Free Web NovelChapter 87: Chapter 75: Another 3 Years Pass, the Path to Longevity is Not Easy
In the blink of an eye, another three years passed.
Xu Lei was now twelve years old.
For the past three years, he had been cultivating at Tianming Temple with Hui Ming.
His family had never come looking for him again.
This was because when he had first become a Monk, Xu Lei, after some consideration, had decided not to even tell them which temple he would be joining.
So even if his family wanted to find him, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to.
"Martial Uncle Hui Chi!"
Just then, a round-faced Monk about Xu Lei’s age appeared. He said, "Master summons you."
"Amitabha Buddha, let’s go then."
Xu Lei said, "By the way, Martial Nephew Zhi Tan."
"How do you manage to stay so plump while eating vegetarian temple meals every day?"
"Did you inherit a tendency to gain weight easily from your family?"
"What?"
Hearing this, Zhi Tan’s expression stiffened slightly, and he looked a little awkward. "Ahaha, yes, that’s right."
「Ten minutes later.」
In a Zen Room in the inner courtyard of Tianming Temple.
Xu Lei and Zhi Tan stood before Hui Ming.
Hui Ming sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion at the front.
Behind him was a towering Buddha statue.
Xu Lei and Zhi Tan stood in attendance below.
Besides the two of them, there were two other disciples of Hui Ming who were older than them, named Zhi Neng and Zhi Jian.
"Three years have passed."
Hui Ming said, "Let me see how the four of you have progressed in your Cultivation!"
With that said,
He took out a cylindrical object that looked like a crystal rod and placed it in front of him.
"Zhi Tan, you first!"
Then, Hui Ming said, "Step forward and infuse your Magical Power into it!"
This was a method used by the Buddhist Sect to test a disciple’s progress in cultivation.
When Magical Power was channeled into this object, the crystal rod would gradually light up.
The higher it lit up, the more profound one’s Magical Power!
They didn’t use combat to determine strength, as fighting could lead to unnecessary consumption of Magical Power.
"M-Me, first?"
Zhi Tan’s face paled slightly as he hesitantly shuffled forward. "Yes, this disciple obeys."
Then, as he placed his hand on it and channeled in his Magical Power, the crystal rod barely lit up at all.
It only glowed faintly at the very bottom, unable to rise any higher.
Xu Lei, Zhi Neng, and Zhi Jian all looked astonished.
"Zhi Tan, you have greatly disappointed me!"
Hui Ming’s expression darkened, and he said directly, "I was wrong about you!
Pack your bags, prepare to leave Tianming Temple, and return to secular life.
From now on, do not mention my name again.
The bond between us as master and disciple ends here!"
"M-Master, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!"
Zhi Tan trembled, completely stunned, his face ashen.
When he came to his senses, he dropped to his knees with a THUD.
He kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "This disciple knows he was wrong.
Master, this disciple truly knows he was wrong!
I... I couldn’t resist before, I secretly ate some meat..."
"Enough!"
But Hui Ming berated him directly, "Your body’s blood and Qi are so impure!
This is clearly not a matter of sneaking meat once or twice!
I told you long ago!
After the age of ten, the body is initially formed!
The Innate Qi one is born with is gradually assimilated by the Heaven and Earth Qi!
At this stage, the body has already lost the ability to process the impure qi that comes with meat!
From then on, until you achieve some success in your cultivation, you must abstain from alcohol and meat!
Only then can you maintain the purity of your blood and Qi, and effectively refine the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into Magical Power!
If you really must eat meat to satisfy a craving!
Once your Cultivation is accomplished, eating it occasionally is not forbidden!
But look at you! You’ve eaten so much your face is all plump!
The temple gives you incense money so that you won’t be troubled by worldly affairs!
So you can cultivate with peace of mind!
Not for you to go buy alcohol and meat!
You have wasted the Dao Seed I bestowed upon you!
Wasted all my painstaking efforts on you!
I was in seclusion for several years, and when I came out and saw how plump you’d become, I didn’t suspect a thing!
After all, some people are naturally prone to gaining weight, even on a vegetarian diet!
