Two months later.
It was early September and the city of Chang'an still looked like a summer scene with grass growing and orioles flying. There was a luxurious carriage standing in front of the Yuan Mansion Gate. A woman who was nine months pregnant was slowly being helped by everyone. get off.
It was the old man and his party who had returned from their sightseeing tour.
"Mom, will my brother be born soon?" Yuan Qing and Zhu Ling'er held Mrs. Yuan's arms on the left and right, like a pair of golden boys and girls.
"Yes, there are still more than a month left." Mrs. Yuan gently stroked her pregnant belly and replied lovingly.
In two months, the group traveled to all the rivers and mountains in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, went boating in the south of the Yangtze River to pick lotuses, watched the tide in Qiantang, sat on the Golden Summit to watch the sunrise, and cooked tea on the top of the snow-capped mountains...
Of course, Mrs. Yuan did not go on any Xunyou expedition. Mr. Yuan always took Yuan Qing and Zhu Ling'er, while Yuan Zhengye and his wife bought some local specialties or other pleasant gadgets at the foot of the mountain or in nearby villages.
"Welcome the master, the young master, the madam, the young master and Miss Zhu back home." But it was Fulai who greeted him at the door early.
The old man gave a simple hum and led everyone towards the house. Yuan Zhengye was a few steps behind and asked, "Is the house okay during this period?"
"Come back, young master, everything is fine. Do you want to prepare a meal?"
"Well, you can go and give the orders." After Yuan Shouyi said that, he walked a few steps quickly and said to Mr. Yuan: "Dad, the child has ordered Fu Lai to prepare the meal. Can you eat first?"
"You guys eat, I'll go back to my room. Qing'er, come to my room after dinner."
"I got it, Grandpa."
"To make money, make a pot of cloud tea."
"Yes, sir."
After saying that, the old man walked slowly towards the backyard, while Yuan Zhengye and his party went to the middle hall to have dinner.
After dinner, Mrs. Yuan and Zhu Ling'er went back to their room to rest. Yuan Zhengye was busy handling the pharmacy business, while Yuan Qing went to his grandfather's yard.
When I entered the room, I saw the old man lying on the Taishi chair, swaying with his eyes closed, and a cup of cloud tea in his hand. He felt very comfortable.
"Grandpa, look for me." Yuan Qing walked to Grandpa and sat down and said.
"Qing'er is here." Mr. Yuan opened his eyes, then stood up and said, "Come with me." Then he walked towards the back room.
Although Yuan Qing was curious after hearing this, he did not ask immediately, but just followed silently.
The old man walked to the bookshelf and stood still. He stepped lightly with his right foot and the bookshelf flipped open, revealing a secret room at the back.
There are several futons placed in the secret room, with fist-sized luminous pearls on the top, but nothing else.
The grandfather and grandson walked into the secret room one after another. The old man stepped somewhere and the secret room closed again.
The old man took a futon and sat down, motioning Yuan Qing to sit opposite him, and then took out three things from his arms, which were the Sword Sutra, the Talisman Sword and the storage bag.
"This book is called "Taibai Sword Sutra". It is a supreme sword technique handed down from ancient times. It can be the foundation of your immortal path. You must study and understand it carefully. You caught this talisman sword when you were one year old. It is a sword embryo, which can be used to refine flying swords. It is a tool for sword cultivators to cultivate their lives. This small bag is a storage bag. The treasures contained in the bag are precious mineral materials that may be useful for refining flying swords. I know you love swords. , the Jiuling Sword Body is the supreme sword body for practicing swordsmanship. After you leave with Grandpa Xu, you should practice more diligently and don’t waste this God-given chance."
The old man paused, sighed softly and then continued: "I know you are precocious. Although I have never been to the Immortal Sect, I think that all of them must be talented. You have to be more careful. Zhu Ling'er, this little girl is thinking Pure, you two came from the same country, so you might as well help each other as much as you can, and having one more friend is never a bad thing. There is no need to worry about things at home, your unborn brother will help you fulfill your filial piety and keep your career. There is a difference between immortals and mortals , Grandpa can only help you so much."
Yuan Qing looked calm throughout. After listening to Mr. Yuan's words, he respectfully stood up and knelt down, kowtowing three times.
"Grandpa's kindness in teaching and building the foundation will never be forgotten by Yuan Qing."
Mr. Yuan accepted the salute calmly, signaled Yuan Qing to stand up, and then stood up himself. He walked to the wall of the entrance and turned around and asked, "Have you seen clearly how to open and close the secret room?"
