Free Web NovelChapter 86: Chapter 74: A Game of Life and Death, Renouncing the World
"I picked up this seal when I accidentally stumbled into a cave."
Xu Lei asked, "Please enlighten me, Senior Brother. How do I get rid of it?"
"Get rid of it? The only way is to wait until your Cultivation level is higher!"
Hui Ming said, "When that time comes, you can use a Dharma Gate I’ll teach you."
"You can use this Buddha Chain to suppress the Black Seal and, by using the Jade Seal, reverse-sense the Seal Master’s location."
"If you can find the Seal Master, you can strike first and seize the advantage."
"Alternatively, you could try to reconcile with him and have him remove the Black Seal."
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. Please teach me this Dharma Gate!"
Knowing he could reverse-track the Seal Master once his Cultivation improved, Xu Lei felt a sense of relief.
’Of course, reconciliation is completely out of the question!’
Xu Lei understood that he and Qi Yang were now in a life-or-death struggle.
Xu Lei hadn’t originally planned to settle the score with Qi Yang over his own death and Miao Ying’s death in his past life.
He just wanted to take the treasures from the cave and then lie low to quietly build up his strength.
But now that was impossible.
Now, either Xu Lei would die, or Qi Yang would.
After all, Xu Lei had completely plundered the cave that Qi Yang had been guarding for decades!
If Qi Yang discovered his whereabouts, he would undoubtedly hunt him down in a frenzy.
And Xu Lei, naturally, would never hand the items over to Qi Yang.
This also meant Qi Yang couldn’t just take back the Black Seal.
Although Xu Lei wouldn’t die, he had to constantly supply Magical Power to the Buddha Chain to suppress the Black Seal.
With his Spirit Gathering Array, this drain wasn’t unbearable for Xu Lei.
But it was still a daily drain on his progress, dragging him down.
’So be it, then.’
Afterward, Xu Lei thought, ’I’ll focus on my Cultivation for now.’
’Once I’m stronger and can track Qi Yang...’
’...I’ll find a way to weaken him, plot against him, and finish him off!’
In any case, Xu Lei was in the shadows, while Qi Yang was in the open.
’Overall, ambushing Qi Yang was definitely worth it!’
Xu Lei calculated, ’Even though I’m stuck with this strange Black Seal from Qi Yang and it’s constantly dragging me down...’
’...with the help of the Spirit Gathering Array, my overall Cultivation speed is still faster than it was before.’
「Ten days later.」
Xu Lei returned to his home from Tianming Temple.
He had come this time to formally bid farewell to his family and officially become a monk.
"Father! Mother!"
Xu Lei placed a thick stack of silver notes on the table. "This is ten thousand taels of silver!"
"It’s a gift from my master, Divine Monk Wu Tan."
"Now that I’m becoming a monk, I won’t need so much."
"I’m leaving this money for you."
"After I become a monk, I’ll be cutting my ties with the mortal world and won’t meddle in its affairs."
"I won’t be able to attend my older brother’s child’s hundred-day celebration, or our younger brother’s wedding when he grows up."
"Dad, if you can, you should open a small shop in the city and start a little business."
"There’s nothing wrong with being a hunter, but it’s dangerous. Remember what happened with that bear."
"Even if you’ve only run into one in all these years!"
"You still have to be careful!"
"Use this money wisely."
"If you don’t want my older and younger brothers to know about it, that’s fine."
"It might be good for them to struggle a little more and learn to work hard."
"It’s up to you."
"But of course, don’t squander it."
"I know you’ll use it well."
"Finally, please take care of yourselves. Your health is the most important thing!"
"As for my brothers, if they still don’t understand or accept my decision to become a monk, I hope you can help them see why."
"Also, Dad, the fewer people who know that I’m Divine Monk Wu Tan’s disciple and have become a monk, the better."
"Don’t tell my sister-in-law, or my younger brother’s future wife."
"As for whether you tell my brothers, I’ll leave that to your discretion."
"Ten thousand taels of silver?"
Xu Lei’s father’s jaw dropped. "The Divine Monk is that generous?"
After all, ten thousand taels of silver was equivalent to the purchasing power of twenty million RMB on Earth in 2024.
In his younger days, he and his brothers had risked everything on several robberies and had only ever gotten their hands on a thousand-odd taels.
"Our second son... you... you really became the disciple of the legendary Divine Monk Wu Tan?"
Xu Lei’s mother was just as stunned. "Then... does this mean you’re going to be a Monk? That you can never marry and have children?"
"I’ve heard that Monks are supposed to be emotionless, severing all worldly love and karmic bonds."
"Does that mean you can’t have children?"
Although she still had her eldest and third sons.
But as a traditional country woman, the thought of her second son living his entire life without women still felt strange to her.
"It’s not that I can’t have children. It’s just a requirement for the early and middle stages of my Cultivation."
