"Watching the misty white clouds flying, sitting alone in the thatched hut, covering the bamboo leaves.
When I am happy, I will use my staff to sing along the path, and when I am happy, I will take my harp to the green hills.
There is no part of me in the field of words, and there is no trace of me in the sea of right and wrong.
There is no calculation in one's heart for fame and fortune, and one's ears are silent about fighting..."
In the early morning, amid the mist and misty clouds in the forests of the Beishan Mountains, Liu Qiao, wearing linen clothes and mango shoes, carrying a bamboo stick and hat, carrying a bamboo basket, was collecting herbs and singing loudly.
Collect polygonatum, kudzu root, salvia miltiorrhiza, and any health-preserving medicine that has some qi in it, just put it into a bamboo basket.
A few months have passed since the first practice, and it has achieved some results, so Liu Qiao is happy with the progress of the practice and feels quite relaxed.
Because the Nanshan demon has not come to cause trouble for several months, either because he didn't see it or because he didn't care, Liu Qiao also let down his guard, climbed the cliffs and ridges, and sang loudly.
There is no other way. Cultivation is lonely. Being alone is really boring. There is no one to talk to. If he doesn't sing some poems, Liu Qiao is afraid that he will not be able to speak after he becomes an immortal.
As for cultivation, I don’t know if Liu Qiao is a genius that is rare to see in a lifetime, or if the immortal method is really so easy to practice. Anyway, it is a rapid progress.
As the saying goes in later generations of alchemy, it takes one year to understand the Dharma, two years to practice self-refinement, three years to build the foundation, six years to complete the elixir, and after the elixir is completed, it takes three years to breastfeed (terminology), nine years to face the wall to reduce the elixir's fire, and then ascend to immortality.
.
But Liu Qiao did not have this process at all. If there was a realm in practice, he felt that he was making breakthroughs every day. In the past few months, he had broken through hundreds of realms.
Alas, genius is so magical.
After understanding the Heavenly Book and starting to practice, he felt it after only three days of practice. From then on, he extracted lead, refined mercury, and reconciled Kanli. Although it was a hard work, he was making progress every day.
The so-called cultivation is to refine the false to become the true. The dragons, tigers, Kanli, and golden elixirs in the heart are all imaginary. Water and fire refer to the heart and kidneys, and the five elements each refer to the five internal organs.
The process of cultivation is to use thoughts and imagination to control the five internal organs, and gradually refine this falsehood into reality.
As a modern person, Liu Qiao is no more ignorant than the ancients. Although he does not dare to say that he is smarter than the ancients, his mind is extremely clever and he has long understood this principle of cultivation.
For example, a person is originally healthy, but after various scientific examinations, a very authoritative doctor tells him "you have a heart disease." This person is not sick, but he falls into self-doubt every day.
After believing that he has a heart disease, he worries every day and thinks about his heart every day. The more he thinks about it, the more problems he has and the more distressed he feels. As time goes by, he becomes really sick, and there is a high chance that it is a heart disease. This is thinking.
The magic of ideas.
The so-called cultivation is also the same principle. How can you get the Dharma out of thin air? Where can the power come from the body? Just refine the false into the true, believe that your five internal organs will be everlasting, blend the five internal organs, strengthen the five internal organs, pretend to cultivate a magic elixir, and the elixir will become nine turns, and then
Then practice it into a real innate Qi.
"Oh, it's just a little strange. I am breaking through the realm every day, and I feel more and more real, but why do I never have the legendary magic power..."
Thinking of this, Liu Qiao felt a little distressed. On the one hand, he was confused, and on the other hand, he was worried that his practice would go astray and go astray.
This is actually the disadvantage of practicing alone. Without Taoist friends or seniors (as for Jiang Shang's hot chicken Taoist practice, just pretend he doesn't exist) and guidance, you can only practice blindly.
When Liu Qiao couldn't figure it out, he gave it up. Liu Qiao went all the way back to the cave and picked out the herbs. He cooked the old ones directly, steamed them and dried them for nine times, while the young sprouts were stored in the medicine field.
"Huh...huh..."
I was sweating profusely with my hoe in the medicine field when there was a sudden whistle in the sky and a large black smoke flashed across.
