I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 7 The Place of Cultivation
Before long, the young Taoist returned to the hall carrying many things and handed them to Ying Chan one by one.

Taoist robe, inner garment, cloth shoes, wooden hairpin, training clothes... Ying Chan glanced at the few sets of clothes casually and then stopped paying attention.

This wooden talisman is Yingchan's proof of his presence in the Taoist temple and must be kept safe.

Finally, and what Ying Chan valued most, were the books—a total of twelve volumes. According to the old Taoist, they contained the most basic Taoist theories and common knowledge about cultivation.

At a glance, Ying Chan saw the "Records of Things", the "Classic of Mysterious Apertures", the "Treatise on the Five Elements", the "Recommendations and Taboos for Cultivation", and the "Precepts of the Daoist School", but most of the texts were incomprehensible.

He took it and quickly flipped through the book to read it. Sure enough, the contents were just as obscure, and his heart sank slightly.

After a moment's thought, Ying Chan decided to ask directly, "May I ask, Master, what kind of script is this?"

"Oh, this is cloud script, a type of script that originated directly from the Taoist true script, possessing all sorts of mysteries..."

The old Taoist thought for a moment and then explained, "Cloud script is also the most commonly used script in the cultivation world today. Whether you are learning the Tao or practicing the Dharma in the future, you will not be able to do without cloud script. You should study it carefully."

Ying Chan never expected that he would encounter such a hurdle so soon after entering the Taoist academy.

Fortunately, he was not one to give up easily. He quickly accepted his illiteracy and asked, "How should I begin to learn?"

"I'll have the boy fetch you a copy of the Cloud Seal Script later."

After the old Taoist finished speaking, whether to comfort Ying Chan or not, he continued, "The characters in the secular world actually originated from the cloud seal script. Although they have undergone a long evolution, they are still closely related."

"If you have the aptitude, learning cloud seal script should not be difficult."

One should clarify the subtle peace within one's heart.

Afterwards, the young Taoist brought him the Cloud Seal Script and, before seeing him off, also gave him some pointers on the common knowledge of the Taoist temple.

Ying Chan remembered everything, thanked the young Taoist, and then stepped out the door.

Once again bathed in sunlight, one should feel a sense of being in another world.

In fact, only an hour had passed between them, and the sun had only tilted slightly to the west. The green mountains remained as usual, and nothing had changed.

Ying Chan only knew that his three years of hard work, his thousand days and nights, and all the storms he had experienced had all vanished like drifting clouds at this very moment.

From that moment on, the world was no longer the same.

He stood in the mountains for a moment before taking a step and walking away.

Strangely enough, these days, Ying Chan, who is used to climbing up and down and making difficult paths, has become much slower walking on the stone-paved, well-ordered mountain paths.

Whether it was because my body was relaxed or because I was captivated by the novelty of the scenery, it took me a full half hour to reach the edge of 'Xiaxi'.

Xiaqi is the same Mirror Lake we saw earlier.

Within the Taoist temple, all the disciples reside on the opposite bank of Xiaqi. Their daily practice is ordinary, and they only come to this side when there are matters such as listening to the Tao, learning the Dharma, or borrowing books.

Once Ying Chan entered the Taoist academy, he was naturally assigned a place to live, which was the 'Jia Zi No. 26 Courtyard'. The Taoist boy said that he could find it on the other side of the river.

So he walked along the lakeside and found the long causeway.

The long causeway is named "Cloud in the Sky," and Ying Chan still doesn't know the meaning behind it. However, walking on it with the lake breeze is truly pleasant.

Along the way, he encountered many disciples from the Taoist academy, but he did not know any of them, so he only observed them.

Most of these Taoist disciples are young people, but occasionally you can see middle-aged people or even elderly people.

This surprised Ying Chan.

As far as he knows now, the period of training at the Taoist academy is ten years.

If one can achieve certain results within ten years and reach a certain stage in cultivation, there is hope of being accepted into the Xuandu Sect.

Otherwise, one can only leave the Taoist academy to seek opportunities on one's own, or become a helper Taoist, but no longer a disciple. In other words, the middle-aged, old men, and old women he sees now have all been practicing in the Taoist academy for less than ten years, and can be considered his "classmates". Indeed, there is no distinction between early and late in seeking the Tao.

Besides their age, the demeanor and behavior of these Taoist disciples also varied.

Ying Chan saw some people hurrying along, some leisurely, and some simply sitting on the embankment, gazing at Xiaqi Lake, seemingly lost in thought. There was even someone riding a blue ox backwards, holding an ancient book, letting the old ox guide the way, while their mind was completely absorbed in the book...

Ying Chan walked among them, immersed in this atmosphere, feeling as if in a dream.

……

Xiaqi Lake is quite vast, and the Yunzhong Causeway is naturally quite long. After walking more than half of it, the palaces and pavilions behind are already hidden in the greenery, while the scenery on the opposite bank gradually becomes clearer.

Previously, from the air, one could see a vast expanse of black-tiled roofs and white walls, arranged in neat rows and orderly rows.

Only when you get closer do you realize that the distance between each courtyard is actually quite far, and there are also rocks, bamboo shadows, and lush flowers and trees separating them, so even if they are adjacent, they will not disturb each other.

Upon arriving here, Ying Chan finally learned the location of the 'Twenty-Six Courtyards of the First Grade'.

It turns out that this area of ​​courtyards was divided according to the Heavenly Stems, with the Jia character being the lakeside courtyard.

Of course, apart from the location and order, the configuration of each courtyard is the same, and the allocation is entirely based on fate, so there is no unfairness.

For Ying Chan, however, opening the courtyard gate revealed a breathtaking view of lakes and mountains, which was truly delightful and made him feel incredibly lucky.

After descending the Yunzhong Causeway, he turned onto the lakeside path and walked under the willows along the shore, where fewer and fewer people were traveling with him.

Suddenly, Ying Chan heard a faint voice calling to him: "Taoist...Taoist! Can you hear me?"

Ying Chan lowered his gaze and discovered that the colorful sparrow was hidden in his clothes, not daring to expose even half a feather, only its round eyes darting around.

"What is the fairy doing?"

"Keep your voice down!" Cai Que'er was startled at first, but quickly calmed down and asked furtively, "I've heard it's been quiet outside for a long time. Have we gone to a secluded place?"

Ying Chanren chuckled and said, "Exactly."

The colorful sparrow was overjoyed and immediately poked its head out of his arms, exclaiming, "Finally, I can breathe!"

Then, with a smug look on his face, he exclaimed, "I really managed to infiltrate the Taoist temple!"

Ying Chan couldn't help but chuckle and ask, "Fairy, you've remained silent since arriving in Xuandu, is it all for this?"

"how?"

Ying Chan smiled and said, "I think that even if the fairy doesn't hide, she should be able to enter the Taoist academy."

Cai Que'er tilted her head and asked, "Why?"

"Your coming here with me is naturally with the tacit approval of the Dao Academy," Ying Chan said. "Otherwise, no matter how well you hide, you could not possibly escape the sight of the experts of the Dao Academy."

Cai Que'er was stunned.

"But..." Although it felt that what it was about to say made sense, it still couldn't quite believe it: "I am a spirit, how can I enter the Taoist academy at will..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ying Chan suddenly raised his head.

Suddenly, a white deer appeared ahead, strolling along the lakeside.

It seemed to have no fear or hostility towards Ying Chan's existence, merely glancing at him curiously before leisurely brushing past him.

Ying Chan glanced at the colorful sparrow and noticed that its eyes were wide open, which made him smile.

(End of this chapter)