White Deer's Fur Like Snow, Stepping on My Peach Blossoms Over the Stone Bridge

Master Chen, though pained by the cost, still knew what was important. He hastily ordered a plate of silver ingots brought out and personally presented it to Spiritual Gate, begging him to accept. He then busied himself with preparing a banquet. Seeing his earnestness, Spiritual Gate mused, I'll stay an extra day or two to put these villagers at ease.

Besides, I need to leave that child a Fist Manual and offer some guidance. If he's willing to work hard, it'll be an opportunity. If not, it'll be a good deed. With that thought, he smiled and said, "I will stay for a few days. If that Evil Cultivator returns, I won't let him go."

Chen Ganliu returned to his room and did not leave, burying himself in cultivation.

Night fell!

Everyone in the old Chen Family residence was asleep. The surroundings were silent, save for the occasional chirp of insects.

Suddenly, Chen Ganliu heard a faint bipupu sound outside his window, as if someone was tapping on the window frame.

He formed the Lightning and Fire incantations, then paused, changing them to the Binding and Sealing character talismans. Just as he was about to strike first to gain the upper hand, he heard Spiritual Gate's gentle voice call out, "This humble Daoist Spiritual Gate has come to gift you a copy of the Fist Manual."

Chen Ganliu was greatly surprised and pushed open the window.

A gust of cool breeze blew in, and the Daoist Spiritual Gate was already standing in the room. He smiled and handed over a scroll, saying, "This is the Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist Manual. It has five levels of skill. Practiced to its extreme, it can project internal energy ten feet to injure people invisibly from a distance."

"Today, you distracted the Black Robed Daoist by throwing bricks, allowing me to win the Magical Combat. This is your reward."

"I can only teach you the fist techniques for one night. From then on, it will all depend on your own enlightenment."

Chen Ganliu was extremely disappointed. As a cultivator, why would he want to learn fist techniques?

His face was blank, his expression slightly dazed. Spiritual Gate assumed the child was too overjoyed to think straight and proceeded to impart the principles of the Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist Manual one by one.

As the sky began to show the faintest hint of dawn, the Daoist Spiritual Gate let out a soft cry, "This humble Daoist departs!" In an instant, he vanished. In the room, besides the scroll of the Fist Manual, there was now a plate of silver ingots, precisely the gift from Master Chen.

In his previous life, Chen Ganliu had desperately wanted to find a good master but never succeeded. In this life, he felt he was already resorting to desperate measures, only to find that even someone of Spiritual Gate's cultivation level looked down on him.

He dejectedly went to the kitchen for some food, then returned and fell asleep. When the sun was high in the sky, he woke up refreshed, feeling his body had recovered somewhat. He then sat in his room to meditate and refine Qi.

Three days later, something melodramatic that had happened in his previous life occurred.

Master Chen sent a message saying his maidservant was to be assigned to his second brother, leaving no room for refusal. He only promised that when the family next bought maidservants, he would be allowed to choose first.

Chen Ganliu's father was a wealthy landowner with many children. In his previous life, he hadn't paid much attention to this son, not even when he was praised as a child prodigy and became famous in the village. Now, reborn, he hadn't yet shown any remarkable talent and was even less of a concern.

Chen Ganliu, as an overlooked illegitimate son of the Chen Family, had his existence ignored by everyone. No one thought that he was still young and needed looking after.

Chen Ganliu didn't care about a maidservant.

He only cared about cultivation.

It was a good thing that no one was coming in and out of his room to disturb him.

He agreed immediately, though his familial affection waned slightly.

Another seven or eight days passed.

Chen Ganliu finished his cultivation exercise and secretly mused, There's no point staying in the Chen Family anymore. Moreover, mortal families have too many troubles and trivial matters, which aren't suitable for cultivation. It was unavoidable before, but now that I have Qi Refining Layer One cultivation, my Talisman skills have greatly improved, and I've also practiced the Great Vehicle Myriad Flower Fist Manual...

I should have found a place of immortal cultivation to practice peacefully long ago. I don't have the fortune to enter a proper immortal sect, but living in an immortal market would be better than staying at home.

