Chapter 95: Secret Rivalry

Elder Bai, unusually without any nonsense, led the three of us out of the house and walked towards the outside.

When I arrived at the Snow Mountain Range, I stepped onto the stairs for the first time and headed upwards again… Unlike the lower levels, the higher you go, the narrower the stairs become, and the fewer the magnificent Tang and Song-style buildings.

The entrances to those caves were carefully paved with blue bricks, but the entrances were dark and it was impossible to tell what was inside.

I could clearly feel that the air became different the higher I went… It was clear and refreshing, a feeling I had experienced before in the environment, but the difference was that the air was everywhere in the environment, and it was much more concentrated than the feeling in this cave. I knew it was spiritual energy.

The master once said that the reason why it is so difficult for cultivators to practice nowadays is that the spiritual energy in the world is becoming increasingly difficult to find. After all, cultivation is divided into three realms. The lower realm only eats grains and vegetables, while the middle realm eats all kinds of heavenly and earthly elixirs, and the highest realm eats spiritual energy, which refers to the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth, which is only second to the vitality of the fetus in the womb.

It is difficult to find the aura, so how can one reach the highest level of cultivation? Even if one has just entered the realm of cultivators, and is dedicated to fasting and purging oneself of impurities, if one can find a place with abundant aura, it would be twice the result with half the effort…

I suddenly realized why so many people would think of the Snow Mountain Sect. After all, no matter how powerful the magic is, it is not as good as cultivating on your own, and it is more comfortable to live a long life. Even if you can’t live a long life, you can live for a few hundred years. Which one doesn’t yearn for it?

The Xueshan lineage is full of spiritual energy, and I didn’t expect that the higher up you go in the mountain, the more spiritual energy there is. It’s so abundant that you can feel it with every breath you take. This is truly a treasure that is hard to find in the world.

Compared to this, what are natural treasures? This cave is an invaluable treasure.

The white elder who had been walking silently in front seemed to have sensed my thoughts, and suddenly looked at me and smiled. It was still a smile comparable to the spring breeze of Brother Chengxin, but it made me “goosebumps.” What was he going to do?

“Chengyi, you are known as the best of the younger generation, but you can’t feel the difference between our mountain gate, right?” As he spoke, the eyes of the white elder smiled and narrowed, as if he were very proud.

So that’s what he meant! I was relieved and nodded, “I feel it. This mountain gate is the real priceless treasure.”

“Yes, I feel the same way. Walking on it, I feel like all my pores are open, and my mind is extremely clear and comfortable.” Not only me, but even Qiangzi couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. Walking in this gate, nourished by the aura, it feels good.

“Yes, you can feel the good of the Snow Mountain lineage, right? If you practice here… with your talent, you can also talk about pursuing metaphysics, right? Therefore, cultivators should practice diligently. What does the turmoil of this world have to do with cultivators? What is the point of cultivators fighting each other? Cultivating with peace of mind is the right way.” At this point, Elder Bai seemed to be very emotional.

Before we could say anything, he turned to look at me and my master and said, “You two ‘ghost-seeing sorrows,’ why don’t you stay in my Snow Mountain lineage and practice well, pursuing a righteous and smooth path? As for this young man, he should be a person of interest to the eighteen ancestral villages, so I won’t keep you either.”

Oh, he even gave me a nickname? “Ghostly Worry”? But what did Elder Bai mean? I have to say, the path he offered was really very tempting to me. My lifelong wish was nothing more than that, and the Snow Mountain lineage could completely satisfy all my ideas.

But I didn’t expect my master to laugh twice at this time and then say, “Elder Bai, you have a very clever tongue. If you hadn’t also invited me to stay here, I would have thought you were trying to steal my apprentice.”

“Where would that be? The reputation of the Li family is not small, even if the family is thin, no one dares to look down on it.” Old Bai laughed softly, and his flattering words were extremely natural and made people feel comfortable.

“Yes, the Li lineage has a good reputation, but it is also a hard-working life. Since my master took me on as a disciple, he has never taught us to find a place to cultivate and not hear the outside world. Instead, we have to walk in the world. Fate and fate have brought us into contact with something that touches our bottom line. What should we do? Master said that a breakthrough in the mind is a higher level of breakthrough. Compared to just cultivating the body and seeking metaphysics, it is a more natural way to follow the way of heaven, and there is less entanglement of karma in the body. Moreover, Elder Bai, you can’t pretend to be ignorant when you know better. The Snow Mountain lineage is able to stay out of the circle of grievances and disputes because it has the biggest fists. In these days, there are fewer resources for cultivation, and everyone is greedy. They want to fight for themselves. Cultivators are also human, and where there are people, there is conflict… Master quickly refuted Elder Bai’s words.

