"My sword crossed the nine fields, my crown touched the clear cosmos; walking on the world alone, the four seas know me as a hero. Great, great, great, just wonderful. The four seas know me as a hero–who under the heavens can be worthy enough to be called a hero?"
Hearing the four-sentence poem, Bai Ziyue was pleasantly surprised. He kept appreciating the poem, feeling an unending sense of loftiness and ambition.
This mysterious young man, one of the Eight Demonic Immortals Under Heaven, stood up, laughed three times and said, "Bottoms up! Bottoms up! This poem… It really gets me. Meeting a true soulmate in this vast, wide world… How precious."
While speaking, Bai Ziyue handed Hong Yi the wine gourd.
Hong Yi drank three times straight from the gourd, and he still wanted more. He felt warmth as he drank it, and his body felt so light that it was almost as if he was floating on air. However, his mind was getting clearer, not at all intoxicated.
That was good wine.
Hong Yi was feeling very good internally, simply because Mr. Bai had come.
If Mr. Bai had not shown up, the foxes would have been killed.
"Walking on the world alone, the four seas know me as a hero."
After Hong Yi had his fill, Bai Ziyue took the gourd from him and chugged some more. With every chug, he chanted a line of poetry. It was like poems were the perfect dish to pair with wine
"Saints of the past drank wine while reading history books. Now today Hong Yi, your poem has the same effect. I haven"t been so carefree in a long while!"
After having over a dozen drinks, Bai Ziyue got a little tipsy. He started singing again, "drink my wine… have good breath and never cough. See the emperor and I never bow…"
"What kind of song is that?" Hong Yi asked.
"A drinking song I wrote." Bai Ziyue laughed.
"Such a teenager! Young and wild and free! So uninhibited!"
Bai Ziyue"s temperament and posture were free and uninhibited, yet still collected and controlled. Hong Yi thought about his theurgy and couldn"t help but feel a little jealous.
"Mr. Bai, you are named as one of the Eight Demonic Immortals Under Heaven. Could you please tell me what a Demonic Immortal is?" Hong Yi asked.
He had been reading the Martial Scripture and the Dao Scripture for a few days now. He knew that when the spirit reached the level of Reincarnation, one could be called a Spiritual Immortal, and that when one trained to the Yang G.o.d level, one can be called an immortal. As for Demonic Immortal, though, he still hadn"t heard.
"Please, call me "Ziyue". "Mr. Bai" makes it sound like you see me as an outsider. You are worthy enough to be my soulmate just because of this poem." Bai Ziyue had another sip. His face flushed, but his eyes still projected a warm glow like jade. "Demonic Immortals are also Spiritual Immortals, just not originated from humans. I hid in the mountains, practiced for sixty years and became a Spiritual Immortal. Then I reincarnated into a fetus of a human. Now I am currently fifteen years old. I wonder how old you are."
"So Ziyue, you are fifteen. I am fifteen as well. I read the Dao Scripture, and it said that there were demons or ghosts who forcefully s.n.a.t.c.hed someone else"s body and destroyed their souls. Ziyue, you reincarnated into a fetus. That is very n.o.ble of you," Hong Yi said.
When animals gain spirituality, their souls leave the body and work their way up to Spiritual Immortals, and they can reincarnate into a human body. They can even reincarnate into a live person, destroy their spirit and s.n.a.t.c.h the sh.e.l.l.
The same applies to humans that practice spiritual cultivation. After their bodies decayed, they can leave the restrictions of their bodies and s.n.a.t.c.h others" flesh and body.
"No, It"s not n.o.ble at all. In order to reincarnate into a live person and steal their body, you must first slowly whittle the other person"s soul down with yours. It harms your soul without any gain. Not to mention that an adult"s body is already fully shaped, and incapable of further improvement. It is impossible to shape the body or practice martial arts as It wishes. But a fetus is different, it is afterall just a ball of pure flesh, with no souls whatsoever. A fetus becomes a baby only after it starts to have thoughts, and gains consciousness. A baby can count as a person only when it is born," Bai Ziyue said.
"So it"s like this."
Hong Yi finally understood, but he was still confused about something. "Do people specializing in spiritual cultivation need to train in martial arts as well?"
"The word "life" consists of two parts: the virtual "character" and its "physical presence". One of the most common mistakes in cultivation is focusing on only the "character"–spiritual cultivation,–and completely abandoning physical practice. Focusing on only the soul is not enough to get you to cross the ocean of bitterness to the other sh.o.r.e," Bai Ziyue said, "The spirit and the body always work together. If you only talk about spirituality and not the physical, simply put it is not enough."
