Zhang Chen, upon hearing the words, was struck with realization. He didn’t say much but thoughtfully returned to the forest, where he saw Observatory Master Liu Feng sitting under a large tree, fanning himself with a palm fan.
When Liu Feng saw Zhang Chen coming up from the mountain, his eyes immediately lit up, "Did you manage to get everything done?"
"Of course, Leader Xie has already agreed, and he promised he would definitely attend the Divine Enthronement ceremony," Zhang Chen said with a cheerful smile.
"Good, once you return, I’ll send someone with the invitations. You’ve really accomplished something significant this time," Liu Feng’s face was full of smiles, and the wrinkles on his face bunched up like a chrysanthemum. This kind of excitement seemed quite abnormal, making people feel suspicious.
After that, the two of them returned to the Daoist Temple together, seeing that it indeed seemed quite deserted, with countless disciples sent down the mountain to spread the faith. Only a few elite members remained in the temple to continue their practice.
Zhang Chen made his way back to his small courtyard, and from afar, he saw Xiaodouding sitting in the shade, looking bored as she read a book. When he quietly approached, he found the book resting on Chengyu’s face, with snoring sounds coming from underneath it.
"Who would’ve thought this girl snores in her sleep?" Zhang Chen secretly wondered to himself. Snoring girls were quite rare in this day and age.
As the thought crossed Zhang Chen’s mind, Fox Fairy Nannan came in carrying a big bag of snacks, placing them on the table one by one. After instructing Fox Spirit to watch over the Eight Trigrams Furnace, Zhang Chen then surveyed his own house with his eyes.
The house was clean and tidy, seeming to be regularly cleaned. Zhang Chen began to stew some meat in the room, and the aroma of the meat slowly wafted out, causing the eyes of the sleeping Chengyu to gradually open. In her sleepy haze, she murmured, "Where is that meat aroma coming from?"
Then, as if realizing something, she suddenly turned over with a delighted smile on her face, seeing Zhang Chen sitting in front of the stove, fanning himself with a palm fan.
"Junior Brother, when did you come back? You’ve been down the mountain for so long; I missed you so much that if you hadn’t returned, I would’ve run down the mountain to find you," Chengyu jumped up and leaped into Zhang Chen’s arms upon seeing him.
Zhang Chen held Chengyu like a father embracing his daughter. Xiaodouding was very small and quite thin, seeming like she hadn’t been eating well recently.
"Haven’t I come back now? I wasn’t playing at the foot of the mountain, I was handling a significant matter," Zhang Chen said, recalling his time down the mountain and feeling a rush of emotion in his heart. It felt as if those eight or nine days down the mountain were actually several years.
"I don’t care, I’m just not happy," Chengyu’s voice was full of petty jealousy.
"I brought you a lot of snacks this time," Zhang Chen said, carrying Chengyu over to the table. When Chengyu saw the packets, she pushed Zhang Chen away and ran towards the snacks, exclaiming, "You came back just in time; I ran out of snacks this morning, and I just finished the candied fruit."
Chengyu said excitedly, tearing open the packages one after another, her voice echoing with joy throughout the house, "Wow, these are dried hawthorns, dried pears, dried figs, and maltose..."
Xiaodouding, looking at packet after packet, was filled with joy as she inspected each one, saying, "Did you strike it rich down the mountain? Wow, there’s Osmanthus cake too! And donkey rolling cake!"
Xiaodouding’s joyful cries continued to ring out in the little building. Zhang Chen walked over and patted Xiaodouding on the head, "Are you happy now?"
"Of course I’m happy! If you bring me more snacks next time, you can even come back a few days later, no problem," Xiaodouding said with playful caprice in her voice.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen knocked on Xiaodouding’s head, "You’ve forgotten your friend because of snacks."
"Zhang Chen, I’m your Senior Sister. You can’t be so rude and knock my head," Xiaodouding muttered, rubbing her head and glancing at Zhang Chen with mock annoyance, kicking his leg lightly. Still, thinking about Zhang Chen bringing her delicious food, she decided to forgive him.
Soon, Xiaodouding put away the snacks and then drooled over the big pot of meat.
"Zhang Chen, let me tell you, during the days you were gone, my life was simply unbearable," Xiaodouding said, full of complaints, "Carrot pickles every day, I’m starting to taste like pickles."
