Chapter 5: The Small Jade Buddha

As the troubling thoughts vanished, Meng Qi felt his heart calm and spirit stabilize. Without anxiety or worry, he gradually sensed the generation of true Qi, which respectively flowed through the Ren and Du meridians. It condensed into golden nectar and jade dew at the upper and lower jaws, eventually forming a mouthful of sweet and clear “ambrosia.”

This “ambrosia” slowly soaked into the Ren meridian, filling the acupoints according to Meng Qi’s focused intention.

If there were deficiencies in the body, the “ambrosia” wouldn’t taste sweet, requiring the generation of true Qi and strengthening of the body and spirit to compensate. Meng Qi’s current condition indicated that his body was in the best state it had been so far.

“It seems this body has completed the ‘Hundred Days Foundation Building’?” Meng Qi, the young novice who didn’t particularly favor the Buddhist sect, opened his eyes and reflected on the previous experience. According to Master Xuan’en’s description, “himself” should have already passed the “Hundred Days Foundation Building” stage and could now begin “Chan Meditation for Qi Accumulation.”

However, after some thought, Meng Qi steadied his mind. The past accomplishments of “Hundred Days Foundation Building” belonged to the past. If he wanted to advance further on the path of martial cultivation, he must personally experience every step without skipping anything, thus ensuring a steadier and farther journey.

After a quarter of an hour had passed, Xuan’en tapped the wooden fish, its crisp sound awakening everyone. He then individually inquired about each person’s meditation state, including whether they could enter meditation and the quality of the “ambrosia” they generated, offering guidance accordingly.

Finally, he nodded and said, “Return to your rooms and try again. Now we will begin learning to read.”

Opening the sutras used for literacy, Meng Qi unsurprisingly discovered that he recognized most of the characters. This brought him inner joy, as he was relieved not to have become illiterate and required to start learning from scratch. With his current abilities, he was more than capable of dominating the sutra lecture hall.

“Pick up the brush and practice this character,” Xuan’en instructed.

Meng Qi’s joy immediately vanished. The last time he had used a writing brush was during elementary school. Indeed, the characters he wrote were extremely ugly.

“You need more practice,” Xuan’en said, hands clasped behind his back, as he passed by Meng Qi.

Meng Qi nodded dejectedly, suddenly realizing with alarm—if Xuan Chan saw this handwriting, wouldn’t he suspect something? This body likely originated from a noble family, having completed the “Hundred Days Foundation Building,” so it was impossible that he hadn’t practiced calligraphy since childhood!

Struggling to speak, Meng Qi felt that explaining to Xuan’en would be futile and only draw more attention. He quickly focused on practicing his handwriting, planning to claim later that his handwriting was poor at the beginning due to the physical strain of the laborer’s tasks, causing his arms to ache and his strokes to become illegible.

As noon approached, Xuan’en announced that the young novices could leave. Meng Qi secretly took the practice paper with him, intending to destroy the evidence.

After lunch, Meng Qi and Zhen Hui were assigned to clean various parts of the temple until sunset.

After a day of hard labor, Xuan Xin gathered everyone again to continue recounting his heroic tales.

“…That’s enough about the Shuiyue Nunnery. In the future, if you encounter them, keep your distance respectfully. As for the Jingang Temple, they are not on good terms with our Shaolin Temple, so you must be extremely cautious.”

Huh? Although the laborer monks had heard many martial arts legends and noble family anecdotes before becoming monks, they never knew that Shaolin Temple and Jingang Temple, both among the four great Buddhist temples, had such strained relations that they needed to be cautious!

Seeing their wide eyes, Xuan Xin nodded in satisfaction and continued, “Ben Fox Chan, the Blood Knife Hermit was originally a rogue practitioner, but he encountered a once-in-a-thousand-years miracle, obtaining the fifth form of the “Tathagata Palm” and from it, comprehending two fundamental great techniques, establishing the Jingang Temple lineage. Therefore, they have always coveted the third form of the “Tathagata Palm” secretly preserved by Shaolin Temple, hoping to compare and understand how to achieve the ‘Tathagata Golden Body.’ Many hidden conflicts have arisen between the two sects.”

“The Tathagata Golden Body…” Meng Qi’s eyebrows twitched, finding the matter somewhat fantastical, yet inexplicably exciting.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the courtyard gate. Xuan Xin jumped in fright, looking apprehensively toward the gate and blurting out, “Master Xuan Ku, I didn’t break any precepts…”

Before finishing his sentence, his expression darkened: “What brings this disciple here to my laborer’s courtyard?”

