Free Web NovelChapter 90: Chapter 78: 3 Are No Match for 1, Countermeasure in Progress
Xu Lei’s expression had turned ugly.
It was because three years ago, considering it was Zhi Jian’s first time breaking his vows, he hadn’t told Hui Ming about it.
He had thought Zhi Jian would have a change of heart after his warning.
Besides, his meeting with the young woman was just a chance encounter in a vast sea of people.
It wasn’t certain they would ever meet again.
And it was even less certain that any romantic feelings would develop.
But unexpectedly—’Did the young woman seek him out, or did Zhi Jian go looking for her?’
Xu Lei had been focused solely on his Cultivation these past few years and hadn’t paid any attention to such matters.
But the facts now proved that Zhi Jian had not only maintained a romantic relationship with this woman but had also gotten her pregnant!
And now, for her sake, he was abandoning the path to longevity, willing to return to the life of a mortal!
There was no other way; between longevity and the young woman, Zhi Jian could only choose one.
He had not yet reached a Realm where he could indulge in carnal pleasures while still pursuing the Dao to immortality.
But the young woman was already carrying his child.
Unless he could heartlessly abandon the pregnant woman.
He would be leaving her to face the gossip of her neighbors in the mortal world, to bear the condemnation of a thousand fingers for having a child out of wedlock, and to grow old alone, worn down by the passage of time.
If he were to continue his Cultivation, he might still have a chance to attain the Dao.
However, his potential to do so would have been greatly diminished!
He would most likely fail to attain the Dao anyway.
And even if he did succeed, by then, the young woman would likely be long dead and buried.
Therefore, he chose to return to the mortal world, to take her hand and grow old with her.
「Another two hours passed in the blink of an eye.」
Having returned to secular life, Zhi Jian had his Dao Seed reclaimed by Hui Ming before he walked down the mountain, hand in hand with the pregnant young woman.
Xu Lei walked to Hui Ming’s side and confessed what he had failed to mention three years ago.
He also expressed his apologies to Hui Ming.
"It’s not your fault."
Hui Ming sighed and shook his head. "The path to longevity was never easy. Besides aptitude, what’s more important is one’s Dao heart!
The heart that seeks the Great Dao!
I just never thought that even Zhi Jian, my most mature and stable disciple, would fall.
I took on three disciples, yet they can’t even compare to you, the one disciple taken in by Master Wu Tan!
I can only say, Master Wu Tan is truly worthy of his title!
He saw from the very beginning that your Dao heart is firm!
Although the Black Seal has held you back all these years, making your Cultivation growth the slowest of the four of you...
...your Dao heart surpasses all of theirs!"
This was only natural.
After all, Xu Lei could inherit the Cultivation of his past lives and had been reincarnated more than nine thousand times!
Naturally, he wasn’t bothered by the temporary lack of meat, women, or romance, nor was he afraid of the tedious and arduous nature of Cultivation.
"Senior Brother, if you’re willing, you can just treat me as your disciple."
Xu Lei said, "After all, my own master ran off to who knows where.
He might never even come back. I’ve basically been following you for my Cultivation anyway.
There are many things I don’t understand that I still have to ask you!"
"While that is indeed the case..."
Hui Ming shook his head and smiled. "...the Buddhist Sect has strict rules. How could we disrupt the proper order of things?
Since you are Master Wu Tan’s disciple, you and I are martial brothers.
How could you become my disciple? The thought is enough, but don’t mention it again."
Xu Lei smiled as well.
"Oh, right, Senior Brother Hui Ming.
After nine years of arduous Cultivation, your junior brother has finally reached...
...the point where I can use the Dharma Seal you taught me back then to reverse-sense the Seal Master!"
Xu Lei then added, "I would like to give it a try. Please act as my Dharma Protector, Senior Brother!"
A few minutes later, inside a Cultivation Zen Room, Xu Lei sat cross-legged while Hui Ming watched from the side.
That’s right, nine years had passed since Xu Lei came to Hui Ming for his Monk’s Certificate.
Xu Lei was now eighteen years old.
Now, when he performed Introspection, the Dao Seed and Magical Power in his Lower Dantian looked different from before.
The mass of his Magical Power, once the size of a peanut, was now as large as an egg.
Furthermore, his Dao Seed, which was originally the size of a grain of rice,
had now evolved to the size of a peanut!
This was the result of Xu Lei continuously refining his Magical Power and merging it into the Dao Seed, causing the Dao Seed to sublimate.
Only after this did he truly possess his own Origin.
He was no longer simply relying on the Dao Seed bestowed upon him by Daoist Chun Yuan to practice his Cultivation.
It was no easy feat to cultivate a Dao Seed from the size of a rice grain to that of a peanut.
It required refining an immense amount of Magical Power.
Fortunately, after nine years of arduous Cultivation, he had finally achieved it!
In this world, the Buddhist Sect’s Cultivation divided Realms based on the changes that occurred during practice.
The Realm before one refined their own Origin was called the ’Dao Seed Realm’.
And the Realm after one had refined their own Origin was called the ’Dao Origin Realm’.
That’s right. Even though he was cultivating the Buddhist Sect’s Bodhisattva Dao, the Realm names were still filled with the word ’Dao’.
