togophonebook Chapter 51 Hong Zhongdian
Chapter 51 Hong Zhongdian
The skinny Taoist rubbed his hands together and exclaimed in a shrill voice, "Great Immortal, last night we saw you fighting with that Taoist from Longhu Mountain on the city wall. Your skills and supernatural powers were truly remarkable! Then we saw your female companion extinguish the Samadhi True Fire with a single fan. We knew then that you were a man of great ability!"
He spoke faster and faster, his voice growing increasingly shrill: "Today in the square, I saw you subdue that corpse-refining Taoist again, your methods clean and efficient. We then discussed..."
But he was interrupted halfway through his sentence.
Zhong Xuan finished their sentence for them: "You're plotting to come and beg me to set a trap for you, to lure the Azure Wave Dragon King here and kill him?"
The three nodded repeatedly, looking at him with expectant expressions.
Zhong Xuan stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked straight towards the door.
The three were taken aback and hurriedly got up to block their way.
The gaunt Taoist priest spread his arms wide, blocking the doorway, and said urgently, "Great Immortal! How can we be at ease without a definite answer? We beg for your mercy!"
The other two squeezed in as well, pleading all at once.
Zhong Xuan stopped and looked back at them.
There was an indescribable calmness in that gaze, like the water of a deep pool, without ripples.
He spoke slowly, "In that case, I will also set up a place in this square to preach."
The three of them were stunned.
Zhong Xuan continued, "I preach and collect money. If I teach anything or receive a lot of money, I'll see which family or which people are trying to take food from my mouth."
Before he finished speaking, he pushed his hands outwards.
This seemingly casual movement caused the sleeves to billow as if filled with wind, releasing a powerful yet gentle force that surged forth from the sleeves and pushed towards the three like a tide.
The three instinctively tried to resist, but they couldn't stop it at all.
The thin Taoist priest stumbled back three steps, his back slamming against the door with a dull thud.
The burly Taoist swayed, and two of the blue bricks beneath his feet broke before he could barely regain his balance.
The skinny Taoist was the worst off; he was pushed four or five steps away and landed hard on his backside, his buttocks slamming painfully, making him grimace.
The door opened, and the night wind rushed in, causing Zhong Xuan's clothes to flutter.
He stepped out the door without looking back, his figure disappearing into the night.
Behind them, the three people looked at each other in bewilderment.
After a long while, the skinny Taoist got up from the ground, rubbing his sore bottom, and said in a low voice, "This little Taoist's use of strength is truly unpredictable! The three of us are all demons in human form, with at least five hundred years of cultivation, and we couldn't even catch a casual flick of his hand."
The burly Taoist priest squatted on the ground, picking at the broken blue bricks with his fingers, and said in a deep voice, "It's just that we were caught off guard and didn't have time to use our skills. Even if he is a martial arts master, how can a mortal body withstand divine weapons and profound magic when it comes to fighting?"
The thin Taoist priest remained silent, leaning against the door. After a long while, he finally spoke: "This young Taoist's methods are quite unexpected—although the situation is somewhat out of control, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Let's watch him preach in the square and argue with the Azure Wave Dragon King. We can secretly fan the flames and stir up trouble."
The other two exchanged a glance and laughed.
.....
Zhong Xuan emerged from the Taoist temple and strolled leisurely toward the center of the square.
This best altar was originally where the three sorcerers took turns preaching. The bamboo shed was the highest, the prayer cushions were the thickest, and even the incense burner on the offering table was made of brass, much larger than those in other places.
He didn't pick and choose, but sat cross-legged, closed his eyes for a moment, then suddenly opened them and slowly raised his hands.
The starting motion is extremely slow, like carrying a mountain.
He then thrust out with his palm.
The movements were slow, yet carried an indescribable heaviness, as if something in the air was being stirred.
A muffled hum sounded, like someone striking an ancient bell in the distance.
Zhong Xuan ignored the gradually gathering gazes around him and continued practicing on his own.
This set of movements is quite strange.
Sometimes it feels like pushing a millstone, with the waist and hips twisting and the arms drawing circles.
Sometimes it feels like pulling on some heavy object, with the five fingers closing together and slowly pulling back.
Sometimes they simply squat down or stand up, just like a farmer hoeing the ground.
But every move was slow, so slow it was frustrating, as if time itself had stood still.
But every time he finished a move, a very low buzzing sound would emanate from his body.
The buzzing sound seemed to seep from the very bones, or like the lingering resonance of a bronze bell after a monk strikes it in a temple.
At first, people were just watching the spectacle.
The square was already crowded with people, a mix of preachers, food vendors, and performers.
A young Taoist priest was seen sitting on a high platform practicing boxing, but he wasn't very fast, so some people came over to watch.
After taking a few glances and finding it novel, some people started gesturing along.
A man selling sesame cakes put down his load, imitated Zhong Xuan's stance, and pushed his arms forward.