Meng Qi turned around and saw a somewhat familiar young novice at the courtyard gate. He was one of the children who had entered the temple together with himself, Zhen Hui, and Zhen De, among others, and was one of the two oldest, approximately fifteen years old. During the sutra study session that morning, he had chatted amicably with other young novices from the laborer’s courtyard without showing any signs of discrimination.

Seemed his dharma name was “Zhen Yong”? Meng Qi recalled his dharma name.

Zhen Yong was tall and thin, looked ordinary, but when he smiled, he revealed a row of white teeth, particularly radiant: “Venerable Xuanxin, I heard from several junior disciples that you are well-versed in worldly knowledge and have an encyclopedic knowledge of martial arts legends. Since I love listening to these stories, I came here impulsively and rashly. Please forgive me and allow me to listen in.”

At this time, the martial arts training courtyard belonged to the self-arranged “Meditation for Self-Cultivation” period.

After being flattered by Zhen Yong, Xuan Xin seemed to become elated again, his face beaming with smiles: “No problem, no problem. Just sit and listen. More knowledge of the martial world will help you in your future travels.”

Zhen Yong looked around and directly sat next to Meng Qi, whispering, “Junior Disciple Zhen Ding, am I not squeezing you?”

“No,” Meng Qi shook his head, feeling that Zhen Yong’s speech was surprisingly mature for his age. At fourteen or fifteen years old, he spoke like an adult scholar.

“I noticed that Junior Disciple Zhen Ding seems literate. In the future, I hope you can give me more guidance. If there’s anything I can do for you, feel free to ask,” Zhen Yong smiled naturally, as if they were old friends.

Meng Qi was moved and, considering that Zhen Yong was a martial arts disciple, he smiled and replied, “No problem at all. Why be so formal, Senior Brother?”

After a few exchanges, the two seemed to become close friends, feeling regret for not meeting sooner.

Seeing this, Xuan Xin coughed to quiet everyone and continued, “In addition to the two fundamental great techniques, what you must pay attention to in the Jingang Temple is their swordsmanship.”

“Blood Knife Hermit himself was a master swordsman and had comprehended some mysteries of the fifth form of the ‘Tathagata Palm.’ Therefore, after achieving the ‘Fierce-eyed Vajra Dharma Body,’ he created three sword techniques that are the pinnacle of swordsmanship in the world. Very few techniques can rival them…”

His storytelling enthralled the laborer monks, their minds wandering with excitement. However, as they listened further, everyone felt somewhat depressed. Zhen Yong immediately raised his hand and asked, “Venerable Xuan Xin, does our Shaolin Temple have no sword techniques to rival theirs?”

Indeed, wasn’t Shaolin Temple’s martial arts renowned for its comprehensiveness? The laborer monks also had a sense of pride in their sect.

Xuan Xin clicked his tongue: “It’s true that Shaolin Temple doesn’t have many sword techniques, but there is one that can rival those three great techniques. It is the ‘Ananda Breaking Precepts Sword Technique’ among the seventy-two supreme skills. Both belong to the supreme martial arts that can connect with the laws of heaven and earth, reaching the peak of external scenery. Of course, one must attain the ‘External Scenery’ realm to fully unleash the true power of this sword technique.”

He roughly introduced this divine sword technique, inspiring admiration and excitement among the monks.

“Alright, it’s already late. Return to your rooms and continue your practice,” Xuan Xin yawned unceremoniously, finally adding as if it were nothing, “Actually, it’s not that I’m afraid of Xuan Ku, my junior brother. It’s just that the laborer’s courtyard is under the management of the supply courtyard, and I’m just giving him face.”

He was still upset about his earlier fright.

“Is that so?” Suddenly, a deep and mellow voice came from the doorway.

Xuan Xin’s face immediately turned pale, and he quickly forced a smile: “Xuan Ku, my junior brother, I, I…”

Xuan Ku had a broad face and big ears, still wearing a yellow monk’s robe, but his right hand now held a string of brown-red prayer beads.

This was the same as what Meng Qi had seen on the disciplinary monks’ hands in the precepts court during the day, except one was dull yellow and the other was brown-red.

“Senior Brother Xuan Xin, I am no longer in the supply courtyard; I am currently the disciplinary monk of the precepts court,” Xuan Ku said solemnly.

“No wonder my junior brother came for an inspection tour,” Xuan Xin deliberately changed the subject.