Of course, I must admit that what the master said makes sense, but I don’t understand why the master had to refute it like that when the white elder had good intentions.

“That’s true… But if you look at the results, the Snow Mountain lineage will have a quiet life, so why not do it? Cultivating the mind is of course good, but it’s not contradictory to cultivating in seclusion. If you get tired of cultivating in seclusion, you can go out and walk around, and if you encounter something, you can also temper your state of mind. In the end, whether or not our Snow Mountain lineage is the strongest, what you want to focus on is the present. Can’t you live a quiet life for a few years?” Elder Bai was not annoyed, and he smiled and said to my master word by word.

But my master didn’t respond to him. Instead, he looked at me and suddenly said, “Chengyi, no matter what, wherever you go and whatever position you hold, you must first recognize your identity as a disciple of the Li family. You must never forget this! Otherwise, you will be betraying your master.”

This is a serious statement. I quickly said in a serious tone, “Master, I will never forget.”

“That’s good. This identity is not just a word. Behind it is the responsibility that this identity should bear. Do you remember?” The master’s voice became a little more serious.

“I will remember.” I rarely call myself a disciple, but when the master said this, I dared not be casual and immediately stopped walking, holding the etiquette and almost agreeing to it word by word.

“That’s good.” The Master’s face became calm again.

Elder Bai walked ahead, muttering to himself, “This is a headache. The big ghost is more difficult to deal with than the small one. My Snow Mountain lineage still wants to live a quiet life, doesn’t it?”

What does this mean? Now, I suddenly realized that this old man was using spiritual energy as a topic to talk to me about spiritual cultivation… I’m afraid it’s not that simple. In the middle of the conversation, I suddenly realized that we had already climbed a lot of stairs and could already see the top of the mountain gate from afar.

The Snow Mountain lineage was originally hidden in the belly of one of the high snow mountains. Although it did not hollow out the entire belly of the mountain, it occupied most of it. If it weren’t for the internal stairs, we wouldn’t have been able to climb the snow mountain from the outside and walk such a long distance.

Looking back, the entrance at the bottom of the peak already looks very far away and small, giving one a very clear sense of being high above the world and independent of it.

Here, the caves on both sides of the stairs have become fewer and farther between. It may be that every ten steps you can see a cave on the left or right mountain wall… At the top is a small platform. On the platform, except for a large drum lying flat on a wooden frame, there is almost nothing.

Behind the platform where the drum is placed, there is an entrance to a cave. It is just as dark and deep, and I don’t know what’s inside. I just have a feeling that there is a very powerful aura inside, but it is very peaceful, indifferent, and cold.

“That’s the prayer drum,” said the old man, stopping and still smiling at me and the master.

I was surprised. A prayer drum, placed at the highest point of the mountain gate, where the most abundant spiritual energy is, what does this represent? In my understanding, just like the grievance drum in the government office, it is also placed outside the gate, and when it is rung, it is a sign that the court is being held… This kind of thing that people come to the door to ask for, is actually placed in the most important position of the mountain gate… and there is also a powerful presence to guard it, this is really incomprehensible!

“I know that it is the prayer drum.” Master looked at the drum and his expression fell into deep thought. Perhaps, this drum once again stirred up memories of his time with Uncle Li?

“Before that, don’t you want to meet the person you want to meet?” Old Bai smiled kindly, and he looked more and more like an old fox.

“Of course I want to see them, but judging from your expression, I’m afraid someone else wants to see us even more.” The master crossed his arms and turned around, saying quietly to the old man.

But the old man put on a serious look and shook his head, saying, “How can you understand it like that? In fact, it’s not like that at all, but I’m just giving you a choice… I, the old man Bai, never lie.”

“I don’t believe you.” The master snapped at him, but he still smiled brightly, then slightly lowered his body and pointed his hand towards one of the caves, inviting us to go in.

I had been curious about these caves all the way, and now that the old man had invited us, there was no reason not to go. Besides… my heart was beating faster, and I would soon be able to see my long-separated friends and elders again.