Going Up Laoshan

After traveling for two days, the three of them lodged at a roadside inn in the mountains. In the middle of the night, Liu Jin was awakened by a very slight noise, which was not human, but a demon.

A fox demon had somehow sneaked into the woodshed in the backyard of the roadside inn and was squatting on the pile of firewood, stealing the cured meat that the innkeeper was drying. Mingzhen also woke up, but he didn't get up; he just lay on the bed, flicking his finger lightly under the covers.

The fox demon in the woodshed suddenly saw an even larger fox appear out of nowhere in front of it. The fox was pure white, with eyes like copper bells staring at it, and a low growl coming from its throat.

The fox demon screamed in fright, dropping the cured meat from its mouth to the ground. It scrambled out of the woodshed and disappeared into the forest in a flash.

The large white fox slowly dissipated after the fox demon escaped, turning into a wisp of extremely faint white smoke, never truly existing from beginning to end.

Liu Jin leaned against the doorframe, watching the whole process unfold. Mingzhen then sat up from the bed and smiled at Liu Jin: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Daoist Liu. Laoshan magic mostly uses these kinds of subtle techniques, nothing as fierce as Samadhi True Fire."

He spoke modestly, but what Liu Jin saw was not "small"; the large white fox's aura was extremely weak.

But it did indeed lock onto the fox demon's senses in that instant, making it believe from the bottom of its heart that a fellow human standing before it was a hundred times stronger than itself.

It's not just a simple visual illusion; it simulates even the aura, the sense of oppression, and even the fox demon's instinctive fear of those in power.

This level of illusion has reached the level of "perception." It doesn't just deceive the eyes; it directly rewrites the reality that the other person perceives.

The next day, I passed through a village and happened to witness a happy occasion. A family's son was getting married, and the whole village gathered in front of the ancestral hall for a feast, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

Mingshan got interested and pulled Mingzhen and Liu Jin to watch for a while at the village entrance. Then he took out a handful of soybeans from his sleeve and scattered them on the ground.

The soybeans that landed on the ground transformed into a group of palm-sized paper figures dressed in red and green clothes, dancing and beating drums and gongs. They circled the bride and groom three times before finally turning into a cloud of colorful paper scraps and scattering away amidst the sound of firecrackers.

The villagers thought it was some deity coming to deliver blessings, so they all knelt down and kowtowed.

The bride and groom couldn't stop smiling. The wind from the dancing paper figures blew a corner of the bride's veil open, revealing half of her blushing face.

Ming Shan clapped the bean crumbs off his hands, looking smug: "Back then, the test for becoming a master was this skill of turning beans into soldiers, although my 'soldier' ​​can only dance."

As Liu Jin watched the colorful scraps of paper fall onto the villagers' shoulders, wine bowls, and incense tables, he suddenly thought of his Moon Illusion Light.

The Moon Illusion Light is a fusion of the Taiyin Fire and the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. Taiyin is the base, and Karmic Fire is the catalyst. Yin upon yin, it can directly strike the most vulnerable part of the soul.

He used it atop Black Mountain to shatter the Black Mountain Demon's sanity, forcing him to confront his deepest fears. But that was merely one application of the Moon Illusion Light—an attack.

What if illusion magic wasn't just a means of attack?

What if he could use the Moon Illusion Light to send a perfectly timed illusion to those in need, just as Mingshan comforted the old woman with paper cranes? What if he could use the Moon Illusion Light to simulate an aura that instills instinctive fear in demons, just as Mingzhen scared away the fox demon with the giant white fox, thus subduing the enemy without a fight?

The more he thought about it, the deeper he became. The core of the Moon Illusion Light is "illusion" and "karma." Illusion is the appearance, and karma is the foundation.

The Red Lotus Karmic Fire burns away sins and possesses the power of judgment; the Taiyin Fire is extremely Yin and gentle, capable of penetrating the gaps in the soul.

