When Li Yundong heard that Zi Yuan was going to teach him the Five Thunders Spell, he suddenly became excited. His dream was to have the power to surpass heaven and earth so that he could protect Su Chan and the people around him and not let them be harmed by external forces.
As for this kind of thunderous power, it was like the Gods’ might!
If he mastered the power of thunderbolts, it would be equivalent to him mastering the strongest power in the world!
Li Yundong was overjoyed. “You know how to use the Five Thunders Spell?”
Zi Yuan smiled slightly. “I don’t know exactly, but I do know how to cultivate it.”
“It seems that you are also a genius with an extraordinary retentive memory,” Li Yundong exclaimed. “Have you memorized all the classics you’ve read too?”
Zi Yuan chuckled, “I do remember all of them. But many years have passed, I can’t guarantee that there is not a single thing I’ve misremembered. If there is a wrong word in the cultivation achievement method, the result can change completely. Do you know the origin of the Fox Zen School?”
Li Yundong smiled. “As the Leader of Fox Zen School, I’m ashamed that I don’t even know anything about its origins. I humbly request your guidance on the subject, Zhenren Zi Yuan.”
Zi Yuan couldn’t help but mock him. “As an outsider, you’ve become the leader of Fox Zen School, and now you even want another outsider like me to tell you about the history of the Fox Zen School? Don’t you think it’s a bit ridiculous?”
Li Yundong said with a laugh, “When two ridiculous people work together, it makes sense. As the saying goes, two negatives make a positive!”
After that, they looked at each other and burst out laughing at the same time.
As her chuckles died, Zi Yuan began her explanation. “In the year of Emperor Xianzong in Tang Dynasty, Zen master Baizhang gave a lecture in the hall. Every time he found out that there was an old man staying and not leaving, Zen master Baizhang asked who the old man was. The old man answered, ‘I lived in this mountain 500 years ago.’ A scholar asked, ‘Is there any cause and effect for you becoming lost in the world?’ The old man said that there was no cause and effect and that in the end, he had fallen into the body of a wild fox. Today, I ask the monk to take a message for me.” Zen master Baizhang said, “Please.” The old man asked again, “Is there any cause and effect of cultivator lost in the world?” Zen master Baizhang said, “Don’t oppose the law of cause and effect!” From then on, the old man came to a realization. He said, “I have left the body of a wild fox, just be buried behind the mountain. Master, please expiate my sins with the manner of the dead monk.”
“The next day, Zen master Baizhang ordered his disciples to search all over the mountain. In the end, they found the body of a black fox on a big Pan Shi behind the mountain. They cremated it in the manner of a dead monk’s ceremony after undergoing a vegetarian fast…”
Li Yundong was suddenly enlightened when he heard this. “Ah, Su Chan mentioned some of Grandmaster Pan Shi’s origins before, but she didn’t explain it too clearly. While she was in the hospital, she also said those same words about cause and effect. At that time, I thought that she was being strangely emotional as I was unaware that there was a story behind it.”
Zi Yuan nodded and said, “That’s right. ‘Against the karma’ and ‘Don’t go against the karma’ have different meanings. ‘Against the karma’ means that cultivators can do anything and don’t have to fear the cause and effect of them. ‘Don’t go against the karma’ means that no matter how strong a cultivator is, he cannot surpass karma, and even a Bodhisattva has to be in awe of him! The former is a twisted theory, and that’s why Grandmaster Pan Shi was punished by being made into a wild fox for five hundred years. The latter is the supreme law of the world. Once he gained enlightenment of this law, he turned into an immortal from a wild fox. From this, it can be seen how big the difference is!”
Li Yundong sighed. “You’re right! However, I never know until now that the man named Grandmaster used to be a monk. No wonder his Fan of Seven Treasures is engraved with the Runes of Diamond Sutra. This powerful magical weapon is full of majestic Buddhist King Kong power.”
“That’s right,” Zi Yuan said. “After Grandmaster Pan Shi’s Tao, he lamented that he had fallen under an evil influence for the past five hundred years. He did not want to keep any of the cultivators in the whole world who had once fallen under an evil influence like him to be trapped, so he created the Fox Zen School himself. At first, he accepted any disciple who came, not only fox spirits. But gradually, the fox spirits gained absolute control of and power over the Fox Zen School. Especially when it fell into the hands of the fourth generation’s master, Mystical Silver Fox. By that point, the Fox Zen School become a sect solely for fox spirits. From then on, the Fox Zen School became synonymous with fox spirits.”
