The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, the frosty wind cuts to the bone. Meng Qi and Zhen Hui walk on the road back to Wu Seng Temple.

  "Little brother, thank you for asking Master to accept me as his apprentice." Meng Qi said after a moment of silence.

  Although this is not what I really wanted, but still thanks for little brother's kindness.

  Zhen Hui walked with a light and quick pace, looking very happy, and said carelessly: "It has nothing to do with me, Master wanted to take Shixiong as his apprentice long ago."

  "What? How did you know?" Meng Qi asked in surprise.

  Zhen Hui turned her head and looked at him strangely: "The two secret recipes have been copied long ago."

  Right! How did I not think of that! Meng Qi suddenly enlightened, looking up and down at Zhen Hui, this guy is probably a wise fool?

  Zhen Hui looked a bit nervous and shrank his neck, saying: "Senior brother, I didn't steal your food."

  Huh? Meng Qi narrowed his eyes, and I said that the wall-facing these past few days wasn't very filling! I thought wall-facing as punishment was like this!

  During the face-the-wall period, three meals a day are delivered to the room.

  Deng Zhenhui retreated a few steps before Meng Qi gritted his teeth and said, "Forget it, you're at the critical moment of opening your dantian, you need sufficient food."

  "Uh-huh!" Zhen Hui nodded bluntly without hesitation.

  As they spoke, the two returned to the Wu Seng Yuan, and as soon as they entered the Zen room, Zhen Yong Xun came over upon hearing the sound of the door being pushed open.

  "Zhen Ding Shixiong, Zhen Hui Shixiong, you two are truly blessed by the Buddha's protection, to be chosen as disciples by Master Xuan Bei." He spoke words of congratulations, but with a hint of sourness.

  Meng Qi laughed and said: "I didn't expect it either, I thought the reward was one of the seventy-two ultimate skills."

  "Alas, I was scared at the time, otherwise... Alas, alas..." Truly a long and short sigh, extremely regretful of having chosen to have one more thing rather than one less thing.

  After the incident at Mount Hou, Meng Qi was no longer as close to him as before. However, upon hearing his words, he felt slightly comforted: "I was rewarded because of my achievements, while Zhen Hui was due to his good performance in both the Martial Monk Institute and the Miscellaneous Tasks Institute. You also have a chance, Zhen Yong."

  "I hope so, Amitabha Buddha, I hope all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will open their eyes." Zhen Yong sighed and put away his envious and resentful expression, perked up his spirits, and said excitedly, "I've joined Master Xuan Bei's sect, where I can learn the 72 ultimate skills. I wonder what two Shidi have chosen?"

  "I'm Jin Zhongzhao, and Zhen Huishi is Zhuahua. There's no need to hide this kind of thing." Meng Qi replied casually while putting away his clothes.

  Zhen Yong was taken aback: "Picking flowers with fingers, Zhen Hui Shidi, you actually chose to pick flowers with your fingers?"

  His tone was a bit strange, Meng Qi raised his head and looked over: "Zhen Yong Shixiong, what's wrong?"

  Zhen Yong shook his head, piling on a smile: "Nothing, nothing, just thinking that the Flower Picking Finger technique is difficult to cultivate and can't be distracted by other ultimate skills, I'm a bit worried about Zhen Hui Shidi, but Zhen Hui Shidi usually focuses on his goals, so it's not a problem."

  As he spoke, he looked at Zhen Hui with envy on his face and said: "Zhen Hui Shidi, the 'Flower Picking Finger' directly evolved from the 'Tathagata Palm', is the first of my Shaolin 72 ultimate skills. You must cultivate it well, and in the future, often point out the way for your brother's martial arts."

  "Mm." Zhen Hui concentrated on packing her clothes.

  Zhen Yongzhi didn't see anything out of the ordinary and turned to Meng Qi, saying: "Zhen Ding Shidi, you have a foundation in Iron Cloth Shirt, 'Golden Bell Cover' is an excellent choice. Why didn't you choose 'Vajra Unbreakable Body'? It's even better and doesn't conflict with your current skills."

  Meng Qi naturally wouldn't repeat Xuan Bei's words and humiliate himself. He smiled and said, "My master let me choose, I don't know why either."

