bookbashuk Chapter 12 The Great Teacher [Please vote!]
Chapter 12 The Great Teacher [Please vote!]
Dark clouds gathered, and rumbling thunder echoed.
Streaks of fire writhed and hissed in the dark clouds, while withered leaves on the ground were blown up by the gale and rose into the air.
Yi Chuan dodged left and right, making a mess of his way around, but the lightning seemed to have GPS installed, strangely aiming at him and striking wherever he went.
"Why are you attacking me? This scripture has been around for a long time, what does it have to do with me!"
Yi Chuan cursed at the sky, but the thunderbolt persisted, chasing him relentlessly until he leaped and bounded about.
As if being watched by some indescribable being in the dark, Yi Chuan felt a chill run down his spine, and his hair stood on end.
He couldn't avoid it in the end; a bolt of lightning struck him precisely on the top of his head.
Yi Chuan groaned, feeling his body stiffen and nearly fall over. A burnt smell emanated from his body, and something inside him seemed to dissipate with the thunder.
That was the spiritual energy he had accumulated in his lungs and heart after a month of arduous cultivation.
The prefect, Fei Shi, and Zhang Xiu came out upon hearing the noise, only to find Yi Chuan covered in charred soot and with black smoke billowing from his mouth.
The crowd stepped forward with concern, but Yi Chuan waved them away.
"It's alright."
He gazed at the sky with grief and indignation, trying his best to ignore the whispers of others.
You know, being struck by lightning has always been a punishment reserved for the most heinous and unforgivable crimes. He couldn't understand how a lowly Taoist priest like himself could have such good fortune.
"As expected of a true master, he can actually use heavenly lightning to temper his body!!" Zhang Xiu's eyes darted around, and he spoke first.
"No wonder people say that a dark face can be a high priest," Yi Chuan glanced at Zhang Xiu, his stiffness slowly fading.
Unable to descend the mountain for the time being, he staggered but remained calm as he walked towards his house.
The prefect and Fei Shi were even more astonished by Yi Chuan's supernatural abilities when they saw that he could still move freely even after being struck by lightning.
"Who is that arrogant brat who dares to be so rebellious? He must be caught and punished!"
Seeing that Yi Chuan possessed such supernatural abilities, the prefect was even more furious!
What just happened could be considered a big deal or a small deal; it didn't count as rebellion. He only resented that the scholar had ruined his chance to go down in history.
Under Fei Shi's arrangement, the vast Lutang Mountain was suddenly filled with panic, but no matter how hard they searched the entire Lutang area, they could not find the scholar.
After Yi Chuan was cleaved, the clouds in the sky seemed to have dispersed considerably.
However, all of this has nothing to do with Yi Chuan anymore.
For several days in a row, Yi Chuan didn't dare to go out and stayed in his room. He had a feeling that he was being locked on by something, which made him feel very uneasy.
This time he suffered a huge loss. The six qi he had cultivated and gathered for a month were all wiped out by that heavenly lightning, and the skin on his arm became somewhat transparent.
"Back to square one. If I'd known I'd be struck by lightning, would I have bothered spreading this nonsense?"
"That doesn't make sense. People are saved by using talismanic water, but they get struck by lightning just for transmitting scriptures?"
This bolt of lightning taught him a lesson: he, a crippled immortal, could not do whatever he pleased.
But he had absolutely no idea what this bottom line was.
Yi Chuan sat on the bed, his face pale and upright, breathing in the Qi of Feiquan.
"Fortunately, it can still be repaired."
He opened his eyes, felt the light flowing through his lungs again, and let out a long sigh.
"The more I cultivate, the more I can feel the mystery of this Qi-eating method. I just don't know if I can still cultivate it after returning to Baiyun Temple."
"We can't stay here any longer. We should go to Yangping Mountain to find Zhang Heng and get the last two chapters of the Food Qi Method."
Having made up his mind, Yi Chuan cautiously peeked out of the window. Compared to a few days ago, the clouds in the sky were noticeably thinner, and the feeling of trepidation was not as intense.
Without informing Zhang Xiu and the county magistrate, Yi Chuan quickly packed his belongings and quietly left from the back mountain of Lutang County.
Compared to the front mountain, the back mountain is much less frequented, and compared to the barren front mountain, there are occasionally patches of greenery.