The combination of the two can theoretically achieve something deeper than the Laoshan Illusion Technique. It is not just about creating illusions in front of the other person, but about directly touching their "karma" and letting them see their deepest obsessions, fears, or desires.

This is not just an illusion; it is a direct dialogue at the level of the soul.

If he could combine the "skill" of Laoshan Illusion with the "depth" of Moon Illusion Light, he might be able to find a more interesting path than simply using fire to smash people.

As he walked, he silently memorized these insights, and a faint, moon-white light unconsciously shone from his fingertips. He gently twirled it in his palm before withdrawing it into his inner vision.

We've arrived at Laoshan.

Liu Jin stood at the foot of the mountain, looking up at this famous Taoist mountain that was praised by people at the time as the "abode of immortals".

Contrary to expectations, Laoshan is not known for its steep and rugged terrain. Its mountains stretch endlessly, with numerous peaks, yet they are completely enveloped by vast expanses of ancient pines and cypresses. Occasionally, a corner of a flying eaves or bracket archway will peek out from among the jagged rocks, only to be swallowed up by the surging sea of ​​clouds.

As you walk up the mountain path, you can see a Taoist temple every now and then. Some are magnificent and have a lot of incense burning, while others are just three or five tiled houses with no plaque in front of them, only a string of old wind chimes that have turned white by the mountain wind.

Mingzhen said that there are nine palaces, eight temples, and seventy-two hermitages in Laoshan, which vary in size and lineage. Shangqing Palace at the foot of the mountain manages secular affairs and accepts disciples, while Xuanqing Temple at the top of the mountain cultivates the Dharma and goes into seclusion. The rest of the places each have their own way of making a living.

The square in front of Shangqing Palace was crowded with people. A hundred or so young people were lined up in a sparse queue. Some carried books, some carried machetes, and some were dressed in tattered short clothes, clearly from farm families who had come from nearby villages.

Mingshan said that this year happens to be the three-yearly apprenticeship season in Laoshan, and these people have come from the surrounding prefectures and counties to try their luck.

He pointed to the burly man at the front of the group who was being questioned by the Taoist priest in charge, and said that after these people went up the mountain, they would chop firewood for three months. The Taoist priest in charge would then select a few qualified and patient people to formally take as his disciples, and send the rest down the mountain.

As Liu Jin and the two Taoist priests walked around the queue and headed up the mountain, a tall, thin boy was sweating profusely from carrying a load of firewood. He was gritting his teeth and trying not to fall. Two other boys of similar age, also carrying firewood, were already sitting by the roadside, panting heavily.

Liu Jin watched the boy's retreating figure, his steps slowing slightly. He suddenly thought of Lu Jin and Li Muxuan.

Back then, in the martial arts training ground of the Sanyi Sect's lower courtyard, those three boys were about the same age. Liu Deshui did his best to chop wood and fetch water, Lu Jin did his best, and Li Muxuan would sit on the steps and call for people to rest when he got tired.

He stood under the old locust tree, while Zuo Ruotong waited in the lecture hall. At that time, he coldly observed the fate of the three boys, thinking about how to change the ending of the Sanyi Sect.

Now he stood on the mountain path of Laoshan, watching other people's new disciples struggling up the mountain carrying firewood, but another thought popped into his mind: it seemed that he had never been through this before.

On the day of the entrance examination, Master Dongshan took him directly to see Zuo Ruotong. He didn't participate in chopping wood or fetching water at all. Others would chop wood for several days in order to become disciples, but he had been in the Sanyi Sect for several years and hadn't even touched a wood-chopping knife more than a few times.

After entering the sect, while others climbed up step by step from the lower academy, he entered the first level in three days, the second level in ten months, and the third level in three years. Zuo Ruotong personally gave him private lessons, and even taught him the secret formula for reversing the three levels.

When others made mistakes, they were punished by being sent to the back mountain to chop wood as a form of self-reflection. When he made a mistake, Zuo Ruotong simply glanced at him and said, "Be careful next time."