Chapter 54: Facing a Formidable Enemy

Chen Pingan led Ning Yao to a five-colored deity statue, about a head taller than a robust man. It originally had three pairs of arms, but now only the uppermost fist-clenching arm, raised high, and the lowermost "handshake" arm remained. The reason a single arm could still "shake hands" was that the statue's fingers were interlocked, so even though the other arm was broken off at the shoulder, the hand and wrist still had to remain.

The five-colored clay statue was of a deity clad in armor, with a large beard and clanging armor scales, the edges of the armor plates decorated with two beaded lines. The beaded particles were full and round, and in terms of appearance alone, it was a vast difference from the ugly, wart-like armor inherited by Liu Xianyang's family, truly the difference between a child's toy and a priceless treasure.

The statue stood on a square, pitch-black stone base. Compared to the headless statue where they had sought refuge last night, this painted statue, despite its numerous broken arms and faded paint, still exuded a lively and spirited air. Most importantly, the deity's hands were intertwined at the waist in an extremely peculiar pose.

Ning Yao saw the key at a glance and understood why Chen Pingan had rushed to bring her here. She nodded and said, "Indeed, it somewhat resembles the stance from the 'Mountain-Shaking Manual,' but it's a bit different from the 'Sword Furnace' on the boxing manual."

Ning Yao pondered for a moment and asked, "Can you find the other broken arms nearby?"

Chen Pingan squatted on the ground and shook his head with regret. "I've looked, but I couldn't find anything. They've probably been trampled into dust by children playing hide-and-seek here. Over the years, these local gods and clay bodhisattvas have probably suffered all kinds of hardships. Take a look at this one. There's a large chunk missing from the wrist of that uppermost fist, and there are many cracks nearby. It's obvious it was damaged by slingshots or stones. The children in town are like that. The more the adults forbid them from playing here, the more they like to sneak in to catch crickets and dig for wild vegetables, especially when it snows every year. Dozens of them often have snowball fights here, having a grand old time. Once they're caught up in the fun, they don't care about anything. When I was a kid, we even liked to compete to see who could climb the highest, and some people liked to climb onto the deity's head to pee, to see who could pee the furthest. So you can imagine, year after year, there isn't a single complete clay statue left. Actually, I had a few wooden deity statues when I was a kid, but later I heard that some lazy fellow thought it was too tiring to go up the mountain to chop firewood, so he set his sights on them. As soon as winter started, he secretly dragged them home and chopped them into firewood to burn."

The boy kept muttering to himself, sounding somewhat downcast and sentimental. "I was kicked out of the kiln by Old Yao because he thought I wasn't cut out for it and sent me up the mountain to burn charcoal. If I had known someone was doing this in town, I would have tried to talk him out of it. If that didn't work, I would have offered to help him chop firewood. Local deities and clay bodhisattvas may never perform miracles, but they are still bodhisattvas and gods. How can you chop them into firewood? That's just a despicable thing to do..."

Ning Yao and Chen Pingan were focused on completely different things at the moment.

Ning Yao pinched her chin with one hand and propped up her elbow with the other, her eyes sparkling with intelligence. She slowly said, "If I'm not mistaken, the 'Sword Furnace' in your boxing manual is derived from this, but not from the two hands you see now, but from the middle pair of arms that this Daoist spirit official statue used to have. The 'Sword Furnace' was formed by the hand seals of those missing hands. Although I don't know why the person who wrote the boxing manual only chose one, and didn't choose the gesture we see now, I'm certain of one thing: the 'Sword Furnace,' or rather, the spirit official's sword finger gesture, may come in different sizes."

Chen Pingan was confused by what he was hearing, but he didn't forget to retort and remind her, "The boxing manual belongs to Gu Can, I'm just holding it for him."

Ning Yao didn't argue with Chen Pingan and pointed to the "Sword Furnace" stance of this Daoist spirit official statue, explaining, "See that? In the boxing manual, the right pinky finger is extended, while here, nine fingers are intertwined, wrapped around, and clasped together, with only the left index finger extended, standing out alone. This is to form a sword finger seal, ultimately to nourish the index finger."

Ning Yao said to herself, "I've traveled this world of yours for many years and have seen many Four Heavenly Kings in temples and spirit officials in various Daoist temples. This clay statue..."

Chen Pingan waited for the rest, but after a long time, he didn't get an answer, so he had to ask, "Is there anything strange about it?"

Ning Yao nodded seriously and said, "It's the shortest."

The boy squatting on the ground didn't say anything, but he gave her a thumbs up.

Ning Yao turned her head and asked, "Have you ever seen a Daoist spirit official statue taller than your Piyun Mountain?"

"Of course not," Chen Pingan said blankly, puzzled. "Is Piyun Mountain on our side?"

