Penglai Immortal Island, White Jade Palace. White Deer Immortal quietly called Chen Renfeng away.
"Immortal, what is it?" In a side room, she set up an isolation barrier.
"Do you want a Great Luo Golden Immortal's elixir?"
"Yes. Where is it?" Chen Renfeng held out his hand.
"Do you know what True Martial Great Emperor is looking at in the mirror?"
Chen Renfeng shook his head.
"The origin of mortals' Great Dao, the foundation of sainthood—that is what Great Luo Golden Immortals like them lack." White Deer Immortal explained.
"What is the origin of the Great Dao?"
"The faith of mortals. Faith that moves a Great Luo Golden Immortal to tears. The tears that fall become golden pills, cultivation resources." White Deer Immortal explained.
Chen Renfeng was overjoyed. "What does this little immortal need to do? Please give me your orders, Immortal." White Deer quietly told her the plan.
The two returned to the garden and continued watching the water mirror.
Half an hour later, the little novice monk who had just been saved woke up in pain.
He touched the bandages wrapped around his body and realized he had been saved. An old man was snoring beside him with his back against a rock, and he did not dare disturb him.
Seeing the kettle placed on the rock, he drank two mouthfuls. His cracked lips and parched throat eased, but his stomach disappointingly began to rumble.
I have to find something to eat!
The little novice monk followed the path toward the mountaintop for several hundred steps.
He had been hungry for three days, and his legs had long since lost their strength.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past. "Wow, that smells amazing! What is it?" The little novice monk caught a powerful fragrance.
He had grown up in the kitchen of Chongsheng Temple, a royal monastery. He had eaten his fill of everything and sampled all kinds of delicacies from Southern Expedition Country, so his sense of smell was exceptionally sharp.
Following the aroma, he quickened his pace, passed through the dense forest, and climbed to a mountaintop seven or eight zhang high.
Looking out, he saw a stretch of water in the distance, emerald green like a pearl and surrounded by the mountains of Yunling. Farther away, there was another lake.
After walking a few more steps, he discovered a stone table ahead, covered with exquisite porcelain plates. They held fish and meat, along with many dishes he did not recognize. The spread was dazzling and breathtaking.
He was so hungry that his chest seemed pressed against his back. He felt as if his stomach could hold an entire ox, and its rumbling sounded like thunder.
The little novice monk was so famished that his mind became muddled. Thinking he was hallucinating, he viciously pinched himself, then rubbed his eyes.
He saw that the dishes on the stone table were still there, and no one was around. At that moment, he could not care about anything else. He crouched beside the table, picked up Dongpo Pig Elbow, took a bite, and began devouring it.
Unfortunately, when Dongpo Twelve Famous Dishes encountered the little novice monk's manner of eating, how could he taste even a trace of their exquisite flavor?
The little novice monk had an astonishing appetite. He drank an entire bowl of Dongpo Jade Rice Soup to the last drop, then happily raised his head for a look.
Suddenly, his whole body froze. When he came to his senses, he hastily shuffled backward and fell onto the ground.
He saw a gravestone carved from stone. It read, "Tomb of Beloved Daughter Bai Bing, erected by Ziqi."
The little novice monk hurriedly kowtowed and apologized. He began chanting the Rebirth Mantra: "Namo Amitabha Buddha... Tathagata... Vikiranta... Svaha."
Just as the little novice monk closed his eyes and continued reciting the sutra,
a sudden shout rang out: "Where did this wild monk come from?"
The little novice monk flung open his eyes in fright and saw two young gentlemen with furious expressions. He hurriedly rose, only to collapse again because his knees had been bent for too long, his face full of panic.
Seeing the dishes he had painstakingly prepared ruined by this wild monk, Su Dingfeng's anger surged. He hurled the food box in his hand at the little novice monk.
The little novice monk hastily raised both arms to shield his head. The freshly made grilled oysters inside scattered across the ground.
Enraged, Su Dingfeng drew the treasured sword from his back and shouted, "You wild monk! First you broke the precept against theft, then you broke the meat-eating precept and fought a dead person for food. Today, I'll save you from this world on Buddha's behalf!"
"Stop!" a voice called from afar. Su Dingfeng followed the sound with his gaze and saw a young physician in a bamboo hat rushing over.
