Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

When Chen Yuan returned to Heifeng Village, it was dusk. The setting sun was setting in the west, and the vast mountains were covered with a layer of afterglow, dim and vast.

Chen Yuan recalled the map he got from Wu Dong. In the middle of the road, he changed direction and followed a small path that was difficult to distinguish. After many twists and turns, he turned into a dense forest.

The map marked the real treasure hiding place of Heifeng Village, which was also the reason why Chen Yuan quietly returned to Heifeng Village.

Originally, Chen Yuan had no idea about the treasure hiding place of Heifeng Village, but when the Fuhu Gang ambushed the bandits of Heifeng Village before, Wei Wuding did not find such a map from Xie Quan and Jiang Feng, which made his mind active again.

After that, the Fuhu Gang rushed to Heifeng Village, but still did not find the map, nor did they search out the gold and silver of Heifeng Village.

Maybe Xie Quan destroyed his and Jiang Feng's maps in order to keep it secret after Wu Dong's death.

Maybe Xie Quan hid the map and Wei Wuding did not find it.

But in any case, the treasure hiding place of Heifeng Village was not leaked, and Chen Yuan's opportunity came.

After returning to Zhuangzi, he used the excuse of going home to visit relatives and went back to the Chimang Mountains to come here.

The map in Wu Dong's arms was very detailed and clearly marked. It was completely in accordance with the standards of military maps, and should have been drawn by Xie Dong.

If it weren't for the fact that the old scholar was well-read, Chen Yuan would not have been able to understand this map if he hadn't learned Qi's "Wu Jing Zong Yao" from him.

According to the instructions on the map, he went deep into the forest and found an extremely hidden cave.

The entrance of the cave was covered by vines, and several lassoes and animal traps were set up to prevent wild animals from entering.

Chen Yuan drew out his long knife, lit a torch, avoided these traps, and walked lightly into the cave.

According to the map, there were no traps in the cave, but Chen Yuan would not rely entirely on a bandit's map for his safety.

But perhaps Xie Quan was extremely confident in the concealment of the cave. Chen Yuan came all the way to the deepest part and actually didn't encounter any traps.

He stopped in front of an iron box with a copper lock, and the long knife chopped it, and the copper lock broke with a sound.

Chen Yuan finally let down his guard and began to count the things in the iron box.

The most conspicuous thing was a pile of gold and silver. Chen Yuan weighed it and thought that there should be about 100 taels of gold and 200 taels of silver.

100 taels of gold can be exchanged for 1,000 taels of silver at the bank.

Just the cash was worth the trip.

Chen Yuan smiled and continued to count.

Next to the gold and silver were two weapons, a three-foot long sword in a scabbard and a ring-headed knife, both of which were common weapons in the martial arts world.

Chen Yuan picked up the ring-headed knife, drew out the long sword, and carefully examined it. He found that the two weapons were all refined magic weapons worth 100 taels of silver.

Putting the weapons on his back, Chen Yuan took out three jade bottles from the iron box.

After opening them, there were ten black pills in each jade bottle.

Gently sniffing it, the pill fragrance was rich, far better than the Peiyuan Pill. It should be used by internal force warriors and has the effect of strengthening the foundation and nourishing the essence.

Chen Yuan's smile became even bigger. He put the pill into his arms and took out a thick package wrapped in three layers of oil paper.

After opening it, there were five silver notes of 1,000 taels issued by Huitong Bank, three property deeds of Xin'an County City, and a map.

Chen Yuan carefully put away the silver bills and deeds, picked up the map, and looked at it carefully.

After the map was unfolded, it was about one foot long and high, densely packed with mountains, valleys, dense forests, lakes, rivers, etc., but the words on it were extremely obscure, and Chen Yuan didn't recognize any of them.

Not only that, there were a few strokes on the map, and the images of animals, birds, insects, and plants were very vivid. There were a few lines of small words next to each one, which Chen Yuan didn't recognize either.

