Without the familiar sword around him, Xu Huaigu always felt that a part of his life was missing. Originally, he could still practice the Fuyao Sect swordsmanship taught to him by Deng Zhiyuan, but now he can only kill time by practicing the Taoist's golden shuttle talisman.
Fortunately, practicing the technique is a time-consuming process. As long as he silently recited the magic formula, his mind would be intoxicated unconsciously, and he would soon enter a state of selflessness, and he would not notice the passage of time. As soon as his eyes opened and closed, and the cycle of breathing and exhalation was completed, several hours passed.
Under such boring ascetic practice, two days passed quietly. The practice of the Golden Shuttle Talisman was indeed extremely difficult. The result of Xu Huaigu's two days of hard work was like throwing a stone into the sea, without causing even the slightest splash. The Golden Shuttle Talisman did not grow in his heart at all.
His confidence was hit again and again, and he was inevitably a little disappointed. He seriously doubted that he had no talent for cultivation at all.
In fact, it's not that he has no talent. On the contrary, he was born in Qingling, a place full of spiritual energy that suppresses the ink dragon. His talent is already much better than those outside, but no one has ever told him how difficult it is to practice.
Cultivation itself is a process that goes against the law of heaven. How can it not be difficult to contend with the creation of heaven and earth? Just like a ship going upstream in a rapid, the resistance it encounters might not be great?
In fact, even if you have reached a certain level of cultivation and then neglect your cultivation, the spiritual energy in your body will be lost bit by bit and eventually return to the world of heaven and earth. And a person's cultivation level will also decline accordingly, and monks at any level cannot avoid it. This is also a manifestation of the principle of "sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat."
Although Xu Huaigu has been exhausted mentally and physically by practicing this set of golden shuttle talismans with no way out, he is still trying to persevere.
After reciting the incantation again, he opened his eyes. Wherever he looked, there were already lush woods and vegetation, hidden in the dark night.
He is now used to the feeling of time changing at the moment when he opens his eyes. Sometimes it is dawn, sometimes it is night, sometimes it is heavy rain, or the sun is scorching.
During the process of cultivation, his mind will be completely immersed in the spiritual world, and other senses of the body will be paralyzed. He estimated that it was because he was in such a state at that time that he didn't even notice that Wang Daya took him up the mountain and imprisoned him.
It seems that you must find a secluded and safe place when practicing in the future, otherwise if you are harmed by someone with evil intentions, you will not be able to resist for a while.
Although these days of hard training did not increase the level of the Golden Shuttle Talisman, he felt that he was immersed in practice for longer and longer each time. Originally, each such meditation could only last two or three hours, but now it lasts for half a day at every turn.
Just like this practice, it obviously started at noon when the sun was blazing, and ended late at night.
Maybe the increase in practice time can be considered a kind of progress? He could only comfort himself in this way.
Xu Huaigu stood up, shook himself a few times, and moved his legs, which were already numb from sitting cross-legged.
He looked toward the upper reaches of the stream beside him. Above the boundless tall trees is a very high and abrupt cliff. A bright moon is half hidden behind the cliff, as if it was half swallowed by the cliff. The moonlight is flowing, covering the strange rocks on the cliff with a layer of gauze, which creates a very beautiful artistic conception.
There is a winding rocky road that overlaps with each other and extends to the cliff in the distance. It is sometimes visible and sometimes disappears.
Seeing this scene, Xu Huaigu suddenly felt a sense of sadness and vicissitudes of life.
He has been away from home for so long and has not seen his relatives for several months. Li Zi and the Taoist priest have also left him now. Moreover, during the period when I went north, although I had no worries about eating and drinking, and could travel around the mountains and rivers, there was no one to share with me. Even my tenth birthday was celebrated alone.
The pain of practicing and the joy of playing can only be endured silently by one person.
At this moment when he saw things and missed them, Dugu drowned him like a tide. He had the idea of giving up all this.
A voice in Xu Huaigu's heart said silently: Go home, go back to a warm home, and live a good life with your parents and friends. As for Mo Long, what does the world's great catastrophe have to do with me? Didn’t Deng Zhiyuan also say that I don’t need to practice hard, as long as I can live my life safely, that’s the best thing.
But he was unwilling to do so.
After a few months of training and traveling, should we just give up? Of those two swords, the "Xiaoyu" gifted by Bai Xiaoyu and the "Cangshui" gifted by Fuyao Zong Deng Zhiyuan, which one does not entrust their ardent expectations?
Of course there is Li Zi. If you give up now and become an ordinary person, what dignity and qualifications will you have to see her in the future?
His thoughts were too many and confusing, and he had no thoughts of practicing for the time being.