Xu Lei explained, "Once I’ve reached a certain level in my Cultivation—I don’t need to reach Nirvana or anything... when I’m of a certain age, I’ll naturally be able to continue the family line."
"It’s just that by then... you both might have already passed away."
That’s right, later in his previous life, Xu Lei had learned that True Monks of the Buddhist Sect weren’t completely celibate.
It was mainly a requirement for the early and middle stages.
Usually, once they reached middle age and their Cultivation was established, they would return to the mortal world to have a child or two.
However, those who were truly ambitious about their path rarely indulged in carnal pleasures.
They worried that such dalliances would drain them and affect their path to enlightenment, so they would quickly return to their temples.
It wasn’t as if Buddhist Cultivation meant complete abstinence from procreation.
In various myths and legends, both immortals and Buddhas had many tales of love, hate, passion, and entanglements with their offspring.
Becoming an immortal was definitely not about turning into a heartless, unfeeling, senseless stone or an emotionless, apathetic creature.
What would be the point of that?
Why else would people strive for it so desperately?
It was just that in an era of dwindling Cultivation, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was scarce.
To achieve any success in Cultivation, especially in the early and middle stages, one had to leave home, sever worldly ties, renounce love, maintain chastity, retreat from society, and become a Hidden Cultivator.
This stage was like trying to push a wheel through snow.
Before the wheel gained enough momentum to keep rolling on its own...
...you had to eliminate all distractions while pushing it.
You had to wager the better part of your life on your sheer force of will.
A gamble that you could get the wheel moving at all.
After all, you were still weak. Without that focus, you couldn’t move the wheel.
But once the wheel was rolling—once your own Magical Power was abundant...
...dallying with women and having two or three children was perfectly acceptable.
Of course, if you continued to indulge in carnal pleasures after having children, you would definitely drain yourself too much and hinder your future Cultivation.
That was why there were also some truly ruthless individuals who were single-mindedly devoted to their path.
They had no desire whatsoever to leave behind a bloodline.
They couldn’t accept even the slightest drain on their energy if it didn’t lead toward their enlightenment.
But such people were a minority.
"Amitabha Buddha."
At this moment, Hui Ming walked over. "You two, please rest assured."
"Your son is a disciple of Divine Monk Wu Tan. By entering the temple for his Cultivation, he is certain to embark on the great path."
"I am Divine Monk Wu Tan’s martial nephew."
"Since my Martial Uncle has entrusted him to my care..."
"...I will certainly treat him as my own disciple!"
Tears welled up in the eyes of Xu Lei’s father and mother.
They then shared an embrace with Xu Lei.
Then, Xu Lei left with Hui Ming.
His elder brother and sister-in-law already lived separately in another house.
Xu Lei didn’t go over there to say goodbye—he didn’t want too many people to know that he possessed Magical Power.
Before leaving, he went to his three-year-old brother, who was still too young to understand, so there was no need for Xu Lei to explain any of this.
"Here, have some candy," Xu Lei said, handing his little brother a large bag of sweets, which made the boy ecstatic.
"I’m leaving Mom and Dad in your care from now on," Xu Lei said with a smile, watching the little boy eat his candy.
As he said this, his eyes welled up with tears.
As a son, he should have stayed by their side, showing his filial piety and caring for them in their old age.
But now, for his own path to eternal life, he had no choice but to leave.
Even though he had left them a fortune, Xu Lei couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
"Second brother, don’t cry! Have some candy, have some candy!" his little brother said, seeing the tears in Xu Lei’s eyes and naively offering him a piece.
Xu Lei didn’t say anything, just smiled, reached out and patted his little brother’s head, then turned and walked out of the courtyard with Hui Ming.
"Second brother! Second brother... WAHHH... Second brother..."
Unexpectedly, just as Xu Lei was a short distance from the gate...
...his little brother, too young to understand, must have sensed the finality of the departure.
He suddenly burst into tears and ran after them.
But he was held back and hugged by his parents.
After all, his father had already told his mother how he had personally witnessed Xu Lei slay five ruthless bandits with a single thought.
They knew their son was about to walk the legendary path of Cultivation—a life they could neither imagine nor touch.
No matter how much they didn’t want him to go, they couldn’t stop him.
The three of them stood at the doorway watching Xu Lei.
Xu Lei looked back at them, and his eyes grew misty once more.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Standing beside him, Hui Ming couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, pressing his palms together and chanting softly.
"Amitabha Buddha."
Xu Lei also closed his eyes, letting the tears that had been welling up finally fall. He pressed his palms together and chanted in a low voice as well.
Then he turned and strode away side-by-side with Hui Ming.
Xu Lei’s parents, holding their crying third son, kept watching from the doorway.
...until the figures of Xu Lei and Hui Ming vanished completely in the distance.