But strangely, there was no state, county, or county marked on the map, and there was no sign of the highway, as if it was a place where no one had set foot.

Chen Yuan stretched out his finger and stroked the map inch by inch, feeling the warm touch from his fingertips, and frowned slightly.

The texture of this map is like silk, but it is neither silk nor silk. It feels warm to the touch, as if you are touching a rare ancient jade with a fine texture. It is very strange.

He looked at it carefully several times, recalling the ancient characters he learned from the old scholar, but found nothing.

Since he had no clue, Chen Yuan stopped struggling, rolled up the map, and put it away carefully. If there is a chance in the future, he will solve the mystery contained in it.

After Chen Yuan took the map, there was nothing else in the iron box.

But he did not leave. Instead, he searched the inside of the iron box inch by inch, and turned it over to check carefully.

After confirming that there was no interlayer mechanism in the iron box, he searched the inside of the cave carefully again until there was nothing missing, and then left the cave.

After Chen Yuan walked out of the cave, he pondered for a while, and covered the entrance of the cave with vines again to hide it.

Then, he returned to Heifengzhai along the original route, took out dry food, and ate it.

At this time, the sky gradually darkened, and the dark mountains were like the backs of dormant giant beasts, silent and majestic.

After eating dry food, Chen Yuan stood on the top of the mountain, staring at the mountains in the distance, feeling the cold wind blowing across his face, and waiting quietly.

Gradually, the sky became completely dark, the moon rose, and the stars twinkled.

Chen Yuan did not move, and waited for another two hours until the moon was in the middle of the sky, then he reached into his arms and took out the jade.

Under the shining of the stars, the jade gave off a faint green light, and the stars in the sky shone, gathering into a beam of starlight, hanging from the sky.

Chen Yuan smiled slightly and closed his eyes slightly.

After twenty breaths, the starlight dissipated, Chen Yuan put away the jade, took out a bottle of pills from the cave, and took one.

A warmth spread to his limbs, and the hunger in his belly slowly dissipated.

Chen Yuan clenched his hands and punched out loudly, making a loud sound of breaking the wind.

boom!

Feeling that he was significantly stronger, Chen Yuan nodded with satisfaction.

When he was on the road for the past two days, he would take out Yujue every night and try to imbue his body with starlight, but there was no reaction from Yujue.

Today, Yujue finally emitted green light. Exactly thirty-six hours had passed since Chen Yuan's last starlight infusion.

This should be the pattern of starlight filling Chen Yuan's body after he breaks through to inner strength.

Chen Yuan was in a good mood. He practiced sword skills twice, then packed up the gold and silver weapons he had obtained and left Heifeng Village.

Wei Wuding only gave him seven days. He had already spent three days and had to go to Leping County. Time was tight and he could not delay here.

…

Two days later, Chen Yuan walked out of the Chimang Mountains without stopping and returned to Chenjiacun.

Taking advantage of the darkness, he quietly returned home and saw Chen Tiezhu and Chen Li.

The two of them didn't expect Chen Yuan to come back, and they were both extremely surprised.

Chen Yuan left fifty taels of silver and told them not to reveal anything. He also buried two hundred-refined magic weapons in the courtyard and left quietly.

The next day, Chen Yuan returned to Leping County and met with shopkeeper Sun.

Shopkeeper Sun's attitude was extremely cold, and he was obviously extremely dissatisfied with his choice to follow Wei Wuding to the county seat.

But Chen Yuan pretended to be stupid and straightforward, which actually made it difficult for him to get angry.

After coming out of Sun Mansion, Chen Yuan came to the east of the city to visit the old Confucian scholar.

The old Confucian scholar was very happy to see Chen Yuan, but Chen Yuan was quite worried.

After half a month's absence, the old Confucian scholar has become much older. His figure is withered, like a candle in the wind, giving people a feeling that the oil has run out and the lamp has dried up.

Chen Yuan immediately invited a doctor to treat the old Confucian scholar.

