Clearing Doubts (Please Support Me!)

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At the sudden mention of the words Spirit Ruins, Puzhi was visibly taken aback.

He frowned instinctively and remained silent for a long while before finally saying, "May I ask where the Spirit Lord heard the words 'Spirit Ruins'?"

"What? Is it inconvenient to speak of?" Su Qingqiu asked.

"This... not exactly." Puzhi shook his head, then pondered how to explain it. After a moment, he said, "To understand what Spirit Ruins are, one must first understand the true nature of this level of the Snake Abyss."

Its true nature?

Wasn't it all just the Snake Abyss?

Su Qingqiu frowned, somewhat confused.

Puzhi continued, "In truth, this level of the Snake Abyss is fundamentally the meridian layer within the True Dragon's bones. Corresponding to it are the flesh-and-blood layer below, the White Bone layer, the scale-and-skin layer, and so on."

"When the True Dragon fell here years ago, its body shattered into four parts and five pieces, its different parts forming different levels. Spirit Lord, you should have seen those crimson ribbon-like substances, yes? They are the True Dragon's tendons."

"According to Dragon-Raising Temple's investigations, these tendons are provisionally divided into the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Standard Meridians. The Spirit Ruins the Spirit Lord spoke of are strange spaces hidden within those Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Standard Meridians."

"Generally speaking, most Spirit Ruins exist where the Eight Extraordinary Meridians intersect. They contain the lingering will and Spiritual Light of the True Dragon. These indestructible substances have remained in the world for ages, and under the transformations of heaven and earth, they have opened spaces of varying sizes within the meridians. The smallest may span only a few hundred square meters, while the largest are like complete Small Worlds."

"Some Spirit Ruins even harbor living creatures. Just as Buddha said: one flower, one world; one leaf, one bodhi. It is nothing more than that."

Su Qingqiu was visibly stunned at this.

He had never expected these so-called Spirit Ruins to be existences akin to Small Worlds, carved out from Si Snake's meridians.

It made Su Qingqiu marvel once again at just how powerful Si Snake had been in those days—far beyond anything he had imagined.

Seeing that Su Qingqiu now understood what Spirit Ruins were, Puzhi pressed his palms together and advised him, "Amitabha. This poor monk knows how great the allure of Spirit Ruins is to the Spirit Lord. The Spiritual Light left behind by the True Dragon within them is the finest nourishment for the Spirit Lord."

"But this poor monk must still advise the Spirit Lord: Spirit Ruins are fraught with unpredictable dangers. Over the countless ages, who knows how many powerful evil demons have been born within them? When encountering an unfamiliar Spirit Ruins, the Spirit Lord must proceed with caution."

Having said that, Puzhi seemed to recall something else. "Oh, there is one Spirit Ruins that may be entered safely. Follow this Eight Extraordinary Meridian twelve li eastward, and you will find the Spirit Ruins Market established by Dragon-Raising Temple."

A market?

A strange look appeared on Su Qingqiu's face.

What was Dragon-Raising Temple doing opening a market here? Trading with Spiritual Serpents?

More importantly, he had been here for over three days and had never seen this so-called market.

Was Puzhi deceiving him?

Seemingly noticing his doubts, Puzhi smiled and began to explain.

In his era, evil demon corrosion and contamination in this level of the Snake Abyss had been exceptionally severe, especially the evil demon pollution coming from the deeper levels below, which had been even more troublesome.

Thus, many eminent monks of Dragon-Raising Temple had been stationed here to slay evil demons. First, to prevent the evil demons below from breaking through their seals and entering this place; second, to prevent the evil demons here from further corroding the Dragon Bone and its meridians.

Of course, part of the reason was also to guard those dangerous Spirit Ruins.

Over time, a Spirit Ruins Market was established here.

The Spirit Ruins Market had been quite lively in those days. As a place where Dragon-Raising Temple Monks rested and regrouped, it also drew many Spiritual Serpents who came to wander about.

