The Fierce Tiger Mountain God invited him in a calm voice. Though the wind roared like waves and the forest surged like a sea, nothing could drown him out.
The mountain towered high, clouds hanging low. Cloud and energy collided, sending white clouds swirling and surging like an ocean. Endless winds streamed outward from that point in every direction, vast and mighty. When Qi WuHuo rose, he saw wisps of cloud and mist streaming away with the wind.
Countless clouds gathered, forming a bridge that stretched for dozens of miles.
One end lay deep within the mountain, where the Mountain God had secluded himself to break through.
The other happened to reach Qi WuHuo's feet.
It shifted and flowed, without substance.
Qi WuHuo bade farewell to Elder Tao and the others. Under Elder Tao's envious gaze, he rose and stepped onto the cloud bridge.
The wisps of cloud and mist looked so illusory they seemed unable to bear even a feather. Yet when Qi WuHuo stepped onto them, they were remarkably firm. As he was about to move forward, the bridge suddenly shifted and surged, streaming ahead in an instant. It flew as fast as a bird, yet remained steady beneath him.
Qi WuHuo looked back. The town was gone, the Mortal World was gone. All he saw was the moon rising to the center of the sky and the emerald waves of the sea of clouds.
Riding the clouds and treading the mist—this was exactly what it meant.
The road on earth was long; the clouds in the heavens were swift.
When the clouds scattered, Qi WuHuo was already standing firmly on the mountaintop. Looking around, he saw a figure standing ahead with his back to him. The Mountain God wore a loose, dark blue robe, a jade belt around his waist, and his hands clasped behind his back. The breeze billowed his sleeves beneath the full moon. He seemed no man of the Mortal World. Qi WuHuo stopped, neither speaking nor stepping forward.
Man and god stood quietly, gazing at the mountains and rivers beneath the night sky.
They took in the clouds, the moonlight, the mountains and rivers, and the Mortal World.
"What a fine view. I've watched it here through three hundred years of spring and autumn."
"And now, looking again, it is exactly as it was when I first came here."
The Mountain God spoke with feeling, then turned with a smile and looked at Qi WuHuo.
Qi WuHuo saw that his eyes were bright, his aura profound, his black hair hanging loose, and his temples streaked with white.
He was no handsome immortal, but a dignified god.
Qi WuHuo sensed that the man before him was perfectly whole, his aura almost impossible to distinguish.
Standing there, he seemed no different from the world around him.
This realm was far beyond Qi WuHuo's understanding. He knew the Mountain God had succeeded in his breakthrough.
He was happy for the Mountain God, too, and cupped his hands.
"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on your breakthrough."
The Mountain God smiled and invited him to sit. He poured Qi WuHuo a cup of spiritual liquid and said, "I owe my breakthrough today to your kindness. I'd meant to prepare a gift for you, but when I thought it over, I couldn't come up with anything worth offering."
"If I were to teach you a method, my paltry cultivation would only make a fool of me."
"So after thinking it over, I decided the only thing I could offer was to let you witness my breakthrough."
"Mm, you could say I was inviting you to protect me while I did it."
"Protect you?"
During this time, Qi WuHuo had learned the basics of cultivation from the Mountain God, Elder Tao, Shen Hongxue, and Luo Yizhen.
After descending the mountain, he had studied the Record of Becoming Immortal.
He already knew that watching a cultivator of the Mountain God's realm break through would greatly benefit him.
The Mountain God was only saying this because he didn't want Qi WuHuo to take it too seriously—to see it not as a special opportunity bestowed upon him, but simply as a friend's invitation. A faint smile appeared on Qi WuHuo's face.
"Mm."
"I'm here," the youth replied.
The Mountain God laughed aloud.
His laughter grew louder and more commanding, yet never grating. Instead, it carried an ease and grandeur that seemed to encompass all things and look down upon heaven and earth. Essence, qi, and spirit were the foundations of life and all things, and now they blazed within the Mountain God, growing ever more brilliant.
"I possess the Great Dao. I invite you to witness it!"
On the Mountain God, Qi WuHuo saw the essence, qi, and spirit take clear, tangible form.
And this transformation did not erupt all at once. It rose gradually, at last reaching perfection.
It was as though the whole path of cultivation were being reenacted.
The Mountain God began chanting in a ringing voice, though the sound did not reach the ears of others.
"People always speak of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, but that saying is mistaken. 'Flower' means radiance, like the light of the sun and moon!"
"The three radiances are the Jade Radiance of primordial essence, the Golden Radiance of primordial qi, and the Ninefold Radiance of the Primordial Spirit."
"The Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown doesn't mean that three flowers truly bloom on your head. You and I aren't plant spirits—how could that be? If that were the case, wouldn't we have to bear fruit, too, only for some monkey to snatch it away? Nonsense."
"This so-called Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown is merely a Daoist term for cultivation."
"It means the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit revert to their origin, never to be divided again."
"One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things."
"And I return to the One!"
"That is the key to the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown!"
As the Mountain God spoke, primordial qi and primordial essence, both concentrated to their utmost, gathered into a single point of spiritual light. Then that point of light joined with the Primordial Spirit, perfectly and without obstruction, and settled between his brows. From then on, it became his foundation. The essence, qi, and spirit of a Postnatal Being were no longer distinct, but merged into one, the entire process unfolding with unhurried ease.
