Chapter 172: Chatting in the House of the Strange Man

Zhongzhou Qishi Mansion is ancient and mysterious, and contains a starry sky gate leading to other sources of life.

After thousands of years, Qi Shi Mansion once again opened its doors to recruit students, which had a huge impact.

The young generation of geniuses from the five major domains all gathered here, adding a bit of worldly air to this fairyland.

Among them, there are outstanding descendants from holy places and aristocratic families, monks from immortal dynasties and various schools of thought, peerless geniuses from the demon clan, ascetics from poor mountains and bad waters, and disciples from Buddhism, each of them has extraordinary aura and spirit.

Every time the Qi Shi Mansion opens, it will recruit five to eight hundred disciples, all of whom have the combat power of a Saint Son who can fight across levels, and almost include more than 90% of the young geniuses in the five major regions of the world.

It is the first choice for almost all geniuses who aspire to become emperors.

The Qishi Mansion is located in the Shenmai Immortal Mountain, where there are falling dragon waterfalls, towering stone cliffs, towering sacred trees, and eternal elixirs dotted around.

The mountains are thriving with vitality, with exotic flowers blooming, magical beasts frolicking, auspicious air lingering, and clouds billowing. It is like a pure land on earth, which makes people yearn for it.

Relatively speaking, the area covered by Qi Shi Mansion is not very large. The majestic ancient mountains are so majestic that only the area within a radius of 500 miles is filled with auspicious energy. The spiritual energy in other places is relatively thin.

It was as if the source of all veins and the spiritual beauty of the ancestors were all gathered by the sages of the Qi Shi Mansion into that section of the sacred mountain, making the entire Qi Shi Mansion surrounded by purple air.

Opening his third eye, Li Zhi saw that under Qi Shi’s mansion, dragon veins were intertwined, and it seemed as if thousands of dragons were soaring into the sky.

In many places, the dragon energy was surging and the auspicious aura was rising, as if a peerless dragon marrow was being nurtured in the dragon veins. Li Zhi's eyes lit up and he wanted to go in and take a closer look.

At this moment, the period for Qi Shi Mansion to recruit disciples has long passed, and most of the tens of thousands of monks who originally gathered in front of the mountain gate have dispersed.

However, some monks were unwilling to leave and stayed outside the Qi Shi Mansion waiting for an opportunity.

Because before this, after the one-month enrollment period ended, there were some geniuses who entered.

Three late-arriving geniuses showed exceptional strength and were admitted into the Mansion of Extraordinary Scholars as an exception.

It gave them a glimmer of hope of entering the Qi Shi Mansion.

But those who stayed were only a minority after all, and most of them went back home.

When Li Zhi arrived, he only met seven or eight young cultivators outside the mountain gate. Each of them was a young genius from his hometown, but their talents were slightly worse than others and did not meet the entry requirements of the Qi Shi Mansion.

However, they did not give up. Instead, they redoubled their efforts, hoping to impress the top management of Qishi Mansion with their actions.

Seeing Li Zhi coming outside the mountain gate, those people showed curiosity.

He just saw Li Zhi standing in front of the mountain gate, but he did not break in, nor did he greet the powerful man guarding the mountain gate.

Instead, it was as if he came to inspect the Qi Shi Mansion. He stood in front of the mountain gate and kept looking around and observing the Qi Shi Mansion.

This kind of performance makes people even more curious.

"Who is that little Taoist priest? He is looking around in front of the mountain gate. What is he trying to do?" someone whispered.

"He should be a latecomer. But looking at his appearance, he doesn't seem to be in a hurry, as if he is not a latecomer." Someone also said puzzled.

"Do you think he will break into the mountain like that barbarian?" Someone showed excitement on his face, as if he wanted to see Li Zhi breaking into the mountain.

"Do you think all people are barbarians? That little Taoist priest looks frail and is probably just a supporting role." Someone else said with disdain.

While they were discussing, Li Zhi had already arrived at the mountain gate and asked the great man sitting on the stone platform: "Senior, does your Qishi Mansion have dragon marrow for sale?"

