Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 161 - 61 Manifestation of Spirits

Chapter 161: Chapter 61 Manifestation of Spirits

Zheng Fa and his party didn’t arrive in Beijing until around nine o’clock in the evening.

When they reached the nursing home, it was close to midnight.

It was late, so the three of them simply decided to stay in the village at the foot of the mountain.

This village is close to Beijing, and there are probably some tourists from Beijing, so there are a few guesthouses or rural lodging sites in the village.

Zheng Fa chose the one that seemed to be renovated the best.

The next morning, Zheng Fa and his companions got up early to head out.

The owner of the guesthouse was already awake, fiddling with a selfie stick in the courtyard in front of the guesthouse, apparently trying to find the right angle.

"Up already?"

The owner was a man in his thirties who greeted them as they came downstairs.

"Yeah, what are you doing, boss?"

Zheng Fa asked curiously, watching his movements.

"Oh, this? I am looking for a background for live streaming!" the guesthouse owner explained.

"Live streaming?"

"Yeah, to promote our place online, our area is too obscure," the owner said. "Look, from here, not only can you see my house, but you can also see Rainbow Mountain in the background."

"Rainbow Mountain?"

Zheng Fa looked at the small mountain behind him, on which the nursing home was being built.

"Yes, we locals call it Rainbow Mountain, it’s kind of an attraction here," said the owner nonchalantly.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and decided not to rush off. After all, he might be cultivating here for a long time, and it would be good to know the local situation.

"What’s your surname, boss?"

The owner glanced at him, then at Old Man Bai and Tang Lingwu behind him, seemingly puzzled by the fact that Zheng Fa seemed to be the leader of the group.

"No need for formalities, my surname is Mu."

"Are you a local?"

"Yes, I’ve grown up here since I was a child," Boss Mu said, looking at him suspiciously as if it was strange for him to be asking: "I used to work in the city, but things didn’t work out, so I came back."

Zheng Fa looked around the guesthouse.

A two-story building, quite modern in design.

You could tell there was a touch of contemporary European minimalism, which has been in vogue in recent years.

It must have been expensive.

"With this property of yours, boss, saying you couldn’t make it in the city is just modesty. Sounds more like you returned home in glory."

Upon hearing this, Boss Mu immediately waved his hands, but couldn’t help but show a bit of pleasure on his face.

"Boss, is there a story behind Rainbow Mountain?"

Tang Lingwu, standing to the side, also keenly joined in the conversation.

After being praised by Zheng Fa.

And being pestered by a beautiful young lady like Tang Lingwu, the owner seemed even more inclined to talk.

"Rainbow Mountain? Well, only locals like me would know this story," he said with a hint of mystery: "If you walk up the mountain, to the backside, you’ll come across a temple that worships the Rainbow Mountain Lady."

"..."

Zheng Fa and his companions exchanged glances; they had no idea about this.

"The Rainbow Mountain Lady?"

"Yes, as the old legend goes, a few hundred years ago, a rainbow suddenly fell on this mountain and brought a fairy from heaven. She cured diseases and helped solve problems in the village," the owner recounted with a practiced air: "And so the legend of the Rainbow Mountain Lady remained, and thus the mountain was named after her—I’m telling you, the Goddess Temple is truly efficacious!"

"What a bunch of nonsense!"

Before Zheng Fa and the others could respond, a hoarse old female voice cursed.

An old lady, looking to be in her seventies or eighties, walked out of the guesthouse.

Boss Mu said helplessly: "Granny! This is a legend in our village!"

"Spewing this stuff on the internet every day! It’s all fake!" cursed the old lady: "Decades ago, when our village brought down the temple, no god or immortal struck us down."

"But this is... it’s like an old sightseeing spot! I’m doing this to attract customers!"

"Bullshit! If it weren’t for Wang family’s son making money insisting that the mountain’s feng shui is thriving, who would build a new one? This temple isn’t even as old as your son!"

"..."

...

Zheng Fa and his companions excused themselves from the somewhat self-conscious Boss Mu and walked toward the mountain.

They first went to see the nursing home.

The main building of the nursing home was almost complete.

Entering the gate and following the path made of white stone slabs, to the right was a copse of transplanted woods, and to the left was a mountain spring drawn from above.

Behind the bamboo forest was the main part of the nursing home, a three-story building shaped like the Chinese character "品."

Both wings of the building were only one story high, with the center being the tallest at three stories.

The style of the building tended towards classical, with white walls and blue roof tiles. Standing among the mountains, complemented by the lush trees and white clouds in the sky, it looked quite tranquil and picturesque.

Past the building was a large open space.

This was where Zheng Fa wanted to try cultivating Spirit Plants. For now, it was just cleared of weeds, with leveled soil, and no other decorations.

Across the open space was the lodging that Zheng Fa and his companions had reserved for themselves.

It was a two-story building situated much higher than the surrounding area, as if overseeing the entire nursing home.

From the outside, the building looked as if it was embedded into the mountain side, blending seamlessly with the terrain. From a distance, it was hard to even see this structure.

This was designed by Tang Lingwu.

She introduced as they walked: "The first thing I considered for our dwelling was privacy."

Zheng nodded in agreement.

The three of them occasionally engaged in activities related to feudal superstitions, so it indeed wasn’t good to be too noticeable.

