Following the winding path into the mountain and climbing to the foot of the mountain, Lu Yingchao, who was usually taciturn, was filled with joy.
"We've been walking for more than two days, but we're finally here." Yu Nian couldn't help but sigh. It's really a long way to go without leaving home.
Lu Yingchao smiled and said to Yu Nian: "If you can learn the cloud-riding spell in the future, you won't have to work so hard!"
Yu Nian secretly thought to himself: The scene when he saw Lu Yingchao falling from the sky that day in the Song Mansion was still vivid in his mind, which proved that the magic in the Sifang Mountain was truly magical. I don’t know if I will have the opportunity to come into contact with and learn these profound and profound Taoist techniques in the future.
"You can travel all over the world like the swordsman Mr. Zhao mentioned? It's really unbelievable..."
Ever since he set foot at the foot of Sifang Mountain, Lu Yingchao has been leading the way. He turned around and smiled at the young man behind him: "As long as you are determined to practice, you will eventually succeed. However, whether you can become the swordsman you say depends on your luck and fate."
After setting foot on the mountain road surrounded by Sifang Mountain, before walking too far, the fresh and pleasant breath of the breeze immediately hit the whole body, feeling that every inch of the skin was brand new, extremely comfortable and refreshing. The young man couldn't help but sincerely admired: "It really lives up to its reputation. This Sifang Mountain is really a place where gods and goddesses haunt. Just stepping here gives people a feeling of nourishment both physically and mentally, and relaxed and happy."
The girl walked to the shallows of a clear stream, gently held her arms to pick up the clear spring, and instantly felt the cold crystal water droplets flowing along her fingertips, and then directed the stream water in her hand to her cheeks, and the water droplets gently fell on her face, " It’s relatively cooler, but for people who live in mountain villages all year round, the temperature inside the mountains always seems to be lower than outside.”
The young man scratched his scalp and said with embarrassment: "It seems... that's the truth."
-The mountain road leading into Sifang Mountain is full of greenery and shade, with a cool breeze blowing and sweet spring water dripping from time to time on the stone walls beside the road, which makes people feel more comfortable. It's just that these are all natural and have little to do with the fairy mountain cave.
Looking at Yu Nian's slightly embarrassed look, Lu Yingchao smiled slightly and said: "But the Sifang Mountain where our faction is located has many unique features. For example, among the many peaks in the Sifang Mountains, many tops are covered with snow all year round, but Even though Tianqingding, the main peak of Sifang Mountain, is the highest peak in the entire foothills, it is like spring all year round, with flowers blooming and grasses blooming all year round, hence its name."
In my early years, I read some poems and books with Mo Xiucai in a private school and hung out in the market for a long time. I can be considered rich in experience, but now I am amazed by Lu Yingchao's description of this fairyland style. At first, I thought the mountain scenery was pretty normal, and it didn't seem to be much different from the countryside and mountains I saw along the way. But since I stepped into the foothills of Sifang Mountain, I gradually realized that this fairy mountain was different as I walked higher and higher.
As time passed, Yu Nian noticed that there were many flowers, plants and trees that he had never seen before on both sides of the rugged stone path. In the forest bushes, you can often see some rare animals with strange colors and shapes disappearing into the woods in an instant. At this moment, there are more and more birds on the mountain road.
The birds seemed to have no fear of humans. For example, in Yu Nian, I once saw several birds with golden heads and gorgeous red tails, like phoenixes, chirping above everyone's heads, accompanying them as they moved forward, flying continuously.
A small red bird the size of a finger was not afraid. It simply landed on the girl's shoulder and screamed happily, which made the girl dizzy and interested. "There are so many birds in Sifang Mountain!"
Qi Nanhua glanced at it. He was used to seeing these rare beasts, and he didn't find it strange at all. He just felt that there seemed to be a lot more birds in the lane today than in the past. On weekdays, the avenue seemed to be much quieter.
When we reached the end of the increasingly sparse tree-lined road, we suddenly discovered that there was a huge rock standing on the mountain road ahead. On the huge rock, there were three majestic seal scripts - Sifang Mountain - engraved on it.
These big blue characters seem to be looking down at this immature boy who has set foot in this fairy mountain for the first time with his far-sighted momentum.
