Chapter 454: I Want to Show You My True Intentions The Zhenjian Palace was still crowded with people and very lively. Unlike a few years ago, in the past few years, merchants and people in the capital and nearby areas have thoroughly seen the business opportunities brought by the bustle of Zhenjian Palace. Therefore, some houses and shops have been built on both sides of the road at the foot of Zhenjian Palace Mountain, where people can eat, stay, drink tea and wine. Every morning, vendors set up stalls at the foot of Zhenjian Palace, selling all kinds of things, and it has become a temple fair that opens every day. Unlike the Guanxing Palace in the city, this place is more lively now, and there is no need to pay the increasingly heavy city entry tax. The Zhenjian Palace has never asked them to pay stall fees like the Guanxing Palace. Therefore, many of the vendors who used to live outside the Star Observatory in the city also moved here. The back mountain of Zhenjian Palace is quiet in the midst of noise. A pond was dug here and planted with lotus flowers, some wasteland was reclaimed and fruit trees and vegetables were planted, and several small houses were built to store sundries, and a pavilion was built for drinking tea and appreciating flowers. At this time of year, it is the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. There are a few lotus flowers in the pond, standing proudly among the green lotus leaves, swaying with the wind. Lin Jue, Taoist Jiang, Taoist Qingxuan and Junior Brother Ma made tea and admired the flowers here. The tea vapor is thick and the fragrance is wafting.

There was a strong wind at the foot of the mountain today, which made the lotus leaves and lotus flowers in the pond sway wildly, and the petals were almost blown off. It not only did not affect the view, but also added a sense of freedom. "This pond was originally used to grow lotus roots and raise fish, so that the lotus roots could be harvested for fishing and cooking. Unexpectedly, the lotus flowers that bloomed that summer were quite beautiful. The Taoists in our temple decided to do their part and built a pavilion by the pond for drinking tea, appreciating the flowers, and practicing painting." Taoist Qingxuan said with a smile, "It's a pity that you came too late. The flowers have already passed their peak blooming period." “Elegant.” Lin Jue gave an evaluation and continued to look around. How could he, who was practicing in Yishan, not recognize it? In addition to the crops in the fields, the trees on both sides of the river were mostly turtledove trees, as well as wild loquat and ice fruit trees. It seems that these Taoists have never forgotten the desserts they made after eating them on Mount Yishan. "How is Brother Liu's injury?" asked Master Jiang. "Much better now." Lin Jue said, "She is very advanced and has great skills, so she recovered very quickly." "It turns out that the tiger demon is actually the remnant soul fragment of the corpse tiger king. Daoist Fellow Qingyao didn't tell us. If Daoist Fellow hadn't told us, we wouldn't have known." Taoist Master Qingxuan raised his glass, "This is our fault. We also want to thank Daoist Fellow Lin and Daoist Fellow Qingyao for helping us again." "Thanks to my junior sister." Lin Jue shook his head, "That Corpse Tiger King is quite capable." "These days, most of the monsters that have become spirits have good skills in keeping themselves alive, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get far." Taoist Qingxuan said, "On the contrary, humans are much worse." "But it is the people who prosper." “People often protect other things.” "Brother Dao, what you said is quite meaningful." "Nonsense, nonsense." Taoist Qingxuan laughed, "The Taoist friend is now with Yushan..." "The old grudges between the master and the sect have been going on for a long time. I thought it was the work of our ancestors and that our generation could resolve it. Now I think there is a reason for this discord." Lin Jue smiled and did not hide anything in front of these old acquaintances. "Nan Gong came to us a few days ago and tried to mediate. It must be Yushan who went there." "What do you say, fellow Taoist?" "I didn't say much. My junior sister didn't care. I vented my anger and didn't care anymore. I let them go to the Taoist temple to heal their wounds. Anyway, I can't afford the money." "Haha, fellow Daoist, your temperament..."

