Xia Country, Shang'an Prefecture, Yongshan County.
Qianmu Temple.
At 3:00 AM, Wang Ping was woken by the crowing of a rooster. He rubbed his reluctant eyes, grabbed his clothes, and slipped them on. After getting out of bed, he walked over to the single bed on the other side of the room and slapped the soundly sleeping Su Dun on the bottom.
"Senior Brother, I'm awake, stop hitting me," a childish voice came from the bed. Then, a figure could be seen stumbling about, fumbling for something.
"Hurry up!"
As Wang Ping urged him on, he pulled open the door. A cool breeze rushed into the room, making both of them shrink their necks and chasing away half their drowsiness.
"Senior Brother, wait for me!"
Just as Wang Ping was about to leave, Su Dun followed behind, clutching his clothes. He was afraid of walking alone in the dark.
"I told you to hurry."
After leaving, the two of them used the faint moonlight to cross the wide courtyard from their quarters and walk to the kitchen on the other side.
Upon entering the kitchen, Wang Ping skillfully dug through the ash in the stove, used tongs to pick up a still-glowing piece of charcoal, and blew it back to life. After using it to light an oil lamp, the two began to start the fire and cook.
There were only six people in the temple, including Wang Ping and Su Dun. Breakfast was simple; they just needed to steam twelve steamed buns. The dough had been prepared the night before, but it needed to be kneaded again.
Lost in their work, they didn't notice the sky lightening.
A little while later, when the dough was almost ready, Su Dun said, "I'll go deliver hot water to Master and our senior brothers."
Wang Ping nodded nonchalantly. "Alright!"
Seeing Wang Ping agree, Su Dun's face lit up with joy. He rushed outside as fast as he could to wash his hands, then picked up the two kettles of freshly boiled water and ran toward the main hall. The Observatory Master, Yu Cheng Taoist, had a habit of making tea and discussing the Dao with his disciples after morning lessons.
About half an hour later, he walked out of the kitchen, stood at the door, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Time to eat!"
The shout was still echoing when Su Dun came running over from the other side like the wind. Wang Ping handed him a porcelain bowl filled with pickled vegetables and steamed buns. "Take this to Master first."
"Alright!"
Su Dun took the bowl, turned, and ran back the way he came. The other three senior brothers also filed into the kitchen in an orderly fashion…
After breakfast, Wang Ping saw an old Daoist walking over from the direction of the main hall, carrying a hoe on his shoulder. His hair was half white, he had a two-inch-long beard, his complexion was ruddy, and he walked with a vigorous stride. This was Qianmu Temple's Observatory Master, Yu Cheng Taoist. He was likely on his way to tend to his medicinal field.
Seeing this, the three senior brothers quickly chose one person to stay and guard the main hall while the other two grabbed hoes and trotted happily after Yu Cheng Taoist.
Wang Ping and Su Dun didn't need to help in the medicinal field, but they had to clean Qianmu Temple from top to bottom. By the time they finished, it was almost time for lunch, and the two had to prepare the meal.
Lunch was steamed buns again, but this time there was also a soup made from dried wild vegetables. It had an egg whisked into it, along with salt and a spoonful of lard.
After lunch, Elder Yu Cheng returned to his room to meditate. The three senior brothers did the same, except they would always fall asleep halfway through their meditation.
Wang Ping and Su Dun had to practice the Chang Chun Technique that Elder Yu Cheng had taught them. It wasn't some powerful Cultivation Technique, just a basic Nourishing Life Technique. As Wang Ping thought of the Chang Chun Technique, a stats panel appeared before his eyes:
[Chang Chun Technique: With your current physical strength, you can practice effectively 5 times a day. You can achieve a sense of qi in three years. (Progress: 32/100, Daily Progress: 0/5)]
This was an ability that came with Wang Ping when he transmigrated from Earth to this world. Whenever he was learning a skill, thinking about it would cause a guide panel to pop up before his eyes.
Two years ago, due to a famine, Wang Ping was sent to the Daoist Temple by his parents in this life. After a year of doing chores, Yu Cheng Taoist finally taught him this Cultivation Technique. With a year of practice, he had already achieved some minor success.
Before practicing, Wang Ping habitually relaxed all his muscles, adjusted his breathing rhythm, and performed two opening stances to get the feel for it before he began. "Practicing effectively 5 times" meant he couldn't make any major mistakes during a complete set of movements.
This set of movements was a bit like the Eight Pieces of Brocade from Earth. It looked very simple at first glance, but achieving fluid movements was by no means something that could be accomplished overnight.
This was especially true for some of the slow movements, which tested not only physical coordination but also one's temperament. When performing certain movements, you would subconsciously speed up. The more you reminded yourself to slow down, the harder it became. If you don't believe it, just try it once.
The first round was successful, as expected. The daily progress became (1/5).
But a problem occurred during the second round. As Wang Ping deliberately tried to slow down at the end of the sixth movement set, his upper and lower body movements became uncoordinated, causing his breath to catch.
Wang Ping was only slightly annoyed, then he unhurriedly completed the rest of the set.
Half an Hour passed without him noticing. Wang Ping held his final breath and completed his daily progress. After finishing the technique, he closed his eyes to recuperate for a long time, allowing the vital energy that had dispersed during his practice to return to his body.
