The Lord of Void and Real

42  Chapter 41 Master Fengyang

Shen Luo's eyes lit up, staring intensely at the map.

According to the records in the book, the location of Luan Shui River was even closer than he had anticipated, about two hundred li from Chunhua County.

Shen Luo put the book down and fell into contemplation.

"Junior Brother Shen." Just then, a heavy knock on the door sounded, and simultaneously, a voice came from outside.

Hearing this, Shen Luo rose from his seat and opened the door, to find a stout young man standing there. It was Tian Tiesheng.

"Senior Brother Tian, your Qingyang Hand is nearing perfection. My door is made of wood; it will not withstand your pounding," Shen Luo greeted with a smile.

"Don't mock me, Junior Brother Shen. My talent for martial arts is lacking. Even if I practice Qingyang Hand for another ten years, I wouldn't achieve perfection," Tian Tiesheng hadn't spoken yet, when he was pre-empted and teased by Shen Luo. He couldn't help but respond with a bitter smile.

"Senior Brother, you're too humble. Did you come to see me because you needed something?" Shen Luo asked, inviting Tian Tiesheng into his room.

"A few days ago, Junior Brother Bai told me you were feeling unwell. Today after finishing my morning practice, I couldn't find you at the Jade Emperor Hall, and Lin from next door said you haven't left your room all morning. So, I came to see how you were. Eh, your complexion doesn't look too good, are you ill?" Tian Tiesheng, noticing Shen Luo's poor complexion, asked.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I didn't sleep well last night, but it's nothing serious," Shen Luo temporally didn't want to tell anyone about the jade pillow and, thus, answered vaguely.

"As long as you're okay, make sure to get plenty of rest. It's almost time for lunch, shall we go together?" Hearing that Shen Luo was well, Tian Tiesheng seemed genuinely reassured. Glancing at the time, he suggested.

Shen Luo was feeling a bit hungry, so he agreed to go to the dining hall with Tian Tiesheng.

"Senior Brother Tian, our Master has been gone for several days now. Do you know when he will be back?" Shen Luo asked Tian Tiesheng.

His health was back to normal now, but the conditions he'd been in after waking from two dream episodes made him anxious. Luo Daoist should be able to tell what state his body was in.

Without clarifying this matter, he couldn't be at ease.

"This time the Master went down the mountain to help a wealthy family in Dingyuan City exorcise a ghost. The trip isn't a long one. Given the time, he should be back soon. Did you need him for something?" Tian Tiesheng asked.

"I have some questions about cultivation and wanted to ask for his advice..." Upon hearing that Luo Daoist would be back soon, Shen Luo was quite pleased and casually replied.

As he was speaking, the strength in his body suddenly vanished. The world before his eyes spun. Then, with a "thud" sound, he fell backward onto the ground.

"Junior Brother Shen, what's wrong?" At his side, Tian Tiesheng was greatly startled and quickly held his shaking body.

Shen Luo was trembling all over. It felt as if a large hole had opened in his body, devouring his life force at an alarming rate. The pain was unbearable. Not even the agony he had felt in the dream world compared. Yet, he was unable to utter a scream. His existence was worse than death.

Fortunately, at that moment, everything in front of him blurred and rapidly became obscure. In the blink of an eye, endless darkness swallowed all his senses, and he lost consciousness.

...

Unaware of the time, Shen Luo's consciousness gradually came back. He felt a warm current flowing slowly in his body, which provided extraordinary comfort. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling appeared above him. In the center of the ceiling was a giant "Dao" character, surrounded by a circle of cyan patterns, and outside of them was an even larger purple square. In each corner of the square was a painting of one of the Auspicious Beasts: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.

Having just regained consciousness, Shen Luo was somewhat confused to see this unfamiliar ceiling. His mind was in a daze, and he had no idea what had happened.

"Junior Brother Shen, you're awake?" At that moment, a face entered his field of vision, looking down at him, It was Tian Tiesheng.

