Volume 8: Demon Suppression Chapter 20: Three Steps to Bloom
Lotus Peak.
Outside the mountain there is heavy fog, fairy air floating in the air, and rolling clouds.
In the mountains there were sounds of evening drums, lines of path across the sky, flickering energy, and faintly all kinds of auras flowing out.
After a long time, all the clouds and rain disappeared, and two figures gradually became clear.
A middle-aged female monk and a young swordsman.
Lu Qingshan sat cross-legged and meditated, breathing in and out gently. Although he did not notice any changes in himself, he understood that changes had occurred.
Finally, he stood up and looked suddenly at the middle-aged woman in the moon-white Taoist robe in front of him.
The master of Shuiyue Temple.
"In the world of cultivation, there are many ways to find people. Your method of hiding your body and changing your appearance is only the lowest level of hiding. It's okay at ordinary times, but once you encounter those unconventional methods of finding people, it's useless. For example, in my Tianji Temple, if you want to find someone, you only need to pay a certain price, and there will always be some ways." The master of Shuiyue Temple looked at Lu Qingshan quietly and said slowly: "But these unconventional methods are mostly unable to escape the truth that the higher the cultivation level of the person you want to find, the greater the price you have to pay... "
“But,” the middle-aged nun paused, shook her head and smiled at Lu Qingshan, “You are only in the fifth realm, but you have already stirred up such a storm… We don’t know much about the methods of the underworld, but you have to understand that if they can really find people through the art of deducing the heavenly secrets like our Tianji Temple, with their hatred for you at this moment, let alone the price of finding a fifth-realm cultivator, even if they find fifty of them, it would not be a pity…”
“Now, I have used the Tianxuan secret of Beiyue spiritual art to hide and erase all your aura and traces. If the underworld wants to find you through these means again, the price they have to pay is not something they can easily afford.” The master of Shuiyue Temple said confidently.
"Thank you, Master." Lu Qingshan bowed and expressed his sincere gratitude.
Professional matters should be left to professionals .
They are the best sword cultivators in the world at killing people, but when it comes to these miscellaneous methods, they know nothing about them.
The move by the Master of Shuiyue Temple was equivalent to helping him eliminate all his worries, so he was naturally very grateful.
The head of Shuiyue Temple didn't take Lu Qingshan's thanks seriously, and shook his head and smiled, "No need to be polite."
Lu Qingshan seemed to be hesitant to speak.
The head of Shuiyue Temple was an old and experienced man. He could tell at a glance that Lu Qingshan was in an unusual state and asked with a smile, "What do you want to say? Just say it."
"I want to ask the master why you... or Tianji Temple, treat me so well," Lu Qingshan paused and asked slowly, "I had this suspicion last time, but the master said it was to repay me for sending Lin Yao to join the sect. I was afraid that I was being sentimental, so I didn't think about it anymore. But now, you have once again taken the initiative to send me to the temple, and personally used spiritual magic to relieve my worries. I guess it can't be because of Lin Yao this time, right?"
"Benefiting the world is the purpose of our spiritual practice at Tianji Temple," the head of Shuiyue Temple did not directly answer Lu Qingshan's question. "Lu Qingshan, with your talent, I think you will come into contact with these things sooner or later, or maybe the Sword Sect has already told you... The strength comparison between the human race and the demon race, if we don't count Xia Daozu, we humans are actually at a disadvantage in all aspects..."
Lu Qingshan was silent.
Jian Zong had not yet told him about these things, but he understood them very well.
Because this was already public information in the previous life.
"And until now, none of us dares to be sure whether Xia Daozu will still be able to take action when the demons start a war again..." the master of Shuiyue Temple continued.
"This is a war that concerns the survival of our race. We must consider the worst-case scenario. That is, if Xia Daozu is unable to take action, how can we win..."
Lu Qingshan waited for the next words.
"In fact, we are not afraid of hitting you. After much consideration, we found that if Xia Daozu does not come out, our human race's hope of winning is very slim."
