I attained immortality in the real world.

Chapter 95 Cultivation View

"Snoring..."

Zhou Shu raised the lantern to provide light.

In the flickering candlelight, I finally saw what was lying in the study.

A tiger, its striped fur as smooth as brocade, its massive body almost filling the empty space of the study, its paws gripping a book, as if it had just finished reading.

Under the blessing of Emperor Wenzong's mind seal, this tiger did not exhibit the ferocity of a wild beast in the mountains.

Instead, he resembled a dignified scholar, like a teacher in a school.

The candlelight also illuminated an eleven or twelve-year-old boy who, instead of being frightened by the tiger, looked delighted: "It's you, Tiger!"

The child in this family is the same child that the tiger led out of Ye'er Mountain six months ago.

Seeing that the tiger hadn't eaten him, he didn't panic and flee; instead, he dared to follow the tiger out of the forest—his courage was beyond that of ordinary people.

Chen Jing lifted the scripture with his paw and spoke in a human voice, "Little one, do you know where this 'Minor Response Scripture' came from?"

It spoke! The tiger actually spoke!
The lantern slipped from Zhou Shu's hand and fell to the ground. He stared in disbelief and exclaimed, "Mountain Lord, you—you can speak? Are you a legendary monster, no, a messenger of the Mountain God?"

Chen Jing put a tiger claw to his mouth and whispered, "Shh! If you attract others, they won't have your guts, and I'll have to run away!"

You don't need a talking tiger; a tiger is scary enough on its own!
When Zhou Shu heard Shan Jun praise him, a smile appeared on his lips. He picked up the lantern and said leisurely, "My father and mother always praised me for being brave. I dared to sleep alone when I was five years old, and then they gave birth to a little sister for me."

To think that there's a causal relationship between sleeping and having a younger sister is as precocious as kids in the real world!
As a tiger, Chen Jing had no intention of teasing children. In the real world, teasing a tiger would result in it being reborn as a tiger, which would be embarrassing if it were to be reborn as a child next time. So he asked again, "Do you know where this 'Minor Response Sutra' came from?"

Zhou Shu paused for a moment and said, "A year ago, an old Taoist priest came to my house to stay overnight. He said I had the aptitude for cultivating immortality and wanted to take me as his disciple and take me to some kind of Taoist temple to cultivate. However, my father did not agree, so the old Taoist priest left this scripture behind."

"It was said to be a scripture for ordinary Taoist disciples and some pilgrims, which would also help with their studies. It was a reward for staying overnight, but it has been sitting on the bookshelf and I have never read it."

Cultivating one's character!
Chen Jing did not see the name of any immortal cultivation sect in the Great Work Records.

Four hundred years ago, the Immortal Sect chose to accept patronage and live in seclusion. While they may not have completely disappeared, at least they were not given free publicity or had their achievements erased in these best-selling orthodox historical books, which was already a huge concession.

Chen Jing thought of the old Taoist priest who treated the tiger's wounds, who had also appeared a year ago, and continued to ask, "Was he a thin, dark-haired old Taoist priest who always carried a medicine gourd?"

Zhou Shu nodded quickly: "That's right, and his Daoist name is quite strange, something like 'Heart Does Not Cultivate.' You've met Mountain Lord before, does he also want to take you as his disciple?"

He probably didn't find a suitable disciple, so he only treated the injuries. Otherwise, with the old Taoist's strength, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to carry a tiger.

Tigers back then were completely devoid of human nature; they were simply wild beasts driven by instinct, and probably wouldn't even be considered intelligent enough to be used as mounts.

Chen Jing chose to skip this topic and continued to ask, "Did Xin Bu Xiu tell you where the concept of cultivating oneself is located?"

Zhou Shu frowned and said, "My father initially used the excuse that I was still young and it was not appropriate for me to go too far from home. The old Taoist said that Xiuren Temple is not far away, it is on Zijin Mountain, thirty miles west of Yaowang City, and I can come back once a year."

Medicine King City – Purple Mountain – Cultivation Temple

Chen Jing silently memorized the place name; this was the first piece of information about a cultivation sect. He prepared to leave Ye'er Mountain that very day to seek immortality. He asked again, "Then do you know which direction Medicine King City is in?"

Zhou Shu shook his head this time: "I don't know, I only know it's in the south, but my father definitely knows. I'll go wake him up so he can also chat with the Mountain Lord?"

In the dead of night, being invited by his eldest son to chat with a tiger—who knows if he'd be scared to death? Chen Jing waved his paw: "There's no need to be so filial. I'll just ask others on the way."

Zhou Shu said, "Does the Mountain Lord want to go to Purple Gold Mountain to seek immortality? My father said that studying can also lead to a bright future. It's a pity that the Mountain Lord can't pass the imperial examinations. Once I pass the imperial examinations, I'll go to Purple Gold Mountain to visit you."

Chen Jing got up to leave, pointed to the "Minor Response Sutra" and admonished, "This sutra can indeed help with studying. Although it doesn't have a big effect, memorizing a few more sentences every day will give you extra time to study. If you are just a little better than your peers, the teacher will devote more effort to teaching you. If you are in better condition than others during the exam, you will have the possibility of winning against the odds. Who knows, you might even become the top scholar."

After saying that, Chen Jing walked out of the study and leaped over the Zhou family's inner courtyard.

Just as the terrified yellow dog was about to wake up, to prevent it from waking its owner and getting stewed, it once again activated the Tiger Clan's Bixie Heart Form: "Tiger Demon!"

Only after the dog fainted again did they leap over the courtyard wall once more, leaving Mingtan Village and returning to the mountains and forests.

The gatekeeper, who was getting up in the middle of the night, happened to see this scene. He rubbed his eyes and slapped himself hard before he was sure he wasn't dreaming.

"........."

The next day, early in the morning.

The gatekeeper went around telling people he'd seen a tiger the night before, which attracted a group of curious onlookers.

But nobody believed it; they all treated it as a joke. One villager retorted, "With such a big tiger coming into the yard, how could the dogs not bark? We might as well kill it and eat it."

"Only the other side of Ye'er Mountain Village can you sneak into the village without anyone noticing? You must be dreaming!"

"If the tiger came into the village but didn't eat people, chickens, ducks, pigs, or dogs, did it come down the mountain just to wander around?"

Everyone was talking at once, and when they got to the point where even the gatekeeper was starting to doubt that he was dreaming.

Zhou Shu suddenly stood up and said, "I know, Shan Jun came to my study to read last night, and I chatted with Shan Jun for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Zhou's father frowned instantly: "Who taught you to lie? How can a tiger talk? I'll give you ten strokes of the ruler to teach you a lesson."

Zhou Shu, however, was not afraid at all and said confidently, "If Father does not believe me, he can go to the study and see for himself. Many of the books have been read by the Book Mountain Lord."

A large group of people arrived at the Zhou family study.

Tiger claws are not as convenient as human hands, and when picking up books, they inevitably leave claw marks.

After examining the area carefully, a hunter nodded and said, "These are indeed tiger paw prints. I don't know if the mountain lord said anything, but a tiger has definitely been to the study."

Last year, Shan Jun sent Zhou Shu back. He was just a tiger who understood human nature, but being able to read books made a difference.

The villagers were both frightened and curious. An elderly villager suggested, "Let's erect a statue of the mountain god so that it can protect our Mingtan Village."

(End of this chapter)