"Senior Brother Tian, what happened to me?" Upon seeing Tian Tiesheng, the incidents from before immediately came back to him and he struggled to sit up.

"Don't move!" An authoritative voice rang out, halting his movements.

Shen Luo turned his head to look, only to see a tall, grey-haired elder standing by his side.

This man was wearing a dark green Daoist robe, wearing a lotus crown, his face was stern, his eyebrows slanted downwards, looking somewhat frightening, not unlike a hanging ghost.

"Master!" Shen Luo recognized the gray-haired elder, and was taken aback, and stayed still as instructed.

This gray-haired elder was the master of Spring and Autumn Pavilion, Master Fengyang.

Only then did Shen Luo clearly see that Master Fengyang's left hand was pointing somewhere on his chest. A red light was flickering at his fingertips and a warm current was continuously flowing into his body.

Suddenly, he felt a slight sting around his waist, and when he looked sideways, he saw that two of Master Fengyang's right hand fingers were holding a golden needle with a flickering red light. The needle was inserted into a vital point on his waist and was slightly twisting.

Then, he saw something that almost made him cry out.

Between his waist and abdomen, there were already seventeen or eighteen gold needles inserted, all emitting a faint red light.

Shen Luo quickly realized that Master Fengyang was probably performing some kind of secret acupuncture technique on him. He dared not interrupt, but he couldn't help feeling worried.

"What's wrong with my body? Never mind, there's no point thinking about it now. Since Master Fengyang is treating me, it should turn out alright."

Thinking so, he glanced around and found that this hall was quite spacious. The walls were painted white, and it looked very simple without much decoration.

In front of the wall directly opposite the entrance, a large offering table was placed, with the sacred deities of Yuan Shi Tianzun, Lingbao Venerate, Daode Venerate. Their images were dignified.

In front of the god positions, there were six large sandalwood chairs, three on each side, presumably for discussions.

The wooden bed he was lying on was located at the left side of the hall, against the wall.

Besides these items, the hall was empty, it looked somewhat vacant but at the same time imposing. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Shen Luo recognized this place as the Jingjing Hall in the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, where the Master handled affairs. He had only been here once during his initiation, but he never got the chance to come close to it again after that.

Master Fengyang ignored Shen Luo's glance around and continued his acupuncture. He stuck another five or six needles around Shen Luo's waist in a short while.

Shen Luo felt a gradual rise in warmth around his waist and abdomen, which spread throughout his body in no time. He felt incredibly rejuvenated.

His bodily weakness gradually faded, and some color returned to his pale face.

Master Fengyang glanced at Shen Luo, retracted his left hand, and waved his right hand in the air. A red light appeared in his palm.

The twenty or so gold needles flew out of Shen Luo's body with a "swish" sound and disappeared into his sleeve.

"Thank you, Master." Shen Luo's body was still somewhat weak as he forced himself to sit up and bowed to Master Fengyang.

"I have heard from Luo Daoist about your poor health, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. I don't know how you have been cultivating. Even the 'Small Transformation Yang Technique', you can cultivate it incorrectly and cause backlash. That you were still able to reach the entry level for this skill is really a strange thing." Master Fengyang looked at Shen Luo for a moment and snorted.

"What? Backlash from the technique?" Shen Luo was shocked, froze on the spot.

"Master, is Shen Luo's health situation very severe?" Tian Tiesheng standing beside, his face changed as he anxiously asked.

"What do you think? His pulse disorder, severe energy deficiency, clear signs of backlash from the cultivation technique!" Master Fengyang glanced at Tian Tiesheng and responded with a counter question.

"Junior Brother Shen, if there's anything unclear about your cultivation, why didn't you consult Master? How can you be reckless? The inner energy is not something that can be supplemented easily, sigh…" Tian Tiesheng stomped his foot and sighed.

"Master, can deficiency of vitality affect a disciple's lifespan?" Shen Luo took a deep breath, tried to calm his chaotic mind, and asked Master Fengyang.