The head of Shuiyue Temple said calmly: "Unless Chu Jianxian can go one step further and become the second Dao Ancestor in the human race, after all, he is the number one in the entire human race except for Dao Ancestor Xia. With Chu Jianxian's talent, if he is a Dao Master, a Spiritual Master, or any of the other five cultivators, we have great confidence in him, but..."
"He happens to be a sword immortal!" The master of Shuiyue Temple sighed.
"Sword Immortal...what's wrong?" Lu Qingshan couldn't help but frowned when he heard that.
"If you can reach that realm one day, you will know... As for now, it is useless to tell you too much, and it may even shake your sword heart." The master of Shuiyue Temple shook his head and said, "You just need to understand that among the six major cultivation systems, for some reason, it is the most difficult to cross the last step to become a sword immortal."
Lu Qingshan was silent for a while and stopped worrying about it - he was only in the fifth realm now, let alone a sword immortal. He was still a long way from the ninth realm. If he cared about the affairs of the sword immortal now, wouldn't that be meddling in other people's business?
The head of Shuiyue Temple continued, "Except Chu Jianxian, the other great cultivators are even further away from the Daozu realm. Therefore, it is unlikely that they can repeat the Daozu Xia's single-handed reversal of the world."
"In this case, there is only the second way," the Shuiyue Temple master paused, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, "Win by quantity!"
"If the human race can have ten sword immortals, even without the Dao Ancestor, what can the demons do to us?" The middle-aged nun looked straight at Lu Qingshan, "Lu Qingshan, you are one of the sword immortal seeds identified by our Tianji Temple!"
"Other sects may not want to see your Sword Sect produce a second Sword Immortal, because if that happens, the Sword Sect will suddenly become the leader among the seven major sects, suppressing them so much that they can't even raise their heads."
The head of Shuiyue Temple said loudly: "But our Tianji Temple is different. We in Tianji Temple wish that your Sword Sect could produce eight or ten Sword Immortals!"
"So, even if you are not a disciple of our Tianji Temple, since you have been recognized by our Tianji Temple, I am willing to protect you and avoid unnecessary death." The middle-aged female nun looked calm.
Tianji Temple has always been one of the few forces that Lu Qingshan trusts.
Because their innocent hearts have been verified both in their past lives and in this life.
In response to the Shuiyue Temple Master's honesty and respect, he simply bowed and said nothing more - compared to words of thanks, improving his own strength seemed more meaningful.
Without thinking any more, Lu Qingshan changed the subject and asked, "Why didn't you see Lin Yao this time?"
Now that she's here, Lin Yao has to meet him.
The head of Shuiyue Temple shook his head and said with a smile: "She is about to break through and is practicing in seclusion. You probably won't be able to see her this time."
"Is she going to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?" Lu Qingshan was slightly delighted.
The head of Shuiyue Temple nodded, curled his lips and said, "There is a flaw in the way of heaven. This girl has a magical body vein, and can learn spiritual arts at a glance, but she lacks a little talent for cultivation. Otherwise, with her current status, why would she have been able to peek into the Nascent Soul Realm only now!"
Most elders are like this. When they mention their juniors in front of others, they always have to be humble. Daxiu is no exception.
…
Since he couldn't see Lin Yao, there was no need for Lu Qingshan to stay in Tianji Temple for long. After saying goodbye to the master of Shuiyue Temple, he left.
He had just left Lotus Peak when he met a young female Taoist priest in a sky-blue Taoist robe and a middle-aged Taoist priest in a noble yellow Taoist robe standing in the air outside the peak.
Seeing Lu Qingshan coming out of the peak, the young nun immediately stepped forward, stood proudly in front of Lu Qingshan, and blocked his way.
"What do you mean, fellow Daoist?" Lu Qingshan frowned slightly.
The young nun raised her eyebrows and said, "Sword cultivator surnamed Lu, my aunt said that you have great talent and great luck, so I did not hesitate to waste my own energy to teach you how to conceal the secrets of heaven. But I am not convinced. I want to see how talented you are and whether you are worthy of my aunt's efforts."