"Little Taoist, you have come to the wrong place. Qi Shi Mansion does not sell dragon marrow." The powerful man in Qi Shi Mansion shook his head and said.

Li Zhi did not give up and asked, "If I become a disciple of Qishi Mansion, will the mansion provide me with dragon marrow for cultivation? Or sell me some dragon marrow for cultivation?"

“If you want to buy dragon marrow, go to the auction house set up by the Immortal Dynasty. We in the Qi Shi Mansion do not trade in dragon marrow.” said the powerful man in the Qi Shi Mansion.

"That's such a pity. I thought that since there are so many dragon marrows underground in your Qishi Mansion, you would take out some to sell to the outside world. I never thought that you are such a miser." Li Zhi said disappointedly.

The great man of Qishi Mansion asked in surprise: "You can see the dragon marrow being nurtured underground? Are you Ye Fan, the holy body that inherited the legacy of Yuan Tianshi from Donghuang?"

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "I am Li Changshou, not Saint Body Ye Fan. Senior, please don't make a mistake."

"Are you the Taoist of longevity?" The powerful man guarding the gate stood up from the stone platform and looked at Li Zhi in surprise. Then he whispered, "Why is it different from what the palace master said?"

"Do you know me?" Li Zhi felt a little surprised.

"The Palace Master saw all of your performance on the Yao Chi battlefield. The reason I stayed here was to wait for your arrival." The powerful man said with a smile.

"Wait for me? Aren't you waiting for the Holy Body Ye Fan?" Li Zhi asked back.

"The Holy Body has explicitly rejected the Palace Master's invitation. It is unknown whether he will come. The Queen Mother of Yao Chi has explicitly told the Palace Master that you will come to take the assessment, but I have waited for you for more than a month and have not seen any trace of you. Why are you half a month late?" The powerful man from the Qi Shi Mansion asked curiously.

"I went to collect dragon marrow. I was really embarrassed, so I had to do it myself, so it took me a little time. Senior, will your Qi Shi Mansion provide dragon marrow to the students for cultivation? I am in urgent need of dragon marrow now." Li Zhi said.

“I see that your cultivation has reached the ninth level of Dragon Transformation. Dragon marrow will not be of much help to your cultivation. What do you want the dragon marrow for?” asked the powerful man of Qi Shi Mansion.

Li Zhi said: "My body has had some minor accidents, and I need dragon marrow to replenish my energy."

The expression of the powerful man from the Qishi Mansion changed slightly. He looked Li Zhi up and down, but did not find any trace of hidden injuries. He asked, "Is there really a problem with your practice? Come with me to see the Mansion Master. The Mansion Master should have a solution."

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "In my case, only Dragon Marrow can solve it."

The great man from Qishi Mansion asked, "How much dragon marrow do you need?"

Li Zhi said: "If it is the best dragon marrow, about a hundred or eighty drops will be enough. If it is ordinary dragon marrow, perhaps one or two thousand drops will be needed. Of course, if it is the peerless divine marrow, twenty or thirty drops will be enough."

The powerful men of Qishi Mansion stared at Li Zhi with wide eyes. They had never heard of anyone needing so much dragon marrow for cultivation.

And the peerless essence?
He had lived for more than a thousand years, but he had never seen what the peerless divine essence looked like with his own eyes.

The best quality dragon marrow, even if the Qi Shi Mansion owns this divine vein and fairyland, can only produce ten to twenty drops every thousand years.

One drop of top-grade dragon marrow can allow a genius-level cultivator in the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm to advance one small level, and the effect of cultivation is far greater than that of ordinary dragon marrow.

Although there are many top-grade dragon marrows sealed in the Qi Shi Mansion, they only add up to about thirty to fifty drops. They are prepared for the young geniuses who truly have the potential to become the great emperor.

Seeing that Li Zhi was chatting happily with the great man from Qishi Mansion, the cultivators in the distance felt a little jealous.

"What's going on? Why is that senior so kind to that little Taoist priest?"

"Doesn't he have to go through the test just because he's late?"

"Who the hell is he? How did they get in?"

