Zhuge

Li Muxuan stayed home for two more days. It wasn't that he didn't want to leave, but his father kept finding ways to keep him there. Today he said the restaurant had just added new dishes, tomorrow he said the fabric from the next town had arrived and he should have a new outfit made for him, and the day after tomorrow he said his distant cousin had heard he was back and wanted to come and visit him.

Li Muxuan was annoyed by these reasons, but every time he wanted to get angry, he would see his father's back as he cooked in the kitchen and swallow his words back.

"I never thought he was so long-winded before," Li Muxuan complained to Liu Jin as he sat in the courtyard.

"You never gave him a chance before."

Li Muxuan was silent for a moment, then stood up and walked towards the kitchen: "Dad, don't bring the vegetables. The mountain road is difficult to walk on, and they will easily break if you put them in jars."

From the kitchen came Boss Li's booming reply: "Then let's use bamboo tubes!"

Li Muxuan glanced back at Liu Jin, his expression saying, "See?" Liu Jin picked up his teacup, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

On the morning of his departure, Boss Li saw him off all the way to the outskirts of the city. The bundle was crammed full of things: braised beef, a newly made padded jacket, and tightly sewn cloth shoes. Li Muxuan said with disdain, "I'm not going to flee with so much stuff," while tightening the bundle on his shoulder.

"Alright, Dad, you can go back now. The family still needs you to take charge." Li Muxuan turned around and waved his hand without looking back.

Mr. Li watched his son's figure walk further and further away until it disappeared from sight around the foot of the mountain. Only then did he sigh and turn back.

The day I returned to Sanyi Gate, it had just rained. The mountain path was washed clean by the rain, and the moss on the stone steps gleamed with a damp green light. The air was filled with the scent of bamboo leaves and earth.

Lu Jin stood at the mountain gate, holding two oil-paper umbrellas in his hands. Seeing them walking towards him from afar, he quickly went up to them and handed one to Li Muxuan and the other to Liu Jin.

"You didn't bring umbrellas?"

"It wasn't raining when I left." Li Muxuan took the umbrella and looked him up and down. "How long have you been standing here?"

"You're two days later than expected. I've been checking in every day."

Li Muxuan opened his mouth, wanting to say "Are you sick?", but what came out was: "Don't wait next time, it's not like you'll lose it." Lu Jin hummed in agreement, then turned to Liu Jin: "Senior brother, the sect leader said to go to the lecture hall to find him when you come back."

The lecture hall was as it always had been. Zuo Ruotong sat on a futon, an old book with its pages turned to dust in front of her, and a pot of tea beside her, its aroma slowly spreading in the quiet air.

Liu Jin sat down opposite him and briefly recounted his experiences over the past few days since he came down the mountain, his thoughts with Master Dongshan, his own deductions about the future direction of the Triple Rebirth, and the idea that had just taken shape and had not yet been implemented.

"The third level," Zuo Ruotong said after a moment of silence, "is that you want to change your physical body after you have completely transformed into Qi."

"Yes. It's not about abandoning the physical body, but about upgrading it."

"Is there any reference for this route?"

Liu Jin took out his notebook from his pocket and turned to the page with the note tucked inside. The note contained several keywords: ancient gods and demons, defying one's innate nature.

"It's too shocking to the world. Legends are just legends. I'm afraid you'll go down a dead end," Zuo Ruotong said, frowning slightly.

Liu Jin didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Zuo Ruotong's heart skipped a beat. After a long silence, she said as if she had made up her mind, "Do you think that the Triple Path is also a dead end?" In fact, Zuo Ruotong had already understood Liu Jin's true meaning after he told her that he wanted to open up a new path. However, she was unwilling and dared not admit that there was a problem with the path of her ancestors.

Liu Jin nodded, not daring to speak.