"A few days ago, a Taoist priest from Yushan came over. He was one of the Taoist priests who went to Modushan with me. He also wanted to ask Brother Qingxuan to intercede and make peace." Taoist Priest Jiang said calmly, "Maybe there are two factions in Yushan. Those who have been to Modushan to defend the city and protect the people have been rescued by Taoist friends, so they have more friendship with Taoist friends. However, Yushan is too old and too old-fashioned, and it is difficult to reach a consensus." "Oh? What did you say, Brother Taoist?" Lin Jue looked at Taoist Qingxuan. "Although Taoist brother is willing to do a good deed, he is also angry. Considering your thoughts, I did not agree." Taoist Jiang lowered his head and poured tea. "There are different times of acquaintance and different depths of friendship." Taoist Qingxuan said with a smile. Lin Jue smiled and said nothing. Sitting here drinking tea, the wind is so strong that one can hardly open one's eyes, but the swaying lotus leaves and lotus flowers are such a magnificent sight that one does not want to leave. "This time I came to visit you, not only because I haven't been home for a long time, but also to inform you that I will be in seclusion in the capital for three years and will not go out. I hope you will know." "Stay indoors for three years?" Taoist Qingxuan raised his eyebrows. "Exactly." "You've only been gone for three years, and you've just come back, and it's been three years again. It's true that the spiritual practice of the school really doesn't care about time." Taoist Qingxuan shook his head repeatedly, "How can I miss you so much?" "Brother, stop joking." "Are you kidding? Do you think no one is reading your name?" Taoist Qingxuan said, "I read your name very well!" Taoist Master Jiang beside him ignored him and made tea in silence. Junior Brother Ma pretended not to hear and just drank his tea. "I don't want to be disturbed while I'm in seclusion refining the elixir. Unfortunately, the world is in chaos right now and the situation is unstable. In troubled times, people often lose their sense of propriety and disregard moral principles. Although I have invited some guardians, if there is a situation that they cannot handle, I would like to ask my fellow Taoists to help me." Lin Jue said sincerely. "Don't worry, fellow Daoist." Upon hearing this, Taoist Master Qingxuan immediately became serious, "Fellow Daoist has helped us more than once or twice." "It seems that this is the critical moment for Daoist friend." Daoist Master Jiang did not raise his head, but just said, "My Master is as good as a promise. Daoist friend's credit to my Master has not been used yet." "Thank you two fellow Taoists." "What do you think of this scene, fellow Taoist?" Taoist Master Jiang suddenly asked. "This scene?" Lin Jue turned his head and saw the wind blowing the lotus, and the world was cool and comfortable. "It's a beautiful scenery." "I was practicing here the day before yesterday, and I suddenly felt like painting this place. It is quite similar to the scenery today, so why not give it to you as a return gift? Hang it in your room when you are practicing in seclusion, and it will help relieve the stuffiness in the room and add some mountain breeze and comfort." Taoist Master Jiang said. "Oh? You can also paint?" Taoist Master Jiang was making tea, so he asked Junior Brother Ma to get the painting. Wow! Open the painting and hold it in the wind! It is a light ink painting. The lotus leaves painted in ink are tilted randomly, as if swaying in the wind. The lotus flowers in the middle are colored, more than today, and are also dancing randomly in the wind. The petals of the blooming ones are blown to pieces, while the unbloomed ones are blown open by the wind, making the whole pond full of ripples. Although the wind is not visible, it is in the pond. I imagine that if there is someone sitting in the painting, he would also be blowing his sleeves and squinting his eyes. It is really like this. “What a beautiful painting…” After Lin Jue took it, he checked it up and down. There was nothing on the paper except the picture.

Taoist Qingxuan saw this and had the same idea as him. He smiled and said, "This is a new painting. It has not been inscribed with a seal or a poem. Junior Brother Ma, why don't you go get a seal for your Senior Brother Jiang?" "I have little knowledge and cannot compose or write poetry." Taoist Jiang shook his head. "You can write a few long or short sentences." Taoist Qingxuan said, "Then write the year, month, place, and your name in small characters on the corners, and who it is for." “I can’t do it well.” "Why don't we think about it for a few more days? Anyway, we can't do anything right away after writing the inscription and signing it." Taoist Qingxuan said, "I'll send it to you when I go to the city to buy something in a few days." "Alright." Taoist Jiang nodded and put the painting away. Junior Brother Ma, who had just stood up, sat down again. Lin Jue smiled and didn't say much. He sat there until dusk and then left. …… Junior sister's injuries gradually healed. Lin Jue was also ready at the house. Because of the departure of Master Fan, Mr. Pan rarely came back in recent years, and this courtyard was almost vacant. Wan Xinrong and others asked the Ministry of Rites for permission and all moved into this courtyard. Dozens of soldiers remained standing in the courtyard. A wooden ball was placed in the alcove in the main hall. The junior sister, the colorful cat and the egret were all in the yard. At this time, Lin Jue had already sat in the quiet room. The quiet room was also modified. The bamboo and wood were replaced with more fire-resistant materials, and a large alchemy furnace was placed in the middle. Lin Jue even asked Fox to go to Fourth Senior Brother’s Shimen Mountain and borrow Fourth Senior Brother’s Fire-washing Clothes. Although his physique had obviously improved after coming down from Nanshan, he was still more comfortable wearing the Fire-washing Clothes after being in seclusion here for a thousand days and facing the spiritual fire of the furnace every day. In the quiet room, there was a wooden shelf with a thousand taels of gold and various elixir materials, and only an ink painting hanging on the wall. The painting shows lotus flowers swaying in the wind, so lifelike that when people see it, it seems as if they can feel the strong wind blowing on a cloudy day in late summer, and their hair will flutter with the lotus leaves and lotus flowers, forming a sharp contrast with this dull and quiet room. There is a poem on it, written casually but also appropriate: The sour wind unravels the lotus flowers, intending to show me their true feelings. It's already autumn from summer, could it be that the falling leaves are conveying our thoughts of spring? Below is the inscription and seal of Master Jiang. Lin Jue stood in front of the painting and looked at it carefully. Counting the time in my hand, it has arrived at an auspicious day. Only then did Lin Jue retract his gaze and turn around. "Fuyao."

"Hey!" The fox looked serious and immediately said: "call……" A burst of flames rushed into the alchemy furnace. The whole room suddenly became hot. Lin Jue sat cross-legged on the ground, concentrating on it. Seeing that the fire was just right, he waved his hand and the thousand taels of gold were thrown in first. It softened and melted little by little, then turned red and shiny, and turned into golden water, which was placed in the furnace. Many people in the world use alchemy to make money, or are superstitious about gold, silver, lead and mercury. They don't know that the least valuable thing in making the golden elixir is the thousand taels of gold. And from the thousand taels of gold, only the unique essence and spirit of gold are taken, and the rest are dregs. And this kind of refining will take about fifty days. If we talk about it outside, it will be forty-nine days. The person who was lighting the fire changed from the fox to the junior sister, and then back again, but Lin Jue was the only one who stayed there the whole time, concentrating on his work. When I am distracted from time to time, it is like the free and easy mountain breeze in the painting on the wall. (End of this chapter)