Chapter 168 Going Down the Mountain

Descending the mountain,

The steps of the mountain path were overgrown with weeds on both sides, due to the destruction of the Daoist temple and the absence of pilgrims. In some places, they were also slanted and broken due to neglect.

Zheng Fan's pace wasn't slow as he descended. He walked leisurely, normally, except that his eyes were closed.

But in Zheng Fan's "vision," he saw the path ahead.

Especially Tian Wujing, who was leading the way.

Those with older siblings might have experienced a similar feeling in childhood: your older brother or sister is walking ahead, and you laugh and shout, excitedly trotting over to take their hand.

Or,

In the vast sea of people, when you're at a loss, you suddenly see a familiar figure, and in that instant, your pupils finally find their focus, and your whole being feels grounded.

As he walked,

Zheng Fan suddenly noticed someone tugging at his trouser leg beside him.

He looked down,

Not surprisingly,

It was Mowan.

He was still in the form of an infant, but the Mowan who had been fearless and full of violent emotions now seemed timid and cowering.

His eyes held a kind of fear, even afraid to look ahead.

He was very afraid, afraid of the figure walking in front.

It wasn't Mowan's fault, actually. Even the blind man, A Ming, and the others had muttered privately that if their master were Tian Wujing, it might not be a blessing, but a kind of torment that everyone would find hard to accept.

Mowan's nature carried extremely clear love and hate. He rarely hid his emotions because, in his short but "long" life, he had never grown up, never even experienced the feeling of "growth."

A childlike innocence;

Tian Wujing had long known about the existence of "spirits" around Zheng Fan. It wasn't a particularly rare existence, similar to demonic beasts.

Logically speaking, he himself and Zheng Fan's Pixiu were also demonic beasts, even divine beasts of a sort, whose value was far above that of spirits.

Moreover, on that night in Yingdu, he had single-handedly fought the Fire Phoenix spirit above the Chu imperial palace.

Perhaps,

Some things might cause shock and panic, or greed and desire in the eyes of ordinary people, but in Tian Wujing's eyes,

It was just,

So.

Zheng Fan stopped,

Bent down,

Picked up Mowan, and continued walking down.

At first, Mowan's hands tightly gripped Zheng Fan's arm, then he frowned, seeming to think it was embarrassing, and slowly released his grip, but didn't resist being held by Zheng Fan;

His head was buried against Zheng Fan's chest, resolutely refusing to look back.

The road,

Continued,

And the road, remained the road.

There were no sudden changes on either side, nor did they enter Zheng Fan's or Tian Wujing's memories as they walked.

Because Zheng Fan had personally made the handover in his previous life, he would retain some of his preferences and habits from that life, but he no longer had any attachments;

As for Tian Wujing,

He was so clear-headed,

That even going into Qi Deviation was a luxury.

Perhaps, this road wasn't exciting, but walking down, one step at a time, his heart began to feel more and more peaceful.

Heart like still water, heart like clear ice, not surprised by the collapse of the sky, all things drift away with the wind, I carry the universe in my sleeves;

These things, mental cultivation methods, descriptions, whether they were true or false, right or wrong, at this moment, they no longer had any meaning worth considering.

This was a difference in height, and also a difference in state of mind.

At this moment,

Zheng Fan suddenly understood

Why his casual words could lead the Sword Saint to enlightenment.

On the path of cultivation,

If the Sword Saint was an adult, then he himself was just a child, a toddler.

Toddlers can recite many ancient poems,

Like, "The spring silkworm spins silk until its death, the candle burns to ashes its tears dry up";

Like, "Ten years of life and death are vast and boundless, without thinking, it is unforgettable";

Like, "Don't be startled when drunk by a heavy spring sleep, betting on books to dispel the fragrance of spilled tea, only then did I realize it was ordinary."

You recite them fluently, and when asked what they mean, you can explain and describe them.

But as you recite,

You look up,

And find that the adult walking beside you has tears welling up in their weathered face.

The difference,

Lies here.

The words he had previously picked up casually were merely understood, not felt.

And his heart had never been truly calm, his mind was very, very restless.

Not only because of his leisurely and free life in this life, but also because the experience of war had greatly distracted his energy.

He had indeed been persevering in martial arts, but he didn't have a martial heart.

That's why it's rare for masters of old to cross disciplines;

That's why,

In this world,

There is only one Tian Wujing.

