Chapter 126 Covering the Clouds
People were coming and going on Anxi Street, but Jin Zhu squatted on the ground and raised his head, staring at Chen Ji without caring about anything: "Do you know what it means that the cultivation path is sent to Luocheng today?"

"What does it mean?"

Jin Zhu said confidently, "If you want to deliver this cultivation path to Luocheng within one day, you need to leave the capital before sunset yesterday, pass through six post stations in Baoding, Hengshui, Handan, Hebi, Xinxiang, and Zhengxian, and change six war horses without stopping for a moment. Do you know that even ordinary military intelligence reports do not have this honor? It must be the Minister of the Interior who has issued an oral order to dispatch so many war horses from the post stations."

The Golden Pig continued, "The person who sent this cultivation method is also extraordinary. He is... Forget it, I can't tell you this. Boy, when you lived in the capital before, did you meet the Minister of Internal Affairs?"

Chen Ji was silent.

Chen Liqin came to Luocheng in the autumn of the 25th year of Jianing, and now it is the winter of the 31st year of Jianing.

In other words, six years ago, Chen Liqin's family lived in the capital, and Chen Ji was not sure whether he had met the Prime Minister, so he could not answer casually.

Chen Ji changed the subject and asked, "Master Jinzhu, why did the Minister of Internal Affairs go to such great lengths to send a cultivation method?"

The Golden Pig smiled and said, "Boy, you have caught the eye of the inner physiognomist."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "Good thing or bad thing?"

Jin Zhu stood up and patted his shoulder: "Good news, of course it's great news. As long as you can do something good for the Minister, he will make your wish come true. Congratulations, from today on, you will be considered to have truly joined the Secret Service."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "What is the path of cultivation that Master Jinzhu asked for me?"

The Golden Pig looked around at the pedestrians and whispered, "Follow me, this is not the place to talk."

The two men walked through the crowd on Anxi Street, one after the other, and boarded a carriage on the roadside.

Xifeng stood guard beside the carriage, lowered the door curtains and window curtains, and covered the interior of the carriage tightly, with extreme caution and solemnity.

Sitting in the carriage, Jin Zhu mysteriously took out a black stone tube from his sleeve and handed it to Chen Ji: "I asked for the Mandala Seal for you, which is the supreme method of the Ning Sect of Southwestern Tantric Buddhism. It can bind evil ghosts and hide them in one's body. Different ghosts have different abilities. I have seen a monk bind the evil ghost of Wujian and hide it in his body. He can fly in the sky and hide in the ground, and he can do anything."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Why is the Tantric method in Jiefan Tower?"

The Golden Pig chuckled: "This seal-binding technique is the lifeblood of the Ning Clan. If the internal minister doesn't have a huge handle on it, how can they be willing to hand it over?"

Chen Ji looked down.

There is a black wax seal on the black stone tube, and on the wax seal is a stamp with the word "解樊" (Relieve Frustration).

Chen Ji raised his hand to open the wax seal, but Jin Zhu held his wrist and said, "Wait, the way of cultivation is a secret of our Ministry of Rites. According to the rules, those who are granted it can only read it by themselves and burn it after reading. Don't open it in front of me, it's a taboo."

However, when Chen Ji looked up, he saw that the golden pig was staring at the stone tube in his hand without moving his eyes...

He thought for a moment, then opened the wax seal and poured out a paper roll from the stone tube.

The Golden Pig was surprised: "What are you doing?"

Chen Ji said, "Since this is the way of cultivation that Master Jinzhu asked for me, it would be okay for you to take a look at it."

The Golden Pig asked in confusion: "Don't you know that the way to practice must be kept secret?"

"Lord Yunyang once said so."

"Then you still let me watch?"

Chen Ji smiled harmlessly and said, "Since you treat me with sincerity, I will treat you with sincerity."

Jin Zhu was silent for a long time: "I doubted you many times before, now I think about it, I am really ashamed... Come and have a look."

Chen Ji slowly unrolled the paper scroll and took a quick look at it, but was surprised and said, "Sir, what is recorded on this paper scroll is not the Mandala Seal."

The Golden Pig was startled and leaned over to look at the paper scroll, only to see two large characters at the front: Covering the Clouds.

The next moment, he quickly retracted his body and said in doubt: "Why is it this path of cultivation?!"

Chen Ji was puzzled: "What's wrong, sir?"

The Golden Pig lowered his head and his expression changed several times. When he raised his head again, he said seriously: "I have never seen your practice method. I don't know what is in it, let alone what the content is! If the Minister asks, you must say this!"

Chen Ji looked at the paper scroll in his hand and said, "What kind of cultivation method is it that makes you feel like you are facing a great enemy? Otherwise, I'd better not cultivate this method."