"See clearly."
Yuan Laozi nodded slightly and stepped lightly seven inches in front of the wall. The wall suddenly opened, and then he did not look back. As he walked, he said: "You can study the Sword Sutra here first. Remember, everything will be ruined if it is not foreseen." ." After saying that, the wall suddenly closed.
In the secret room, Yuan Qing stood silently for a while, and then sat on the futon. His face was neither sad nor happy. He first put the talisman sword and storage bag away close to his body, and then opened the book. What came into view was "Taibai" "Sword Sutra" are four shining silver characters.
"The husband's sword is a sharp weapon in elegance. It has an upright wind, a gentle yet sharp edge, and a gentle air. Its spirit can penetrate the spirit and mystical power can reach the wonderful. It flies around without a trace, making clouds and rain, like a tiger. Like a dragon, it is unpredictable and endless..."
Yuan Qing soon became immersed in the Sword Classic and did not know how long it would last.
The next morning, it was sunny and windy, with no clouds in the sky.
On the martial arts field, Mr. Yuan put his hands behind his back and looked at the horizon; Mrs. Yuan, with tears on her face, gave Yuan Qing and Zhu Ling'er instructions; the two little guys carried two packages on their backs and listened obediently; Yuan Zhengye accompanied his wife, A few words of relief from time to time.
Suddenly, the old man narrowed his eyes and saw a cloud suddenly appear on the horizon, floating slowly and quickly over Yuan Mansion.
Then a person fell from the clouds, still wearing a black Taoist robe, with long sleeves that looked like a banished immortal. It was Xu Jingtian.
When everyone saw Xu Shangxian, they all bowed to him. Xu Jingtian stood still and asked, "Are you all ready?"
The old man called the two little guys to him, turned around and said to Xu Jingtian: "Brother Xu, I'll leave these two kids to you."
Xu Jingtian nodded, then waved his sleeves, and the wind picked up from the ground, carrying Yuan Qing and Zhu Ling'er into the sky, above the clouds above their heads.
The two little guys glanced down, and then disappeared into the clouds.
Mrs. Yuan threw herself into Yuan Zhengye's arms and hid her face in tears. Yuan Zhengye's eyes were also slightly red.
Xu Jingtian glanced at Mr. Yuan one last time, then jumped into the sky and went straight into the clouds.
The old man let out a long sigh, knowing in his heart that this was not only a farewell to Brother Xu, but also his own grandson, who might never see each other again.
After Yuan Qing and Zhu Ling'er entered the clouds, they found themselves on a brown long boat. This boat had no sails or oars, and was about ten feet wide. There were already six or seven children about the same size as themselves sitting on the boat, all of whom were looking at themselves. Two people.
Then, Xu Jingtian appeared behind the two of them and said warmly: "Don't panic. They are just like you. From now on, you will be fellow disciples. You two sit down and take this opportunity to get acquainted with each other first."
After saying that, regardless of what happened to Yuan Qing and Zhu Ling'er, he made a magic spell and sat on the bow of the boat, closing his eyes and meditating.
Yuan Qing and Zhu Ling'er found an empty seat and sat down, not too close to the children on the boat.
The children on the boat seemed to be divided into two groups, one group of four, wearing the same double-breasted gown as himself; the other group of three, but wearing tight-fitting military uniforms and equipped with knives.
There was silence on the boat, no one spoke.
Zhu Ling'er looked calm and didn't know what she was thinking; Yuan Qing couldn't stand still and looked out of the boat.
The scenery outside the boat is clearly visible, with dense forests and mountains flying by below. It is obvious that the flying boat is flying at an extremely fast speed, but the people in the boat can't feel the wind blowing at all. In their hearts, they are more worried about the tricks of these immortals. The meaning of yearning.
After flying for tens of thousands of miles, the flying boat landed at the foot of a mountain.
After everyone got off the boat, Xu Jingtian made a quick gesture and saw that the flying boat had grown from a rough size to a small one, and was finally put into his sleeve.
After Yuan Qing got off the flying boat, he looked around and saw a series of mountains in front of him. The mountains were covered with dense forests. From time to time, he could hear the chirping of insects and birds.
Xu Jingtian took a few steps forward, clasping his hands and chanting a mantra softly in his mouth. Suddenly, a dense forest in front of him turned into mist, and the mist dissipated, revealing a climbing road made of white jade slabs.
Xu Jingtian turned to the children and said, "This is the mountain gate of Xuanyuan's lower sect. This road is called Lichen Road. Come with me."
