“Huh? He’s about to wake up?”
Lu Zheng asked, glancing at the sun still lingering above the horizon.
“Shouldn’t he still be asleep?”
Song Kaichuan laughed. “That’s the schedule of ordinary folk. Old Pine entered the dream to play chess at midnight on the third.
One dream lasts twelve hours, and he’ll awaken tonight at the end of the亥 hour.
As for whether he can solve the chess game, we’ll know in two or three hours.”
Song Kaichuan looked at Lu Zheng. “Young friend, care to play a game with me?”
Lu Zheng agreed, nodding. “Of course, Senior, please!”
The two returned to the peak of Wan Song Mountain, sat under the ancient pine, and began their game.
…
The game ended as the moon rose high, the night deepening at the cusp of two days.
The next moment, the ancient pine beside them rustled, and waves of rich spiritual energy, brimming with the breath of life, surged and churned.
Lu Zheng inhaled just a couple of breaths, and his true qi grew more vibrant, his body even feeling more invigorated.
“Like a supreme tonic pill…”
Lu Zheng muttered, then noticed the ancient pine glowing faintly with a greenish aura. Tiny green specks, like fireflies, appeared out of nowhere, drifting around Wan Song Mountain.
Looking out, Lu Zheng saw these specks enveloping the upper half of the mountain. Combined with the glowing pine, it transformed Wan Song Mountain into a celestial realm.
Moreover, the specks spread visibly, reaching nearly a hundred miles in just ten breaths, filling the sky.
Lu Zheng was dumbfounded.
Song Kaichuan set down his chess piece, taking a deep breath. “Old Pine has grown stronger again.”
The specks floated, and the spiritual energy roiled.
The ancient pine beside them seemed to breathe, its greenish aura pulsing, emitting waves of natural, life-filled energy.
From weak to strong, the effect grew pronounced, causing visible ripples and vibrations in the surrounding air.
At its peak, the fluctuations lasted a quarter of an hour before gradually subsiding.
However, as the fluctuations weakened, the specks didn’t retract. Instead, they drifted down, merging into the trees, plants, birds, beasts, insects, and fish of the mountain.
Every living thing in Wan Song Mountain’s domain received a blessing that night.
This naturally included Song Kaichuan and Lu Zheng, who were closest to the ancient pine.
Song Kaichuan, an ancient demon himself, found the blessing negligible.
Lu Zheng, however, gained immensely.
Countless specks merged into his body, stimulating his true qi to grow increasingly active. His recent cooldown period ended rapidly, and his qi began to increase visibly, tinged with a green hue of life energy.
This didn’t change the nature of his true qi but was so potent that his qi couldn’t immediately assimilate it.
In time, as Lu Zheng refined his true qi and integrated this energy, his cultivation would rise to a new level.
This was the greatest boost he’d ever received without the Jade Seal, surpassing even the gains from consuming vermilion fruit, refining incense, or relying on merit.
“Buzz!”
At the same time, his mind’s Jade Seal twitched, and strands of the Light of Fortune began pouring in continuously.
Five hundred seventy-three strands!
Lu Zheng could almost imagine the Jade Seal burping from satisfaction.
“I should’ve brought Qingyan,” Lu Zheng said with some regret.
Moreover, this life-filled, perfectly compatible spiritual energy, free of side effects, would have been especially suitable for Lin Wan.
If Lin Wan were here, she might have directly cultivated true qi.
…
There’s no medicine for regret in this world, and with Liu Qingyan thousands of miles away, Lu Zheng wasn’t planning to cross over to bring Lin Wan here.
So, this opportunity was his alone to enjoy.
For a full two hours, the life-filled fluctuations gradually faded, and the specks fully merged into the living creatures of the mountain.
The Jade Seal in Lu Zheng’s mind stopped receiving the Light of Fortune, and his true qi, now faintly imbued with life energy, stabilized and circulated smoothly.
Sitting on the stone bench, Lu Zheng let out a long breath, opened his eyes, and concluded this unexpected cultivation session.
“No wonder he’s Old Pine. With just this one burst, Wan Song Mountain will likely sprout hundreds of new spiritual herbs and trees,” Song Kaichuan said, his tone tinged with envy.
While he was still scouring mountains for spiritual herbs, Wan Song had long been able to create them himself.
“Want some? Dig them up and take them!”
A faint laugh sounded as Wan Song reappeared beside them.
He still wore his familiar greenish robe, his ancient face smiling, his white hair and beard flecked with traces of green.
The only change was his eyes.
Once calm and serene, they now shone deep as the starry sky, glinting with emerald light.
Perhaps sensing Lu Zheng’s observation, Wan Song blinked and smiled. “A recent breakthrough, still hard to control the finer details.”
As he spoke, his eyes dimmed, though they remained far brighter than before.
“Old Pine! You solved the game?” Song Kaichuan’s eyes gleamed.
“Congratulations, Senior, on solving the chess game!” Lu Zheng hurriedly offered his congratulations.
There was no doubt. Without solving the game, how could Wan Song have undergone such a transformation? If this happened every year, he’d have long achieved perfection and become invincible.
Wan Song nodded. “Thanks to your help, young friend, this old Taoist has solved the chess game.”
Before Lu Zheng could respond, Wan Song pointed a finger at his forehead.
The next moment, a Taoist scripture flowed into Lu Zheng’s mind like water.
“Young friend, as a direct disciple of Baiyun Temple, your innate cloud qi follows the Taiqing lineage, so you may not need this technique. However, since we achieved this together, I cannot keep it to myself.”
Wan Song smiled. “Thus, you deserve a share of this scripture. Even if you don’t practice it, studying it should benefit your cultivation through analogy.
The scripture also contains some spells, talismans, and methods for refining elixirs and medicines. You can choose what suits you.
I’ve only just received this technique and haven’t begun practicing it, so what I’m giving you is the original text, without my annotations.
Please, young friend, come back often to play chess with me. We can discuss our insights, as this is my only hobby.”
Lu Zheng understood that while Wan Song spoke of discussing chess, he was offering to guide him in practicing this scripture.
Though it might not be necessary, Lu Zheng bowed in gratitude.
At that moment, the name of the scripture finally appeared in his mind.
