“What, Sister Qingyan’s true form is a white fox?” Shen Ying gasped softly, covering her mouth.
Lu Zheng grinned, holding a soft, perfectly warm white peach bun in each hand. Testing the heat and finding it just right, he took a bite. “You already knew?”
Lu Zheng wasn’t foolish. After learning Liu Qingyan was a fox spirit and recalling Shen Ying’s words and their conversations, how could he not realise Shen Ying had long known her identity?
“It was that little girl Qingquan. Last year, her merit aura was weak, and with the old peach tree rooted in the earth, my senses were sharp enough to notice something,” Shen Ying giggled, puffing out her chest proudly.
“So she knows about us, and you knew too?” Lu Zheng took another bite of the bun in his other hand, its flavour slightly sweet.
“I thought she didn’t know, but during a chess game, I realised she did,” Shen Ying said with a sly smile, looking like a little fox herself. “It’s nice, though. She calls me sister.”
Lu Zheng clenched his jaw. “So I was the only one in the dark?”
Shen Ying let out a soft cry, then leaned closer, their lips meeting as she passed him a wisp of incense aura. “Now everything’s out in the open, isn’t it a happy outcome?”
Lu Zheng nodded, looking at the white peach bun in his hand, thinking Peach Blossom Villa’s food was indeed excellent, truly a happy outcome, plentiful and satisfying.
…
The next day, Lu Zheng climbed Shaotong Mountain.
“Master, are you injured?”
Seeing Daoist Mingzhang again, Lu Zheng noticed his face was somewhat pale.
Daoist Mingzhang nodded. “I returned yesterday, thanks to the cloud-patterned sword you gave me. Without it, I might not have come back alive.”
“What happened?” Lu Zheng asked.
“Didn’t I go with your Uncle Mingjun to the Jade Sun Temple’s scripture conference? On the way back, a snake demon seeking revenge found me,” Daoist Mingzhang said, shaking his head. “It was a matter of karma from twenty years ago. I never thought the little flower snake I spared out of kindness would turn out to be a cultivation genius.”
“And he…?”
Daoist Mingzhang nodded. “Killed. It settled the karma from back then, bringing it to a perfect close.”
Lu Zheng nodded instinctively, thinking that’s how karma was resolved: eliminate it cleanly, and the cycle is perfectly closed. No fault in that logic.
“Yuanjing told me about the Southern Border sorcerers,” Daoist Mingzhang said, frowning slightly. “Unrest in the Southern Border, frequent demon appearances, it’s unusual. The Great Jing Dynasty is at its peak, with many Confucian masters, even more martial warriors, and under a prosperous nation, the imperial family’s incense offerings keep the ancestral spirits at their strongest. It’s far from a state of betrayal and isolation.”
Daoist Mingzhang blinked. “Or did we just happen to stumble upon it?”
Lu Zheng blinked back, thinking if his master wasn’t certain, how could he, a mere transmigrator, be sure? He still hadn’t fully grasped this world’s cultivation system.
“No matter,” Daoist Mingzhang said. “For now, the *White Cloud Sword Technique* isn’t enough. Since you’re here today, I’ll pass on the *Cloud Walking Method* to you.”
Lu Zheng’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Master!”
Daoist Mingzhang continued, “This method is a secret technique of White Cloud Temple. You may learn it but not share it. The scriptures stay within the temple. If you wish to study them later, you must return here; you cannot copy them to take away.”
“Yes!”
“Good. Call Yuanjing, and I’ll teach you both.”
…
The scripture lecture revealed that the *Taiqing Mysterious Cloud-Walking Secret Scripture* was far more complex than the *White Cloud Sword Technique*. Its methods for controlling qi and walking on clouds were intricate, subtle, and profoundly mysterious.
For the next few days, Lu Zheng climbed the mountain in the morning, returned home at night, and found time for Lin Wan and Liu Qingyan. Busy as he was, he had no time for Shen Ying or his drinking plans with City God Xin Zhanting.
…
Ten days later, the lecture concluded. Lu Zheng found a moment to secretly photograph the entire *Cloud Walking Method* on his phone, then descended the mountain happily.
“I’ve hit the jackpot,” was his only thought.
The *Cloud Walking Method* lived up to its status as a secret technique of White Cloud Temple. It included methods for attacking with true qi, condensing clouds into spells, and famous divine abilities like spreading clouds to bring rain and riding clouds through the sky. Though it lacked a pure qi-refining method, it enhanced true qi condensation, cultivation progress, and the refinement of essence, qi, and spirit.
With just the *Taiqing Mysterious Cloud-Walking Secret Scripture* and the *White Cloud Common Qi-Refining Scripture*, he could cultivate to an extremely high level.
Lu Zheng quietly asked Yuanjing and learned that the *Cloud Walking Method* was among the temple’s top secret techniques. Above it were only the core lineage’s *Innate Taiqing Rootless Cloud Qi Scripture* and two others: the *Innate Cloud-Transforming Qi True Scripture* and the *Taiqing True Cloud-Refining Secret Scripture*.
Liu Qingyan’s first technique was a qi-refining method, a continuation of the *White Cloud Common Qi-Refining Scripture*, which Lu Zheng could also learn. The second was taught only to core disciples, similar to the *Cloud Walking Method* but of a higher realm, though less comprehensive.
In this light, White Cloud Temple treated its registered disciples quite well.
Moreover, with his connection to the temple through incense offerings, if Lu Zheng displayed exceptional strength, even as a lay practitioner, the temple would likely offer him those core secret techniques.
“Spreading clouds for rain! Riding clouds through the sky! Bloody hell, a Dragon King! A god!” Lu Zheng was both thrilled and terrified. “This world’s waters run deep. It’s scaring me to death!”
…
“Why the sudden dinner invite? Haven’t you been busy too?” Lin Wan asked.
Lu Zheng nodded. “I’ve been secluded, studying something. I mastered it today, so I’m thrilled and wanted to have dinner with you.”
“What did you master?” Lin Wan asked.
Lin Wan didn’t pry into Lu Zheng’s secrets, but since he brought it up, she felt free to ask.
Suppressing the urge to jokingly say he learned the *Cloud Walking Method*, Lu Zheng said happily, “I’ve been secluded, practising calligraphy. I finally mastered it today.”
“Calligraphy?” Lin Wan looked baffled, the topic a bit out of left field. She thought he’d learned a new martial art or advanced his current skills.
“Yes, calligraphy. Wang Xizhi’s running script,” Lu Zheng nodded.
“Well, that’s perfect. Our bureau is holding a calligraphy and painting competition soon. Write a piece for me.”
“No problem, easy peasy, I’ve got you covered!” Lu Zheng patted his chest. “You’ll steal the show and take first place!”
