"This old Daoist really has the same temperament as that wild monkey." Lin Yuan could not help grumbling.
But on closer thought, the Slovenly Daoist was strange in every way.
He did not stay properly in the temple in the middle of the night, but instead slept on this pine tree.
Moreover, his movements were incredibly agile. Whether it was leaping down from that bluestone just now or the skill he displayed by disappearing in the blink of an eye, everything secretly astonished Lin Yuan.
Clearly, this old Daoist was no ordinary person.
After this encounter, a faint light appeared on the distant horizon.
Lin Yuan lowered his head and glanced at his watch. It was nearly five o'clock, leaving about two hours until the time they had agreed to meet.
However, he had no intention of going down the mountain. He planned to wait for them right there.
Lin Yuan then turned his gaze toward the ancient pine. The Slovenly Daoist's posture as he slept just now seemed to remain before his eyes.
"Can a person really fall asleep in a place like this?"
Lin Yuan was highly skeptical.
If he remained conscious, lying on a tree trunk this thick would be easy for him, let alone lying on a thin rope.
But if he fell asleep, his body would inevitably move around. How could he keep himself balanced and sleep steadily on it?
Curious, Lin Yuan jumped up and lay down, imitating the old man's posture.
Yet no matter how he lay, his body felt awkward, let alone falling asleep.
If he really dozed off, he would probably roll right off.
But he had clearly seen the old Daoist sleeping soundly up there. It did not look like false sleep.
Afterward, Lin Yuan tried again. He even let himself enter a state of sleep, but the moment his consciousness began drifting into dreams, his body could not help moving around. As soon as it moved, he began teetering dangerously on the tree.
At that moment, Lin Yuan did not know that the Slovenly Daoist was watching him from a nearby mountaintop.
Seeing him imitate his sleeping posture, the old man could not help laughing. "Young friend, how could the old Daoist's Hibernating Dragon Technique be learned just by watching it once?"
"I'm off, I'm off. Time to get some wine."
Before he knew it, the sky had begun to brighten. The sun slowly revealed a corner above the distant mountaintops, and red light gradually spread across the land from near to far.
Soon, the morning light reached Sanqing Mountain. It pierced through layer upon layer of mist and shone upon each of Sanqing Mountain's peaks.
Lin Yuan opened his eyes. Although he had only taken a short nap, he did not look tired at all and was as spirited as ever.
The morning sun had just risen, and the air was fresh.
Lin Yuan stood up from the ground and gazed at the vast world before him.
Above were clouds shrouding the peaks; below was luxuriant vegetation. All things continued revolving endlessly in this world according to their own unique laws.
And was humanity not the same in relation to heaven and earth?
People had never been rulers standing above all things. They were merely a part of nature.
Amid this scene, Lin Yuan seemed to gain a deeper understanding of the natural principles of Tai Chi. Thus, he unconsciously began practicing Tai Chi on the large bluestone.
This time, he cast all the Tai Chi movements from his mind.
He simply followed nature and breathed in rhythm with heaven and earth.
In an instant, he faintly sensed the existence of something between heaven and earth. But he did not know what it was. He could only sense it and tried to grasp it, yet it always seemed separated by a veil.
Lin Yuan became immersed in it, completely forgetting everything around him.
It was not until his phone rang that he emerged from that special state.
Lin Yuan picked up his phone. It was Wu Zihan calling.
It was already past seven ten, so Lin Yuan immediately answered.
"Hello, Senior Brother, where are you?"
"I'm already up on the mountain. Just come straight up."
"What? You're already on the mountain! Why didn't you wait for us?"
"Something unexpected happened," Lin Yuan explained.
"Fine, fine. Where exactly are you on the mountain?"
Lin Yuan looked around. He saw a signpost not far ahead and jumped down from the bluestone. He walked over and examined it carefully before figuring out roughly where he was.
"I'm at One Line Sky right now."
"Okay, okay, got it. We'll come find you right away."
With that, she hung up.
At that moment, people were also gradually making their way up the mountain from below.
Lin Yuan summoned his system panel.
[Name: Lin Yuan] [Lifespan: 25/60] [Strength: 20] [Speed: 19] [Agility: 25] [Endurance: 26] [Flexibility: 22] [Martial Arts: Yang Style Tai Chi (Blue; Mastered), Wu Style Tai Chi (Blue; Minor Achievement), Chen Style Tai Chi (Blue; Minor Achievement), Wu Style Tai Chi (Blue; Minor Achievement), Sun Style Tai Chi (Blue; Minor Achievement), Arhat Fist (Blue; Proficient), Hun Yuan Zhuang (Purple; Minor Achievement)] [Attribute Points: 10.5]
Lin Yuan stared at the number of Attribute Points, his face instantly filled with disbelief.
He had clearly only possessed 6.5 Attribute Points before. How had four more suddenly appeared?
In the past, he had trained from morning until night, and the maximum number of Attribute Points he could obtain in a day was only four. Yet after practicing for merely an hour or so, he had gained four.
Could it be because he had just become immersed in that mysterious, profound state?
Other than that, he could not think of any explanation.
During these days at home, he had also raised the other four Tai Chi styles to Minor Achievement. In addition, he had learned Hun Yuan Zhuang, causing his physical qualities to undergo another near-leap.
About half an hour later, Lin Yuan saw Wu Zihan and the others walking toward One Line Sky. There were five of them.
They were Wu Zhongze, Wu Zihan, Yang Yikun, Dong Yifan, and Sun Xuemei.
Since they were all martial artists, they climbed quickly.
Before they reached him, Wu Zihan waved and called out to Lin Yuan.
The others traveling with her all turned to look in the direction she was waving.
Since it was their first time seeing Lin Yuan, they were all curious. When they finally saw his true appearance—
Sun Xuemei spoke first. "He's quite a handsome young man."
"So that's why Zihan keeps going on about him every day."
"Sister Xuemei, when have I ever gone on about him every day? Don't let his looks fool you. This guy is really awful."
Soon, they reached Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan greeted them one by one and got to know each of them.
Wu Zhongze gave off a steady impression, while Yang Yikun was somewhat flamboyant. Dong Yifan had a reserved personality and a scholarly air between his brows. Sun Xuemei, meanwhile, was poised and generous.
Apart from these external impressions, Lin Yuan also seemed to get a rough sense of their martial arts levels.
Among them, he had initially thought Wu Zhongze would have the highest cultivation. But at this moment, his aura was not as steady as Dong Yifan's. Although it was quite stable, it was still somewhat lacking.
Next came Sun Xuemei, followed by Wu Zihan. Yang Yikun's aura was the most frivolous.
By observing a person's aura, one could more or less determine their strength.
Of course, this was not absolute. It could only be said that when two people were at the same level of martial arts attainment, the one with the denser and more enduring aura would generally be stronger.
Yang Yikun looked Lin Yuan up and down and said, "So you're Lin Yuan? You look pretty ordinary to me."
Wu Zihan immediately glared at him.
"Of course, you're the one with extraordinary bearing. What a typical insecure man."
"Alright, alright, stop bickering for now. We still have a stretch of mountain road ahead of us. The Jade Talisman Grand Ceremony starts at half past nine, so we mustn't be late," Wu Zhongze said.
Before you continue