  "Indeed, Master Xuan Bei is a high-ranking figure of his generation, and there must be profound meaning behind this. Zhen Yong nodded and smiled again, "Two junior brothers, please take care of your senior brother in the future."

  "Definitely." Meng Qi was unwilling to entangle in this topic, looked out the window at the dark night and said, "Zhen Yong Shixiong, has anything major happened during these few days that Shidi has been facing the wall?"

  Zhen Yong thought for a moment and said, "The big thing related to us is that the masters will come to select their disciples, but you don't need to worry about it. Hmm, there's another big thing, Zhen Chang Shixiong has passed through Tongren Alley and gone down the mountain to travel."

  "Zhen Chang Shixiong? Tong Ren Xiang?" Meng Qi's mind suddenly flashed with the image of a tall and slender young monk, who was none other than Zhen Chang, one of the strongest three people in the "Zhen" generation. He also served as a teaching monk in the Wu Seng Yuan, but his students were the martial monks who practiced the "Luohan Dazhen".

  When Meng Qi first met him, he had only one thought, this guy should play Tang Monk, with red lips and white teeth, tall and slender, and a gentle aura, which is the type that female demons like. However, after hearing Zhen Yong's introduction, he learned that he was Zhen Chang, the first of the "Zhen" generation of martial arts.

  "Indeed, after True Eternal Senior Brother closed his doors for a period of time, he had already opened his ears and achieved small success with the 'Luohan Fumo Divine Art' and 'Prajna Palm'. Then, he directly charged through the Copper Man Alley to become the youngest Cloud Wandering Disciple."

  "Is it possible to get through the Copper Man Lane just by opening one's ears?" Meng Qi had heard Jiang Yewe mention that even with all eight apertures open, she didn't have more than 60% confidence in getting through the Copper Man Lane. And yet, Chu Changchun had opened only his ears and was able to get through? Was he even more formidable than Jiang Yewe? But that couldn't be right - last time they compared martial arts skills, Jiang Yewe hadn't even used "Sword Without Self" and still took the top spot, not to mention her subsequent improvement in the Wheel of Rebirth space.

  Zhen Yong glanced out the window and lowered his voice, saying: "I heard from others that Zhen Chang Shixiong's trip to Tongren Alley was also fraught with danger, almost failing, and only managed to pass by relying on a bit of luck."

  "Really." Meng Qi said thoughtfully.

  Zhen Yong continued, "Moreover, Zhen Chang Shixiong is the first monk of our 'Zhen' generation to enter the Open Wisdom period. He can already reopen his ear apertures and his strength far surpasses that of Zhen Ben and Zhen Miao. He delayed closing up to discuss martial arts, but unexpectedly lost to Jiang Zhiwei's sword at Washing Sword Pavilion. Now making another breakthrough and passing through Tongren Alley is also reasonable."

  According to Shaolin rules, the first one who entered the enlightenment period was Zhen Chang, who is considered the "Big Brother" of the "Zhen Generation".

  Meng Qi pretended to be curious and carefully inquired about the news of Tongren Alley, then left the Zen room with satisfaction, carrying his luggage.

  Under Zhen Yong's repeated farewell, Meng Qi and Zhen Hui walked slowly to the gate of the courtyard. Looking back, they saw that many Buddhist houses still had candles burning, and they could vaguely see many monks staring at them, the eaves of the roof hung down with icicles reflecting the moonlight, crystal clear but inexplicably cold.

  …………

  "Master, where are you taking me?" The next day after morning class, Meng Qi was taken by Xuan Bei to the back mountain.

  Is there a special place for cultivation in some cave behind the mountain?

  Xuan Bei's robes fluttered in the wind as he gazed ahead and said, "I've already asked for leave on your behalf from Master Xuan En. For this period of time, you don't need to go to the scripture recitation hall. Focus on cultivating 'Jin Zhong Zhao' and lay a solid foundation as soon as possible. As for recognizing characters, I'll help you make up for it myself."

  "Yes, Master." Meng Qi looked around at the increasingly familiar scenery and said, "Are we going to cultivate 'Golden Bell Shield' in the back mountain?"

  "Not long ago", he himself was here, experiencing hardships with "Palm Universe" Tang Shun, and obtained the true meaning of "Anan Breaking Knife Method" in the secret path.

