This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 56: Non-anthropomorphic Gods
Zhuang Lin patted the table lightly a few times and cheered for Zhao Chenyu.

"Mr. Zhao, you are so generous!"

Although Zhao Chenyu was only excited for a moment, the moment he swung his sword and recited the poem, his aura changed and became more brilliant than before. Therefore, even an ordinary person, if he can cheer up, has a chance of changing his fate.

While Zhuang Lin was thinking this in his heart, Zhao Chenyu was even happier because of the cheers from the guests in front of him.

"Hahahaha, Mr. Zi'an, thank you for your praise! It's just an impromptu sword dance!"

Zhao Chenyu sheathed his sword and knelt down in front of Zhuang Lin again. He threw the sword to his side, and the servant who had just hurriedly dodged the "sword energy" quickly caught the sword.

Zhuang Lin grinned. If those random swings just now could be considered sword dancing, then it was really an insult to the standard of sword dancing.

Zhao Chenyu seemed to respect Zhuang Lin a little more now. Although he had drawn his sword and swung it a few times in excitement, he did not lose his mind.

The hall was obviously very large, and the sword could not reach anyone. The servants' panicked dodging and Zhuang Lin's calm sitting there formed a sharp contrast.

A sentence suddenly popped up in my mind: Those who are not afraid in the face of great difficulties are the courage of a saint!
Of course, Zhao Chenyu didn't think that swinging the sword was a big deal. He just thought of this sentence for a moment. Although it seemed that he had indeed injured someone, it was not important. What was important was that Zhuang Zian was not only talented, but also had extraordinary concentration.

It is like the ancient Pei Gong facing Xiang Zhuang's sword dance, remaining calm amid the flash of swords and shadows.

Of course, I definitely don’t have the intention of dancing with a sword like Xiang Zhuang, that’s not important!

"By the way, Mr. Zi'an, why does he call me Langjun? Yuanliang is much more knowledgeable than me. He has mentioned you several times, saying that you are knowledgeable and well-informed, and that you are a teacher who teaches and educates people. I have never heard him praise someone so much. Since you are knowledgeable and a teacher, you should also be my teacher. I can just call you Qiming!"

Zhuang Lin didn't think he was that familiar with Zhao Chenyu, let alone consider himself as a teacher. He couldn't take the other person's politeness seriously and could only smile.

"Mr. Zhao, there's no need to be so modest. Mr. Yuan Liang also praised you highly. Oh, by the way, I almost forgot the main thing. I came here to inquire about Mr. Yuan Liang's whereabouts. I left in a hurry last time, and I thought if it's on your way, we could meet for a while while we're traveling!"

Zhuang Lin changed the subject. As for what Tao Yuanming said about praising Zhao Chenyu, it was not false.

Mainly because when he left last time, Tao Yuanming also mentioned that Zhao Chenyu was a good person with a big heart and would not mind leaving without saying goodbye.

"Brother Yuanliang."

Zhao Chenyu nodded and thought for a while.

"After you left with Master Liu that day, he didn't stay in Wuling for long. He quickly set off for Nanyang. Liu Linzhi in Nanyang is his cousin, so he was visiting relatives, right?"

Zhuang Lin's heart moved.

"Liu Ziji?"

There are countless famous writers in ancient times, and Liu Ziji is not very prominent among them. However, thanks to "Peach Blossom Spring", his name has been passed down through the ages. Even if it is not Zhuang Lin, most people who have been tortured by this text will not forget him, or at least will find him very familiar.

"Exactly!"

Zhuang Lin nodded slightly and was about to say something when Zhao Chenyu seemed to suddenly notice the bookcase that Zhuang Lin had placed not far behind him, and mainly saw the red wooden sword on the bookcase.

"Alas, this sword is very strange. Why doesn't it have a scabbard? This..."

Zhao Chenyu subconsciously leaned over to take a closer look before he could see clearly. He thought the hilt was made of mahogany at first, but was slightly startled when he saw the full picture.

"This, this is actually a wooden sword? Mr. Zian, why are you carrying a wooden sword with you?"

It would have been fine if Zhuang Zi'an had no one to accompany him when he came here this time, but he only brought a wooden sword?
"Could it be that you have no sword to wield? If you don't mind, sir, I have a few swords displayed in my study. Why don't you pick one?"

"That's not necessarily true. Although this is a wooden sword, the material used is very special. It may be slightly inferior in sharpness, but in terms of toughness, it is as strong as gold and iron, so it is quite handy!"

Zhuang Lin was right. The heart of brown sandalwood might be hard enough, but it was obviously not as hard as gold or iron. However, this wooden sword was different. Ordinary swords and knives could not compare to it.

"Is there such a thing?"

Zhao Chenyu was very curious and couldn't help but ask.

"Will you allow me to have a look?"

Zhuang Lin had no taboos. He turned sideways and casually picked up the wooden sword on the bookcase and handed it to Zhao Chenyu in front of him. The latter hurriedly took it with both hands.

As soon as Zhao Chenyu picked up the wooden sword, he felt a slight heaviness in his hand and was startled.

