Dongxuan Spiritual Realm

Chapter 12: Dirty Heart and Rotten Lung
On that day, the two sisters were wrapped by the golden corpse evil. Fortunately, the golden cauldron had just transformed into a corpse demon, and the evil spirit did not become powerful.

If you encounter an old corpse, you will probably be sucked into two piles of bones in an instant.

Even so, they were infected with corpse poison, and their blood and qi were stagnant for a long time. Although they took a bottle of detoxifying elixir left by Jin Guang Ding, they still needed more than a year of recuperation to recover.

Eldest sister Yang Huayin expressed concern for her younger brother: "Your martial arts skills are superior to ours, but you've been accustomed to a life of luxury since childhood. Now that you've arrived in the mountains, you'll have no one to serve you. Instead, you'll have to serve the master, and you might even have to endure the abuse of your senior brothers and sisters. How can you endure this? In my opinion, you'll need at least four maids to take care of your daily needs, and eight servants..."

"At least let Kuiwu come with us," Yang Qisheng interrupted. "Not only can he be used on a daily basis, but he can also come back and report any unexpected events in time."

Yang Qisheng firmly refused, "Master taught us that the mortal mind looks outward, while the heart of Taoism looks inward. When mortal eyes observe external objects, Qi leaks from the eyes, blinding the five colors. When the ears listen, Qi leaks from the ears, deafening the five sounds. When the tongue tastes the five flavors, Qi disperses from the tongue, refreshing the mouth. In the authentic Xuanmen immortal method, the first step in cultivation is to withdraw the mind and look inward. Observe the flow of essence and energy, the workings of the internal organs, and be aware of the arising and fading of thoughts. Knowing that the smallest has no inside, and realizing that the greatest has no outside, only then can one see the Tao. Therefore, all attachment to external things must be cut off, and these displays of wealth and splendor are the great taboos of cultivation."

These words were said by Mingyi Zhenren when he was explaining the Lingbao Five Talismans Sutra to him:
"When the eyes are not looking, the soul is in the liver; when the ears are not hearing, the essence is in the kidneys; when the nose is not smelling, the spirit is in the lungs; when the mouth is not speaking, the spirit is in the heart... Only by nourishing the five qi within can they become spiritual treasures."

"Why can't immortals have people to serve them?" Yang Huayin was very dissatisfied. "The immortals in operas and novels also have fairies to serve them and strong men to serve them. They have so many people. What's the difference between them and us wealthy families in the mortal world?"

Yang Qisheng smiled and said, "I once asked Master what kind of life the immortals lead. Master said that those in operas and storybooks were all made up by mortals based on their own imaginations, but in reality, it is not like that."

At that time, he also asked Mingyi Zhenren what the real life of immortals was like. Mingyi Zhenren did not tell him clearly, but only told him that he would be able to see it when he cultivated to the "Dongxuan Lingjing".

He asked again what the "Dongxuan Lingjing" was. Mingyi Zhenren only said that it could only be seen after knocking on the mysterious door of the Great Dao. He asked him to practice and prove it by himself. Even if he had told him about it in advance, he would not be able to see it.

Yang Qisheng couldn't figure it out for a moment. He thought that with his intelligence, as long as his master explained it, he would definitely be able to understand it, but if his master didn't say anything, he couldn't ask any more questions.

The second sister, Yang Shaoyin, has other concerns.

She put down the teacup, her eyes gleaming with anticipation: "As the old saying goes: If one person attains enlightenment, nine generations of the clan will ascend to heaven. Since there really is a sword immortal in the world, and my third brother has already found a famous teacher, why don't you help introduce us to the immortal? When we all become flying swords in the future, the world of martial arts will be ruled by our family!"

Yang Qisheng had really thought about cultivating immortals with his family. At first, he wanted to take Kuiwu with him to become his disciple, but the threshold for Master Mingyi to accept disciples was too high, so he rejected him on the spot.

He has the "Eight Yang Divine Mantras of Heaven and Earth" in his hand, which he can pass on to others. However, once the Yang family begins to practice Taoism, it will become his power in the world, which may trigger the heavenly punishment of the Universal Ceremony.

We have to wait at least three years!

When Yang Shaoyin heard that he was unwilling to introduce her to the immortal master and said that he would wait for another three years, she thought he was deliberately refusing and felt a little unhappy. She felt that this younger brother did not have the same father and mother as her and there was a layer of distance between them.

After eating the reunion dinner and drinking dozens of glasses of toast, Yang Qisheng mounted his horse with his sword on his back and left Sanjiang City.

