The Little Mage of the Sun God

Gazing upwards at the celestial expanse, the master seems ever-present. Surveying horizontally for three thousand li, all lies as if right before the eyes. The Celestial Master with flaxen hair, the Celestial Master of Zou's method, the fragrance of peach blossoms, the hall filled with divine statues, the Three Lights Great Emperor, and Lord Laozi, in haste as per the decree. The expanse is vast, and the rain patters continuously. Behold, a three - year - old child follows a middle - aged woman in chanting incantations. The child, while chanting, is on the verge of dozing off. The middle - aged woman, noticing her son's drowsiness, picks him up and places him on the bed, allowing him to sleep first. As she watches her son fall asleep, still murmuring in his sleep, tears well up uncontrollably in her eyes. The middle - aged woman is named Zeng Wenxiu. Her father had a poor political status. To avoid implicating his daughter, he married her off at the tender age of 16. Zeng Wenxiu gave birth at 17. Her husband, Liu Jianguo, treated her well. By the time she was in her early 30s, she had given birth to five children. Her husband, having completed high school, was considered an educated man and worked as an accountant in the village. Originally, they thought the family would lead a blissful life like this forever. However, fortune is unpredictable, and misfortunes can befall at any moment. When Zeng Wenxiu's youngest son was less than one year old, her husband, Liu Jianguo, fell from the roof of their new house and passed away on the spot. Originally, they had already incurred a large debt for building the new house. Now, with the loss of the main breadwinner, leaving behind five children and Zeng Wenxiu, life became extremely miserable. The family was so poor that they could not afford meat even once a month. Zeng Wenxiu became a widow in her early 30s. To raise her children and avoid being bullied, upon the introduction of her younger sister, she learned magic from a Master Zeng who lived over 20 kilometers away. Learning magic to become a shaman would deter others from bullying her, and she could also earn some money to support the family. This profession was rather mysterious. In 1981, it still had a significant market in rural areas, and people dared not easily offend such individuals. With five children in the family, the burden was extremely heavy. To lighten the load, Zeng Wenxiu married off her two daughters who were in high school. Since her younger sister was infertile, she adopted her second son. Her eldest son was also sent to work after graduating from junior high school. Zeng Wenxiu had no choice. At that time, she could not earn a single cent, and the newly - allocated fields were just enough to make ends meet. Only her youngest son, two or three years old, remained at home, depending on each other for survival. Her youngest son was named Liu Hejiu, a poor child who lost his father at such a tender age. To survive, Zeng Wenxiu could only work during the day and study talismans at night. The child, being young and reluctant to go to bed early, had to follow her in chanting incantations and drawing talismans. The child, too young to understand what talismans were, merely found it amusing and chanted along. Watching his mother draw strange symbols, he also picked up a writing brush and drew. This chanting and drawing lasted for two years. Time flew by quickly. Before they knew it, two years had passed, and Liu Hejiu had grown from three to five years old. Because there was a "jiu" at the end of his name, everyone called him Xiaojiu. During these two years, Zeng Wenxiu had become a well - known shaman in the village. Each time she went out, she could earn a small red envelope, three liters of rice, and a rooster. Life had become much better. Xiaojiu often accompanied his mother to feasts and led a carefree life. When they went to the host's house, they would be lavishly entertained, for the hosts were afraid that the shaman would not perform wholeheartedly and leave some hidden problems. Since Xiaojiu often accompanied his mother to perform religious ceremonies, he was also called the little mage by the villagers. After all, he had learned all these things and knew what his mother needed next. He would always hand it to his mother in advance. Xiaojiu and his mother cooperated extremely tacitly. Everything went smoothly and effectively every time. In fact, Xiaojiu's magic power was now higher than his mother's, but his mother did not want him to take action. Every time they did not encounter any formidable opponents, and his mother could handle everything, so she asked Xiaojiu to stay in the background. Because Xiaojiu cultivated the Yang Shen when he was four years old, which was truly remarkable. Since the ascension of Zhang Tianshi, no one in the world has cultivated the Yang Shen. Before that, only a handful of people had achieved it, such as Lü Dongbin and Tieguai Li, and these people were all figures among the immortals. Xiaojiu cultivated it by accident. One morning, getting up too early, Xiaojiu ran to the door to watch the sunrise in the east. By chance, he chanted the incantations and absorbed the first wisp of purple qi. After absorption, he felt extremely refreshed all over. From then on, it became an irresistible habit. Before dawn every morning, Xiaojiu would run to the mountaintop to collect the first thread of purple qi from the east. This purple qi came quickly and also dissipated quickly, lasting no more than 15 minutes at most. As long as he recited the incantations, he could absorb the purple qi. After absorbing the purple qi, Xiaojiu felt so refreshed that his soul seemed to be ascending to the heavens. Next, he would absorb the sunlight, also the first ray of sunlight. It is said that this cultivation method was passed down by Laozi. Therefore, there is a legend that Laozi rode a bull and the purple qi came from the east. People with profound cultivation could see from afar a large mass of purple qi churning above Laozi's head. Although these are all legends, there is still some basis. Xiaojiu cultivated for over a year and then cultivated the Yang Shen. Xiaojiu, being young, did not understand what it was. He only felt that the more he cultivated, the more comfortable his body became. He always felt that his soul wanted to break out of his body and experience nature. One day, Xiaojiu's soul finally broke through his body and flew into the sky. He felt that his soul was flying higher and higher, almost reaching the clouds. But suddenly, he heard someone calling his name in his ear, and he woke up with a start. His soul seemed to fall suddenly. When Xiaojiu woke up, he saw his mother shaking him. His mother was still calling his soul, saying, "Jiu'er, come back quickly." In fact, such a thing had happened before. It was like when Tieguai Li's Yang Shen left his body to listen to the immortal master's lecture. He was so engrossed that his Yang Shen returned late. As a result, his body was burned by his family because his Yang Shen was away for seven days and seven nights. Xiaojiu's first Yang Shen leaving the body was also very dangerous. If he reached the cloud top, his Yang Shen might not be able to return. Fortunately, his mother knew magic and called back his Yang Shen. Otherwise, it would have been really dangerous. A slight mistake could have led to his inability to return, and his body would have become a corpse. Zeng Wenxiu hurriedly asked her son what had happened. She was really frightened just now. Her son sat on the bed as stiff as a corpse, with a faint breath, eyes closed, and could not be awakened. Finally, she used talismans to call back his soul. Xiaojiu could only tell his mother the whole story truthfully. Zeng Wenxiu had only heard from her master and grand - master that in the past, highly skilled magic practitioners could cultivate the Yang Shen. If the Yang Shen were to cast spells, the magic power would increase by more than ten times. She never expected that her son, only four years old, had cultivated the Yang Shen. Could this be the innate Dao body? He was excellent at everything he practiced. Zeng Wenxiu also told her son not to let his Yang Shen leave his body casually. Since it had just been cultivated, the Yang Shen was still unstable. It needed to condense into a solid form, and then he could go wherever he wanted. Xiaojiu listened to his mother and dared not let his Yang Shen leave his body casually. After all, he was still young and did not know the risks involved. He did as his mother said. After cultivating for over another year, he finally solidified his Yang Shen. Only then did he dare to let his Yang Shen go out for a stroll at night after his mother fell asleep, but he still did not dare to go far. He was afraid that if he went, he would never be able to return and never see his mother again. This was Zeng Wenxiu's way of scaring him. She was afraid that he would rely on his Yang Shen to wander around casually. If something went wrong, it would be impossible to save him. After all, the child was young. Once scared, he remembered and did not dare to run too far.