"Aunt?" Lu Qingshan frowned slightly.
"It's the Shuiyue Temple Master," the young female nun held her head high and puffed out her chest, "My name is Wen Miaoyuan, and the Shuiyue Temple Master is my aunt."
The master of Shuiyue Temple had something he didn't say to Lu Qingshan.
Since there is a price to pay for peeking into the secrets of heaven, the same is naturally true for concealing them.
The "Tianxuan Secret" in Beiyue's spiritual arts belongs to the category of forbidden secret arts.
To use this secret, the price that the master of Shuiyue Temple has to pay is his own energy.
A person lives on a breath. The duration of the breath determines how far a cultivator can go on the path of cultivation, so it is extremely important.
The young nun's few words immediately made Lu Qingshan feel much heavier.
He has never been a swordsman who can accept the kindness of others with peace of mind.
Even according to what the master of Shuiyue Temple said, she did this not for him, but for the human race.
"Hello, Fellow Daoist Wen." Therefore, Lu Qingshan turned a deaf ear to the subtle sarcasm in the nun's words, and instead responded politely. At the same time, he cast his gaze towards the middle-aged Taoist priest beside him, with a questioning look in his eyes.
"I am Wen Ting, Miaoyuan is my daughter." The middle-aged Taoist said with a smile.
Wen Miaoyuan came in a hurry and although he spoke provocatively, he actually had no hostility towards Lu Qingshan.
Just as she said herself, she just felt unfair that the master of Shuiyue Temple sacrificed himself for Lu Qingshan, an outsider.
So, seeing Lu Qingshan being so polite, she felt a little embarrassed for a moment, and felt that if she continued to embarrass Lu Qingshan, it would seem that she was being a little too unruly.
But when she thought of the price her aunt had to pay to perform the Tianxuan Secret, she was really unwilling to accept it. In the end, she still said to Lu Qingshan in a loud voice: "Lu Qingshan, I have heard of your name. You are the strongest in the fourth realm, very powerful. But so what? The strongest in the fourth realm is just the fourth realm! The story of hurting Zhongyong is not a rare thing. My aunt thinks highly of you, but I don't accept it."
The story of the injury to Zhongyong is an anecdote that has been circulating in the world of cultivation for a long time.
It tells the story of a cultivator named Zhongyong, who was gifted since childhood and came from a poor family, but it took him a year to refine Qi, three years to build the foundation, and five years to achieve the Golden Elixir.
With such talent, he was eventually noticed by a large sect, accepted into the sect, and trained vigorously.
But the result was that this big sect spent countless resources and a full hundred years before Zhongyong entered the Nascent Soul stage.
Because of this, that big sect and Zhongyong became a joke.
"If you have the guts, come and fight me in the small world and show me your strength so that I will be convinced." Wen Miaoyuan stared at Lu Qingshan with wide eyes and then scolded him lightly.
"I am now in the Seven Flowers Realm, and you are only in the initial stage of Refinement Void, with not one flower yet blooming. In terms of cultivation, I am far superior to you. But you are a sword cultivator, and your combat power is outstanding. Besides, since you are so valued by your aunt, you should naturally have some ability to cross levels and defeat enemies. It can't be said that I am bullying you by taking advantage of my higher cultivation level." Wen Miaoyuan snorted.
Lu Qingshan smiled but didn't say anything.
Wen Miaoyuan is so simple-minded, obviously a spiritual practitioner who grew up in a greenhouse. Even if she is a Seven Flowers cultivator, Lu Qingshan has enough confidence to defeat her.
It's just that the master of Shuiyue Temple has great feelings for him, so unless Wen Miaoyuan violates his bottom line, he is unwilling to fight with the master's niece.
Don’t look at the monk’s face, but look at the Buddha’s face. This is the most basic principle of being a human being.
"Don't you dare?" Wen Miaoyuan didn't think too much. Seeing Lu Qingshan's performance, she suddenly felt dissatisfied. "Mr. Lu, if you accept the challenge, even if you lose to me, I can still think that you are just not as good as me. But if you don't even have the courage to accept the challenge, I really think that my aunt's efforts are not worth it."