Yi Chuan moved with incredible speed, leaping through the mountains like a rabbit leaping and a swan gliding, making the scenery before him seem to rush past.
This is the great freedom of cultivation. The "Food Qi Method" describes how those who mastered food qi in ancient times could ride the wind. Even Yi Chuan could only envy such carefree life.
"What a pity, if he hadn't been struck by lightning, he might have been able to go even faster."
Yi Chuan sighed inwardly, then looked up and suddenly caught sight of a figure in the dense forest ahead. His heart stirred, and he slowed down.
This man was the same scholar who had debated with him in Chongxu Hall a few days ago. However, the scholar's face was covered in mud and his body was scratched in many places, making him look quite disheveled.
"The Taoist priest looks rushed; where is he going?"
The scholar also saw Yi Chuan and jogged over to bow to him from afar.
"I'm going to keep an appointment with an elder." Yi Chuan stopped and carefully observed the scholar who was walking out of the mountains. He noticed that although the scholar looked disheveled, his eyes were exceptionally bright.
Like a blue stone on a mountaintop after the rain, it is crystal clear and pure, having washed away certain impurities.
"And why are you here?" Yi Chuan asked, puzzled.
The scholar clasped his hands and laughed heartily: "I am very grateful to the Taoist priest for imparting the scriptures and resolving my doubts a few days ago. However, the prefect was too narrow-minded. In order to avoid the yamen runners, I had no choice but to hide in this back mountain for a few days."
Yi Chuan nodded: "It was just a few questions and answers, and it didn't violate the laws of the Han Dynasty. Now that the prefect has returned, he probably won't make things difficult for you."
"The mountains are high and the roads are long, so let us part here. If fate allows, we will meet again."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yi Chuan clasped his hands in a salute to the scholar and prepared to continue his descent from the mountain.
"Taoist priest, please wait..."
Seeing that Yi Chuan was about to leave, the scholar suddenly called out to him with some difficulty.
After much deliberation, the scholar cupped his hands and said, "I have another request. Daoist Master, you possess true supernatural powers and will certainly not remain hidden in a secluded place. If you ever travel to the Julu area, please pass on a message to my parents and two cousins, telling them that Jiao is doing well in Shu, but that it will take some time to find the Temple of Heaven, so that they need not worry."
Yi Chuan frowned, about to refuse, when he suddenly caught a certain keyword and his pupils contracted.
"You said... what's your name? Where are you from?"
Although puzzled, the scholar clasped his hands again and repeated, "Reporting to the Daoist Master, my surname is Zhang, my given name is Jiao, and I am from Julu."
"You are... Zhang Jiao?!"
Yi Chuan exclaimed in surprise, suddenly feeling a burning sensation on the back of his hand. He raised it up and saw that the crescent moon on the back of his hand, which had not moved for a month, was now flashing incessantly.
"I see, I see."
"I thought I came to Lutangzhi to treat disaster victims, but I never expected that I came here for you..."
After a long while, Yi Chuan murmured to himself, looked up at the scholar, and his eyes were incredibly strange.
He finally understood why he had been struck by lightning.
Boundless Heavenly Venerable, when you knocked someone unconscious for the first time in Yangxian Room, why didn't you ask for their name carefully?
Yi Chuan's forehead was covered in black lines. Who would have thought that the great teacher who would soon toll the death knell for the Han Dynasty for four hundred years was, at this moment, just a naive and arrogant scholar...
"Does the Taoist priest know me?" Zhang Jiao's Adam's apple bobbed, feeling uneasy under Yi Chuan's gaze.
"We know each other. Not only do we know each other, we're quite familiar with each other."
Yi Chuan's lips twitched. He felt the burning heat of the crescent moon on the back of his hand and realized that the part of the Dao Fruit he was looking for was clearly meant to be given to this great and virtuous teacher.
Thinking of this, Yi Chuan no longer hesitated: "Brother Zhang Jiao, are you going to continue your journey through the mountains of Sichuan to find the Temple of Heaven? If you don't mind the trouble, I would like to go with you."
"real!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiao was overjoyed. The person before him was a true immortal who could draw talismans to save people and withstand heavenly lightning without falling! If this person could travel with him, his life would certainly be guaranteed, not to mention anything else.
Yi Chuan nodded: "Of course."
"But didn't the Taoist priest just say he was going to keep an appointment with an elder?"
"In urgent situations, expediency is necessary; I'm sure that elder will understand."