The great Dao is fifty, the heavenly evolution is forty-nine, and man escapes as one;

Nothing is absolute, hard to fathom. When you want to cut everything with one stroke, you will always see an exception. However, when you look closely and think carefully, you find that this exception is really just an exception, and it's better to cut it away.

As he walked,

He really forgot the time, forgot the surroundings, and his heart was filled with only peace and tranquility.

Finally,

He reached the foot of the mountain.

There was no sudden enlightenment with a snap of the fingers;

There was no loud shout, and with the opening of eyes, a changed twilight;

There was no feeling of being separated from the world, muddled and confused, self-doubt, looking back, flustered;

Zheng Fan didn't even know when he had opened his eyes,

Or when he had actually walked down the mountain,

Everything was as natural as water flowing into a canal, without any waves.

He looked down, and Mowan was no longer in his arms, only the stone was there;

And his hand had been lowered long ago;

This wasn't a dream, nor a spiritual journey, it was truly just a simple walk down the mountain.

He stretched out his arms,

And Zheng Fan took a deep breath,

Suddenly,

He felt that everything visible under the night sky was presenting a kind of beauty that pleased him.

"Tired?"

Tian Wujing's voice came from behind Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan turned around, looked at Lao Tian, and smiled;

"This feeling is profound and mysterious."

His realm hadn't loosened, there wasn't a breakthrough after taking the last step;

He had been telling and comforting himself that haste makes waste, and breakthrough was only a matter of time;

Now, Zheng Fan could clearly feel that breakthrough was only a matter of time.

Maybe it would be in a month, maybe in three months, maybe in half a year;

When the time comes, it will come, and what is meant to come, will come.

"Your comprehension is actually very high," Tian Wujing said.

"I've always thought so too."

"Take your time, you started practicing martial arts late, but there's plenty of time. In fact, the path of cultivation is like marching and deploying troops, the most taboo is to be greedy for success and rashly advance.

Your previous state was quite good."

"But why didn't it work?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Because you yourself weren't confident in that state."

Zheng Fan nodded upon hearing this.

Tian Wujing reached out and pointed to the mountain path behind them,

Saying:

"Zheng Fan, take another look at this mountain path."

Zheng Fan looked over.

"What is profound and mysterious?" Tian Wujing asked.

This was what Zheng Fan had said earlier in response to Tian Wujing.

"Is profound and mysterious magic, the principles of heaven and earth?" Zheng Fan tried to answer and explain.

Tian Wujing shook his head.

"Is it a silent and subtle influence, is it silent, is it ingenious and seamless?"

Just like when he went down the mountain earlier;

He seemed to have seen many different things, but in reality, there was nothing concrete, he didn't even remember when he opened his eyes.

Tian Wujing shook his head again.

"Is it fate? Is it a bond? Or is it a kind of resonance in the dark? Or maybe it's some kind of contract reached with heaven and earth, borrowing power from heaven and earth?"

Zheng Fan began to bring out all the answers from his question bank;

Hoping to get lucky.

Tian Wujing opened his mouth and said:

"Do you still remember when the Qian Kingdom's Hou Shan Cang Fuzi entered my Jijing and severed the Great Yan's dragon vein outside Yanjing City?"

"I remember."

"Did he sever it?"

"I heard that it was severed."

On that day, a black dragon appeared above the Great Yan imperial palace and was severed by Cang Fuzi at the cost of twelve natal white lotuses.

Many people in Yanjing still vowed that they heard the Black Dragon's miserable roar coming from the direction of the imperial palace that day.

"Then this Wang will ask you again, is my Great Yan destroyed?"

"It hasn't been destroyed, and in the next few years, the iron cavalry of my Great Yan will expand its territory and be invincible."

"Is the state overturned?"

"It hasn't been."

"Has the national fortune been cut off?"

"It hasn't been."

"Or you can answer this Wang, is it that His Majesty's body was ruined because the foundation of the dragon vein was destroyed."

"I... I once thought so."

"His Majesty's body was never good, and it has been difficult to endure from the first year of Yongping until now."

"Yes."

"In your opinion, will my Great Yan be in danger of collapse in the future? Tell the truth, tell me what's in your heart."

Zheng Fan pursed his lips,

Saying:

"I think there is no immortal dynasty in this world."

"Yes, Great Yan may be destroyed in the future, it may end in the second generation, or it may be passed down for hundreds or thousands of years;

So,

Where exactly did the dragon vein that Cang Fuzi severed manifest?"

