As if struggling for his life, Guo Song climbed for three days before finally reaching the Taoist temple at the west foot of Xiangshan Mountain. This was a very dilapidated small Taoist temple with only five mud houses in total. Behind the small Taoist temple was a cliff of thousands of feet.
.
Above a mountain gate that is about to collapse, there is a crooked and broken wooden plaque hanging. The paint has peeled off and turned white due to wind and rain. On it, three characters can be vaguely discerned: Qingxu Palace.
Guo Song was stunned for a long time. Although he was mentally prepared from the old Taoist priest's robes that were more shabby than a beggar's clothes, he was still shocked by the broken Taoist temple in front of him.
"Come in quickly!"
The old Taoist priest glared at him dissatisfied and said, "Where did you think it would be, the Daming Palace?"
Guo Song had no choice but to follow the old Taoist priest into the Taoist temple. Inside was a yard of fifty or sixty square meters, and several Taoist priests were chopping firewood and carrying water.
Seeing the old Taoist priest coming in, the Taoist priests gathered around and said with a smile: "Master is back!"
There were four Taoist priests in total, some were middle-aged and some were young, but there seemed to be no Taoist boys.
Guo Song already knew that the old Taoist priest was called Mu Zhenren. Although he worshiped under his disciple, he could not formally become his master. He was currently just a young Taoist boy. He could only formally worship Mu Zhenren as his master after he was over 18 years old and had been ordained as a Taoist priest.
Of course, he can call Zhenren Mu his master, after all, he is also a disciple of Qingxu Guan.
A young Taoist priest jumped in front of Guo Song, looked him up and said with a smile: "Master, is this the little junior brother you found? He's so thin!"
"Guo Song, let me introduce to you. These are your four senior brothers. The oldest is called Gan Feng, the fattest is called Gan Lei, the tallest is called Gan Yun, and the one who looks like a monkey is called Gan Yu. You
I’ll still call you Guo Song, and when you turn eighteen, you’ll change your name to Gan Yue.”
Mu Zhenren said again: "It's a bit late today, Gan Feng, please take Guo Song to eat and rest first, and then arrange his work tomorrow."
"Yes! Master."
Gan Feng bowed and said to Guo Song: "Junior brother, come with me!"
Guo Song bowed to Zhenren Mu and several senior brothers, and followed Gan Feng to a mud house on the far left.
Gan Feng has a bitter face, rough skin, thick black eyebrows drooping down, and a sad face. He is estimated to be in his mid-thirties at most, but he is naturally old-looking, giving the impression that he is almost fifty.
Gan Feng was of medium height and his movements were a bit slow. He took Guo Song into the kitchen. The kitchen was dark with smoke. There was a broken iron pot on an earthen stove. There were a dozen large coarse porcelain pots with missing edges and corners on the stove.
bowl.
Gan Feng opened the lid of the pot, scooped out a bowl of dark stuff from the pot, and handed it to Guo Song, "Eat it! It's all mountain products. We rarely have food here."
Guo Song was really hungry this time. He took the bowl and ate it hungrily. It was actually quite good. It was porridge made with yam, fern roots and dried mushrooms, but it was too bland and had almost no salt.
Gan Feng scooped up another bowl and gave it to the master.
After dinner, the senior brother took Guo Song to his residence again. The brothers all slept together. The fourth senior brother Gan Yu had already built a small bed for him, with wooden boards he made himself, covered with a thick layer of hay and a quilt.
It's a deerskin.
"Junior brother, where are you from?" Gan Yu asked with a smile.
Guo Song liked this enthusiastic fourth senior brother very much. He scratched his head and said, "I am from Lingzhou."
"Lingzhou is a great place! It is rich in melons and fruits. I like to eat melons and fruits the most."
"Fourth Senior Brother, where are you from?" Guo Song asked again.
"Me! I'm from Bashu. My hometown is Yizhou. Master picked me up when he went to Qingcheng Mountain for a Taoist tour. I just received the ordination and became a disciple last month."
"You are from Sichuan!" Guo Song suddenly said in Sichuan dialect.
Gan Yu laughed loudly, "I can't speak Bashu dialect for a long time."
He patted Guo Song on the shoulder and said, "Have a good sleep and we'll talk about anything tomorrow!"
Gan Yu left, and Guo Song lay in the warm hay. Although he was extremely tired, his whole body ached so much that he couldn't sleep.
At this time, he faintly heard low voices outside the house.
"Second brother, why do you think Master found such a thin child? Doesn't this increase the burden on us?"
"Master has his own ideas. Besides, there is nothing to be afraid of if he is thin. With Master here, he will be nursed back to be stronger than a leopard in at most half a year."
"Master said he would find the most enlightened disciple to go up the mountain. Do you think he is enlightened too?"
"You can't tell it yet, but with Master's eyesight, I guess this child will have a special talent."
During the discussion between the two senior brothers, Guo Song couldn't resist the attack of sleepiness and finally fell asleep.
