txolops Chapter 2 Undeterred by Hardships
Chapter 2 Undeterred by Hardships
Yan Chixia stopped in his tracks.
He didn't turn around, but merely tilted his head slightly. His sharp, hawk-like eyes swept over Zhou Ning in the rainy night, carrying a hint of impatience at being disturbed, but even deeper was a detached indifference as if looking at an ant.
"This place is not a place for mortals like you to linger. Leave quickly, or you may save your lives."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority, as cold as the night rain, instantly extinguishing most of Zhou Ning's courage.
Zhou Ning's heart sank, but looking at the other person's back, which remained spotless even in the filthy rainy night, and feeling the lingering pure and vast sword intent in the air, an unprecedented desire and obsession burned in his chest like wildfire.
This is not just about power, but also about transcending the mundane and practicing the righteousness in one's heart.
It was the real and illusory world that he longed for when his mind wandered to the heavens while he was engrossed in studying the classics.
He bowed deeply again, almost bending his back into a right angle, his voice trembling slightly from excitement and cold, yet unusually clear and firm:
"Immortal Master, I, Zhou Ning, am not an ungrateful person. I just witnessed your heroic figure as you slay demons and protect this region, and my heart is filled with admiration. I humbly request that you... take me as your disciple."
He shouted the last four words with almost all his strength.
"Taking on apprentices?"
Yan Chixia finally turned around completely, his face expressionless, as if he had heard something utterly absurd.
"You, a mere scholar with no strength to even kill a chicken, do you know what the 'Tao' is? Do you know that the path of cultivation is fraught with thorns, a journey fraught with peril? It requires immense perseverance, wisdom, and extraordinary opportunity. What makes you think you can succeed?"
His words were like cold awls, piercing Zhou Ning.
There was no mockery, only the harsh reality of the situation.
Zhou Ning's face paled; he knew the other person was right.
Aside from having read a few books by sages, I possess nothing of value.
But he raised his head, his gaze meeting those eyes that seemed to see through everything, discarding all flowery words, leaving only the simplest sincerity:
"This junior does not know the full picture of the 'Dao,' but this junior knows that what the immortal has done is to slay demons and protect the weak. This junior has also learned from reading that 'I will go even if there are thousands of people against me,' and 'When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven.'"
"My strength is meager, yet my heart yearns for it. I am unaware of the perils ahead, but if I can glimpse even a glimpse of the Great Dao, even death will not bring me regret."
His voice trembled slightly at first, but as he spoke, it became more and more firm, his eyes clear and persistent, with the stubbornness unique to scholars.
A faint hint of surprise flashed across Yan Chixia's eyes again, only to be quickly replaced by indifference.
He ignored Zhou Ning and turned his gaze to the depths of the ancient temple, to the dusty Buddha statue and the dark halls further behind.
"This temple is called 'Lanruo'. It was very popular a hundred years ago, but now it is infested with evil spirits and has become a ghost town."
He seemed to be talking to himself, yet also to Zhou Ning.
"Since you speak of longing for this place, do you know that every brick, tile, blade of grass, and tree here is tainted with resentment and evil? An ordinary person would fall seriously ill if they stayed here for even a short while. You have already been tainted by this bad luck by spending the night here, and your life will not last long. How can you still talk about seeking the Dao?"
These words struck Zhou Ning like a bolt from the blue, leaving him feeling utterly cold.
He subconsciously looked at his soaked clothes and felt the faint chill in his body. Could it be... could it be that it wasn't just the chill of the night?
Fear gripped him again.
But looking at Yan Chixia's calm and expressionless face, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and forced himself to reply:
"Since the immortal master is willing to tell this junior about this matter, surely... surely this junior still has a chance to live?"
Yan Chixia remained noncommittal, simply stepping into the temple and saying calmly:
"Follow me. If you can find a truly 'clean' object in this temple that contains a trace of pure yang energy, it will prove that you are destined for this path, and I will consider giving you a chance."
If not… Hmph, I'd better get down the mountain as soon as possible, find a doctor, and maybe I can live a few more days.”
test?
Is this the test proposed by the immortal?
Zhou Ning's heart pounded, a mixture of excitement at being given an opportunity and a clear understanding of the difficulty of the challenge.
In this dilapidated temple filled with demonic energy, can one search for something containing pure yang energy?
This is like finding a needle in a haystack, no, it's even harder than that.
But without any hesitation, he immediately replied:
"Yes, I will do my best."
He then followed closely behind Yan Chixia and returned to the gloomy hall.
Inside the hall, the bonfire had almost gone out, with only a few sparks remaining.
The wind and rain poured in through the dilapidated doors and windows, adding to the desolate atmosphere.
Yan Chixia casually found a relatively clean corner, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes to rest, as if everything around him was irrelevant, completely ignoring Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning knew that the test had begun.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Pure Yang Qi... What is Pure Yang Qi?