He pushed it twice and then realized something was wrong.
This movement looks simple, but it's incredibly awkward to do. No matter how you stretch your arms, it's not smooth, and no matter how you twist your waist, it's not engaging.
He forced himself to make a couple more moves, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, as if a tendon had been stretched. He grimaced and stopped, muttering, "What kind of weird boxing is this? It's so bad it hurts to hit someone."
A blacksmith standing nearby, not believing in superstitions, also started gesturing.
He was burly and strong, and thought he had plenty of strength, but before he could even finish half of the routine, his legs started to tremble and his kneecaps ached, as if he had been squatting in front of a stove all day.
He stepped out, supporting his back, panting heavily.
Many more people tried it, and the results were similar.
You either feel stiff joints or sore muscles.
Some even burped a few times, their stomachs gurgling.
Someone in the crowd laughed and cursed, "This isn't practicing boxing, it's just torturing people!"
"Strange punches! Strange punches! This kid's really putting in the effort?"
"Could it be that there's something really going on?"
Some people who had learned of Zhong Xuan's abilities from the street duel had gathered around.
They had witnessed the young man's ability to pierce Yuan Tong's armor with his spear and break through the Seven Stars, and knew he was no ordinary person, so they were eager to see what he was doing.
After watching for a long time, all I saw was him slowly pushing and shoving, like an old man practicing Tai Chi, and I couldn't figure out what he was doing.
Someone tried calling out "Taoist Master" a few times, but Zhong Xuan didn't respond at all, not even lifting his eyelids.
Then someone shook their head and left.
Wang Sheng was also in the crowd. He had been clinging to Zhong Xuan's leg and begging in vain, and had followed him all the way in a daze. Now that he saw Zhong Xuan practicing boxing on the high platform, he wanted to learn as well.
But his mind was in turmoil, filled with thoughts of his grandmother being taken away and him losing his bargaining chips. How could he calm down?
Wang Sheng gestured a couple of times, then felt that his arms and legs didn't belong to him, so he gave up and squatted down to the side in a daze.
The crowd gradually dispersed.
However, a small group of people stayed behind.
Their eyes seemed glued shut, unable to look away.
Among these people was a disheveled little beggar, about thirteen or fourteen years old, whose clothes were tattered like fishing nets, and whose straw sandals were worn through, revealing two dark toes.
He was huddled in a corner eating half a hard bun when he heard the noise, so he squeezed over to take a look.
As he looked, his eyes widened, and suddenly he stuffed the steamed bun into his arms, squatted down, and reached out to touch the blue bricks on the ground.
After touching it for a while, he suddenly raised his head and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Everyone, look at the ground! Look at the stones, leaves, sand, and dust!"
The sound was sharp and shrill, particularly jarring in the noisy crowd.
Everyone was stunned and subconsciously looked down.
Upon seeing this, many people gasped in shock.
Within a radius of seven or eight zhang centered on the high altar, the fine pebbles, withered leaves, and rising dust on the ground appeared to be pulsating slightly.
It wasn't blown by the wind, nor was it trampled by people.
They trembled rhythmically with every movement Zhong Xuan made.
He raised his arm, and the pebble bounced lightly.
As he placed his hand, dust billowed up.
He twisted his waist and turned around, and all the small, fragmented objects rolled in the direction he was turning, as if being manipulated by an invisible hand.
The strangest thing is that the rhythm of the tremors was perfectly synchronized with the buzzing sound emanating from his body.
It was as if an invisible ancient bell had covered this world.
Every time Zhong Xuan exerted his strength, he was striking that bell.
The sound of the bell reverberated, causing everything on earth to resonate in unison.
The sun was already setting in the west, and the golden-red sunlight shone down at an angle.
The light fell on Zhong Xuan, bathing him in a warm glow.
The dancing dust motes swirled in the light, and fine golden dust swirled around him like incense smoke wafting from an incense burner, or like a halo floating in the morning mist.
For a moment, everyone was in a daze, thinking that a god had descended to earth.
The crowd fell silent for a moment, then burst into a loud discussion.
"What kind of kung fu is this?"
"I felt a tingling sensation in my feet just now; it turned out the ground was shaking!"
"The force required to create such a shockwave is immense, reaching seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters) away."
People who had dispersed earlier turned back upon hearing the sound, and the news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the entire square and then spreading to the nearby streets and alleys.
Vendors selling candied hawthorns, monkey trainers, fortune tellers, and even customers from teahouses flocked out to watch, crowding the square to the point of being impassable.
The area beneath the high altar was packed with people, three or four layers deep, and the walls were also covered with children of all ages.
Zhong Xuan, however, was completely unaware, having already become completely immersed in it.
He practiced these movements for decades in a Taoist temple on Blue Star in his previous life, without fail, rain or shine.
