Fengyang Zhenren

Shen Luo's eyes lit up as he stared fixedly at the map.

According to the book, the Luan River was even closer than he had expected, only about two hundred li from Chunhua County.

Shen Luo set the book down and fell into deep thought.

"Junior Brother Shen." At that moment, heavy knocking sounded at the door, accompanied by a voice from outside.

Hearing this, Shen Luo rose and opened the door. A burly young man stood outside—it was Tian Tiesheng.

"Senior Brother Tian, your Azure Yang Hand is already close to mastery. But my door is made of wood; it can't withstand those few blows of yours." Shen Luo greeted him with a smile.

"Don't tease me, Junior Brother Shen. I have poor talent for martial arts. Even if I practiced the Azure Yang Hand for another ten years, I still wouldn't reach mastery." Before Tian Tiesheng could speak, Shen Luo had already beaten him to the punch with a teasing remark. Tian Tiesheng could only reply with a bitter smile.

"You're too modest, Senior Brother. Did you come here for something?" Shen Luo invited Tian Tiesheng into the room and asked.

"A few days ago, I heard from Junior Brother Bai that you were unwell. After morning practice today, I went to the Jade Emperor Hall but didn't see you. Junior Brother Lin next door also said you hadn't left your room since morning, so I came to check on you. Hm, you really don't look well. Are you sick?" Tian Tiesheng asked when he saw Shen Luo's poor complexion.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I didn't rest very well last night. It's nothing serious." Shen Luo did not want to tell anyone about the Jade Pillow for the time being, so he offered a casual explanation.

"As long as you're all right. You should get more rest and don't overexert yourself. It'll soon be time for lunch, so let's go together." Tian Tiesheng seemed to truly believe Shen Luo's words. He checked the time and spoke.

Shen Luo was somewhat hungry as well, so he headed toward the dining hall with Tian Tiesheng.

"Senior Brother Tian, Master has been away for several days. Do you know when he'll return?" Shen Luo asked Tian Tiesheng.

His body had recovered by now, but what happened after he woke from those two dreams still worried him. Daoist Luo should be able to see the state his body was currently in.

Unless he got to the bottom of this, he simply could not rest easy.

"Master went down the mountain this time to catch ghosts for a wealthy family in Dingyuan City. It isn't far away, so he should be back soon. Do you need something from him?" Tian Tiesheng asked.

"I have some cultivation questions I'd like to ask him about..." Shen Luo was quite pleased to hear that Daoist Luo would soon return, and casually explained.

Before he could finish speaking, all the strength in his body suddenly vanished. The world spun before his eyes, and with a thud, he fell flat on his back.

"Junior Brother Shen, what's wrong?" Tian Tiesheng was shocked and hurriedly lifted him up.

Shen Luo trembled violently all over. It felt as though a huge hole had opened inside him, ravenously devouring his life force and causing him indescribable agony. The pain was even more intense than what he had felt in his dreams, yet he could not make a sound. He truly wished he were dead.

Fortunately, everything before his eyes quickly blurred at that moment. In the blink of an eye, endless darkness swallowed all his senses, and he lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Luo's senses gradually returned. He felt a warm current slowly flowing through his body, making him feel extremely comfortable. He slowly opened his eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling appeared overhead. A large character for "Dao" was written at its center, encircled by a ring of azure patterns. Beyond those patterns was an even larger purple frame, with the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and the other four auspicious beasts painted at its corners.

Having only just awakened and finding himself beneath an unfamiliar ceiling, Shen Luo was momentarily bewildered. His mind was muddled, and he had no idea what had happened.

"Junior Brother Shen, you're awake?" At that moment, a face entered his field of vision and looked down at him. It was Tian Tiesheng.

"Senior Brother Tian, what happened to me?" Upon seeing Tian Tiesheng, Shen Luo immediately remembered everything that had happened earlier and struggled to sit up.

"Don't move!" A stern voice rang out, stopping him.

Shen Luo turned his head and saw a tall, gray-haired elder standing beside him.

The man wore a dark green Daoist robe and a lotus-shaped Shangqing crown. His face was cold and severe, while his eyebrows drooped sharply at an angle, making him look somewhat frightening, like a Hanged Ghost.

