Daoist Shen

Zhu Ying shouted, "What sort of demon are you, putting on this ghostly charade?"

That voice burst into hearty laughter and called out, "A brat from Five-Terrace dares call this Daoist a demon?"

"By seniority, Zhang True Lord, Sa Celestial Master, and Lion Venerable King Bodhisattva of your Five-Terrace Sect are all this Daoist's juniors. When I roamed the world unchecked, they had not even been born."

Hearing how grandly this man spoke, and seeing that Zhu Ying had already spoken, Wang Chong could not help asking, "May I know this senior's honored name? And why do you know our origins?"

That voice laughed. "You boy have some manners, at least. Arts of divination like this, which calculate the past and foresee the future, were known to everyone a thousand years ago. They were mere trifling techniques, yet now hardly anyone understands them."

"You need not know this Daoist's name or origins. It would not benefit you. Just call me Daoist Shen."

Wang Chong and Zhu Ying circled halfway around hand in hand. At the foot of the small mountain, they saw a Daoist suppressed within a hole, with only his head exposed.

This Daoist had handsome features. His beard and hair had grown for who knew how many years, spreading over the rocks like vines, yet every strand remained distinct and did not conceal his face.

When he saw the two of them, he smiled. "I was only just moved here from the North Sea. Had that not happened, I fear we would never have met. This is your destined affinity, and mine as well."

Zhu Ying was slightly startled. "There are many more patrolling soldiers outside the Dragon Palace. Could it be because of you, Senior?" Hearing the Daoist's extraordinary manner and imposing tone, she did not dare offend him further.

Daoist Shen laughed. "The old Dragon King knows of my fame from a thousand years ago, so he has become somewhat cautious. I was suppressed by a Celestial Venerable—where could I possibly escape to? The old Dragon King is merely making a mountain out of a molehill."

He glanced at Zhu Ying and shook his head slightly. Then he looked at Wang Chong, suddenly smiled, and said, "You actually managed to comprehend the Celestial Escape Sword Formula and the Somersault Cloud Method. You truly have some talent."

Wang Chong's heart shook violently. He wanted to explain, but Zhu Ying seemed neither to hear nor notice, showing no reaction whatsoever.

What he did not know was that in Zhu Ying's eyes, Daoist Shen had been speaking to her all along. The Daoist Shen she saw was completely different from the one Wang Chong saw—two utterly distinct versions.

Daoist Shen continued, "I can calculate your roots and origins. If I were to speak of them, it would cause an uproar, enough to shake heaven and earth. But that would make me lose my chance to escape, so naturally I will not reveal your secret."

Wang Chong fell silent in thought, but inwardly said, So that stream of light, sharp as a heavenly blade, blazing and brilliant, like a newly whetted edge with fierce radiance and the intent to cleave across the eight wastelands, was the Celestial Escape Sword Formula. Then the other one was the Somersault Cloud Method?

Of the five arts I comprehended, four now have names. I wonder what the one that controls the Qian-Li Fire Serpents is called?

Daoist Shen laughed. "That talisman was the orthodox Qianli Sevenfold-Mystery True Fire Art. Only after the Primordial Sect presented it to the Heavenly Court was it inscribed upon the Celestial Stele."

Wang Chong thought in alarm, This Daoist can actually know what I am thinking?

Daoist Shen smiled. "A trifling technique, that is all."

Wang Chong thought, I absolutely cannot release this senior. Let us never mention saving him again.

He was a cautious man. This Daoist had been suppressed in the Dragon Palace and claimed that some Celestial Venerable had acted against him. How could Wang Chong dare act rashly?

Though Daoist Shen had been refused, he did not grow angry. Smiling, he said, "I do need someone to save me, but I do not need you to do it. With your meager cultivation, how could you possibly free me?"

"You need only help me deliver a letter of confession to the Celestial Venerable."

Wang Chong thought, Delivering a letter should be no great matter.

Daoist Shen said, "You cannot deliver the letter yet. Only after you ascend to the immortal palaces of the Nine Heavens will you be qualified to meet the Celestial Venerable and deliver it for me."

