Clues

"Gurgle..."

The elderly monk stirred the boiling water with a wooden stick. A few pieces of clearly textured golden tea leaves tumbled, making the hot water a bright yellow. The air was filled with a strong, bitter tea fragrance.

These were leaves from the Terrestrial Treasure Tree, the Buddha-Heart Tea Tree.

"Master, how do you read this Ancient Seal Script? How do you interpret it?"

Chen Xuan squatted on the ground, using a branch to draw a crooked character, humbly asking the old monk for guidance.

The old monk lowered his head to look, first patiently explaining, then asking in confusion, "You don't recognize these characters, so how can you write them?"

He was shocked because these seal scripts were ancient and had long been out of use in the Ancient Chu Kingdom. If the Hanging Temple hadn't studied the mountain and sea strange beast Yong He years ago and left behind many ancient texts, he wouldn't have had the chance to encounter these seal scripts.

"I just wrote it randomly, I didn't expect it to actually be a character."

Chen Xuan spouted nonsense as an explanation, then wrote another Ancient Seal Script on the ground. "This couldn't be Ancient Seal Script too, could it... Ha, it really is a character, what a coincidence..."

The old monk looked helpless, thinking, What coincidence? Could you be an ancient sage who created characters? As expected, the Qi Refiners outside the temple are full of lies, completely hopeless.

In the distance.

The severely injured young monk held a wooden bowl, squatting on the ground, constantly smiling apologetically at Chen Xuan, indicating that he knew he was wrong. Chen Xuan felt a bit creeped out by the stare, thinking these monks were all crazy.

He had been kicked by Monk Kong Wen and his life was in danger. He was now waiting for the Treasure Tea Soup to heal his injuries and extend his life.

Soon after, the tea soup was ready, and a group of 'worthless' Qi Refiners eagerly gathered around.

Chen Xuan received a bowl of Treasure Tea Soup.

Only one golden tea leaf floated in it, shimmering golden, fragrant, and just smelling it made him feel refreshed, almost as if he had gained enlightenment.

Although the quantity wasn't much, it was extremely precious, and they would receive it daily.

The old monk distributing the tea water looked at the group of Qi Refiners with a pleading expression, softly persuading them:

"After drinking this precious Treasure Tea, please be more well-behaved. Our Hanging Temple has no ill intentions towards everyone..."

Chen Xuan didn't have many thoughts.

After all, he was accepting their hospitality, and besides, he wasn't the type to cause trouble unnecessarily.

But the other Qi Refiners scoffed.

The burly man sneered, "You want to get rid of us with a few rotten tea leaves? You're stingy with your treasures? Please let us into the Southern Wilderness... I'll find heavenly materials and earthly treasures myself, so I don't have to put up with your nonsense!"

The middle-aged Daoist shouted sternly, "The Dao heart is as true as iron!"

"If you trust us, you can let us leave. We will absolutely not ruin the Hanging Temple's affairs," a Qi Refiner repeatedly guaranteed.

"But I can't. I've liked women since I was a child. For a beautiful woman, I can even disown my parents..." Another Qi Refiner exaggerated and made alarmist remarks.

A group of people pushed and shoved, being unreasonable, like hooligans. The old monk's kasaya was torn to shreds, and some Qi Refiners even took advantage of the chaos to grope him, trying to find some Buddha-Heart Tea Tree leaves or other treasures.

The people from the Hanging Temple were so mentally exhausted that they could only flee in a hurry.

"Everyone is relying on the Hanging Temple now, but they can only swallow this loss."

Chen Xuan couldn't help but laugh at this scene, then tilted his head back and drank the Treasure Tea Soup, holding a golden tea leaf in his mouth as he walked into the temporary wooden hut that had been built.

A slightly bitter taste bloomed on his tongue, and the Qi and blood in his body were gradually mobilized, accumulating power like a dam.

"Before the Peach Blossom Garden falls, I can cultivate Green Qi."

Chen Xuan sat cross-legged on the cold, simple wooden bed. Originally, it would take him twenty days to cultivate a trick outside of White Qi, but now that he had valuable Treasure Tea Soup to drink every day, this time should be significantly shortened.

He had already learned the specific time and location of the Peach Blossom Garden's fall from Wang Chan's Yellow Millet Dream.

The first day of the first month.

There was still more than half a month left, which was enough time for him to master a second trick, or even step onto the Ascension path for the second time.

"Buzz..."

A stream of White Qi slowly circulated within his body, gradually outlining a Qi circulation diagram. Occasionally, a green light would flash, then be swallowed by the golden-white light...

Time flowed like water.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

In the latter half of the night, a light rain began to fall outside, mixed with ice pellets.

Chen Xuan finished his cultivation, pushed open the door, and looked out, his gaze narrowing.