This was because the ’Dao’ in question wasn’t the ’Dao’ of the Daoist Sect, but the ’Dao’ of the Great Dao!
Upon reaching this Realm, Xu Lei could finally withstand the backlash from the Black Seal inside his body.
HUMMM!
Xu Lei’s Magical Power surged, and the Evil-Subduing Buddha Chain instantly burst forth with brilliant light!
At the same time, Xu Lei formed a Dharma Seal with his other hand, executing an Ancient Technique that Hui Ming had found in the Buddhist Sect’s Scripture Pavilion.
Soon after, as Xu Lei drove another Dharma Seal into it, the Black Seal on his arm began to flicker incessantly.
It seemed to want to tear his body apart and devour his flesh and blood, but it was suppressed by his own Magical Power and the power of the Evil-Subduing Buddha Chain.
Although he couldn’t expel it from his body, he had gained a certain degree of control and sensitivity to it.
Furthermore, the Ancient Seal Xu Lei formed seemed to allow him to vaguely sense the Seal Master’s location through the Black Seal.
「A month passed in the blink of an eye.」
Xu Lei descended the mountain.
Because he had sensed Qi Yang’s location!
Qi Yang had also entered the mortal world and was in a city three cities away from Tianming Temple.
But on second thought, since Xu Lei had completely plundered his immortal’s cave, Qi Yang had probably been forced to find other ways to aid his Cultivation.
Now that he had entered the mortal world, ’I wonder what he’s plotting.’
Xu Lei wanted to go and investigate in secret.
It was very suspicious that Qi Yang had lingered in that city for a month without leaving.
For now, Xu Lei was definitely no match for Qi Yang in a direct confrontation.
But there was no harm in observing from the shadows.
「A few more days passed in the blink of an eye.」
Xu Lei arrived in the city where Qi Yang was.
And sure enough, disguised in plain clothes, Xu Lei discovered traces of Qi Yang.
Xu Lei put on Wei Qingning’s Jade Pendant from years ago and disguised his face.
He didn’t transform from male to female, of course, but merely altered the visual perception of certain features.
This Jade Pendant was quite mysterious; back then, neither Hui Ming nor Wu Gui had seen through Wei Qingning’s disguise as a man.
It was possible that the Daoist master who had given this Jade Pendant to Wei Qingning’s mother was an incredibly powerful being.
One must understand that in these times of scarce Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, even a Cultivator like Hui Ming had to conserve his Magical Power to strive for the Dao.
Even during regular Cultivation, it was a struggle to absorb even a tiny amount of Spiritual Qi from the world.
Yet this Jade Pendant constantly maintained a supply of Spiritual Qi to power its disguise function.
It was truly extraordinary.
Carved within the Jade Pendant was an Array similar to a Spirit Gathering Array.
Therefore, with this Jade Pendant, Xu Lei wasn’t too afraid even if he were to be discovered.
Qi Yang would only see his disguised appearance and would be unable to trace his true identity.
「Another ten days passed in the blink of an eye.」
Xu Lei observed for a full ten days.
He finally figured it out.
What Qi Yang was doing!
He seemed to have discovered Spirit Monsters!
’That old fox actually found Spirit Monsters! Back then, Hui Ming and I searched everywhere and found nothing! To think he actually found them!’ Xu Lei was initially astonished.
And now, Qi Yang was plotting to capture two Spirit Monsters!
They were two Demons of unknown type who called each other sisters and worked as physicians in a medical clinic.
The younger sister wasn’t married, but the older sister was married to a Scholar.
However, despite being married for four or five years, they had never been able to have a child!
Xu Lei had once snuck into the clinic during business hours and had subtly sensed it; indeed, there were occasional flashes of Demonic Qi.
He suspected that the two Demons were using their medical practice as a cover to siphon the Essence Qi of the patients who came for treatment.
However, they were measured in their approach, never draining anyone to death, only taking a small taste from each person.
At most, those they fed on would feel weak, have a deficiency of Qi, develop white hair, and fall ill frequently when they returned home.
But they wouldn’t die.
And on this day, Qi Yang...
...finally seemed about to make his move.
He stopped the older sister’s Scholar husband on the road and informed the man that his wife and sister-in-law were Demons!
He also gave the Scholar a Small Jade Bottle.
After Qi Yang left, the Scholar’s face was pale and conflicted.
Afterward,
before the Scholar could get home, Xu Lei arranged a "chance encounter" with him on the road, disguised as a passerby.
He didn’t appear as a Monk, but as an ordinary person.
Then, through conversation, he skillfully elicited some information from the Scholar husband while also spinning some baseless legends he’d "heard" about Spirit Monsters.
This was to make the Scholar hesitate for a while longer and not make a hasty decision.
Because Xu Lei couldn’t let Qi Yang succeed so easily!
He was already weaker than Qi Yang. If Qi Yang obtained the Inner Cores of these two Demons, wouldn’t he become far stronger than Xu Lei?
At that point, Qi Yang would grow stronger and stronger, and Xu Lei would be left in the dust.
When would he ever be able to get rid of the Black Seal?
So, naturally, Xu Lei had to sabotage him!
And if the opportunity arose, he would snatch the Inner Cores of these two Demons for himself!!!