At that time, he only regarded it as a health-preserving exercise. After practicing it, he felt comfortable all over and his blood and qi flowed smoothly. However, until his death, he only realized the first level of vitality.
As you begin to act, a continuous stream of energy rises from the Yongquan point to the Baihui point, then sinks back to the Yongquan point, circulating endlessly.
But that was in a past life.
In this life, he possesses magical powers.
The sensation of magical power flowing through the meridians is completely different from that of ordinary people's blood and qi.
The Qi and blood are warm, turbid, stagnant, and heavy, but the magical power is cool, clear, and lively.
As he infused his magic into these movements, his body seemed to be reborn, and a certain divine essence surged within him with increasing ferocity.
With each raise of his hand, magical power surged from his dantian to his fingertips.
With each step, magical power flowed back from the spring.
With each breath, magical power repeatedly washed over his limbs and bones.
Like a stream grinding a stone, it flows ceaselessly day and night.
The subtle muscles, usually imperceptible, trembled slightly under the impact of the magic, like dormant seeds breaking through the soil to grow.
The bones also hummed, from the spine to the ribs, from the shoulder blades to the hip bones, each one resonating, emitting a deep sound like the tolling of an ancient bell.
The sound emanated from within, quietly harmonizing with the rhythm of heaven and earth.
The body gradually undergoes extraordinary training in this process.
Zhong Xuan suddenly understood.
In his previous life, he only mastered the form; in this life, he has truly touched upon the essence.
The key to this exercise lies in the word "swaying".
No need for brute force or deliberate shaking.
The bells and chimes hang freely from the beams; a light tap produces a resounding hum, the sound waves ripple, and the lingering resonance is long.
It is the resonance that naturally arises in the body during movement that maintains a delicate balance between dissipation and separation, like ripples on the surface of water, spreading out and receding, in an endless cycle.
Every fluctuation is a process of reorganization.
Or it can disperse tangled qi, clear blocked meridians, and dispel old ailments that have accumulated between bones for many years.
The smoother Zhong Xuan's fist movements became, the happier he felt.
He felt his magical power being constantly tempered amidst the vibrations, like a blacksmith forging iron, hammering away impurities from his body, leaving only purity.
The spiritual energy absorbed from heaven and earth is inherently mixed. Now, it is repeatedly purified amidst the vibrations, eventually transforming into wisps of pure and harmonious primordial energy that sink into the dantian.
It's actually a two-in-one exercise!
It not only strengthens the body, but also further purifies the spiritual energy absorbed from the outside world.
He even spared a wisp of his mind to observe his surroundings using the Tai Xuan Illumination Technique.
Within the lake of the heart, hundreds of streams of energy are clearly reflected.
Like a splashed-ink landscape painting, the shades of ink are just right, each with its own unique charm.
The people closest to him had the most active energy, and some of them clumsily followed along with the gestures, causing their energy to subtly shift as well.
Some people felt the dark energy trapped in their chests loosen slightly, some felt the turbid energy between their waist and hips rise, and others felt the cold energy in their joints emanate outwards in wisps.
Zhong Xuan's heart stirred slightly. While practicing his punches, he carefully observed the changes in everyone's aura.
There was a middle-aged man dressed in a coarse cloth shirt, with a lingering bluish-black aura on his right knee, clearly a chronic ailment.
After he made a couple of gestures, a wisp of bluish-black energy trembled slightly.
The man suddenly gasped, looking down at his knees with a face full of surprise: "My chronic leg pain, which I've had for over ten years, suddenly feels hot, like I've applied a plaster!"
Then came a thin, sallow-faced scholar who coughed lightly twice, clutching his chest. Suddenly, his eyes lit up: "Strange! I'm afflicted with tuberculosis, and I'm usually out of breath after just a few steps. But after moving around a bit just now, my heart and lungs feel much better, as if a blockage that's been there for years has been cleared!"
Among the crowd was a female Taoist priest in her thirties, dressed in a gray Taoist robe, with delicate features, though her face was slightly pale.
She practiced half of the movements, then suddenly stopped, clutched her lower abdomen, and blushed slightly.
She lowered her head, her eyelashes trembling, secretly astonished that this technique was so miraculous.
I've had a cold uterus for many years, and I suffer terribly every time I have my period. Just now, I moved around a little and felt a warm sensation in my lower abdomen, as if I were soaking in warm water.
She glanced up at the boy on the high platform, then quickly looked down, her ears already bright red.
The news spread far and wide, and more and more people gathered in the square, making the nearby streets and alleys completely congested.
Many Taoist priests who were preaching elsewhere were alarmed and rushed over after packing up their stalls.
They stood on the periphery of the crowd, looking at the young man on the high platform. Their expressions were not good. How could they tolerate this person stealing all their customers and worshippers?
Some whispered among themselves, "Where did this eccentric Taoist priest come from, daring to run wild on our turf?"