But even though he looked up at the young man, he didn't feel any oppression at all. Witnessing such a majestic work of nature for the first time, the young man felt an indescribable emotion in his heart. While his thoughts were in turmoil, the scene he had seen in his dream that day could not help but quietly resurfaced in his mind, secretly integrating with the scene in front of him.
It's just that when the mountain road reaches this point, it has to turn under the rugged rocks. There are unfathomable mountain streams on both sides of the road. After bypassing this magical stone wall, Yu Nian found that the mountain road he was walking on became increasingly steep. He already felt exhausted from the difficult climb using both his hands and feet. Just as he continued to move forward, he suddenly felt that his physical strength was gradually unable to support him. He raised his head slightly and caught a glimpse of the cornices looming in the dense woods not far from the mountain road.
It was the first time in Yu Nian's life that I saw houses and buildings in Sifang Mountain. I quickly grabbed Lu Yingchao and asked where they were and if they had reached the inner peak of Sifang Mountain.
Hearing this, Lu Yingchao was stunned for a moment, and then replied with a smile: "That is a mid-mountain pavilion for people to take a rest. Now we are less than half way to Tianqingding on Sifang Mountain." He glanced at the panting man. The young man, as well as the old Taoist priest and his daughter who were far behind, continued: "It doesn't matter if you rest for a few quarters of an hour. After walking so much, let's rest in this pavilion halfway up the mountain."
After a short rest, the old Taoist priest and his daughter, accompanied by Qi Nanhua, finally arrived at the Banshan Pavilion. The girl looked at the half-large bluestone under the old tree outside the pavilion, walked over and took a picture of it, saying : "Dad, please sit here!"
The old Taoist priest nodded slightly to show his agreement. Then he carefully took off the bamboo hat on his head and placed it next to the bluestone. Panting, he shook his head slightly and sighed: "I feel exhausted these days. I feel exhausted after just such a short journey." , is it really that you are old?"
At this moment, the girl just took out a kettle filled with water from the package. When she heard the old Taoist priest's words, there was an unconcealable worry in her eyes. Bickering usually ended in quarrels, but she also knew that it would be difficult for the old Taoist priest to pull her away by himself, so she stepped forward, handed the kettle to the old Taoist priest and said with concern: "Dad, you'd better drink some water first!"
The old Taoist priest nodded, took the kettle and eagerly drank a few sips of the clear and sweet spring water at the foot of the mountain.
When he stopped and stared at the dazzling scenery of distant mountains, he suddenly heard a singer coming from the foothills behind him in rhythm:
"I climbed the Miao Miao Mountain alone. The afterglow of the setting sun overflowed over the ten thousand peaks, and I walked leisurely through the clouds, just like I was returning home to be free..."
Hearing the sound, it seems that the singer is in his twilight years, and there is a strong sense of vicissitudes of life in the lyrics and music. The young girl and the old Taoist priest both looked up and saw a white-haired Taoist priest wearing black robes on the winding mountain road. His eyes were deep and his elegance contained a majesty that could not be ignored. He was approaching steadily.
The old Taoist priest's face suddenly became strange. He stared at the person in front of him with all his concentration. Under his sleeves, which was invisible to others, he clenched his fists tightly. It's just that his face, after being surprised, showed some mixed emotions of overjoyed, sad, and endless vicissitudes of life.
The girl turned her gaze back from the black-robed old Taoist's face, focused on the old Taoist priest again, and found that his expression had become extremely serious. When the girl was about to ask why, the old Taoist priest suddenly cut her off and said, "Xiao Qing, go and wait for a while."
Yang Qing was a little shocked. This situation had never happened before. But looking at the serious look on the old Taoist priest's face, it was obviously not a trivial matter. Looking at the expressions of the two of them, they seemed to be old friends, so she left in response. After cleaning up for a while, she turned to the back of the mountain pavilion.
While she was thinking, the old man in black robes walked up to them. Lu Yingchao and Qi Nanhua looked at each other and hurried forward, about to bow to him as a gift.
However, what surprised them was that before greeting each other, the black-robed old man said directly: "You two, please step aside and don't disturb my pleasure."
After hearing this, Lu Yingchao and Qi Nanhua consciously saluted each other and nodded respectfully in agreement.
The young man was secretly shocked and said: "This must be a highly respected senior, but I am blind!"
