Free Web NovelChapter 71: Chapter 61: The Banished Demon Monk Qi Yang Arrives
About ten minutes later.
"Since you recognize these characters, Divine Monk, I will pass this news to my friend."
Mr. Xipo said with his hands clasped, "However, it seems the person who entrusted this to my friend is not the owner of these ancient texts either!
The message must be passed further back!
I believe that once that person learns that you can decipher this writing, Divine Monk, they will surely come to meet you!
Of course, I don’t know how long the process will take.
You may need to wait for some time, Divine Monk."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "It is no matter. I will wait quietly in the temple.
In any case, Donor Xipo, you only need to tell them that if they wish to know the meaning of this translation...
...they should come and see me in person.
If they have more texts to be translated, they may bring them as well."
A few minutes later.
Mr. Xipo took his leave and went down the mountain.
’Robert Keating, since you plundered these relics from my Eastern Country ancestors in the first place, if I take them now, I suppose it’s just returning them to their rightful owner, right?’
Xu Lei muttered to himself, ’Though my hopes of attaining the Dao in this life are gone, obtaining these things will be of great benefit to my cultivation in the next!’
Even in the next life, cultivating with a newborn body, it wouldn’t be so easy to successfully attain the Dao!
’Haven’t I seen Hui Ming and Wu Gui cultivate for so many years without attaining the Dao?’
’But if I can get my hands on Robert Keating’s legacy, the hope of attaining the Dao will increase dramatically!’
According to his last words, he had painstakingly created that Spirit Gathering Array based on an Array Book left behind by an Ancient Cultivator from the Eastern Country!
With the support of this Array, cultivation would be twice as effective with half the effort!
After all, in this current Cultivation Era of Dharma’s Decline, the scarcity of Spiritual Qi was one of the major difficulties in cultivation!
This was why Xu Lei felt this was a significant opportunity!
However, the text did not specify the location of the cave-dwelling.
So even though Xu Lei now knew the Secret Seal for the Restriction, he had no way of obtaining it.
He had to find the person who discovered the cave-dwelling!
「Three days later.」
Mr. Xipo came to see Xu Lei again.
He said he had sent all the information to his friend via carrier pigeon.
His friend, in turn, had passed the message back to the person who had commissioned the translation.
However, the person who commissioned the translation never said they would come to Xu Lei to learn the contents of the text.
They simply gave his friend a decent fee for his troubles.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "Thank you for your trouble, Donor Xipo.
That donor may come or not, as they please.
I am, after all, a man detached from worldly affairs.
I was merely a little interested in these ancient texts.
If they don’t come, I’ll be happy to have the peace and quiet."
"In any case."
Mr. Xipo clasped his hands and said, "The Divine Monk has still done me a great favor this time, allowing me to repay a debt to my friend.
If there’s ever anything I can do for you in the future, Divine Monk...
...please do not hesitate to ask."
About ten minutes later.
Mr. Xipo went down the mountain again.
Xu Lei, however, remained calm and composed.
Because according to Robert Keating’s last words that he had read earlier, the Spirit Gathering Array and the treasures left in the cave-dwelling had definitely not been taken!
Without understanding the coded text, knowing the Secret Seal, and undoing the Restriction, it was impossible to get them.
If one were to break in by force, everything would self-destruct.
Robert Keating had carved this rule—"no brute force"—onto the wall in Chinese.
This was done so that even if a Cultivator from the Eastern Country stumbled upon it, they would not resort to breaking it open with force!
To that end, he even released some of the Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Gathering Array.
This would allow anyone who entered to gain some small benefits, even without knowing the Secret Seal or undoing the Restriction!
Thus, people would covet the immediate benefits and be reluctant to destroy the cave-dwelling by force.
One could say that Robert Keating, in order to leave his inheritance to his own people, had truly gone to great lengths!
’But now? All his painstaking efforts are sure to go down the drain!’
Because the person who had clearly discovered the cave-dwelling was not one of his own.
In this world, it was apparent that not many foreigners had crossed the seas.
It was even possible that Robert Keating was the only one!
Therefore, the natives here had no idea that English was the language of a foreign race from overseas.
They thought it was some ancient text from an unknown cultivation dynasty, left behind by an Ancient Cultivator of the Eastern Country!
Now, the text had indirectly found its way into Xu Lei’s hands.