Hearing this, Wang Chong felt even more at ease. He thought, I may not necessarily ascend. If I fail in the future, I hope Senior will not blame me.

Daoist Shen laughed. "I have already calculated this for you. There is no need to worry. Even if your destiny truly changes and you cannot ascend, I will not blame you."

Daoist Shen opened his mouth and spat out a letter. Wang Chong reached out to take it, but there was nothing there. Daoist Shen said, "This letter cannot manifest unless it is before the Celestial Venerable. When you meet the Celestial Venerable in the future, the letter will naturally appear."

Wang Chong was slightly worried, but after thinking it over, he felt that even if he refused, he would be unable to resist whatever methods this Daoist might use. He simply chose not to dwell on it.

Daoist Shen said, "Since you have agreed to deliver my letter, I cannot leave you unrewarded. I have two Thunder Lord Pearls, treasures I refined a thousand years ago, which I may give to you both."

Wang Chong shook his head. "My father taught me that helping others should come from the heart, and that one must not covet other people's possessions. Please do not mention treasures again."

That was not actually how Wang Chong's father had taught his son. What Assistant Minister Wang had said was, "There are several truths in this world that remain unchanged through the ages. One of them is: 'Never covet a bargain.'"

"Especially when someone offers you lavish gifts in exchange for your help, the first thing you should think is that the harm this matter may bring you must surely outweigh the gifts."

When teaching his son, Wang Chong's father had not forgotten to add, "It is enough for you to understand these principles yourself. But when speaking of them to others, you must sound righteous, imposing, and grand."

"Grand principles are for others to hear; the ultimate truths of the human world are for yourself to hear. Never confuse their order."

Daoist Shen was greatly surprised. "These Thunder Lord Pearls of mine were made from two dragon pearls I obtained by cutting open the belly of an ancient evil dragon. After a thousand years of bitter refinement, they can command lightning, unleash thunder to strike people, blast apart all things, and even transform into weapons. Their wondrous uses are inexhaustible; they are no ordinary magical treasures."

Wang Chong said righteously, "The more precious the gift, the less one may accept it. This is the proper conduct of a person. There is absolutely no room for compromise."

Daoist Shen stared blankly for a long while, then laughed. "Very well!"

"Since you will not accept the Thunder Lord Pearls, I shall pass on an art to you instead. This is not some precious object."

Wang Chong was about to refuse again when Daoist Shen said, "This art belongs to the lineage of the Myriad Demons Formula. It is called the Fragmentation Technique! Once mastered, you can have your head cut off without dying, your feet cut off and still have them walk, your hands cut off and still have them grasp objects. Even if you are sliced into a thousand or a hundred fragments, you can restore yourself in an instant."

A formula entered his mind in an instant. Unlike the Little Beckoning Spell and the Water-Cleaving Technique Wang Chong had encountered before, this Fragmentation Technique required the use of all three hundred and sixty-five acupoints throughout the body, and also contained thirteen layers of circulations. It was incomparably complex.

The Five-Terrace Sect's qi refinement arts—whether Bai Yue's Great Five-Element Qi Refinement Art or the Yin-Yang Five-Element Qi Refinement Art created by Tuo Tuo Ancestor—were both arts that cultivated magic and martial prowess together. They could cultivate not only magical power, but also true qi.

After Wang Chong learned qi refinement, Xiao Nan used the Great Circuit Marrow-Purging Art to alter his sinews and refine his channels, cleanse his marrow and purge his bones. Cultivating magic and martial prowess together, his worldly martial arts had also advanced rapidly. He had opened several dozen bodily acupoints, and his true qi cultivation had reached five layers of circulation.

Now that he had obtained the Fragmentation Technique, he vaguely felt that this demonic art resembled worldly martial arts, yet was utterly different from them.

Daoist Shen withdrew the art. Zhu Ying and Wang Chong's perceptions merged once more. He smiled slightly and said, "I was trapped in the North Sea, then moved here to the East Sea. I have not eaten or drunk for a long time. Could you give me some fine food?"

This time, both Zhu Ying and Wang Chong heard it.