The old Confucian scholar didn't take it seriously and said with a smile:

"Ahem, life and death are destiny, wealth is in the sky, why bother so much, it's just a waste of time..."

After the doctor saw it, he looked troubled and said that the old Confucian scholar was just infected with cold.

But before leaving, he quietly told Chen Yuan that the old Confucian scholar was exhausted and had insufficient blood, so it might be difficult for him to survive this winter.

Chen Yuan made an agreement with the doctor and paid him fifty taels of silver and asked him to come and diagnose and prescribe medicine for the old Confucian scholar every seven days.

When he returned to the house, the old Confucian scholar asked:

"What did the doctor say? Am I not going to die soon?"

Chen Yuan was startled, then smiled and said:

"Why did you say this, sir?"

The old Confucian scholar stroked his beard and smiled, saying:

"I have lived for so many years. Although I have not been able to go to school, I have seen a lot of different things in the world. As soon as the doctor opened his mouth, I saw the clues. How could you hide it from me?"

Chen Yuan sighed softly and no longer concealed:

"The doctor said that my husband has insufficient blood and energy. If he is not treated in time, it will be difficult for him to survive this winter."

The old Confucian scholar made a movement and murmured:

"If you can't survive this winter... then you only have two months to live?"

Chen Yuan comforted and said:

"I have told the doctor to decoction medicine and acupuncture for your husband every seven days. If he takes a good rest, he will be able to cure his illness with the medicine..."

The old Confucian scholar gently stroked his beard and said with a wry smile:

"You have a good intention, but life, old age, illness and death are the laws of heaven. How can you go against heaven? It's just that I thought I had already looked down on life and death, but in the end, it turned out that... let's forget it, even if I live for a hundred years, it is just a handful of loess. What's the difference?"

Chen Yuan was silent. The old Confucian scholar smiled bitterly and said again:

"Only wealthy families can afford to hire a doctor to come to their home. The consultation fee is expensive, right?"

Chen Yuan said:

"Sir, don't worry, I can still afford the consultation fee."

The old Confucian scholar shook his head and said seriously:

"The diagnosis fee may be just a drop in the bucket for you, but it is a life-saving grace for me. Please accept my courtesy."

With that said, he raised his hand to salute Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan hurriedly stretched out his hand to support him and said:

"Sir, he taught me how to read and digit, teach me books and pass on scriptures, and he has the kindness to preach and answer my questions. If I receive such a gift from him, wouldn't I be disrespecting my teacher?"

"I'm just an old boy. Although I teach you writing and writing, I've also paid for my training. How can I call myself a teacher?"

"Sir, he is well-read and well versed in ancient and modern times. His profound knowledge can only be purchased with a few hundred copper coins per month. Is it possible that he is still obsessed with going to school and is bound by the mere imperial examination?"

The old Confucian scholar trembled and froze on the spot.

After a moment, he slowly put down his hands and said with a wry smile:

"You're right, I'm the one who got caught."

"Sir, take a good rest. When I come back from the county, I will ask you for advice."

Chen Yuan gave some careful instructions, left thirty taels of silver to the old Confucian scholar, and said goodbye.

…

After Chen Yuan returned to Xingyefang, he came to Zhao Shan's home, took out fifty taels of silver, and taught him the previous parts of the Six Yang Gong Gang Jin.

Zhao Shan and Chen Yuan were extremely grateful, and Chen Yuan was completely relieved.

Zhao Shan killed Manager Li with his own hands, took the surrender certificate, and took his money and skills. It was impossible to tell anything about what happened in the Chimang Mountains.

Before Chen Yuan left, he asked Zhao Shan to take care of his family and old Confucian scholars, and Zhao Shan agreed:

"Junior brother, don't worry. From now on, I will go to Chenjiacun every month to visit my uncle and aunt. I will also visit the old gentleman from time to time."

Chen Yuan felt relieved and went to Li's Mansion again to say goodbye to Mrs. Zhang.

That night, he performed a starlight infusion. He got up early the next morning and left Leping County for the county seat.