Chapter 76. It turned out that Changming’s strength was even more unfathomable

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There seemed to be an impenetrable wall around Yun Weisi and Sun Buku, isolating them from others.

Sun Buku squinted slightly, and then laughed all of a sudden.

“It’s been a while since we last met, but I didn’t expect Daozun Yun to have learnt how to play jokes on others. In the past, you would start fighting me as soon as we had a single jarring note in conversation, yet now you’ve mastered the art of quarrelling. It seems to me that the Nine Layers of the Abyss has actually changed you a lot. Perhaps Daozun Yun has achieved enlightenment.”

They were sizing each other up.

They had not met for years, but Sun Buku showed no signs of getting old. It was not surprising. After all, if someone of their cultivation realm actually got older, it could only be at the time when they had met with disaster and were about to perish.

But Sun Buku’s demeanour that used to be swaggering and self-important was now more reserved and calm.

Great skills often appeared amateur, just as great wisdom often appeared foolish. Obviously, Sun Buku’s cultivation had advanced.

As for how far it had advanced, Yun Weisi could not tell. Only by engaging in a fight with him would Yun Weisi be able to measure Sun Buku’s real strength.

Xu Jingxian had been looking at them for quite some time, but they were not bantering flirtatiously. So it seemed that they did not really get along.

It was rumoured that Sun Buku was wholeheartedly dedicated to studying Buddhist doctrines. He was the first person to pass the forty nine ordeals to become a school head since his Buddhist sect’s foundation. It was evident that his Buddhist heart was as resolute as a mountain rock.

Forty nine: lit. seven by seven, forty nine altogether: “magical number” in Buddhism. For example, the soul of a dead person goes through tests for 49 days before its fate regarding the next reincarnation is decided

Buddhist heart: by analogy with Daoist heart, how strongly one is devoted to Buddhism, I guess

Although he had worshipped Jiufang Changming as his teacher, after the latter had left Buddhism, Sun Buku did not follow him and continued to cultivate on the path of Buddhism. Moreover, he denounced his teacher for having a weak Buddhist heart, and declared that Jiufang Changming did not deserve to cultivate the path of Buddhism.

It was also said that Yun Weisi and him were as incompatible as water and fire. They used to fight a lot, but people rarely saw Sun Buku doing battle with anyone since Yun Weisi had left for the Nine Layers of the Abyss. People believed that Zen Master Buku had already reached the grandmaster level, so famous masters did not dare challenge him without careful consideration, and the bright younger generation were also unworthy of making Zen Master Buku go out to fight in person.

Xu Jingxian had not met Sun Buku either up until this moment.

Out of fear of Buddhists and Daoists, Xu Jingxian did not go near any of them. She would have never anticipated that this head of the Qingyun School, which was the chief sect of Buddhism, this famous leader of bald donkeys, was a monk with such a devilish appearance.

There was a year when a disciple of the Qingyun School, Bei Shu, rebelled against his sect. This man had a remarkable aptitude, but he was overwhelmingly ambitious and coveted the position of the school head. He tried seducing Sun Buku into evildoing by hook or by crook, and set eight traps for him, including trials of power, beauty, cultivation, treasures, and spiritual medicines, waiting for Sun Buku’s human nature to expose its lust. But the latter did not fall for his traps, while Bei Shu himself did not manage to overcome the trial of treasures. He stole the Golden Glass Beads Staff from the sect and ran away.

Back then, Xu Jingxian had told this story to Fang Suhan as mere gossip she would mention over a cup of tea after a meal. But Fang Suhan said, Sun Buku’s willpower is resolute and seldom seen in this world. If you happen to fight with him in the future, don’t use techniques like soul summoning or mind capturing, otherwise, they would just be hurled back at you, and you’ll have no strength to make the next move.

Fang Suhan’s cultivation was nothing special, but he was engrossed in alchemy all the time, and someone who was neither persistent nor prepared to endure loneliness and boredom could not tread this path. Since it was him who gave Sun Buku such a high estimation, Xu Jingxian remembered it clearly.

This smiling man in front of her eyes seemed to be pliant, but his cruel heart and malicious means were exposed the moment he had forced her to jump down the cliff.

Yun Weisi was motionless, and Sun Buku did not move either.

They were silently watching each other, as steady as trees.

Xu Jingxian knew that there was no great affection between them. Instead, they were looking for a gap in each other’s defences to launch an opening attack.

