After breakfast the next day, Tang Qiuyu and Xia Wutong came to Xu Jingyun's small building. Xu Jingyun took the master and apprentice to the two rooms on the first floor before returning to the terrace on the second floor.
The three of them sat down around the tea table. Xu Jingyun added two pieces of charcoal to the small stove for boiling water, filled the pot with spring water, and started to make tea.
Tang Qiuyu looked at the lake and said softly: "Junior sister, this small building is really a good place for practice."
"If you like it, senior sister, you can stay longer in Phoenix Mountain, taste the delicacies on the mountain, and practice cultivation at the same time." Xu Jingyun took out some tea leaves and picked them in his hands.
Tang Qiuyu thought for a while and then said: "I would like to stay longer, but after you break through, I have to go to the Eastern Region with Wutong. Otherwise, it will snow, and the road will be difficult."
"I brought Wutong out this time because I wanted her to see the world. Sometimes practicing on the road may not be as simple as practicing hiding in the mountains."
Xu Jingyun poured out the water-warming pot and said, "That's true. Wushuang and I have only been back from the Eastern Region for a year, and we can indeed gain a lot of opportunities on the road."
Xu Jingyun thought of Li Ye and Mr. Mo whom she met in Fengyun City, and thought about the changes in Wushuang around Li Ye and the practice method Mr. Mo gave her, which shortened her practice by at least twenty years.
While the two were chatting, Miss Wushuang came back from outside carrying a bamboo basket. She looked at Xia Wutong and said, "Senior sister, we and I will go for a walk on the mountain to see if we can pick up some delicious food."
Tang Qiuyu waved his hand and said: "Go, go, just be careful and don't run too far."
Xia Wutong stood up and nodded to his master, holding the young lady's hand, and the two of them went downstairs one after another.
Xu Jingyun looked at the two little figures walking away outside the building, like two cheerful butterflies, and said quietly: "Looking at these two little guys, it seems like yesterday has returned. The senior sister also held my hand like this, like Two happy butterflies.”
Tang Qiuyu was stunned, then laughed loudly and said: "The sword of time has killed you and my sister. Fortunately, our cultivation speed has not slowed down, otherwise we would be two yellow-faced women."
...
It is cloudy in Phoenix Mountain today, and cloudy days are suitable for climbing.
Shangguan Wushuang took Xia Wutong's little hand and walked happily on the mountain road behind the big lake. The mountain road was curved like a snake, and it was difficult to see the end.
In autumn, most of the leaves on Fenghuang Mountain have been dyed red, and the mountain path is covered with red leaves. The two of them walked along as gracefully as two flying elves.
After climbing through several bends, passing through several woods, and bypassing several vegetable fields, they came to the edge of a waterfall after climbing over a rock cliff.
Under the waterfall is a pool, which is about five feet wide. The stones on the side have become very smooth after years of erosion. The water in the pool flows down the mountain along the cracks in the surrounding stones.
Shangguan Wushuang pointed to the big lake at the bottom of the mountain and said, "Senior sister, the lake in front of our building flows down from here."
Xia Wutong looked at the big lake at the foot of the mountain, like a crescent moon surrounding the small wooden building, and said softly: "Looking down from here, junior sister, the place where you and your uncle live is like a fairy cave, which is enviable. ."
The young lady led Xia Wutong and stepped on the stones on the water, following the direction of the water flow upstream, and walked into a deep canyon along with the gurgling creeks.
The canyon is about three feet wide and no more than twenty feet high. There are giant trees in the sky above, and some branches grow from both sides of the canyon to the middle. The air in the valley is moist and slightly cold, and there are patches of moss on the walls, and a trickle of water flows quietly. .
As we walked, the canyon suddenly narrowed, and the water flowing between the rocks was much faster than the water flowing downstream. It made a roaring sound and made the moss on the rocks shake violently.
Walking out of the canyon, you are faced with a paradise, with ancient trees in the sky and unknown wild flowers. The little bird, frightened by the two people, spread its wings and flew up from the ground to the branches, nervously watching the two uninvited guests chirping.
The hare looking for food in the flowers also pricked up its ears and looked at the two young ladies approaching, ready to escape at any time. Xia Wutong held the little sister's hand tightly and looked at the scenery in front of her, speechless.
The two of them climbed the mountain road for an hour and a half, and finally arrived at this fairyland on earth.
The two walked quietly into this world, which seemed to be two completely different worlds from the mountain scenery outside.
The outside world is already in the cool autumn season, everything is withered and the leaves are withered and yellow.
There seems to be no change of seasons here, and there is still a strong feeling of spring. The leaves are green all around, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant. It is a fairyland on earth.
Xia Wutong looked at the scenery around him and picked two small white flowers, one for the little sister to wear in his ear, and one for himself to wear on his head.
I had mixed feelings for a while and was speechless for a long time. After a long time, I softly said with emotion: "Phoenix Mountain... this season is really beautiful."
The young lady said: "Phoenix Mountain has always been beautiful, but it's even more beautiful here."
Xia Wutong said: "Junior sister, you should come here to play often."
The young lady took out a bag of pastries, then took out a kettle, found a piece of blue cloth from the space bracelet, and spread it on the grass.
