"Heart imprinting heart, intent transmitting the method."
Lu Wu-bing's heart jolted violently, like lightning tearing across the sky.
The crane's shadow, the pine's form, imprinted themselves upon his heart.
Without a moment's thought, he assumed the same posture as the old Taoist.
A coolness swept through his mind, while his spirit seemed to sprout wings. A soaring, razor-sharp intent surged within him, seeking to pierce the heavens and rush straight into the nine skies.
Before him stretched a boundless sea of clouds, with gale-force winds rolling like waves.
Startled, Lu Wu-bing naturally spread his arms slightly and merged into the vast emptiness of cloud, water, and sky.
That sky-piercing resolve immediately turned back, transforming the tangible into the intangible, as though he had become a cloud, a drop of water.
The droplet became a thread of rain that fell, seeped into the soil, took root and sprouted, then after countless centuries grew into an ancient pine that stood unmoving.
Looking up at the sea of clouds, looking down upon the long river...
"A crane bears the ambition to soar skyward; a pine grows beside the ravine."
The old Taoist sat backward atop the blue donkey. He smacked its rump, raised his voice in a long chant, and vanished in an instant.
Ji Wenxiu turned back and gazed deeply at Lu Wu-bing, who stood where he was with his eyes slightly closed. Then she mounted a little black donkey as well and called, "Taoist Grandpa, wait for me."
She knew Old Taoist Qingyun had an exceedingly peculiar temper. Normally, it did not matter how casually one traded insults with him.
But once he had truly made up his mind, not even weeping and begging would change it.
If she did not catch up now, she could not reach the capital on her own.
"So that's how it is."
Lu Wu-bing opened his eyes. Before him lay silent, empty mountains.
He let out a long breath and murmured, "Train the body until it resembles a crane; beneath a thousand pines lie two cases of scriptures. I came to seek the Dao with no words left to ask—clouds dwell in the blue sky, water rests in the bottle..."
"What an excellent Pine Crane Guidance."
After practicing it only once, Lu Wu-bing felt his spirit become lively and nimble.
His formidable spiritual force had originally been like a drawn bow, taut all day long and ready to fire at any moment. Yet now, it had become inexhaustible, gentle, and profound.
Steadiness and weight dwelled together within it; it could reveal or conceal itself as he wished.
[Move above the nine heavens, hide beneath the nine earths]
Only one who could defend could attack.
Nourishing the soul, strengthening within—the body and soul became one.
At that moment, Lu Wu-bing felt as though he had taken a comfortable hot bath. From head to toe, he felt indescribably light.
Clearly, he had not broken through anything.
Yet his heart had relaxed. The urgency and oppression that had never ceased to weigh upon his heart since he crossed into this world quietly vanished without a trace.
Even the violent madness buried deep within his heart had become almost imperceptible.
"Taoist Grandpa, did Senior Brother Lu learn it?"
Ji Wenxiu closely pursued the old Taoist. Having parted with several jars of wine and seemingly gained nothing, she asked unwillingly.
"Learn it? Far more than that! What madness possessed this old Taoist, that I actually became so arrogant as to teach the disciples and descendants of that old bastard Hun Yuan?
This is unbearable. I should not have taught him Pine Crane Guidance earlier. Giving him some Hidden Dragon Breathing Method would have been enough. What a loss..."
"Isn't that a good thing? Taoist Grandpa, you're already so old. Could it be you intend to take all these abilities into your coffin?"
Ji Wenxiu giggled.
Her discernment was insufficient, so she could not tell whether Lu Wu-bing had truly learned and mastered it.
But the old Taoist's expression revealed quite a lot.
"What's good about it? If you gain certain opportunities, I lose them.
Heaven decrees it: fate rises, then fate falls... Now look what happened. I only meant to pass on a little surface knowledge, yet he obtained the foundation itself. In the future, that treasure has legs—who knows whose arms it will run into?"
The more the old Taoist thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt that three jars of wine had thoroughly cheated him, and he said irritably:
"You little girl, you're exactly like your mother—you only know how to throw yourself at people.