He rode the fine horse Tayunmian, a birthday present given to him by his mother when he was eight years old. Not only was it half a head taller than an ordinary horse, its limbs were also much stronger, its teeth were very sharp, it could kick wolves and bite leopards, and it had an extremely fierce temperament.

Back then, Grandpa Zhao had brought it from the outside of the Great Wall on a large cart with an iron cage. Apart from Yang Qisheng, who tamed it personally, and the groom who fed it and shoveled its feces every day, no other creature was allowed to approach it, not even its own kind. Mares were fine, as they would only be kicked by him, but stallions would be bitten to death by him.

To this end, Yang Qisheng built a luxurious stable just for him in his backyard. The horse was snow-white, and when it ran, its hooves were like the wind, fast and steady. Riding it was like walking through the clouds. In just half a day, it had already covered more than 300 miles.

The sun was high in the sky and at noon, there were continuous high mountains blocking the road ahead.

This mountain is named Xiaku Mountain because every summer, while other places have green mountains and clear waters and lush trees, all the plants on this mountain will die. The plants at the foot of the mountain are still relatively better, but the higher you go to the top, the more serious the plant death. When you reach the top, the vegetation is as if it has suffered a century-long drought, and it has to wait until autumn to slowly sprout again, hence the name.

Xia Ku Mountain runs east-west, with the front peak in the east, closer to the main road. There is a Kusong Village on the mountain. The old village chief is named Zhu Botao, whose internal strength, lightness skills and swordsmanship are all top-notch. He founded this village more than 40 years ago and has been invincible in the world. People in the martial arts world gave him the nickname "holding up the sky with both hands to divide the sun and the moon, and stepping on three rivers to roam freely."

He originally had nothing to do with the Yang family, but knowing that Yang Tianque was powerful, he tacitly accepted Yang Tianque as the best master in Jiangnan.

Until a few years ago, when Yang Qisheng unified and integrated the underworld forces in Sanjiang and two provinces, Zhu Botao refused to surrender and wanted to compete with Yang Tianque to decide the winner. Yang Qisheng fought on behalf of his father and defeated him with great effort.

When the Yang family suffered this disaster, Zhu Botao was not present, but sent his eldest son Zhu Yunlang to Sanjiang City to express condolences.

Yang Qisheng had no intention of going up the mountain to visit, so he rode his horse and took a detour eastward from the foot of the mountain.

As he was walking quickly, he suddenly heard a quarrel between a man and a woman in the woods in the distance.

The male voice sounded young, like a young boy just beginning to fall in love, and his tone was anxious and angry:
"You clearly promised to come back with me to the mountains and marry me, to be my wife! I even stole my grandfather's 'Dead Tree Spring Pills' to give you as a betrothal gift. How can you go back on your word now?"

The female voice was soft and charming, with a hint of contempt:

"I only mentioned the medicine casually. You forced it on me yourself. I didn't agree to marry you. I only accepted it out of reluctance because you begged me so pitifully. Why, now you're blaming me?"

The boy's voice became more and more angry:
"I've told you long ago that this 'Dead Tree Spring Pill' is Grandpa's life-extending ingredient, and it must never be given to outsiders! Giving you the medicine is a huge undertaking. If you marry me afterwards, I'll take you back to the mountain to apologize. Grandpa won't be particularly angry when he sees the medicine given to his own grandson's wife. You clearly said 'yeah' back then!"

The woman scoffed. "I said 'yeah' about something else, but I didn't agree to marry you."

The young man was furious, his voice filled with despair. "If you don't marry me, I'll lose the medicine, and Grandpa won't be able to prolong his life. My father will beat me to death when he finds out! If you don't want to marry me, return the medicine!"

"Your father wants to beat you to death, what does it have to do with me? If you're afraid of death, why don't you kill him first? If your martial arts skills are too poor to defeat him, I can help you." The woman said nonchalantly, "Besides, I've already taken the medicine and refined it to increase my strength. Even if I wanted to give it back to you, I can't. Besides, you've already tasted my body, so why not just consider it as payment? Don't be so stingy."

The young man finally lost his patience and shouted, "You dirty-hearted bitch! You're a lone female thief wandering the Jianghu, unacceptable to the world, and having offended a master, you've come to Jiangnan seeking refuge. I've also been bewitched, to the point of falling in love with you! Since you want me to die, I won't let you live either. Let's perish together today!"

Before he finished speaking, the sound of metal clashing could be heard from the forest, and it was obvious that the two men had started fighting.

Yang Qisheng didn't want to meddle in other people's business, so he continued on his way without stopping for a moment.

(End of this chapter)