"This sword is heavier than a real sword?"

Zhuang Lin nodded.

“It’s a little heavier.”

The wooden sword itself was made of a very dense material, and after being tempered by Zhuang Lin, it became even heavier.

"This must be around five pounds, right?"

Zhao Chenyu asked this question while weighing the wooden sword. Zhuang Lin frowned slightly and then nodded in understanding.

A jin in the Jin Dynasty was inherited from the Qin and Han Dynasties, which was about 200 grams, which is less than half a jin in later generations.

Nowadays, many scholars have the habit of wearing swords. In addition to the decorative function, they also consider it for self-defense and have a certain martial spirit. Therefore, no matter how exquisite the decoration of the sword is, it is still a weapon that can be used in battle.

Generally speaking, a sword of normal shape, while ensuring the center of gravity, weighs about four pounds when unsheathed.

“Fun and interesting!”

Zhao Chenyu carefully looked at the wooden sword in his hand and found that its color was very rich, with dark red in the black lines. The lines were complex and mysterious. The more he looked at it, the more beautiful it seemed!

"What a beautiful black wooden sword! Even I'm moved by it. What kind of wood is this? Why have I never seen it before?"

"Oh, I got this wood by chance, and I didn't know about it."

"That's such a shame"

The topic of their conversation unknowingly turned to swords again.

Zhao Chenyu might have been under too strict control recently. He was not allowed to go out of the city to play and he hadn't had a good friend to chat with for a long time. He talked about whatever topic he could find. After talking about swords, he turned back to talking about masters slaying demons.

Of course, this time Zhuang Lin had no choice but to be invited by Zhao Chenyu to have dinner. Since he had stood him up last time, Zhuang Lin had no reason to refuse this time.
-
In Wuling City, the matter of the monster being eliminated is naturally the hot topic today. In the streets and alleys and shops everywhere, whether it is the common people or the powerful, this matter is the topic of conversation after dinner.

At the same time, the people of Wuling City also breathed a sigh of relief. Although there were not many people walking at night, at least they didn't have to worry about being dragged out of their homes by monsters.

In the afternoon, Zhao Chenyu accompanied Zhuang Lin for a stroll in Wuling City, and according to the latter's wishes, they went to visit the temples in the city.

After passing through a narrow alley, the two came to the side of a street. In front of it stood a small temple, and a faint smell of incense filled the street.

"Mr. Zi'an, the Shuiyong Temple is in front!" Zhao Chenyu introduced as he walked. Zhuang Lin nodded slightly, and then they arrived in front of the temple together.

Today, the Shuiyong Temple is more popular than usual, with many people coming to burn incense.

Zhao Chenyu was originally planning to light some incense, but seeing that Zhuang Lin had no intention of stopping, he decided not to buy any incense for the time being and followed him into the temple.

The temple is not big, with a courtyard surrounding a hall, and people are worshiping gods inside.

When Zhuang Lin arrived in front of the main hall, he could clearly smell a stronger aroma of incense, as well as a faint feeling of oppression, but it was not targeted.

"Is this the Water God?"

Zhuang Lin muttered to himself and looked up at the altar in the middle of the hall. On it was not the statue of a god as he had imagined, but a banner embroidered with city walls and ditches.

Shuiyong originally refers to ditches, which are used for water conservancy in the city. It also has the meaning of water protecting the city. However, Zhuang Lin didn't know much about it and didn't expect this to be the case in the temple.

"Mr. Zi'an, would you like to light some incense?"

Zhao Chenyu suggested that since Zhuang Zian wanted to see the temple, he should not be a person who completely respects ghosts and gods and keeps his distance from them.

"Okay!" "Oh, that's perfect, I have it!"

Zhao Chenyu took the incense from the accompanying servant. It was obvious that he had bought it in advance.

Everything inside the temple was relatively simple. The two men lit incense and placed it in the incense burner one after another.

Zhao Chenyu's operation was very skillful. He twisted the incense, lit it, and passed the incense to Zhuang Lin. Then he prayed quietly and respectfully offered the incense himself.

When it came to Zhuang Lin, although he imitated him, his mind was free of thoughts when he burned incense, as if it were a blank sheet of paper.

As soon as Zhuang Lin inserted the three incense sticks into the incense burner, he just let go and the whole incense burner shook imperceptibly, and the three incense sticks went out at once.

"Ok?"

Zhao Chenyu on the side was stunned for a moment. He didn't see clearly what happened at the moment, but it felt like the altar shook.

"Just now, why isn't your incense smoking?"

Zhao Chenyu was halfway through his words when he suddenly discovered that of the six incense sticks they had just lit, only his was smoking.

"You didn't light all the incense?"

Zhao Chenyu immediately looked at the servant beside him with a look of dissatisfaction on his face, and the latter immediately shook his head.

"It must be lit, and sir, this is your order!"

"Would you like to order three more, Mr. Zi'an?"

Zhao Chenyu also realized that it was indeed him who lit the incense, and it was definitely lit. He wondered in his heart if it was a bad omen, and hurriedly persuaded Zhuang Lin to light more incense. As for taking back the incense, it didn't seem to be a good idea either.