Zuo Ruotong took a breath and nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

"The specific path still needs a lot of supplementation. In the traditional cultivation system, there is a path of 'refining qi into spirit,' but that system turns inward, using the refined essence and qi to nourish the spirit, using the false to cultivate the true, step by step transforming the yin spirit into yang, and finally achieving the yang spirit. From Lu Zu to the two schools of the North and South, all the methods on this path have been explained, each with its own method."

"But I'm exploring a different path. Not turning inward, but proving outward. Not refining the spirit to return to emptiness, but borrowing truth to cultivate truth. Taking external divine objects as the foundation, then reversing the innate state. The innate nature of objects is simpler than that of the human body."

Zuo Ruotong looked at him quietly without interrupting.

"But I don't have a specific starting point. The ancient gods and demons are just legends, and there are only a few words about them in the existing books. To move forward, I must make connections and find a lineage that is related to the word 'pure' to see if I can use the stones from other mountains to polish my jade."

"So you have a goal?"

"Samadhi Fire"

The name echoed in the quiet air of the lecture hall, and Zuo Ruotong paused for a moment as she picked up her teacup.

"The Zhuge family. I had a past connection with the Zhuge family, so you also have a senior brother named Zhuge Ming. But he has already reached the second level and entered the sect with prior skills. He has already gone down the mountain to find his own path of cultivation, but his whereabouts are also in Shu. He should be in close contact with his family."

"I think he would be very interested in building a new path to reverse life, but it is ultimately a family secret technique. I will write a letter, and you can go directly to the Zhuge family to find him. As for the specifics, let them arrange it."

Liu Jin put aside his anxiety and finally convinced his master. In truth, he was just trying his luck because of his cheat ability, and he didn't have much confidence: "Thank you, Master. I think the Wuhou family style shouldn't make things difficult for me."

Zuo Ruotong shook her head and laughed, "If that weren't the case, I would have given you a beating first. You're always thinking about other people's secret techniques."

Liu Jin chuckled foolishly, while Zuo Ruotong ignored him and went to write a letter.

......

"Samadhi True Fire! Liu Jin is going to go all out."

"The combination of Reverse Life Triple and Samadhi True Fire is something no one in the original work has ever tried."

"The Zhuge family is not a major focus in the original work, but Zhuge Qing's Samadhi True Fire is no joke. It specifically burns the soul, but we don't know how much of a chemical reaction it has with the Reverse Life Triple Technique."

"The key is the Zhuge family. No matter how good their family traditions are, they can't stop you from coveting their core inheritance."

"It's hard to say..."

......

When Liu Jin arrived, the sun was almost setting, bathing the mountains and forests in a golden-red glow. He knocked on the Zhuge family's door, and a teenager, a junior member of the Zhuge family, opened it. Seeing Liu Jin's Taoist robe, the teenager frowned warily: "Who are you from? Whom are you looking for?"

"Please inform him that I am Liu Jin from the Sanyi Sect, sent by Master Zuo Ruotong to find Senior Brother Zhuge Ming. This is a letter from your master."

The boy hesitated for a moment, then turned and went inside. After a while, he came out again, opened the door wider, and stared at Liu Jin with a strange expression: "Uncle Ming is waiting for you in the main room. He told me to tell you to practice the 'quiet exercise' first when you enter." He emphasized the words "quiet exercise."

Liu Jin smiled faintly and walked calmly into the main room.

The main hall of the Zhuge family home was bright and spacious, with a statue of Zhuge Liang in the center. Shelves on either side were filled with bamboo slips and thread-bound books, and a faint scent of sandalwood filled the air. Zhuge Ming, a young man with a thin face, sat in a grand chair beneath the statue, his eyes shining like embers just taken from a furnace. When he saw Liu Jin enter, he offered no pleasantries or tea, but simply pointed to the prayer cushion on the floor.

"You should meditate and enter your inner vision first. I need to discuss this with my family. I'll check on your meditation practice after we've discussed it." Zhuge Ming's voice was dry and somewhat bitter.

"Thank you for your understanding, senior brother."