Chapter 9 of Part III: Erecting a Monument

  The playground in the west district of Provincial City University, in '94 was still a coal ash field, all black and gray, looking dull. The grass in the field was withered and yellow, occasionally a cold-resistant flower added some color, at midnight, there was no one in the field, and the dormitory building of the Mechanical College next door had some faint light shining down.

  In the darkness, Yi Tianxing sat cross-legged in a corner of the playground, his palms spread out, using the Heart Sutra to protect his thoughts, slowly operating the "Three Tai Seven Star Fighting Method". This method was taught to him by Qin Zier this afternoon. Although he didn't know if there were any differences between schools now, judging from the way the Buddhist and Taoist sects were competing with each other, he knew that it wasn't a simple matter for this woman to pass on her skills to him.

  The Three-Seven-Star-Dou method emphasizes the subtlety of control, and this is also the most rough aspect of Yitian Xing after his return to the Temple of Origin.

  "The method of the Step of Yu, values the preservation of thought and visualization, creating something out of nothing, with starlight shining brightly like reality. With strong spiritual power and sufficient true energy, one will surely receive a response." He softly and silently chanted to himself, his tongue tip touching the upper palate, the true scripture's text repeatedly echoing in his mind.

  The four external uses of the Three Talismans and Seven Stars method are divided into four exits. The so-called "four exits" refer to:

  Exit left, Green Dragon method: Both hands grasp the Ren pulse, imagine green Qi rising from the liver into the brain, exiting from the left eye, transforming into a black-green dragon standing on the left side. At the same time, imagine the Green Dragon King, one hand holding a flag with "Green Dragon" written on it, and the other hand holding a sword, standing beside the green dragon.

  Exit right, White Tiger method: Both hands grasp the Shen pulse, imagine white Qi rising from the lungs, exiting from the nose, transforming into a white tiger standing on the right side. The White Tiger King holds a sword in one hand and a tiger flag in the other, standing beside the white tiger.

  Exit above, Vermilion Bird method: Both hands grasp the Wu pulse, imagine red fire Qi rising from the heart, exiting from the mouth, transforming into a vermilion bird spitting fire on top of the head, flapping its wings as if flying but not flying.

  Exit below, Black Tortoise method: Both hands grasp the Zi pulse, imagine purple-black Qi rising from the kidneys, exiting from the left ear, transforming into a black tortoise standing behind. Then imagine a lion emerging from the navel, standing in front and roaring.

  Next, visualize two white cranes flying out of the Six Harmony Palace, flying together above your shoulders.

  After finishing his exercise, he stretched lazily and thought to himself: "It turns out that Taoist techniques are just empty fantasies. It seems I need to learn how to indulge in wild fancies."

  Left Azure Dragon, Right White Tiger, Lion emerges from the navel, Crane intersects with shoulders. These four wonderful ideas are easy to follow the heavens temporarily put aside, because I always feel that the Azure Dragon and White Tiger have a bit of an obscene flavor. So, just focus on pinching the noon mark, and the Vermilion Bird comes out.

  In the Taoist practice of the Three Platforms and Seven Stars Method, one relies on the ocean of consciousness to produce illusions. Therefore, it is necessary to store the thought in the heart, letting the fire energy rise from the mouth and transform into a Vermilion Bird spitting fire at the top of the head... But as soon as Yi Tianxing's thoughts moved in the ocean of consciousness, big problems arose!

  As soon as his mind moved slightly, the true fire of his dantian began to stir, like a small sprite that had been summoned after a long time, and started to jump up and down excitedly. The wheel of fate also slowly turned in this wild atmosphere, and in just a few breaths, its rotation speed became extremely fast. At this moment, Yi Tianxing was still reciting the Taoist mantra and didn't notice what was happening.

  The next sentence of the San Tai Qi Xing Dou Fa is: "Store in your mind the red fire energy rising up and exiting from the mouth."

  Yi Tian's mind stirred again, but unlike the Daoist practitioners who only had illusory images rising from their sea of consciousness, his body's true fire suddenly contracted and then rapidly expanded, forcing out a golden flame that quickly rose upwards, truly transforming into a fiery red energy that burst forth from his mouth towards the sky!

