Chapter 17: Can I Get Immortality?
When Li Daoxuan woke up again, he saw a string of flickering flames.
Zhang Qianyang sat in front of the fire, roasting a pheasant while looking at a short sword in the firelight. It was the top-grade magic weapon that Li Daoxuan had just obtained, the ancient sword Yuchang.
Li Daoxuan looked around. He was no longer in Lijia Village, but on the top of an unknown barren mountain. The moonlight above his head was clear, and the thick yin energy was gone.
"woke up?"
Zhang Qianyang took off the wine gourd from his waist, threw it to Li Daoxuan, and said, "Your Yang Qi is depleted. I brewed this wine with hundred-year-old red fruit. Take a sip and it will strengthen your body."
Li Daoxuan sat up and felt his body was chilly. Even leaning against the fire did not help.
He quickly took a sip of wine, and the hot wine flowed down his throat into his stomach, turning into streams of warm currents, like a burning red clay stove, instantly dispelling the coldness in his body.
Li Daoxuan wanted to take another sip, but before his eyes could see, he realized that the wine gourd had been taken away by Zhang Qianyang.
"Hehe, it's not that I'm stingy, it's just that you're not good enough, and drinking too much is not good for you."
After that, he threw the Yuchang sword in his hand to Li Daoxuan and said, "This sword is good. I didn't expect that your magic power is so low. Fuyuan is really good. If it weren't for this sword, you wouldn't have survived until I arrived."
Li Daoxuan asked: "Master, where is the...ghost bride?"
Zhang Qianyang glanced at him, then took out a small cloth bag from his arms, on which was painted the pattern of the Xiantian Bagua with cinnabar.
The most surprising thing was that the cloth bag was still shaking slightly, with a corner bulging out from time to time, as if something inside was struggling.
"She was injured by me and locked in there. What, boy, do you want to kill her with your own hands?"
Li Daoxuan shook his head and said, "Forget it. She is actually a pitiful person. If the Taoist priest has a way to convert her, please help her."
Zhang Qianyang looked at him in surprise and said, "She almost took your life, don't you hate her at all?"
"hatred."
Li Daoxuan said calmly: "But I was able to kill the evil ghost in the shroud thanks to the help of the elders in the ancestral hall. Now in the entire Lijia Village, I am afraid she is the only one left. If possible, I would like to repay their kindness."
A hint of satisfaction flashed in Zhang Qianyang's eyes. He admired this boy more and more. He was smart, courageous, and able to stick to morality and not be blinded by hatred . It would be a pity if he didn't practice Taoism with such a character.
In addition, the reason why Li Daoxuan almost died was because he was greedy for wine and missed the time. Feeling guilty, Zhang Qianyang took the initiative to say, "Boy, do you want to practice Taoism?"
Li Daoxuan's eyes lit up when he heard this. This was exactly what he had been waiting for!
"think!"
He said it with absolute certainty, not hiding his desire .
Zhang Qianyang stroked his sparse beard and suddenly asked, "Then why do you want to practice Taoism?"
Li Daoxuan's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the other party was testing him. If his answer did not satisfy him, then all the good impression he had worked so hard to leave would be wasted.
Without answering in a hurry, Li Daoxuan closed his eyes and thought for a while.
Zhang Qianyang was not in a hurry. He ate the roast chicken, drank the strong liquor in the gourd, and waited quietly.
After a long time, Li Daoxuan opened his eyes, his gaze clear, and said: "For immortality."
He thought of many nice words, such as to eliminate evil and uphold justice, to keep the world at peace, etc., but in the end he decided to follow his heart.
The purpose of practicing Taoism is to achieve immortality. Killing demons and eliminating monsters is just a technique. Cultivating the nature and nourishing life is the essence of Taoism.
He didn't want to go through countless reincarnations again, sinking in the sea of suffering over and over again, life after life. He wanted to jump out of the Three Realms, not be in the Five Elements, and change from a chess piece to a chess player.
In Journey to the West, Patriarch Bodhi told Wukong many magic spells in a row, but Wukong was unwilling to learn any of them. He only asked one question: Can he achieve immortality?
The monkey also lives in Li Daoxuan's heart.
