Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Unknown]
Chapter Title: Xuan's Confession and the Daoist's Persuasion
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Chen Shi circled around Saintess Xuan and came up behind her. He picked up his clothes from the chair and put them on one by one.
"Xuanxuan, what have you come here for?"
Saintess Xuan turned around and watched him dress, smiling as she said, "It's been nearly half a year since we parted at Great Southern Lake. You and I are old acquaintances—can't I just come visit you? What were you practicing just now?"
Chen Shi fastened his belt.
"I got into a fight with my dad. I couldn't beat him, so I'm practicing more. I can't cultivate openly at home, and the only place I can go is the Guangji Granary, so that's where I train. What I was using earlier was the body refinement method from the Little Tribulation Fortune-Crossing Art."
This time, he had comprehended the various body refinement techniques from the Tomb of the True King, extracted the combat methods among them, and after fully grasping them, he was testing them one by one here.
Saintess Xuan cried out in surprise, "The Little Tribulation Fortune-Crossing Art? That's the closely guarded secret from the Li family's Yian Hall Collection! Only the Li family head's lineage can cultivate it! How did you learn it?"
Chen Shi looked astonished.
"The Li family has this technique too?"
Saintess Xuan nodded repeatedly.
"The Li family would never let this technique spread outside. Even if it accidentally leaked, they'd go to any lengths to take it back! Do you know how they'd take it back?"
Her expression turned grave.
"A cultivator would have their bones ground to dust and ashes, body and soul utterly destroyed, beaten until their soul scatters and spirit dissipates! Just glancing at this technique means not only digging out the eyes—even the brain and heart would be dug out to prevent any leak!"
Chen Shi was utterly shocked.
"It's that serious?"
Saintess Xuan's face grew even more solemn, looking at him as if he'd committed a grave crime.
"Where did you steal it from? Repent while you can!"
Chen Shi laughed.
"My Little Tribulation Fortune-Crossing Art didn't come from the Li family—it's a family heirloom."
Saintess Xuan was exasperated.
"A family heirloom? You're still being stubborn! When the Li family ancestor beats you to death, we'll see if you're still stubborn!"
Chen Shi smiled.
"It really is a family heirloom. The techniques in my family's Ten Books of Cultivation can be cultivated all the way to the Ascension Realm. Besides this one, there are nine similar ones."
Saintess Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and she stammered, "The Li family's Little Tribulation Fortune-Crossing Art can only be cultivated to the Mahayana Realm..."
Chen Shi was delighted.
"Then there's no problem! My family's Little Tribulation Fortune-Crossing Art definitely has nothing to do with theirs."
Saintess Xuan immediately began to worry for him.
The Li family's head lineage secret could only reach Mahayana Realm, but Chen Shi's could go to Ascension Realm. If the Li family found out, how could they tolerate him?
"The body refinement in the Little Tribulation Fortune-Crossing Art isn't that great—it's only second-rate, not as good as the Nine Heavens Tempering from my Sky Jasper Emperor Scripture."
Chen Shi said, "I'm cultivating this just to use a stone from another mountain to polish my jade. Since it'll cause trouble, I just won't practice it in public anymore."
"Second-rate?"
Saintess Xuan's heart shook violently. The body refinement method of the Little Tribulation Fortune-Crossing Art was only second-rate?
She didn't know that before she arrived, Chen Shi had also cultivated the Peacock Bright King Golden Body from the Treasure Moonlight Peacock Bright King Mantra, the Supreme Vajra Wonderful Vehicle Body from the Great Dharma King Scripture, and the Maha Paramita Ten Dharmas Accomplished Golden Body from the Majestic Bodhi Heart Scripture.
All three of these techniques were top-tier golden body methods from the Bodhi Dojo!
In Chen Shi's view, even these three golden body methods were merely second-rate.
Saintess Xuan suppressed the shock in her heart.
"Chen Shi, you've killed Shen Hongniang, one of the Young Master's subordinates. You've already offended him."
Chen Shi shook his head.
"No."
