Starting as a dockworker

Chapter 24 Be my support, impart knowledge and skills!

woohoo-

The wind whistled in his ears. Li Xiao looked around and realized he had already flown into the sky!

This amazing feeling is even more exhilarating than flying.

If I have the chance, I must learn this spiritual technique...

If you were to walk up the mountain path, it would probably take one or two hours to get there, but flying there directly is a different story. In the blink of an eye, the white fox landed in an open space halfway up the mountain.

The white fox was quite thoughtful; fearing Li Xiao might fall, it made a white cloud to send him down.

In front of the flat open space was a huge mountain wall, which was covered with vines.

Suddenly, the vines began to move from side to side, and a cave appeared before them.

A figure emerged from the cave; it was the fortune teller.

She was no different from the past few days, and said to Li Xiao, "Come in."

Li Xiao strode inside. "Mistress, I..."

The fortune teller walked forward unhurriedly, muttering, "No need to say more, the Goddess of Fragrant Mountain knows everything you've done in the mortal realm..."

Li Xiao was startled. The Lady of Fragrant Mountain... must be the mountain god of this mountain.

Brother Rat claimed to be a disciple and grand-disciple of the Goddess of Fragrant Mountain...

It is estimated that it was the work of the fortune teller, and the one who bestowed the spiritual power was probably this mountain god.

How could someone so far away know what happened to them in Wuling City...?

"Go and kowtow to the Empress."

"it is good."

Li Xiao walked forward and saw a clear pool in front of him. Beyond the pool, at the very back, was a cracked mountain. He didn't see any statues of the mountain god or anything like that, only the gurgling of a clear spring.

The fortune teller knelt before the mountain wall and chanted, "By the Goddess of Fragrant Mountain, the fortune teller brings the destined one, Li Xiao, to pay homage..."

She stopped mid-sentence, turned to Li Xiao, and said, "Why aren't you kneeling... Back in the Huang family in Wuling City, didn't you look so eager to learn magic?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao was overjoyed. Did this mean he was to become a disciple?

Is it possible that I am about to come into contact with the cultivation methods of this world?

Put martial arts aside for now, cultivating immortality is the true path!!!

Thinking of this, Li Xiao knelt devoutly in front of the mountain wall, his eyes filled with utmost sincerity!

The bluestone floor felt cool, and the coolness seeped through the thin fabric.

The mist from the clear pool wafted around, and the fragrance of unknown flowers and plants filled the air. A few rays of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the mountain above, landing perfectly on the flowing spring and splashing up tiny, silvery sparkles.

Seeing him kneel, the fortune teller continued reading: "This child is kind-hearted. He relieved the rat demon's predicament in Wuling City and quelled the conflict between humans and demons. Although his methods are immature, his heart is evident. Later, he brought back the rat demon's corpse, which had returned to goodness, and begged the goddess to take him as her disciple, teach him spiritual magic, and be his protector..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the cave suddenly fell silent.

Even the babbling of the water seemed to have subsided.

"Take me as your disciple, teach me spiritual arts, and be my protector..."

Li Xiao's heart was filled with excitement. He held his breath and, imitating the old woman, kowtowed.

A moment later, a light and melodious voice rang out directly in his mind.

Though not spoken aloud, each word was clear, gentle yet authoritative: "Disciple Li Xiao, from now on I am your master. You must uphold good intentions and refrain from evil. Do you understand?"

Li Xiao quickly replied in his mind, "Li Xiao understands!"

The sound fell silent for a moment.

Li Xiao felt as if a flame was burning between his eyebrows, but it quickly faded away.

A strange sensation arose; the surrounding air seemed to materialize and flow into my brow.

If I'm not mistaken, this should be the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

"You may get up now..." The old woman stood up, smiling as she pointed to Qingquan beside her and said, "The Empress has already approved of you. Look at your appearance."

Li Xiao got up and walked to the clear pool. The surface of the pool was like a mirror, and in the moonlight, he saw a flame mark on his brow, exactly the same as the mark on the white fox's brow earlier.

"Before, when Her Majesty bestowed upon me the spiritual techniques, it was merely a formality; now, I have officially entered the path."

The fortune teller explained, "This mark is the 'Backing Mountain Mark,' which will open your path to cultivation. From now on, the Lady of Fragrant Mountain will be your backing. No matter where you are or what dangers you encounter, the Lady will protect you with all her might."

Be my support, protect me with all your might...

Li Xiao felt incredibly gratified and warmed by the warmth in his heart.

He has been alone and helpless since he came into this world.

And now he has a powerful backer, a mountain god at that! It feels so good to have someone to rely on!

It turns out that cultivating immortality doesn't require learning any cultivation manuals; it's all up to the mountain god in a single thought.

In that case, wouldn't I be able to live for hundreds of years like the fortune teller?

But... why did they choose me?

Is it just because he has a kind heart?

But surely I'm not the only kind-hearted person in this world?

"I think you still have many questions in your mind."

With that, the old woman, leaning on her black bamboo cane, bowed and walked towards the cave entrance. "But it's getting late, go to sleep first. I'll answer your questions again tomorrow..."

