Chapter 5

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Chapter 5: White Cloud Sutra

"Strange"

Wang Yu was filled with curiosity and immediately walked towards the stone house.

As he got two steps away from the stone house, he felt a strong, chilly breeze coming at him, which made him stop in his tracks.

"Isn’t it nice and cool? It gets colder the closer you get. I once touched the wall, and it was so cold I couldn’t hold on for long," Dongyue said with a clap and a laugh.

Hearing this, Wang Yu couldn’t help but take two more steps forward and place one hand on the wall. Immediately, a bone-chilling cold shot through him, making him wince and quickly pull his hand back, stepping away several paces.

Seeing this, the young Taoist priest laughed heartily.

This stone house was indeed strange; what could be inside?

However, Wang Yu became even more curious about the stone house.

For a while, Wang Yu played with various weapons on the weapon rack with Dongyue, fooling around for a bit before returning to the front yard of the temple and settling into the guest room for the time being.

In the evening, Dongyue brought some coarse steamed buns made with white flour and a small plate of pickles. After devouring them almost hungrily, Wang Yu went to the main hall to see Taoist Chongyun.

"Now that you have entered this temple, you must thoroughly read and memorize the ‘White Cloud Sutra,’ and recite it three times every day. This is my personally written ‘White Cloud Sutra.’ You seem to know some characters; take a look. I will explain the text to you." Taoist Chongyun took out a book with a yellow cover from his sleeve and threw it to Wang Yu.

Wang Yu frantically caught the book and, after responding, began to flip through the pages. He saw that each page was filled with tiny characters, all resembling seal script. Occasionally, there were some that seemed familiar, but he could guess the general meaning, which eased his mind.

Taoist Chongyun started to explain. At first hearing, every sentence seemed deep and mysterious, but after thinking carefully, Wang Yu found it a bit amusing, realizing that what was being explained was just the classic Taoist teaching of "non-action" from the Blue Star.

Soon, he flipped to the last page, and after his gaze passed over the previously blank page, a strange picture slowly appeared.

This is…

Wang Yu was startled and looked closely; the picture formed clouds made of twisted black lines.

Seeing Wang Yu’s reaction, Taoist Chongyun showed a hint of surprise, and his explanation suddenly stopped.

Wang Yu, however, didn’t care about the monk’s reaction. At first glance, the pattern seemed ordinary, but when he tried to see the black lines clearly, the image began to blur, and waves of dizziness hit him.

What is happening?

Wang Yu blinked his somewhat dull eyes and tried to look harder.

A strange thing happened.

The black lines in the pattern began to twist very slowly, but they definitely changed like a living thing, drawing his gaze strongly as if they were a black hole, making it impossible for him to look away.

Wang Yu held the scripture in a trance, not noticing, but as time passed, the Taoist expert across from him showed a look of disappointment.

After a long tea break, when Wang Yu felt dizzy and wanted to vomit, the Taoist finally spoke:

"Stop, watching this thing for the first time for too long is not good. I didn’t expect you to have Spiritual Sensing; otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to see this ‘Cloud Pattern.’"

The Taoist’s voice was soft, but when it reached Wang Yu’s ears, it was like thunder, jolting him awake and forcing him to move his gaze away from the scripture. He then felt unusually tired as if he had stayed up all night.

"Huff… huff… Temple Master, what is Spiritual Sensing? Do I have it? What is this ‘Cloud Pattern’?" Wang Yu gasped and asked in shock after taking a few deep breaths.

"Spiritual Sensing is a kind of talent. The ‘Cloud Pattern’ is not an ordinary thing; only those with Spiritual Sensing can see it. Usually, only one in a thousand people has Spiritual Sensing. You are still young; if it were in the past… Never mind, you may go now." The Taoist looked at Wang Yu with a complex expression, explained a few things, then sighed and waved his hand for the boy to leave.

"Temple Master, this book…" Wang Yu was confused, but he raised the ‘White Cloud Sutra’ in his hand and asked.

Wang Yu noticed that the Cloud Pattern on the last page of the ‘White Cloud Sutra’ had disappeared, and the page had turned blank once again.

"You have Spiritual Sensing and are observing at this moment, which shows we have a connection. I will give you this ‘White Cloud Sutra.’ You can look at this pattern when you feel better. Here’s a piece of advice: given your current state, you can only observe it once a day. If you feel unwell, stop immediately. Continuing this way may help your spiritual growth," the Taoist hesitated for a moment and advised.

"Thank you, Temple Master, for this gift. I will take my leave now."

After thanking, Wang Yu left the grand hall filled with many questions.

Taoist Chongyun stood still, watching Wang Yu’s distant figure.

"What a pity."

In the quiet grand hall, a murmuring voice echoed.

Wang Yu, unaware of the Taoist’s muttering, returned to his room and couldn’t help but flip to the last page of the scripture again, placing it carefully on the table to examine. However, after scanning the page, he felt a deep fatigue in his mind, but nothing else happened.

"It seems that Taoist Chongyun was right. This thing must be looked at only after my spirit returns to normal." Wang Yu could only close the scriptures again, pacing back and forth in the room, carefully thinking about what had happened today.

