your talismans be drawn and used?"

"That's by condensing spiritual energy..."

"No," Tao Ji said with a serious expression. "That's by invoking divine power. Whether it's a talisman or a scroll, if it's effective, it's because divine power has been invoked. Qi is merely its form, without its spirit. What use is your so-called spiritual energy condensed on it?"

He looked at Xuan Miao standing beside him. "Junior Sister, you are most skilled in the art of talismans. This child has gone astray, you must teach her."

Xuan Miao had already noticed this, which was why she advised Pan Yun not to cultivate when they were at Prince Zhou's Mansion, and to wait until they returned to Mount Sanqing.

Because she also couldn't figure out Pan Yun's cultivation method, she only hoped that the Eldest Senior Brother could help her solve the problem.

"There will be plenty of time in the future. Let's go find Eldest Senior Brother first."

Their Eldest Senior Brother was sitting on a rock in the backyard, holding a basin, enjoying the sea of clouds while eating.

Seeing Tao Ji and Xuan Miao leading a child, he happily waved. "You two are back? Is this the child from the Pan family?"

He looked Pan Yun up and down, and the smile on his face gradually faded. He let out a "Hmm" and his expression became much more serious. "This child is so young, how does she have such cultivation?"

Tao Ji said, "Eldest Senior Brother, she's very capable. She can even use the spell of invisibility within plum trees, and she knows formations. It's just her cultivation method, I don't know who she learned it from. It feels strange, as if she's practicing the wrong path."

He laughed heartily and stroked his beard. "I think her disposition is quite good. Even if her cultivation method has flaws, it won't lead her too far astray."

Pan Yun immediately took a liking to him and bowed directly, "Daoist priest."