The Tiger Mountain God invited him peacefully. Even if the wind was as loud as waves and the forest was as trembling as the sea, it could not cover up his voice.
At this moment, the mountains were extremely high, and the clouds were hanging down. The sea of clouds and the energy collided, causing the white clouds to flow violently like the ocean. There were endless streams of wind emanating from that point in all directions, with turbulent momentum and vastness. When Qi Wuhuo stood up, he saw wisps of clouds and mist flowing outside along with the wind.
Countless clouds gathered together to form a cloud bridge that spanned dozens of miles.
One end is at the deepest part, where the mountain god broke out of his retreat.
The other end happened to fall at Qi Wuhuo's feet.
It flows and changes, but has no entity.
Qi Wuhuo said goodbye to Tao Taigong and others, and under the latter's envious gaze, he stood up and stepped onto the cloud bridge.
The clouds and mist looked extremely illusory, as if they could not even lift a feather. However, when Qi Wuhuo stepped on the clouds, he felt extremely firm. Just as he was about to take a step forward, the cloud bridge suddenly changed, flowing and surging. In an instant, it flew forward rapidly, as fast as a flying bird, yet extremely steady.
Qi Wuhuo looked back and saw no town or worldly affairs, only the moon rising in the sky and the blue sea of clouds.
Riding on clouds and walking on mist is nothing more than this.
…
The road of life is long, the clouds in the sky are short.
When the clouds dispersed, Qi Wuhuo was already standing steadily on the top of the mountain. When he looked around, he saw a figure in front of him with his back to him. The mountain god was wearing a loose navy blue robe and a jade belt around his waist. He stood with his hands behind his back. The breeze blew his sleeves of the robe, and the moon was full in the sky. He didn't seem to be a mortal. Qi Wuhuo stopped and didn't speak, nor did he move forward.
A man and a god sat here quietly looking at the mountains and rivers under the night sky.
See clouds, moonlight, mountains, rivers, and the world.
"What a beautiful view! I have been watching it here for three hundred years."
“Looking at it now, it is still the same as it was when I first came here.”
The mountain god sighed, turned around and smiled, looking at Qi Wuhuo.
Qi Wuhuo saw that his eyes were bright, his aura was deep, his black hair was hanging down, and his temples were gray.
It is not a handsome immortal, but a majestic deity.
Qi Wuhuo felt that the man in front of him was so harmonious and graceful that it was almost difficult to distinguish his aura.
Standing there, it seems that there is no difference between this world.
Such a realm was far beyond Qi Wuhuo's comprehension, and he knew that he had successfully broken through.
He was also happy for the mountain god and said with a folded hand:
"Congratulations, fellow Taoist, your cultivation has broken through."
The mountain god smiled and invited him to sit down. He poured Qi Wuhuo a cup of spiritual liquid and said, "I can have today's breakthrough, all thanks to your kindness. I wanted to prepare some gifts for you, but after thinking about it, it seems that there is nothing good to mention."
"If I were to teach you some secret technique, my limited skills wouldn't be embarrassing."
"So after thinking about it, I can only let you see it when the breakthrough comes."
"Well, how about treating it as an invitation for you to protect me?"
"Protector?"
During this period of time, Qi Wuhuo exchanged common sense about spiritual practice with mountain gods Tao Taigong, Shen Hongxue, and Luo Yizheng.
After going down the mountain, he studied the volume of [Record of Becoming Immortal].
It was already known that watching the breakthrough of a practitioner at the level of Mountain God would be of great benefit to him.
The mountain god said this just because he hoped that he would not take this matter too seriously, and not regard it as a fate given to him by him, but a simple invitation from a friend. Qi Wuhuo also showed a smile on his face:
"Um."
The boy replied, “I’m here.”
The mountain god laughed.
The laughter gradually became louder and more overbearing, but it did not sound harsh. Instead, it had a kind of calmness and grandeur that encompassed everything and overlooked the world. Spirit, energy, and vitality, these three are the basis of life and all things, and at this moment, on the mountain god, they lit up in an extremely rich way, becoming increasingly brilliant.
"I have a great way, please come and see it!"
Qi Wuhuo saw the materialization of the essence, energy and spirit in the mountain god very clearly.
In fact, this materialization does not happen all at once, but occurs gradually and finally reaches perfection.
It was as if I was re-enacting the path of cultivation.
The mountain god chanted loudly and long, but the sound did not reach anyone else.
"Ordinary people always say that three flowers gather at the top of the head, but this is also a fallacy. Flowers are blooming, just like the light of the sun and the moon!"
"The three Huas are: the original essence is the jade Hua, the original energy is the gold Hua, and the original spirit is the nine Hua."
"The three flowers gathering at the top of the head does not mean that they really form three flowers on the top of the head. You and I are not plant or flower spirits, so how can this be possible? If this is the case, then wouldn't it also produce a fruit? And in the end, it would be taken away by the monkey? That's ridiculous."
"This so-called Three Flowers Gathering at the Top of the Head is just a Taoist term for cultivation."
"It means that the three treasures of essence, energy and spirit return to their original state, and from then on there is no distinction."
"One begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things."
"And I am restored to One!"
"This is the key to the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top of the Head!"