Li Xiao hurriedly got up, bowed towards the mountain wall, and chased after it.

Once outside the cave, the vines automatically closed up to cover it, and the old woman had vanished without a trace.

Seeing that everything was bare, Li Xiao called out:

"Master of Fate, where shall I sleep?"

"The entire Fragrant Hills is your home; you can sleep wherever you want..."

"..."

Li Xiao looked around and found a flat, large rock to lie on.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately...

Li Xiao drifted off to sleep and entered that strange dream again.

It was still that same waterside pavilion, surrounded by a thin veil of mist. Within the mist, tiny specks of light flickered, like fireflies on a summer night or scattered stardust.

Ahead still stood that figure, clad in an extremely wide, flowing dress that reached the ground...

"Master?"

In the dream, Li Xiao spoke.

"How clever! The fortune teller didn't choose the wrong person..."

The serene voice of the Lady of Fragrant Mountain drifted over, "Please sit down, and I will teach you the 'Shangqing Xuanmiao Dao'."

"good...."

Li Xiao nodded, noticed a futon at his feet, and sat down cross-legged.

"Master, should I write this down?"

"No need, just listen to the sermon."

Li Xiao listened quietly with his eyes open.

"Before chaos was divided, primordial energy began to emerge. The vast emptiness contained light, and heaven and earth took shape. Mountains stood tall, and rivers flowed within them. Look at this mountain; it is neither stone nor pine. Its stillness is like an abyss, its movement like the wind. Its thickness bears all things, its height reaches the heavens..."

I don't know how long I listened.

As he listened, Li Xiao was awakened by the sound of children crying around him.

When I opened my eyes, it was already noon.

Li Xiao got up and found that the package containing the corpse of Brother Rat was gone.

The old woman leaning on a black bamboo cane said, "I've already told them, the rat spirit is dead, and the children are all crying over there..."

Li Xiao turned around and saw that a group of children had already dug a pit in an open space, buried Brother Rat, and erected a tombstone. They were crying there for a long time, making a lot of noise. The white fox spirit from yesterday was also among them.

In their memory, the rat spirit grew up with them, so it's normal to have feelings for it.

It has to be said that these mountain spirits cried very sadly, their feelings must have been very sincere, right?

"Next, let's talk about cultivation."

The fortune teller sat on a rock and said, "In last night's dream, didn't the Goddess of Fragrant Mountain already preach to you?"

Li Xiao nodded: "Yes, but I can't understand it at all..."

The old woman grinned and said, "Don't even mention you. I've been trying to understand this for hundreds of years, and I still don't understand... The master has already imparted the knowledge to you, and I will teach you the skills on behalf of the master."

Li Xiao asked happily, "Cultivation?"

The fortune teller nodded and said, "Yes, in fact, the Goddess of Fragrant Mountain has already opened the path of cultivation for you. From now on, when you use spiritual techniques, you will no longer consume your life force, but rather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth."

Li Xiao pointed to the mountain-supporting mark between his eyebrows and said, "This mark can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. I feel a lot of spiritual energy flowing into it last night. Is there a realm to this cultivation?"

The old woman smiled and said, "You know quite a lot. Cultivation does indeed have different levels, divided into refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit into emptiness, and refining emptiness into the Dao..."

Li Xiao asked curiously, "Grandma, what realm are you at?"

The fortune teller said, "Refine essence into qi."

Li Xiao: "...And what about me?"

The fortune teller laughed and said, "It's also about refining essence into qi."

Li Xiao was stunned. Did he realize that he had already reached the same level as the fortune teller?

The fortune teller explained, "You and I are both Daoists of the Mountain of Reliance, and among the Daoists of the Mountain of Reliance in this world, no one of higher realms has yet appeared. All Daoists are at this realm, and the difference in realm is only distinguished by their cultivation level. If you close your eyes, you can feel your own cultivation level of life fire..."

Li Xiao closed his eyes and discovered that he could truly feel his life force.

The fire element in his life is stronger than that of ordinary people, probably because the worn-out cloth shoes are full of vitality.

Upon closer examination, one can discern the outline of two golden threads within the life-giving fire.

"I see it, there are two loops of gold threads..."

"That's two years of cultivation."

The fortune teller explained, "The higher one's cultivation level, the more spiritual energy one stores, and the more powerful spiritual spells one can cast..."

Li Xiao asked, "Why couldn't that rat spirit senior brother, with his three hundred years of cultivation, even defeat a human martial artist?"

"That's because the mouse hasn't learned the art of harming people; otherwise, how could that martial artist be a match for it? Although it has some skill, its true form is still just a mountain mouse, far too weak..."

As she spoke, the old woman looked at the group of children in the distance and said, "If it were Little Tiger and the others, even with a hundred years of cultivation, they could easily deal with those human martial artists as long as they revealed their true forms."

"I see...."

Hearing this, Li Xiao roughly understood.

The mountain rat was originally only the size of a fist. Even after three hundred years of cultivation multiplied its size and strength several times, it only reached half a meter in length, still remaining quite weak...

However, if it is a tiger spirit, its size and strength are doubled, which is extremely terrifying.

Even with limited cultivation, his physical strength alone is immense!