The Way of Spiritual Journey

Chapter 11, The Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix

"Upon first meeting you, I felt that you possessed extraordinary talent and were a rare genius in cultivation, a talent that comes along only once in a hundred years. I was delighted with you, but I did not know your character, so I asked you about it. Indeed, you have a resilient character and are unyielding, showing great potential to attain enlightenment..." The Taoist priest spoke with a serious expression and sincere tone.

Upon hearing this, Li Lang's eyes lit up. This was a talent! At this time and place, this Taoist priest could still spout nonsense with such a straight face—he was definitely a promising individual!

"You mean you want to teach me a manual called Tathagata Palm?" Li Lang asked tentatively.

As soon as Li Lang finished speaking, the Taoist priest was clearly stunned, his expression stiffened, and he looked at the man in disbelief.

Indeed, the younger generation does not forget the teachers of the past; only routines truly win people's hearts.

"Ahem, fellow Daoist, you jest. You are destined to join my Daoist sect. I have a supreme Daoist technique to impart to you..." At this point, the Daoist's momentum weakened, and he seemed somewhat unsure of himself. He looked at Li Lang with a hint of trepidation, as if trying to glean his words from the latter's expression.

This was an impromptu performance, truly remarkable. Li Lang observed the Taoist's expression, nodded to himself, and felt a small sense of appreciation.

"Supreme Daoist Techniques? Are they very powerful?" Li Lang asked.

"The supreme Daoist method can prove the Dao of Heaven and Earth," the Daoist replied with a smile, his brows unfurrowing.

"Is it possible to achieve immortality?" Li Lang asked again.

"That's impossible." The Taoist priest was stunned again, stammering.

"I won't learn it." Li Lang shook his head, refusing in a serious tone.

In that case, the Taoist priest was completely distraught. Alas, he looked like a fat sheep, but turned out to be a fool.

"You want immortality? I have the method!" the Taoist thought to himself, but he smiled calmly, his words still sincere. "Come with me to the Taoist temple, and I will formally teach you the method of immortality. How about it?"

Another hideout? That must be a place with a huge reward. Hearing this, Li Lang's eyes lit up again. A windfall was right in front of him; if he hesitated and didn't take it, he'd be struck by lightning.

Li Lang was certainly not a coward. The life-or-death experiences of the past year had transformed him, and his resilience and confidence enabled him to face any challenge.

"Let's go!" Li Lang nodded.

So the Taoist priest led the way, followed by Li Lang carrying the pig. After many twists and turns, they soon arrived at a courtyard.

This compound, nestled halfway up the mountain, is neither a temple nor a monastery. With its blue bricks and black tiles, dilapidated gate, and seemingly long abandoned, it appears to be a hideout. Is this the hideout?

Li Lang looked around, feeling disappointed. This place was so desolate that even wild dogs would howl at it. If there were any riches to be found there, he would be struck by lightning.

Without hesitation, Li Lang turned around and prepared to leave.

"Amitabha! Since you have come here, you are destined to be with Buddha. Why do you want to leave?" At this moment, a Buddhist chant rang out, and a monk walked out of the courtyard.

Li Lang looked around, his eyelids twitching wildly. It was indeed a monk, because he was wearing a kasaya, his head was bald, and he had a fat head and big ears, looking like two different people. He was definitely monk material.

"I observe that you possess extraordinary talent and are a rare genius in cultivation, one in a hundred years. This humble monk has a supreme Buddhist martial art, the Tathagata Palm, which I wish to bestow upon you..." The fat monk's expression was equally serious, and his tone was no less solemn than that of the Taoist priest.

Upon hearing this, Li Lang burst into laughter. No wonder the Taoist priest looked so bewildered earlier; it turned out the Tathagata Palm technique was right there.

"Bah! Bald monk, this is a good deed for my Taoist sect. What does it have to do with you? Get out of here at once, or don't blame me for being impolite!" Hearing the monk's words, the Taoist blushed, but quickly came to his senses and started scolding him.