There is no doubt that both the amazing handprints on the stone lock and the strange patterns on the "White Cloud Sutra" suggest that this Taoist Chongyun is very likely connected to the supernatural power he has been searching for. From what he talked about today, it seems that this "Spiritual Sensing" is a prerequisite for accessing this kind of power.

"Cloud Pattern, Spiritual Sensing."

After muttering to himself a few words, Wang Yu stopped, raised his hands, and gazed for a moment.

Although his soul comes from an adult in the twenty-first century, this body is merely that of a minor in his early teens. According to what Taoist Chongyun said, Spiritual Sensing may only be found in one out of thousands, so it seems a bit too coincidental that this body possesses such a talent.

But then again, Spiritual Sensing seems to be related to mental strength, and since he has taken over this body, it is likely that this body’s Spiritual Sensing is connected to his own spirit.

Could it be that this body originally had no Spiritual Sensing, and it only gained this talent because his adult consciousness crossed over from Blue Star and merged with part of "Wang Tiezhu’s" memory?

Wang Yu was speculating randomly.

Regardless of anything else, since he has found clues about the mysterious supernatural powers in this world, he must find a way to gather more information from Taoist Chongyun before leaving this world, so that he can achieve great success when he returns to Blue Star.

Just thinking about the wonderful life that Dr. Chen and others promised after their success made Wang Yu feel much better, and his tiredness faded away.

He carefully put away the "White Cloud Sutra" under the wooden pillow on his bed, and then he couldn’t resist his drowsiness and fell asleep on the bed.

Early the next morning.

Wang Yu was woken up in a haze by a hurried knocking on the door. He yawned, got up, and as soon as he opened the door, Dongyue rushed in.

"Junior Martial Brother Qiu Ye, what time is it? Why are you still sleeping? If you don’t hurry, you will miss it," Dongyue said, grabbing Wang Yu’s hand and pulling him excitedly outside.

"Miss what?" Wang Yu followed Dongyue out of the room, looking confused.

"Of course, it’s the time when the Temple Master teaches martial arts. Once you enter the Tao Book of the White Cloud Temple, the Temple Master provides free guidance every month. After all, we paid a large offering to enter the temple, so we should be taught some real skills. But it’s only for one morning, and if you miss it, you have to wait until next month. Yesterday, I saw that you seemed very interested in martial arts, so you definitely can’t miss it," Dongyue explained quickly.

Hearing this, Wang Yu was very happy. After thanking Dongyue repeatedly, he followed him straight to the Martial Arts Field behind the temple.

Sure enough, Taoist Chongyun, dressed in a short, neat outfit, was already waiting there. As soon as he saw the two approach, he signaled for Wang Yu to stand to the side and told Dongyue.

"Dongyue, as usual, please demonstrate the Vajra Stick Technique, and I will see if you have made any progress."

"Yes, Temple Master, I feel that my stick skills have greatly improved recently."

Dongyue replied happily, went to the nearby weapon rack to pull out the long stick, and after returning to the center of the training area, he began to practice the stick technique with loud shouts and calls.

Perhaps because the Taoist was nearby, Dongyue swung his stick today with much more effort than yesterday. Not only did he perform his moves with precision, but even the final shout was three times louder than yesterday. However, the small holes left by the stick hitting the ground were almost the same size.

When Dongyue, covered in sweat, put away his stick and looked at the Taoist, his chubby face was full of expressions asking for praise.

Wang Yu was also nearby, almost hurting his hands from clapping.

Taoist Chongyun watched this, his eyelids twitched twice, and after a while, he slowly said:

"Your Vajra Stick Technique is somewhat proficient, but the power techniques and breathing rhythm I taught you last time show no improvement at all. Also, why do you still shout out every time you use a technique? I’ve told you this many times."

"I don’t know why, I just feel that if I don’t shout when using a move, I can’t summon enough strength and it doesn’t feel powerful. As for the power techniques and breathing rhythm the Temple Master explained last time, I understood, but when I practice at home, something feels off, and I don’t know why," Dongyue scratched his head and replied with a silly smile.

"Hmph, if your father hadn’t given a large sum of money to repair the temple, I wouldn’t accept someone as lazy as you. Not only are you of average talent, but your training is also inconsistent." The Taoist snorted and scolded directly.

"Temple Master, I promise I will change next time…" Dongyue’s face turned sorrowful.

"There’s nothing more to teach. The Vajra Staff you are training has become nothing but a decoration. Continue to understand what I have taught you before. When you can master it to the point where water doesn’t soak in, I will teach you more." The Taoist said coldly.

"Yes, yes, I will work hard," Dongyue replied meekly, feeling downcast as he walked to the other side of the Martial Arts Field to practice his staff technique.

"Qiu Ye, since you have joined our temple, I will treat you the same and teach you some self-defense skills. Is there something you want to learn? I have some knowledge of staff techniques, sword techniques, and footwork, so you can choose one to learn," Taoist Chongyun said, ignoring Dongyue and turning to Wang Yu.