I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 376 Wuzhuang Temple

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen looked at the little fat man hanging on the tree branch, swaying in the mountain wind and seemingly ready to fall down at any time, thoughts flashing through his mind.

Xu Erniu, who had been with Zhang Chen for several months, naturally had some understanding of him. Seeing Zhang Chen's expression, she knew that he was showing compassion, so she said:

"Zhang Chen, we can't save him! This cliff is too steep. If he's not careful, he'll fall and be smashed to pieces. How can the two of us save him? We should wait until we climb up the mountain and ask the Taoist priest in the temple to rescue him."

The little fat boy howled when he heard this: "It's at least half a day's journey from here to the mountain. How can I wait? By that time, I might have been smashed into a pulp. Brothers and sisters, if you can save my life, I will repay you in the future. Please give me a hand..."

The little fat boy was crying bitterly at this time, with tears streaming down his face, and snot and tears were flowing down directly, covering his face.

Zhang Chen glanced at Xu Erniu, then at the ten-meter-high cliff. What he thought about was the test of the immortal accepting a disciple. Regardless of whether this was true or not, he would rather kill someone by mistake than let him go. What if it was really a test?
The distance is only ten meters and I can't use any magic power. How can I rescue him?

Zhang Chen pondered for a moment and then came up with a solution. He took off his own belt, then pulled off Xu Erniu's belt. After measuring, he found that it was still a little short, so he pulled down his own trousers, twisted them into a rope, and then stretched it. The little fat man was no more than 50 kilograms. Both his belt and Xu Erniu's belt were woven with fine silk, so he was not afraid of them being torn.

So Zhang Chen let the rope down and shouted to the fat boy, "Boy, hold on to it. We won't be responsible if you fall down."

Upon hearing this, the little fat man hurriedly grabbed the falling rope. The other party was smart and tied it directly to his belt, then held the rope tightly with both hands.

Zhang Chen couldn't pull the other person by himself, after all, he was just a child, so he tied his belt to a stone, and then stuck it in the gap of the mountain path beside him, and asked Xu Erniu and himself to hold him down.

"Little Fatty, we dare not pull you. If a mountain wind comes, we will be pulled down by you. You grab the rope and push yourself up with your legs." Zhang Chen shouted to the bottom of the cliff.

The little fat man was obviously not an ordinary person. He seemed to have a foundation in martial arts. After a few ups and downs, he climbed up the rope like a nimble monkey, and then said to Zhang Chen: "Little brother, thank you for saving my life. I will repay you in the future."

Zhang Chen looked at the young man in front of him who was a head taller than him, and felt speechless: calling him "big brother" from below the cliff and "little brother" from above, this really is the epitome of snobbery.

"My name is Zou Wenlong. May I know your name, young man?" Zou Wenlong asked while looking at the clothes of Zhang Chen and Xu Erniu.

"My name is Zhang Chen, and this is my younger sister Xu Fu." Zhang Chen said.

"So it's Brother Zhang and Sister Xu Fu. Since you saved me, you should follow me from now on. I will protect you in the Taoist temple." Zou Wenlong's voice was full of promises.

Zhang Chen looked at the other person's tattered clothes and worn hands and feet, ignored him, and led Xu Erniu to continue climbing up the mountain.

Seeing this, Zou Wenlong followed the two men. Although his feet were covered in blood, he remained calm and said, "It's still half a day's journey from here to Wuzhuang Temple. Do you have any dry food on you?"

Xu Erniu glared at the man. She had been living outside since she was a child and was very sensitive to the warmth and coldness of human nature. She was very unhappy about the man's attitude when he was at the bottom of the cliff and after he was rescued. She was about to say something but was stopped by Zhang Chen: "Here is some dried meat. Eat it and get up the mountain quickly."

After finishing speaking, Zhang Chen led Xu Erniu to continue on their journey. Zou Wenlong followed behind them, gnawing on some dried meat while chattering about their origins. He tried to recruit them as his younger brothers, but unfortunately, both Zhang Chen and Xu Erniu were too lazy to pay attention to him and were only focused on climbing the mountain.

Zhang Chen didn't know the origin of this little fat man. He secretly put away the Wind-Fixing Pill and climbed the stairs in the mountain wind.

Sure enough, after climbing for another half a day, the three of them climbed to the top of the mountain and saw the gate of Wuzhuang Temple in the distance.

The gate of Wuzhuang Temple was closed. Its appearance was similar to the Wuzhuang Temple in Journey to the West. There was a couplet on each side of the Wuzhuang Temple:
First verse: The immortal palace.

The second stanza: A man of Taoism with a lifespan as long as the sky.

Zhang Chen looked at the two couplets with disbelief in his eyes, and asked in shock, "How could it be?"