What did I tell you back then? Matters between men and women are not to be touched at all. Sooner or later, they make you suffer a great loss.
You, you—one look at that brat tells me peach blossoms are covering his head, yet you still crowd around him. Do you not know how the word 'death' is written?"
"Tch. Taoist Grandpa, stop talking about romance and all that. There's nothing between Senior Brother Lu and me. We're just friends, loyal enough to bare our hearts and guts to each other, understand?"
Ji Wenxiu shot him a disdainful look, then added:
"If Taoist Grandpa understood this thing called love, you would not have reached such an age without finding us a Taoist Grandma. All these years, in wild mountains and desolate ridges, with midnight rain and dawn frost—it hasn't been easy, has it?"
"Pah, pah! It's this Taoist master who doesn't want to find one."
The old Taoist shrieked in anger, yet could not refute her.
After all, the little girl had struck the mark.
Humiliated and annoyed, he performed two consecutive somersaults atop the blue donkey's back, until even his beard stuck up.
The sun stood directly overhead.
Lu Wu-bing entered Mingyang City, casually tossed out two copper coins, and asked for directions.
He found Gold Jade Hall in the southern part of the city.
Buildings stretched one after another here, packed as closely as fish scales. From far away, he could hear the shouts of martial training coming from the Shen Estate.
"Martial Uncle Shen truly built up an enormous family fortune in Mingyang City. Senior Sister Xiaolan said the Shen Estate covers several hundred mu, with gold and silver filling its storehouses and disciples as numerous as ox hairs.
He also owns many shops, mines, and restaurants. He could truly be called immensely wealthy. He even bears the elegant nickname Shen the Half-City... I cannot see much else for now, but the sheer scale of this residence is rather frightening."
Lu Wu-bing raised his head to examine the Shen Estate. As understanding dawned on him, he also began to understand why Senior Sister Xiaolan had worn such an odd expression whenever she spoke of the Celestial Star Sect's three branches.
Judging from his experiences on the mountain these past few days,
the Gazing Sky Cliff branch, though it was the sect master's main branch, lived in poverty and self-restraint.
Their everyday meals could not be called insufficient—only utterly ordinary.
Even ordinary medicinal cuisine could only be reserved for direct disciples. Ordinary disciples could not even have a taste.
Clearly, the Gazing Sky Cliff branch possessed no real source of wealth.
At most, they received some offerings when accepting disciples.
Or they might gain a little token of gratitude while acting chivalrously below the mountain.
Though the three branches belonged to the same sect, they likely each lived their own lives.
Martial Uncle Shen Liancheng, for instance, lived quite comfortably. He basically focused his main efforts below the mountain and did not concern himself much with affairs on the mountain.
As for Martial Uncle Li Feiying, whom Lu Wu-bing had seen that day, his great horse and long spear, his body brimming with imposing Killing Intent—he resembled a military general more than a martial arts expert. He had most likely turned his attention toward officialdom and the army.
Gathered together, they were a single flame.
Scattered apart, they were stars filling the sky...
This Celestial Star Sect seemed to be in bad shape.
"But this seems to have little to do with me.
As long as they do not publicly denounce and fight one another, and maintain a harmonious front, my cultivation life will still be quite pleasant."
Lu Wu-bing did not go to visit Martial Uncle Shen Liancheng right away.
After merely taking two looks at the grandeur of the Shen Estate, he avoided the crowds entering and leaving from afar, turned left, and walked away.
After following the long street for the time it took half an incense stick to burn, he finally spotted a small courtyard with two camphor trees standing before its gate.
The plaque above the gate bore the words Lu Residence.
A carriage was parked on the bluestone square before the courtyard, and a young servant waited beside it. Lu Wu-bing did not know whether guests had arrived.
This was where the Lu family had settled after moving to Mingyang City.
"Uncle Gui!"
Lu Wu-bing raised his voice and shouted.
The steward did not emerge, but a small figure came hurrying out through the gate on short little legs, looking about in every direction.
The moment she saw him, she cried out joyfully, "Young Master."
It was Feicui, his personal little maid.
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