…………
It was still dark the next day, and Guo Song suddenly opened his eyes. This was the instinct he had developed over the past three years to seek food. If he didn't rush to the canteen in time, he would have to starve for the whole day.
Guo Song screamed inwardly and sat up suddenly. The gray morning light penetrated from above the door of the house. There were no more hundreds of people sleeping together in the lobby. Only then did he remember that he was no longer in the reception hall.
Guo Song breathed a long sigh of relief and buried his head on the deerskin. He seemed to have thought of something and turned to look at the other senior brothers, but was suddenly stunned.
I saw his four senior brothers sitting cross-legged on the bed, with their hands lightly placed on the Dantian, their waists straight, breathing in a strange rhythm, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes long and graceful, sometimes so fast that it's almost explosive.
Her chest also rose and fell violently.
What is this doing?
Guo Song was really curious, could this be the legendary practice of internal strength?
He looked at it for a moment, but couldn't hold back his anxiety, so he got off the bed lightly, opened a crack in the door and got out.
When he came outside, a chill hit his face. The pores on his body shrank, but his eyes widened. The entire mountain peak was shrouded in white fog.
Guo Song did not dare to go far and peed next to the house. But at this time, he had no intention of going back to the house to sleep. The fairyland-like mist strongly attracted him.
He touched the wall and walked into the courtyard. Within a moment, his hair and clothes became wet, and the water droplets on his face flowed down his neck. The mist was too humid.
Guo Song soon found that he had lost his way. In the thick fog like milk, the houses had disappeared, and he had to move forward cautiously.
"If you continue forward, you will fall off the cliff." Mu Zhenren's voice suddenly came from behind.
Guo Song's whole body was agitated, as if he had been immobilized by a spell, and he did not dare to move.
"Master, I can't see anything!"
"You turn around and walk in a straight line!"
He slowly turned around and walked slowly in a straight line, and finally saw the master's figure faintly a few steps away.
"Come with me!"
Guo Song followed Mu Zhenren's figure closely and soon walked into a room.
The house was very simple, but neatly kept. There was a brick fireplace in the corner, with a fire burning inside, and the light of the fire illuminated the room in red.
"Sit down and warm yourself by the fire. The most indispensable thing we have here is firewood."
Mu Zhenren smiled and pointed to a tree stump. Guo Song sat down on the tree stump. The warm breath hit his face, and soon, his whole body became warm.
"Are all the senior brothers up?" Mu Zhenren sat aside and asked.
"They are all meditating, Master, are they... practicing internal strength?" Guo Song asked cautiously.
Mu Zhenren laughed, "Their meditation does have the effect of strengthening the body, but it is not practicing, but doing homework. Starting from the fifth watch every day, all the Taoist priests in Kongtong Mountain get up to meditate and do morning classes.
It's one thing to chant sutras with monks, every Taoist priest is working hard to practice the art of ascension."
"Specifically...how to practice?"
"Each family is similar, that is, recite scriptures silently, abandon distracting thoughts, and concentrate on ascending with your thoughts. One day you will find that you have left your mortal body and flown to the fairyland of the Three Pure Ones. Then your practice will be complete."
Guo Song was speechless, the art of cultivating immortals was really simple.
“Can meditating and chanting sutras also strengthen your body?”
"Just meditating and chanting sutras is not enough. There is still some Taoism in it. Otherwise, why would every Taoist priest in Kongtong Mountain walk as fast as flying when he goes up and down the mountain?"
Guo Song was right when he thought about it. His master was already over sixty years old, but he still had fair hair and a youthful face. He was full of energy and could climb mountains as easily as walking on flat ground. He didn't know whether his master knew martial arts, but it was a fact that he was physically strong.
For Guo Song, building a strong body at the age of eighteen was an important goal for him to become a Taoist priest.
He suddenly remembered the conversation between the two senior brothers, hesitated, and then asked cautiously: "Why did master choose me?"
Mu Zhenren smiled slightly and said: "You can't figure it out yourself! Why do I treat a child who is thin and weak and is looked down upon by others as a treasure?"
Guo Song nodded, he really couldn't figure it out.
Mu Zhenren said calmly: "Looking at your situation, I know that your family is poor, but you can write calligraphy with at least twenty years of skill. According to my common sense, this is impossible. I really can't understand it.
The reason can only be inferred that you have talents that are different from ordinary people."
Guo Songmoran, this old Taoist priest's eyes are really poisonous.
"Master, how should I practice?" Guo Song asked, changing the subject.
"Your practice is very simple. From today on, you are responsible for chopping firewood every day. Then I will teach you the art of meditating and cultivating immortals. After one month, you will be responsible for foraging and chopping firewood. In a few years, you will have to carry water to exchange for things. There are no years in the mountains.
, just go on living your life like this!"
Mu Zhenren did not ask why Guo Song learned calligraphy. He was as clear as a mirror, and there must be some unknown secret hidden in his apprentice.
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