Why does such a great being as the Divine Bamboo hide in the ordinary Beishan?
This question has troubled the old man for fifty years, and he still has no answer.
Perhaps the ancestors in the village were also confused by this, but most of them still felt lucky.
At this moment, the old man stared at Beishan under the setting sun, letting the mountain wind blow his white hair in his face.
"Tell every household in the village to control their children and stop sneaking into the mountains and disturbing the peace of Shenzhu."
As the village chief here, the old man has been restraining the villagers according to the practice of generations, preventing people from intruding into the depths of the mountain at will.
The sacred bamboo is the only belief of this village and cannot be blasphemed.
However, the old village chief always had a wish buried in his heart——
"I really want to see the divine bamboo again."
Fifty years ago, he was extremely shocked by that green figure in the rain, looking down at the sky and the earth.
Just like an ant walking through the soil, when you look up, you see the goshawk fighting in the sky, witnessing the greatness in the small and ordinary.
"Village chief, the wind is strong down the mountain, please go back to the house." The villagers began to worry about the old man's health.
"I'm old and can't stand the wind. It's time to go back."
The old village chief was a little disappointed. Every time he looked at Beishan from a distance, he expected to see the sacred bamboo rising from the ground and soaring into the sky.
Unfortunately, that is just a wish after all.
Shenzhu is extremely low-key. If it hadn't been for that rare mudslide, I'm afraid it would never have appeared.
The afterglow of the sunset shines on the old man's skinny face, and his eyes reflect the mountain scenery, showing infinite nostalgia.
The old village chief didn't know that the sacred bamboo he was thinking about was right across the street, hidden behind the pine tree at the foot of the mountain. A green leaf was being poked out, and he was looking at it silently...
I wish I could stand still and think deeply.
Life in the mountains was deserted and lonely. As time went by, his temperament inevitably became a lot colder.
Therefore, he insists on observing human beings to remind himself that he was once a human being and to ensure that the emotions and memories of his previous life will not be erased by long time.
Once emotions are completely gone, he will also lose his human spirituality and become a pure bamboo.
Therefore, this village is not only a source of incense, but also a place for spiritual cultivation.
Life and death, joy, anger, sorrow and joy... Zhu An observed the life in the village, but as a calm spectator, it was difficult to be touched in his heart.
Mortal life is short and ordinary, like scenes of dull drama.
But today, perhaps because he had just absorbed a ray of fragrance from the world, the old village chief's nostalgic gaze made Zhu An feel a little emotional.
People's various emotions are most likely to fade away in time, but they can also last forever in memory.
Perhaps, this is where human spirituality lies.
Spirituality…
Zhu An's state of mind was like a flat lake, with some slight waves, and the surging consciousness slowly rippled.
The bottleneck of refining gods that has been stuck for hundreds of years is showing some signs of loosening at this moment.
Cultivation of the mind can refine the spirit.
Body, energy, and spirit are all the roots of life, and three paths of cultivation are derived from them.
As a bamboo that was born and raised on earth, Zhu An is endowed with extraordinary talent, and refining his body and energy comes naturally without any effort.
The way of refining the gods is extremely difficult, and one needs to take the initiative to understand it.
This is the shortcoming of plant-like creatures. There is a balance in nature. Since they have gained a long life, they cannot have an excellent soul at the same time. The vast majority of spiritual plants cannot even give birth to self-awareness. They are just a collection of the essence of heaven and earth. In the end, they can only be regarded as a treasure medicine, which is picked and eaten by monsters and practitioners.
Zhu An was able to break this balance thanks to a little inspiration from his previous life, but he also needed to seize every opportunity and slowly accumulate it.
Fortunately, he has plenty of time. After thousands of years, even the weakest method of refining gods has accumulated to a profound state.
With this realization in his heart, Zhu An quietly turned around and returned to the depths of the mountain, preparing to start a period of retreat.
A bamboo enters the deep forest and walks alone in the mountains.
There are many creatures in the mountains, including birds on the branches, rabbits and deer in the forest, snakes and rats under the rocks... They have not yet evolved into monsters, and their level of intelligence is not high.
But when they saw a moving bamboo appear, they all instinctively realized that this cyan figure was the most noble existence in this mountain.
Although this Bamboo of the North Mountain is low-key and silent, it protects them year after year and eliminates countless natural and earthly disasters.
Peaches and plums, the next from Seikei.
The birds and beasts did not panic, but were very excited and took the initiative to get out of the way and watched Zhu An leave.
"Guchi, guchi..."
Amid the crisp cry, a chipmunk squirrel with a big tail lay on the ground, stretched its two small front paws over its head, raised a fresh pine nut, and offered it respectfully.
The chipmunk squirrel doesn't know what the northern mountain bamboo likes, but this pine nut is the best thing it thinks.
Zhu An stopped and stared at it quietly.
Normally, he would never pay attention to these useless confessions and would just leave quietly.
If the life span of a mortal is too short, then the ten years of a squirrel are fleeting, and there seems to be no need for communication.
But today, Zhu An's mood changed slightly.
The green bamboo leaves drooped down, and instead of picking up the pine nut, they just tapped the chipmunk squirrel's head gently.
Just like those old people in the village, stroking the heads of their grandchildren lovingly.
The chipmunk squirrel trembled, as if being hit by electricity, and a strong sense of happiness instantly filled his body.
Beishanzhizhu responded to himself!
It raised its big tail excitedly and swung it vigorously, shouting constantly: "Goo! Goo!"
