Chapter 56: Autumn Equinox Opening the Mountain, Mountain Spirit and Elegance

Forty-five minutes later, Zhao Xing was still caught.

Underneath a rockery, Shen Zhui, slightly out of breath, pressed his iron ruler to Zhao Xing's head. Zhao Xing paused briefly, then retracted his spell.

"Brother Shen, you've won again."

Shen Zhui retrieved his iron ruler, his eyes showing a hint of surprise: "Brother Zhao, your progress is truly astounding. This is only our third sparring session, and you can already summon lightning and this strange rain... I actually took a full forty-five minutes to catch you."

"A loss is a loss, Brother Shen. There's no need to comfort me."

Shen Zhui shook his head: "I'm telling the truth. After the first fifteen minutes, my vital energy consumption was already three times higher than last time, and by the thirty-minute mark, my movement technique was no longer subtle."

The ice rain greatly depleted vital energy and blood. After all, this spell was known for freezing vital energy, as demonstrated by Zheng Lun in the ambush battle, where his heavy halberdiers were frozen solid. Of course, Zhao Xing had just started and didn't even have a first-level spell. His suppressive power against Shen Zhui, who was at the seventh stage of vital energy gathering, was not as exaggerated.

"But in the third fifteen minutes, your strength suddenly surged, completely ignoring the effects of the ice rain, and you merged with it. Brother Shen, what kind of move was that?" Zhao Xing asked.

Shen Zhui smiled faintly: "It's a secret technique called 'Qianyuan Blood Ignition.' It allows me to elevate my strength to another level for a short period, and my control over my body also becomes stronger."

"That's how I was able to withstand the erosion of the rain and your heavenly lightning strikes."

Zhao Xing suddenly understood: "It seems I still couldn't force Brother Shen to use his full strength."

Shen Zhui chuckled: "You didn't use your full strength either, did you? This time, I didn't see you use your wind techniques."

"My wind techniques are quite tricky and I haven't fully mastered them yet, so it wouldn't be appropriate to use them on Brother Shen."

Since it was just a sparring match, not a fight to the death, there was no need for Zhao Xing to use his ominous wind on Shen Zhui. Even the ice rain spell hadn't displayed its true power. It was currently autumn, but still oppressively hot, with strong Yang energy. The effect of the ice rain spell was halved. Only in late winter and early spring could the ice rain spell perform normally. However, there was nothing to be done. A Sicheng could utilize the advantages of timing and terrain, but was also subject to their limitations. Unless he reached a certain rank and began cultivating seasonal decrees, mastering the winter solar terms, then he would no longer be limited by the environment, and the ice rain could unleash its maximum power.

As the two were chatting, Chen Shijie walked out of the room.

"You two should stop sparring for the next few days. The autumn mountain opening is the day after tomorrow. Go back, rest up, and prepare well for this assessment."

"Yes," Shen Zhui and Zhao Xing bowed and left together.

............

The Great Zhou's Spiritual Mountain Law stipulated: "Any county or commandery possessing a spiritual mountain must abide by the cycles of heaven and earth: mountains are sealed in spring equinox to nurture life, and opened in autumn equinox to gather their spiritual essence." Donghu Mountain in Gucheng, a thousand feet high, formed by nature and imbued with concentrated vital energy, was undoubtedly a 'spiritual mountain.'

After leaving Chen's residence, Zhao Xing and Shen Zhui began to chat.

"Brother Zhao, the autumn mountain opening is the day after tomorrow. You must be quite busy these days."

Mountains, rivers, and lakes were all managed by the Sicheng Directorate, and spiritual mountains naturally fell under their supervision as well. When serving in a place with a 'spiritual mountain,' a Sicheng also needed to know the 'mountain opening ritual' and 'mountain sealing ritual.' This was because both the spring equinox mountain sealing and the autumn equinox mountain opening required the Sicheng to perform the rituals.

Zhao Xing chuckled: "What does the Sicheng Directorate's mountain opening have to do with me? I only know a few spells. The mountain opening ritual doesn't require me to perform it."