"Temple Master!" Shen Luo was startled when he recognized the gray-haired elder and obediently dared not move an inch.

This gray-haired elder was none other than Fengyang Zhenren, master of Spring Autumn Temple.

Only then did Shen Luo notice that Fengyang Zhenren's left hand was held in a two-finger gesture against a point on his chest. Red light flickered at his fingertips, and a warm current streamed continuously from them into Shen Luo's body.

Suddenly, he felt a faint prickling pain at his lower back. Glancing sideways, he saw that Fengyang Zhenren's right hand held a golden needle glowing red between two fingers. Its tip was inserted into a vital acupoint at Shen Luo's lower back, and Fengyang Zhenren was gently twisting it.

Then Shen Luo saw something that nearly made him cry out.

Between his waist and abdomen, seventeen or eighteen golden needles had already been densely inserted, all emitting a faint red glow.

Shen Luo quickly realized that Fengyang Zhenren was most likely performing some secret acupuncture technique on him. He did not dare interrupt, though he could not help feeling worried.

What is wrong with my body? Forget it, there's no use thinking about it now. Since Fengyang Zhenren has stepped in to treat me, I should be able to escape this danger.

As he thought this, his gaze swept around the room. He found the hall rather spacious. The surrounding walls had been painted white and bore little decoration, giving it a simple appearance.

A broad altar table stood against the wall facing the main doors, upon which rested the solemn divine tablets of the Three Pure Ones: Primordial Heavenly Worthy, Lingbao Heavenly Worthy, and Daode Heavenly Worthy.

Six large sandalwood chairs stood before the divine tablets, three on each side, apparently for deliberations.

The wooden couch on which he lay was placed against the wall on the left side of the hall.

Other than these items, the entire hall contained nothing else. It looked somewhat empty, yet it also carried an air of majesty.

Shen Luo recognized this place as Serene Scripture Hall within Spring Autumn Temple, where the temple master handled affairs. He had only come here once, when he first entered the temple years ago, and had never had another chance to approach it since.

Fengyang Zhenren ignored Shen Luo's wandering gaze and continued administering acupuncture. Before long, he inserted another five or six golden needles into Shen Luo's waist.

Shen Luo felt a growing heat between his waist and abdomen. Before long, it spread through his entire body, bringing him indescribable comfort.

The weakness in his body gradually faded, and some color returned to his paper-pale face.

Fengyang Zhenren lowered his eyes and glanced at Shen Luo's complexion, then withdrew the fingers of his left hand. With a gesture of his right hand, red light shone from his palm.

With a whoosh, the twenty-odd golden needles flew out of Shen Luo's body on their own and disappeared into Fengyang Zhenren's sleeve.

"Thank you, Temple Master." Shen Luo was still somewhat weak, but he forced himself to sit up and cupped his hands in salute to Fengyang Zhenren.

"I had long heard from Junior Brother Luo that your health was poor, but I never expected it to be this bad. I truly don't know how you cultivate. You actually suffered a cultivation backlash from something as trivial as the Minor Transforming Yang Art. The fact that you managed to get started with that technique is already quite remarkable." Fengyang Zhenren examined Shen Luo twice, then snorted softly.

"What? A cultivation backlash?" Shen Luo was struck as if by lightning and froze where he sat.

"Temple Master, is Junior Brother Shen's condition very serious?" Tian Tiesheng's expression changed as well, and he hurriedly asked.

"What do you think? His pulse is chaotic, and his vital energy has been severely depleted. These are obvious signs of a cultivation backlash!" Fengyang Zhenren glanced at Tian Tiesheng and responded with a question.

"Junior Brother Shen, if there was anything you didn't understand about cultivation, why didn't you ask Master? How could you cultivate recklessly? Vital energy cannot simply be replenished whenever one wishes. Sigh..." Tian Tiesheng stamped his foot and sighed deeply.

"Temple Master, will the loss of vital energy affect this disciple's lifespan?" Shen Luo took a deep breath, barely calming his turbulent emotions before asking Fengyang Zhenren.