Mo Chuan Delivers a Child

"You've seen my embarrassing side, sir."

After a while, Huang Buyu finally composed himself. He patted the dust off his clothes with both hands and then performed a kowtow with utmost respect.

"Disciple Huang Buyu thanks you, sir, for the grace of a second life!"

With his mastery of the method for seeking human form, he was confident he could succeed after a few more attempts—shedding his beast form and taking on a human one.

However, he had to admit that opportunity and risk went hand in hand.

Each failure inflicted irreversible damage on the foundation of his cultivation.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have lost his mind and tried to kill the Chen family's only son back then!

Now that an immortal had spoken the words of a prophesied sealing, it was countless times better than him trying to achieve it himself. Calling it a second life was no exaggeration.

Most importantly, the immortal's willingness to perform the prophesied sealing meant he had been initially recognized.

This meant he was one step closer to that immense immortal fate!

"Rise! Steward Zhang's study in Jinghe County might hold an opportunity. Go and investigate thoroughly, but do not alert anyone else."

Mo Chuan accepted the gratitude calmly and assigned a new task.

"Your disciple will obey your command, sir!" Huang Buyu replied immediately.

"Do not disturb the Chen family again. If you wish to seek this Daoist priest, sincerely offer incense, or visualize this Daoist priest's appearance, or chant this Daoist priest's alias, and this Daoist priest will naturally sense it."

Mo Chuan added, and then his figure vanished, leaving behind only a wisp of faint green smoke that lingered in the air.

Huang Buyu's heart trembled upon hearing this.

To communicate with an immortal by sincerely offering incense… What kind of divine ability was this?

Even the art of spirit-writing could at best only manifest a wisp of the primordial spirit or soul.

Look at Immortal Mo; he traversed realms directly in his physical body.

The difference was as vast as heaven and earth!

Thinking of this, Huang Buyu looked at his own vibrant human body and felt an even greater fervor in his heart.

He had to become a disciple of the immortal, even if it was just an unregistered disciple. Learning even a single move or two would be enough for him to benefit his entire life!

After Mo Chuan departed, he casually found a desolate mountain and began to examine the treasure Huang Buyu had offered.

—Nabo (cymbals).

Anyone with even a modicum of cultivation could tell that these cymbals were extraordinary.

Not only was spiritual energy swirling around their surface, but the golden malevolent energy within was also vibrating.

If released, they could likely shatter the divine soul and tear apart flesh and blood.

But how could they be activated?

Mo Chuan tried striking them with external objects.

Whether it was a stone or a magical artifact, none succeeded.

Even striking them with the Three Pure Ones Bell, which controlled the Headless Ghost, caused no reaction.

"Could it be that these magical artifacts must be a pair to be activated?"

After a series of futile attempts, Mo Chuan gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and decided to pour all his might into infusing them with Primordial Qi.

He wanted to see what would happen when this inanimate object reached its limit.

"Buzz—"

As the Primordial Qi was infused, the Nabo suddenly began to hum.

The golden malevolent energy contained within rapidly expanded, spinning more ferociously and attempting to break free.

"Oh!"

Mo Chuan let out a soft exclamation. In that instant, through this half of the Nabo, he sensed the location of the other half.

"This is interesting!"

He became intrigued. With nothing else to do, he decided to follow the fleeting memory and seek it out.

As he traveled, Mo Chuan was taken aback.

It was like chasing a mirage; the closer he thought he was, the further away it seemed. According to his senses, the other half of the Nabo didn't seem far, but by the time dusk began to settle, he still hadn't sensed it.

'Well, I probably won't find it today.'

Mo Chuan climbed a high vantage point and, seeing smoke rising from cooking fires in the distance, decided to find lodging for the night.

He had to admit, compared to traveling as a spirit or in a Xian Body, traveling in a physical body was far more troublesome.

Hunger, thirst, and fatigue—all of them were burdens.

He even had to defecate and urinate.

The twenty-li distance was twisted and turned into forty li.

Before, when dispersed into qi, it didn't matter if it was a deep forest or a ravine; as long as the Primordial Qi could sustain it, one could travel a thousand li a day.

No wonder the Daoist sect's famous soul-leaving divine ability was called "Divine Speed."

It truly captured the essence of the matter.

"Stop hitting! Stop hitting! Wuwu... I beg you..."

Before even approaching the village, the sounds of a woman in pain and begging reached his ears.

Mo Chuan craned his neck to look.

From afar, dozens of villagers could be seen, wielding shovels and clubs, chasing and beating a woman.

The woman was still carrying a wooden bucket, shouting as she ran towards the village, her washed clothes spilling onto the ground from the bucket.

Mo Chuan's expression turned strange.

As the old saying goes:

It's better to spend the night in a desolate grave than to lodge in an ancient temple.

This means that human hearts can sometimes be more terrifying than fierce ghosts.

What a coincidence!

Just as this Daoist priest passed by, they arranged such a scene for me? Is this asking this Daoist priest to rescue the damsel in distress?

Mo Chuan's heart was filled with amusement, but he quickened his pace.

"Will you give birth? Will you give birth?"

"Ah? Will you give birth!!"

As Mo Chuan approached, he heard the villagers speaking in a remote dialect. He, who had been watching with cold indifference, began to feel something was amiss as he watched.

He saw that these villagers were actually hitting her for real!

The shovels and clubs swung with great force. Under the barrage of blows, the woman was beaten until her face was bruised and swollen, blood smearing her face, making her look extremely pathetic.