Li Yundong nodded thoughtfully. “I understand what you’re saying, but what does it have to do with learning the Five Thunders Spell?”
Zi Yuan smiled. “What I want to say is that the art of cultivation must be cultivated according to what is said in the classics. Don’t easily believe the words of others. Otherwise, once you are framed, you will go the way of the devil, falling into a fox’s body and unable to leave for hundreds of years.”
Li Yundong laughed. “I believe you won’t hurt me. Why are you worrying so much?”
Zi Yuan shook her head. “Even you trust me, I can’t trust myself. If I say something wrong, you’ll be doomed. How about this? Today, I’ll only teach you the basics of the Five Thunders Spell. Tomorrow, you can come back to Linggong Sect with me. I’ll go to my master’s Sutras Depository. I remember that he once collected a unique technique from the Shenxiao Sect, the ‘Five Thunders Jade Book’. You can read it and study it in depth.”
“Isn’t Linggong Sect sealed off? How can we go back?” Li Yundong asked.
Zi Yuan smiled and looked up at the vast sky. “The Gods haven’t allowed us to cultivate, but we have still gone against them. They can seal Linggong Sect, but they can’t stop us from using our legs.”
Li Yundong laughed heartily at this. “Well said. Tomorrow night, we’ll go and explore Linggong Sect! However, Zhenren Zi Yuan, please tell me how to cultivate the Five Thunder Spell first!”
That night, Zi Yuan taught Li Yundong all about how to cultivate the Five Thunder Spell. She patiently explained the theories and cultivation methods to Li Yundong. Once the sky began to turn bright, the two of them went their separate ways. They made an appointment to go to Mount Longhu’s Linggong Sect the next night.
Early that morning, Zhou Qin and Ruan Hongling called Li Yundong to attend class. Although the two girls were proud and conceited, their temperaments were a little similar and they managed to get along well with each other. Therefore, they soon became good friends.
When Li Yundong saw the two of them, he quickly waved his hand and shook his head, saying, “No, I won’t go. You guys can ask for leave for me, or you can help me get served a temporary suspension. Either way, I won’t go to school. There is too much trouble at school!”
Zhou Qin looked disappointed. She wouldn’t resign herself to the situation, so she asked again, “Why not? What will you do instead?”
Li Yundong smiled. “Naturally, I’ll go to the store to check on things. I won’t feel at ease if I don’t get to see it even for just one day.”
Zhou Qin thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll go with you. By the way, I can help you.”
Ruan Hongling stomped her feet and said angrily, “Zhou Qin, you promised me that you’d go to class with me, but now you’re going back on your word!”
Zhou Qin smiled at her apologetically. “Naturally, I must go with my master. Hongling, I’m sorry. I’ll treat you to dinner some other day.”
Ruan Hongling was livid as she tilted her head and said, “Ugh, I don’t care!” Then, she said to Li Yundong angrily, “I won’t ask for leave for you. If you want to ask for leave, you can get someone else to do it.”
After that, she turned her head and strode away, her ponytail swishing on the back of her head.
Li Yundong looked at her back and laughed. “This girl is really hot-tempered.” Then, he looked up at Zhou Qin and said, “If you come with me today, we can discuss the decorations. By the way, if you don’t understand something about cultivation, you can ask me and I’ll try to help. I have been too busy recently and ended up ignoring you. Don’t take it to heart.”
Hearing this, Zhou Qin felt a feeling of warmth creep into her heart. She smiled sweetly and whispered, “As long as I stay with you, even if you don’t talk to me or ignore me, I‘ll be satisfied…”
When Li Yundong saw her smile, which was like a blooming flower in spring, his heart suddenly thumped. He quickly turned his eyes away and did not dare to answer her words again.
Li Yundong coughed and changed the topic. “Alright, let’s leave. By the way, let Zi Yuan come with us…”
Seeing that Li Yundong was not answering her, Zhou Qin did not force the issue. She responded softly, but just as she was about to turn and leave, she asked again, “By the way, do you want to tell Su Chan?”
Li Yundong was about to speak when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching gently. His heart moved, and he smiled. He deliberately said loudly, “Don’t let her know. This girl only knows to cause trouble for me. If I ask her to come with us, no doubt she will make trouble for me again.”
