Research-Style Cultivation, Starting by Refusing to Be a Furnace – Chapter 2

Ch 2: Little Dao Enters the World

Outside the window, the rain grew heavier, the rain pattering against the muddy ground, and the cold wind swept in from outside the door, causing the already dilapidated doors and windows to creak. The wet moisture, accompanied by the cold wind, poured in, leaving the entire monastery without warmth.

Wei Xing sat behind the dilapidated stone statue in the main hall of the monastery, resisting the invasion of the cold wind. He tore up his previous white robe to use as kindling, found some cattails, dry grass, and removed part of the doors and windows in this broken monastery, burning them all. He took off his wet blue and white Taoist robe and slowly dried it.

Staring at the lightning in the distance, he muttered to himself, “I wonder how long it will rain. The doors and windows of the entire monastery are gone, and only this stone statue can withstand the cold wind.”

The warmth of the flames, the fatigue of the day, and the hunger pangs intertwined, and Wei Xing slowly lay down, a wave of drowsiness swept over him, and he quickly fell into a dream.

Wei Xing had a very long dream. In the dream, Wei Xing dreamed of a dying man, looking at himself pleadingly, trying to open his lips, as if saying “Save me”. At the same time, he dreamed of a woman, with full curves, a red scarf covering her face, and a pair of beautiful eyes staring at him playfully, like a poisonous snake hidden in the darkness, greedily sticking out its tongue to enjoy the delicious food in front of it.

Wei Xing tried very hard to see her face clearly, but he could never see it clearly, it was always hazy. Suddenly she was like a Fierce Ghost, with blood flowing from her mouth, and she stretched out her hands and rushed towards him!

At the same time, in a distant palace, the smoke emitted from the incense burner swirled in the hall.

On the long chair in the very center of the hall, a woman was lying lazily on it, scantily clad, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin. Suddenly she opened her eyes, a pair of red pupils opened, as if there were thousands of styles accompanied by bursts of pressure, and a snake-like sinister look in her delicate body.

She seemed to sense something, pinched her fingers and calculated, then smiled slightly, “Young man, I’ve found you. You can’t escape this time.”

“Someone,” she opened her red lips slightly, and her voice was so sweet and delicate that it floated out of the hall.

“Elder, please give your instructions.” A group of servants quickly walked in from outside the hall.

“The person is in the Qingyun Mountain Range, bring him back to me.” After saying that, she waved her hand to signal everyone to leave.

“Yes, I respectfully obey the decree.”

“Huff, huff, huff.” Wei Xing was awakened, panting heavily, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. This night was not easy for him.

Wei Xing looked at the rising sun outside, “The rain has stopped,” and began to put on the blue and white Taoist robe, walking outside. Since arriving here, he had not properly observed this monastery.

Wei Xing entered the courtyard first, taking in the layout of the entire monastery. It was a rather small place, with two side rooms flanking the main hall. A well sat at the back, and a dilapidated kitchen completed the picture. The doors and windows were mostly missing, a result of years of neglect and, in part, due to Wei Xing having burned some of them for fuel the previous day.

“This layout is very simple, it seems to be a small rural monastery.” Wei Xing said as he walked towards the entrance of the monastery, looked at a plaque hanging on the monastery gate covered with dust and cobwebs, on which were written the three large characters “Qingyun Temple”.

“Qingyun Temple.” Wei Xing muttered to himself, suddenly he remembered something, and jumped up and said, “How, how do I know these three characters? What’s going on?”

Wei Xing’s mind unconsciously emerged with the dream of yesterday, seeing the dying man, on the verge of death, “Could it be him? His memory?” When Wei Xing was about to continue thinking, he quickly stopped thinking about that dream, only because the remaining content of the dream yesterday was too creepy, vaguely making him feel uncomfortable in his head.

Wei Xing walked towards the door and saw the dilapidated stone statue, with the words “Qingyun Zhenjun” written on the lintel.

Wei Xing didn’t know much about Buddhist and Taoist religions on Earth, because the idea instilled in him since childhood was science, overthrowing feudal superstition, but he also knew that Taoist temples enshrined statues of the Three Pure Ones, but there was no such Qingyun Temple that only enshrined Qingyun Zhenjun.

“I wonder what kind of immortal this Qingyun Zhenjun is. It would be great if his job was to manage express delivery, so I could ask him to deliver me home, even if it meant slaughtering pigs for the rest of my life.” Wei Xing joked to himself.