The Golden Pig struggled for a long time, and finally exhaled a breath of foul air and said: "No, I want to practice! This method will not harm you, but it is related to a secret."

"What secret?"

The Golden Pig said quietly, "Twelve years ago, the Qi family had a young official. His real name was Qi Yunchang. When he was nine, he suddenly changed his name to Qi Zhayun. He entered the Xiantian realm at the age of twelve, the Xundao realm at the age of sixteen, and the Divine Dao realm at the age of twenty-one. It seems that he is only one step away from the realm above the blue clouds. His invisible sword energy is superb and hard to defend against."

Invisible sword energy?

Chen Ji was thoughtful and felt that this way of cultivation seemed to be very suitable for him.

He asked casually, "Is Qi Zhayun more powerful than Tianma?"

Jin Zhu sighed, "In terms of strength, they are on par with each other, but in terms of potential, he is probably even better than Tianma. Qi Zhayun joined the border army at the age of sixteen, and in three years, he killed more than ten generals of the Jing Dynasty. In the winter of the seventeenth year of Jianing, he led a cavalry of three hundred people deep into the Jing Dynasty for six hundred miles and captured the Marquis of Chicheng of the Jing Dynasty alive. Later, he was surrounded and intercepted by the iron cavalry of the Jing Dynasty. Everyone thought he would never come back, but he led the three hundred cavalrymen to make a big circle in Liaobei, and finally killed his way to Lushun and returned home by boat. For such merits, His Majesty awarded him the title of the third-rank Dragon and Tiger General, and allowed him to wear a sword in the palace."

The Golden Pig continued, "When Qi Zhayun came back, it was the Lantern Festival of the 18th year of Jianing, and His Majesty hosted a banquet for all the ministers. During the banquet, His Majesty asked him what his ambitions were. Qi Zhayun stepped forward with a sword and said that he wanted to be the first martial saint of the Jingning Dynasty and unify the country for His Majesty."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Where is this Qi Zhayun now?"

In the dark carriage, Jin Zhu looked at Chen Ji with a strange expression: "Dead."

Chen Ji was stunned: "Dead?!"

The Golden Pig continued, "Please listen to me slowly. This Qi Zhayun is an extraordinary person. When someone visited the Qi family, he found that his father and mother respected him as a god, and they did not address each other as parent and son. Later, when his father was drunk, he said that this Qi Zhayun was not an ordinary person, but an immortal above the forty-ninth heaven, from 'Eastern Kunlun'."

Chen Ji calmed down. Forty-ninth Heaven!
Another forty-ninth heaven!
The forty-nine heavens are the greatest secret in the mortal world, known only to a very few people. But he originally thought that a banished immortal like Xu Shu from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau would only appear once in a century, but he did not expect that there was more than one such "immortal".

Including Qi Zhayun, Xu Shu, and Chen Ji himself, there are already three people from the forty-ninth heaven!

What exactly is this place called the Forty-Nine Heavens? Why did I come to Ning Dynasty from the Forty-Nine Heavens?
Chen Ji's head hurt from thinking about it: "Master Jinzhu, if Qi Zhayun is an immortal, how could he die?"

"Once you come to the mortal world, you are a mortal. As long as you are a mortal, you will die one day," the golden pig replied. "In the spring of the 21st year of Jianing, this official from the Qi family was ambushed and killed on his way back to the capital from the border town to report on his work. He died in Changping."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "He just died like that? Who did it?"

Jin Zhu looked down at the paper scroll in his hand: "...What do you think?"

Chen Ji suddenly felt that this way of cultivation was a little too hot!
Since Qi Zhayun's method of cultivation is in the hands of the Imperial Household Department, then this matter must have been done by the Imperial Household Department!

But why would the Imperial Household Department ambush and kill a banished immortal from the forty-ninth heaven? And why would the Minister of Internal Affairs dare to pass on this method of cultivation to himself?
Aren't you afraid that this matter will be leaked? !

Chen Ji's mind is now full of question marks and he can't figure it out at all.

He seemed to see a middle-aged man in a black python robe, sitting behind a dark desk, silently laughing at him. Like an experienced national player, he made an unpredictable move, causing his opponent to sit and ponder endlessly.

Chen Ji thought for a while and asked: "Maybe this is not Qi Zhayun's way of cultivation, but just a name. Sir, please take a look and confirm whether it is Qi Zhayun's..."

The Golden Pig quickly closed his eyes: "Take it away, take it away, don't show it to me, don't drag me into the water!"

Chen Ji glanced at the golden pig, and simply unfolded the paper scroll and read: "In front of the Supreme Purple Cloud Emperor, the Supreme Dao Yuchen Lord. In his leisure time, Ruizhu wrote seven words, and scattered five forms to transform into thousands of gods."

Jin Zhu interrupted Chen Ji with a cry and opened his eyes wide: "Boy, you want to hurt me?!"

