The surface of the lake was calm and the shape was indeed like a mirror. When he looked down, he couldn't see his own shadow, but he could see the shadows of his senior brothers Teng Yunzi, Shi Kong, and Baiyun.
"Master, look, the Taoist priest's shadow is not on the lake." Bai Yun noticed this and asked curiously.
"Oh, is there such a thing?" Master Shi Kong took a look and it was indeed true.
His expression immediately became serious, and he couldn't help but look at Li Xiuyuan again. He couldn't help but clasping his hands and lowering his eyes and chanting the Buddha's name: "Amitabha, the mirror lake can only reflect the shadow of a person. This Taoist priest is not an ordinary person.
Naturally there is no shadow."
"So that's the case, then this Taoist priest must be a highly practiced immortal." Baiyun said.
"A monk should be quiet and do nothing, and should not pry into other people's privacy." Master Shikong said.
Baiyun looked like he was willing to accept the instruction and immediately stopped asking any more questions.
Li Xiuyuan flew all the way and saw many practitioners living near Jing Lake. They were sitting by the lake fishing, playing chess and drinking tea, or writing and painting... living a leisurely life.
, unrestrained, making people feel comfortable and fascinated.
"Senior brother, how many cultivators are there in Tianmu Mountain, and how many immortals are there?"
After watching it for a while, he asked curiously.
Teng Yunzi smiled and said: "There are countless people. There should be hundreds of thousands of people practicing in Tianmu Mountain. There should be thousands of immortals. Some immortals are so famous that their names will be sung in the world. Some immortals have become enlightened silently.
My reputation is not known and I am not told by outsiders. Why does my junior brother ask this?"
"It's nothing, I just feel that the rare immortals in the world seem to be worthless here." Li Xiuyuan said.
Teng Yunzi said: "After becoming an immortal, immortals generally do not dare to get involved in the mortal world. Firstly, there are too many causes and effects in the mortal world. Once entangled too deeply, immortals will also fall into reincarnation. Secondly, becoming an immortal...
After those who attained the Dao in their time, a hundred years later, they no longer have any relatives in the mortal world.
Love will lose its meaning if it remains in the mortal world. Naturally, it is better to be friends with the immortals and live here peacefully."
"Since junior brother is so interested in Tianmu Mountain, it's still early, why don't you go and have some fun? You can just go to Master's place."
When Li Xiuyuan heard this, he immediately nodded and said: "It is indeed my first time to visit such a magical place. Since my senior brother suggested it, I would rather obey your order respectfully. Master, please ask your senior brother to take me to say hello...
...But if possible, please ask my senior brother to inquire about the third sister for me.
, there are so many gods and cultivators here, if you want to find out, you may have to use the magic power of the master. I am not proficient in the calculation technique."
"This is a matter of duty, junior brother, don't worry." Teng Yunzi said.
Li Xiuyuan nodded, said goodbye to Master Shi Kong again, and then flew alone in the auspicious cloud in the other direction of Taimu Mountain.
It's a lie that he's just playing around, but it's a lie that he's seeking information.
The reason why Teng Yunzi separated from him was because Teng Yunzi saw the urgency in his heart, so he didn't want to delay him with this matter.
Li Xiuyuan fell next to Jinghu Lake.
There are many people who practice Buddhism here, and there are also immortals who live in huts.
Maybe you can get some news from here.
Along the way, he saw a Taoist who had his eyes closed and seemed to be asleep, fishing, but the fishing line on the fishing rod in his hand did not move at all when it fell into the mirror lake. Maybe he was practicing cultivation or something.
After thinking for a while, he still didn't go up to ask, but just passed by.
Not long after he passed by, the man's fishing line trembled, and he suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.
However, after retracting the fishing rod, no bait caught the bait. He let out a long sigh and continued to hang to the ground, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, motionless.
Continuing to walk forward, Li Xiuyuan saw two old men sitting on a white jade platform playing chess in front of a hut.
The black and white chess pieces are killing each other back and forth, and each seems to be trapped in it, unable to extricate itself.
Li Xiuyuan thought for a while and still felt that it was not good to disturb him, so he continued walking forward.
Then I saw a man who looked like a madman from the Jin Dynasty painting with ink, sometimes painting landscapes, sometimes painting flowers, plants, insects and animals.