Saintess Xuan said, "Shen Hongniang was a fat woman who habitually rode in a sedan chair. She had her Red Matchmaker Association people buy up a bunch of pregnant women and cattle and sheep, then ambush you on the road."
Chen Shi suddenly understood and laughed.
"So it was them. That's right, I killed them. Are you here on behalf of the authorities?"
Saintess Xuan shook her head.
"No. I'm here to tell you that the Young Master is determined to win this top scholar title. Since you've killed Shen Hongniang, you're in the wrong—don't compete with him for it."
Chen Shi was puzzled.
"Why does killing Shen Hongniang mean I can't compete with him for the top scholar title?"
Saintess Xuan stared at him.
"You won't agree?"
Chen Shi shook his head.
"No."
Saintess Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"If you won't agree, I can't force you to change your mind, so I'll just go back and report that. I'm leaving!"
She turned to go, but Chen Shi called out to her.
"If I don't agree, you're not even going to try forcing me?"
Saintess Xuan smiled sweetly.
"How would I force you?"
Chen Shi suggested, "Break my legs, or severely injure my Nascent Soul, or poison me, or use some other method to keep me from competing with the Young Master."
Saintess Xuan looked into his eyes, where excitement and eager anticipation flickered—as if he was itching for a fight. She suddenly felt a faint ache in her lower abdomen and the back of her head, and quickly said, "Buddhism emphasizes fate and affinity. Since you won't agree, how could I force you? I'm off!"
She turned and walked away, with Chen Shi's regretful sigh coming from behind her.
Saintess Xuan stopped. Seeing her pause, Chen Shi couldn't help showing eager anticipation, and he laughed.
"Has Xuanxuan changed her mind? I can let you prepare first, then we can have a proper match. Last time, didn't you say I didn't give you a chance to make your moves? This time, I'll give you the chance!"
These past few days, Chen Shi had been schooled by Chen Tang several times. Each time, before he could fully unleash his moves' power, Chen Tang would interrupt him. He deeply understood the pain Saintess Xuan had felt when facing him back then.
Saintess Xuan turned back and called out loudly, "Benefactor Chen, if I offer my body to you, will you give up competing for the top scholar title?"
They were more than ten zhang apart, and her voice carried into Chen Shi's ears. He called back loudly, "What does 'offering the body' mean?"
Saintess Xuan shouted, "It means marrying you!"
Chen Shi shouted, "I don't agree! I'm still competing for the top scholar title! I want to stand up for us country scholars! Besides, I don't lack for wives! I've saved a lot of money—I can marry a bunch when I go back home! Xuanxuan, thanks!"
Saintess Xuan shouted, "Got it! If someone invites you to Little Golden Flower Temple, don't go!"
Chen Shi shouted, "Alright! I won't!"
Saintess Xuan shouted, "I'm heading back—you keep practicing! She waved her hand, and Chen Shi waved back.
A smile hung on Saintess Xuan's chubby round face as she left the Guangji Granary.
Walking along the post road outside the granary, the wind blew, sending dandelions dancing from the roadside, spinning as they floated up into the sky. She looked up at the flying dandelions, tears streaming down like a broken string of beads.
In this moment, she knew what it felt like to fall in love. Unfortunately, she had been rejected.
She didn't want to stay in Western Capital anymore. She wanted to return to the Bodhi Dojo.
She wanted to go back and tell Abbess Miaoyin that she finally understood what emotional stirring felt like, and why severing such feelings would elevate one's Buddhist cultivation. But Master, he hasn't fallen for me—only I have. What should I do?
Please teach me, Master—how can I sever it?
Chen Shi took off his clothes and continued practicing, testing the various body refinement techniques from the Tomb of the True King's secret arts, tempering his flesh.
Saintess Xuan's confession was nothing more than noise interfering with his training to him. He quickly cast it aside, his mind pure and undistracted. —Of course, he didn't even realize it was a confession.
The Tomb of the True King's secret arts were numerous and varied, each body refinement method with its strengths. Lower-level techniques weren't without merit. And the Sky Jasper Emperor Scripture wasn't flawless either—it had its shortcomings.