I don’t know how long it took, but the green figure had already left, but the chipmunk squirrel was still rolling happily on the ground.
This happiness may last for a long, long time until the end of its short life.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp." The birds also chirped happily, and their melodious chirps echoed endlessly in the forest.
The changes in the bamboo in Beishan seem to have brought a bit of vitality to this mountain that has been silent all year round.
…
When the sun was about to set, a flash of red suddenly appeared outside the forest, moving around like a flame flying in the wind.
Red ran back and forth, as if looking for something, and finally stopped where the chipmunk squirrel had rolled.
This is a fox with red fur.
The red fox found a clump of arrow bamboo and immediately went up to look at it. He lowered his head to smell the bamboo roots and shook his head again.
Its eyes moved lightly, as if it was thinking, showing a different temperament from ordinary animals.
"Where is the Bamboo of the North Mountain?"
There are bamboos everywhere in this mountain. If that being is mixed in, you will be able to find them.
It sighed like a human being and planned to continue walking deeper into the mountain, but suddenly it froze, and its eyes widened in surprise——
In the forest cover in front, there seemed to be a green shadow standing upright, surrounded by leaves, making the shadow vague and unclear.
The young red fox trembled, and his body began to tremble.
It is timid by nature, and will lose its temper uncontrollably when faced with a more powerful being.
Fortunately, the oppressive feeling of the one in front of him is not too strong. He should belong to the level of an ordinary great demon, rather than the more terrifying upper realm great demon or even the demon king. The red fox will not be frightened and faint on the spot.
It lowered its head and looked at its front legs. There was a string of light blue old wooden beads tied there. The wooden beads were intact, which made it feel a little more at ease.
At the same time, a gentle voice sounded in my ears:
"Little fox, are you looking for me?"
The young red fox nodded quickly, knelt down obediently, and replied in the same demonic language: "Dear Beishan Zhizhu, something has changed in Qishan, so I came here to report it."
After a pause, it looked a little sad and explained: "My name is Hongyun. My parents passed away a while ago. It will be me who provides information from now on."
In the distance, Zhu An was slightly startled, "It's changed again, it feels like it hasn't been long."
There is no time in the mountains, only birth, old age, sickness and death, the endless alternation of generations...
I don’t know how many years ago, a little red fox that had just become a demon was chased by a lynx. It was covered with wounds. When it escaped to Beishan, it was exhausted and fainted to the ground.
Predation and being preyed upon are natural laws, and Zhu An generally would not interfere.
But this lynx is notorious for its love of killing its prey. Wherever it hunts, it is often full of blood, with broken intestines and meat all over the ground, making it a mess.
Zhu An didn't want this beast to dirty the ground of Beishan, so he changed the forest into a formation, causing the lynx to lose its way and leave Beishan unknowingly.
Only the little red fox, covered in blood, woke up leisurely in the mountains, feeling the joy of the rest of his life.
Unexpectedly, the little red fox was very smart and soon became suspicious. With the tracking ability of the lynx, it was impossible to lose him when he fainted.
Could there be a more powerful monster clan to help?
The little red fox looked around and could only see the dancing shadows of the trees and the flying leaves.
It can't feel anything, but it believes that a miracle must have happened.
The little red fox struggled to get up, bent its front legs, kowtowed deep into the woods, and shouted:
"How can I repay this great kindness?"
The only thing that responded to it was the distant mountain breeze.
The little red fox waited for a long time but still didn't give up. He actually stayed in Beishan, recovering from his injuries while looking for the mysterious existence.
The performance of this little demon surprised Zhu An. It was rare to have such intuition and persistence when he just became a demon.
He had no intention of showing up, nor would he let a monster roam around in the mountains. If the little red fox keeps hanging on, you can use the Soul Technique to wash away its memory.
But at this moment, Zhu An felt that he could give it a chance.
So he separated a ray of spiritual thought, attached it to an ordinary bamboo, and met the little red fox.
"Where are you from?"
"Qishan eight hundred miles away." The little red fox stared at the green shadow in front of him and replied excitedly. It had no idea that a piece of bamboo would actually save itself.
Zhu An: "If you really want to repay your kindness, go back to Qishan and monitor the movements there. If there are any changes, come and notify in time. I will not let you run away in vain, so I will use spiritual fruits in exchange for information."
"I will live up to my trust." The little red fox nodded hurriedly.
Zhu An thought for a while and reminded: "Don't reveal my existence to the outside world."
In fact, he has not revealed his true state, so even if the little red fox leaks the secret and foreign enemies come to find him, they will only see a "substitute bamboo" of the great demon state. As for such substitutes, Zhu An has planted hundreds of bushes in the mountains, ready for use at any time.
This reminder is due to prudent habits and does not want to involve too much trouble.
However, when the little red fox heard this, he seemed to be insulted. He raised his neck and said abruptly:
"The Red Fox clan never fails to show gratitude!"
After that, he turned around and left.
In order to see Zhu An, it wandered around Beishan for many days and became skinny and skinny. Now that he finally got his wish, he is about to get the chance to shake things up.
At this juncture, he left without a word of agreement, which again exceeded Zhu An's expectations.
Since then, this little red fox has never appeared again...
Zhu An was not angry, nor did he care about this matter. He had played many moves of idle chess and did not expect every move to be effective.
Until many years later, an old red fox came to Beishan.
The old red fox wandered around the mountain for a long time, and finally raised his head helplessly and shouted into the depths of the mountain:
"The kind-hearted bamboo my great-grandfather mentioned, where are you?"
"There are changes in Qishan, so I came here to report it."