Buddhist temple...Buddha statue?
He looked at the dusty Buddha statue, walked over, and carefully wiped it with his sleeve.
Once the dust is brushed away, the mottled paint and the stone's true nature are revealed. Touching it reveals only a cold, lifeless emptiness, offering no special sensation.
Clearly, the Buddhist nature of this place has long since dissipated with the cessation of incense offerings.
Futons, incense burners, beams and pillars...
He examined them one by one, and all he could touch was a chilling and decaying aura. He couldn't sense any pure yang energy, or even a trace of neutral and gentle energy.
The pervasive chill seemed to be trying to penetrate his very bones, sending shivers down his spine.
Time passed slowly, and cold sweat began to seep from Zhou Ning's forehead, partly out of anxiety, and partly because the bad luck within him seemed to be acting up even more.
He felt dizzy and weak in his limbs.
Is there really no hope?
Just when he was about to despair, his gaze inadvertently swept over a corner of the main hall, where a broken stone tablet was half-hidden, mostly covered by weeds and rubble, with only a corner showing.
He hadn't paid attention to it before.
As if guided by some strange force, he walked over, laboriously cleared away the weeds and rubble, revealing the entire stone tablet.
The stone tablet was dilapidated, and the inscriptions on it were blurred due to wind and rain erosion.
However, Zhou Ning, with his scholarly sensitivity to words, could still vaguely discern that this was not a Buddhist scripture, but an inscription recording the reason for the temple's construction and praising the virtues of an ancient person, bearing a clear Confucian flavor.
"...The illustrious Lord Chen, with a heart as deep as the ocean... passed down loyalty and filial piety through generations, and his benevolence and righteousness reached the heavens... demons and monsters hid themselves, and evil spirits could not invade..."
He softly recited the remaining words, his fingers unconsciously tracing the blurred inscriptions.
These words tell the story of a virtuous and upright sage whose righteousness could drive away evil spirits.
Suddenly, as his finger traced the engraving of the four characters "Evil Spirits Cannot Invade," a faint but real warmth, like a firefly in winter, quietly emanated from his fingertip, instantly dispelling the chill that lingered around him.
Zhou Ning was shocked, and his eyes shone with disbelief.
found it.
This stone tablet records the noble spirit of Confucian sages.
The words themselves carried the spirit and will of the author. Although they have been eroded by time and almost completely erased, they still retain the last trace of pure yang energy in this evil land.
He turned around abruptly, looking at Yan Chixia, who was still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, his voice trembling with excitement:
"Immortal Master, I...I've found it."
Yan Chixia slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the broken stone tablet, then shifting to Zhou Ning's face, which was flushed with excitement.
He could clearly sense that the moment Zhou Ning triggered that faint righteous energy, the surrounding bad luck that was trying to erode him paused slightly.
This child... does he actually possess some talent?
It's not about blindly reading books, but about understanding the spirit behind the words and resonating with it.
Yan Chixia remained silent for a moment, and the frost on his face seemed to melt away with a barely perceptible curve.
He stood up, walked to Zhou Ning, looked at the stone tablet, and said calmly:
"You barely passed."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ning was overjoyed and was about to express his gratitude.
But Yan Chixia abruptly changed the subject, his tone still calm, yet carrying a deeper scrutiny:
"However, sensing a trace of remaining righteous energy only proves that you are not stupid and have a heart that inclines towards goodness. Cultivation is far from being that simple."
His gaze was sharp as lightning, staring directly into Zhou Ning's eyes:
"We cultivators fight against fate, battle demons, and contend with the human heart. We need great perseverance to face the monotony and great courage to confront life and death. You are now tainted with bad luck and physically weak, which is a major taboo in cultivation."
He paused, then revealed the seemingly impossible test:
"Do you see that mountain behind the temple? There is a three-hundred-year-old pine tree on the top of the mountain. Its needles contain a hint of the purple aura of the morning sun. Before dawn tomorrow, you must climb to the top of the mountain by your own strength and pick nine pine needles covered with morning dew."
During the journey, no external assistance may be sought, nor may one turn back.
Yan Chixia's voice was completely calm:
"If you can do that, I will teach you the method of foundation building, dispel your bad luck, and guide you into the path."
If you can't do it, or give up halfway...
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Zhou Ning looked in the direction Yan Chixia pointed and saw that in the rainy night, the outline of the mountain peak was blurred, towering and precipitous, and the mountain road in the darkness was like a winding giant python, hiding unknown dangers.
And he, a frail scholar, afflicted with bad luck, had to climb alone for several hours...
This test is not just difficult, it's downright deliberately difficult.
Zhou Ning's face turned pale instantly, but looking into Yan Chixia's unwavering eyes, he swallowed back the words of retreat that were on the tip of his tongue.
He took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Yan Chixia:
"This junior... will certainly do my best."