And as it happened, Xu Lei could read English!
’This legacy is destined to be mine in the future!’
「In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed.」
Xu Lei waited in the temple for half a month.
But the owner of the text still hadn’t appeared!
’Is it because they’re far away and need time to travel?’
In this ancient world without airplanes or subways, travel was very time-consuming.
Even beings like Hui Ming, who possessed Magical Power, were usually reluctant to use it for travel.
Therefore, Xu Lei was not the least bit impatient.
’Since the other party went to the trouble of having someone search far and wide for a master to decipher this ancient text, they must be desperate to know its secrets!’
’It’s impossible for them not to come!’
「In the blink of an eye, another half a month went by.」
That person still hadn’t come!
Xu Lei couldn’t help but frown slightly.
’Half a month should have been enough time to get here!’
’And they are certain to come!’
’Then—it’s very likely they’re already here!’
’But if they’re here, why haven’t they shown themselves? Are they observing me?’
’Could it be that my reputation as a Divine Monk is too imposing?’
’And the owner of the text is some kind of Spirit Monster?’
’If that’s the case, then perhaps they really don’t dare to come to the temple.’
’Let alone come to see the renowned Divine Monk Wu Tan!’
After all, most people in the world didn’t know that Xu Lei was a fake Divine Monk.
Just as Xu Lei was wondering if he should leave the temple to give that person a chance to meet him, one day, Xu Lei suddenly saw that Wu Gui’s expression was very solemn.
"Hui Ming, you’re not joking, are you?" he was saying. "Did you really see a glimpse of *him* near our Anchan Temple?"
"I’m not sure."
Hui Ming said, "The person I saw that day... they looked a bit like him.
But that figure wasn’t wearing monk’s robes.
They were dressed in plain, secular clothes and wore a hat.
The weather has been getting a bit chilly, so it’s normal for ordinary people to wear hats.
And that female disciple of his wasn’t by his side either.
I might be overthinking it.
The figure disappeared in the blink of an eye!
I didn’t even get a good look."
Although Xu Lei’s Magical Power was low, he had, after all, become a True Monk.
Therefore, Hui Ming and Wu Gui didn’t try to hide their conversation from him.
"Nephew-disciple Hui Ming, Senior Brother Wu Gui, who is this ’him’ you’re talking about?"
Xu Lei couldn’t help but ask. "Why do you both look so serious, as if facing a great enemy?" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"He’s someone who was expelled from the Buddhist Sect, from the ’Qi’ generation."
Hui Ming explained, "His Buddhist name was Qi Yang.
Decades ago, he practiced an Evil Technique and harmed innocent people.
After the matter was exposed, he was severely wounded by an Elder of the temple and fled in a panic!
After he escaped, the Buddhist Sect announced that he would be excommunicated for eternity!"
"I’m not too clear on the specific details."
Wu Gui also said, "I was away at the time, not at the Head Temple."
"I was there, but I was very young back then, so I don’t really know much about it either."
Hui Ming said, "I only heard that he enjoyed studying ancient texts and exploring famous mountains and great rivers!
He obtained those Evil Techniques somewhere in the mountains!
After that, his Buddhist heart wavered!
He could no longer endure the ascetic hardships of cultivation.
So he practiced the Evil Technique!
He took a shortcut!"
A few minutes later.
Hui Ming and Wu Gui both left.
’Could it be that Qi Yang is the one who discovered Robert Keating’s cave-dwelling?’
Xu Lei whispered to himself, ’Is the reason he hasn’t shown himself yet because he’s still observing me in secret?
Observing Anchan Temple, observing the surroundings for any danger?’
This Qi Yang, from what Hui Ming and Wu Gui said, seemed quite dangerous!
But despite this, Xu Lei still decided to make contact with him.
And he chose not to tell Hui Ming and Wu Gui about Robert Keating’s cave-dwelling.
If he told them, the two of them would report it to the higher-ups of the Buddhist Sect.
Beings like the Buddha’s Head might take action.
The Restriction left behind by Robert Keating wouldn’t be able to withstand it at all!
At that point, Xu Lei wouldn’t get a single scrap!
’What if Hui Ming and Wu Gui don’t report it? That’s unlikely.’
Judging by their expressions, they seemed quite wary of this Qi Yang.
