The temple is small, consisting of only three rooms and a small courtyard. Over time, the clay statues enshrined in the middle room have lost their paint, their faces are no longer visible, and half of their bodies have even collapsed.
The three rooms were all in a dilapidated state, with dust, cobwebs, cracked walls and holes in tiles, which made Shi Feizhe guess that no one had lived here for at least 20 to 30 years.
Shi Feizhe cleaned the house and went to Zhaojiaji, which was dozens of miles away, to invite masons and carpenters to simply repair the three houses, replacing the doors and windows and patching the walls.
After seven or eight days of tidying up, the small temple, which was originally not habitable, became neat and clean.
Zhaojiaji is a town a few dozen miles away. Many people in the town share the surname Zhao, hence the name Zhaojia Town. Although it's a small town, it's bustling with merchants traveling east and west, making it a bustling place. The medicinal herbs Shi Feizhe needs for his martial arts training are readily available.
As long as he goes down the mountain once every two weeks to buy some food and medicinal herbs, Shi Feizhe can be self-sufficient here and practice martial arts with peace of mind.
Especially behind the mountain, there is a cold spring with a low water temperature, which is very suitable for practicing martial arts.
Shi Feizhe was very satisfied!
What a Feng Shui treasure land!
I guess no one will come to disturb him practicing martial arts in this place anymore!
From then on, Shi Feizhe followed the plan, practicing standing meditation, swordplay, martial arts, and meditation every day. He practiced at sunrise and rested at sunset, demonstrating great self-discipline.
Half a year has passed in a flash. It is already November and the weather is gradually getting colder.
His body grew stronger and stronger, and he felt that he could beat ten of his former selves. In the small courtyard, he brandished his rusty sword and finally perfected the "Bai Yu Jing" set.
The three sword techniques of "Bai Yu Jing", "Fu Wo Ding" and "Shou Chang Sheng" are all from "Twelve-Storied Tower".
"Bai Yu Jing" is the most complex and elaborate, "Fu Wo Ding" is second, and "Shou Chang Sheng" is the simplest. Once these three sword techniques are mastered, visualizing the "divine sword" will generate sword energy. At that time, sword moves are free from constraints, becoming simple and free-flowing!
After practicing swordsmanship, he followed the Yin-Lv Posture from the Nether Spring Divine Shadow Record, striking a highly contorted position to stretch his fascia and muscles. With both the Rewarding Good Fist and the Punishing Evil Kick already somewhat accomplished, he could finally practice the Yin-Lv Posture!
Originally, he had estimated that it would take him three to four years to perfect his "blood, energy, and spirit" and cultivate it into true qi. However, after six months of practice, he felt that he was indeed a martial arts genius. In another two years, he would be able to achieve perfection in his "blood, energy, and spirit" and attempt to reach the realm of seeing the truth!
Just as he was standing still, he suddenly heard a "boom, boom" sound.
He looked up at the sky. It was a sunny day! Where was the thunder? Then the sound gradually became louder, followed by the sound of waves and the sound of waves hitting rocks.
Shi Feizhe was a little confused. It hadn't rained in the past few days, so how could there be a flash flood?
Then, he jumped onto the eaves and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a white line appearing in the distance between the valleys. The white line was getting closer and closer, like a galloping army, and like a raging sea, it was beating against the grass and trees in the mountains and devouring the animals in the mountains.
"What... is this?" Shi Feizhe looked at the surging waves that came from nowhere, creating waves that were as high as one or two hundred meters, rolling past, sweeping away everything and destroying everything.
"Fuck, there's a flood in the mountains? That's not what floods do. Could it be a tsunami? But there's no sea!"
He was really a little confused.
He didn't have time to think about anything else at the moment. He went to his room, picked up the package of gold and silver, went to the kitchen to get the leftover steamed buns, and ran to a higher place!
Fortunately, the mountain behind him was the highest point of the range. He ran towards the peak desperately, and after running for half an hour, he finally climbed to the top. Looking down, he saw endless waves wandering among the mountains. The entire mountain range seemed to have turned into a vast ocean, and the peaks had become small islands.
Fortunately, his three small houses, located halfway up the mountain, were not flooded by the flood. The water level was not far from the houses, making them look like elegant residences on small islands in the lake.
But Shi Feizhe did not return to his hut. Who knew whether this flood, which came from nowhere, would cause a high tide or cause another flood?
He was not one of those fools who set up camp at the river mouth. To be on the safe side, Shi Feizhe stayed on the top of the mountain until dark, and then from dark to dawn.
The next day, when he saw that the flood had almost receded, he finished standing on the sword stake and then went down the mountain and returned to his hut.
It was indeed the inexplicable origin of this water that forced him to be cautious.
When he pushed open the gate of his own house, he saw a short old man sweeping the floor in the small courtyard. He looked so contented, as if this was his home.
"Huh?" Shi Feizhe was stunned. Could it be that he had taken the wrong path?
He looked at the door that opened and found it was the one he had replaced half a year ago!
"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" Shi Feizhe asked the old man.
The old man looked very old, with no beard or hair, only two long white eyebrows drooping down, covering half of his eyes. His face was ruddy and he looked very energetic. He was wearing tattered gray clothes, the style of which was unclear.
He looks very ordinary, like an old man in the countryside, except that his eyes are brighter.
"Who are you? And why are you in my house?" The old man was short, only reaching Shi Feizhe's shoulders. He glanced at Shi Feizhe and asked back while sweeping the floor.
"What do you mean 'your home'? This is my home!" Shi Feizhe felt that the old man was baffled. He said, "All the pots and pans here, even the broom in your hand, were bought from the foot of the mountain. Of course this is my home! I've lived here for almost a year!"
"What about a year ago?" asked the old man.
"Of course it was an abandoned house with no one living in it a year ago!" said Shi Feizhe.
"This was my home decades ago. I haven't been back for decades. I didn't expect it to become an abandoned house!" The old man said with emotion.
"Hey, hey, hey... You're not trying to scam me, are you? You saw I've done a good job, so you're telling me yours!" Shi Feizhe didn't believe him and said, "I had someone renovate these doors, windows, roof tiles, and courtyard walls!"
"You didn't move the yard, did you?" the old man suddenly asked.
"What?" Shi Feizhe was puzzled.
The old man broke the adobe-bricked courtyard with his hands and pulled out a wooden box from the three-foot-deep soil in the courtyard.
Over the decades, the wooden box had collapsed, and only a dark spot remained of the contents, making it impossible to discern them. Only three words were carved on the top of the box.
"Double Ninth Festival"!
"Look, my name is written on it!" said the old man with a smile.
He gently blew away the dirt on the box and opened it carefully.
"Why do you bury something with your name on it in my house?" Shi Feizhe said depressedly.
The old man's expression froze!
A Feng Shui treasure land, there really is water!
