Chapter 3. Yuan Fu Guan

The wheels turn.

It rolled over the mud and quickly left the farmland on both sides behind.

Xu Qing looked back at the way he had come. The outline of the village gradually blurred in his vision. Then he looked at the long road ahead, but it was flat and the world was vast!

It felt like thunder was surging in my chest.

Feeling the strong beating of his chest, Xu Qing suddenly felt that the sea was wide enough for fish to leap and the sky was high enough for birds to fly.

With the memories of his previous life, Xu Qing naturally did not want to be trapped in that small village.

but--

Difficult!

The Xu family has been working in the fields for generations, so it is easy to talk about finding another way out, but it is extremely difficult to do it.

They all say scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.

Agriculture ranks second and is the cornerstone of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

But anyone can step on these farmers and call them "mud legs". Those who enjoy vested interests wish that their descendants would bury their heads in the fields and never get out.

Think of this.

Xu Qing looked at the road ahead, with an inexplicable gleam in his eyes.

Huai'an Prefecture is located north of the Yangtze River.

It is under the management of Nandu, with a superior geographical location and convenient transportation, with frequent daily travel by car and boat.

It was half a month later when Xu Qing and Old Zhang drove to Huai'an Prefecture.

After walking along the way, Xu Qing felt exhausted both physically and mentally, and his fragile body was about to be shaken apart.

Sometimes we encountered troubles along the way, such as villages along the way blocking the road and not letting us pass, wild beasts attacking us when we crossed the mountains, and muddy roads that were difficult to travel on due to rain.

It is really not easy to take each step forward.

Fortunately, it finally arrived.

Looking ahead, a circle of tall city walls that stand majestically like a mountain range guards the Huai'an County.

The wall is about thirty feet high, and the top is wide enough for horses to pass through. Rows of strong and mighty soldiers in armor and armed with sharp weapons stand solemnly in front of the city wall, and a large flag embroidered with the word "Sheng" of the dynasty flutters in the wind.

There is no need to enter the city. Just from the endless stream of cars and people at the city gate, and the noise that can be faintly heard before reaching the city gate, you can tell that the prosperity of Huai'an Prefecture is by no means comparable to Xujia Village and the nearby Ningyang Town.

"I recommend you to go to a Taoist temple of the Fulu sect. The temple is not in the city, but on a hill outside the county. Do you plan to go to the temple first or take a look at the prosperous scene of Huai'an Prefecture first?"

After traveling for half a month, even a strong man like Uncle Zhang couldn't bear it anymore and his face looked a little pale.

The voice was also a little weak.

"Uncle Zhang, let's go to the Taoist temple first. There is no rush to see the prosperity of Huai'an Prefecture. It won't be too late to see it later."

Compared to seeing the cultural landscape of this world's great city, he was more eager to get in touch with spiritual practice earlier and embark on the path of spiritual practice.

"it is good."

Old Zhang nodded with a smile.

Yes, better than when he first came.

For those who seek the truth, the most important thing is their foundation, and the second is their heart for seeking the truth.

It doesn't matter if you have a weak constitution, but if your will is not strong enough, why bother going through this?

At the beginning, he was willing to introduce Xu Qing out of a desire to repay his elder brother for saving his life, but he was also moved by Xu Qing's persistence in attending classes at the private school in the next village every day for the past six months.

When you are in a humble position, not everyone can always maintain the spirit of striving for progress.

"drive!"

Old Zhang whipped his horsewhip and drove around Huai'an County, arriving at a hill two or three miles away from the county.

The Taoist temple is located on the top of the mountain.

Most of the mountains in the Jianghuai area are graceful and elegant, but lack the majestic and towering aura.

The mountain is not high.

But the mountain road was not easy to walk on, and climbing all the way up was very tiring for Xu Qing.

By the time he reached the stone steps in front of the mountain gate, panting, his legs were shaking slightly uncontrollably.

"Oh, I'm so tired!"

Xu Qing leaned against a big tree by the road and gasped for breath.

While taking a breath, look up and forward.

At the end of the stone steps, the plaque on the mountain gate had three large gilded characters written in bold strokes:

Yuanfu Temple.

When Xu Qing was chewing on the name of the temple, a young Taoist priest in a dark blue Taoist robe with wide sleeves and a body as straight as a green pine tree suddenly walked out from behind the mountain gate.

The young Taoist had a fair face, clear eyes and brows, and his clothes were spotless. He perfectly matched the image of a cultivator that Xu Qing had imagined.

"Lay disciple Zhang Yuean greets Senior Brother Jingxin!"

Although he looked much older than the Taoist, the moment Old Zhang saw the Taoist, he was the first to bow to him from a distance in Taoist style and called him "senior brother".

The respect and admiration in his tone was evident.

The Taoist in front of him was indeed Old Zhang’s senior brother.

When Old Zhang entered the temple to practice, it was the other party who taught him the Taoism and led him on the path of practice.

Now that five years have passed, the Taoist is still as charming and elegant as ever, without a trace of aging on his face, as if time has not left any trace on him.

"Junior Brother Yue An." Chen Jingxin slowly walked down the stone steps.

There was a smile in his eyes and his temperament was gentle and elegant, giving people a feeling of being bathed in spring breeze.

