Chapter 218: One Diagram, Two Methods, and Three Daoist Arts

It could be text, pictures, ink painting, or nothing…

Xu Heng was distracted for a moment, and all these things had already appeared in his mind. Only then did he hear Taoist Zhong say: “Give me one diagram, two methods, and three great Taoist arts.”

Xu Heng was silent for a moment, then he said respectfully: “I dare not refuse the gift from Master. Disciple Xu Heng, thank you for the Dharma.”

Taoist Zhong nodded slightly, and said no more. He waved his hand and said, “Go now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Heng felt that the fog around him seemed to be getting thicker again.

He bowed again and walked slowly out of the valley. Sure enough, the mountain wind blew fog towards him, and soon there was thick fog in all directions.

Xu Heng glanced at the road under his feet and just walked down, thinking carefully as he walked.

One picture, two methods, and three great Taoist arts.

One picture is a simple painting, with just a few strokes of ink, and it seems to be just a few lines, circling and converging towards the center, but not connecting, giving people a feeling of being unsatisfied.

Xu Heng knew that this “picture” must have some mystery that could only be understood but not expressed in words, but he could not perceive it at the moment, so he had to put it aside for the time being.

The second method is a compendium of magic spells and a method of refining weapons.

The outline of magic is of course profound. Xu Heng took a quick glance at it and was already immersed in it. If it wasn’t for the wrong time, he would have wanted to study it in seclusion. As for the method of refining instruments, it was a method of refining a famous magic instrument in the Xuanwei School.

Xu Heng had no intention of refining the magic weapon for the time being, so he just glanced over it, his mind focused on the three major Taoist arts.

The three major Taoist magics are the Xuanwei Hengfa Great Mantra, the Xuanwei Huajie Zhenshui, and the Taifu Jinguan Great Escape.

The Xuanwei Hengfa Mantra is the method that Chen Taichen used to resist Xu Heng’s flying sword in the Xumi Cave Heaven. It is said to be invulnerable to all kinds of attacks. It is a supreme Taoist method for protecting oneself and even the Tao.

As for the Xuanwei Huajie Zhenshui, it was a water-based technique with infinite uses. Both of them were the secret Taoist techniques of the Xuanwei School. Xu Heng knew some of their powerful points, but he had never heard of the Taifu Jinguan Datun.

After a closer look, he realized that it was a powerful escape technique based on light. However, unlike his fire escape technique, this escape technique only emphasized the word “fast”, and in this regard, it could be said to have reached perfection.

Although it cannot be operated as freely and flexibly as his fire escape, and cannot display endless changes, but when he uses the escape technique, golden light can shine across the ground, and a thousand or ten thousand miles are just a stone’s throw away, which shows how powerful this golden escape technique is.

“Tai Fu, Tai Fu…” Xu Heng muttered silently, and had some guesses about the origin of this strange escape technique.

But since it has been passed on to him, there is nothing to be unhappy about.

Although Xu Heng was thinking about something, he did not stop. He quickly walked out of the fog and found that there was a bluestone road going straight down in front of him.

He didn’t need to look back to know that behind him was the road leading to Taiguang Peak, and going downwards was the road down Taiguang Mountain.

Xu Heng smiled slightly, tapped his toes lightly, and then seemed to float down on the breeze. After a while, he had already walked halfway.

At this moment, he suddenly heard the faint sound of a flute in the wind. Looking ahead, he saw a familiar road and could not help but pause for a moment.

But soon, he set off again, accompanied by the sound of flute, and went down the mountain along the bluestone road.

And perhaps, because Xu Heng’s figure disappeared at the end of the mountain road, the sound of the flute finally faded away.

……

The green mountains were emerald green, and the mist was thick. Looking back, the Taiguang Immortal Palace had disappeared again. Xu Heng did not stay any longer, and ascended into the sky with the Cloud Technique.

If he wanted to return to Tianchi, he could just fly straight north. Xu Heng was already familiar with the route, but when he came down the mountain, he had another thought.

The last time, Xu Heng returned to the mountains from Tiannan. He was eager to go home, so although he passed through Tianfeng, he did not stay there. Now he had some thoughts of looking for old friends.

Thinking of this, Xu Heng slightly changed direction, and soon saw the towering Yingzhou City appear in his sight.

When he came down from Taiguang Mountain when he was young, it took him fifty or sixty days to walk out of the deep mountains and return to the world.

Now, he just used the cloud magic to fly and made this distance come within reach.

The difference between the past and the present did not make Xu Heng feel too much. He hid his body, went into Yingzhou City, took a walk, and even ordered a banquet at Zuixianlou before going to Yingzhou Market. Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the land, he found that the alchemy room of Taoist Changsun seemed to be gone.

The sign on the store door had changed its appearance, and what they sold were no longer elixirs, but things like talisman paper and cinnabar.

Xu Heng’s eyebrows moved slightly, and he stepped into the store, knocked on the counter lightly, and said, “Shopkeeper, I want to inquire about something.”

The person behind the counter raised his eyes and was unwilling to respond at first, but when he saw Xu Heng wipe his palm and a magic coin appeared on the counter, his tone immediately softened and he said, “Daoyou, just ask.”

Xu Heng nodded slightly and asked, “I remember this shop was originally the alchemy room of Master Changsun Dan. I wonder where he is now?”

“Oh? So you are here to look for Master Changsun?” The shopkeeper sighed, and seemed to be somewhat envious, saying, “I heard that he sold his alchemy room in order to seek the opportunity to condense evil spirits, and left Yingzhou to travel and look for evil spirits.”

Xu Heng didn’t expect to get this answer and was stunned.

But when he came to his senses, he still didn’t know whether this was a happy event.

Taoist Zhangsun was a disciple of Qiming Academy who came down from Taiguang Mountain after failing to seek the truth. He had a shallow foundation and weak magical powers. Even if he really achieved great success in his cultivation, it would be difficult for him to condense the Earthly Evil. So why did he have this idea?
I’m afraid there is only one reason, and that is the worry about one’s longevity.

Xu Heng felt somewhat disappointed, so he left Yingzhou market and went to the gate of Ji’s house. As expected, the gate was closed and the place was cold and quiet. After asking others, he learned that after the mistress of the Ji family passed away, the “hero” of the Ji family dismissed the servants and left home to “roam the world”.

This was naturally a common saying, but Xu Heng knew that Ji Tingsheng might have gone to look for evil with the Taoist master Changsun.

However, when he learned that the two old friends were traveling together, Xu Heng’s disappointment was somewhat alleviated.

He returned to Zuixian Tower and had a drink alone.

The wine in the ordinary tavern was naturally not good, but Xu Heng still drank until late at night, bought another jar of wine, and then left Yingzhou city alone under the cover of night.

He had a hunch that since his old friend was no longer there, he would probably never set foot in this place again.

Xu Heng did not flee either, but walked along the official road, drinking and striding forward.

Not long after, when it was almost dawn, Xu Heng heard the sound of rushing water. When he walked closer, he saw a mighty river rushing, winding its way to a very far place.

“Jingshui.” Xu Heng walked to the river bank and drank all the wine. He was not drunk at all. He just shook his head and smiled, then threw the jar of wine aside and stood facing the river.

Suddenly, endless water vapor on the surface of the river rolled towards him.

(End of this chapter)