This is even scarier… Meng Qi silently thought, the strict and unyielding Xuan Ku entering the precepts court, what would happen if they were caught with any minor infractions in the future…

Xuan Ku scanned the courtyard, nodded, and said, “Return to your rooms, and don’t forget to continue your practice.”

After returning to his meditation room, Meng Qi secretly took out the small jade Buddha, turned his back to Zhen Ying and Zhen Guan, and examined it. He felt its smooth, cool touch seeping into his body, clearing his mind.

“What a strange treasure!” Meng Qi was delighted in his heart, turning it over and over, hoping to discover more secrets. However, he found nothing and finally gave up, focusing his mind again. He began attempting to enter meditation, and with the help of the small jade Buddha, this meditation was very easy.

After generating true Qi, Meng Qi suddenly frowned, thought for a moment, and directly took off the small jade Buddha.

The first step of martial cultivation could not rely on external objects. If it became a habit, it would be like walking with a cane in the future.

Without the small jade Buddha, Meng Qi’s mind gradually became active. Fortunately, he had the experience of two previous successful meditations. At this time, the bright moon hung high in the sky, and the night was quiet. Finally, he gathered his mind, achieved stillness, and from stillness, wisdom arose, and from wisdom, true Qi was naturally generated.

Circulating the true Qi, filling the acupoints, after an hour and a half, Meng Qi opened his eyes again. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to continue cultivation, but he needed to ensure rest; otherwise, the physical exertion of fetching water and sweeping the ground the next day would be too demanding.

Because he had just completed the “Meditation for Self-Cultivation,” Meng Qi felt refreshed and couldn’t fall asleep immediately. He turned his head and saw Zhen Hui looking over, apparently having just finished his cultivation as well.

“Little junior brother, not asleep yet?” Meng Qi had an idea and decided to teach him some worldly wisdom.

Zhen Hui nodded, dazedly replying, “Soon.”

“Okay, then senior brother needs to tell you something. Some words…” Meng Qi began a long lecture, but as he spoke, he noticed Zhen Hui’s eyelids drooping, as if he was about to fall asleep.

He couldn’t even listen… Meng Qi’s mouth twitched slightly. Frowning in thought, he soon came up with a good idea: “This guy seems interested in martial arts stories. Maybe I can incorporate worldly wisdom into those tales!”

Actually, if it weren’t for being in a foreign place alone, Meng Qi wouldn’t care whether others understood social graces or not. But now, he wanted to use this method to alleviate the inexplicable bitterness of his mysterious transmigration.

“Little junior brother, I once heard a story about a great hero. Do you want to hear it?” Meng Qi asked with a smile.

Zhen Hui’s eyes immediately opened wide, nodding enthusiastically: “Thank you, senior brother!”

This guy always talks so casually… Meng Qi scratched his bald head, gazing at the bright moon outside the window, his voice drifting, “A long, long time ago, there was a Taoist priest named Qiu Chujì, who passed through a village called Niujia Village…”

This story seemed to bridge the two worlds, allowing Meng Qi to momentarily forget that he was merely telling a tale to Zhen Hui.

…

Three months later, Meng Qi had grown taller, but the “Hundred Days Foundation Building” was only half completed due to insufficient time.

Meanwhile, the young novice Zhen Hui became increasingly admiring of Meng Qi due to his series of thrilling “martial arts stories,” almost obeying him without question.

However, Meng Qi still hadn’t received the opportunity to leave the laborer’s courtyard and enter the martial arts training courtyard.

“Junior Brother Zhen Ding, where are you going?” Zhen Yong walked into the laborer’s courtyard, just in time to see Meng Qi and Zhen Hui holding brooms and preparing to go out. It was right after lunch.

Meng Qi replied with some excitement, “Venerable Xuan Xin assigned us to clean the Sutra Pavilion.”

Speaking of this, Meng Qi felt unexpectedly delighted. Just after lunch, Xuan Xin had instructed him and Zhen Hui to clean the Sutra Pavilion and mentioned that it would be under their care from now on.

Although Xuan Xin clearly stated that they were only responsible for the lower two floors where the Buddhist sutras were stored, and the upper floors would be cleaned by senior monks, Meng Qi couldn’t help but feel excited. The Sutra Pavilion! The legendary place where Shaolin’s seventy-two supreme techniques were stored! The very spot where countless martial arts and fantasy stories featured incredible encounters!

“I wonder if the ‘Tathagata Palm,’ ‘Yijin Jing,’ ‘Mahavairocana Subduing Demons Fist,’ and ‘Dadream True Sutra’ are in the Sutra Pavilion…” Meng Qi mused, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.