Carefully put the pastry in the middle of the cloth, stretched out his hand and pulled Xia Wutong to sit down, and said softly: "I rarely come here. Master pays close attention to me and wants me to practice hard."
Xia Wutong was stunned. He blurted out: "I didn't expect my uncle to be so strict with you, much stricter than my master."
"There is no way. I started at a low level and am the worst disciple in the sect. The master said that if you can't get into the golden elixir at the age of fifteen, you have to practice in the sect." The young lady picked up the kettle and took a sip of water.
Xia Wutong laughed loudly when he heard this, and said while laughing: "Uncle, I'm scaring you. Haven't you seen that there are many senior sisters in your sect who are over fifteen years old and still at the foundation building level?"
The young lady thought so, and laughed along with Xia Wutong. I thought: Master is really scaring me.
The young lady picked up a piece of pastry and put it in her mouth, savoring the pastry as it slowly melted in her mouth. She picked up another piece and handed it to Xia Wutong. Both of them laughed happily.
Xia Wutong looked at the little sister who was eating happily and asked: "Junior sister, what state are you in now? How long have you been practicing with your uncle... Where are your weapons?"
She originally wanted to ask the young lady if she wanted to have a fight with her to see which one was stronger, the disciple of the uncle or the disciple of the uncle, because the good master kept thinking about this matter, and it became a disease in her heart.
Fortunately, she had let it go yesterday, but she also wanted to be a good pair of sisters with her for a long time. She didn't want the past grudges between her master and her uncle to be related to her.
The young lady lay on the ground without looking back and said, "I just broke through to the sixth level of foundation building not long ago. I learned swordsmanship from my master. What about you, senior sister?"
Xia Wutong looked at her back and pondered for a moment before replying: "I am a level higher than you, and I have just broken through. We are both practicing swordsmanship."
The young lady said: "Our masters are all taught by the same master, so it is not unusual for us to learn the same skills. Even our sword skills are probably the same, but it does not prevent us from practicing higher skills in the future." Swordsmanship, senior sister, do you think this is true?"
Xia Wutong did not answer the question immediately, but lowered his head and thought carefully.
The young lady picked up another piece of pastry and stuffed it into her mouth. She took out a silk scarf and carefully wiped off the cake powder from her mouth, and then began to chew the pastry slowly.
Xia Wutong stood up with his hands on the ground, looked at the ancient tree in the sky, and said: "Junior sister, let's try to see how big a branch can be chopped off with one sword. This will not hurt our sisters' feelings, but it will also hurt our respective feelings." Master has an explanation, do you like it?"
The young lady vaguely understood what Xia Wutong was thinking, and said helplessly: "Senior sister, in fact, I don't think there is any need to compete at all. You are at a higher level than me, so you must be better than me. Isn't this just a simple matter? , don’t you believe in yourself?”
After saying this, she slowly turned around and looked at the white clouds floating in the sky. After a long silence, she took a deep breath.
He said quietly: "I don't know how many years it will take you and me, sisters, to practice before we can reach the realm of master and uncle."
Xia Wutong looked at the young lady lying on the ground without saying a word. After thinking for a moment, a three-foot green blade glowing with green light appeared in her hand.
I saw her concentrating her energy, and the true energy in her Dantian surged into her arms. She kicked off her feet, jumped two feet in an instant, and slashed towards the ancient tree on the edge of the grass with a sword.
With a sound of "Wow!", a branch about two feet above the ancient tree that was thicker than an arm was chopped off by Xia Wutong's leaping sword, and fell softly below the ancient tree.
He cupped his fists with both hands, looked at the young lady on the ground and said, "Junior sister, please use your sword as well, just to give an explanation to the two masters, okay?"
Before she could finish speaking, the young lady did not draw her sword. There was a wisp of wind blowing by her side, and a sound of "Whoa!" was heard.
A branch fell from about three feet above the ancient tree and lay quietly next to the branch that Xia Wutong had chopped off before. It was exactly the same size and thickness.
It was so quiet at this moment that there was no wind, just a little cool, and there was a little bit of floral fragrance in the air.
Xia Wutong covered her mouth. She didn't even see when the little sister made her move, let alone the sword. She looked at the little sister as if she were a ghost and said: "Junior sister, you are not Zhu The foundation is the golden elixir!”
The young lady blushed a little and said shyly: "Senior sister, I am really at the sixth level of foundation building. I just accidentally sensed the vitality of heaven and earth a few days ago. The master said that this can only happen when you reach the golden elixir level. I It's just that it's a little early. If it comes to a fight, I definitely can't beat you."
Xia Wutong was so angry that he threw himself on the little sister, pinched her little face with both hands, and shouted: "That's it. You still said you can't beat me, let's see if I don't punish you severely today."
While reaching out to tickle the little sister, he smiled and cursed: "You are obviously better than me, but you still pretend that you can't beat me. Okay, little girl, you actually learned to pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger."
The young lady was giggled by Xia Wutong, begging for mercy and resisting at the same time. He smiled and said, "Senior sister, I really didn't lie to you. My master hasn't taught me how to fight with others yet. I really can't beat you now. Please spare me."
Xia Wutong didn't believe it and started fighting with her.
After fighting for a long time, the two finally collapsed on the grass from exhaustion.