Along with the words of the mountain god, the vital energy and essence that were rich to the extreme gathered together and turned into a point of spiritual light. Then this point of spiritual light also gathered with the soul, blending seamlessly and falling into the center of the eyebrows. From then on, the foundation was achieved, and there was no longer any distinction between the acquired spirit, essence, energy and spirit. They all blended into one, and the whole process was unhurried.
It was obvious that the mountain god had succeeded in this step. Summoning Qi Wuhuo was just to thoroughly demonstrate the path of cultivation to this point.
Qi Wuhuo took in the details of the flow and changes of these essences, energy and spirits.
Once you have seen such a splendid and magnificent scene, it is almost impossible to forget it again.
He was stunned for a long time before he slowly came to his senses. When he was about to thank him, the mountain god took his arm and sat down, smiling and said, "We are friends, and we feel like we have known each other for a long time. There is no need to do this."
"Come, have a drink."
He took out the wine, suddenly raised his hand and slapped his forehead, and said with a smile: "I almost forgot, you are still young, you probably have never drunk a drink?"
"Come on, these spiritual liquids only taste like alcohol. They won't make you drunk, so you can have a taste."
"The taste is pretty good."
Qi Wuhuo felt the mountain god's joy after his breakthrough, and also felt his intention to leave, so he didn't say much.
The mountain god had said more than a month ago that he would go traveling after the breakthrough.
An hour of chatting.
The two of them drank the entire jar of spiritual fluid.
The moonlight was bright and cold, and the mountain god said with emotion: "I have been practicing in this mountain for three hundred years. I thought I would die of old age in the mountain, but I didn't expect that there would be such an opportunity. The mountain god's talisman is on the stone platform behind me. If you are willing, you can take it. If you don't want to, you can give it to others. I have also made arrangements for Huangjing and other spiritual beasts in the mountains. You just need to practice with peace of mind."
Qi Wuhuo was holding a glass of wine, still standing straight at this time, sitting on the bluestone and looking at the sea of clouds, and said, "Are you leaving?"
The mountain god laughed and said, "Why should people like you and me get bogged down in childish matters?"
"Shouldn't you laugh and say goodbye to me when we say goodbye? Instead of crying?!"
"Since the thought has already come to mind, it is already a farewell."
"It makes no difference whether you leave early or late."
"Why not today and tonight?"
Qi Wuhuo asked: "Where are we going next?"
The mountain god replied: "Go travel around, see many worlds, and practice."
The blue-shirted boy was silent for a moment, with all sorts of thoughts in his mind. Finally, he just asked, "What's your name?"
"name?"
"Yeah, I don't know your name. If we say goodbye today, won't we never see each other again?"
The mountain god held a glass of wine towards the bright moon and said with a smile:
"Name? I'm just a tiger in the mountains. How can I have a name like that?"
"When I was young, I also hunted wild animals in the mountains and ate their flesh and blood."
"If it weren't for chance, how could there be a chance to practice?"
"Are you interested in hearing my story?"
He drank facing the moon, his long robe fluttering slightly, and slowly, bit by bit, he told Qi Wuhuo about the past.
He talked about how he was once a tiger in the mountains, how he swallowed Polygonatum sibiricum and embarked on the path of spiritual practice, how he walked forward ignorantly in the world, how he met his good friend, wielded a sword and became a hero, and made a great name for himself. He also talked about how he encountered a bottleneck in his spiritual practice, so he chose to say goodbye to his fellow Taoists and came to this mountain, and he could not make a breakthrough even after three hundred years of spiritual practice.
While talking about the past, he slowly finished the wine in the glass.
Finally, even the wine in the jug was empty.
He simply picked up the jar of wine and clinked glasses with Qi Wuhuo.
The moonlight fell down and landed on the two of them.
The mountain god had one foot on the bluestone and one hand casually stretched out from the cliff. He was completely different from the young man who was sitting upright even at this moment. He was wearing a green robe and looked free and easy. Qi Wuhuo sat there quietly and talked about his past. Time passed unknowingly. The mountain god shook the wine jar that was almost finished and said casually, "It's time to go."
"I think we'll meet somewhere else."
He stood up, with his sleeves hanging down, holding a gun in one hand and a wine jug in the other, and just turned his back to Qi Wuhuo, waved his hand, and walked out of the cliff. Without using any magic power, he walked step by step in the void until he came under the moon in the sky. His clothes were fluttering, and when he was about to leave, he suddenly heard the sound of a zither coming from behind him. He turned around and saw the young man took out the zither and slowly played it.
The sound of the zither is ancient, like the wind blowing through the pine forest.
The mountain god was stunned, and felt the farewell. He immediately tilted his head back to drink the wine. The wine pot was not small, and he drank it all in one gulp.
He is no longer a mountain god today.
He threw the wine jug down, sighed for a long time, and suddenly laughed out loud:
"After a hundred years of living in the world, I finally see the green mountains today!"
The green mountains are me.
The green mountains are not me.
“Hahahaha, let’s go!”
"No doubt, one day, if you hear that in the northwest sky region, there is a tiger roaring in the Wanxiang Palace, and the sound is shaking all over the place."
"That's me!"
"Practice in this life."
"You should be a great sage!"
One step forward, and clouds spread across the area!
The music of the zither had not yet ceased, but the figure of the mountain god could no longer be seen before Qi Wuhuo's eyes. Only the clear and bright moonlight was left, and the clouds were moving and the wind was blowing in all directions.