Chapter 279: Don’t ride the donkey backwards, look back at everything
Li Daoxuan also knew something about Zhang Guolao.
It is said that he was an attendant in the era of Emperor Yao, and by the beginning of the Tang Dynasty he had lived for more than 3,000 years. He became an immortal by taking Polygonum multiflorum. The "Complete Biography of the Eight Immortals" records that in his previous life he was the first bat in the world, and later reincarnated as Zhang Guolao.
Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong of Tang sent people to search for and summon him many times, but Zhang Guolao refused to go.
Later, Wu Zetian sent people to invite him but failed. It was not until the reign of Emperor Xuanzong that Li Longji successfully invited Zhang Guolao and granted him the title of "Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor" and the name "Mr. Tongxuan".
But what’s interesting is that Emperor Xuanzong wanted to marry his sister Princess Yuzhen to Zhang Guolao, but Zhang Guolao refused, singing: “Marrying a princess is like marrying a princess, and you can be promoted to a duke’s mansion after ten years. People think it’s a good thing, but I think it’s terrible.”
After singing, he laughed uncontrollably, then took out a paper donkey, blew it into shape, and rode away on the donkey's back.
In today's Tang Dynasty, there is probably no longer Zhang Guolao, who "does not ride a donkey backwards but looks back at everything". The anecdotes between him and Emperor Xuanzong are destined to be just Li Daoxuan's memory of his previous life.
Without any hesitation, Li Daoxuan immediately learned the spell of cutting paper into horses.
Many memories flooded into his mind, all of which were about the secrets of practicing this spell. It was not simple at all. It seemed like just cutting a paper horse, but it was actually very complicated.
This secret technique comes from "The True Secret of Cinnabar of the Jade Cave God". If you want to make paper that can be used to cast spells, there are many procedures involved. For example, you must use "one pound of mercury and three ounces of sulfur" to make purple clay, then dry the purple clay in the sun for 49 days, crush it and melt it into yellow paper before it can be used.
The yellow paper cannot be ordinary paper, but must be made of spiritual green bamboo, and then smoked in an incense burner...
After understanding the magic of cutting paper into a horse, Li Daoxuan finally understood why it did not reach the level of a magical power. It was really too troublesome...
Li Daoxuan stepped out of the Guanyin Temple, facing the sunset, and headed towards Lu Siyuan's home in the east of the village.
Getting rid of the horse demon was just an appetizer. What happened next was the real purpose of his trip.
He wanted to capture the ghost baby. On the one hand, he could clear the rumors about his master. On the other hand, he could use the ghost baby's mouth to let everyone see the master's true face and make his prestige plummet.
The most important thing is that with the ghost baby in hand, he and his master can legitimately attack the master uncle.
Otherwise, as the first disciple of the old Heavenly Master, the elder brother of the master, and the direct descendant of Longhu Mountain, Zhang Jiuxiao's status in the Heavenly Master's Mansion is too high. Even if Li Daoxuan and others are confident that they can capture him, they cannot act rashly.
He is different from Xu Du. Xu Du is the infamous Ghost King of the Underworld, who is hated by everyone, while Zhang Jiuxiao is one of the rightful successors of Longhu Mountain.
When facing evil, just crush them with force, but when facing righteous people, you still have to have a good reason to take action.
This is the rule of Taoism.
Of course, Li Daoxuan could also ignore the rules and only focus on muscles, but this is something he will consider at the last minute. The current situation is very good, so there is no need to ruin his reputation.
…
Lu Siyuan's home is not difficult to find. It is said that Lu's ancestors once served as officials. Although the family fell into poverty later, they still passed down poetry and books. Lu Siyuan is now the only teacher in the village. Although he does not earn much money, he has a high status.
A few years ago, Lu Siyuan married Li, and they lived in harmony with each other, which was envied by the villagers.
His wife, Li, was famous for her virtuousness. Even when she was pregnant, she still managed the household in order so that her husband could concentrate on studying and preparing for the imperial examinations.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Li died in childbirth. From then on, Lu Siyuan became depressed and became a down-and-out scholar.
Lu family.
Li Daoxuan knocked several times before someone opened the door.
What appeared before him was a thin, downcast middle-aged man. He was wearing a Confucian robe and had the same dark circles under his eyes as the villagers. He looked listless and was slightly stunned when he saw Li Daoxuan in a brocade robe.
"You are Mr. Lu Siyuan Lu?"
Lu Siyuan closed the door, revealing only half of his body, with a look of vigilance in his eyes. He asked, "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"
Li Daoxuan bowed and said with a smile: "I came here to burn incense to the Bodhisattva to fulfill a vow for my wife, but I missed the time. It is already late, so I want to stay overnight in the village. The village chief recommended you, sir."
Lu Siyuan frowned and said, "Young man, I advise you not to stay overnight in the village."
Li Daoxuan said earnestly: "But it is really late, and I heard that there are wild wolves around here. I am willing to pay ten taels of silver, just ask you to let me stay for one night."
Ten taels of silver for one night's accommodation is already a very generous reward.
But Lu Siyuan still advised: "Young Master, I still advise you to go back quickly before the sun sets completely!"
But Li Daoxuan insisted on staying here.