Before they could finish their complaints, Li Zhi, at the invitation of the gatekeeper, followed him into the Qishi Mansion. He entered so easily without any tests, which directly shocked those cultivators.

The Qishi Mansion is not prosperous, but it has a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere inside.

After Li Zhi entered, he did not see many cultivators walking in the mountains and forests.

"Every student who comes to the Qi Shi Mansion will be assigned a cave to practice in. Every once in a while, a powerful person will preach to them. The mansion has accumulated some practice notes left by ancient saints, and students can borrow them freely." Along the way, the powerful person introduced to Li Zhi the various rules for entering the Qi Shi Mansion.

Li Zhi asked, "Why are there no saints and sages preaching? Ordinary powerful beings, even the most powerful ones, can't preach much to these geniuses, right?"

The mighty one asked, "You want to hear the sages of the past preach?"

Li Zhi nodded and said, "I heard that there are real ancient sages in your Qishi Mansion, so I came here."

The expression of the powerful man suddenly changed, and he asked, "How did you know there is a saint in the Qishi Mansion?"

Li Zhi said as a matter of course: "Don't all the top forces in the world have saints? As one of the top forces in the world, is it strange that your Qishi Mansion has saints? Senior, please don't tell me that your Qishi Mansion doesn't have ancient saints?"

"You actually know this secret?" the powerful man said in surprise.

"Is this considered a secret? Probably not. The ancestral kings of the ancient tribes were able to be sealed in the divine source and have not been born until now. The major forces that possess imperial weapons should not be short of divine source liquid. It is normal for the ancient saints to have sealed it until now. Why are you surprised, senior?" Li Zhi looked at the powerful man with some surprise.

It seemed as if in his mind this was just a trivial matter and there was no need to make a fuss about it.

Looking at Li Zhi's performance, the powerful man didn't know how to communicate with him for a moment. He felt that Li Zhi's thinking was not on the same channel as those geniuses.

News that would shock others became a matter of course to Li Zhi, as if it were an ordinary thing that everyone knew.

"Wei Ding, please bring this long-lived friend to me."

At this moment, the voice of the old mansion master sounded in the ears of the powerful man.

A hint of surprise flashed across the eyes of the powerful man, and then he said to Li Zhi: "My friend Changshou, come with me."

Afterwards, Li Zhi was taken by Wei Ding to a small tavern on the roadside.

Inside the tavern, there was only an old man in his sixties or seventies. He looked frail, with cloudy eyes and sparse gray hair. He did not look like a hermit at all.

After seeing the old man, Wei Ding said respectfully, "Old Palace Master, I have brought the person to you."

After saying that, he left the tavern directly.

Li Zhi looked curiously at the lord of Qishi Mansion who lived several generations ago, but he did not sense any aura of a cultivator from him.

The ancient saints were indeed powerful. They were two completely different species from ordinary cultivators.

"Young man, you are indeed very courageous and so calm. No wonder you can enter and exit the Ten Thousand Dragons' Nest freely." The old palace lord looked Li Zhi up and down and said.

"It's just a trivial trick. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, senior." Li Zhi said modestly.

"I heard from them that there was something wrong with your body? Originally, they wanted me to help you resolve it, but I didn't expect that you solved the problem by yourself. It seems to be more thorough than I thought. The young are really to be feared." The old mansion master said after staring at Li Zhi for a long time.

"It seems that there are quite a few people who have discovered that there is something abnormal in themselves. As expected, passers-by in the world of Shrouding the Sky know everything."

Li Zhi did not feel offended. He just complained a few words in his heart and said, "Thanks to the Qinglian Emperor Soldier in the hands of Yan Ruyu, the descendant of the Qing Emperor, otherwise I would not be able to completely solve the hidden dangers in my body."

The old mansion master was silent for a moment, then said, "You are the most special person I have ever seen in my life. Even when I invited a celestial master to calculate your past and future, it was all chaos, as if you had already jumped out of the five elements. Now that I see your true self, you are indeed different from others."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "I am just a junior who is on the path of seeking. There is nothing special about me. It is not certain whether I can become an immortal in this life. Please don't praise me, I will be proud."

