latelenovela Chapter 9 The Road to Immortality
Chapter 9 The Road to Immortality
As dawn broke, the second master carried the stone tablet and left the Taoist temple.
His departing figure was so lonely, like an elderly person from the countryside visiting relatives in the city, who, after giving away his most precious possessions, silently chooses the simplest and cheapest way home.
"Zhong Ming, are you sleepy?"
"I'm not sleepy at all."
The old Taoist priest suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, and instructed Xiao Yu, "Xiao Yu, ring the bell to begin the disciple-acceptance ceremony. Xiao Zhao, you come and ring the bell."
A gentle breeze pushed the two of them outside the gate of the Taoist temple. Zhong Ming looked up and saw that Cat Mountain was instantly shrouded in mist, with mountain mist "flowing" down the cliffs from above, making the entire Taoist temple seem like a fairyland.
"Boom~~~"
The great bell tolled, and the celestial mist and clouds ceased.
The gate of the Taoist temple creaked open, and Xiao Zhao, dressed in the clothes of a page, asked without looking to either side, "What brings you to the Cat Mountain Taoist Temple?"
"Seeking the Dao and immortal arts to avenge our blood feud."
Xiao Zhao's lips moved slightly, and the sound, barely audible yet clearly audible to Zhong Ming.
"When the Taoist priest asks, just say, 'Good and evil are opposed and will fight each other for life.' Oh, and go get the silver; it'll be needed for the ceremony."
Zhong Ming nodded slightly.
"Come with me." Xiao Zhao turned around and walked slowly ahead, waiting for Zhong Ming to return with the silver before leading him towards the Sanqing Hall.
Upon entering the hall, we first paid our respects to the Three Pure Ones, then to Daoist Tianfeng. Xiao Zhao handed us a tray, which we held high.
Zhong Ming understood, so he placed the silver on it, held the plate with both hands, and then knelt on one knee.
"Here you go, gift money, thirty taels and four mace of silver." Xiao Zhao took the tray and placed it on the offering table. He then handed over another empty tray, and secretly kicked a pair of Taoist shoes to the other person's feet.
After placing the monetary gift, Taoist shoes, and a bowl of tea on the tray on the offering table, the old Taoist priest took a sip of tea, slowly rose, and draped a brand-new Taoist robe over Zhong Ming.
The newly recruited disciples knelt and kowtowed three times before the statue of the deity. After Master Tianfeng pressed several acupoints to open their acupoints and draw in spiritual energy, they knelt and kowtowed three times before their master.
This initiation ceremony is now complete.
...
Zhong Ming stared longingly at the old Taoist priest.
To be precise, it was the thirty taels and four mace of silver on the altar on the side of the old Taoist priest's house.
Master Tianfeng sat upright, exuding the air of a renowned teacher. He stroked his beard and said, "Zhongming, from today onwards you are my disciple. I will teach you your first lesson."
Zhong Ming tensed up instantly. Was he going to be taught the Celestial Masters' Daoist arts? Would he soon be able to ride dragons and fly like that brat Gao Jin?
"The bell tolls."
"Ah there!"
"You have never dealt with worldly cultivators before, so I won't ask you any profound questions. Just tell me, if you find a treasure, where should you hide it?"
"Treasures must be hidden on my person."
The family heirloom, the "Marquis of a Family" gold medal, is still hanging on his waist.
"Hmm, what if it's a very small one?"
"Earrings? No, the treasure can't be seen by anyone, so it's sewn inside the clothes."
The old Taoist priest shook his head. "If a fight breaks out, with immortal techniques and supernatural powers clashing, clothes will be easily damaged. Think about it again."
Think about it again? We can't exactly embed it into the bone, can we?
and many more.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in Zhong Ming's mind: the head of the Gao family.
The tall man smiled slightly, his smile gleaming with gold.
"Big Gold Tooth?"
The old Taoist priest suddenly stood up, and with a flick of his Xuanqing Taoist robe, a large pile of colorful pebbles rolled out from his sleeves, scattering them all over the offering table.
"Come, let me teach you your first lesson: if you want to survive in the outside world, you have to endure hardship from time to time."