  Xuan Bei nodded slightly: "Mm, you'll know when the time comes. Did you thoroughly read the 'Golden Bell Cover' secret manual last night?"

  "I've read it three times and started trying." Meng Qi replied honestly.

  He didn't delay for a moment, competing with every second to cultivate the first pass of Golden Bell Cover, re-condensing his dantian.

  Xuan Bei stopped speaking and walked forward in silence, Meng Qi closely followed behind him, passing through the narrow path between two cliffs, for the first time truly stepping into the back mountain.

  The mountains are layered, with occasional strange peaks standing out, but as far as the eye can see, not a single blade of grass grows, and the mud is reddish-brown, as if it had been irrigated with fresh blood.

  "Rumor has it that several years before Bodhidharma's nirvana, he had a fierce battle with a great demon here. His pure land was destroyed, and the various seals were shattered, resulting in the current state of affairs." Seemingly sensing Meng Qi's puzzled gaze, Xuan Bei slowly spoke up, "Later generations of divine monks all hid the sarira in the stupa here, using Buddhist teachings to transform this demonic earth, only then could the disciples under the outer appearance walk around."

  Setting foot on the "bloody soil", Meng Qi only felt a chill run up from his feet, the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the rotting limbs and bodies, the evil spirits and heavenly demons, all seemed to appear before his eyes.

  "Amitabha Buddha." The majestic Buddha's name resounded, all sorts of illusions disappeared, and the sun was still shining brightly, without a hint of green.

  "All disciples who come to Hou Shan for the first time have similar hallucinations. Once you calm down, it's nothing." Xuan Bei said with a gentle tone.

  Meng Qi nodded, but in his heart he was both shocked and suspicious. This feeling was similar to when he touched the stone gate with the words "Emotions, Righteousness, Benevolence, and Goodness, Do Not Enter This Gate", except it wasn't as vivid and frightening, and didn't make him break out in a cold sweat.

  Is there any connection?

  Passing by several mountain peaks, through several checkpoints guarded by yellow-robed monks and elders, Xuan Bei led Meng Qi towards the highest peak in the back mountain. As they walked, a hint of green appeared in Meng Qi's eyes, and clear streams flowed down from above, forming a pool of water surrounded by strange golden lotus flowers that were still in full bloom on this winter day.

  Walking among these mountains, Meng Qi felt his body and mind clear and calm, and he forgot all his worries.

  After passing through several more mountain passes, Meng Qi saw a seven-story crystal glass Buddhist pagoda that shone with a kaleidoscope of colors, but was not particularly tall.

  "Amitabha." The old man standing at the gate, wearing a kasaya, chanted a Buddhist mantra, checked Xuan Bei's token and let him and Meng Qi enter without asking anything.

  "The place of cultivation is inside the Sharira Pagoda... " Meng Qi muttered to himself, not daring to speak out loud, and quietly followed Xuan Bei into the depths of the Buddhist pagoda.

  "The seven layers above the pagoda are where the relics are stored, and the seven layers below are for suppressing evil spirits." Xuan Bei said calmly, pushing open the stone gate in front of him that was carved with countless characters.

  As soon as the stone gate opened, a strong and peculiar aura rushed towards Meng Qi, causing his body to tremble and his breathing to become labored, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

  "This is yin energy." Xuan Bei took over the duty of explaining from his master.

  Meng Qi endured the discomfort, restrained his trembling, and followed Xuan Bei with a steady pace.

  Xuan Bei nodded slightly and walked around several corners before stopping beside a prison cell, where a giant bird with fiery red feathers lay inside.

  Meng Qiguang stood beside the prison cell, and he felt as if his body was being engulfed in flames. As he cast his gaze over, he only felt that the air there was slightly distorted, as if the entire space was shaking. The prison cell in front of him, however, emitted a faint chill, with a layer of pale blue ice crystals forming on the ground.

  "This is the Huo Gu, with the bloodline of the ancient True Phoenix. You can cultivate the first pass of the Golden Bell Cover here using its scattered aura." Xuan Bei let Meng Qi practice outside this prison cell.

  Meng Qi gritted his teeth, took off the monk's robe from his waist, and sat cross-legged in front of the iron railing with a faint golden color and symbols. He was bare-chested, feeling the high temperature, and started to operate the first stage of the Golden Bell Cover technique.