Chapter 4: Star Level , Master Level
The breeze was not dry, the candlelight in the hall flickered, and the smoke of sandalwood spread out, moving automatically without wind.

Zhang Changsheng sat upright in front of the hall and just started to practice Wan Dao Xuan Gong when an inexplicable aura appeared.

A frog that was sunbathing on a lotus leaf in the release pond suddenly made a loud 'whoosh' sound and dived into the water, never to reappear.

The motionless golden coin turtle floating on the water was suddenly startled and immediately sank to the bottom of the pond.

Small animals are most sensitive to changes in the surrounding atmosphere. If they could leave the release pond, frogs and golden coin turtles would have moved away from Xilong Temple just like those snakes, insects, rats and ants.

If a cultivator stepped into Xilong Temple and saw snakes, insects, rats and ants fleeing, and then saw Zhang Changsheng cultivating in front of the temple, he would definitely be shocked.

In the Dharma Ending Age, spiritual energy is scarce, and it is extremely difficult to cultivate into the Tao. Because most of the cultivation is to draw spiritual energy into the body, remove hair and cleanse the marrow, and build the foundation of the Tao.

But the spiritual energy is too thin to establish the foundation of Taoism, so it is naturally difficult to make any progress in cultivation. However, Zhang Changsheng can attract the nameless aura around him, which is simply incredible.

This brings us to Wan Dao Xuan Gong, which is known as the number one martial art in Qiankun Continent and has its own unique features.

This mysterious skill is a self-contained system, which absorbs the power of the stars in the universe, cleanses the body's meridians, tempers the body, builds a supreme Taoist foundation, and cultivates unparalleled supernatural powers.

The power of the stars is everywhere. As long as the universe does not perish, the sun, moon and stars will exist forever. Therefore, no matter where Zhang Changsheng is, he can practice all kinds of mysterious skills.

As Zhang Changsheng entered into meditation and practiced, his Wandao Mysterious Art was circulated and echoed with the stars in the sky.

Even in broad daylight, you can still see the stars faintly twinkling.

Although the daytime star appeared only in a corner of Jiangbei City, it also alarmed a group of astronomers, who were now discussing this strange astronomical phenomenon...

As the stars twinkled, the stars shook. A powerful force from the vast universe came surging over, as if it had crossed the long river of time, ignoring the distance between the two sides measured in light years.

The majestic power of the stars flowed into Zhang Changsheng's body, and subtle changes began to take place.

The meridians were widened, and all the blocked small meridians were connected. The twelve main meridians were all widened twice as much under the power of the stars.

Not only does it widen the meridians, the power of the stars also has the effect of nourishing them. In a gentle way, it repairs the meridians that have been damaged after widening.

The muscles became strong, and the cells divided rapidly under the nourishment of the power of the stars. The human body's metabolism continued to accelerate, and countless cells divided, died, and were reborn.

The main reason why people age is that the human body's metabolism is slow. Theoretically, if a person's metabolism always remains at the state of youth, then he can live forever.

This is also what people often call qi and blood deficiency.

At this moment, Zhang Changsheng's energy and blood were also growing stronger under the nourishment of the power of the stars. His energy and blood were like a tide, and the sound of a rushing river could be faintly heard.

An hour later, with a popping sound, as if a membrane that imprisoned the human body was pierced by a sharp object, an invisible air wave exploded on Zhang Changsheng's body.

Inside the hall, the candlelight and sandalwood went out instantly, as if a whirlwind appeared out of nowhere.

The cicadas chirping on the big trees outside Xilong Temple seemed to have sensed something and became silent.

"Star Level One!"

Zhang Changsheng opened his eyes, and a ray of light as if real flashed across his eyes.

Although he did not exercise, he could clearly feel the great improvement in his physical condition.

By modern standards, he went from being an ordinary person to having the physique of an international athlete overnight.

Of course, this is just an incomplete comparison. In fact, in addition to the improvement of physical fitness, the five senses of vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell have also improved and become more acute.

Zhang Changsheng could clearly see the cicadas lying on the trunk of a pine tree more than ten meters away, not daring to move, and the sweet breathing coming from his daughter Niuniu in the room.

Zhang Changsheng stood up and stopped practicing. He knew his daughter was still sleeping without going into the room to check. So he walked out of the temple and went to the nearby mountain to cut a few pieces of thick peach wood.

He then returned to the temple and found a piece of steel bar about 20 cm long and as thick as his little finger in the utility room connected to the dining hall.

Make a fire, but not for cooking. Instead, put a steel bar into the red-hot charcoal. After the steel bar is heated red, clamp one end with pliers and continuously hit the steel bar with a hammer.