The Evil Remains that Spiritual Serpents could not digest could be brought here for exchange after the Evil Qi had been worn away, leaving only the remaining materials.

It was much like a small market.

Dragon-Raising Temple Monks and the Spiritual Serpent clan were two sides of the same whole, and adult Spiritual Pythons possessed complete intelligence. Such exchanges were therefore not particularly abrupt.

Yet the more Puzhi spoke, the deeper Su Qingqiu's doubts grew.

Now, forget Monks entering the market—even the level above the Snake Abyss could only be opened once every ten years.

So...

Su Qingqiu did not question him, merely continuing to gather all sorts of information in secret.

Afterward, Puzhi rambled on about quite a few more things. For instance, in Dragon-Raising Temple's parlance, a Spirit Lord was a Spiritual Serpent possessing more than a thousand strands of Spiritual Light.

Spiritual Serpents at this level would basically grow Spiritual Patterns naturally and possess strange abilities, often described as divine powers. They were truly incomparably wondrous.

Seeing Su Qingqiu's half-human, half-serpent form, Puzhi had mistaken him for one and had therefore addressed him as Spirit Lord all along.

He had no idea that the snake before him possessed nearly ten thousand strands of Spiritual Light—an utterly terrifying existence comparable to ten thousand years of Daoism Cultivation.

Seeing the Buddhist light around Puzhi dimming, knowing that this lingering obsession would soon vanish into smoke, Su Qingqiu asked the greatest question in his heart:

"Master, three hundred and sixty years ago, was this Dragon-Raising Temple level the first level? Was there a level above it?"

Hm?

Puzhi was slightly taken aback. "Why does the Spirit Lord ask this? This has always been the first level of the Snake Abyss. How could there be an upper level?"

Su Qingqiu nodded silently, then asked an unrelated question. "Master, how long have you wandered here?"

Puzhi thought for a moment, then finally gave a bitter smile. "According to the Spirit Lord, if it is now three hundred and sixty years later, then this lingering obsession of mine has wandered here for more than three hundred years."

Su Qingqiu nodded at that. He said nothing more; he already had a guess in his heart.

By then, Puzhi's lingering obsession was already on the verge of dissipating. After waiting another quarter of an hour, Su Qingqiu suddenly saw Puzhi stop speaking. Then Puzhi pressed his palms together, bowed slightly to Su Qingqiu, and said, "Spirit Lord, this little monk's wish has been fulfilled. My time has come, and I now bid farewell. May the Spirit Lord one day unfurl grand ambitions and attain the Eternal Freedom Heaven."

"This is the last gift I leave to the Spirit Lord, a small token of this humble monk's heart. If the Spirit Lord has time someday, I ask that you visit Blackstone Village in Wanlin City to the northwest on this humble monk's behalf. Tell the village elders and folk there... tell them... tell them Little Stone and Big Yellow have returned!"

After saying this, the Buddhist light around Puzhi suddenly scattered into countless specks. At last, a tiny object, like a Sarira, floated before Su Qingqiu.

This was the lingering obsession Puzhi had left behind. It contained some of Puzhi's simple memories and experiences, preserved for Su Qingqiu after he vanished.

"Master... may you have a safe journey!"

Su Qingqiu was silent for a long while before finally letting out a sigh.

Born in chaotic times, Puzhi had been unfortunate, and his karmic entanglement with the Yellow Ox Demon only added several shades of tragedy to that misfortune.

Yet Puzhi had also been fortunate. In that era when the people could barely survive, he had ultimately entered Dragon-Raising Temple. Though he spent his life deeply blaming himself for the Yellow Ox Demon's death, he had also earned the name of the Eternal Saint Monk.

With every drink and every peck, it seemed fate had its own fixed decree.

Three hundred and sixty years later, drought descended once more, like a cycle of reincarnation. Yet there was no longer any story of a child and a yellow ox, a saint monk and an ox demon.