  If Qin Zier were watching him cultivate at this moment, she would definitely be stunned. Who else in the Taoist school is a natural fire element? And who has ever seen spiritual training actually turn into physical flames?!

  A high-temperature flame column shot out of his mouth and into the sky, like a fire-breathing monster. If someone saw this scene, they would definitely think that the Japanese had come to film Godzilla in our province.

  In the night sky, a dark red shadow broke through the air, and with a whistling sound, the empty space above the playground was swept away, revealing the deepest blue night sky.

  Under the night sky as blue as the eyes of the sea god, the crimson shadow flew to sit cross-legged, above the head of the ignorant and actionless Yi Tianxing, circling without leaving.

  The flame pillar that Yi Tianxing spat out was swallowed by Zhu Ying's mouth, not a single thread escaped!

  It's just the robin coming back.

  It was very strange that the true fire in his body, which was forced out by Yi Tianxing's move, and the Vermilion Bird on his head seemed to form a bridge of fire between them. What was even more wonderful was that this bridge of fire did not leak out any light at all, so even if someone walked past him, they would not see this mysterious scene.

  The fat red bird swallowed the heavenly fire that his old father spat out, seemingly very comfortable, flapping its wings and performing a strange dance above its father's head.

  Yitian Xing finally woke up from his meditation.

  "Flapping its wings as if flying but not flying?" He looked up at the bird, a hint of puzzlement flashing in his eyes.

  Silently operating the Heart Sutra, examining his own appearance inside, he found that the true fire wheel of the bright red sun had become much more rounded, as if it had been carefully polished by a skilled craftsman from the heavenly realm to remove its rough edges, revealing its jade-like and crystal-like essence.

  Yi Tianxing stood silently for a long time, then shook his arm, and a loud humming noise erupted in the air, as a faint ripple spread out.

  The withered yellow grass beside me suddenly made a rustling sound, as if it had been cut by a ghostly scythe, revealing a smooth and shiny road.

  "It's really powerful!" Yi Tianxing praised himself without any shame, "I didn't know that the kung fu of this sect was so fierce when practiced."

  It's not that the Taoist magic is powerful, but rather that the Three Tai Seven Star Fighting Method he practiced today has a good affinity with him. His bird son was originally a Taoist divine beast, and learning some Taoist magic wasn't just a matter of doubling his efforts, but rather it completely awakened the Taoist heart that had been deeply rooted in his fate all along.

  Besides...

  Above the azure sky and below the yellow spring, looking back on five thousand years of history, carefully examining the three great houses' ancient books, I believe that no Daoist would have thought or imagined that when the Vermilion Bird is born from the Sea of Consciousness, such a situation as his would arise.

  Besides him, who else can really summon that Vermilion Bird in the sky, that true Vermilion Bird! To his head... Flap its wings as if flying but not flying?!

  Yitian Xing practiced a set of Tai Chi commonly played in county towns on the dark and gloomy playground.

  His fists flew out without a sound, yet the clouds in the sky seemed to be drifting along with his punches.

  "It's really strong."

  After finishing a set of punches, Yi Tianxing nodded subconsciously and stood blankly among the withered yellow grass on the playground. The withered grass had already been shattered by his punching force earlier. A slightly plumper red bird was flying gently above his head, its scarlet wings fluttering lightly, and the fragmented grass on the ground was swept up.

  The night sky clouds dispersed, pale silver moonlight poured down, a lone figure stood still, and the wild grass danced wildly in the air.

  ……………………………………………………

  "Grant me power! I am Shiman!"

  Yitian Xing rolled up his sleeves and vigorously patted Xiao Xiao awake from the bed, then stretched out his fingers to press on his leg.

  Xiao Xiao, still half asleep, saw the young master pointing one hand at the sky and the other at himself, reciting lines from a cartoon, and was so frightened that his body became lighter, like a swallow flying into the woods, he flipped over from the bed and hid in the corner of the ward.

  Yi Tian Xing chuckled twice and said: "Don't be afraid, good boy, Uncle will take a look at your illness."

  It's not that he's crazy, but this feeling of being full of power all over is really great, very masculine.

