Volume 7: The Strongest Four Realms Chapter 6: The Ascetic
Influenced by the Longxiang Temple and the ascetic monks, there are numerous temples and countless monks in the Western Regions.
This is especially true in a desert like this.
You can often see monks wearing dark blue robes, shaved heads and straw sandals walking by in groups.
However, most of them are ordinary people, and only a very few are true practitioners.
Lu Qingshan looked at the little monk twice more.
In addition to wearing the light red robes that only preaching monks can wear, the appearance of this little monk is also different from the usual appearance of people in the desert.
The little monk had red lips and white teeth, and a very handsome appearance. It was obvious at first glance that he had an extraordinary character.
Lu Qingshan could still feel a lingering aura from the little monk.
This is obviously a practicing monk.
However, Lu Qingshan was unable to find out whether the little monk had learned some special techniques or had some special magical tools.
The origin of this little monk is not simple.
Lu Qingshan came to the conclusion.
But this was not something he should be concerned about.
His first priority was to gather the necessary information.
"Young Master, what should we do next?" Since entering the desert with abundant fire and earth elements, Qin Yitian, who was very fond of this kind of environment, has become much more active. He changed his previous lazy temperament and took the initiative to ask.
"First, go find the shop opened by the monks of the Dongque tribe and buy the most accurate map of the Mogao Desert." Lu Qingshan said.
When traveling in such a vast desert, a map is definitely the most important thing.
Lu Qingshan pulled a passerby over and asked about the largest shop in the city.
In a city where monks and mortals live together, the largest shops must be run by monks.
Following the instructions of passers-by, Lu Qingshan walked slowly for a while, and the shop named "Dongque" appeared in his sight.
From the name, we can tell that the owner behind the shop is the ruler of Dongque City, the Dongque tribe.
Slowly walking into the store, Lu Qingshan glanced around.
Although it is the largest store in Dongque Ancient City, there are not many monks in it and it looks deserted.
However, the monks wandering around the store all had a sense of ruggedness unique to physical cultivators, and their clothes were rather casual and rough.
This situation can be attributed to the unique style of physical cultivation.
Among the six major cultivation schools, sword cultivators specialize in their own swords, and their demand for magic tools is relatively low.
But compared with physical cultivation, sword cultivation is nothing.
Because physical cultivation is about cultivating the physical body.
From the perspective of physical practitioners, too many magical instruments would actually affect and hinder their practice.
Moreover, in their philosophy, no matter how many external objects one has or how powerful they are, they are still external objects after all. How can they be as solid as one's own physical body?
Therefore, a physical cultivator usually only has one or two magical instruments on his body. Some extreme physical cultivators may not even have a single magical instrument on their bodies.
In addition, most of the resources of physical cultivators are used to purchase spiritual medicines for body building.
So according to statistics from curious people, among the six types of cultivation, physical cultivation is relatively the poorest.
Therefore, there is such a saying: The path of catastrophe does not involve the body of the cultivator.
Not only is he thick-skinned and tough, he is also a tough nut to crack. He also has nothing and is extremely poor.
If you can't get along with these people, what else could it be except that you have a problem with your brain?
Lu Qingshan did not agree with the practice concept of physical cultivation, because in his opinion, the sword was definitely not an external object, but something as important as one's own life.
But at the same time, Lu Qingshan does not reject this kind of practice concept.
After all, the path of spiritual practice should be one where a hundred flowers bloom and all roads lead to Rome.
There is no best, only the most suitable.
And sword cultivation is the path that suits him best.
…
A white-haired old man was sitting by the counter of the shop, with his eyes half closed, as if he was resting.
When the old man saw Lu Qingshan coming in, he did not greet him warmly.
This is also a characteristic of the wild land like the Western Desert.
In a prosperous place like the Southern Region, this kind of hospitality would hardly retain those masters of magic who think they are superior.
Lu Qingshan didn't care. He walked slowly to the counter and said, "Old sir, can you give me the most accurate and detailed map of the Mogao Desert?"
Hearing Lu Qingshan's question, the white-haired old man opened his eyes and glanced at Lu Qingshan with his turbid eyes.
"The Mogao Desert is full of dangers. Even the Dongque tribe, which has lived in the Mogao Desert for thousands of years, cannot claim to have fully understood the desert."
"This map was pieced together by the nine clans using the Mogao Desert maps they each had. There is no map in the entire Mogao Desert that is more detailed than this," the white-haired old man took out a hide map made of monster fur, "but the price is naturally high. I wonder if this fellow Taoist can afford it?"
Lu Qingshan chuckled and said, "I should be able to afford a map."
The money was exchanged for the goods, and in the end, Lu Qingshan received twenty fourth-grade spirit stones for this map, which was indeed worthy of its high value.