Suddenly, the madman stopped writing and looked at the picture in front of him and shook his head slightly.
But I saw that what he painted was a picture of an outing enjoying the scenery. The scenery in the picture was beautiful and lifelike, with rugged mountains and rocks and few smoke waves. However, the person in the painting who was outing enjoying the scenery could not be painted well.
The madman let out a long sigh, tore up the scroll and threw it on the ground.
"Why did fellow Taoist tear up such an extraordinary masterpiece and throw it on the ground? This is a work of painstaking effort. Wouldn't it be a pity to tear it up like this?" Li Xiuyuan looked at the stained scroll on the ground and couldn't help but sigh: "This painting
If the painting were placed in the mortal world, it would definitely be a treasure handed down from generation to generation."
"But in the eyes of immortals, these words are not worth mentioning, are they?" The madman threw the pen casually and said.
Li Xiuyuan said: "I am a mortal. I don't know how immortals appreciate calligraphy and painting, but as a mortal, this painting is already the pinnacle."
The madman looked at Li Xiuyuan suspiciously: "Are you a mortal? Why do you appear in Taimu Mountain?"
"Has no mortal ever entered Tianmu Mountain before?" Li Xiuyuan asked.
"Haha, you're right. My name is Gu Xian. I wonder what your name is, young man?" The madman who called himself Gu Xian asked with a smile.
"This is Li Xiuyuan."
Gu Xian said: "Young man, do you know what is the most difficult thing to paint? What is the easiest thing to paint?"
"I think people are the most difficult to draw, but I don't know the best thing to draw." Li Xiuyuan said.
"Yes, the most difficult thing to draw is people, because people have various shapes. Their bodies are easy to draw, their expressions are difficult to draw, and their hearts are even more difficult to draw. And the best things to draw in the world are ghosts, immortals, and Buddhas...
...Because the world has never seen ghosts, nor immortals, nor Buddhas. You don’t know the form of ghosts, and you don’t know the form of ghosts.
If you understand the beauty of immortals but don’t understand the wisdom of Buddha, it is best to paint, because if you draw a ghost, it is a ghost; if you draw an immortal, it is an immortal; if you draw a Buddha, it is a Buddha.”
Gu Xian shook his head and said with a smile: "But what if such a painting is spread among mortals? Fake ones are always fake, just to fool the world. Therefore, after seeing the real immortal Buddha, my painting skills took a huge step back, and I became confused.
Because of the demonic barrier, I practiced hard and tried to regain my previous painting skills."
"Then have you found it again?" Li Xiuyuan asked.
"No, if I get it back, why would I do this every day?" Gu Xian said, but in the end he suddenly looked at Li Xiuyuan.
"All the beautiful landscapes in my paintings have reached their peak, and only one person is missing to enter the painting. I see that you have the beauty of an immortal, the demeanor of a ghost, the compassion of a Bodhisattva, and the emotions of a mortal. If you stand here for an hour and let me enter the painting,
Maybe I can make a breakthrough in my painting skills, I don’t know
Can you agree to my request?"
After saying that, he put away his madman attitude and became sincere.
"Although I don't mind helping you with this, I still have one more thing that needs to be solved. After I solve this problem, I can paint the immortals again." Li Xiuyuan said.
Gu Xian immediately said: "I am a god. Nothing in the world can trouble me anymore. Maybe I can help you."
"I'm looking for a fox. It's a red fox. I've been practicing for five hundred years and was caught in Tianmu Mountain. Can you help me find it?" Li Xiuyuan said.
Gu Xian replied: "Although I can't find it for you for a while, I know who is most likely to know the whereabouts of that fox spirit. If you are willing to stay here for an hour, I will tell you the news. Not only that.
, how about giving me this brush to you?"
As he spoke, he opened his palm, and a writing brush emitting five colors of light floated quietly.
"Is this talent?" Li Xiuyuan asked with a slight expression on his face.
"Yes, this is the talent I accumulated throughout my life when I was in the mortal world. I will no longer be able to use it after I become an immortal, but you are a mortal, so maybe you can use this thing." Gu Xian said.
Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but feel that whatever this immortal took out was a treasure.
After a mortal gets this thing, he will not immediately become a painter who can be passed down to the world. I am afraid that he can have fame, money, and beauty in an instant.
But such a thing became dispensable in the eyes of this immortal and could be given away casually.