Meng Po Soup's aftertaste

"Born with exceptional talent?"

Shen Gongbao first gaped, then gave Lu Chuan a serious once-over. Hesitantly, he asked, "Do you...?"

"Master, maybe you don't know, but when I was born, my spiritual aperture hadn't opened, so I was foolish for sixteen years. After Uncle Jiang opened it for me..."

Lu Chuan's voice trembled faintly, but his eyes remained bright. "I discovered that I'm quick-witted. I learned to speak just half a month after waking up, and there's more..."

He tried hard to think of something that set him apart from other people.

Born again in the Investiture of the Gods with the memories of his previous life—wasn't that the kind of treatment reserved for the protagonist of a novel?

Then there was another question: where was the heaven-defying treasure that came standard for protagonists?

For the half month after he woke up at Song Mansion, when he still couldn't communicate with anyone, Lu Chuan had kept thinking about it.

But in the end, he'd found himself utterly dejected. Apart from the clothes on his back, he had no treasure at all—not even a necklace or a bracelet to wear.

After half a month of searching, Lu Chuan had finally given up on the idea that he possessed some hidden treasure.

If he had no treasure, then surely, as a protagonist, he had to have some exceptional talent. That was the answer he was eager to hear from Shen Gongbao now.

"Learning to speak in half a month is very fast?"

Shen Gongbao gently stroked the gray-white beard on his chin with one hand and pondered. "But in the Ancient Era, there were people who spoke half a day after birth and could walk after a day..."

Lu Chuan's face gradually stiffened.

"Master, there's another secret I've never told anyone..."

Lu Chuan took a deep breath. He'd decided to bring out his trump card.

As the protagonist, if he didn't have a treasure on him, how could he not have some special talent?

He still believed he was a protagonist born with exceptional talent.

At that, Shen Gongbao looked interested and turned his gaze to Lu Chuan, eager to hear what made his disciple special.

Lu Chuan furrowed his brow, pretending to recall something, and said seriously, "Sometimes, strange scenes from memories appear in my mind... They don't seem to belong to me. It's as if they belong to someone living in another world..."

His words were vague and roundabout, because he didn't want to reveal everything about himself either.

"Hahaha..."

But this time, before he could finish, Shen Gongbao burst out laughing and cut him off.

Lu Chuan stared in bewilderment at Shen Gongbao, who was holding his belly with laughter.

"Master, what are you laughing at? It's true." Lu Chuan explained with utmost seriousness.

"Disciple, do you know that after a person dies, their soul goes to the Netherworld, crosses Naihe Bridge, drinks Meng Po Soup, and forgets the mortal world?"

Shen Gongbao waved a hand, laughing. "Then, according to the good and evil they did in life, they enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation—some become human, others livestock."

Though Lu Chuan didn't understand what he meant, he still nodded.

He'd heard of this. Simply put, Meng Po Soup was like formatting a soul, wiping all its memories clean before it entered the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Lu Chuan had never gone through the process himself, but he guessed that those who accumulated merit and did good deeds while alive could remain human or be reborn into a good life, while those who committed evil would enter the animal realm and become livestock slaughtered by people.

"You brat!"

Shen Gongbao tapped him on the head and laughed. "I think you just didn't drink enough Meng Po Soup!"

Lu Chuan froze when he heard this.

"If you don't drink enough Meng Po Soup, or the dose is too weak, it can't wipe away all of a soul's memories from its past life. When it's reborn, you in this life might see them."

Shen Gongbao waved his hand and smiled. "I think that's what happened to you. Someone in the Underworld must have been slacking off. If it's affected you, how about I cut away those memories from your past life for you?"

"No, no, there's no need, Master!"

The light in Lu Chuan's eyes quickly dimmed. He managed a smile more painful than crying. His memories now were all from his previous life. If Shen Gongbao cut them away, he'd probably become a fool again.

So much for being the protagonist. It had all been... wishful thinking!

Suddenly, as if he'd thought of something, a glimmer returned to his eyes. He asked, "Then, Master, does having memories of a past life count as exceptional talent?"

He was still reluctant to give up. Surely living another life had to mean he was different somehow?