Then with a tap of the toes, the person drifted forward for more than ten steps. After a few ups and downs, the person had disappeared into the mountain road.
Seeing this, everyone hurriedly followed. When the last person stepped on the stone slab, the fog rolled outside the mountain gate, and within a few breaths, the lush mountain scenery of dense forests returned.
Yuan Qing could still go up the mountain briskly at the beginning. After dozens of steps, he could clearly feel that his feet became a little heavier. After more than a hundred steps, he could no longer maintain the previous speed.
He looked at the children around him. They were all struggling. Only Zhu Ling'er looked as usual. He had been by his side and didn't seem to notice any changes.
After walking more than a hundred steps, Yuan Qing was sweating slightly on his forehead, and a slight gasp of breath could be heard around him, but Zhu Ling'er still looked calm.
Yuan Qing looked up at the seemingly endless stairs, cleared his mind, and continued climbing without saying a word.
At the 500th level, everyone was already differentiated.
The first person was the young man in black military uniform, followed by a tall and thin young man wearing a goose-yellow gown, Yuan Qing and Zhu Ling'er came third, followed by a brother and sister in plain military uniform, and then They were a simple boy in linen and a girl in a pale pink dress. The last one in line was a fat man in a lavender robe.
The little fat man was already panting, and everyone was sweating on their foreheads and breathing rapidly. Looking at Zhu Ling'er, she was only slightly sweating.
After walking more than 200 steps, except for the first four people who were still standing, the rest collapsed to the ground. The little fat man at the end was far behind everyone.
At this moment, Yuan Qing felt as if his legs were tied with dozens of kilograms of sandbags. Every step he took required a lot of effort. Even though he had followed his grandfather to practice taking medicinal baths since he was a child, others had no experience that could be different from his own. Looking at each other, it turns out that the Immortal Sect is full of people with hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Looking at Zhu Ling'er next to her, she still doesn't seem to be struggling very much, which is really incredible.
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Zhu Ling'er whisper softly: "The top of the mountain is vaguely visible, let's go." The voice was clear and sweet, and the breath was not messy at all.
Yuan Qing looked up, gritted his teeth and then looked up.
After walking about a hundred more steps, Yuan Qing finally lost strength and sat down on the ground. The two people in front of him also sat on the stone steps to catch their breath.
At this time, Zhu Ling'er's body lit up with a layer of faint blue fluorescence. Her face was calm and calm, and she walked up step by step, slowly and unhurriedly. After a while, she reached the end and disappeared.
Yuan Qing was shocked at first when he saw this, and then immediately sat cross-legged, recalling in his mind the contents recorded in the Taibai Sword Sutra.
After a stick of incense, everyone seemed to have finished adjusting their breaths and stood up to continue moving forward. The little fat man slowly caught up with him through some unknown method.
Just when the young man in black was only missing the last ten steps to reach the top, Yuan Qing's body glowed with five colors of light, and then the five colors of light merged, and finally only a faint silver glow remained.
As the silver light entered his body, Yuan Qing opened his eyes, stood up and stood for a moment. Suddenly, he pointed his sword and drew it in front of him. He only heard the sound of a sharp sword piercing the air. Then he stepped upwards and finished the walk with a normal expression. The last hundred or so stone steps.
After the stone steps is a long bluestone bridge. After the long road, you can see a white jade square. There is a circular arena on the square, and behind it are three majestic palaces.
Standing in front of the stone bridge was a stern man in his twenties, wearing a cloud-black robe, with his hands behind his back.
Zhu Linger was sitting cross-legged in front of the man, waving him over.
Yuan Qing walked over quickly, bowed to the stern man and said, "Disciple Yuan Qing has met the Immortal Chief. What is the name of the Immortal Chief?"
The man didn't answer, he just glanced at Yuan Qing and ignored him.
When Yuan Qing was at a loss, Zhu Ling'er said: "Yuan Qing, just sit down. This senior brother is responsible for taking care of us disciples who have passed the trial."
"Trial?" Yuan Qing recalled the vision on the road and understood it instantly. Then he sat next to Zhu Ling'er and said no more.
An hour later, everyone passed the trial and came to Senior Brother Feng. The last person was actually the simple young man in linen clothes. The little fat man's body was shining with purple light and he had completed the trial long after the tall and thin young man.
When the stern man saw everyone gathered, he finally said, "My surname is Feng, and I am your fellow senior fellow apprentices. Congratulations to all of you for entering Xuanyuan."