At first, the woman kept begging for mercy.

After a short while, she had given up all hope, curling herself up and letting them beat her.

"Stop!" a sharp voice commanded.

The beating villagers looked up in astonishment and saw a young Daoist priest with a rosy complexion and white teeth, approaching angrily from the mountain path at the village entrance.

"What kind of stray Daoist priest are you? Scram!"

Two of the assailants glared at him, their eyes bloodshot. Under the unrestrained violence, their malevolent energy had already been ignited.

"Stop hitting! What happened that requires such brutal force?"

Mo Chuan tried to ascertain the truth, to avoid saving someone like Pan Jinlian.

To his surprise, when he asked, the villagers didn't bother to explain and continued their assault.

Only a few villagers glanced at him instinctively, their eyes showing a hint of confusion.

Clearly, they couldn't understand Mo Chuan's accent.

"If you don't stop, don't blame this Daoist for being impolite!"

Seeing that the assailants had no intention of stopping, Mo Chuan shouted angrily and charged forward.

"Hey, hey, hey—"

"Ouch!"

"Who—"

Amidst startled cries, the assailants were immediately knocked down by Mo Chuan's punches and kicks.

Mo Chuan hadn't learned any martial arts.

But with the enhancement of the Art of Ascending and Copying, his movements were as swift as lightning.

As the saying goes: All martial arts under heaven are invincible if they are fast enough.

This speed was naturally more than enough to deal with a dozen malnourished village bumpkins.

"Ouch, where did this stray Daoist priest come from!"

"What are you doing?"

Just as Mo Chuan had knocked down the assailants, the village, which had been quiet until now, suddenly swarmed with a large group of villagers.

Each of them held a dung fork or a shovel, looking at Mo Chuan vigilantly, and some were even itching to attack.

Mo Chuan frowned.

The situation before him left him somewhat bewildered.

Could it be that this woman had really done something so outrageous that it incurred the wrath of heaven and earth?

So the villagers were just supposed to watch from the sidelines?

"May I ask who is in charge here?" Mo Chuan asked loudly.

The crowd parted, and a dark-faced man with a face full of wrinkles stepped forward. "I am the village chief. Who are you? Why are you beating my villagers?"

Mo Chuan frowned. "May I ask what happened here? Why would you treat an unarmed woman so harshly? Did she commit some grave offense?"

At this moment, a lean man stepped forward, furious. "You're the one who committed an offense! She's my wife. I was having a pai xi, what's it to you?"

Mo Chuan looked bewildered. "Pai xi? What does that mean?"

Seeing this, the village chief had no choice but to explain.

It turned out to be a local custom: if a wife couldn't bear children after marriage, her husband could invite friends and relatives to beat her with sticks when she wasn't paying attention.

While beating her, they had to shout, "Bear children or not?"

The harder the beating, the more effective it was.

This process continued until the husband appeared with a winnowing basket full of peanuts and dates, scattering them to the crowd and declaring, "She's pregnant! She's pregnant!"

Only then was the pai xi ritual complete.

Upon hearing this, Mo Chuan felt it was so absurd it was like being struck by lightning, and he instinctively asked:

"What if she dies from the beating?"

"If she dies, she dies. We'll just get another one," the village chief said. As he spoke, the woman, bruised and swollen, was helped up by the village women and limped into the crowd, not looking at Mo Chuan once.

"You old Daoist priest, making my wife suffer for nothing! Today, if you don't explain yourself, I'll see you're finished!"

The woman's husband pointed at Mo Chuan's nose and yelled threats.

Mo Chuan fell silent.

This wasn't pai xi at all.

This was clearly a way to get promoted, make a fortune, and kill off a wife!

Looking at the aggressive villagers before him, who felt no remorse and instead glared at him, Mo Chuan inexplicably thought of Mr. Lu Xun, feeling a wave of sadness.

Should he just leave?

"So it's a pai xi in your village. This humble Daoist was ignorant of your customs and caused offense. I sincerely apologize! How about this? I have half a string of copper coins here. Can this compensate you?"

Mo Chuan reached into his robes and took out half a string of copper coins, offering them as an apology.

The villagers exchanged surprised glances.

Those who had been beaten took a step forward instinctively, their eyes filled with greed.

Half a string of coins was a considerable sum in this impoverished village.

Before they could speak, Mo Chuan added:

"It's quite a coincidence, but my temple enshrines the Goddess of Child-Giving, and I am quite skilled in methods for seeking children! Since I have offended you, I feel truly sorry! How about this: why don't you let me handle this matter? I guarantee you will successfully conceive!"

As his words fell, the villagers erupted in a cacophony of chatter.

Some were asking what Mo Chuan was saying.

Others were discussing whether the Goddess of Child-Giving was truly effective.

"You Daoist priest, are you trying to use your seed?"

The woman's husband glared, his eyes wide with anger.

The surrounding crowd burst into laughter.

A meddlesome woman even shamelessly chimed in with a jibe.

"Gou Shenzi, look at this young Daoist. He's so fair-skinned and tender, more delicate than a woman. If you can get his seed, it's your good fortune!"

"That's right!"

"Maybe you'll even have a little Daoist priest!"

The crowd laughed and joked, feeling no shame.

This was because using another man's seed was indeed a last resort for families unable to conceive.

Thanks to "Book Friend 20221008233448295" and "Bai Jiushi Jiu You" for their rewards!

Additionally, the pai xi custom is not fabricated; it is said that even now...]