Chapter 69 The Rustling Bamboo Leaves That Shut the Windows (1/2)

The bamboo hut had a nice layout. Before Shen Lian and Lu Shouyi were at the door when it swung open, a person with grayish-white hair stood at the door. His Daoist robe looked old and the right sleeve was empty.

Shen Lian noticed that he was aging. Unlike the headmaster Daoist and the two old men who brought them here, there was no life bustling underneath this aging body.

The old man emits an aura of a setting sun.

”Two junior apprentice-brothers, please follow me.” The old man glanced at Shen Lian and Lu Shouyi and behaved as though he knew their identity.

Shen Lian thought maybe Jingqing informed the old man through other means.

The people in Qing Xuan were weird indeed. Since Jingqing was here, why did he not come in and greet the old man?

Shen Lian understood that these cultivators who were pursuing Dao probably did not care much about mannerism like the mortal world.

As he walked into the bamboo hut, he realized that it was actually not small and was built entirely from bamboos. He wondered what species it was as they were very strong.

Before long, they reached a long corridor. There was a stream of water flowing gently underneath them.

Lu was more enthusiastic than Shen Lian. ”Senior apprentice-brother, how should I address you?” Lu asked before they made it past the long corridor.

”You can call me 'Sanwen',” the old man replied.

”Senior Apprentice-Brother Sanwen, how many people are there in the lower house?” Lu asked.

”Excluding you both, there are four of us,” the old man replied calmly.

”I heard that Qing Xuan only takes in ten disciples every fifty years. Senior Apprentice-Brother Sanwen, did you join Qing Xuan fifty years ago?” Lu was curious. After fifty years of cultivation and yet he still aged so badly, was it that difficult to pursue Dao?

”I came into Qing Xuan a hundred years ago,” the old man shook his head and said.

”When can we start cultivating?” Lu pressed further.

”Do you know why my name is Sanwen? That is because I will only answer three1 questions2 per day.” Sanwen Daoist glanced at Lu.

There was a hint of iciness in his cloudy eyes which stopped Lu from pestering further.

Shen Lian did not say anything since the beginning. He looked around and observed his surroundings.

To be precise, the heaven and earth Qi was especially strong here.

The bamboo hut was like a water reservoir, it accumulated Qi from the outer world to nourish the people and things in the hut. The stream below received nourishment from that Qi too. It was clear and flowed smoothly.

Shen Lian felt the presence of Qi since earlier and he managed to absorb a small part of it. Though, he failed to retain more of it.

After unblocking his Conception Vessel and Governor Vessel, he could absorb Qi from the heaven and earth. His need for the five grains was not that pressing anymore and could go a long way without eating or drinking.

He felt his physical condition got better too. It was as though his body was being nourished discreetly by the gentle spring rain. After a certain period of time, he would probably be able to pinpoint some noticeable changes.

Staying in a place like this, Shen Lian thought that he probably would not age as badly as Daoist Sanwen did even if he were to live over a hundred years old.

He knew that Qing Xuan was not a heaven on earth - it was not in total isolation with the mortal realm. Just because he was carefree and did not fancy competition, it did not mean that all other cultivators there were like him. This was not strange as emotions came naturally with heart.

There were all sorts of people in this path. It was hard to say what was right and what was wrong.

Furthermore, Shen Lian held on to the perception - that one should not pursue Dao and immortality at the expense of one's emotions.

If one must be heartless and cold in order to attain immortality, it would not be considered as immortality in its strictest sense anyway.

Immortality meant being at peace with everything and to bring forth a future with endless possibilities. If every day were to be the same in thousands and hundreds of years, how would it be different from being a stone in the mountains?