"No wonder! Archery has always been part of scholarly education to strengthen the body. So that"s the reason why." Hong Yi said.
"Well, it"s probably still not enough even if you"re good at both." Bai Ziyue shook his head.
"Huh?" Hong Yi was confused.
"Don"t ask me, I have no idea. I am only at the level of Spiritual Immortal. I haven"t even attempted tribulation by thunder yet. My body is also only at the level of Martial Saint, not at all Corporeal Immortal. I came to the Jade Capital today, seeking an answer." Bai Ziyue said.
"Seeking an answer to what question?"
"I heard that Da Chan Temple has three volumes of sutras. One is called the Past Mituo Sutra, one is Present Rulai Sutra, one is Future Wusheng Sutra. The sutra of the past is one of the best cla.s.sics for cultivating the spirit. The sutra of the present is one of the best cla.s.sics for martial arts. As for the sutra of the future, I haven"t heard much about it. I also heard that, in order to reach the other sh.o.r.e, all of the three books need to be practiced at the same time. Now that the Temple is crushed, the three sutras are nowhere to be seen. Maybe in the imperial library, I don"t know. I"ve come here to the Jade Capital, looking for them."
"The Past Mituo Sutra, the Present Rulai Sutra, and the Future Wusheng Sutra."
Hong Yi"s eyes widened at the mention of the names of the three sutras.
He had heard these names in Li Yan"s Gra.s.s Hall Records. It had been written like this, "Da Chan Temple has three cla.s.sics, called the Past, the Present and the Future, corresponding with the three biggest achievements of scholars, Morality, Merit and Ideology. It"s a pity that I haven"t been able to read them. It"s really a pity, really a pity."
However that was it. Nothing else was in that book.
"He is truly deserving of the t.i.tle Demonic Immortal. He speaks candidly, unlike a human. If he were human, would he have just told me about his secret intentions just like that?"
Hearing Bai Ziyue"s candidness, Hong Yi finally understood the phrase "there is nothing that cannot be told to others." Bai Ziyue has a very high level of charisma appreciated by orthodox scholars. At that moment he felt even closer to Bai Ziyue.
"Ziyue is also an expert in martial arts. He has even reached the level of Martial Saint. I should probably ask for some instructions from him." Hong Yi was thinking.
The Great Qian Dynasty has a very strict and detailed system of cla.s.sifying physical prowess. Martial Student, Martial Apprentice, Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Innate, Grand Master, Martial Saint. Despite the detailed cla.s.sification, there were mostly just martial warriors and martial masters in the military. Even soldiers that have worked on their inner organs, and reached the innate level, are rare, not to mention Grand Masters and Martial Saints.
As for Corporeal Immortals, no one has even heard of a single one.
"I have familiarized myself with the Martial Scripture and the Dao Scripture and I really want to study cultivation on my own, but it is so hard to get a handle of it without any instructions. I am lucky enough to have met you today, Ziyue. I am going to be shameless and ask you for some instructions." Hong Yi said this to Bai Ziyue.
"Hong Yi, you want to practice martial arts?" Bai Ziyue looked at Hong Yi, and then at the Martial Scripture on the table. "A lot of the details of this book have been deleted. The stuff recorded in here is also kind of coa.r.s.e and simple. Your flesh is flabby, and you have no experience at all. It will be hard to achieve a lot in a short time."
"Well, one step at a time." Hong Yi smiled.
"The first step to martial arts, is training the flesh, tendons, and skin. The Martial Hall cla.s.sifies anyone who has reached the realm of training their skin to be Warriors. That realm is comparable to a scholar becoming a candidate of the Imperial Examination. In the army, the Martial Warrior realm is enough to allow one to lead a group of a hundred people" Bai Ziyue said. He seemed very familiar with the Great Qian"s military system.
In the Great Qian"s military, a group of five soldiers was called a Wu, and its leader was called the Head of Wu. A group of one hundred soldiers was a Du, and its leader was called the Head of Du. A group of five hundred soldiers was called a Ying, and its leader was called the Battalion Commander. A thousand soldiers formed an army, and its leader was called the General.Ten thousand soldiers made a Tong, and its leader was called a Marshall.
The military system was much more rigid than the government’s. Everything was based on the person"s military and physical prowess.
