Above the source of Tao

Chu Xiaoxiao turned around and saw Yun Changan opened his eyes, but there was no movement for a long time.

"Junior brother, you're awake. How do you feel?" Chu Xiaoxiao looked at him with concern. After a while, he turned around.

"Senior Sister Chu, where is the sculpture?"

Chu Xiaoxiao pointed at the sculpture on the ground that she had dropped.

He stood up and picked up the sculpture on the ground. At this time, the outermost layer of gold foil had fallen off, leaving only silver-gray color exposed. It still looked the same as before, but it seemed to come alive and become lifelike.

"Sister, this sculpture is useful to me. Give it to me and I will find the location of that evil sect."

His determined eyes and unsuspecting tone made Chu Xiaoxiao agree with his decision.

"Let's go around the streets first, maybe we can find some clues."

The two then walked out of the room and headed towards the busiest market on the street.

There is a market town in the west of the city, named Xidoufang, where most of the people in the city live, and there are densely packed houses and a large population. There are shouting and noisy noises everywhere, and even few people from government offices are willing to come here. However, this is also the place with the most information.

In the very center of Xidoufang City, there is a high platform with a large ancient bell hanging on the beam of the attic pavilion. The beam is a three-foot-diameter red tree trunk. Because it is red, it matches the color of the attic pavilion very well.

No one knows when the big ancient bell was placed there. People here have seen it hanging here since they were born. Even the old people here cannot tell when the big ancient bell was here. Most people just say that about two hundred years ago, a monk came to Chuwang City from the west carrying the bell on his back and chose a place, which is today's Xidoufang, and built the big ancient bell here. The ancient bell is struck every day at sunrise, noon and sunset, and the number of times the ancient bell is struck at these three hours is different. Some people say three times at sunrise, six times at noon, and three times at sunset, while others say six times at sunrise, three times at noon, and three times at sunset. In short, no one can explain it clearly.

Generally speaking, the bell would be rung twelve times during these three hours. Later, people gradually forgot the purpose of the monk's ringing of the bell. So, for the sake of convenience, later generations rang the bell four times each during these three hours to remind people in the market of the concept of time.

The ancient bell is now managed by a group called Shi, and someone from their group will ring the bell at these three hours every day.

Soon, four sonorous, melodious and powerful bell sounds were heard in the market town.

It seemed that the people here were already used to it. They had no reaction to the bell and just went about their own business.

A man walked up to the bell tower. He was dressed in green and had a dignified appearance, a handsome face and a fair complexion. He looked like a young master from some family. He took out some things from the package on his back, found a shady place under the bell tower and set up a stall.

The man was hawking the items in front of him, and only his voice could be heard. This was a miraculous recipe and medicine handed down from his ancestors. After several generations' efforts, he had finally refined the elixir in his generation. Now he was going to sell the elixir developed by his ancestors to everyone as a way of charity.

Taking one pill of this elixir can calm the mind, nourish the qi and resist fatigue. Taking two pills can prolong life and add ten years to your life. It can also prevent all kinds of plagues and diseases and cure the sick.

As the man shouted, many people gathered around the stall, blocking the entire street. Many of them were skeptical about the elixir and did not dare to try it easily.

"Does this elixir really have so many miraculous effects?"

Some skeptical people in the crowd asked, and many people around were also watching the show with a skeptical attitude.

"Of course, this is the elixir that our ancestors worked hard for and spent several generations of effort to refine. How could it be fake?"

The stall owner said this confidently, looking at the crowd in front of him with an imperceptible smile.

"There are so many scammers these days, how do we know if it's genuine?"

Someone in the crowd raised doubts again.

"If you don't believe me, you can bring your sick family member here, and I will demonstrate the miraculous effects of this elixir on the spot."

Many people in the crowd were whispering and talking.

At this time, a man, who seemed to be a small vendor, came out and said, "My mother is sick and has been bedridden for a long time. If your magic pill can bring my mother back to life, I will work for you like a cow or a horse."

The stall owner asked the vendor to push his mother over, and if she could not be saved, he would give him some compensation.

So the man hurried home to push his mother.

At this time, everyone in the crowd recognized the small vendor. He was the one selling straw sandals in the north of Xidoufang. Many people already knew that his mother had been bedridden for a long time.

A stick of incense later, the small vendor selling straw sandals came pushing a wooden cart, and on the cart lay his mother, her face pale and lifeless, one foot already at the gate of hell.

Pushing the sick mother over, the stall owner poured a black pill from the jade bottle into his hand and fed it to his mother. He then pricked his mother's head a few times with a silver needle. Not long after, the mother suddenly spit out a pool of black blood from her mouth, sat up, and looked around blankly until she saw her son, then she spoke.

"Son, what's going on? Why am I here?"

"It's really amazing, he actually came back to life!"

The crowd on the street suddenly began to move, looking at the mother on the wooden cart in disbelief.

At this moment, the small vendor suddenly pushed away the crowd around him, knelt down towards the stall owner, and kowtowed three times. The sound was very loud, but it was still drowned out by the discussions in the crowd.

People around began to believe that this was really an elixir. Some clever people had already crowded to the front and asked about the price of the elixir. When they learned that the elixir was not expensive, only twenty taels of silver, the people at the front began to pay for it.

However, the man said that this was the first time he was selling the elixir, and due to the rush, he only prepared 500 pills today. Each person was limited to buying one, while they were sold out.

In a short while, the 500 pills were sold out. Many people didn't even have a chance to see the elixir before it was gone. They regretted not standing at the front.

Looking at the people who didn't buy the elixir, the man shouted loudly, "There will be more tomorrow, so don't worry."

When those who didn't buy it heard that it would be available for sale tomorrow, many of them who felt regretful suddenly showed expressions of surprise.

He murmured to himself that he would definitely buy the elixir tomorrow.

After the stall owner said this, he packed up his stall and fled into the distance, disappearing without a trace.