As the girl walked, she couldn't help but look back at them from time to time. She saw that her father and the old man in black robe were still standing face to face, as if there was no conversation between them. This made the girl feel a little worried. Although the old man in black robe had first met him not long ago, she was somewhat afraid of him for some reason, and she felt an inexplicable fear of him in her heart.
For more than ten years, she has been following the old Taoist priest. She never knew that her father would know such a powerful person!
While Yang Qing was contemplating, the gentle and quiet words of the black-robed old man suddenly came to her ears: "We haven't seen each other for many years, right?"
I saw the old Taoist priest and the black-robed old Taoist standing hand in hand on the edge of the steps of the mid-level pavilion, standing on the edge of the steps shrouded in clouds and mist. Together they looked at the vast wilderness, and the soft cool breeze blew gently, making their mottled silver threads flutter, as if they were telling the story of how time flies.
The old Taoist priest sighed, and then cast an affectionate gaze into the distance, with a complex and rich expression on his face. After a long time, he slowly opened his mouth and said in a distant voice: "I'm afraid a dozen springs, summers, autumns and winters have passed!"
On the other hand, the old man in black robe just smiled slightly and asked with some emotion: "So in the past ten years, have you been living a satisfactory life?"
However, the Taoist priest was silent for a moment and did not give a clear answer.
The black-robed old Taoist also seemed to feel his heartstrings being touched. He turned around and stared at the Taoist priest quietly, and then asked again: "Do you still have a grudge against me for what happened on Kongchan Mountain?"
The Taoist priest reluctantly showed a smile, shook his head, and replied softly: "I am trapped in the world of mortals, with my home all over the world, how can I be comfortable or uncomfortable? What's more, you didn't leave any debt on me back then, so how can I blame you? What about you? Please don’t dwell on this matter anymore.”
After hearing this, the black-robed old Taoist grinned and said: "Indulging in the world of heaven and earth seems like a fairy-like life now. It also fulfills the ambition you made in front of Master back then."
The old Taoist priest said calmly: "You are different from me. You were like this when you were young. However, if it were not for your delusions, Sifang Mountain would not have fallen to this."
When the old Taoist priest said this, he suddenly laughed: "To this day, I guess senior brother you still can't let it go."
Originally, the old man in black robe frowned, with a faint anger emerging in his eyes, as if no one had ever dared to treat him with such words. However, when he heard the Taoist priest's last words, "Senior Brother", and saw that the Taoist's head was already full of pale hair and looked older than himself, the anger in his heart disappeared in an instant, and was replaced by endless confusion.
The old Taoist in black robe squatted down, took the bamboo hat that the old Taoist placed beside the bluestone and put it on his head, as if he had gone back to a long time ago, "Why did your cultivation level disappear?"
The old Taoist priest replied casually: "The injury is serious, it will be good if you can save your life."
Then he thought carefully, stood up slowly, and whispered in the ear of the black-robed old man: "There is still some longevity left, so I will stay here and not leave. It's good to be able to watch you. Fallen leaves must return to their roots." .”
The body of the old Taoist clad in black robes trembled involuntarily. It seemed that he had never expected that such words would come out of the old Taoist's mouth. After a moment of silence, he burst into laughter. His laughter was as bold and open-minded as the sky. The wind shocked everyone around him. This venerable old man laughed so hard that he couldn't control himself in the end, even to the point of bending his waist. The solemnity and solemnity of the first meeting had long since disappeared.
After a while, the old man in black robe gradually subsided his laughter, his expression changed from joyful to peaceful, and he regained his majestic demeanor.
The old Taoist priest stared at him quietly.
They stood side by side again for a long time, silent. The black-robed old Taoist took a deep look, patted the old Taoist priest's shoulder, and then suddenly turned around and left with his clothes flowing. He walked steadily and vigorously, without looking back. He only saw him. His back slowly disappeared at the other end of the ancient road, and then he heard a song coming along the wind: "The road to the end of the world is as vast as the world."
Although it is not beautiful, it has a majestic charm in the desolation.
Under the sky, the ancient road was empty and lonely, with white clouds lingering and no one around. The old road in black walked alone, showing an unparalleled arrogance.
The singing gradually faded until it was barely audible, and the figure of the black-robed old Taoist who came to sing was gradually fading away. The mountain road was silent and only white clouds could be seen on the horizon. Looking at the empty and deserted ancient road ahead, the old Taoist priest couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy in his heart.