"The best methods for cultivating the flesh, tendon, and skin should be the Demonic Bull Strengthening Technique and Demonic Tiger Bone Training Fist Technique of the Da Chan Temple. After that, the outer work of your body is done, which is the Master level. As for innate, you need various breathing techniques to train your internal organs. We will get to those later. I will teach you Demonic Bull Strengthening Technique for now."
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It had snowed for five days now. The sky finally cleared up after the snow.
The snow covering the valley reflected the sunshine, filling every dark corner.
Hong Yi was standing in the snow, moving his four limbs under Bai Ziyue"s instruction. If he made any mistakes, Bai Ziyue would point them out immediately.
"There are mainly three forms in Demonic Bull Strengthening Techniques. The Stampede of Demonic Bulls, The Horn Ramming of the Demonic Bulls, and The Hide of the Demonic Bulls. There are about a hundred variations of every form. That sounds very overwhelming, but if you understand the methods, start small and be patient, you should be able to strengthen your muscle, tendons and skin. After you complete this technique, you will have the strength of a bull. You will be able to handle hundreds of kilos of strength and move agilely, which is the Warrior level."
Bai Ziyue poured alcohol into his mouth and commented on Hong Yi"s practice.
"This is the essence of Da Chan Temple"s thousands of years of acc.u.mulation in martial arts. It focuses on building a solid foundation. Of all the hundreds of thousands of methods in the world, none of them beats the one you are practicing. When the dynasty cracked down the temple, they failed to retrieve this technique. If they had succeeded, they would have been even more powerful than they are now."
Bai Ziyue suddenly remembered something. His focus had drifted away while he was talking.
"What they are practicing now, I think it might be the Small Cycle Strengthening Technique. Unfortunately the Demonic Tiger Bone Training Fist Technique was acquired by someone else. Even I haven"t been able to take a look. If I did, you wouldn"t have any trouble in the future finding the right technique for training the bones."
Hu, hu, hu….
Hong Yi finally managed to finish the three forms. He was already breathing heavily, his face pale. This technique required so much strength. He was naturally pretty weak, and he had no experience doing any exercise. Since this was the first time, it made sense that it was really hard for him.
"Here, drink."
Bai Ziyue threw Hong Yi his wine gourd.
Hong Yi caught it with both hands, took a few sips and felt like his body was being soaked in a warm bath. Aroma came out of his throat to his nostrils, bringing a sense of comfort.
The wine that Bai Ziyue brought was specially made with a lot of medicines and special techniques. It brought Hong Yi energy whenever he felt weak from the exercise.
If it hadn"t been for the wine, Hong Yi wouldn"t have been able to keep up with the practice.
"Ziyue, what kind of wine is this?" Hong Yi was feeling a bit better.
"I made this wine when I was cultivating in the deep mountains. Hundreds of medicines went into the making of this wine. It brings you health and strength, kills the nine worms (a metaphor for harmful things inside of the body), clears your stomach and supports your liver and pancreas. I call this Qiong Jiang. Unfortunately, this is the only gourd I have left." Bai Ziyue answered, laughing, his hair floating in the breeze.
"Shoot, If I were to finish it you wouldn"t have any left." Hong Yi immediately handed the gourd back to Ziyue.
"Haha, good wine should be shared with good friends. You deserve at least ten gourds of this wine, just for the poem you wrote for me." Bai Ziyue did not accept the wine. He played with his hanging sideburns, his eyes looking afar.
This cultivator of great power, one of the eight demonic immortals under heaven, looked just like an elegant young man.
In his free time, he even liked playing with his long sideburns.
"That four-line poem was just a rough draft, definitely not enough to describe your charisma. If I have time in the future, I will write a long poem about you." Hong Yi wasn"t very satisfied with his work himself.
"Really?" Bai Ziyue was pleasantly surprised. "The four line poem is already amazing–you can do better?"
"Fine words are crafted by heaven. Occasionally someone will be lucky enough to grab one and call it theirs. If I get inspired, definitely." Hong Yi lightly ma.s.saged his temple. "Oh right, you mentioned that you did not have the Demonic Tiger Bone Training Fist Technique. How did you train your bones, then?"
As soon as Hong Yi mentioned martial arts, Bai Ziyue immediately got excited and almost became another person, full of enthusiasm and confidence. "I followed the Fei Ling Bone Strengthening Technique of Zheng Yi Dao. Although it only contains a hundred and thirty variations–not as many as the two hundred and six variations of the other–I spent three years, with the help of a little medicine, and completed the level of bone training. It was a pity that I spent too much time in that."
