Chapter 87: Cultivating Daoist Techniques
After robbing the farmhouse restaurant, they brought the villain Jiang Ce to force the waiters to prepare food and drinks. After tricking Lou Leshan into testing for poison, they finally trapped the farmhouse restaurant boss and several waiters. Everyone pulled up their masks, exposing their mouths, and ate together.
Jiang Ce stealthily glanced at everyone, forcefully holding back his laughter.
No matter what, this scene was too suggestive.
Seeing him smirking mischievously at himself, Lu Yun, who was gnawing on a thick long yam, asked blankly: “Is there something on my face?”
“No no, you eat yours, hee hee hee hee.”
Lu Yun was full of question marks, but Jiang Ce was a habitual offender of going mad, so he didn’t pay too much attention, just thinking his brain was acting up again.
Ku Zhen concealed the surroundings, ensuring the voices of the conversation wouldn’t leak out, before saying somewhat reluctantly: “Those Lu Shan Sect people are one thing, but these are all innocent people. Isn’t this a bit too…”
Xuan Qing disdainfully glanced at Ku Zhen: “If we don’t do this, how do we confirm our identities? Wouldn’t we be exposed? Besides, we’re not going to do anything to harm them. At most, we’ll lock them up for a day and let them go when we leave tomorrow.”
“You say that, but after all, we’re not real gluttonous ghosts. With all this locking up and robbing, I’m worried this will consume merit.” Ku Zhen sighed.
Jiang Ce’s eyes lit up. There’s such a good thing?
He immediately patted his chest and said: “No problem, Master Ku Zhen doesn’t need to worry. I’m the leader, all the sins are on me, it has nothing to do with you guys.”
“This…”
Ku Zhen was slightly moved. He could imagine that under the mask, Jiang Ce must be full of righteousness at this moment.
Everyone felt much more relaxed upon hearing this. There is heaven’s will in the unseen. Since Jiang Ce made such a vow, the merit deduction would definitely be on him.
They were selected to form the delegation, so they naturally had some understanding of Jiang Ce by now. This person has immeasurable merit, unlike them, the cultivators who have to painstakingly accumulate merit to advance realms. Deducting a bit is no big deal.
“Amitabha, then… then I’ll have to trouble you.” Ku Zhen felt a bit embarrassed, but merit was too important for traditional cultivators like them. Every bit was earned through acts of kindness and virtue.
Since Jiang Ce said so, they naturally didn’t refuse.
But with Ku Zhen having no objections, Ling Xun raised another: “During the robbery just now, I saw this small shop isn’t very wealthy. The most valuable things are just some spiritual crops nurtured with crude techniques, worthless to us but possibly their lifeline. Jiang Ce, let me discuss something with you. When we leave tomorrow, can we leave these things for them?”
Jiang Ce didn’t mind: “Whatever, I saw them, they’re indeed worthless and hard to carry. Tomorrow when we leave, we can pretend to forget and leave them in the room. Don’t make it too obvious, take some of the cheapest like cucumbers, apples, pears, no harm, we can nibble on them on the road.”
“Good! Thanks!” Ling Xun breathed a sigh of relief, gratefully said.
Jiang Ce pulled Ling Xun over and said boldly: “What thanks, we’re all bros!”
Lou Leshan sipped the low-end spiritual tea nurtured by the shop boss, clicking his tongue: “Not as good as the ones nurtured by the Old Celestial Master, that’s real spiritual tea.”
Jiang Ce rubbed his chin: “Oh, you’ve had it?”
“I…” Lou Leshan hemmed and hawed, but eventually didn’t pretend in front of Jiang Ce, honestly saying: “I saw the Gatekeeper drink it, but I stood by and smelled the aroma. Just that scent, tsk tsk, amazing. But you wouldn’t get it even if I told you.”
I wouldn’t get it? Kinda funny.
Jiang Ce smirked: “I indeed don’t know what the spiritual tea tastes like after being passed through who knows how many hands to Cao Gong. I only know the top-grade one left by Cao Gong is definitely better than what’s in the Gatekeeper’s hands.”
Lou Leshan was stunned, realized something, then lowered his head as if nothing happened, silently eating without a word.
The dinner table was full of joy, but this happiness didn’t belong to the clown.
After eating, everyone went to the second floor, assigned rooms, and prepared to rest for the night.
But saying assigning rooms, actually there were plenty of rooms for one per person. After all, before they arrived, there were only those Lu Shan Sect guests.
Alone by himself, Jiang Ce had nothing to do, so he took out the Golden Liquid Divine Elixir Compendium that he had never gotten around to studying.
For now, it seemed impossible to practice the White Tiger Secret Teachings again until he cultivated new Righteous Qi, and for sorcery that could enhance his combat power, with Xuan Qing and Ku Zhen around, he was not in a hurry either. The top priority was still to raise his cultivation first, achieve Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master as soon as possible, so he could go back to Luocheng and have a clash with the Gluttonous Ghost.
Jiang Ce originally wanted to attempt breaking through to Fifth Rank first, but after thinking it over, he decided to study the Golden Liquid Divine Elixir Compendium first.
This had two benefits. First, the Golden Liquid Divine Elixir Compendium trained mental energy, which could greatly extend the effective time of visualization, guarantee sufficient stamina for attempting Fifth Rank, improve recovery speed after visualization, and indirectly increase visualization frequency.
Second, his current primary goal was to go to the Celestial Master’s Mansion to ask the Old Celestial Master for the Five Thunder Pill. When asking for favors, what was most important? Naturally, relationship.
Now, by understanding Taoist methods in advance and doing his homework ahead of time, he could cater to preferences, naturally draw closer to the Old Celestial Master through his understanding of Taoism, and then act according to the situation.
“Hmm, why do they all require cultivating something else first before they can be practiced? Daoist Qi should be that clear qi on Xuan Qing, right?”
Jiang Ce pondered the content in the classic, his face showing a thoughtful expression:
“Taoism emphasizes clarity, stillness, and non-action, pursuing natural rules without human intervention. Tsk, it feels somewhat in conflict with the Confucian Path’s duty to the world’s people and the Buddhist Sect’s saving others and oneself.”
If going by personal preference, Jiang Ce favored Taoism more. He did not like meddling in others’ affairs; he did not envy others’ success, and at most clapped and said “well done” at others’ failure, but no matter what, he would not get involved.
Realizing this, Jiang Ce narrowed his eyes: “It feels unexpectedly compatible. Could it be that I’m actually naturally gifted material for cultivating Daoism? What a pity. Master, if you had been a Daoist Priest back then, how great it would have been. Maybe I wouldn’t have been so rebellious. Sigh, the Buddhist Sect does people great harm.”
Jiang Ce turned to the uncensored version of the Classic of the Way and Virtue at the end of the classic, softly reciting it while comprehending the reason within. As he read on, he actually became immersed.
But when he recited “Man follows earth, earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Dao, the Dao follows nature,” he felt puzzled.
Why should man be at the very bottom?
Why not have man follow nature and nature achieve the Dao?
Aren’t True Gods beings beyond the comprehension of cultivators? They should be omnipotent. If even transcended True Gods cannot change everything and must follow nature, doesn’t that mean that even after becoming a True God, one is still within the rules?
That would be too lame, wouldn’t it?
“No way. It has to be man follows nature. I can be clear, still, and non-acting with things that don’t concern me, but if I’m unhappy, no one can make it work!”