"Your Highness..."

Tian Wujing said in a deep voice;

"Answer again, what is profound and mysterious?"

"Is..."

Tian Wujing smiled,

And gave the answer:

"Fangshi (Taoist alchemists), Qi Refiners, delve into the heavens, claiming to go against the heavens, calling it the path of deceiving the heavens. In fact, it is just like the mountain road you walked earlier.

Those who deceive the heavens will eventually be unable to avoid deceiving themselves. Only after deceiving themselves can they deceive all living beings. When all living beings are deceived, the false naturally becomes true.

In this Wang's opinion, the so-called Qi Refiners and Fangshi are no different from Jianghu swindlers, except that the former shamelessly try to stand on the peaks of clouds and seas or in the halls of power, while the latter live in the city.

As for the so-called profound and mysterious,

If you believe it, it exists,

If you don't believe it,

Then,

It's all bullshit."

Zheng Fan was thoughtful.

"The heavens and earth are vast, since you are sitting in the position of the Marquis of Pingxi in my Great Yan, you will inevitably encounter these things in the future.

It may be fortune-telling, it may be heavenly secrets, it may be prophecy,

In short,

Everything is profound and mysterious;

Many people can say that if you believe it, it exists, and if you don't believe it, it doesn't. But very few people can actually do it.

You went down the mountain following this Wang's shadow,

Then remember this Wang's words,

Don't believe in fate,

You must firmly believe that

No one in this world can calculate another person's fate."

Zheng Fan suddenly thought of that prophecy of the Demon King;

In the next moment,

Zheng Fan nodded vigorously,

Saying:

"I understand."

"If you understand these things, then even if your realm stops at the fifth or fourth rank in the future, it will be almost impossible for anyone to directly attack you and succeed, given the guards around you.

And even those so-called great powers from the outer sects, if they want to attack you, as long as you hold yourself upright and don't believe them, you can cripple seventy or eighty percent of their divine powers.

The rest

Are nothing more than Wei Zhonghe's Green Sword in the Sleeve, but compared to the Sword Saint's sword, it's not worth mentioning;

The so-called flying sand and stones are nothing more than illusions."

Speaking of this,

Tian Wujing looked at Zheng Fan,

And continued:

"If there really is a day when you feel you can't hold on, think about this day, think about this mountain road."

Zheng Fan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth,

He keenly felt that with Lao Tian's calculations, he would never aimlessly shoot an arrow;

So,

Does this mean that he might encounter some specific situation in the future?

"It's getting dark."

"Yeah, huh?"

"Let's go back."

"Okay."

The two Pixiu that had been left on the mountain path earlier were lying on the ground, bored and listless.

One on each side,

Seeming to be dozing off, or seeming to be daydreaming.

Divine beasts look down on each other, so there is no such thing as kinship between them.

But it's impossible for them to have any conflicts, because their masters are as close as brothers.

Finally waiting for the figures of the two to return,

The two Pixiu slowly got up and shook off the grass clippings on their bodies;

Jingnan Wang's Pixiu snorted extremely arrogantly at Zheng Fan's Pixiu,

While Zheng Fan's Pixiu bit a rope under its neck, and its body trembled, and a set of black fish-scale armor "flowed" down from its saddle, perfectly covering its entire body.

It was truly majestic and extraordinary!

Jingnan Wang's Pixiu was stunned,

Zheng Fan's Pixiu proudly raised its head,

This was the armor forged by the two supreme Demon Kings themselves.

It was custom-made for the Pixiu by Si Niang and Xue San, which could increase the extremely high defense without slowing down the Pixiu's movement speed. At the same time, it minimized the weight and burden, and most importantly, it was handsome enough!

This set of armor took a lot of energy from Si Niang and Xue San, but it was necessary, who told their master to be so unlucky on the battlefield?

Here,

The Pixiu covered in fish-scale armor hadn't been arrogant for long,

When Zheng Fan, who walked over, slapped it on the head,

"Slap!"

Marquis Zheng scolded:

"You little bastard, do you know how troublesome it is to put this away?"

At this time,

Jingnan Wang's Pixiu actually took the initiative to walk up to Zheng Fan,

And gently touched Marquis Zheng with its mouth, and then rubbed him in another direction.

Seeing this, Zheng Fan's Pixiu's breath immediately became thick, and it glared with its beast eyes!