  But he was stunned again immediately.

  "What's wrong with your leg? How did you jump out of bed?"

  The doctor said that the neurons in the section don't know how to connect, although they're not all well, but there's feeling and movement. Xiao Xiao replied timidly.

  "Has anything unusual happened in the ward recently?" Yi Tianxing asked with a frown. When he came to the hospital last time to check on Xiao Xiao's broken leg, he had used his heart to probe and knew that there was something strange about the sword Zong Si had used. Although it couldn't be seen with the naked eye, his heart could see it: Xiao Xiao's broken leg seemed to have a layer of pale golden particles covering it, which blocked the neural signals from passing through smoothly. And he had been practicing his Taoist skills in school these days, hoping to learn how to control his true yuan to treat this condition.

  After all, treating illnesses and saving lives is not like raising horses or cattle, so he had to be extremely careful. He didn't dare to be careless until he had practiced the Three-Seven-Star Method to perfection, then he went to the Provincial People's Hospital.

  He spent countless sleepless nights for this kid, and now he's actually better!

  This kid actually got better without even treating himself! Yi Tianxing thought with some resentment, not knowing if he was regretting missing an opportunity to become a legendary doctor.

  He still had some doubts, his index and middle fingers lightly spitting out a faint golden flame, slowly rubbing it onto his eyeballs, then closing one eye and opening the other, looking at Xiao's legs which were already staring blankly, discovering that the blockages he found last time had been transformed into melting snow by some extremely brilliant Taoist power, flowing slowly and evenly inside Xiao's legs.

  He looked at him with his divine insight for a while, and he was very happy to find that the boy's broken leg had indeed healed. After thinking for a moment, he asked: "Have you felt anything strange recently?"

  Xiao Xiao had known that this young master had some strange and eccentric abilities, so seeing him use fire to scorch his eyeballs in a self-torturing technique, he was able to quickly recover from the shock. After thinking for a long time, he said: "There's nothing strange about it, I've just been sleeping very well these past few nights, and I keep having dreams, with many ants crawling on my legs."

  "I know what's going on." Yi Tianxing sighed, knowing that Qin Zier must have been there, and the broken leg still had a hint of extremely high-level Dao technique aura. He scratched his head and thought: "It seems that the woman still doesn't quite believe that she can learn Dao techniques so quickly, but this matter of finding her to fight..."

  He had never lost a fight in his life, although he fought very rarely. The only time he ever lost was to a detestable tomboy who dressed as a boy. So when he shook all the withered grass on the playground into fragments and realized how formidable his Buddha-like physique was, he felt an urge to fight.

  Unexpectedly, the woman did things elegantly and even returned a great favor.

  Although Xiao's leg was injured by Zong Si, Zong Si has already been expelled from the sect. Hmm... this favor seems to be related to that matter on Wudang Mountain?

  Yi Tian Xing thought for a moment, and then a faint smile floated up the corner of his lips. The way of loyalty and honesty, it seemed that he also had to learn from it.

  "This injury has suffered you, last time I told you something." He took out a broken notebook from his backpack and threw it to Xiao Xiao, "Don't get on the bed and lie down, are you going to break again?"

  Xiao Xiao hid under the bed, picked up the book he had thrown over, and found that it was a Buddhist scripture-like text written in ballpoint pen. He furrowed his brow: "Young master, I don't quite understand this stuff."

  "Come on, you're a university student, aren't you? Even if it's just a self-taught one." Yi Tianxing said with a smile, "First memorize the scriptures, and I'll teach you in two days." The feeling of taking an apprentice is not bad, can learn from the old ancestor's master's arrogant energy.

  The door creaked open and a beautiful woman poked her head in, her big round eyes scanning Yitian Xing's body before smiling sweetly: "I came to take a look at Xiao Xiao's injury, didn't expect to see the young master here."

  The newcomer was Zhou Xiaomei, who was the woman that stood outside M Tang after losing her fire and scolded with one bare foot.

  Yi Tian Xing let out a couple of bitter laughs: "Don't make excuses, you managed to find me all the way here, there must be something going on."