Ning Yao realized and explained, "It's the tallest mountain around here. A long, long time ago, it's said that a highly virtuous person buried a Celestial Master seal on Piyun Mountain to suppress the dragon energy of this land."

Chen Pingan's eyes lit up. "Do you know the approximate location? Can we dig it up?"

Ning Yao smiled. "What, do you want to dig it up and sell it for money?"

Chen Pingan, exposed, blushed slightly and confessed, "Not necessarily to sell it for money. As long as it's a good thing and a valuable object, it's good to keep it at home as a family heirloom."

Ning Yao pointed at the money-grubbing fellow with her finger and said, annoyed, "If you can establish your own sect in the future, I reckon with a sect leader like you, who's so good at saving and managing the household, the disciples and retainers will definitely never have to worry about food and clothing and can just lie down and enjoy themselves."

Chen Pingan didn't think that far ahead. As for what opening a sect meant, he didn't understand it at all.

He stood up and asked, "Regardless of size, the thing before us is a type of Sword Furnace?"

Ning Yao nodded. "Large and small Sword Furnaces, divided into left and right hands. The real object of nourishment is definitely not the left index finger or the right pinky finger, but all the way upstream, until..."

When Ning Yao said this, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She didn't even need to perform the hand seals and stances to feel it. After she opened her eyes, she bent her fingers and pointed to two places on the back of her head, the Jade Pillow and Heavenly Pillar acupoints. They were indeed more suitable places to nourish one's natal sword. She smiled and said, "The left-hand Sword Furnace corresponds to here, and the right hand points to this place."

Chen Pingan said blankly, "Miss Ning, I've always wanted to ask, this Sword Furnace is said to be a stance from the boxing manual, but with the fingers twisted like this, what does it have to do with practicing boxing? Can it increase your strength?"

Ning Yao was dumbfounded.If you were to press Ning Yao to explain the intricacies of martial arts or cultivation, it would truly be asking too much of her. Not to mention asking her to recount how she smoothly overcame the various pitfalls and obstacles along the way. After all, for Ning Yao herself, weren't these tedious principles self-evident and naturally understood? Did they even need to be spoken aloud?

Thus, the girl put on a stern face and lectured the boy, "Your realm is too low. Explaining it would be a waste of breath! Why are you asking so many questions? Just focus on diligent training! What, can't you endure hardship?"

Chen Ping An, half-believing, asked cautiously, "Miss Ning, is that really how it is?"

Ning Yao crossed her arms, her face filled with a righteous expression, and retorted, "What else could it be?!"

Chen Ping An didn't press the matter further. He looked up at the painted statue that Ning Yao called a Taoist Spirit Official and said, "So this is the immortal of Daoist Lu's family."

Ning Yao said helplessly, "What do you mean by Daoist Lu's family's immortal? First of all, the Taoist school, although it has the character 'family,' it's definitely not the 'family' you commoners in your small town know. The Taoist school is vast, far beyond your imagination. Even I don't know exactly how many Taoists there are or how many branches and sects exist. I only heard my father say that the ancestral grounds are divided into four sections, upper, lower, north, and south... forget it, explaining this to you is like casting pearls before swine. Second, immortals and gods, although you're used to saying them together, and even all the common folk in the world do the same, fundamentally, gods and immortals walk different paths. Let me give you an example: 'Man strives for honor, Buddha strives for incense.' Have you heard that saying?"

Chen Ping An nodded and said, "Old Granny Ma from Apricot Blossom Lane often argued with Gu Can's mother, and I always heard that saying."

At this moment, Ning Yao possessed a commanding air, "Buddha strives for incense. Why strive? Because gods truly need incense. Without incense, gods will gradually weaken and eventually lose their boundless power. The principle is simple, like a person not eating grains for several days. Where would they get the strength? Why did the secular court order officials in various places to ban licentious shrines? It was to prevent the incense in the mortal realm from becoming chaotic, allowing some people or things that shouldn't become gods to occupy divine positions. Even if, after they became gods without authorization, they were benevolent by nature and willing to protect the local people year after year, never exceeding the rules of heaven and earth, for emperors and monarchs who styled themselves as 'true dragons,' these licentious shrines not sanctioned by the court were disrupting the local feng shui, akin to regional warlords, weakening the dynasty's fortune, and undermining the foundations because they would shorten the years of the empire. How could they tolerate others snoring beside their beds?"

"As for immortals, it's simple. Most of the outsiders you see are considered immortals. Even that old ape in Mount Zhengyang is considered half an immortal. They all rely on themselves to walk the great path, step by step climbing the mountain, heading towards the peak of immortality. Cultivators are also called Qi Refiners, and the matter of cultivation is called cultivating immortality or cultivating truth."

