ATPnovel Chapter 467: To Meet Her Future Husband
Chapter 467: To Meet Her Future Husband
After bidding farewell to the Lady of Mount Tu, Xiao Mo returned to the firewood room and opened "The Great Dream of the Yellow Millet" that the Lady had given him.At first, Xiao Mo had wondered to himself that he was only five years old, and yet the Lady of Mount Tu was handing him this book. She did not even know whether he could read.
How was a servant who could not read supposed to self-study "The Great Dream of the Yellow Millet"?
But once Xiao Mo opened it, he discovered that the book was extraordinarily unusual.
Although Xiao Mo could read, it seemed that even if he could not, it would not have mattered when reading this book.
The moment you laid eyes on a character, it was as though those characters were the flowers and grass of nature itself, the mountains and rivers, and you simply knew them but the moment your gaze moved away, you retained not the faintest impression.
"Before chaos was divided, being and non-being gave birth to each other. The Dao has no words of its own, and entrusts its clarity to dreams. This art is called the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet. Lay your head upon the void, rest within the profound, and through the false cultivate what is true."
"The hall of clarity and emptiness, build its dwelling in the place of nothingness."
"When the night is late and the world is still, lower the curtain and close the senses. Hold in mind the white light between the brows, and let it gradually transform into a blue lotus cradled upon a jade pillow."
"In an instant, the body becomes like dry wood, the heart like cold ash, the six gates sealed tight, and a single breath moves in secret. Only when you hear the tide rising at your ears do you know that this body has arrived in the jade capital."
Xiao Mo read every character in the book with careful attention.
Although Xiao Mo had never cultivated Daoist arts before, as he read this cultivation method, a feeling came to him from some intangible place. This was the most orthodox Daoist cultivation method one could possibly find.
After all, some cultivation methods, the moment you begin practicing them, immediately feel wrong, deeply tinged with something twisted and sinister.
Setting aside all idle thoughts, Xiao Mo gathered his mind and read character by character with full concentration.
Gradually, Xiao Mo entered a profound and mysterious state of selfless immersion.
His consciousness began to blur.
He felt as though he was no longer reading, but dreaming.
He dreamed that he had become a single leaf between heaven and earth, rising with the wind and falling with the wind.
Or perhaps like a dandelion seed, scattered by the wind, yet carried by the same wind to land and take root.
When Xiao Mo separated from the dream and came back to himself, he found that the sun had set and night was about to fall and he had turned ten pages of "The Great Dream of the Yellow Millet."
Xiao Mo let out a long, deep breath, releasing the stale air within him.
He stood up and found that his body felt considerably lighter.
"I have reached the first layer of Qi Refinement?"
Xiao Mo said to himself with surprise.
Although the first layer of Qi Refinement was essentially indistinguishable from an ordinary person in practical terms, no matter how one looked at it, he had only been cultivating for a single day, and had already stepped onto the path of cultivation.
Xiao Mo was not sure whether it was this cultivation method that was extraordinary, or whether his own natural aptitude for Daoist cultivation was genuinely quite good.
Xiao Mo opened "The Great Dream of the Yellow Millet" again and tried to continue reading, but found that it did not go as smoothly as those first ten pages.
Moreover, with each character he read, his mind felt as though a great mountain were pressing down upon it, heavy and exhausted.
"The Dao follows the heart. Let things take their natural course."
Recalling these eight characters written in "The Great Dream of the Yellow Millet,"
Xiao Mo understood that his soul had reached the limit of what it could absorb for now.
Cultivation had to be done gradually. It could not be rushed or forced.
"Besides, the Lady of Mount Tu told me to rest and recover for a while. I can learn slowly."
Xiao Mo closed the book, feeling somewhat hungry and just as he was thinking about going to the kitchen courtyard to find a couple of steamed buns to eat, there was a knock at the firewood room door.
Xiao Mo opened the door, and saw the Lady of Mount Tu standing before him with the old man at her side.