Chen Shi's training this time was to temper every aspect of himself to the extreme, refining his body to the level of the Dao Body described in the Sky Jasper Emperor Scripture. With this Dao Body, he would break Chen Tang's predictive foresight and drive him out of the main hall!
By afternoon, Blackie Pot's barks echoed, and he finally stopped, withdrawing the fire to origin.
At the crown of his head and the back of his brain, the six layers of aura retracted layer by layer into his body. His muscles and fascia throbbed and surged, divine light illuminating his entire form, his skin and flesh like fine jade. After a moment, the phenomenon slowly faded, returning to normal.
This was withdrawing the fire to origin.
Even cultivating an immortal art like the Sky Jasper Emperor Scripture, this step could not be skipped.
Chen Shi put on his clothes, fetched a bucket of water from the granary well, washed his face, climbed onto the wooden cart, and headed toward Western Capital. It wasn't late yet; the wind carried dandelions into the sky.
Chen Shi watched the flying dandelions, his mind soaring with them. "I'll try again tonight. Even if I can't drive Chen Tang out, at least I can get a good night's sleep."
"Brother, brother—can I hitch a ride?" A young Daoist stood by the road, waving at him with a full smile.
Chen Shi stopped the cart.
"So it's Daoist Yuling. Where are you headed, Daoist?"
The young Daoist was surprised.
"You recognize me, brother?"
Chen Shi laughed.
"When you and the Young Master entered the city together, you were sitting on the lotus platform on the plum blossom deer. I was watching from below. A passerby next to me called out your name."
Daoist Yuling smiled.
"I see. I'm planning to enter Western Capital. Is that on your way?"
Chen Shi said gladly, "It is. Please, Daoist, hop on."
The wooden cart was quite high, requiring a climb. Chen Shi reached out a hand. Daoist Yuling grabbed it, and with both exerting force, he was pulled aboard. He rubbed his hand and laughed, "Brother Chen's grip is strong."
Chen Shi looked at his own hand, paled from the squeeze, and smiled.
"Your grip isn't weak either, Daoist."
Blackie Pot obediently jumped down from the cart and trotted ahead, having wisely assessed the situation and decided staying aboard would likely end badly for him. Daoist Yuling sat cross-legged facing Chen Shi, meeting his gaze.
Chen Shi smiled back.
The wooden cart rumbled along, gradually picking up speed.
Daoist Yuling laughed.
"Does Brother Chen know of my Taihua Azure Palace?"
Chen Shi said, "I've heard of it. They say it's a sacred site of Daoism, but I don't know much."
Daoist Yuling said, "Back then, the Three Treasures Eunuch led the Great Ming Treasure Fleet into the Dark Sea. My Taihua Azure Palace was already aboard, with eighteen Daoists. The eighteen Daoists of Taihua Azure Palace followed the Three Treasures Eunuch to land on the New Western Cattle Continent. Seeing evils rampant everywhere and demon kings in every place, the eighteen Daoists invoked the Ancestral Master's tablet, established the Three Pure Ones lineage, beseeched the Ancestral Master to descend, and fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the Great Ming soldiers. Three years later, only three Daoists remained."
Recounting Taihua Azure Palace's history, he continued, "The three Daoists, covered in blood, charged into the heart of the New Western Cattle Continent where demonic qi was thickest. They swept away the hordes of demons and erected the Ancestral Master's tablet on an unnamed barren mountain, guarding it for forty-nine days. In those forty-nine days, countless demon heads and evils assaulted the mountain to bloodwash it, but they held firm. Later, the Yongle Emperor bestowed a name on the mountain—Western Taihua Mountain—the sacred site of our Taihua Azure Palace."
Chen Shi listened with blood surging, wishing he could go back in time to witness the eighteen Daoists sweeping away the demons.