As soon as he finished these words, he saw Su Chan jump in from outside, put her hands on her hips, and say angrily in a voice dripping with displeasure, “Ha! As soon as I arrived, I heard you speak ill of me behind my back. You’re reprehensible! I don’t make trouble for you at all. You obviously dislike me!”
After that, she covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
Li Yundong hurried forward when he saw that Su Chan was suddenly crying. However, when he took a closer look, he saw that although the little girl was covering her face with her hands, a pair of eyes were peeking through the gaps between her fingers and looking at him slyly.
As soon as the little girl’s clever eyes fell on him, she immediately dodged away in panic, and then closed her fingers again tightly. She was crying loudly, but even after crying for a while, no tears were visible on her face.
Now Li Yundong understood that this girl was acting like a spoiled child in front of him. He tried his best to hold in his laughter and put on an indifferent expression. He looked the little girl up and down with interest but made no attempt to comfort her.
Su Chan saw that Li Yundong wasn’t moving as she was unable to stop stealing glances at him through her fingers. When she saw Li Yundong’s expression, the little girl immediately became unhappy. She put down her hand and pouted in frustration, then stomped her feet and said angrily, “Why won’t you try to comfort me?”
Li Yundong couldn’t help laughing. “What am I supposed to comfort you for?”
Su Chan said with a sullen face, “You only know how to bully me. You’re so annoying!” Then, she looked at Zhou Qin, took her hand, and said in a pettish voice, “Sister Zhou Qin, you see, look at him now. See how annoying he is! Not only did he plot against me behind my back, but he also deliberately made me angry!”
Zhou Qin couldn’t help thinking that Su Chan was really too cute. Although she was jealous of her sometimes, she couldn’t hate her in her heart. She said with a smile, “Master is joking with you.”
Su Chan pulled a face at Li Yundong, and then made it clear that she would continue to act like a spoiled child. She asked Li Yundong threateningly, “Will you take me out with you?”
As soon as Li Yundong saw her attitude, he raised his hands and smiled, “How dare I not bring you? Come on, the Buddha, Little Li, will take you out of the palace.”
Su Chan beamed with joy. She ran over to Li Yundong and joined in the charade, saying in a drawling voice, “Let’s go!”
Li Yundong quickly went into acting mode. With a wretched and humble look, he carefully took Su Chan’s delicate hand and led her out of the door.
Because Li Yundong lived on the second floor, the little foxes downstairs had already heard the noise they were making. As soon as Li Yundong left the room, he found that the little foxes were all craning their necks and staring at him.
Li Yundong suddenly caught his breath and thought to himself, “My God, so many foxes are looking at me. It’s okay that my dignity has not been restored, but If these little foxes also make trouble with me, will I still be able to live?”
Li Yundong had a brainwave and immediately came up with an idea. He bowed to Su Chan and said, “Master Buddha, please close your eyes. Little Li will take you to a good place.”
Su Chan didn’t suspect anything. She closed her eyes and said with a sweet smile, “Little Li, where are you taking me?”
Li Yundong was happy to hear her openness. He thought in his heart, “Hey, little girl, you’re really insatiable!”
Li Yundong tried hard to hold back his laughter as he said, “Buddha, don’t worry. I will take you out of the palace.”
As he spoke, he turned and took Su Chan into the washroom. Then, with lightning speed, he turned around, ran out, and locked the door.
Only then did Su Chan come to her senses. She opened her eyes and rushed to the door, screeching, “Hey! Why have you locked me in?”
Li Yundong laughed and said, “Aren’t you going somewhere? I’m going to take you somewhere, aren’t I?”
Only then did Su Chan realize that she had been tricked by Li Yundong. She stamped her feet and shouted, “You’re so annoying. I’m not going ‘somewhere’. I’m going out of here!”
At this moment, the little foxes downstairs all began laughing raucously.
Li Yundong stood on the stairs and glared at them. “Don’t laugh! Do you also want to go ‘somewhere’? Should I send you all ‘somewhere’ later?”
The little foxes quickly jumped up one by one and scurried off into their rooms, giggling all the way.
Li Yundong turned his head and looked at Zhou Qin. He saw that this usually unsmiling girl was so amused that her waist had bent. He quickly winked at her and said, “Idiot, why are you still standing? Run off now, or you will never get away.”