Lu Qingshan, whose assets far exceed those of ordinary cultivators, naturally does not care about this expense.
"In this Mogao Desert, do you know the area where thunderstorms most frequently occur? " Lu Qingshan asked tentatively.
Considering that he had just concluded a big deal, the white-haired old man was not reluctant to say a few more words to Lu Qingshan.
He unfolded the map and pointed at three places on the map. "Do you see the signs of these three places?"
Hearing this, Lu Qingshan quickly took a close look at the map.
The map purchased at a high price was indeed very detailed. It not only marked the settlements of various small human tribes in the Mogao Desert, but also had warning signs in places where some monsters were active.
The three places pointed by the white-haired old man had corresponding thunder symbols.
"These three places are where thunderstorms occur all year round in our Mogao Desert," the white-haired old man explained, "This is information provided by the Giant Bear Tribe. The cultivators of the Giant Bear Tribe practice body-building techniques that require the use of thunder to strengthen the body, so they are very familiar with the places where thunder is frequent in the Mogao Desert."
"However," the white-haired old man paused, thought for a moment, and said meaningfully, "If you want to practice some magic that requires the help of thunder, it's best to go to the northeast and southeast thunderstorm areas. As for the northwest area...if possible, it's best not to go there."
"Please teach me, old man." Lu Qingshan said politely with a bow, and his subordinates handed over another third-grade spirit stone with a sharp look in their eyes.
The white-haired old man smiled as he swept the spirit stone into his sleeves, and explained, "The first two thunderstorm areas are where the Giant Bear Tribe monks forge their bodies. This is because the power of the thunder there grows in a very regular pattern, from the outside to the inside, the thunder gradually becomes more violent. The power of the outermost thunder is so strong that even Qi Refining monks can withstand it for a while, and the power of the thunder in the innermost part is so strong that even Yuanying monks can hardly resist it. This stability makes these two areas suitable for monks of all realms to forge their bodies according to their own tolerance. But this last thunderstorm area does not have this stability."
The white-haired old man said with lingering fear: "The last thunderstorm area is close to the deepest part of the Mogao Desert and is rarely visited by people.
This was discovered by chance by a Yuanying elder of the Giant Bear Tribe. At that time, he thought he had found another treasure land suitable for body training.
Unexpectedly, he had just explored that area for a while and was still in the outermost safe area. For some reason, the thunder, which was originally not very powerful, suddenly became violent.
The power of the thunders suddenly increased to the point where even he could hardly resist them. He could only flee in a hurry. Fortunately, he had not gone deep into the restricted area, so he escaped from it in a short time.
But even so, he suffered serious injuries and it took him several years of recuperation before he finally recovered.
So since then, the thunderstorm area has been designated as a restricted area by the Giant Bear Tribe.
Even the Nascent Soul cultivator is in such an awkward state, so it is best for this young master not to enter rashly..."
With the Night-walking Ancient Jade, the white-haired old man could not see through Lu Qingshan's cultivation level, but Lu Qingshan looked so young and did not have the slightest trace of old age, so it was obvious that his real age was not that old.
In the old man's mind, Lu Qingshan was just a Jindan cultivator at the top of the world, and most likely a foundation-building cultivator.
Lu Qingshan nodded slightly, "Thank you for your advice, old man."
Although he agreed verbally, Lu Qingshan knew in his heart that the place where the Thunder Fruit was located was most likely in the restricted area.
The reason is not difficult to explain.
The other two areas serve as places for the Giant Bear Tribe's monks to strengthen their bodies. If they really grew Thunder Fruits, they should have been discovered by the Giant Bear Tribe's monks over the years. How could it take more than ten years for them to fully mature and appear in the world, thus causing that bloody disaster?
After getting the information he wanted, Lu Qingshan turned around and walked out.
When Lu Qingshan's figure disappeared in the shop, the white-haired old man narrowed his eyes and was silent for a moment. Suddenly, he took out a communication token from his sleeve, and his spiritual power circulated. A faint light suddenly flashed on the communication token.
"This is a forbidden area that even a physical cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage would find difficult to resist..." After walking out of the shop, Lu Qingshan rubbed his brows with a headache.
The location of the Thunder Fruit was roughly determined, but how to get it became a problem.
The strength of sword cultivators lies in attack, while defense has always been a difficult problem for sword cultivators.
Lu Qingshan also failed to overcome this shortcoming.
Even with the Five Elements Sword Armor, he couldn't guarantee that he could withstand the thunder bombardment in the restricted area.
This is no joke. If you are not careful, you may lose your life.
But he had to take this thunder fruit that was about to mature.
"It seems that I can only rely on external objects." After pondering for a moment, Lu Qingshan made up his mind.