He saw that in the wilderness, the twenty-odd Ascetic Monks of the Hanging Temple were sitting like statues in the rain, motionless, their heads reflecting a faint night light. The ground was steaming with cold air like mist. This scene appeared very strange and eerie.

"These Ascetic Monks have some skills. They seem to have much stronger willpower than ordinary people. That Monk Kong Wen was still worried that these young people would be seduced by Yan Yushu."

Chen Xuan's gaze was puzzled. He saw the young monk who had been severely injured during the day among the crowd, sitting in the cold rain, blood seeping from his chest and flowing down with the rain, yet he seemed completely unaware, his face solemn, as if a true Buddha-nature was flowing from him.

In fact, the willpower and beliefs of these Ascetic Monks absolutely surpassed most people in the world, and they cultivated White Qi, which was inherently indifferent.

In the adjacent wooden hut, hushed voices of plotting could be heard.

"Daoist priest, we benefited from that Yan Yushu, so we absolutely cannot sit by and watch these bald donkeys from the Hanging Temple bully her arbitrarily..." The burly man lowered his voice and whispered, "My heart is tormented, I can't bear to watch anymore."

"..."

A moment later, the middle-aged Daoist's voice slowly sounded.

"This humble Daoist also feels ashamed..."

Chen Xuan heard the subtle movement, turned his head in surprise, and saw two figures climbing out of the wooden house, speeding towards the vast mountains of the Southern Wilderness in the night.

"Amitabha..."

In the rain curtain, a slightly disappointed Buddhist voice sounded: "Seeking death..."

Immediately, a "sculpture" seemed to come alive. A figure radiating golden-white light, like an enraged Vajra, chased into the darkness...

Southern Wilderness, boundless darkness.

Freezing rain fell like woven threads. On the winding, slippery, muddy mountain path, a slender, barefoot figure was fleeing. She clutched her thin clothes in the cold, her body trembling.

"Boom!"

In the mountain forest ahead, golden-white lights lit up one after another. Qi and blood surged into the sky, like furnaces of white flame, reaching over a zhang high, illuminating the night sky.

"..."

Yan Yushu stopped, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. Then she turned and changed direction, only to stop again.

"Roar!"

"Moo!"

Several figures like white fire furnaces appeared on the retreat path. Behind them, the phantom of a white-haired giant ape, several zhang tall, with a red face and fangs, and a ferocious appearance, roared towards the sky; there was also the phantom of a giant elephant with limbs as thick as pillars and two snow-white tusks, raising its trunk as thick as a water bucket high...

"Six... Desires... Heaven..."

Loud Buddhist chants, one after another, echoed through the mountains from all directions, like thunder rolling across the earth.

"Hoo..."

Yan Yushu pursed her slightly pale lips, casually tied up her waterfall-like long hair. In her fox-like eyes, black flames seemed to burn fiercely. Her steps swayed gracefully, and the soft, gentle, powdery aura was swept away.

"A bunch of motherless things, then... come on."

In the rain curtain, the phantom of a massive black fish leaped out, with transparent bird wings on its back, its voice like a mandarin duck. The rain in the sky trembled with it.

The slaughter was endless.

She had long been accustomed to it.

"Hiss, this Yan Yushu's Six Desires Heaven is really something..."

Chen Xuan looked at the disappearing figures in the camp, startled.

During the day, the burly man and the middle-aged Daoist made the biggest fuss. He thought they just wanted to take more advantage of the Hanging Temple, but he didn't expect them to actually betray.

It was incredible that they would rather give up the benefits within reach to go into the mountains and help Yan Yushu.

"The Hanging Temple is also not some pushover to be manipulated. Once you touch their bottom line, they'll flip the table, revealing their brutal side... I heard that all the mortal cultivators in the Hanging Temple's territory, good or bad, died out."

Chen Xuan muttered to himself. In the distance, an Ascetic Monk opened his eyes and looked over.

"Heh..."

Chen Xuan raised his chin at the monk, then returned to the wooden house, continued practicing the Little Green Deer Trick for a while, and then lay on the wooden board, closing his eyes to rest.

Every day, big and small events happened in the Qi Refiner world. Not every event was related to him. Those major events had their own protagonists.

"I just need to proceed step by step, walking on solid ground, and I will naturally bear my own fruits... In the Peach Blossom Garden, there are relics left by ancient immortals and sages. This is the direction I need to work towards."

Chen Xuan firmly believed that his heart for cultivating immortality and seeking the Dao was as firm as a green mountain, never wavering, and no thoughts could disturb his will.

What Six Desires Heaven? It could only hook those with unstable minds. For someone like him who could even withstand Yellow Millet Qi, it was simply not worth mentioning.

Not long after.

In his sleep, Chen Xuan dreamed of Yan Yushu...

"Crack!"

His body suddenly tensed, covered in sweat. His fingers gripped the wooden bed like knives, using so much force that he directly cracked the wooden board.