Hearing Li Daoxuan's answer, Zhang Qianyang's eyes flashed with a strange light. He sneered and said sarcastically: "Eternal life? What a big mouth!"
"Even the old Heavenly Master of Mount Longhu and the real person surnamed Ye in Mount Mao, who have tremendous magical powers and unfathomable Taoism, dare not say that they can live forever. Boy, if you want to live forever, I'm afraid you have to become an immortal."
Li Daoxuan was unmoved and said firmly: "Then I will become an immortal!"
Zhang Qianyang looked at him in a daze. He seemed to see the shadow of his own youth in this young man.
They have the same extraordinary talents, the same high aspirations, and the same courage to speak and act.
It’s a pity that times have changed. After that incident, he no longer has the same spirit as before.
Zhang Qianyang looked complicated for a long time, then he snorted and said, "You little brat, you are so arrogant!"
There was a trace of disappointment in Li Daoxuan's eyes. It seemed that he had answered wrongly and there was no chance of him becoming his disciple.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qianyang changed the subject and said calmly: "But I, the Taoist priest, really like your tough temper. Haha, I want to see if you can still say such big words after experiencing the difficulties of practicing Taoism."
Li Daoxuan suddenly raised his eyes, his eyes full of surprise.
He immediately knelt down and became his disciple.
Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teachers: the ancients attached great importance to inheritance from a teacher, even more than blood ties. Especially in the lineage of Taoism, the master and the disciple are the greatest cause and effect, and the word "master" is as heavy as a mountain.
But Zhang Qianyang stopped Li Daoxuan.
"Don't kneel down yet. I have a rule for accepting disciples. My disciples must meet the four standards of wisdom, courage, faith, and righteousness. You have a sense of justice and dare to kill the bat monster with your meager Taoist practice. You also know how to use external forces. Wisdom, courage, and righteousness are all fine, but faith..."
He continued, "For those of us who practice Taoism, a promise is worth a thousand gold. We must repay the favors we owe and do what we promised to others. You promised the villagers of Xiaosha Village that you would help them eliminate the snake monster. If you can't do it, how can you be my disciple?"
Li Daoxuan was stunned for a moment, and explained: "Master, I am not lying to them, but my Taoist skills are insignificant now, wait for me--"
Zhang Qianyang shook his head and said, "Let me ask you, what month is it now?"
"May."
"Farmers work mostly in May. Although the imperial court's taxes are not heavy now, and Emperor Zhenguan adopted a policy of light taxes and levies and giving the people a rest after ascending the throne, the people have just experienced war, so how can they have much food left?"
Li Daoxuan was silent. He remembered the porridge and wild vegetables he had eaten at the old village chief's house. For the lowest class of people, that was already a hearty meal.
"They are now hiding in Longshou Mountain, not daring to farm, and living on meager surplus food. How will they survive the next winter?"
Looking at the silent Li Daoxuan, Zhang Qianyang said meaningfully: "Sometimes it's not just demons that can kill people."
Li Daoxuan bowed deeply to him and said with emotion: "Thank you for your guidance, Taoist Priest!"
"My magic power is low, can you please give me some help, Taoist priest? I don't ask for too much, just an ancient jade that can be used as a substitute for death, and three or five pieces?"
Li Daoxuan suddenly put on a smiling face and started to get closer.
Zhang Qianyang's face turned black, and he said angrily: "Get lost, the ancient jade that saved my life was given by the old man, it is priceless, it's gone, not a single piece is left!"
But in the end he still gave Li Daoxuan some advice.
“Although the snake demon is very powerful, you can’t just rely on brute force to subdue it . You need to use your brain more and think about the principle of the intergeneration and mutual restraint of all things.”
After saying this, he patted Li Daoxuan's shoulder, coughed and said, "I'll take away the bat demon pill in your arms and the three ingots of gold. The demon pill has a strong smell, and the snake demon used it to track you."
"As for the three gold bars, ahem, they are too heavy. I am afraid that you will have too much to carry. Well, I have something else to do. I will leave now. If you kill the snake demon, bring its body to find me at the Zhenyang Taoist Temple in Xinyang County."
After saying this, he seemed to be afraid that Li Daoxuan would object. He took a step and rose up with the wind. In just a few breaths, he disappeared in the moonlight.
Li Daoxuan: “…”