  Zhou Xiaomei smiled slightly and took out a brick-sized mobile phone from her handbag, handing it to Yi Tianxing: "Young Master, Yuan Ge is looking for you urgently."

  Yitian pressed a few numbers and put the brick next to his ear: "Uncle Yuan, what's up?"

  "The pressure is huge, the pressure is enormous." Yuan Ye started reporting on the phone, and Yi Tianxing sneaked a peek at the other two people in the ward, saw Zhou Xiaomei start peeling an apple to feed Xiao Xiao, and walked out to the balcony to bask in the sun.

  The sun in winter has no temperature.

  "I said, Uncle Yuan, you're not taking the college entrance exam, what pressure could you have?" Yi Tianxing was in a relatively good mood today, "Speak."

  "What you said on the phone last time, I really can't do it. And with so many people in the provincial city watching, it's really not proper."

  Yitianxing thought for a moment and frowned: "Where are you?"

  "The meeting room is just upstairs in our company building."

  "Wait for me, I'll be right there."

  ………………………………………

  The golden years are flowing away today, and the door is still closed because Yitian Xing has started another meeting in the conference room. There were only two people at the meeting: him and Yuan Ye.

  "I've already promised them that we'll hand over the evidence and that Biaozi will definitely be handed over, the evidence that needs to be cleaned up will also be given." Yi Tianxing explained.

  Yuan Ye, who had always listened to him and followed his plans, was a bit stubborn today. He shook his head and said in a low voice, "It doesn't follow the rules of the Jianghu."

  Yi Tian Xing glanced at him lightly, knowing that these so-called rules still had some weight in the eyes of these underworld people, but he was actually a very stubborn person: "I wasn't a Jianghu person to begin with, naturally I don't need to follow any Jianghu rules."

  "It's really stressful." Yuan Ye sighed again.

  "Want to soak in a hot spring? Where's the pressure?" Yi Tianxing started pretending to be confused.

  Yuan Yeda said, "Not to mention whether the company is willing to spit out the black goods it has eaten, just saying that handing over the violent son to the police is enough to make the company a target of other forces. The Gu family has been on the provincial road for so many years, and if they have any dealings with the government, their reputation will be ruined."

  "Please." Yi Tianxing said with a bitter face: "We are just a group of gangsters, what kind of reputation do we need? If you really want a good reputation, if you listen to me and disband the company, I guarantee that we will be able to move heaven and earth, and reward us with a stele of 10,000 words."

  ……

  ……

  Since being thrown into the rivers and lakes by Old Master Ye for training, Yi Tianxing began to learn "dictatorship". Relying on the remaining prestige of the chaotic battle at Guanhe Park in the provincial capital, he arranged for Pengfei Industrial and Trading Company to hand over all the underground businesses in the east city to the Provincial Public Security Bureau. The one-armed Chengdong Biao was also taken away by the police to drink tea after being confined in a small house by the fish pond for a month of quiet convalescence.

  The shock this incident brought to the underworld of the provincial city was no less than that night's massacre of dozens.

  Even when the old master was in the provincial city, the Gu family had never been so arrogant. This arrogance is not about being overbearing, but about having a bold and rough BBWC. Since the beginning of the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China, no one in this province has dared to collude with the government as openly as Yi Tianxing did, setting a precedent that broke the sky.

  Now it's no longer everyone is in danger, but everyone is angry, because Yi Tianxing's behavior this time has touched the bottom line of Jianghu.

  In Jianghu, there is a well-known rule that everyone knows: "One's head can be cut off, but the government cannot be touched."

  There may be Erwu or Jinshouzhi, but after all, they are just underground deals. Not everyone can tolerate someone like him who is so blatant in his dealings with the government. And the underworld... is always deeper than people think. Once the water is muddy, no one knows what will happen.

  But Yi Tian Xing didn't care, smilingly refused Yuan Ye's suggestion to send a personal bodyguard, in order to prevent the other side from making a wrong move and hurting his own brother, he also specially let Zhou Xiao Mei use Man Yu and Qing Xia's acting skills to spread the word.

  Peng Fei Gong Mao was extremely dissatisfied with the "Gu San Shao Ye" for this matter, but the "Gu San Shao Ye" insisted on his own way, ignoring the tears and blood of his brothers, and colluded with Public Security XX to put Biao Zi brothers in prison...