"Built here, it’s the farthest from others. In a couple of days, when my mom’s trees arrive, we’ll surround this place, and even with binoculars no one will be able to see clearly what we’re doing."

"There are large floor-to-ceiling windows which not only let in more light but more importantly, offer the most beautiful view of the mountain from this angle."

Zheng Fa entered the building and looked out the window.

The scenery of the mountains was indeed unobstructed.

"And also, these pieces of furniture, electrical appliances, and decorations, they were just randomly picked out by me... If you’re not satisfied with anything, I’ll have someone change them!"

Tang Lingwu added.

Zheng Fa turned to look at her, only to see her looking at him with a slight sense of trepidation.

Turning his gaze back to the room.

This little building, from the outside, looked somewhat simple and even unremarkable.

But the interior was very exquisite.

Zheng Fa had never lived in such nice housing in modern times, but he could tell—some of the furniture and appliances in this house, as well as the entire arrangement of the room, were clearly imbued with the thoughts of Tang Lingwu—it really couldn’t be said to be random.

The difference between expensive and thoughtful was actually apparent at first glance...

"I am very satisfied."

Zheng Fa nodded gently.

He was never someone who cared too much about material things.

Moreover, he could clearly sense Tang Lingwu’s careful consideration.

"Don’t you have any other requests?"

Tang Lingwu pressed her lips together, smiled, and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then asked again with a trace of concern.

Zheng Fa shook his head.

"I have!"

Beside him, Old Man Bai suddenly spoke.

"Huh?"

Tang Lingwu looked at Old Man Bai, puzzled.

"My room, I want it to be farther away from you two!" Old Man Bai looked at them askance, his face full of distaste.

...

After visiting the nursing home, Zheng Fa began his main task for this trip to Beijing—practicing the Spirit Mountain Technique.

He stood on the open ground.

With closed eyes, he recalled the Sect Leader’s records of the Spirit Mountain Technique in his mind.

The geography of Rainbow Mountain corresponded to the Turtle Snake Spiritual Vein mentioned by the Sect Leader—in the Spirit Vein Theory, the location of the nursing home was right on the "turtle’s back."

Zheng Fa opened his eyes, and began to pace slowly on the ground.

His steps were erratic, yet they seemed to follow a certain pattern, and his speed was increasing.

This made the watching Old Man Bai and the other onlookers feel somewhat dizzy, to the point where they could no longer clearly see his figure.

Gradually, Zheng Fa’s clothes seemed to be adorned with starlight, and as he stepped, that starlight transformed into streaks of flowing light.

Even though it was now summer, and the sun was still high in the sky, the brightness around Zheng Fa still made Old Man Bai and the other onlookers feel dazzled.

Suddenly, Zheng Fa stopped moving.

With a flick of his right hand, two Enlightenment Talismans soared into the sky.

One flew towards the highest part of the mountain, which was the top of the "turtle’s back."

The other flew towards a slightly lower peak, the "snake’s head."

As the two Spirit Talismans were thrown, the specks of starlight around Zheng Fa also seemed to chase after them towards both locations—in the eyes of Old Man Bai and the others, the talismans seemed like two small kites.

And these streaks of starlight were like faint threads, connecting Zheng Fa with the two Spirit Talismans.

The Spirit Talismans flew swiftly, invisible to the naked eye of ordinary people.

But in Zheng Fa’s vision, as soon as the two talismans reached their target, they quickly shattered, breaking into fragments of light that seeped into the body of the mountain.

Zheng Fa had an inexplicable feeling that he and the Rainbow Mountain beneath his feet seemed to become one.

The spiritual power in his dantian suddenly boiled like surging clouds and mist, billowing from within his body outward.

...

Down below the mountain, in the guesthouse that Zheng Fa had left just this morning.

Boss Mu was live streaming to promote his own guesthouse.

"Yes, yes, yes, just 198 for two days and one night! A minimum of 248 for three days and two nights!"

"Only ten discounts available! They’ll be gone after ten!"

"Any fun activities? Our place has clear waters and green mountains, eating some farm dishes, climbing mountains, what’s not good!"

"Let me tell you, our Rainbow Mountain here has a legend..."

He repeated the legend he had told Zheng Fa before.

There weren’t many people in the live room to begin with, and at this time, they were sending comments like "cliche" and "don’t believe."

But he wasn’t discouraged and began to talk about the village’s farm dishes again.

"Host! Host! Look behind you!"

Suddenly, a viewer said.

"Look behind?"

Boss Mu looked puzzled.

"The Rainbow Mountain Lady has manifested!"

When Boss Mu turned his head, he saw a rainbow bridge spanning between the mountains, clear and beautiful.

"It hasn’t rained in the past few days..."

Boss Mu murmured to himself, then saw an even more astonishing scene—

Above Rainbow Mountain, suddenly, a vast flock of birds took off, flocking together, circling around the mountain peak and the rainbow bridge.

The birds’ chirping echoed through the mountain, sounding extremely jubilant.

Boss Mu couldn’t help but take a few steps forward to take a closer look.

Then, he saw his grandmother in the house, kneeling in front of the altar, muttering something under her breath.

"Grandma?"

"Lady, I didn’t mean any offense..."

"Grandma?"

"Don’t strike me down, go after Old Man Wang, he was the ringleader back then!" His grandma ignored him entirely: "Don’t be fooled by his building a temple for you, his son and his grandson, the money they make is conscienceless—don’t be deceived by them!"

"..."