"This servant greets the Lady."
Xiao Mo clasped his hands in a bow.
"Mm."
Tushan Xinhua gave a nod and looked at Xiao Mo. Something felt slightly unusual to her, and she swept a ripple of spiritual energy across him.
"You have reached the first layer of Qi Refinement?" Tushan Xinhua said with surprise.
When she had treated Xiao Mo's injuries earlier, Tushan Xinhua had seen that his bone structure was excellent and that his progress in learning Daoist arts should be fairly smooth but she had not expected that the other party would have stepped into the first layer of Qi Refinement in less than a single day.
"First layer of Qi Refinement?" Xiao Mo played dumb. "My Lady, what is the first layer of Qi Refinement?"
"It means you have already stepped onto the path of cultivation. Even if it is just a small first step." Gui Ning smiled and bent down to look at the small boy before him. "You are Xiao Mo, yes? I am Jingci's grandfather. I heard you protected Jingci last night. Thank you, young man."
"So this is the Great Elder. This servant pays his respects to the Great Elder."
Xiao Mo gave another bow.
"The Mount Tu residence took this servant in and allowed this servant to live. That was already a debt of life. When the Young Miss was in danger and this servant shielded her, that was simply what ought to be done. This servant would not dare accept the Great Elder's thanks."
"Ha ha ha, you have quite a way with words, young fellow. You do not seem at all like a child. More like a small grown-up."
Gui Ning drew a jade pendant from within his robe and held it out to Xiao Mo.
"This jade pendant is quite good. Wear it. It will nourish your spiritual energy and be of benefit to your cultivation going forward."
"This..." Xiao Mo looked toward the Lady of Mount Tu.
"Take it. I said earlier that I would give you a reward, and I cannot go back on my word. This is what you deserve." The Lady of Mount Tu nodded.
"Yes." Xiao Mo received the jade pendant with both hands. "Many thanks to the Great Elder and many thanks to the Lady."
"Cultivate diligently. Your natural gifts are truly good. You will certainly achieve great things in the future."
The Lady of Mount Tu said to Xiao Mo.
"Furthermore, starting tomorrow, you need not live here any longer. I have prepared a proper courtyard for you."
"In a couple of days, Jingci will be going to an academy to study. You will serve as Jingci's book attendant, and from then on, you will go with her. Understood?"
"..." Xiao Mo was somewhat surprised.
Although he had effectively saved Tushan Jingci the previous night and being given a reward was natural, was she not giving him rather too much?
"What is the matter? Are you unwilling?" Gui Ning said with a smile.
"I am willing. I am simply a little shocked..." Xiao Mo quickly replied, feigning a look of overwhelmed surprise.
"Ha ha ha!" The old man laughed heartily several times, patted Xiao Mo on the shoulder, and straightened up. "All right, rest well. I will not disturb you further, young fellow."
"This servant will see the Great Elder and the Lady off." Xiao Mo said.
"No need to go to that trouble." The old man shook his head and the moment the old man's words settled and Xiao Mo looked up, both the old man and the Lady of Mount Tu had already vanished without a trace.
Gui Ning and Tushan Xinhua left the kitchen courtyard and walked along the stone-paved path of the residence.
The old man drew a letter of introduction from within his robe and handed it to Tushan Xinhua. "Once Xiao Mo has reached the Golden Core realm, give him this letter. If he is willing, he may go to Seeking Immortal Mountain to cultivate."
At the mention of "Seeking Immortal Mountain," Tushan Xinhua's face went somewhat pale, and her small hands gripped the fabric of her sleeve tightly. "Father, on that Seeking Immortal Mountain..."
"I know. She is on Seeking Immortal Mountain."
The old man gathered his sleeves.
"But Jingci is your daughter. Is she not also your biological daughter?"
"If Xiao Mo truly becomes Jingci's trial of love in the future then she also has the right to meet her future husband."