She grabbed the little novice monk by the collar and lifted him up, scolding, "Who told you to run around? Where is Elder Meng?"
The little novice monk tried to break free, but could not. He had no idea who this person was either.
"Put me down!"
Su Jiangcheng blocked Su Dingfeng, who still wanted to step forward. After probing the two people before him with his aura, he asked, "Does the physician know this little monk?"
The young physician looked at the two of them and replied coldly, "No. He is a patient I just saved."
Su Jiangcheng said earnestly, "This monk has ruined a promise my master made to an old friend. Since the physician does not know him, why not hand him over to me? I can take him back and give my master an explanation."
The young physician glanced at the gravestone, forcibly suppressing her grief, and said coldly, "What does your master have to do with me? The little novice monk is my patient. Once I have treated him, you can go find him yourself."
Hearing this, Su Dingfeng flew into a rage. "You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Take my sword!"
He unleashed the Su Xian Sect's ultimate technique, Five Stars Fight Light. His long sword traced five golden stars through the air as they stabbed toward the young physician.
The young physician was empty-handed and had no weapon with which to defend herself. Nor did she want to abandon the little novice monk and dodge.
She kicked the food box up from the ground and sent it smashing toward her opponent. Su Dingfeng's sword struck the box head-on, shredding it to pieces.
Su Dingfeng was about to pursue with another sword strike when he heard an arrow shoot toward him from behind.
He hurriedly used Turning Head Expecting Desolation. His long sword seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; without turning around, he knocked the arrow down.
In the blink of an eye, a squad of soldiers charged up.
They wore leather armor and curved sabers at their waists. Drawing their bows and nocking arrows, they surrounded all four people.
Then, a stream of curses came from below the mountain. As the voices drew near, two military officers appeared.
One had a pale face and was tall and powerfully built; the other had a dark face and imposing features.
"Damn it, who told you to come to Solitary Mountain? What are you doing sneaking around here?" the dark-faced general demanded.
Su Jiangcheng looked him over and said courteously, "I came here to pay respects to an old friend. May I ask the general's name?"
"I'm Alu of the Yangzong Tribe," the dark-faced, thick-browed general replied.
Su Jiangcheng said, "Are you General Alu of Ziqi Country, along with General Age and General Abu?"
Alu replied, "That's right. This is my second younger brother, Age of the Buxiong Tribe."
Su Jiangcheng had seen the portraits of the King of Ziqi Country and his three sons that his master had given him. The two men looked exactly like the figures in the paintings.
Su Jiangcheng hurriedly cupped his fists and said, "This junior is Su Jiangcheng, a disciple of the Su Xian Sect. This is my junior brother, Su Dingfeng. We came under our master's orders to offer birthday congratulations and gifts to the King of Ziqi Country."
With that, he took a token and a letter from his robes and handed them to Alu.
General Alu's guard accepted the token and letter. After Alu examined them, he handed them to General Age.
Once they had both finished reading, General Age said, "Big brother, why don't we return to Milu City and inform Father first? We can see what he thinks."
Alu nodded. "The two young heroes should wait at the foot of the mountain. We'll go pay our respects to Father together."
Su Jiangcheng and Su Dingfeng exchanged a glance and nodded.
The moment they took a step, Su Jiangcheng suddenly used the secret movement technique Flying Goose Treading on Snow Mud passed down by his sect.
With a flash, he appeared beside the young physician.
Taking advantage of the surprise, he used the close-combat grappling technique Left Lead the Yellow, Right Raise the Gray, his left tiger claw seizing her shoulder while the sword fingers of his right hand jabbed at her Qihai acupoint.
The young physician had been guarding against Su Dingfeng and had not expected the other man to move like a rabbit darting after a falcon. Two linked moves forced her to keep hold of the little novice monk while she used both hands to block the attacks.
Su Jiangcheng changed his moves, bringing both hands together into the double-stacked palm technique Thousands of Riders Sweep Across the Hill, striking toward the young physician's Tanzhong acupoint.
The young physician had only just entered the martial world and had never fought anyone before. She secretly felt her opponent was shameless, but still used eighty percent of her Wood Spirit Art's power to meet his palm.
The young physician was knocked one step backward.
Su Jiangcheng was also forced back one step. Taking advantage of the momentum, he seized the little novice monk by the collar and shouted, "Little monk, come with me!"
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