Shen Zhui asked: "Brother Zhao, will you go climbing to gather the spiritual essence?"

Zhao Xing replied without hesitation: "Of course, I will."

Nurturing the mountain's spiritual essence, and then gathering that 'spiritual essence' – this was the meaning of sealing and opening the mountains. The mountain's spiritual essence could bring various benefits to people. Some gained increased lifespan, others increased fortune, some experienced a great surge in vital energy, while others found their spells reaching a higher level. Lord Cao Xi, the Director of Agricultural Affairs, was posthumously ennobled largely because he cultivated a spiritual mountain at Donghu. And ever since the birth of the spiritual mountain in Gucheng, the assessment for officials on the day of the autumn equinox became linked to Donghu Mountain, establishing a tradition.

"The autumn equinox assessment involves climbing the mountain to gather spiritual essence after it has been opened."

"Ranking is based on the harvest."

"The mountain's spiritual essence is divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower."

"The highest grade is the fortune essence, which can increase one's luck."

"The middle grade is the vital-energy-and-spell essence, which can either lead to breakthroughs in cultivation realms or in spells."

"The lowest grade is the lifespan essence, which adds very little and is not very noticeable."

"Obtaining top-grade essence results in an 'A' rating, middle-grade essence a 'B', lower-grade essence a 'C'. No essence collected means no score."

Shen Zhui said with a hint of envy: "I heard that during the great mountain opening ten years ago, someone went from being unranked directly to the eighth rank. It's truly enviable."

The sealing and opening of mountains varied in scale, with the shortest duration being one year and the longest ten years. However, among the nine spiritual mountains in Nanyang Commandery, large-scale sealing and opening were rare. The instance Shen Zhui mentioned only involved a three-year sealing period.

"Nanyang Commandery has nine spiritual mountains. Although Donghu Mountain ranks only fifth, that year, not only officials from our county eagerly participated, but many from other counties also came."

Zhao Xing said: "Brother Shen only sees the lucky ones, but he doesn't realize that some also died without a burial place. Climbing to gather spiritual essence isn't just about benefits; there are dangers too."

Shen Zhui replied: "Anyone in Nanyang Commandery can participate in climbing the spiritual mountain and gathering its essence, but from September 22nd to September 24th, only officials are allowed to enter; no masters will be permitted into the mountain."

The autumn equinox was the day after tomorrow, but Gucheng's inns were already full. Many officials from other counties wanted to try their luck at Donghu Mountain. The county yamen was also overflowing with people, as out-of-county participants needed to register in advance. Gucheng was still manageable. The most crowded place was Yuanping Mountain, the top-ranked spiritual mountain in Nanyang Commandery. The competition there was also much fiercer, with many officials already at the ninth stage of vital energy gathering, and some even having reached the ranked level, though they hadn't been formally appointed yet.

Zhao Xing shook his head: "I meant that mountain climbing itself is somewhat perilous."

When climbing to gather spiritual essence, competition among officials was restricted: they could snatch from each other, but killing or crippling was not allowed. However, the mountains and ravines were treacherous, especially a spiritual mountain that had just been opened. It naturally held dangers, and people had indeed died there before.

Shen Zhui clenched the iron ruler at his waist, his tone firm: "Even if it's dangerous, I'm going to try this year. Otherwise, who knows how many more competitors there will be next year? They say it gets harder every year."

For officials, climbing to gather spiritual essence was an opportunity to overtake others. For those already in the lead, it was even more imperative to participate to prevent being surpassed. He paused, then looked at Zhao Xing: "Will you go?"

Zhao Xing chuckled: "Of course, I'll go. I'm a local, after all. If the mountain gods don't bless me, a local, will they bless outsiders instead?"

This was, of course, a joke. Although climbing the mountain to worship the gods was part of the autumn equinox traditions, the Yin gods didn't care if you were local or foreign; as long as you were a citizen of the Zhou Dynasty, everyone was treated equally.

"Hahahaha, then I'll see you the day after tomorrow at Donghu Mountain!" Shen Zhui laughed heartily and departed.