"Pah! So what if you're impolite? Today is an odd day, and the Buddha is in charge. If you know what's good for you, get lost. If you anger the Buddha, he'll sit on your ass and make you poop." The monk was not afraid at all. His chest muscles twitched, and he twisted his hips to step forward.

"You, you're so rude! It was agreed that one person would be in charge for one day. Yesterday was an odd day, and today is another odd day. Have you lost your conscience? Come on, if I don't show you some real skills today, you won't know how many eyes the Horse King has!" The Taoist was truly enraged and rolled up his robes, ready to fight.

Seeing this, Li Lang was dumbfounded. What was going on? The monk and the Taoist priest were actually accomplices? They were about to fight over Li Lang's business deal?

Li Lang remained silent, but wisely moved aside to make room, sat down on the wild boar cushion, and watched the show intently.

"Tear!" Li Lang had just sat down when he heard a tearing sound, the sound of rags being ripped.

"Wow! You bald monk, how dare you tear my robe?" In just one exchange, one sleeve of the Taoist's robe was ripped off.

The Taoist priest froze on the spot, looking incredulous, before letting out a pig-like scream, "I'll fight you to the death!"

Seeing the Taoist priest's impatience, the monk was delighted. He raised the half-sleeve in his hand, shook it, and grinned, "Come on, come here!"

At that moment, Li Lang only felt a blur before his eyes, and the Taoist priest pounced on the monk like a lump of cow dung, and the two rolled into a pile.

.........

Watching these two fight was like watching shrewish women in the village brawl; at first, it was quite interesting, but after a while, it became boring.

Li Lang set up a barbecue stall, roasting wild boar until it was golden brown, the aroma filling the air. He didn't care about selling it for money now; filling his stomach was the priority.

Wangcai and Xiaoshengzi squatted on the side, staring intently at the roast pig, their mouths watering.

"You want to eat meat?" Li Lang asked curiously, glancing sideways at him.

"Mmm." The monk and the Taoist priest nodded at the same time.

The two had finished their battle. The Taoist's hair was disheveled, his robe was damaged, and his face was bruised. His ethereal and otherworldly demeanor was completely gone.

The monk was still a monk, still wearing his robe, but two holes had been torn in the chest muscles, hanging down like a sack in front of his chest. There seemed to be scars on his bald head, and the image of a master was no more.

Ultimately, the fight between the two was merely a case of unfair competition; whether there were any other personal grudges remains unknown. The fight appeared intense, but it was far from a life-or-death struggle.

Since that's the case, why not eat the meat first?

Seeing that the roast pig was cooked, the two men tacitly stopped at the same time, thus ending their fight.

Seeing the two of them's shameless, eager expressions, Li Lang almost laughed out of anger.

But Li Lang couldn't laugh. He had to keep it up at this moment. If he laughed, it would be difficult to carry out the work that followed.

"Can monks eat meat?" Li Lang asked.

"Yes." The two nodded solemnly at the same time.

Seeing how perfectly synchronized these two were, Li Lang was almost completely confused again.

"Alright." Li Lang was silent for a moment, then nodded and replied solemnly, "If you want to eat meat, that's fine, but I never let anyone eat for free here."

Upon hearing this, joy flashed in their eyes, and they looked at each other in sync.

"I am willing to impart to you the supreme Daoist teachings..."

"I am willing to teach you the Tathagata Palm technique..."

"Stop! Let's not talk about imparting techniques yet, I'm not interested. Aren't you going to introduce yourselves first?" Li Lang was exasperated and hurriedly waved his hand to stop them. These two are really weirdos; they're already in this situation, and they're so caught up in the act that they can't get out?

The two were not embarrassed when Li Lang interrupted them. On the contrary, they felt that Li Lang's words made sense and that they should introduce themselves first.

"My Buddhist name is Wolong."

"My Taoist name is Fengchu."