The Mountain-Opening Incantation is another application of the Earth Travel Technique.
The Earth Travel Technique forms a layer of true qi around the body to part soil and stone, while the Mountain-Opening Incantation can remotely separate soil and stone, creating spaces or passages.
It is somewhat similar to another application of the Water Avoidance Technique: the Water-Parting Incantation.
One is a passive influence, while the other is simple active manipulation.
These are secret incantations. Despite Lu Zheng’s good relationship with the Lushui River God’s Mansion, he was only given the basic Water Avoidance Technique as a gift for presenting a carp-leaping-dragon-gate glass ornament at a wedding.
As for more advanced water-control methods like the Water-Parting Incantation, they were never mentioned.
“Young friend, your Baiyun Temple is a direct lineage of Taiqing, an orthodox sect of the Mysterious Gate. Cultivating Baiyun True Qi allows you to perform the Earth Travel Technique and the Mountain-Opening Incantation. Even if you’re not as proficient as those who specialize in these techniques, you’re not far behind,” Song Kaichuan commented.
Lu Zheng nodded. “Indeed, I’ve been quite fortunate.”
Baiyun True Qi is soft and dense. Though it primarily focuses on cloud qi, its attributes are not overly extreme, allowing the use of techniques like the Water Avoidance Technique and the Earth Travel Technique.
Unlike Fengyang Mountain, which excels in thunder techniques but requires genius or great power to master other types of techniques or incantations.
Of course, Lu Zheng’s advantage is unique. With the jade seal in hand, as long as he can achieve basic proficiency, he can use the light of fortune to build up his mastery.
Even the extremely difficult Earth Travel Technique and Body-Fixing Incantation were mastered this way, not to mention the simpler Mountain-Opening Incantation.
Indeed, despite being an advanced form of the Earth Travel Technique, the Mountain-Opening Incantation is actually easier to practice.
To put it plainly, with high enough cultivation, one could forcibly achieve the effect of the Mountain-Opening Incantation. However, moving silently through the earth is not something just anyone can do.
Thus, the Earth Travel Technique is difficult to learn and master, far from an ordinary earth-based technique.
…
Song Kaichuan spent the afternoon explaining the details of the Mountain-Opening Incantation to Lu Zheng before preparing to leave.
“Senior, are you still planning to live in that cave?” Lu Zheng asked.
Song Kaichuan shook his head. “That was just a place I randomly chose to solve a chess puzzle. It’s no longer needed, so I’ll give it to you.”
“Then where will you stay, Senior?”
“I have some free time, so I’ll wander around,” Song Kaichuan said, waving his hand. His figure shrank, and he burrowed into the ground, disappearing.
…
“Lu Lang!”
Liu Qingyan’s voice came from the front courtyard. “I heard from Uncle Li that you’re back!”
“Qingyan!”
Lu Zheng responded, and soon saw Liu Qingyan hurrying into the back courtyard.
With delicate brows, jade-like skin, and flowing black hair, she moved gracefully, like a startled swan.
After more than a month apart, Liu Qingyan rushed to Lu Zheng’s side and threw herself into his arms.
“Lu Lang, I missed you so much!”
Feeling her soft warmth, Lu Zheng lifted Liu Qingyan, spinning her in the air before gently setting her down with a smile. “Qingyan, I missed you too.”
Liu Qingyan suddenly snapped out of it, quickly pushing Lu Zheng away and looking around. “By the way, has that senior left?”
“He’s gone,” Lu Zheng nodded, then took Liu Qingyan’s hand and led her toward the bedroom.
Liu Qingyan let him lead her, but her face suddenly flushed. Biting her lip, she stammered, “Lu… Lu Lang…”
“Qing… Qingyan… I also want to, but… Mother asked you to come to our house for dinner tonight…”
Swallowing hard, she continued haltingly, “How about… tonight? Tonight, Qingyan will… let you do as you please…”
Lu Zheng paused, turning to see Liu Qingyan’s radiant, blushing face and her timid yet expectant gaze.
You little vixen!
I wasn’t even thinking that, and now you’re tempting me!?
Lu Zheng gritted his teeth and said with effort, “I gathered some century-old herbs at Wan Song Mountain, and Senior Wan Song gave me a box of fine herbs. I haven’t looked at them yet, so I thought we could check them out together since you’re here.”
Realizing she had misunderstood, Liu Qingyan’s cheeks turned crimson.
Lowering her head, she wished she could find a crack in the ground to hide in. “I… I…”
“What?”
Liu Qingyan looked up, catching Lu Zheng’s teasing gaze. She ducked her head again, crashing back into his arms. “Lu Lang, you’re always teasing me~”
Lu Zheng laughed heartily, holding Liu Qingyan as they entered the bedroom.
…
Patting his gourd, he took out the wooden box given by Taoist Wan Song.
The box was a foot long and half a foot tall, made entirely of pine wood, simple and unadorned, appearing quite ordinary and not particularly large.
But Taoist Wan Song had said these were for Lu Zheng to practice with.
So…
Lu Zheng gently opened the wooden box.
“Oh!” Liu Qingyan gasped. “This is…”
The box’s interior appeared to be just a foot square, but it was filled with densely packed herbs, shrunken many times over.
Lu Zheng reached in, carefully picking up a miniature ginseng and taking it out.
The moment the ginseng left the box’s space, it suddenly grew, expanding in the air into a wild mountain ginseng over a foot long, shaped almost like a human.
“This is at least a three-hundred-year-old mountain spring ginseng. Though not a spiritual herb, it’s a top-grade mortal herb!” Liu Qingyan exclaimed in surprise.
“Senior Wan Song is truly generous, not only giving me so many herbs but also including a treasure box that holds the vast within the minute.”
“My heavens, Lu Lang, what exactly did you experience in the southern border? This box contains over two hundred century-old mortal herbs and nearly twenty spiritual herbs!” Liu Qingyan gasped.
Though these spiritual herbs had ordinary spiritual energy, with the best being inferior to the jade ginseng Xin Yuniang gave, the sheer quantity of twenty was astonishing, not to mention the hundreds of fine herbs.
It was staggering!
Lu Zheng thought for a moment, then closed the box and turned to Liu Qingyan. “This stays between you and me. Don’t tell Uncle Liu or your mother. It’s not exactly a secret, but it does involve a senior…”
Liu Qingyan nodded repeatedly. “I understand. Lu Lang, don’t tell me either.”
“No way, you have to hear it!” Lu Zheng said, pulling Liu Qingyan close and giving her a deep kiss.
…
Moments later, Liu Qingyan, her lips still moist, steadied her breathing with effort before heading back next door with Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng briefly mentioned that he had gone to the southern border to play a few chess games with a senior and received some rewards, but he didn’t go into details.
That evening, using a fragrance sachet to softly summon Liu Qingyan, Lu Zheng finally shared the details of his southern border trip.
Liu Qingyan was indeed shocked, delighted, and a little scared. “I never imagined Lu Lang could help such a senior great demon!”
Lu Zheng smiled. “Moreover, this *Jade Water Alchemy Scripture* contains wondrous alchemy methods. Qingyan, why don’t we study it together?”
Liu Qingyan looked up in surprise. “Can I learn it too?”
Lu Zheng said matter-of-factly, “This method is shared between me and Senior Wan Song, to be passed only to close family. There’s no issue.”
“Lu Lang~”
Under the moonlit night, an overjoyed Liu Qingyan thoroughly thanked Lu Zheng, fulfilling her promise to let him do as he pleased.