The whole world was experiencing a drought; all the greens had withered, and where could one find stewed dishes to eat? Even wild vegetables were scarce!
"The Daoist Temple doesn’t have stewed meat? Even stewing pickled vegetables with meat would be nice, right?" Zhang Chen asked curiously.
"Don’t even mention it. The temple is spending a lot on spreading the teachings, and everyone has to cut costs and save money to collect followers. Even our meal quality has visibly declined," Xiaodouding said, her voice full of grievance.
Zhang Chen found it amusing, no wonder this girl had lost weight.
The big pot of meat was finally ready. Zhang Chen had stewed beef, donated by a generous family down the mountain. It was soft and full of flavor. Xiaodouding immediately grabbed a pair of chopsticks and went to dig in.
The scent of stewed meat filled the room, but fortunately, Zhang Chen used Water Control Technique to form a barrier of water vapor attached to the door and window gaps, keeping the meat aroma locked inside.
The two of them feasted in the room, with Xiaodouding eating until her stomach was round, lying on the chair not wanting to move. She nibbled on candied fruit, lazily gazing at Zhang Chen, "Junior Brother, during these days down the mountain, did you neglect your Martial Dao studies?"
Zhang Chen’s expression froze upon hearing this. He had been too busy having fun down the mountain; where did he find time to practice Martial Dao? The thought of practicing Martial Dao had long been forgotten.
Xiaodouding could tell everything from the look on Zhang Chen’s face, and with a hint of irritation, she said, "Have you been slacking off? You can’t be like this; how will you protect yourself when you go down the mountain in the future?"
"I was really busy this time down the mountain, so I forgot," Zhang Chen quickly explained.
"Hmph, you just don’t want to practice Martial Dao. Now that you’re back, make sure to catch up on what you’ve missed," Xiaodouding said sternly.
Zhang Chen groaned inwardly, "Senior Sister, I’m really practicing Qi Cultivation to cultivate immortality. Why do you keep asking me to practice Martial Dao?"
"Cultivate your head! All you do is talk about cultivating immortality. I’ve yet to see you make any progress. Since you say you’re cultivating immortality, then tell me, can you move mountains and invert seas?" Xiaodouding asked with a mocking glint in her eyes.
Zhang Chen shook his head helplessly.
Xiaodouding smirked, "Can you summon Celestial Thunder?"
Zhang Chen let out a wry smile; as a mere cultivator in the Qi Cultivation Stage, how could he summon Celestial Thunder?
So, Zhang Chen could only reply with a face full of resignation, "I can’t."
"Your demands are too high. Cultivating immortality isn’t becoming an immortal overnight. I’ve just started cultivating, and it takes steps," Zhang Chen retorted with a hint of frustration.
Upon hearing this, Xiaodouding said, "Fine, you say summoning Celestial Thunder and moving mountains is too much for you. Then let me ask you this, can you perform the Fireball Technique? Can you expedite plant growth?"
Zhang Chen was at a loss for words. Technically, he should be able to do what Xiaodouding described, but he didn’t have the training to execute them!
"I can’t do them," Zhang Chen said helplessly.
"If you can’t do any of these, what immortality are you cultivating?" Xiaodouding’s eyes were full of ridicule, "You better start practicing Martial Dao and stop dreaming impractical daydreams."
"Come, practice your stance with me," Xiaodouding said, aware that Zhang Chen had neglected his Martial Dao training down the mountain, and began instructing him on stance practice without allowing him the luxury of rest.
"I think instead of stance practice, Senior Sister should teach me combat techniques," Zhang Chen suggested while balancing himself in the stance.
Combat techniques were universal skills, and having a good combat sense was hard to train!
"How far along in your training are you? You haven’t even completed the True Dragon Form, and you want to learn combat techniques?" Xiaodouding scoffed at Zhang Chen, "You’re just too ambitious; you haven’t even learned to walk and you want to skip straight to flying."
While Xiaodouding had Zhang Chen practice his stance, he did not refute but stood quietly, contemplating whether he could obtain the Technique for Body Ascension in the future. That would indeed count as practicing Martial Dao.
After all, practicing Martial Dao was incredibly arduous. It required relentless grinding, and it wasn’t fun at all!