"It doesn't count!" Shen Gongbao laughed. "The Underworld keeps a strict watch, but they have too much work every day, so a few slipups are inevitable. They won't cause any major problems."

"All right!"

Lu Chuan could only accept it. Though he couldn't hide his disappointment, he also let out a long breath, as if setting down a heavy burden.

He felt he'd gotten a little carried away earlier, thinking he was some kind of protagonist.

He was a protagonist, sure—but the protagonist of his own life. And everyone else in the world was the protagonist of theirs. In the end, it all amounted to the same thing.

Shen Gongbao's words had quickly brought him back to his senses.

He had neither a treasure at his side nor some old man to answer all his questions. He wasn't even born with exceptional talent...

Since even having memories of a past life didn't make him special in this world, it was time to give up these impractical ideas and get down to cultivating.

"You brat, stop letting your imagination run wild. You almost fooled even me. Talent? You have the cultivation roots that so many people wish for. That's the greatest talent of all."

After laughing, Shen Gongbao gave him a warning. "With that, what more talent do you need? If you work hard at cultivating, you may yet have a chance to attain the Dao and become an immortal."

At those words, Lu Chuan jolted and froze.

Soon, a brilliant smile spread across his face. He stood and bowed to Shen Gongbao. "Thank you for clearing things up, Master. I understand now!"

Shen Gongbao was absolutely right. Having the roots to cultivate the Immortal Path was his greatest and best talent. It was ridiculous that he'd been sitting on a mountain of treasure without knowing it.

"Good. As long as you understand."

Shen Gongbao smiled and stroked his beard.

Late at night!

The moon shone bright. Lu Chuan sat cross-legged in the courtyard with his eyes closed, bathed in its clear light. He calmed his mind and breathed according to the Five Elements True Origin Formula.

As he breathed in and out, threads of moonlight gathered into fine white strands and entered his body through his mouth and nose.

In truth, most paths of cultivation in the world led to the same destination.

It wasn't only Qi Refiners who absorbed the world's spiritual energy and the essence of the sun and moon to transform it into true qi. The demons did the same.

It was just that most demons had no opportunity to receive the wondrous cultivation arts taught by immortals. So, after opening their minds by chance, they usually cultivated by instinct, absorbing the world's spiritual energy and the sun and moon's essence.

On top of that, they lacked the nine apertures of humans, so cultivating was extremely slow and difficult for them.

Take that mighty Stone Monkey who would appear a thousand years later, for example. He was born with great fortune and exceptional roots, and had the nine apertures and four limbs of a human.

But compared to humans, he lacked a human's cheeks, leaving a flaw in the Daoist art he learned, the Seventy-Two Transformations. It would cost him dearly later, on his Journey to the West.

Even a spirit monkey nurtured by heaven and earth like him faced such severe limitations for not having a human body. Needless to say, ordinary plants and spirits had it even worse.

They had to spend centuries cultivating before they could take human form and gain the nine apertures and meridians of a human. Only then could they cultivate at a speed comparable to humans.

That was why, despite cultivating for hundreds or thousands of years, they still couldn't defeat monks and Daoists who had cultivated for only decades—and why they were so eager to become human.

From this, it was clear that whether one was a martial artist or a Qi Refiner, humans had it far easier than demons when it came to cultivation.

Two days passed like this. Morning, evening, and midnight each day, Lu Chuan diligently absorbed the essence of the sun and moon, hoping to establish his foundation and cultivate true qi as soon as possible.

On the morning of the third day.

"Success!"

As the morning sun rose fully in the east and dawn light fell upon Lu Chuan, seated in the courtyard, his closed eyes suddenly opened. A hint of joy appeared on his face.

After three days of cultivation, he had finally formed his first strand of true qi.

This was called entering the gate, or successfully establishing his foundation.

At that moment, a warm breath rested quietly in his dantian, marking his success.

He could clearly sense that strand of true qi, but because he still couldn't look within himself, he couldn't see it.

Great towers rose from level ground. This was his foundation, his first brick. Now he needed to keep absorbing the world's spiritual energy, making his true qi grow stronger and stronger...