The Mountain God had clearly succeeded in this step. He had summoned Qi WuHuo only to show him, from beginning to end, the path by which one reached this stage of cultivation.
Qi WuHuo took in every detail of the shifting flow of essence, qi, and spirit.
After witnessing such a brilliant and magnificent sight, it would be almost impossible to forget.
He stood dazed for a long while before slowly coming back to himself. Just as he was about to offer his thanks, the Mountain God took him by the arm and pulled him down to sit, smiling as he said, "We're friends, and we took to each other at first sight. No need for that."
"Come, let's drink."
He brought out some wine, then suddenly slapped his forehead and laughed. "I nearly forgot—you're still young. You probably haven't had wine before, have you?"
"Come, come. This spiritual liquid only tastes like wine; it won't make you drunk. You can have a taste."
"As for the flavor, it's not bad."
Qi WuHuo could feel the Mountain God's joy at his breakthrough, as well as his sense of farewell, but he said nothing.
The Mountain God had already said a month ago that he would travel the world after breaking through.
They chatted for an hour.
Together, they finished a jar of spiritual liquid.
The moonlight was clear and cold. The Mountain God sighed. "I've cultivated on this mountain for three hundred years. I thought I'd grow old and die here, but I never expected such an opportunity. The Mountain God's seal is on the stone platform behind me. Take it if you wish; if not, you can give it to someone else. I've made arrangements for Huang Jing and the other spiritual beasts of the mountain, too. You need only focus on cultivating your heart."
Holding his cup, Qi WuHuo still sat upright on the blue stone, gazing at the sea of clouds. "You're leaving?"
The Mountain God laughed aloud. "People like us—why get hung up on the sentimental affairs of children?"
"Shouldn't we send each other off with a great laugh? Why all this weeping and wailing?!"
"Once the thought of leaving has arisen, the farewell has already begun."
"Whether I leave sooner or later makes no difference."
"Better to do it tonight."
Qi WuHuo asked, "Where will you go next?"
The Mountain God replied, "I'll travel the world, see the many realms, and continue cultivating."
The blue-robed youth fell silent for a moment, his mind rising and falling with all kinds of thoughts. In the end, he asked only, "What's your name?"
"My name?"
"Yes. If I don't know your name, after we part today, won't we never meet again?"
The Mountain God held a cup of wine up to the bright moon and smiled.
"My name? I'm just an old tiger from the mountain. What human name could I have?"
"When I was young, I hunted the mountain's beasts and fed on their flesh."
"Without fate's blessing, how could I have had the chance to cultivate?"
"Would you like to hear my story?"
He drank beneath the moon, his robe stirring gently, and slowly told Qi WuHuo about his past.
He told him how he had once been a fierce tiger in the mountain, how he had swallowed Huang Jing and embarked on the path of cultivation, how he had stumbled his way through the Human World, how he had met a friend and roamed the land as a chivalrous swordsman, making a great name for himself, and how, after hitting a bottleneck in his cultivation, he had parted from his Daoist friend and come to this mountain, where three hundred years of cultivation had failed to bring a breakthrough.
As he told the tale of his past, he slowly finished the wine in his cup.
At last, even the wine in the flask was gone.
He simply lifted the wine jar and clinked it against Qi WuHuo's cup.
Moonlight fell upon them both.
One of the Mountain God's feet rested on the blue stone; one hand dangled casually beyond the cliff. He was utterly unlike the youth, who sat upright even now. His blue robe billowed, his manner easy and unrestrained. Qi WuHuo sat quietly beside him and told him about his own past, too. Before they knew it, time had passed. The Mountain God tilted the nearly empty wine jar and said with easy abandon, "It's time to go."
"We'll meet again somewhere, won't we?"
He rose. His sleeves fell as he took up his spear in one hand and his wine flask in the other. With his back to Qi WuHuo, he waved and walked off the cliff. He didn't use his magic; he simply walked through the air, step by step, until he stood beneath the moon in the sky, his clothes billowing. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard the ancient strains of a qin behind him. Turning around, he saw the youth take out the qin and gently pluck its strings.
The qin sounded ancient, like wind brushing through a pine forest.
The Mountain God froze, sensing that the music was a farewell. Then he tipped back his head and drank. Though the flask was large, he emptied it in a single gulp.
Today, he was no longer the Mountain God.
He casually tossed the flask aside and stood there, overcome with emotion. Then suddenly, he threw back his head and laughed.
"Three feet of dust from a hundred years in the Mortal World; today, at last, I see the green mountain!"
The green mountain is me.
The green mountain is not me.
"Ha ha ha ha! I'm off!"
"WuHuo, one day, if you hear a fierce tiger roaring amid the Myriad Phenomena Jade Palace in the northwestern heavens, its voice shaking the four wilds—"
"—that'll be me!"
"In this life of cultivation,"
"I shall become a Great Sage!"
He stepped forward, and clouds swept across the four wilds!
The qin music had not yet faded, but the Mountain God was already gone from Qi WuHuo's sight. Only the moonlight remained, clear and bright, while clouds stirred and wind rose in every direction.
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