Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Shen Lian smiled, “Let’s not learn then. However, I need you to do something for me, and you must not refuse.” With Shen Lian’s level of cultivation, he saw through Fang Yanying since the beginning. He only did this to test her heart of Dao.
Chen Jianmei only managed to attain something having immersed himself in the Shapeless Sword Incantation for ten over years. Fang Yanying did not have the luxury to be distracted by something else.
Even when faced against Shen Lian’s authoritative presence, she was able to refuse his offer. This showed that she had guts. Despite his gentle appearance, after he had attained immortality, Shen Lian was at a Celestial state. His words and actions were more authoritative than that of a human Emperor, and it was difficult for anyone to say no to him.
Despite her gentle physical appearance, Fang Yanying was strong-willed. No wonder Chen Jianmei took a liking to her and took her in as his direct disciple.
She seemed cornered as she replied, “Uncle-Master, may I know how can I be of help?”
Shen Lian glanced downwards and spoke, “Baoyue the Venerable from Jinguang Temple and I have met once. The last time I saw him, I have not attained Dao yet. Now that I have attained Dao, he is sent into the reincarnation cycle once again and has become a part of the sentient beings. What a melancholic situation.
I need you to go on behalf of me and send the elegiac couplet over, so that we can show our respect to Baoyue the Venerable. Moreover, I want to send my regards to the current abbot of Jinguang Temple, Zen Master Fahai. I can rest easy knowing that this is done.”
“Uncle-Master, why don’t you do it yourself? The death of Baoyue the Venerable is a well-circulated news by now. After all, the commotion that night made it impossible to hide the news from outsiders,” Fang Yanying replied hesitantly.
Shen Lian chuckled, “As a junior who has attained the status of a land immortal, it would not be appropriate for me to go over when no one from Jinguang Temple has managed to attain Dharma. It would seem as though I was trying to show off.”
Fang Yanying asked further, “Zen Master Fahai used to be a supreme demon king, and his supernatural power is not below that of Baoyue the Venerable. Why do you claim that no one from Jinguang Temple has attained Dharma yet?”
“You little girl, you do have a lot of questions, don’t you? I will tell you then. Fahai has the body of a demon. Even though Buddhism opens its door to everyone, but only a human could practice the purest of techniques to fruition. Why else do you think the holy deities propagated Dao amongst humans back in the ancient days? Even though at the pinnacle of cultivation, everyone enjoys equal treatment; however, in the secular mortal world, this has limited application. This is not something that you can fully understand now, just carry out my instructions, won’t you?” Shen Lian replied.
Fang Yanying did not understand, but she nodded and replied, “I shall obey your instructions.”
Shen Lian produced a little pouch from his sleeve. The pouch was framed with fine silver threads, and the lines were smooth and natural. He spoke, “This pouch is known as Jiezi Pouch. I have cast the Dao technique of sleeve storage on it. Within it, a special formation is constantly absorbing the Qi of heaven and earth to keep the Dao technique running. You still have not learned the Technique of sleeve storage yet. Since I am not going to teach you about Dao techniques, I will give this to you as a gift. I have put the elegiac couplet that I wrote in it. Moreover, I have carried out ceremonial cultivation on the sword talisman given by your Master. If anyone tries to stop you on your journey, do not fret. Just kill the person with the aid of the sword talisman.”
Fang Yanying agreed and accepted the Jiezi Pouch. She felt a cooling sensation crept up her hands, reaching her bier. Instantly, she knew how to use the pouch. Her mind and spirit were melted into the pouch. With just her thoughts, she could extract whatever she wanted from within the pouch.
After all, she was a girl, and she was very observant and sensitive. She did not test the pouch out on the spot. After making sure that there was nothing else that Shen Lian wanted to say, she excused herself. She decided to try out the pouch after she left, so as to maintain her etiquette.
The moment she exited the hall, she saw the rest of her Senior and Junior Apprentice-Brothers waiting for her outside. The moment that they realized she was out, they rushed over and asked, “Did Uncle-Master do anything to you?”