This couplet was surprisingly similar to the one in his memory: "Could this Wuzhuang Temple be related to the Wuzhuang Temple in Journey to the West? This second heaven of the spiritual world is really incredible. How could there be such a strange thing?"

As soon as they reached the gate, Zou Wenlong passed the two of them and threw himself in front of the gate, stretching out his hands and knocking hard on the gate: "Open the door! Open the door!"

Zhang Chen felt his eyelids twitching as he looked at the door that was being knocked so loudly. He quickly pulled Xu Erniu to stand farther away, lest Zou Wenlong anger the Taoist priests in the temple and the two of them be implicated.

At this moment, the gate of the Taoist temple opened, and the boy's angry voice came out: "Which damn bastard is disturbing the peace and quiet..."

As he spoke, he opened the door, and when he saw Zou Wenlong, he looked at his embarrassed appearance and said in disbelief, "Junior brother? Why are you so embarrassed?"

The little fat man said helplessly: "Don't mention it. I went down the mountain to visit my relatives, and I was plotted against when I came back."

Zou Wenlong pushed open the door and walked straight in. He ignored Zhang Chen and Xu Erniu, as if he had forgotten about them.

The Taoist boy looked at Zhang Chen and Xu Erniu and asked, "Why are you two here?"

"I'm here to find my dad!" Xu Erniu said hurriedly.

"Your father? Who is your father in the Taoist temple? I haven't heard that any senior brother got married down the mountain?" The Taoist boy was stunned when he heard this.

"My father's name is Xu Ze. My mother said that my father is practicing in Qingcheng Mountain." Xu Erniu said.

The young Taoist scratched his head when he heard this. Looking at the two men who looked exhausted, he said to them, "Wait here. I'll go and inform you."

The young Taoist priest turned around and left to inform the temple master. When the temple master heard the name Xu Ze, his expression changed, and he said to the young Taoist priest, "Go and invite them in."

Soon the young Taoist priest opened the door and welcomed the two of them in. They saw that the Taoist temple was ancient and quaint, with faint clouds and mist lingering around, which looked quite like a fairyland.

Along the way, there were disciples tending to the flowers and plants, and some disciples were reciting scriptures under the trees. The Taoist temple was bustling with people coming and going.

Zhang Chen and Xu Erniu followed the two men all the way to a secluded house in the backyard. Then the little Taoist boy reported a message, and the two men walked into the house. They saw a young man with white hair and beard but ruddy complexion sitting upright on a cushion.

"This is the abbot of Wuzhuang Temple, the Great Master of Longevity." The little Taoist boy introduced.

Zhang Chen and the other two knelt down immediately upon hearing this: "Greetings, Master."

The Taoist looked at the two of them and asked, "Which of you is the descendant of Xu Ze?"

Xu Erniu said respectfully, "I am your disciple."

The Taoist stroked his beard, looked Xu Erniu up and down, and then waved his hand gently: "Come forward." Xu Erniu crawled over nimbly. The Taoist stroked Xu Erniu's head with his palm, and said after a moment: "That's right."

Then he looked at Zhang Chen again: "Who are you?"

"I have heard that there are immortals on Mount Qingcheng. I admire their magic, so I came here to become their disciple and learn from them." Zhang Chen kowtowed.

The Taoist's eyes were shining with gold. He glanced at Zhang Chen and nodded, "Since you can come here, it must be fate. You will be a Taoist boy first. If you can enter the door in the future, I will promote you to be an entry-level disciple."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen immediately kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Master."

The Changsheng Patriarch nodded and said to the Taoist boy beside him: "Hongwan, take him to stay."

Hong Wan, the Taoist boy, led Zhang Chen out of the Taoist temple, and then Hong Wan asked Zhang Chen: "What's your name?"

"This is Zhang Chen, my little brother." Zhang Chen said hurriedly.

"You can call me Hong Wan." Hong Wan said with a smile: "You are just a Taoist boy now, but you don't have a Taoist name. When you listen to the scriptures and understand the Dharma, and enter the Dao, we will be considered peers."

Zhang Chen was stunned when he heard that. Hong Wan led Zhang Chen to get his clothes, and then led him to the dormitory to live. The dormitory was a large bunk bed for dozens of people. After Zhang Chen packed his luggage, Hong Wan said, "You are about to enter the mountain gate, but the mountain gate does not support idle people. You still need to get a job. I will send you to be a boy in the medicine garden, responsible for planting herbs every day."

Zhang Chen agreed.

Hong Wan said, "All disciples of Wuzhuang Temple have their own duties before they enter the sect, and they must not slack off for a day. The master preaches at sunrise every morning and stops at noon. In the afternoon, the disciples work, and in the evening, they study. By the way, can you read?"

"I can read." Zhang Chen said quickly.

Hong Wan nodded: "The Taoist temple has a library. If you can read, you can study the books there at will..."