I truly never imagined that you would..."
"I’m sorry, Master, Master!
I... I only ate meat!
I didn’t drink any alcohol!
That day, when I went down the mountain, I couldn’t hold back."
Zhi Tan cried and said, "Back when I used to go hungry, I would watch those rich people eating meat, and I was so envious.
That day, I just couldn’t resist for a moment, WAHHH.
I thought eating a little bit wouldn’t be a problem!
Later... I knew I had made a mistake.
It’s no use saying anything now.
But Master, I beg you, please don’t kick me out.
You know that I’m an orphan. You were the one who brought me to the temple.
In my heart, you are my father!
Tianming Temple is my home!
I know my path of cultivation is severed!
But I beg you to give me a chance, Master!
Even if it’s just to let me be an ordinary Monk!
I’ll do menial chores for the temple to atone for my sins!
I’m begging you, Master!"
"I will take back your Dao Seed."
Hui Ming only said, "Are you willing?"
Hearing this, Zhi Tan’s face turned pale.
「The next day.」
That day,
Zhi Tan shouldered his bag, ready to leave the mountain.
His Dao Seed had been reclaimed by Hui Ming.
After all, Hui Ming had used his own Origin to plant the Dao Seed in him.
Of course, a Dao Seed could only be reclaimed by the person who had bestowed it.
After all, if someone else tried, the reclaimed Dao Seed could not be fused back into their own source of Dao.
Furthermore, even for the one who bestowed it, reclamation wasn’t a simple matter.
The recipient had to be willing; it couldn’t be taken back by force.
However, Zhi Tan naturally didn’t have the face to refuse.
After all, Hui Ming had given him so much and put so much effort into his training, only for him to end up like this.
Originally, Zhi Tan had been a homeless orphan. It was Hui Ming who discovered his excellent innate perception of Spiritual Qi.
So he brought him back and even expended a bit of his own Origin to bestow a Dao Seed upon him.
He had thought that an orphan who received such a fortunate opportunity would cherish it all the more and cultivate diligently.
But he never expected that Zhi Tan couldn’t even overcome the trial of the ’meat precept’!
If Zhi Tan had truly been unwilling to have his Dao Seed reclaimed, it was possible that Hui Ming would have killed him outright.
After all, once you entered the Buddhist Sect, you became a renunciant!
You were no longer fully subject to the laws of the Court; if the Buddhist Sect killed you, you were simply killed.
Of course, Zhi Tan’s Magical Power still remained within his body; it hadn’t been taken away.
After leaving the mountain, he could still use this remaining, faint Magical Power to do some things.
But without the Dao Seed, this Magical Power would certainly fade and dissipate over time.
At this moment,
Xu Lei, Zhi Neng, and Zhi Jian came to see Zhi Tan off.
"It’s fine that I’m leaving, fine that I’m going down the mountain."
Zhi Tan turned to look back at the temple and said, "It’s fine that I have no fate with the path of longevity. I’m just an ordinary person anyway.
I just want to eat my fill, I just want to eat meat and drink alcohol, like a normal person.
Longevity is too distant a goal.
This is for the best. In the future, after I leave the mountain, as long as I have money, I can eat whatever I want.
I won’t have to sneak around anymore.
It’s just... I truly let Master down.
I... am ashamed!
Senior Brother Zhi Neng, Senior Brother Zhi Jian, please, you must continue on this path with determination.
Don’t let Master down!"
With that said,
He turned and headed down the mountain.
As for Xu Lei? Zhi Tan said nothing to him.
Because their seniority was different. Xu Lei was the disciple of Divine Monk Wu Tan, not Hui Ming.
Facing Xu Lei, he only felt the shame of a failure.
It was like the embarrassment of someone eliminated early from a game facing the players still in it.
Xu Lei said nothing, simply watching Zhi Tan’s retreating figure.
’So this is the difficulty of cultivating in the Dharma Decline Era!’
Then he sighed and said, "To think that of all of us, the first to fall on the path of longevity would be Martial Nephew Zhi Tan!"