Fang Yanying was touched by the gesture, she replied, “Dear Senior Apprentice-Brothers, Uncle-Master was very nice to me. He did not scold me, and he merely sent me out to run an errand for him.”
Even though she had the most experience in cultivation and the strongest mana, she was actually the youngest out of everyone. Despite being Chen Jianmei’s direct disciple, she was not arrogant.
This was precisely why everyone was not too bothered by the preferential treatment she received.
“What’s with all the commotion outside?” Shen Lian’s voice came from inside.
Upon hearing that, everyone left. It was not that they were afraid of being scolded or punished by Shen Lian, but all of them could not wait to try out the Dao techniques Shen Lian had taught them. After knowing that Fang Yanying was safe, they could rest easy and find a place to cultivate their techniques.
Fang Yanying saw them leaving, and she too left. She found a place to familiarise herself with the usage of Jiezi Pouch. Actually, there were only two items within it – the set of the elegiac couplet and a sword talisman.
She found it extremely intriguing and experimented with it.
It was starting to get late, and she thought it would be better to leave now to Jinguang Temple. Otherwise, she would have to wait until the next morning.
There were not many cultivators in Xi Huang. Most of them had a weird temperament. If one were to fly in the sky, one would risk offending a cultivator and had to engage in pointless battle. Hence, those who dared to fly in the sky in the middle of the day were those who were confident in their abilities.
Fang Yanying used the sword talisman given by Chen Jianmei and flew without a trace; It was even better than most master celestials of sword. After flying over countless mountains and lakes, she managed to reach Qing Xuan at last.
She was getting closer to Jinguang Temple, and the power of the sword talisman is limited. She stopped using it and merely moved quickly with her Qing Gong.
She had never cultivated any techniques before. If she was not flying with a sword, she would not be able to fly at all. However, she was moving so quickly now that it seemed as though her feet were not touching the ground at all. It was as if she was flying low above the ground.
She knew that her mana definitely got stronger without her realizing it.
After Fang Yanying noticed that, she was pleased. Her skirt flew in the air, and she hummed happily. The stress that she faced in the past few days dissipated completely and she felt at ease.
She was cultivating the Shapeless Sword Incantation that had been reworked by Chen Jianmei. It could be considered as one of the best cultivators of the sword Dharma in the world. As she felt the pressure lifted from her chest, she acted in accordance with the sword will and activated the mana within her. She operated it according to the flow of Qi of the Shapeless Sword Incantation; as she inhaled and exhaled, the sword aura within her was being polished into its purest form.
One could say that she was lucky, as she ended up in a rare state of epiphany. This was actually a manifestation and cumulation of the long-term cultivation that she had gone through.
However, she did not get to indulge in this state for long. All of a sudden, a white moon appeared in front of her. Fresh blood dyed the moon, and the wind whizzed urgently by her ears. In the vast field, some long grass with pricks started giving off chilly bouts of murderous intent, dragging her out from her state of epiphany.
Fang Yanying stood on top of the grass; she tiptoed over the pointy end of the blades of grass. Gathering her mana, she looked ahead and noticed that in the dusk, the setting sun and the blood moon had merged as one.
The moon was not a real moon – it was a manifestation of murderous intent.
She wondered how much blood of the living creatures did it take to gather such murderous intent.
She was still feeling the remnants of the state of Dao in her heart. She pointed her finger and charged at the red moon as a sword; the Shapeless Sword Incantation was operating naturally. All of a sudden, a hint of sword aura that was intangible and invisible flew out, shattering the red moon into pieces.
A person walked out from the shattered red moon. He gave off an intense spiritual pressure, forcing the wild grass to bow to him, worshipping at his feet.
However, this person seemed odd. His pupils were blood red, and he had a long tail – just like that of apes and monkey.
Fang Yanying was reminded of something – “White Moon Demon Clan”.