Su Dun was long gone, which didn't surprise Wang Ping. He squinted at the sky to check the time, then slowly walked toward the front courtyard.
The front courtyard was bustling with activity. A crowd of villagers from the foot of the mountain had gathered outside the pharmacy next to Elder Yu Cheng's residence. Su Dun was chatting enthusiastically with a young man whose feet were caked in mud, though the young man didn't look very well.
Eldest Senior Brother Li An Tian was helping inside the pharmacy. Third Senior Brother Mao Yulong stood at the Daoist Temple's main gate to prevent any troublemakers from acting up. Second Senior Brother Liu Zixiu was maintaining order outside the pharmacy.
Wang Ping silently returned to his quarters and picked up a book titled "Commentaries on Heaven and Man" from his bed to study. This was the book Yu Cheng Taoist had given him to read when Second Senior Brother was teaching him how to read.
[Commentaries on Heaven and Man: This is a popular science book. Read it every day, and one day you will understand its principles. (Daily Progress: 0/1)]
'This guide is ridiculous!'
Wang Ping suppressed his irritation and began to calmly read the so-called popular science book, which was only about five thousand characters long.
The book began with profound ideas, seemingly expounding on the wonders of the connection between heaven and man, but the second section began to elaborate on the Cosmos, nature, and humanity.
Moreover, it was full of contradictions. For example, when explaining principles, the book would say that all things in the world should follow nature, even using state governance and self-cultivation as examples. But in the very next section, it would argue that man should transcend the rules of nature and not hold up the morality of Saints as a standard.
Every time he finished reading this book, Wang Ping would have a different feeling, but one feeling remained the same: extreme irritation. It was like having two groups of people arguing in his ears.
After finishing it this time, Wang Ping was still annoyed. He had no choice but to empty his mind and sit on the edge of his bed to meditate. Only after a quarter of an hour was he able to banish the chaotic thoughts from his head.
"What did you think of today?"
When Wang Ping opened his eyes, he saw an old Daoist in a worn-out robe. He was a wandering Daoist who had arrived in Yongshan County three years ago and was an old friend of Yu Cheng Taoist. Every day before dusk, he would come to the Daoist Temple to freeload a meal.
"My mind was a mess today. After reading it, I even wanted to burn the book," Wang Ping said truthfully.
"Haha!"
The old Daoist let out a loud laugh, then pointed to the sky outside the window and said, "It's time for you to go make dinner."
Dinner was steamed buns again, only one for each person. However, since someone had given them a small piece of cured meat in the afternoon while seeing patients, everyone got a piece of meat in their bowl.
After dinner, Yu Cheng Taoist and the old Daoist left first, as usual. The three senior brothers exchanged glances, and then Mao Yulong took a small gourd from his robes and shook it.
The small gourd was filled with rice wine. The five fellow disciples divided it up, one cup each.
"That's not nearly enough. When I get over this tribulation and go home, I'll have my dad send a whole jar of rice wine to the temple," Su Dun said, licking his lips.
"At your current pace, it'll take you at least ten years to get over this tribulation!" Eldest Senior Brother Li An Tian said irritably.
Su Dun's so-called tribulation was his weak constitution since childhood, which caused him to be constantly ill. Last year, he nearly kicked the bucket, so his parents had no choice but to send him to the Daoist Temple.
In the end, his weakness was caused by insufficient qi and blood. After a year of guidance from Yu Cheng Taoist, plus the Chang Chun Technique which invigorates the five viscera, he had finally replenished some of his qi and blood. However, a full recovery would still take a long time.
"Nonsense! With my talent, another six months will be enough."
Su Dun boasted with his head held high, then changed the subject. "This afternoon, when Master was seeing patients, I heard a young fella from the village down the mountain say that a powerful demon has been causing trouble in Shang'an Prefecture recently?"
"Powerful demon my ass. It's probably just some Little Demon from the mountains that just took human form and is causing a ruckus for a couple of days for the novelty of it. The Prefecture Magistrate's Office will solve it in two days," Mao Yulong said dismissively. "If they really can't handle it, I'll just make a trip down the mountain myself. It would only take me five or six days."
"Junior Brother, you're being impatient again," Eldest Senior Brother Li An Tian warned.
"Don't you preach to me. I heard your enemy already has a grandson, and you're still stuck here in the temple as an Ascetic," Mao Yulong, who hated being called impatient, immediately shot back, hitting Li An Tian where it hurt.
"If you're going to talk like that, we'll have to exchange a few moves!"
"Who's afraid of who!"
After speaking, the two senior brothers walked out into the courtyard. What followed was a flurry of fists and feet, each punch carrying a sharp blast of energy. Wang Ping stared at the visible energy, his eyes filled with envy.
This world was one where cultivation was possible. There were Martial Cultivators like Li An Tian and Mao Yulong, legendary demons who could take human form, and Daoists like Yu Cheng Taoist who practiced Secret Techniques.
Wang Ping had once personally seen a Daoist arrive by riding a cloud and chat with Yu Cheng Taoist for several days and nights. His greatest wish right now was to ascend to the clouds and see the view from up there.
The fight between the two was eventually stopped by Yu Cheng Taoist. They were also punished to kneel silently before the Ancestral Master's memorial tablet for two hours.