I remember hearing a rumor in my previous life about someone buying the White Emperor's Legacy in the Suiyang Immortal Market.

It was said that the person went to the Suiyang Immortal Market and bought a piece of green jade, intending to use it to refine a jade talisman. When they cut open the jade, they discovered a copy of the White Emperor's Discourse Collection and a Magic Treasure consisting of a sword and two hooks.

The White Emperor's Discourse Collection is renowned, but it's not a orthodox Daoist text. It's a compilation of the life's Daoist techniques of a white snake that achieved cultivation, a secret cultivation method of the demon race.

This white snake cultivated to the peak of the Spirit Embryo Realm, almost reaching the True Yang Realm. It was a powerful demon cultivator. Although the White Emperor's Discourse Collection left behind isn't orthodox Daoist, it contains over ten powerful spells. That Flying Sword was refined over sixteen hundred years of hard work. Even among the sect-protecting Flying Swords of major orthodox and heterodox sects, it stands out as incredibly powerful. Those two Flying Hooks have an even grander origin; they are artifacts of an ancient Water God, capable of controlling all rivers and lakes, and can restrain various Magic Treasures.

It's a pity that the person who obtained the treasure became too complacent and told three or five friends about it. The news spread, and they were hunted down, killed, and robbed of their treasure. The White Emperor's Discourse Collection and the sword and hooks disappeared, their whereabouts unknown, becoming one of the great unsolved mysteries of that time.

When I heard this rumor, I was a handyman at the Immortal Encounter Sect. This incident had already passed for twenty to thirty years. Counting from now, it happened just two or three years ago.

Thinking of this, Chen Ganliu suddenly felt a pang of sadness. He had nothing valuable on him. Even if he encountered such an opportunity, wouldn't people expect him to pay for a piece of green jade?

Moreover, there were countless pieces of green jade in the Suiyang Immortal Market. How could he pick the one containing the treasure? Unless he had a massive amount of Talisman Coins and bought all the green jade in the Suiyang Immortal Market for these few years, he could only rely on luck.

After a moment of sadness, he thought again, There are still two or three years. I might be able to improve my cultivation a bit more and gather enough Talisman Coins.

I've been reborn, what greater opportunity could there be than this?

Go, go, don't be discouraged. You must always be invigorated.

A few days later, Chen Ganliu borrowed a woodcutting knife and cut a thick branch to use as a staff. He took the ten or so silver taels he had saved over the years, leaving even the plate of silver Spiritual Gate had given him in his room. He took nothing else from the Chen Family, leaving alone and setting off on his journey.

The Suiyang Immortal Market was over two thousand li from Chen Family Village. It was extremely difficult for an ordinary child to travel alone.

Although Chen Ganliu was only seven or eight years old, he was a Qi Cultivator and proficient in Talisman techniques. Even ten ordinary adults would not be his match.

Having lived three lives, he had extensive experience traveling. After leaving Chen Family Village, he didn't rush his journey. Instead, he searched the wilderness for two days and finally encountered a White Deer.

This White Deer was foolish and didn't flee when it saw someone.

Chen Ganliu saw that the White Deer was strong and was delighted. He took out a Talisman, pointed it from a distance, and shouted, "Bind!"

The White Deer fell to the ground as if struck!

Although he had only practiced Talisman techniques to the first level, making them ineffective against those with even a little magical power, they worked with ease against a beast.

Chen Ganliu walked over, pressed down on the White Deer's neck, and drew seventeen or eighteen Binding character talismans.

This White Deer was just an ordinary wild deer; how could it withstand such immortal methods? With seventeen or eighteen Binding character talismans imprinted into its consciousness, it immediately became docile and stopped struggling.

Chen Ganliu chuckled, climbed onto the White Deer's back, and shouted, "Go!"

The White Deer spread its hooves. It was a little unsteady at first, its hindquarters twisting erratically, making for a very bumpy ride. Soon, however, with the aid of the talismans, it became smooth. After half a day of training, it had become a good mount.

With the White Deer as transportation, he didn't have to walk himself, making the journey infinitely easier.

As the saying goes: "A white deer's coat is like snow, treading my peach blossoms over the stone bridge."