Zhong Ming had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter; he only felt that the stones each had their own unique characteristics and looked like valuable gemstones and jade.
"Master, what are you doing?"
“Zhong Ming, come and see. This gray stone is called a storage stone. The most popular way for cultivators to store things is through storage bags, which are made of storage stones. They look like small bags on the outside, but they can actually hold a lot of things. Some powerful cultivators have specially made storage bags that can hold mountains or the water of an entire river.”
The old Taoist priest picked up a stone and placed it in Zhong Ming's palm.
"I have already completed the refining of this one. You will be able to use it once you have learned the method."
"Thank you, disciple..." Before Zhong Ming could finish speaking, the old Taoist priest picked up another one.
"Look at this one, it's an antidote stone. It can neutralize any poison in the mortal world. It's very useful before your body is strong enough. As for poisons inflicted by cultivators, whether it's effective is another matter."
The bright red gemstone is a delightful sight.
"This cyan stone is a mid-grade wood-attribute spirit stone. It can be used as emergency funds, just like the gold tooth, when necessary. By the way, the herbal fragrance it emits can freshen your breath, so you won't be a burden if some young girl kisses you."
......
The sheer number of treasures dazzled Zhong Ming. In the old Taoist's words, "Luckily you are my disciple, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to see these things for just over thirty taels of silver."
While Zhong Ming was overwhelmed by the dazzling array of jewels, the old Taoist priest suddenly asked, "Partial anesthesia or general anesthesia?"
"Huh? What dog or horse?"
"Okay, fist numb."
In the blink of an eye, Tianfeng threw a punch, like the setting sun, which landed squarely on Zhong Ming's face. The young man, who had just put on a brand-new Taoist robe, was instantly sent spinning in the air and tumbled out of the main hall's gate.
Xiao Zhao hadn't expected this move and said tremblingly, "Isn't this going too far?"
"fine."
The old Taoist priest casually kicked away several knocked-out back teeth, saying, "I used a clever technique; my front teeth definitely didn't fall out."
Grabbing a handful of "gems," the old Taoist priest began his dental work for the day.
.......
"Woooooo~~"
"Hey, Zhongming, come here, Xiaozhao, show him in the mirror."
In the mirror, a young Taoist priest with chubby cheeks was pressed down on a black jade bed. Two rough, large hands slowly approached his mouth, then suddenly pried it open.
His mouth was full of jewels.
"Waaaaah~~ Waaaaah~ Waaaah!"
"Don't worry, the front teeth are definitely original, I guarantee it." With a wave of his hand, the old Taoist priest turned the dazzling dentures white, perfectly blending them into Zhong Ming's mouth, and then casually whitened his entire mouth.
"Waaah~" Zhong Ming couldn't say a word.
"Oh dear, you are my disciple, how could I harm you? I am about to pass on the Daoist arts to you! This Daoist arts requires a state of fasting when you first begin practicing. You can't eat or drink anything, and you have to practice until you reach the first level in one go. That's why I put dentures on you first."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Ming finally stopped calling out; his heart had probably given up.
"Hey, be serious. You're lying on the mica stone body that your second master gave you. It's full of spiritual energy, so you'll definitely succeed on the first try."
"Master Daoist," Xiao Zhao called out timidly, "it seems you pressed down on someone's finger."
"Uh......"
Zhong Ming slowly turned his head, tears of gratitude welling up in his eyes.
When someone feels awkward, they will try to change the subject.
"Well, time waits for no one, let's start cultivating now. Zhong Ming, I'll teach you the second lesson now. When you're out and about, revealing your cultivation method is extremely dangerous. If someone is knowledgeable, they might know the weaknesses of your method, so..."
The old Taoist priest raised his hand high, and a jade slip in his hand instantly turned into dust. The spiritual energy emanating from it condensed into a ball of light and stuck to his palm.
"The safest way is that you yourself don't even know the real name of the cultivation technique you're practicing. The technique I'm about to teach you is called 'Body Refining Technique,' yes, I made up that name."
With a single palm strike, the ball of light was slapped into Zhong Ming's mind.