This is a really low-level way of provoking someone...
Lu Qingshan complained secretly while thinking about how to escape.
“Miao Yuan, stop fooling around!” At this moment, a majestic voice came from Lotus Peak, helping Lu Qingshan solve the problem, “Don’t block Lu Qingshan’s way anymore.”
This is the voice of the master of Shuiyue Temple.
Wen Miaoyuan, who had been so arrogant before, suddenly wilted like a frosted eggplant when he heard the reprimand from his aunt. Although he was dissatisfied, he dared not disobey and could only give way with a dejected look.
Lu Qingshan smiled, bowed and said goodbye to Wen Miaoyuan and Wen Ting beside him.
There was nothing unusual about the middle-aged Taoist's expression.
However, he never said much about his daughter's behavior of blocking the road - if he hadn't acquiesced, how could Wen Miaoyuan dare to bump into him in front of her father?
Lu Qingshan naturally saw that the middle-aged Taoist was the real boss, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at the middle-aged Taoist meaningfully.
The purpose of Tianji View is to benefit the world, but everyone has different ideas on how to do it specifically, and it is difficult to reach a consensus.
The middle-aged Taoist priest obviously did not approve of the Shuiyue Temple Master's way of sacrificing himself for the benefit of others, so he allowed his daughter to block the way.
This is a dispute of ideas, and it cannot be judged rigidly as right or wrong.
However, since he was the beneficiary of Shuiyue Temple Master's ideas, he needed to do something.
Of course, the so-called doing something definitely cannot mean fighting with Wen Miaoyuan.
That's too barbaric, too vulgar, and it seems like interfering in other people's family affairs.
So, Lu Qingshan said nothing, just let out a long breath, followed the path made by the two people, and strode forward in the unwilling eyes of Wen Miaoyuan and the calm gaze of Wen Ting.
then.
There was spiritual power that inexplicably gathered towards him and rushed forward, causing the surrounding clouds to roll continuously, forming a spectacular and magnificent scene.
Behind Lu Qingshan, something strange happened.
It was a vast spiritual sea with blue waves.
Among them, there was a spirit seed floating up and down, with four dark golden lines on it, flickering slightly.
This is Lu Qingshan’s Tao seed.
The original Tao seed formed by the condensation of the four original true meanings.
Above the spirit seed, a divine cloud suddenly rose, brilliant and dazzling.
Lu Qingshan took a step in the air.
This step spanned a distance of several hundred feet.
After taking this step, the spiritual sea began to ripple, and above the Dao Seed, four dark golden lines flashed together, and the whole place was hazy.
Lu Qingshan's aura suddenly rose.
However, in an instant, he was promoted from the early stage of refining emptiness to the middle stage of refining emptiness.
A noble dark golden lotus still blooms quietly in silence.
The young nun Wen Miaoyuan and the yellow-robed Taoist Wen Ting were stunned for a moment when they saw this scene.
And Lu Qingshan had already taken the second step in the air.
Above the spirit seed, the divine glow shines brightly again, and there seem to be thousands of rays of light and thousands of auspicious colors, a magnificent scene.
His cultivation level rose from the middle stage of the Void Refining Realm to the late stage of the Void Refining Realm.
The second golden lotus has already bloomed.
Lu Qingshan took the last step and his figure merged into the clouds.
The next moment, all the clouds moved with the wind.
Rays of golden light shot out through the thick clouds and mist, as if illuminating the mountains and rivers.
The third golden lotus has been born.
One step, one realm.
One step, one flower.
Three steps and three flowers bloom.
Three steps to reach perfection in refining the void.
Outside the Lotus Peak, Wen Miaoyuan and Wen Ting's faces turned pale, their pupils shrank suddenly, and they were speechless for a moment.
In Lotus Peak, the head of Shuiyue Temple was startled for a moment, then shook his head and sighed softly: "Lu Qingshan, Lu Qingshan..."
