384 Being Grounded for Cultivation II (1/2)

Ning Que did not react at all.

He did not fully gather his wits until the invisible aura of finger had scratched his shoulder and struck a deep dark hole in the wall. A wave of freezing cold poured over him.

He did not know that this finger of Chen Pipi was the Natural Stream Magical Finger of the Zhishou Abbey. What made him shocked was not the power of the aura of finger, but the unpredictable various changes when Chen Pipi used it.

He clearly saw that Chen Pipi had pointed to the sky, so how did it land behind him?

Was that the no-boundary spirit of the Academy?

”What cultivators practice is the control of nature and themselves. We need to use our inner Psyche Power to control the Qi of Heaven and Earth. Our bodies are just like wood; the Psyche Power is like fire; nature is the stove; Primordial Qi is the ingredients; and the method of combat is how you combine the ingredients well together. Except for the factors mentioned, the key is the temperature at which you cook.”

”If you ask a chef how they control the heat, the common ones would tell you what kind of wood should be used and when to use it, or how long you should cook for. While only the top chefs would not tell you any theories because they know how the food on the stove is just by waving their hand in the steam. Such experience could only be obtained by numerous attempts and is hard to explain using words. Sometimes, people would feel that it is not realistic, but it can only be experienced by yourself.”

Looking at Ning Que in the cliff cave, Chen Pipi said, ”The temperature of the heat is the intention.”

After thinking for a while, Ning Que understood what he meant. He knew better of the book which talked about the no-boundary spirit of the Academy.

He remembered the example that Chen Pipi had mentioned in the letter when he went to the old library in the Academy for the first time, and said, ”The desire for food and sex is part of human nature, using these as examples made it easier to understand.”

Third Sister and Chen Pipi were appointed by the Headmaster of the Academy to teach classes on the cliff, mainly to solve Ning Que's questions about the contents of these books. However, he could only learn about and absorb these by himself. After Chen Pipi had answered his questions, Ning Que decided to review all of these in the evening. For now, any further discussion would not help anymore.

He had been grounded in the cliff cave for ten days, having no idea what had happened outside the Academy. He asked, ”Is it still peaceful in Chang'an City?”

Chen Pipi said, ”When has Chang'an City not been? Why are you worried?”

Ning Que said, ”It seems like someone in the imperial court has something against me. I know someone even tried to take Sangsang to the Military Ministry for questioning before we arrived back in the capital. You were there as well.”

Chen Pipi nodded and said, ”That was solved easily, don't worry about it.”

Ning Que shook his head and said, ”Then what about the two sadhus we saw on the street in the morning a few days ago? Even though Dao Shi is from the Xuankong Temple, he isn't capable of finding me so easily in such a large city like Chang'an. That is more likely to be designed by someone.”

Chen Pipi slightly frowned and said, ”What are you suspecting?”

”Only the Imperial Center Administration and military departments can find out where I am.” Ning Que said, ”Maybe someone from either one of them notified the Xuankong Temple.”

Listening to this, Chen Pipi frowned even more and said, ”Supporting others to challenge someone who is entering the human realm in the Academy? Even the military departments don't dare to do such a thing. Aren't they afraid they'd be spurned by the citizens of Chang'an City if their deed was discovered?”

Ning Que had lived in the Tang army for many years, and he was clearer than anyone else on how the military operated. He said, ”As long as it is favorable to the empire, the generals will be willing to do anything at any cost to get it done.”

...

...

After having a free meal of meat hot-pot, Chen Pipi wiped his mouth and ignored the dirty bowls and hummed all the way down the cliff. Although Ning Que had tried his best to curse him, he still did not fall off into the abyss.

Ning Que shouted at Chen Pipi while he looked at the floating clouds, but he could not be heard outside the clouds, which made him feel disappointed.

He stopped wasting time on this and went back into the cave, sitting cross-legged on the worn futon and closing his eyes, and continued to practice the Great Spirit as taught in the book.

The floating clouds between the cliffs seemed like they had no feelings at all. Sangsang, who was washing bowls by the edge of the cliff, clearly felt the changes in the cave. She looked back but could not see what she had seen previously, as there was no mist in the morning.

When the night came, Ning Que opened his eyes slowly and completed the day's practice of Qi Refreshing. Looking at Sangsang, who was holding the dishes, he shook his head and said, ”I'm not hungry yet, you can put them aside. Get some sleep if you feel tired, or talk to me if you're bored.”

Sangsang knew that he was always worried that she would feel bored. She also knew him well enough to know that he would be in no mood or have time to chat until this problem was solved. She shook her head and smiled, put the meal box beside him, and then went back to the hut on the edge of the cliff.