Marquis Zheng was generous,

Reached out and touched Lao Tian's Pixiu,

Saying;

"When I come back this time, I'll have someone make a set for you too."

After saying that,

Zheng Fan looked at Tian Wujing.

Tian Wujing flipped over and sat on it,

Saying:

"It will come to you."

………

The next day,

Ten thousand Jingnan Army soldiers set out from Litian City, escorting their Wangye and Marquis Pingxi to Yanjing!

Almost on the same day,

In the west,

At the edge of the desert,

Zhenbei Wang rode his Pixiu,

Facing the group of family members who came to see him off,

He smiled,

And shouted:

"It's been making my mouth water, let's go, go to the capital and eat Peking duck!"

That night,

The Supreme Emperor in the back garden,

Unafraid of the evening chill,

Supported by Wei Zhonghe,

Walked to the highest viewing tower in the back garden,

Looking east and west.

After that,

His Majesty was tired;

Wei Zhonghe carried a chair and let His Majesty sit down.

His Majesty looked at the west, then at the east,

Finally,

He placed his hands on his knees,

And patted them gently,

Saying:

"It's almost here."

"Yes, Your Majesty, according to the last report, calculating the days, it will be soon."

The Yan Emperor nodded slightly,

Looked at Wei Zhonghe,

Revealing a rare smile after living in the back garden,

Saying;

"I seemed to have a dream last night."

Seeing the Yan Emperor's smiling face as he spoke of dreams,

Wei Zhonghe immediately knelt down with a smile,

Saying:

"Has Your Majesty dreamed of auspicious omens? This servant congratulates Your Majesty."

The dream of the emperor, a nightmare, is an ominous sign; a good dream is an auspicious omen.

The Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven,

The Son of Heaven is protected by Heaven's will!

Wei Zhonghe's action was also in accordance with the rules of the palace, of course, this requires observing words and expressions.

The Yan Emperor opened his mouth and said;

"I dreamed that Liang Ting came to me asking for a chicken leg, and I didn't give it to him, and he even wanted to hit me.

Later,

I lied to Liang Ting, saying that the Tian family was a big family with many businesses, and that they never lacked delicacies, so I tricked Liang Ting into accompanying me to sneak into the Tian family to see the Tian family's daughter."

Speaking of this,

The smile on the Yan Emperor's face became more intense,

And continued:

"By coincidence, we met Wujing, and he pointed at me and Liang Ting and scolded us, scolding us both as frivolous playboys who didn't know etiquette;

Funny, isn't it? Although Wujing was young, he actually recognized me at that time. During the grand court meeting, he followed his father, the head of the Tian family, to toast me, the Crown Prince.

Guess,

What happened next?"

Wei Zhonghe immediately asked with a curious face: "Oh, Your Majesty, what happened next?"

In fact, Wei Zhonghe felt a little sour in his heart, because he had heard this story a long time ago, and His Majesty had also said it a long time ago.

But His Majesty still spoke with great relish;

"I told Liang Ting to beat up that Wujing kid, beating him until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, alarming the Tian family's daughter, hehe.

Later,

Liang Ting said to me,

Perhaps,

In this life,

He would only be able to beat Wujing down once, and in the future, he might not have this opportunity."

I pointed at Liang Ting,

And smiled:

"Hit him if you want to, you don't have to consider my face, even if he is my brother-in-law, if he doesn't listen, he still has to be cleaned up when it's time to clean him up. Besides, isn't the brother-in-law used to beat?"

As a result, ah,

Liang Ting looked at me,

His face was almost red,

And finally couldn't help but smile:

"Big brother, you have to be nicer to your sister-in-law in the future, this brother-in-law of yours is not easy to mess with. I used all my strength earlier, and I just managed to beat that kid down, and how old is he;

I guess,

This is really the only chance to beat him in this lifetime, because I'm afraid I really won't be able to beat him in the future."

As the Yan Emperor spoke,

His eyes were slightly moist,

Wei Zhonghe immediately took out a handkerchief and carefully wanted to help His Majesty wipe his eyes, but was pushed away by the Yan Emperor;

The Yan Emperor wiped the corners of his eyes with his fingers while continuing to laugh and say;

"Look, isn't he unbeatable? Hehe."

——————

Thanks to KongkongLeo and Zhuojiu Drunk Old Friend for becoming the 166th and 167th alliance leaders of The Descent of Magic!

Asking for monthly tickets again.

Hugging everyone tightly, good night.