However, Zhuang Lin shook his head and joked.

"It seems that Zhuang doesn't want to accept my offerings!"

After saying this, Zhuang Lin turned around and left without saying anything more.

When the incense went out, Zhuang Lin understood that this kind of non-anthropomorphic gods had a closer relationship with the rules of heaven and earth. At the same time, because of their willpower, they were influenced by the human world and had a certain degree of self.

Zhuang Lin is an immortal cultivator with the power of heaven and earth. Even if he goes to burn incense without any thoughts, he still makes the other party feel like he is coming to ask for something.

The heaven and earth should have worked together, but because of the self-instinct resistance caused by the incense and wishes of the human world, I dare not accept the incense!
Zhao Chenyu looked at the altar and then at Zhuang Lin from behind. He hesitated and took three more incense sticks from the servant. He quickly bowed and lit the incense, silently saying that he was burning it for Zhuang Lin. When he saw that the incense was fine, he hurried out of the hall.
More than a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Chenyu and Zhuang Lin arrived at another big temple.

This temple is obviously much larger than Shuiyong Temple, and it is the Sheshen Temple.

With the precedent of the Shuiyong Temple, Zhuang Lin was not surprised to see a large stone standing on the altar of the Sheshen Temple after entering the temple.

Its duties include managing the land and vegetation, presiding over the order of heaven and earth, and being responsible for the nurturing and reproduction of all things. Of course, it is also said that it is also responsible for ensuring safety and preventing disasters.

In fact, it already looked very much like a land god. Zhuang Lin had originally thought that personified land gods should have been quite common during this period, but apparently, what he saw was still a deity of a more rule-based nature.

The temple was still filled with smoke, and the incense was even more prosperous than the previous small temple.

Zhao Chenyu lit incense again, but this time Zhuang Lin didn't.

Apart from these two temples, there are some ancestral halls. There are no other temples in Wuling City that Zhao Chenyu thinks are worth visiting.
-
On that day, Zhao Chenyu naturally entertained everyone throughout the meal. Dinner was at Zhao's house. As the host, Mr. Zhao especially liked to drink.

However, in Zhuang Lin's opinion, Zhao Chenyu's alcohol tolerance was too poor, far inferior to Tao Yuanming. He thought that drinking more of this low-alcohol wine would not be a big deal, but after a few rounds of drinking, Zhao Langjun collapsed.
That night, Zhuang Lin also stayed at Zhao Chenyu's house. Although he had no plans to stay in Wuling for long, he was not in a hurry to come in the morning and leave in the afternoon.

Lying on the bed at night, Zhuang Lin closed his eyes and thought most about what he had seen during the day.

The history of this world is similar to but different from the world Zhuang Lin once lived in. He is not a very good historian, so his knowledge can only be used as a reference.

However, based on realistic judgment, the worship of the City God has not yet emerged here, and even the gods worshipped are not anthropomorphic.

The Shuiyong God was later considered to be the predecessor of the City God. Although the community god was similar to the land god, he was more focused on coordinating with nature. Now it seems that they are more of a function based on the rules of the limitations of heaven and earth, and are also relatively rigid.

No wonder a tiny monster dared to cause harm so close to the city.

As long as it is not of the magnitude of a catastrophe, it may be tacitly accepted as within the laws of nature, or it may just be recorded. It will affect one's future path of cultivation, such as various disasters, and one does not have the responsibility to actively resist them.

The Jin Dynasty will not last long. The world is in turmoil now. I am afraid that many demons are at work.
Forget it, let’s go to sleep first. This is not something a mere monk like me can consider right now.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Lin was about to use sleep as a substitute for meditation to calm his mind.

But the next moment, Zhuang Lin suddenly opened his eyes, and he had a very strange feeling in his heart, as if there was some kind of connection.

For some reason, Zhuang Lin was reminded of Lu Jing in the Ten-Li Pavilion. At that time, he said that if the wound becomes painful, the monster will come.
Zhuang Lin's mind moved, and he understood.

This is Qi traction!
-
Late at night, outside the gate of the county government office, the body of the giant monkey was torn apart and hung in the middle of the wooden frame.

Even if it's dead, the demon's corpse is still extremely creepy. Plus, the curfew hasn't been lifted yet, so it's even more impossible for anyone to come here at night.

But now, there happened to be a person appearing in front of the demon corpse.

This person was wearing a black robe and walked lightly to the demon corpse. The moment he saw the corpse, he was shocked, and then he looked enlightened. No wonder he noticed something was wrong. The breath on the beads was constantly dissipating, and he was actually dead!
The visitor couldn't help but frown and looked at the notice posted on the side. He probably knew that he was killed by a so-called passing expert and the government?

With a sword?
The man subconsciously reached out and touched the sword wound on the big monkey's heart, and then his heart skipped a beat. The wound seemed ordinary, but when he touched it, he felt it was as sharp as ice!
If the sword evil does not dissipate, all souls will disappear!
(End of this chapter)