Liu Qiao was used to seeing this monster flying above his head.
Every few days, this monster flies over Beishan Mountain and goes to the countryside of Dengzhou to feed some mortals, but every time it is filled with black smoke.
Thinking that every time the demonic energy flashes, a mortal will be eaten, Liu Qiao also hates it. However, the legendary magic power has not been cultivated, and the Taoism has not progressed, so he can only have more than enough intention but not enough power.
Just out of sight and out of mind, the demon lives in the south mountain, while he sits on the north mountain and goes his own way. Now he has no power to conquer the demon, and he does not dare to show off his strength and fight.
It's just that sometimes, if you don't cause trouble, trouble will come to you.
Today, the demon flew to Beishan in a burst of black wind, but did not come out to prey on mortals. Instead, it hovered black smoke above Liu Qiao's head, as if observing.
Liu Qiao was very nervous, but now that he had been seen and couldn't escape, he had to pretend not to know, still facing the loess with his back to the sky, and shoveling the ground with his hoe.
"Huhu..."
Suddenly, there was a strong wind behind me, which sent chills down my spine and made my hair stand on end.
Liu Qiao was more or less prepared. Although he was panicking, his hands and feet were calm. He turned around with his hoe and struck backwards.
Just at this moment, a pale hand, about the size of a cattail leaf fan, stretched out from the cloud head, and it was about to fish out Liu Qiao.
However, Liu Qiao shoveled him back with a hoe, and immediately there was a "click" sound of broken muscles.
He shoveled the hand until the fingers were turned upside down, the skin and flesh were torn apart, and only a few tendons were left hanging.
"hiss…"
The strange pain on Yun's head took a deep breath and he was so busy that he had to shrink his hands.
"What a bastard. I don't want to trouble you, but you dare to touch the Taoist's brow..."
Before his voice fell, Liu Qiao followed the same old trick, throwing out the heavy, top-heavy hoe as a hidden weapon and hitting the retracted pale hand.
After throwing down the hoe, Liu Qiao didn't even look at it. He touched his robe and turned around to hide in the cave.
However, this time the demon obviously did not fight as hard as the nine-lived demon. It turned into a gust of wind and avoided the hoe, and a ball of demon wind swirled and fell to the ground.
He immediately withdrew his magical powers, the black smoke dissipated, and a figure one foot tall appeared on the spot.
What a monster, look what it looks like:
He has an indigo complexion, disheveled hair, loose and pointed eyebrows, and his eyes are like snake eyes with upright pupils, and fierce light bursts out when he looks around.
Two fangs protrude a few inches outside the lips, the whiskers under the chin are like steel needles, green brocade clothes, wide robes and large sleeves.
"Hmph...where did you come from? You dare to go to a certain family's fairyland to practice magic. I treat you as a humble reptile and ignore you. You still dare to sing some nonsense tunes to disturb a certain family's ears and eyes, so that a certain family can't have peace..."
The demon held a spear in his hand. It was as thick as a bowl and was completely black, except for the shining silver blade. It was tied with a red cherry blossom. Seeing Liu Qiao duck into the hole, he cursed at the entrance of the hole:
"The thief said, come out quickly and die. If you don't come out, grandpa will set fire to your thief's hole. I will tell you that you will die to get the whole body..."
After Liu Qiao entered the cave, he calmly bowed to the ancestors three times and took the sword offered on the altar. Knowing that it would be difficult to do good today, he picked up the sword and walked out of the cave again.
He looked at the demon and looked at it. No matter how nervous he was in his heart, he could not express it on his face. He shouted: "That demon, please don't yell. Master Tao is a kind and merciful Lord. I think it is not easy for you to practice. If you retreat quickly, I can spare you some time."
Life."
"Ah bah... who wants your mercy? The thief said stop talking nonsense and stop making noises. We'll talk about it after we beat him..." The demon fell down laughing after hearing this.
Then he changed his face quickly, his eyes shot out fiercely, and he danced his spear directly at Liu Qiao.
"I hold the palm of my hand to explain and teach the Taoism. Yuxu Yuanshi Tianzun is as anxious as the law and order... Good luck and good fortune, the sword is drawn..."