This Qingyun Zhenjun was carved quite vividly, especially the long sideburns on both temples flying in the air, with a rather immortal appearance.

It’s just that with the passage of time, the stone statue has become dilapidated everywhere, with traces of being polished by wind and sand. One can only barely see the face, the high nose bridge, and thin lips, which is the appearance of a handsome middle-aged man.

“If this appearance were placed in the country, a large number of female believers would be vying to enshrine him.” Wei Xing said with a sour and jealous tone, grinning and smiling.

“There seemed to be something in that well yesterday, I don’t know what it is. If there are any treasures hidden by the people in these monasteries in the past, I can be considered settled.” The more Wei Xing thought about it, the more excited he became, rubbing his hands and walking towards the backyard.

In the dry well, after being washed by rainwater, there should be water in the well, but Wei Xing, lying on the wellhead, only saw a slightly glowing metal. “Presumably this place has been dry for a long time, and the water has all seeped into the ground.”

The light reflected from it kept tickling Wei Xing’s heart. The well was not deep, mainly because it was submerged by wind and sand. It didn’t look like the deep, bottomless wells in Wei Xing’s memory.

“How should I get it out?” Wei Xing thought for a long time, and still felt that hooking it up was the most reliable. He found some tree branches, a long tree stick, tied them together, and, sticking out his butt, used the little strength left in his body to try to hook it.

After Wei Xing took it out, he was immediately dumbfounded. There were no gold or silver treasures, just an ordinary sword. It was the metal on the scabbard that reflected the light. The overall appearance of the sword was no different from those ancient swords in his memory, but it was simpler. Wei Xing pulled the sword out hard.

With a sharp, ringing “shing,” the sword slid free of its scabbard, its polished steel gleaming with a menacing chill.

This clear sound entered Wei Xing’s ears, and Wei Xing only felt a lightness all over his body, and his spirit was much better. It was as if some connection on his body was cut off, and he felt free.

“Good treasure!” Wei Xing shouted, and then swept forward, and all kinds of weeds were instantly leveled. He chopped at the branches, and Wei Xing did not feel any resistance, and the branches were divided into two.

“What the heck, awesome, awesome!” Wei Xing exclaimed, looking at the scene in front of him.

Wei Xing put the sword away and said happily: “It’s good to have something to defend myself, who knows what the world outside is like?”

It also aroused Wei Xing’s youthful impulse to travel the world with a sword. Wei Xing carried the sword on his back and strode out.

He had already walked out of the monastery gate, turned his head and looked at the Taoist temple. Wei Xing turned around again and came to the stone statue of Qingyun Zhenjun, picked up three blades of grass, led them to the fire that had not completely extinguished last night, bowed to the stone statue, and inserted the three blades of grass into the ground in front of the stone statue.

“No matter how I came here, Qingyun Zhenjun, this great immortal, I have also been sheltered by your monastery for one night. I don’t understand the rules here. I will follow the worship method I saw in the country and worship you to express my gratitude. In addition, I also hope that if you are really an immortal in charge of express delivery, please send me back. I promise that after I go back, I will kowtow three times and bow nine times every day, and give you an extra-large incense every day!” Wei Xing bowed again and said.

He always felt that since he had just come here, he was destined to be with this immortal. Maybe he summoned himself here. Besides, what if he was really an immortal in charge of transportation? Even if he wasn’t, they all worked in the same heavenly court, and they were all immortals, so they must know one or two, and maybe he would have a chance to go back.

“It’s not that I don’t understand how to build a good relationship with the Qingyun Immortal.” Wei Xing thought in his heart.

Finally, he reluctantly walked out of the monastery and walked down the mountain. He casually coiled his long hair, found a tree branch to insert it, and also found a piece of cloth to cover his face, so as not to let others see his deep black eye sockets, and the cheekbones protruding from being thin, looking like he was seriously deficient in kidney essence and his vitality was overdrawn.

He supported the hilt of the sword on his back, tidied up his clothes, and strode down the mountain, humming the tune of “Taoist Going Down the Mountain” in his memory. The little Taoist went down the mountain.

As Wei Xing went away, the smoke from the three blades of grass in Qingyun Temple slowly floated up into the nostrils of the stone statue, and the stone statue also emitted a faint light, which then went out.