Hongwan gave Zhang Chen a lot of instructions, then took him to identify the medicinal fields he was responsible for, as well as the Sutra Library and the kitchen, and then Zhang Chen settled down in the Taoist temple.

As for the little fat boy Zou Wenlong, there was no trace of him anymore.

Zhang Chen was sitting in the dormitory. At night, the Taoist children returned. After seeing Zhang Chen, they asked him about his whereabouts and introduced him. Then Zhang Chen settled down in the mountains.

The first morning

The Grandmaster Changsheng was preaching in person, and there were hundreds of disciples in the Taoist temple, sitting on both sides of the courtyard. The Grandmaster was sitting in the middle, preaching the way of the cycle of heaven and earth, and Zhang Chen was listening with great interest.

The practice in Wuzhuang Temple is different from that in the novel. All the disciples come to sit down and listen to the master's lectures.

After lunch at noon, Zhang Chen went to the medicine field to sell herbs, and then went to the library to look for books in the evening.

He did not forget that the biggest purpose of his coming to Wuzhuang Temple was to find out the technique of integrating the innate yin and yang and the innate five elements.

When he was preaching on the second day, Zhang Chen saw Xu Erniu. At this time, Xu Erniu was dressed as a Taoist girl and sat next to the Master Changsheng. She was actually taken by the Master to be taught personally.

As for the little fat boy Zou Wenlong, he was actually sitting upright in the crowd, listening to the lecture with a solemn expression.

After the sermon was over, everyone left. After Zhang Chen had managed the medicinal field, he came to the library to absorb all kinds of knowledge. If you want to understand Wuzhuang Temple and the world, you have to start with books.

At this time, Zhang Chen was holding a book "Praise of the Patriarch" in his hand and reading it intently. After a long time, he put the book down and said thoughtfully: "Eighty thousand years ago, the immortal road was opened. The longevity ancestor got a book from heaven, which described the way of earthly immortals. So he settled in Qingcheng Mountain and opened up the Taoist tradition of Wuzhuang Temple. Then Wuzhuang Temple grew stronger and continued to spread the teachings throughout the world."

This is the origin of Wuzhuang Temple, but where did this heavenly book come from? It only says that it opens the way to immortality.

Zhang Chen pondered over the classics, with various thoughts flashing through his mind: "I don't know the specific cultivation methods of Wuzhuang Temple, but I don't know what the mystery of this earthly immortal way is? Is it related to the ancestor of earthly immortals that I have heard of?"

However, Zhang Chen felt that the Wuzhuang Temple in Qingcheng Mountain and the Wuzhuang Temple in Journey to the West probably only had the same name, because there were neither the two Taoist boys Qingfeng and Mingyue here, nor had he heard his senior brothers talk about the ginseng fruit tree.

"Zhang Chen, I finally found you." Just when Zhang Chen was deep in thought, he saw Xu Erniu coming over and looking at him with joy on her face.

"You are so lucky that you can follow the master and receive his personal guidance." Zhang Chen said with a smile.

"My dear Zhang Xianyou, you are so lucky to have become an immortal." Xu Erniu teased Zhang Chen with a smile.

The two talked for a while, recounting their respective experiences at the Taoist temple. Xu Erniu then complained, "When can I see my father? The ancestor said that my father is in seclusion. We can only see him after he comes out of seclusion."

"Don't be anxious. Now that you're here at the Taoist temple, are you afraid that we won't meet again?" Zhang Chen said.

Xu Erniu smiled when she heard this and felt that there was some truth in it.

Then they went their separate ways and returned to their houses to rest.

What followed was a monotonous repetitive daily routine of growing herbs, listening to sermons, and reading.

A month passed slowly. Zhang Chen read many books in the Sutra Library, but he did not learn any method of cultivation. They were all mysterious and profound theories.

He wanted to find the trace of the princess, but he did not discuss it with the disciples in the Taoist temple.

"I don't know where the Great Free Demon has gone. This guy has disappeared since we parted." Zhang Chen felt that if he had the help of the Great Free Demon, he might be able to read through the books more quickly and find a solution.

On this day, the master gave a sermon again, talking about the methods of cultivation and the verification of the level of cultivation.

Zhang Chen listened to the practice method and thought to himself, "This method is really a bit strange."

The practice method of Wuzhuang Temple requires finding a land vein, and then using the land vein as the foundation to build a cave world, so that the cave world is immortal and the cultivators are immortal.

"I don't know what the difference is between this cultivation method and the cultivation method of Wuzhuang Temple in the prehistoric world, but the cultivation method of Wuzhuang Temple is not suitable for me!" Zhang Chen thought to himself after listening to the end of the teaching: "I don't know if Wuzhuang Temple has other methods."

(End of this chapter)