The old mansion master sighed, "As expected, my friend's thoughts are different from those of all living beings. There are many different opinions on whether there are immortals in the world. Even the ancient emperors were not sure whether there are immortals in the world. But I can see from your words that you firmly believe that there are immortals in the world and that you can become an immortal. Can you tell me what gives you such firm confidence?"

Li Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Because I believe that there is no end to the Tao. The road to the Tao will never end. Therefore, whether or not one can become an immortal is only the first critical threshold on the road to cultivation. If one cannot even cross this threshold, the so-called Tao is nothing but a lie."

The old mansion master immediately laughed and said, "With just one sentence, you have negated the efforts of the ancient emperor. I really don't know whether to say that you are arrogant or confident."

Li Zhi said, "I'm sorry to make you laugh. This is just my superficial understanding of Taoism. I never think that becoming an immortal is the end of practicing Taoism. Instead, it is the starting point of practicing Taoism. Before becoming an immortal, at most, it can only be regarded as seeking Taoism."

The old mansion master suddenly became interested and asked, "What does this mean?"

Li Zhi said: "In my opinion, the practice of cultivators of my generation should be divided into three stages. The first stage is to seek the Tao, to seek the Tao from the outside world. If you can finally reach the end of the road, you will bear fruit and achieve the Tao. The second stage is to cultivate the Tao. The world has no Tao, so cultivators need to build it. This is for cultivating the Tao. Cultivating the Tao is to make the Tao more lofty. Of course, I have not yet reached that level and have no idea how to do it specifically."

The old mansion master asked curiously: "What about the third stage?"

Li Zhi said: "As for the third stage, when the great path that the cultivator has cultivated has reached the end where there is really no further progress, it is time to sacrifice to the Dao. Sacrifice everything and start over again, the so-called realm of controlling the Dao. Only then can the cultivator cultivate the supreme Dao fruit of great freedom and great ease, and will not be restricted by fate, time and space, and all things in our cognition."

Li Zhi's words left the old mansion master speechless.

The Tao heart that Li Zhi had forged, his lofty intentions, his broad vision, and his heroic spirit were so great that he didn't know how to evaluate it.

This kind of Taoism is completely different from those monks who aspire to become emperors.

It seems that becoming Emperor is just a small goal in Li Zhi's mind.

There is no big goal at all, let alone the ultimate goal.

Apart from the description of the first stage, he had never heard of the descriptions of the second and third stages.

Even in the vernacular novels written by mortals, there has never been such a fantasy.

But Li Zhi was able to tell it with clear logic and a clear goal, as if there really was such a path to spiritual practice.

As a saint, the old mansion master naturally knows how great the difference is for a cultivator to believe that the road is under his feet and to be confused and unable to see the way forward.

Originally, he wanted to have a good talk with Li Zhi, to correct Li Zhi's heart, to clarify the way forward, and to let him forge a heart to achieve enlightenment.

Now it seems that his vision was too narrow.

Li Zhi didn't need him to correct his mind. On the contrary, after listening to Li Zhi's words, he felt that all his practice over the years had been in vain. He was like a headless fly, stumbling and accidentally breaking into the level of a saint.

It is definitely not like Li Zhi who firmly believes that the truth is right before his eyes, that no fog can cover his eyes, and that he has an indestructible and unstoppable heart for seeking the truth.

Seeing that the old mansion master had fallen silent, Li Zhi said, "Senior, may I have the honor to listen to your explanation of the Tao? You are a saint, and your understanding of the Tao should be much deeper than mine. Can you let me compare and see if there are any flaws in my own practice?"

The old mansion master suddenly laughed, feeling that Li Zhicai at this moment was a truly diligent and studious young man, who had not neglected his own cultivation because of his lofty ambitions.

The old mansion master said, "There is no need to preach. Let's talk about our understanding of the Tao. Let's start with the Secret Realm of the Wheel Sea. Perhaps I can also get inspiration from you to realize the Tao and take a step further in my Tao practice."

Afterwards, the old man and the young man started chatting in the tavern.

(End of this chapter)