"Fei Ling Bone Strengthening Technique." Hong Yi vaguely recalled seeing it in the Martial Scripture.
"With your foundation, without outside help, you wouldn"t be able to be a Warrior in three years, although the foundation my wine can create for you will help with your future practice. What a pity; we had a few days of good time, but now it is time to depart."
"You are leaving now?" Hong Yi almost lost his words.
At this time, in the snow, three little foxes jumped out.
"Xiao Sang, Xiao Shu, Xiao Fei, why are you guys out?" Hong Yi asked.
"Brother Yi, we are moving now. Mr. Bai and Elder Tu said that this place might have been compromised. It is not safe any more. We have to move to somewhere far away from here." Xiao Shu replied.
Xiao Shu had learned to talk in the last few days with the help of Ziyue.
"You are moving! You are right. This place is just not safe any more. No wonder Ziyue also mentioned that he would be leaving." Hong Yi was thoroughly surprised. He felt very reluctant to leave all of them. They had only been together for ten days, but he was already very impressed with the candidness and sincerity of the foxes.
"Where are you moving? There are so many books inside the cave, among various other things How are you getting everything out?"
"With the help of Mr. Bai, there shouldn"t be any problem." Xiao Shu jumped in and answered.
"Eh? So when the soul reaches the level of Matter Manipulating, it can move nearly a hundred thousand books at once?" Hong Yi did not quite believe it.
Bai Ziyue shook his head, "That"s not possible. Yang G.o.d, maybe. But as for Yang G.o.d, I haven"t heard of anyone on that level right now."
"But what about martial arts? Has anyone achieved the highest level in physical cultivation, Corporeal Immortal?" Hong Yi asked.
Bai Ziyue thought for a while before speaking. "Haven"t heard either. Although, twenty years ago, the elders of Da Chan Temple had almost reached that level. It"s a pity that he was besieged and then murdered. Now we have two Martial Saints in the Great Qian Dynasty, Yang Tuo and Hong Xuanji. They are ahead of me in martial arts, but we are technically still on the same level. Any progress is harder than reaching the heavens for people like us."
"Cultivation is hard, harder than climbing up to the heaven." Hong Yi sighed.
According to Bai Ziyue, one could not arrive at the other side of the sea of bitterness even when both Corporeal Saint and Yang G.o.d have been achieved. Not to mention that it seemed like no one had achieved either of those levels at the moment.
"So my father is a Martial Saint," he thought.
"OK, Ziyue, how do you propose moving all these books?" Hong Yi asked again.
"I am one of the Demonic Immortals, but after reincarnation I am also a human. My Bai clan is kind of powerful, at least enough to help the foxes move." Bai Ziyue laughed.
"Bai clan?" Hong Yi was surprised again. "There is no notable Bai clan in the capital."
"I live up north. It"s the Bai clan of the Yuan Tu Dynasty." Bai Ziyue looked to the far north.
"Brother Yi, these are the books Elder Tu wanted to give you. Also, here are the gold coins from Yuan Fei. We have had a great time these few days. Unfortunately, we have to leave now, thousands of miles away. If it were up to me, I would have you to come with us." Xiao Shu"s expression was visibly sorrowful. She was carrying a large bag. Inside, there were a few books and a small wallet with a few gold coins.
"So are you moving to Yuan Tu? If that is the case, then I won"t be able to come with you." Hong Yi was feeling upset as well. "However, we have had some good times. You even call me "brother"; how could I take your money?"
"Just take it. They don"t need money anyway.," Bai Ziyue said, waving his hands, "and there is a Martial Scripture in here. Although I would advise against following it, you can still use it as a reference. I have already taught you the basics. Some of the notes by the monks might be useful for your further self-study."
"Alright then, I won"t argue anymore."
There were dozens of chapters in this book. Hong Yi was nowhere close to finishing all of them.
Despite the obvious flaws of the Martial Scripture, it still was a gallery of all the major methods of cultivation in the world. The notes by the monks also added to its value.
"It is getting late. You won"t be able to leave when it gets dark. We will meet someday. We will be able to continue our conversation again." Bai Ziyue had a long laugh, and walked step by step into the mountain, singing his song.
"Brother Yi, we are leaving now. Remember us."
The three white foxes followed Bai Ziyue, departing reluctantly.
Hong Yi waved goodbye, and went on his way as well.
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