Even if they could actually defeat Qi Yang, they probably wouldn’t be willing to waste their Magical Power to fight him casually.
’After all, killing a Painted Skin Spirit can be refined to aid one’s cultivation, but killing a person probably can’t be refined, right?
If so, wouldn’t that make them Evil Cultivators too?’
In short, Xu Lei didn’t think he had enough pull to make Hui Ming and Wu Gui expend their Magical Power to deal with Qi Yang for his sake.
So he decided to contact Qi Yang himself.
A few minutes later.
Xu Lei sat at his desk and picked up a brush to write.
He was organizing his thoughts.
Writing them on paper would make his thoughts clearer.
’What if I approach Qi Yang myself?’
’What’s the worst that could happen?’
’I get killed!!’
Was Xu Lei afraid now?
As a monk, and an old one at that, he wasn’t afraid at all!
He had many descendants in the secular world.
But no one knew about them anymore.
Therefore, he now had no weaknesses!
For Xu Lei, as long as he could learn the location of the cave-dwelling, it would be a success!
After he was reborn in his next life, he would go to the cave-dwelling’s location.
He would secretly use the Secret Seal left by Robert Keating to undo the Restriction and take everything!
「Three days later.」
Qi Yang finally appeared!
That day, Xu Lei had deliberately gone down the mountain.
He headed to Anqing Prefecture City.
He wanted to make it easier for Qi Yang to approach him.
This way, Qi Yang wouldn’t be wary and afraid to go to the temple.
After all, the monks coming and going in the temple all had shaved heads and wore monk’s robes.
It was impossible to tell which were True Monks and which were fake ones.
True Monks didn’t display their Magical Power.
Most of the time, they were indistinguishable from ordinary monks.
’It’s possible that this Qi Yang is a cautious man and doesn’t dare to take the gamble!’
That was why Xu Lei had come down the mountain.
「Several hours later.」
Dressed in plain clothes and a hat, Xu Lei was drinking wine and eating meat in a tavern.
He was seventy-eight, and his teeth weren’t what they used to be.
But his appetite was still surprisingly good.
"This feeling..."
Xu Lei muttered to himself, "Don’t tell me I can still live for another ten years?"
The feeling of being old was still not as good as being young.
Xu Lei was actually starting to want to reincarnate again.
Unfortunately, he seemed to be quite long-lived.
And after Wei Qingning had also passed away, Xu Lei hadn’t touched a woman in all these years.
"Waiter, the bill!" After he had more or less finished eating, Xu Lei raised his hand.
"Sir," the tavern waiter said, "someone has already paid the bill for your table!"
Xu Lei deliberately feigned surprise, but inwardly, he already understood.
’It’s Qi Yang. He’s here!’
「Half an hour later.」
In a teahouse.
A beautiful young woman with a graceful figure and a charming face sat down in front of Xu Lei.
Behind the woman stood a middle-aged male guard with a small knife scar on his face.
This guard held a long saber, remained silent with his eyes lowered, and wore a hat.
But Xu Lei had already guessed that he was probably Qi Yang!
And this young woman was likely the female disciple of Qi Yang that Hui Ming had mentioned!
The one who had once practiced Evil Techniques with Qi Yang and harmed many innocent people!
Although this scene was somewhat different from what Xu Lei had expected, he could completely understand why they would use a disguise.
"I do indeed recognize those ancient texts of yours, female donor."
Xu Lei said, "One part of it says that it is a cultivation cave-dwelling that has existed since around the time of Da Yu’s founding.
An ancient Cultivator sage left a Gathering Spirit Array there, and that Array is still continuing to gestate.
But as of now, it should not have fully formed yet.
Inside the cave-dwelling, there are more treasures left behind.
The rest of it seems to be explaining the Restriction that was set up?
However, the text is written in a general manner, and there are many sentences that I only partially understand.
If you want to fully grasp its meaning, we might have to go to the place where this text was found.
Only by comparing it with the site, investigating it carefully, and examining it from all angles can its full meaning be understood."
Hearing this, the faces of the young woman and Qi Yang couldn’t help but change slightly.
They had seen all this information with their own eyes when observing the cave-dwelling!
But Xu Lei had never been there.
Yet now he had described it all.
At this moment, they were convinced that Xu Lei could indeed read those strange characters!