Finally, as the sun slowly set and night began to fall, Lu Siyuan seemed to realize that he could not persuade this handsome young man. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Did your wife also go to the Guanyin Temple to burn incense?"
Li Daoxuan nodded and smiled: "Yes, she became pregnant soon after that."
Lu Siyuan lowered his eyes, revealing a barely perceptible hint of apology.
He gritted his teeth, opened the door and let Li Daoxuan in, saying: "Come in, I don't want your money, you can only stay for one night, you must leave immediately the next morning!"
After that, he led Li Daoxuan to a side room and said, "The bedding is a little damp. No one has lived here for a long time. You have to make do with it. It's best not to sleep tonight."
After a pause, he reminded again: "Remember, no matter what, don't go out at night. If you want to go to the bathroom, just hold back. Or there is a wooden barrel in the room, so you can make do with it."
After saying that, he immediately returned to his room and locked the door.
This scene reminded Li Daoxuan of his experience in Yaowang Village. The people there were the same and did not dare to go out at night. He stayed in someone else's home and was also told not to go out at night.
But Shanghe Village is even weirder than Yaowang Village. Not only are you not allowed to go out, you are also not allowed to sleep.
Both the old man and Lu Siyuan emphasized this point.
…
Nightfall.
Li Daoxuan waved his sleeves and displayed his magical power of borrowing the wind.
The breeze blew through every corner, carrying away the dust and cobwebs and blowing them out of the window.
He did not sleep on the damp and rotten wooden bed. Instead, his body floated in the air and he lay down gently. Below him was a white and soft cloud that floated gently in the room.
The seventy-two magical powers of the Earthly Fiends!
Of course, the reason why Li Daoxuan slept on the clouds was not to show off his magical powers or because he disliked the poor conditions here, but because he was practicing "Peng Zu Guxian Wo Yin Gong".
Originally thinking that he could get a glimpse of the wordless heavenly book and learn the superior skills contained therein, Li Daoxuan spent less and less time on this skill.
But who knew that the Wordless Heavenly Book was in Zhang Jiuxiao's hands, and it would be difficult to see it for a while, so during this period of time Li Daoxuan began to study this technique again.
He discovered that if he practiced this technique while floating in the air, isolating himself from the influence of the earth's energy, the speed of practice would be much faster!
Now, his practice of "Peng Zu Guxian Wo Yin Gong" is about to reach the highest level, and he is only one step away from the highest third level "fetal breathing".
He had a vague feeling that if he could reach the state of fetal breathing, there might be an unexpected surprise.
As for the ghost baby, Li Daoxuan had already searched it with his Sky Eye and found no trace of it.
He was not in a hurry. When he saw Lu Siyuan, he knew that he had found the right place, because there was an extremely strong yin energy on Lu Siyuan, which was very similar to the aura of the ghost baby.
From this, it can be seen that the ghost baby and Lu Siyuan must have a very close relationship!
However, Lu Siyuan's attitude made Li Daoxuan a little confused, because the other party had no power, and it seemed that he was really worried about him, so he let him into the house in the end.
…
"Peng Zu Guxian Wo Yin Gong" is a very subtle and mysterious sleeping exercise, which emphasizes being neither asleep nor awake. Once you are completely asleep or awake, you will not be able to continue practicing the exercise.
With Li Daoxuan's attainments and state of mind, he should not have made any mistakes on this, but for some reason, after he practiced for a while tonight, he felt sleepy and fell into the deepest dream.
Coo!
Li Daoxuan heard the cry of an owl and suddenly opened his eyes, with a gleam of lightning in them.
When I came to my senses, the night wind was howling, the cicadas were chirping, the starry night was shining above my head, and the bright moon was hanging high in the sky.
He looked around and found that he was lying by the lake in Shanghe Village, not Lu Siyuan's home.
What was even more strange was that Li Daoxuan saw a bare area by the lake. There was no Guanyin Temple at all, and there was not even any trace of construction.
"interesting……"
Li Daoxuan has realized that he is now in a dream, but this dream is beyond his control. It seems that it is being manipulated by a mysterious force.
He suddenly thought of the old master. Is this how his master feels now?
Li Daoxuan opened the third eye between his eyebrows, illuminating the void.
The surrounding scene suddenly began to distort, as if it could not withstand the power of the Heavenly Eye and was about to be seen through.
Master Erlang has opened up the supernatural power of the third eye, and has the ability to see through all the illusions in the world, and dreams are also a kind of illusion.
Just when the dream was about to be shattered, a hand suddenly stretched out from the ground and grasped Li Daoxuan's feet. It was the ghost baby.
Li Daoxuan sneered, finally willing to show his true face?
His heavenly eye brewed a ray of golden light to subdue demons, ready to shoot at the ghost baby under his feet, but the next moment, he was slightly stunned.
Because there was a look of sorrow and pleading in the ghost baby's eyes.
He seemed to be asking Li Daoxuan not to break this dream...
"You mean, this dream was created by you specifically for me, not to kill me, but to tell me something?"
Hearing this, the ghost baby nodded immediately. He crawled out from the ground with the uncut umbilical cord still hanging from his small body. He kowtowed to Li Daoxuan repeatedly, looking sad and anxious, completely different from the arrogance he had when he went to Longhu Mountain to provoke Li Daoxuan before.