Chen Ji said with a smile: "Master Jinzhu, you and I are now on the same boat, so why would we talk about harming each other? In addition, this is not necessarily Qi Zhayun's way of cultivation. If he was ambushed and killed, how could he tell his enemy about his way of cultivation?"

Jin Zhu glanced at him and said bitterly, "Have you forgotten Meng Ji? I tell you, it's best not to get involved in this matter. There must be a bigger secret. How strange! I clearly asked for the Mandala Seal for you, why did the Minister of Internal Affairs give you this thing?"

Chen Ji held up the paper scroll and said, "May I ask, sir, what grade is this cultivation path? Is it Class A?"

The Golden Pig waved his hand and said, "A, B, C, D, that's what we call it in the mortal world. Who is qualified to rank the cultivation path of the forty-nine heavenly immortals? Boy, you should take care of yourself!"

After saying this, he pushed Chen Ji off the carriage, called Xifeng, and ran away.

……

……

It was noon, and the cold winter wind blew in his face, making Chen Ji a little more sober.

The Secret Service was like an abyss, and it seemed as if an invisible hand was pulling him into the cold whirlpool beneath the abyss.

Chen Ji tightened his collar, returned to the door of Taiping Medical Clinic, and took a deep breath.

He rubbed his cheeks and said with a smile: "I'm back!"

Only Liu Quxing was sitting behind the counter, dozing off with his chin propped up by his hand. When he heard Chen Ji's voice, he stood up with a start and shouted angrily, "What are you shouting about!"

Chen Ji looked around and asked curiously, "Where are Master and Senior Brother She?"

"Master and She Dengke went to the palace to see a doctor. It is said that the prince has caught a cold because he supervises the kiln every day," Liu Quxing pointed to the backyard, "There is rice left for you on the kitchen stove. I hid four slices of bacon under the rice, otherwise it would have been snatched away by She Dengke's grandson."

Chen Ji laughed cheerfully and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother."

He went to the kitchen and ate a few bites, then tiptoed back to the apprentice dormitory, closed the door, and took out the paper scroll from his sleeve again.

He stared quietly at the scriptures on the paper scroll, but didn't know how to practice.

Do you want to chant scriptures non-stop like the little monk?

"Before the Purple Clouds of Upper Purity, there is the Jade Morning Lord of the Great Dao. He composes seven-character poems in his leisure time, and transforms into five forms and ten thousand gods. This is the inner chapter of Huangting, and the three-fold zither heart dances with the fetus. The nine qi shine brightly in the sky, and the divine boy produces purple smoke. This is the Jade Book that can be studied carefully, and chanting it ten thousand times will ascend to the third heaven..."

"Wait, chanting it ten thousand times will increase your chances of success for three days? The answer is right there on the riddle."

Chen Ji sat cross-legged on the bed, reciting it over and over again. The whole article has 239 sentences, totaling 1,673 words. It took half an incense stick of time to recite the whole article.

He read silently for a while, and when he finished reading the first time, he suddenly felt a purple air emerging from his body and circulating in his blood.

Chen Ji murmured: "So magical?"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the brilliant sword energy in his body, which was nurtured by the sun, chased after the purple air and chopped it into pieces with one sword!
Chen Ji's pupils shrank slightly. Ever since he was sure that the Golden Pig was betting on him, he deliberately concealed his sword energy and stopped cultivating the sword. Who would have thought that this sword energy would come out to cause trouble at the critical moment.

Could it be that the different paths of cultivation are mutually exclusive? No, try again!
At this moment, in a carriage heading east, the golden pig's bones suddenly made crackling sounds, as if it had stretched itself after waking up, and its whole body felt relaxed.

Although the improvement in cultivation is not much, I can definitely feel it!
Jin Zhu was startled at first, then he was ecstatic: "Chen Ji has started practicing? He has mastered the art so quickly!"

He had waited for this moment for too long.

He worked hard to confirm that Chen Ji's identity was correct, and he used all his flattery to ask for the way to practice cultivation. His goal was that after Chen Ji stepped into the way of cultivation, his cultivation would be able to be fed back to him, so that he could reach the realm of seeking the Tao as soon as possible!
but.

The golden pig suddenly cried out "ouch!" and a layer of fine sweat seeped out of his forehead.

A piercing pain surged into his heart, as if his ribs had been pulled out alive. He was too familiar with this kind of pain, it was clearly a sign of a decline in cultivation!
Jin Zhu gritted his teeth and muttered to himself: "What's going on? Chen Ji had just stepped into the path of cultivation, why did he retreat again?!"

Before the pain completely subsided, there was another crackling sound from his body.

Just when Jin Zhu was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his expression changed again: "Wait, Chen Ji, this kid can't... Ouch!"

(End of this chapter)