  Another thing is that he was worried that still living in the dormitory would bring trouble to his classmates, so he rented a room in Zhangbei Xiaoqu and temporarily lived there before the storm subsided, which also meant having a home in the provincial capital.

  He goes to school during the day, writes letters to Lelai during class, and cultivates his true fire wheel in his belly while writing letters to Lelai. As the wheel turns, he begins to use the Three Tai Seven Star Fighting Method to cultivate his Taoist heart with the left green dragon and right white tiger.

  At night, he shrank into his house in the Tongbei Xiaoqu district, watching Stephen Chow's "Royal Tramp" while eagerly awaiting the arrival of the provincial capital's underworld.

  The TV broadcast Shi Banyu's exaggerated laughter.

  "Haha, it's not me who likes to fight... it's that many people like being beaten by me!"

  No one who liked being beaten by Yitian Xing appeared, and the chill of winter gradually shrouded the entire provincial city. On several nights, snowflakes began to fall. Yitian Xing spent more time alone in his room, inevitably feeling a bit depressed. Walking onto the balcony, he gazed at the snowflakes falling from the sky and thought back to when he first entered Guiyuan Temple. He recalled the miniature "Tianxia" that hung in the air, exuding an aura of coldness, which was now planted on the forehead of the plump red bird. This led him to think of Benkuo, a monk with a compassionate face, and Qin Zier, who seemed to have a warm side despite her chilly demeanor. He also thought of his master, who had lived a bold life, as well as other important figures in his life...

  He called back the Vermilion Bird, stretched out his fingers to wipe off the snowflakes on its beautiful red feathers, and looked at the little guy's rolling eyes with a sigh: "I haven't seen any letters from Lere Mama for a long time, I miss her."

  Yì Tiān Xíng is a monster, and it's not easy for him to feel sleepy. Zhū Jiǎo isn't human either, and he doesn't seem to get sleepy easily. So the two of them, one man and one bird, stood on this slightly cool balcony watching the salt fall all night until the sun rose, then went downstairs to buy soy milk and fried dough sticks, and preened their feathers in front of a VCD disc.

  Afternoon.

  In the center of the Brown North community is a pool, with winter sunshine shining on it, making the water reflect a cold light. Occasionally, one or two golden-brown winter swimming fish disturb the ripples. Next to the pool are some large red stones, and in the pool are some wooden plank bridges, where many children are playing.

  Yitian didn't know when the people in the provincial capital would make a move, so he just sat alone on the lawn in the distance, watching this oil painting-like scene, and his mood gradually warmed up.

  Behind him is the kindergarten of Zone B of Brown North Community, which has been renovated on the second floor in recent days. A not-so-tall crane stands there.

  His mind was fully focused on the wonderful scenery and meaning in front of him, so he didn't notice that the crane was slowly rotating, and a thick and heavy steel plate was tied to the steel rope of the crane. In fact, even if he noticed it, he might not have any thoughts.

  So when he found a large area of shadow looming over his head, he thought the sun in the sky was blocked by clouds and subconsciously looked up at the sky.

  It was only then that he realized the shadow wasn't a cloud blocking out the sun, but rather a steel plate weighing at least ten tons had fallen from the crane and was now hurtling towards his body!

  Fortunately, there was no one else on the lawn.

  Looking up at the massive steel plate getting closer and closer above his head, Yi Tianxing's eyes narrowed, his entire body tensed up, every muscle from his toes to his chin bursting out with an inhumanly terrifying power.

  In the blink of an eye, when it was almost impossible to distinguish with the naked eye, a faintly visible Yitian Xing, who had a steel plate on his head, only managed to make one move.

  He inserted his fingers into the ground and stood up upside down!

  The steel plate fell down!

  "Boom!" A loud noise came from the Brown North District.

  A ten-ton steel plate slammed heavily onto the lawn, stirring up countless dust and freshly splattered mud.

  Everyone was frightened, staring blankly this way, and several children playing by the pond remembered that there was a big brother sitting here before, thinking that this big brother must have been crushed into a meat pie, and couldn't help but cry.