Chen Ping An asked, "Then is this Taoist Spirit Official a god or an immortal? According to Miss Ning's explanation, it should be considered an immortal within the Taoist school, right?"

Ning Yao's expression turned solemn, and she gently shook her head, not continuing to reveal the secrets of heaven.

She suddenly frowned.

A pebble inexplicably shot over, heavily hitting the fist of the Spirit Official statue that was higher than its head, knocking off many fragments.

Ning Yao waved her hand, dispersing the dirt and dust above her head.

Chen Ping An stood up. Following Ning Yao's gaze, he turned his head and saw an unexpected figure.

A dark, lean, and short boy was squatting on a fallen statue in the distance, constantly tossing a pebble and catching it.

Chen Ping An turned to stand side by side with Ning Yao and said softly, "His name is Ma Ku Xuan. He's the grandson of Old Granny Ma from Apricot Blossom Lane. He's a very strange person. He's never liked to talk since he was a child. Last time I ran into him in the stream, Ma Ku Xuan even took the initiative to talk to me. He clearly knew that snake gallstones were valuable long ago."

The boy named Ma Ku Xuan stood up and continued to weigh the pebble in his hand. He smiled brightly at Ning Yao and Chen Ping An and said bluntly, "If I go to the Li residence in Fortune Street and tell that old ape from Mount Zhengyang that I found you two, I think I can get a bag of money no matter what. But if you give me two bags of money, I'll pretend I didn't see anything. Let's make it clear beforehand, it's just business. Don't think about killing me to silence me. So many gods and Buddhas are watching us on the ground, be careful of retribution."

Ning Yao, enraged, was about to speak, but Chen Ping An grabbed her arm. He stepped forward and asked Ma Ku Xuan in a deep voice, "If I'm willing to give you money, can you really keep quiet?"

Ma Ku Xuan was slightly stunned, as if he hadn't expected this pair of boys and girls to be so easy to talk to, actually doing business with him.

But he was too lazy to continue acting. He took out a beautiful and exquisite money bag, casually threw it on the ground, and smiled, "I've already received the reward from the Li family, but I'm not doing this for money. Chen Ping An from Mud Bottle Lane, Song Ji Xin's next-door neighbor, right? Blame the guy next to you. She's too annoying. She ruined many people's plans yesterday."

The boy twitched the corner of his mouth and pointed to himself, "Like me."

Chen Ping An looked around.

Ma Ku Xuan looked at Ning Yao and smiled, "Don't worry, that old ape has some things to deal with for the time being. I'm taking this opportunity to ask you for something. You know what it is, don't you?"

Ning Yao sneered, "Be careful you have the life to take it but not the life to use it."

Ma Ku Xuan said cheerfully, "You're not my wife, why worry about that?"

Chen Ping An couldn't imagine how anyone would think this ghostly fellow was a fool.

Ning Yao's face was gloomy. She nudged Chen Ping An's shoulder and whispered, "For some reason, the flying sword can't come near this area."

Ma Ku Xuan slightly shifted his gaze and grinned at Chen Ping An, "The battle on the roof yesterday was wonderful. I happened to see it all. Oh, right, you can take off the sandbags tied to your calves, otherwise you won't be able to catch up with me."

Chen Ping An indeed squatted down and slowly rolled up his trousers, keeping his eyes on Ma Ku Xuan.

Only then did Ning Yao realize in surprise that Chen Ping An had a circle of thick sandbags tied to his calves inside his trousers.Chen Ping'an explained to Ning Yao, "When I was very young, Grandpa Yang from the Yang family shop told me never to take it off, even if it meant death. Originally, I planned to use it against the old ape's fourth breath, but now that I think about it, it's about time. I have a feeling this fellow called Ma Kuxuan is just as dangerous as that old ape."

Ma Kuxuan lightly jumped down from the statue, glanced at the heroic girl in her dark green robe, and muttered to himself, "I thought I'd at least leave this small town before encountering my first true opponent on the path to enlightenment. Who knew I'd run into one so soon? Haha, when luck comes, you can't stop it."

Ning Yao suddenly asked, "Chen Ping'an, did that guy get whacked by a cow's tail when he was a kid too?"

Chen Ping'an stood up, lightly stamped his feet several times, alternating between left and right, seriously considering Ning Yao's question, and replied, "Grandma Ma is very wealthy, so I remember the Ma Kuxuan family's yellow ox was exceptionally large. When that tail swung, it was terrifying."

As Chen Ping'an stood up, Ma Kuxuan squatted down again, picking up a handful of pebbles and placing them in his left palm.

Finally, the boy from Mud Bottle Lane and the boy from Apricot Blossom Lane, two peers of the same age, faced each other from afar.