If nothing interfered, today would be a day where a brilliant confrontation would be on display.

“Daoyous, even if there’s a grudge between the two of you, why don’t you solve it after leaving this place? I’ve searched around here. I’m afraid it looks like it won’t be easy for us to leave here.”

The carefree voice of a person intruded, interrupting the spirit of an imminent fight.

“There seems to be a barrier underneath that is trapping us here!”

One rarely met cultivators with a full beard, slovenly attire and a demeanour like this. He was even carrying his broad sword on his shoulder, as if it was a bag of sand.

When Yun Weisi’s, Sun Buku’s and Xu Jingxian’s lines of sight fell onto his body, the bearded man grinned.

“This one is Jun Zilan from the Kunlun Sword Clan, what are your honorable names?”

Jun Zilan: his name means clivia, a lily-like flower [1]

Xu Jingxian: …

She was staring at him for half a day, but still did not manage to figure out where his name, ‘clivia’, stemmed from.

Perhaps, when his parents were giving him this name, they did not expect him to grow to look like a green foxtail [2] instead.

Jun Zilan was not embarrassed by the absence of an answer, and turned to the fifth person: “Daoxiong Qi, if we don’t fight, we won’t befriend. Let us put aside our prejudice for the time being, tide over difficulties first, and then fight to our hearts’ content when we return up there, how does this sound?”

The one surnamed Qi looked at him coldly. Without giving an answer, he headed for the cave that was emitting the purple light.

They were in a valley that was surrounded with mountains as tightly as meat dumplings that had been wrapped with dough. Clouds and mist were swirling above their heads, and they could not see the sky. Xu Jingxian realized that Jun Zilan was right: these clouds were only a layer of a barrier. She wanted to fly back, but unexpectedly, she could not do so, as if she was stumbling against a rock-hard screen that even her spiritual powers could not pierce.

That was rather strange.

To her surprise, after that miraculous stone shower, a barrier was discovered in the barren and forsaken mountain range.

Was it human-made, or was it formed by the stone shower?

If it was made by humans…

Xu Jingxian frowned as a vague guess started forming inside her head.

She looked at Yun Weisi and Sun Buku subconsciously. Although they still had not moved, the tense atmosphere between them had scattered away, just as if they were two fully-stretched bows that had now relaxed. Xu Jingxian sighed out of relief silently. At this particular moment, she did not want the two of them to start fighting.

The purple light they saw from the cliff before had turned out to be coming out of a cave.

The purple glow was bright one moment and dim another, the intensity slowly becoming more evident. Probably, a common person would not have felt it, but they were all cultivators, and could feel the invisible pressure becoming heavier and heavier as they moved forwards. That kind of pressure would usually make people shrink back against their will, but they were all excited.

Obviously, it was the pressure of a spiritual treasure coming into being!

There were many rare things in the world, but few people were lucky enough to get them. Even if they came from a formidable sect, like He Qingmo, who was a direct disciple of his sect’s master, not many people had actually had a weapon bestowed upon them by their sect master.

Moreover, compared to an actual spiritual tool, even the most famed weapons of this world could only be called first-rate goods.

To create his Sifei Sword, not only did Changming need to forge it from top-grade materials—if he actually wanted to create a spiritual weapon, he had to wait for an exceptionally favorable moment.

Treasures were indeed too tempting, and resolution alone could not restrain a person.

Xu Jingxian was very interested as well.

But, of course, she would not be the first to barge into the cave.

Seeing Jun Zilan and cultivator Qi take a step forward, she looked back at Yun Weisi.

As if Sun Buku had guessed her thoughts, he smiled at her meaningfully.

How could that fluster a seductress from a Demonic sect? She shot him a coquettish glance in return at once.

Sun Buku smiled even more brightly.

His eyes were long and narrow, and when he smiled, laugh lines appeared on his face. His thin lips were blood-red, which made him seem even more deserving to be called a devilish monk.

Xu Jingxian cursed at him silently, and could not help taking a couple of steps in the direction of Yun Weisi.

Although Yun Weisi was also moody, and even wanted to kill her, there was Changming now, on top of her ability to feel spiritual herbs which was still useful to Yun Weisi. Being beside him was definitely safer than being with Sun Buku.

“Slow down,” Jun Zilan said all of a sudden.

Cultivator Qi, who was just going to enter the cave, stopped and looked at him.