He hurried into the city, and after obtaining the information he wanted, he hurried out of the city as well.
His figure soared up and, following the instructions on the map, headed towards the direction of the Giant Bear City of the Giant Bear Tribe.
…
In the vast desert, sandstorms are raging and the sun is scorching.
Lu Qingshan, who turned into a long rainbow and moved forward, finally met the first cultivator since leaving Dongque City.
It was a bald monk who was naked except for a narrow strip of cloth covering the sensitive parts of his lower body. He was walking barefoot in the desert.
The monk did not mobilize any spiritual power to protect himself, so the yellow sand, which was as hot as iron particles on a hot pot, had already burned the soles of the monk's feet, causing wounds one after another.
This is the most famous ascetic monk among the physical practitioners in the Western Regions.
Asceticism is not a kind of inheritance, but a way of practice and belief.
Generally speaking, physical cultivation focuses on the body.
Ascetic monks cultivate their bodies while also cultivating their minds.
In their view, a strong body without a strong heart is nothing but a shell, no matter how strong it is.
Only if your mind is free of distractions can you achieve the right result.
This is the practice philosophy of ascetics.
They force themselves to endure things that ordinary people consider painful in order to exercise their endurance and detachment.
The word "asceticism" originally means "heat" in Sanskrit, so enduring heat is the main means of practice for ascetic monks.
The major deserts became places where these ascetics often appeared.
If one really achieves perfection in the ascetic practice, the person would probably become a piece of wood without any desires or requests.
It is true that being without desires makes one strong, but at the same time one also loses one's humanity.
This is a very scary thing, because without humanity, one can be called a saint, but can also be called a devil.
Lu Qingshan was not afraid of the hardships of practicing, but he could not agree with this kind of behavior of seeking hardship on one's own.
Besides, when practicing Taoism, one is cultivating one's true nature, not eliminating the seven emotions and six desires.
If that is really the case, it is better not to cultivate this "truth".
Although he had some reservations about the ascetic monks' ideas, Lu Qingshan still had some respect for these practitioners who could endure what ordinary people could not.
He slowly landed in front of the young ascetic monk, put his hands together, made a monk's salute, and asked politely: "I wonder if fellow monk knows which direction Giant Bear City should go?"
Yes, even with a map, Lu Qingshan was still lost.
After leaving Dongque City, he encountered a sandstorm. After leaving , he lost his way.
Although at night, when the stars appeared, he could get back on track.
But since you have met an ascetic monk, why not ask for directions to save some time?
The ascetic monk dared to undergo such training in the desert, so he naturally had his own method of identifying directions, unlike Lu Qingshan who could only rely on the stars in the sky for positioning.
The ascetic monk saw Lu Qingshan descending from the sky and knew that Lu Qingshan was at least a cultivator in the foundation-building stage. He also clasped his hands together, returned Lu Qingshan's greeting, and said politely: "Daoyou, wait a moment."
Then he grabbed a handful of fine sand from the yellow sand beneath his feet and sprinkled it gently.
The fine sand was blown away by the wind, and the ascetic monk didn't know how he could identify the specific direction from it. He pointed in the opposite direction of the fine sand and said, "My fellow Taoist, Giant Bear City should be in this direction."
"Thank you, fellow monk." Lu Qingshan said gratefully.
Then Lu Qingshan flew up on his sword again and continued moving forward in the direction pointed by the ascetic monk.
The ascetic monk did not take this chance encounter in the desert seriously, and continued to walk barefoot under the scorching sun.
…
But half an hour later.
whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Another dozen figures fell from the sky and landed in front of the ascetic monk.
The leader was an ugly male cultivator with a black birthmark on his face. He had a fierce look on his face and spoke in a very cold tone, "Monk, have you seen any cultivators passing through the sky?"
The ascetic's heart skipped a beat.
Since he chose to practice asceticism in the Mogao Desert, he naturally had a certain understanding of the customs and people in the Mogao Desert.
The man in front of him had a very conspicuous black birthmark, which made him recognize his identity at a glance.
The evil cultivator who has been issued a wanted order by Daxia is a cultivator in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul and is known as Shendu.
Because of practicing evil skills and harming mortals, he was wanted by Daxia. With no other options, Sindhu finally fled to the Mogao Desert and joined the sand bandits.
Relying on his own cultivation and ruthless means, Sindhu gradually became a small leader among the sand bandits, specializing in intercepting the so-called "fat sheep" who were alone.
The Mogao Desert is so vast that even a bird can hardly be seen on ordinary days, so how could it be so easy for a monk to encounter one?
The ascetic monk now knew that this Sindhu must have come for the young monk who had asked him for directions earlier.