Rhythmic knocking sounds rang out one after another, and the red-hot steel bar was formed into a knife blank under the hammering.

Zhang Changsheng wanted to make a carving knife. At present, he had no money to buy a good carving knife, so he could only make it himself. As a peerless heavenly master, even his magic tools had to be refined through sacrifices, let alone a mere carving knife. Besides, he looked down on carving knives made by others.

After the knife blank cooled down, Zhang Changsheng began to grind it with a grinding wheel. The Taoist temple was not big, but he and the old Taoist priest were mainly responsible for the usual repairs, so they had no shortage of tools for repairs.

Carefully smooth out the hammer marks to keep the blade and edge of the knife evenly thick. Soon the carving knife with a sharp edge that sparkles in the sunlight is almost finished.

As for the final handle, Zhang Changsheng couldn't find a suitable piece of wood at the moment, so he simply wrapped cement wire around the tail of the knife to make a ball of wire handle.

After all the processes were completed, Zhang Changsheng snorted at the carving knife and exhaled.

A strange thing happened. The carving knife suddenly became sharp and emitted a cold light, as if it was extremely sharp, which made people feel uneasy.

In fact, it is just a small Taoist magic that can increase the sharpness of weapons. If Zhang Changsheng's magic power is restored, he can easily forge this small carving knife into a top-grade magic weapon. In this Dharma Ending Age, it is the most precious treasure in the world.

In order to make this carving knife, Zhang Changsheng spent some effort. His back was sticky, so he fetched a few buckets of water from the Guanzhong well and washed himself.

After taking a shower and changing clothes, you will feel more energetic!
Zhang Changsheng first lit the incense again and worshipped the Three Pure Ones in the main hall. Then he walked to the door of the hall, sat upright on a pile of mats, placed his mobile phone on the live broadcast stand, logged into the Fighting Cats platform according to his memory, clicked into his personal live broadcast room, and started his first live broadcast after traveling through time.

He seemed like a very patient person and the whole process was orderly.

At this time, there were only three or five tourists in the live broadcast room.

The previous live broadcast style was bland and just recorded the daily life of the Taoist temple. The fact that people watched it was actually the result of Zhang Changsheng's persistence for several years.

These three or five tourists were not interested in Zhang Changsheng's live broadcast, but admired his perseverance and persistence.

"Hey, have you noticed that today's host is a little different?" Someone left a message in the live broadcast room.

"It's a little different. I feel like the host has become more handsome."

"It's not that he's become more handsome. Of course, the anchor's looks can beat those of celebrities, but I just feel that his temperament is different."

"Even more extraordinary? Needless to say, the more I look at her, the more I feel that she has a sense of transcendence. Could it be that she has suddenly become enlightened?" "..."

While several people were discussing, on the live broadcast screen, Zhang Changsheng was seen holding a piece of peach wood about 30 centimeters long and the size of a fist in his left hand, holding the handle of the carving knife with a ball of thread in his right hand, and began to carve on the peach wood.

"This carving is quite interesting..."

For five years, Zhang Changsheng has been live-streaming the daily life of the Taoist temple, and he has never shown his carving skills in front of the camera.

Out of curiosity, several visitors in the live broadcast room patiently watched Zhang Changsheng's sculptures.

In fact, there are live broadcasts by professional carvers on the Doumao platform. They have seen it before and didn’t think there was anything different at first, but as they watched, they were surprised.

The carving in Zhang Changsheng's hand was turning very quickly, and wood chips kept falling from under the carving knife.

It was originally just an ordinary carving, but Zhang Changsheng was extremely focused, detached from the world, and highly immersed in his own carving world, as if the whole world had stopped, and only the carving knife in his hand kept moving.

As the knife fell, the wood chips slid off, and a corner of the statue slowly emerged from the peach wood. The whole process was neither fast nor slow, and there was a fixed rhythm in it, which made people feel an indescribable beauty.

They were immediately attracted to it and didn't even leave a message, just watching quietly.

Half an hour later, under the exquisite carving skills, the piece of peach wood was removed from its mortal form, and a wooden sculpture of the Queen Mother of the West appeared before everyone.

The wood carving is only about twenty centimeters high, but it is lifelike. Not only does it outline the fairy robe of the Queen Mother of the West, but her facial expression is also like that of a real person, indescribably solemn and dignified, and her eyes are full of compassion, as if there is a hint of divinity contained in them.

The most important thing is that when these tourists faced the wooden sculpture of the Queen Mother of the West, their minds gradually calmed down. They forgot about fame and fortune, all the worldly troubles, and fell into an unprecedented calmness. They had a sense of meditation like an experienced Taoist priest, and their hearts were indescribably peaceful and indifferent.