“If a divine glow appeared, surely there’s a valuable treasure here. But this place is very close to the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, and the news about what happened here appeared quite a few days ago, so why is there only us here? Don’t you think it’s strange?”

That was precisely the reason Xu Jingxian was feeling uneasy just now. Originally, they had come here for Zhou Keyi, but the Wanlian Buddhist Temple was silent. It was too quiet, but if something goes wrong, there must be a demon.

If something goes wrong, there must be a demon: there is a reason for everything, you should be careful

Cultivator Qi said: “Who are the Wanlian Buddhist Temple? Of course, they wouldn’t even look at such treasures, or stoop so low as to come here and brawl with us for it!”

Jun Zilan smiled: “You could have said that if there was nothing great about the treasure. But this time, the treasure was glowing with blue light, so a treasure rarely found in a thousand years must be concealed in here. People from the Wanlian Buddhist Temple still haven’t turned into Buddhas yet, how could they remain indifferent?”

Cultivator Qi knew what was said made sense, but refused to admit it: “So you’re saying there’s a fraud inside, so we shouldn’t enter?”

Jun Zilan: “Since we’re already here, surely we have to go in. I only wanted to remind you all that we should avoid being at each other’s throats no matter what we see there. I only came here to take a look, so I’ll give up on it for your sake. But [if there’s no treasure] and we all die here, it’ll only benefit others!”

Cultivator Qi said coldly: “You’re speaking generously now. Try to restrain yourself when the time comes!”

He did not wait for Jun Zilan to answer and stepped forward, quickly disappearing from their sight.

Jun Zilan heaved a deep sigh, showed a helpless expression, and entered the cave, following him.

After him went Yun Weisi and Sun Buku.

Xu Jingxian rushed after them.

…

The illusion was swept away like the tides of the ocean, revealing the original form.

Zhang Jie raised his head and looked around in confusion.

How was this a place of countless ghosts wailing together, and of a thousand souls demanding the lives of others? Lanterns were lit all around, and crowds of people were clamoring. It was a typical bustling scene in the Human World.

Those piles of bones under his feet, and the ear-piercing wailings of ghosts shedding bloody tears—everything seemed to be as transient as a fleeting cloud, like a mere illusion.

However, the feeling of being locked up with iron chains was still vivid in his mind. Zhang Jie lowered his head, but his robes were his own, and only the pain from the wounds he had received in battles reminded him that what had happened was not a dream.

“Hiss…”

The voice of a person in pain came from the side. Hé Qingmo rolled up his sleeve. The deep purple cut on his arm was a ghastly sight.

This wound had been left by the Ghost King just now. The Ghost King only brushed against his arm slightly, but the pain from that injury was almost unbearable for Hé Qingmo, and he was suffering with the slightest movement. His bones had also been supposedly corroded by the ghost qi, and his injury would not get better any time soon.

If it was not for Changming’s Art of Heart Manipulation, they would have probably turned into bones by this point already.

The Ghost King’s strength was truly terrifying.

But it turned out that Changming’s strength was even more unfathomable.

Hé Qingmo remembered that in the Nine Layers of the Abyss, although Jiufang Changming was already formidable, he did not make Hé Qingmo feel the insurmountable power of the strongest person in the world.

At that time, it was obvious that Jiufang Changming was frail from an illness, as if he could fall to the ground at any moment.

But the Jiufang Changming of today, although he was still like a light cloud and a gentle breeze, it was that kind of a lightness that could move a heavy load by clever manoeuvres, the one that would not be disturbed by Mount Tai itself.

In a short period of time, he had managed to recover to a level that could make Hé Qingmo feel the elegant manner of the unrivalled master of the world.

The wind was blowing under the full moon as the rain was pouring upon lifeless branches; a man came from the secluded mountains, turning snow into spring.

Hé Qingmo was looking at Changming’s back closely. His shizun had told him this seemingly meaningless incantation once, and he did not manage to comprehend it at all. But now, having gone through a desperate battle and surviving by luck, he had become keener and felt that he now understood the meaning of the incantation.

Thoughts were surging in his mind. He wanted to thank Changming, but suddenly dense ghost qi rushed at him from behind!

Tn:

[1] Jun Zilan: 

[2] Green foxtail, lit. from Chinese — dogtail grass: 

XJX is often called ‘seductress’, literally ‘evil woman’. This time, she called SBK ‘devilish monk’, that is, literally, ‘evil monk’ with the same ‘evil’. The meaning is similar: she implies that he is very alluring but uses it to do bad things.