"I haven't seen you for five years. Your foundation remains the same. It seems you haven't wasted your knowledge since you left the mountain."

Old Zhang sighed: "I can only barely maintain the blood and qi. It is difficult to make further progress."

"We cultivators seek not only immortality and ascension, but also peace of mind." Chen Jingxin consoled him, "Of course, we are all mortals, so it is understandable that we aspire to the path of immortality."

"So I also hope that you can make further progress soon, so that we can walk side by side and find the great path together."

Old Zhang sighed in his heart when he heard the voice.

难啊
If he was not unwilling, he would not have gone down the mountain and still not gotten married five years ago. All he wanted was to keep his essence from being lost, hoping that one day he would be able to overcome difficulties.

He shook his head to get rid of those messy thoughts, and then pushed Xu Qing out.

"Brother, this is the disciple I am going to recommend to join the monastery."

"Greetings to the Taoist priest, young man." Xu Qing imitated Old Zhang and made a Taoist gesture in a very realistic manner.

Jingxin's eyes were bright and lively. Upon hearing the voice, she glanced at Xu Qing from head to toe for a while.

"My health is not good."

"But after you enter the sect, you will be taught the methods of cultivation. You should practice diligently and make up for it."

Xu Qing's heart trembled slightly when he heard this.

"Brother, I'll leave the person to you." Old Zhang patted the back of Xu Qing's head. "I wanted to send him to the temple, but now that I meet you, brother, I won't go in."

"I am too embarrassed to see the master."

Old Zhang had a quarrel with Chen Jingxin, then left without looking back.

On the stone steps, only Xu Qing and Chen Jingxin were left staring at each other.

Chen Jingxin looked at Old Zhang who was walking away with a bad temper, then turned to look at Xu Qing with a sincere smile on her face.

"Junior brother, please follow me into the temple and wait. The disciple-recruiting meeting will be at noon. Only after the disciple-recruiting meeting can you officially become a disciple of my temple."

"Yes, senior brother." Xu Qing took the opportunity to call him senior brother.

Chen Jingxin smiled slightly and did not object to Xu Qing's address.

The two of them climbed the stone steps together and entered the Taoist temple.

The first hall after entering the mountain gate is the Sanqing Hall. The Sanqing are the highest gods in Taoism. Almost all Taoist temples have a hall dedicated to the Sanqing.

After passing the Sanqing Hall, there is the Lingxiao Hall where the Jade Emperor is enshrined, and then the main hall where all the celestial gods, immortal officials and soldiers are enshrined.

There is a large tripod in front of the door of each hall, and the tripod is filled with incense sticks.

The smoke from the incense curls up like mist and the special smell is mixed with the fragrance of the grass and trees all over the mountain, as well as the abundant water vapor coming from the distant river. It actually makes people feel refreshed and calm when they smell it.

The Feng Shui in this mountain seems to be a little special. Xu Qing felt it in his heart, but he was right, if the Feng Shui was not good, the Taoist temple would not be located here.

Xu Qing and Chen Jingxin walked through these halls one after another and came to the back mountain of Yuanfu Temple.

Yuanfu Temple is roughly divided into two mountains, the front mountain is where pilgrims and believers visit the mountain to worship gods, while the back mountain is where disciples practice daily.

Pilgrims and believers must stop here.

Chen Jingxin brought Xu Qing to a flat open space in the back mountain.

"Junior brother, the disciple-recruiting meeting will be held here. Please wait here first. I still need to go to the mountain gate to receive the guests."

"Brother, you can go by yourself. You don't need to worry about me."

Chen Jingxin smiled and nodded.

After Chen Jingxin left, Xu Qing looked around.

In addition to him, there were some people scattered around the open space. Most of them were dressed in luxurious clothes and had ruddy faces. Regardless of gender, they were slightly taller or fatter than Xu Qing.

There were only a few who were like him, wearing coarse linen clothes and as thin as dead wood.

There is one more thing.

Those present seemed to be no older than sixteen.

Xu Qing has been circulating the energy in his body for half a year, and has gained some abilities.

He could tell at a glance that the official kicking the hammer was a martial artist who had practiced martial arts, because he mastered a method similar to the Taoist "Qi-watching".

However, it is not as magical as the legendary "looking at qi". We can only judge their age, physical condition, etc. by the "qi" emitted by their body.

While Xu Qing was quietly looking at the others, others were also looking at him.

Those who were able to come here before the disciple-recruiting conference were either from wealthy families around Huai'an Prefecture, or good seedlings brought back by wandering Taoist priests, or finally, family members introduced by disciples from the mountains of Yuanfu Temple.

Judging from Xu Qing's clothing, the first possibility can basically be ruled out, and the key is whether it is the second or the third one.

If it is the third type, it doesn’t matter.

If it is the second type, then the person's aptitude for cultivation must be quite good and you can make friends with him.

Xu Qing observed for a while but didn't see anything else, so he found a cool corner to stay in, took out the scallion pancake made by his mother from his bag and started to eat it bit by bit.

The pancakes are as hard as wood and chewy, but they taste better the more you eat them.

Xu Qing didn’t know about other people, but he certainly thought so.

When Xu Qing was eating the pancake with gusto, a curious voice suddenly came from the side:

"Brother, is that thing in your hand really that delicious?"

(End of this chapter)