Daoist Yuling said, "Taihua has its origins too. Taihua Mountain is also called Mount Hua, originally the Western Peak among the Five Peaks of Huaxia Continent. Daoism built the Azure Palace on Taihua Mountain. Thus, our Taihua Azure Palace is a branch of Huaxia Daoism. Daoists of the Azure Palace through the generations never forget their roots."
Chen Shi praised, "The Taihua lineage, passed down generation after generation—truly admirable."
Daoist Yuling said, "Taihua Azure Palace knows that demons and evils are always poised to make a comeback, so we Daoists cultivate day and night, ready at any moment to subdue demons and protect the Dao. Our Taihua Azure Palace's demon-subduing prowess is unmatched on the New Western Cattle Continent. I've heard that Brother Chen has a demon plaguing your sea of consciousness—it erupted once in Arch Province, endangering the local folk. If Brother Chen is willing to come with me to Taihua Azure Palace, we will do everything in our power to remove all the demons from your body!"
Chen Shi asked, "How many days to Taihua Azure Palace?"
"It won't take long—fourteen or fifteen days to arrive."
Chen Shi smiled.
"In that case, after this round of provincial exams and the palace exam, I'll go with you to Taihua Azure Palace."
Daoist Yuling shook his head and sighed.
"After the palace exam, the opportunity will be gone. Brother Chen, there's only one chance—and it's today."
Chen Shi shook his head.
"Then I can only pass on this opportunity."
Daoist Yuling frowned slightly and said patiently, "In this world, few can help you excise the demon in your body—not even the Thirteen Families. Even my Taihua Azure Palace must reverently invoke the Ancestral Master's tablet to have full confidence in subduing your demon. This chance is exceedingly rare!"
Chen Shi said with utmost sincerity, "Daoist, I have one thing I don't understand. Since Taihua Azure Palace is a sacred Daoist site, pure and detached, why are you acting as the Young Master's mouthpiece?"
Daoist Yuling realized he had seen through his intent and didn't hide it, saying solemnly, "Brother Chen, it's not that I want to speak for the Young Master—it's that the current world needs him! Surely you've seen it: the court is riddled with long-standing abuses, the countryside imbalanced, evils rampant, the government powerless, the people sunk in poverty and weakness! My Daoism senses that the fortune of the New Western Cattle Continent wanes day by day! The New Western Cattle Continent needs a True King, needs a revolution to change the situation! Right now, with the heavenly shift..."
His face changed slightly here as he flicked his fingers repeatedly. One by one, the Heavenly Listeners in the wilderness turned to wood, branches sprouting from their heads, budding and growing until they became towering trees.
Daoist Yuling's eyes flashed.
"What is the heavenly shift? It's the firmament changing! It's the true gods from beyond the sky changing! Now is our best chance—while the heavens shift, select a True King, eliminate the abuses, break the shackles, and restore the prosperity of the True King era! This person..."
Chen Shi cut him off faintly.
"Why can't this person be me?"
Daoist Yuling's gaze turned cold.
"You don't bear the Zhu surname."
He paused, then said, "Without the Zhu surname, you can't rally the people. The Thirteen Circuit Rebel Kings will rebel against you, various ambitious schemers will deceive the masses and declare themselves kings, plunging the world into chaos!"
He spoke passionately and solemnly, "For the sake of the world's people, please, Brother Chen—give up the fight for top scholar!"
Chen Shi's fingers tapped the side of the cart—thud, thud—one after another, neither fast nor slow, like tapping on a heart, resounding with the heartbeat.
"Daoist Yuling, why do you lack confidence in the Young Master? Why do you think he can't defeat me and claim the top scholar title?"
His fingers stopped, and he stared straight into Daoist Yuling's eyes.
"If he's the chosen of heaven, why fear me?"
Chen Shi leaned back.
"If he can't even beat me, what qualification does he have to lead the world and defy heaven to change fate?"
Daoist Yuling's face darkened.
"You've already killed Shen Hongniang—you should step back now."
Chen Shi shook his head.
"I'll kill Shen Hongniang. And I'll kill the Young Master too. No room for compromise. Please go back, Daoist."