The end of the practice is too high and too big. It doesn't matter that he, a young monk, can't see it, but what is the real goal in front of him? Is it for money, for power, for revenge, or for anything else?
He couldn't tell the answer either.
His practice was completely aimless, which was the root of his current problems. It's like flipping through a vast sea of books without knowing exactly what you want. You can only scratch the surface and get nothing.
Taoists call this kind of doubt about oneself the inner demon. Buddhism also has a similar theory, which is the origin of the monkey mind.
This inner problem has always been a big problem for monks from all walks of life. If the inner demon is not eliminated, practice will only achieve half the result with half the effort, or even be useless.
Xu Huaigu was very distressed and didn't know what to do next. It happened that the scenery on the other side of the cliff was nice, so I planned to go to that cliff to relax.
The journey was long, and Xu Huaigu walked alone in the dark while admiring the scenery along the way. It was almost dawn when he stood on a huge rock on the cliff. The cool night breeze and morning breeze intertwined came towards him, making him People are happy.
He looked at the boundless lush forest under his feet and the sun that was about to rise in the distance. His clothes were fluttering, and he felt as comfortable as a god.
The moon is bright, the wind is clear, the stars are sparse and the grass is abundant.
There were even clear and sweet songs coming to my ears, and the cheerful music of the leaves blowing in wisps, it really felt like a fairyland.
A smile appeared at the corner of Xu Huaigu's mouth.
The crisp sound of blowing leaves was getting closer and closer. Only then did Xu Huaigu wake up from his intoxication and looked at the woods behind him with some confusion.
Soon, the sound of leaves in the forest stopped, but then the cheerful whistle sounded again. Xu Huaigu felt a little nervous. He quietly took out the dagger and put his hands behind his back, preparing to guard against this uninvited guest who was playing in the mountains at dawn.
Soon, a girl's nimble body like a little fox flashed out of the lush forest, humming an unknown ditty in her mouth, innocent and innocent, like a mountain flower in bloom.
The girl saw someone standing on the cliff, but she was not surprised at all. Even the tune of the music she spoke did not change at all.
She walked generously to Xu Huaigu, sat down as if no one else was around, picked up a small stone and threw it down the cliff, and then listened carefully to the sound of the stone falling to the ground.
Xu Huaigu was puzzled by the appearance of this eleven or twelve-year-old girl, and her calm look seemed like she had already guessed that Xu Huaigu would be here.
Xu Huaigu stood beside her silently, neither leaving nor staying, it was very embarrassing.
The girl finally stopped playing the song, turned to look at Xu Huaigu, with an eccentric look and a clear and sweet voice, and asked: "What's your name?"
She turned her head and looked at Xu Huaigu. She was very close to him, and he began to look at the girl's face carefully.
The girl was dressed just like ordinary civilian girls, a brown-gray top and a pair of purple-blue linen trousers. Her hair was delicately tied into two long braids, one hanging in front of her shoulders and one behind her shoulders. It looked like she had put a lot of effort into dressing up.
She also has an exquisite and flawless oval face, soft and long eyebrows like willow leaves lying on her forehead, and a pair of watery peach blossom eyes that are extremely tender. She looks like a natural beauty.
The girl was extremely beautiful. Xu Huaigu secretly admired her and felt that this girl was even prettier than Li Zi.
Li Zi has a generous personality, and she usually looks good in appearance. She is especially heroic and makes people energetic.
This girl looks like Xiaojiabiyu. Although she is tall and tall, about the same height as Xu Huaigu, it cannot conceal her agility and liveliness, and instead makes her figure more symmetrical and elegant.
Seeing that Xu Huaigu didn't answer for a long time, she blinked her eyes, a little annoyed, and said reproachfully: "I asked you a question, why didn't you answer me?"
Xu Huaigu would not be fascinated by her beauty. He was always wary of this girl of unknown origin. So he asked: "I should ask you, what are you doing on this barren mountain at this time?"
The girl opened her eyes wide, deliberately made a surprised expression, and said: "Aren't you also on this mountain? How come you have a reason to come, but I can't? Besides, there are so many flowers, plants, birds, animals, fish and insects on this mountain. Why is it a barren mountain? If you say that about a mountain, the mountain will be angry."
Xu Huaigu ignored her strange words and asked, "So you are here to see the scenery too?"
The girl said: "Yes, not only to see the scenery, I also come here to see my friends."
Xu Huaigu frowned in confusion and asked, "Friend? Is there anyone around here?"
The girl smiled sweetly, revealing her cute dimples. Just then, a breeze blew across her face, causing her hair to flutter. Facing the first light of dawn, she was as beautiful as a mortal.
The girl gently brushed away her wind-blown hair with her hands and said with a bright smile: "This mountain is my friend, my best friend."