"Strange……"

The tourists did not communicate with each other, but were secretly surprised, thinking that it was just some feeling of their own.

At the same time, this inner peace and calm state of mind also made them calm down and forget to speak and communicate in the live broadcast room.

It is as if looking at this wooden sculpture of the Queen Mother of the West, one forgets everything, calms himself down, and enjoys a moment of leisure in this busy life.

After Zhang Changsheng completed the statue of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, he turned and walked into the main hall and placed the wooden sculpture of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady on the altar of the Three Pure Ones. Then he left the main hall and went to the utility room, where he took out a small square table about 80 cm high and 50 cm wide.

After all, it had been placed in the utility room for a while, and the square table was covered with a bit of dust.

Zhang Changsheng was very patient. He fetched several buckets of water from the ancient well and scrubbed it carefully.

After cleaning, the square table was spotless. Zhang Changsheng then carried the square table to a ginkgo tree next to the release pond.

This ginkgo tree, standing tall like a canopy, has a history of hundreds of years. It was picked by the first master of Xilong Temple when it was built.

Taoist temples all like to plant ginkgo trees, which symbolizes their everlasting beauty.

After setting up a square table under the ginkgo tree, Zhang Changsheng added a small incense burner, but did not light the incense immediately.

Instead, he turned back to the main hall, took out the statue of Queen Mother of the West, placed it on the square table, and then lit three incense sticks.

After Zhang Changsheng bowed three times to the statue of Lady of the West, he took out the prepared paper, pen and ink, and wrote a horizontal banner and couplet in a flamboyant manner.

The attention of several tourists in the live broadcast room shifted from the statue of Queen Mother of the West to Zhang Changsheng, and they were all surprised.

"Anchor, what are you doing?"

"A talisman? It doesn't look like that. The host is holding rice paper, not talisman paper."

"Looking at the size and style of the paper, it seems like you're going to write couplets?"

"Is there any connection between this couplet and the statue of Lady of the Nine Heavens?"

"..."

The group of people were puzzled, but soon the answer was revealed.

Zhang Changsheng tied this couplet under the drooping branches of the ginkgo tree and hung it on both sides of the square table.

First couplet: Heaven hears like thunder, knowing clearly the present and past lives
Second line: God’s eyes are as sharp as lightning, seeing through the immortal world and the mortal world
Horizontal banner: Point out the way

"Good word!"

A tourist on the spot stood up and clapped his hands. He was also a calligraphy enthusiast, and when he saw the good calligraphy, he couldn't help but applaud.

It is indeed a good word.

The font is Yan style, but not entirely that, it has a sense of its own, the font is dignified and majestic, with a strong momentum, and in particular a sense of power, iron-like strokes and silver-like hooks, the force penetrating through the paper, as if the font contains the power of the writer in it, unique in style.

He rarely sees calligraphy of this level, which seems to have been integrated into the whole and has its own characteristics. It is truly a rare masterpiece.

If this were listed at the China Guardian Auction House, it would be worth at least a thousand dollars per word, and tens of thousands of dollars would be a piece of cake.

Although it may sound a bit vulgar to talk about money, it also proves the value of this couplet. It is a perfect fusion of ancient and modern styles, and it is a top-notch calligraphy and painting no matter where it is placed.

"Exquisite, rare calligraphy and painting in recent years! The most rare thing is that the font exudes an air of transcendence, with an indescribable elegance and timelessness. I don't know if it's because the host is a Taoist priest, it's so rare that it actually has a bit of Taoist charm."

Another tourist was so amazed by the couplet that he took out his mobile phone to take a photo and sent it to a calligraphy enthusiast group to share his masterpiece with his friends.

"I don't understand calligraphy, but I can tell that the characters are good. But what I like more is the artistic conception of this couplet."

"A rare couplet, which clearly explains the present and past lives, and sees through the immortal world and the mortal world. The realm is instantly expressed on paper. Only a great and powerful person can write such a couplet. Such a profound artistic conception, transcending the material world, and seeing through the cause and effect..."

No wonder the tourist was full of praise for it. The couplet is extraordinary. It is hung under the ginkgo tree, facing the camera.

Suddenly, the entire background was no longer an ordinary couplet, but was filled with an indescribable fairy air, as if it was not within the Five Elements, but had jumped out of the Three Realms.

Especially when Zhang Changsheng sat in front of the square table, with the background serving him, he looked even more like an immortal, with a sense of freedom and Taoism flowing freely from him...

(End of this chapter)