Liu Qiao held the sword in his hand, pointed the sword with one hand, recited a mantra and pressed the sigils drawn by Qimen Dunjia. He only heard the sound of gold and iron, and the sword suddenly became bright and shiny.
The demon came quickly, danced with tricks, and went straight for Liu Qiao's throat. Liu Qiao blocked it with his sword. You came and I went, it was a good fight.
A spear dances like plum blossoms, like a phoenix piercing flowers, and a sword dances roundly, airtight, with only the sound of "clang, clang, clang, clang..." the sound of ping pong, pong, pong, gold and iron clashing.
Liu Qiao bowed and hid his sword, and the demon stuck his tip to stop him. Both of them had extraordinary martial arts skills, and their moves pointed at vital points. They were full of insidiousness.
But after fighting for more than ten times, the decision was made.
Liu Qiao's immortal family secretly taught him Yuxu's martial arts. Although the demon's bravery was also extraordinary, his martial arts was a wild method that he had thought out blindly. It was not as good as Liu Qiao's swordsmanship, which combined virtual and real skills, and killed the demon with sweat dripping down his back.
After more than ten fights, the demon was already in danger. Liu Qiao was almost stabbed several times. Seeing that he could not win with martial arts, he tried to cast a spell to escape, but he was wrapped in the light of the sword and couldn't escape.
"Shhhh..."
After all, the demon was in a hurry and hurriedly used a weak point to fake a shot, then blew black smoke from its mouth in an attempt to regain the upper hand.
When Liu Qiao saw it making feints, he became alert. Suddenly, the demon spit out black smoke, but he could see clearly that the smoke was nothing more than a cover-up, and the real killing move was a red bead as big as a pipe in the smoke.
Liu Qiao, who saw clearly, jumped up and flipped in the air, just in time to avoid the red bead, and slashed at the demon's head with one sword, hoping to give it a blow.
"ah…"
The demon turned pale with fright, but could not dodge in time. He hurriedly raised his arm to block the sword, and there was a sharp "click" sound. It was really powerful. The sword sliced through the skin and ripped open the flesh. It cut open the skin and flesh of one arm, and the bones were clearly visible.
But the red bead hit the cliff with a loud "hit..." and the gravel flew everywhere, creating a large crater about ten feet deep and more than ten feet deep, with countless gravel and smoke flying everywhere.
"It's so powerful. I don't know what kind of treasure it is. If I hadn't dodged it just now, I wouldn't have been shattered to pieces. I would have been blamed immediately..." Liu Qiao said in astonishment.
It was also the sound of landslides and rocks cracking that attracted Liu Qiao's attention. The demon did not dare to fight back anymore. He took the opportunity to jump up and jumped onto the clouds in an instant.
Holding the injured arm with only the tendons attached, his face twisted in pain, he opened his mouth, took back the treasure, glanced at Liu Qiao bitterly, and left with a black smoke.
Before leaving, he did not forget to say harsh words: "The rogue said, don't be complacent. Grandpa was just careless and forgot to wear a cloak. When I get home, I will have a full meal and put on my armor, and I will fight again..."
————The text of this chapter is finished
This formation is recorded in "The Romance of the Gods" compiled by later Li Yunxiang:
The sword of the Taoist is sharp, the spear of the demon is ruthless, the ghost is sad, one is the demon king who is truly heroic, a man who rules the roost and fights with ruthlessness, the other is a man who practiced in the Nameless Cave, and is the founder of the Jade Void Secret...
The steel spear is thrown into electric flames, shaking the bullfighting back and forth. The sword is tumbling and moving, dancing in the sky like a flying dragon.
The sound is like thunder, the mountains are full of ghosts and monsters, guns and swords are roaring, the two families are fighting fiercely, and I don’t know which one is stronger and which one is softer...
Because I used to write this kind of antithesis, many readers said that they couldn’t understand it and it was boring. Now I don’t write it anymore. Some people said that it doesn’t have the same flavor anymore, it doesn’t look like classical novels about gods and demons, it doesn’t look good, and so on.
I can only make a compromise. I write the antiphons below the main text. Those who don’t like to read the text can just read the text in vernacular. Those who like to read antitheses can also read it. Another thing is that during the new book period, if there are no surprises, it will be updated every day.
Two chapters were condensed into one, both of which are three to four thousand words long.