"Senior Brother, I think someone's laughing?"
"Junior Brother, do you smell a whiff of human?"
The two headless monks whispered among themselves as One-Brow Taoist leaped out of the grass.
"Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, let my Dao display its might. Divine soldiers, clear the way; no taboos shall stand."
With a shake of the divination mirror in his hand, he formed a sword finger with his right hand and trod the stellar steps. A vast, majestic aura bore down upon the two ghosts.
"When wind moves, grass must bow; when the mirror shines, ghosts must submit. The Great Evolution of Yin and Yang, with Creation as its craftsman; King Qin illuminates bones, Emperor Han receives dew—fall!"
A flicker of ghostly light flashed. Where were the two ghosts now?
Only two headless paper figures could be seen tightly stuck to the divination mirror in One-Brow Taoist's hand.
A red pattern was clearly visible upon the paper figures, faintly forming the character "Edict."
One-Brow Taoist drew out a red thread from his sleeve and bound the two paper figures together.
"A thread of Heaven and Earth stretches across this Divine Land. The sun, moon, and three lights; Heaven and Earth, the six directions. Dry Yang returns to the Nine Heavens, Kun Yin returns to the Netherworld."
Several beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. One-Brow Taoist tied up the two paper figures and tucked them into the pouch at his waist.
Then he lightly performed the Yu Steps, formed several more hand seals, and called it a day.
"Master really is amazing."
Qiu Sheng edged closer in curiosity. "Master, when will you teach me those moves?"
"Teach you? When you can cut a meal from three bowls down to half a bowl, then come learn this."
Su Che smiled at that.
In Daoist cultivation, Ninth Grade was known as "Qi Consumption."
To attain this grade of cultivation, the foundation was Grain Abstinence: using the essence of Heaven and Earth in place of the five grains to nourish one's vital energy.
As the saying went, "Those who eat meat are fierce, those who eat grain are clever, and those who eat qi become enlightened and long-lived."
Once Daoists reached Ninth Grade, they not only possessed the foundation to wield all manner of Daoist arts, but could also prolong their lives.
This One-Brow Taoist was clearly a Daoist cultivator who had surpassed the Qi Consumption realm.
His two young disciples, however, were plainly rather lacking. They likely had not even entered the gate yet.
"Wencai, what is wrong with you? You dared laugh at a moment like this?"
Qiu Sheng looked at his junior brother with the frustration of one who hated iron for not becoming steel.
"Hehe, the way those two talked was kind of funny."
One-Brow Taoist's young disciple scratched the back of his head and gave a foolish grin.
Su Che looked at the unruffled expression on Daoist Lin's face beside him.
Apparently, this was routine behavior for the disciple. Daoist Lin had seen it too often; even if he had a temper, it had long since been worn away.
"They were merely ghostly creatures that had lost their roots and could never amount to anything." One-Brow Taoist looked toward Su Che. "Brother Yue, what do you make of what those two ghosts said?"
"Daoist Lin, you mean...?"
"Brother Yue has come from elsewhere. Withered Forest Chan Temple was once occupied by a demon. Though wood-attributed, it was bloodthirsty by nature and often preyed upon travelers and merchants passing through this place."
Most plants and trees, once they gained spirit, were gentle by nature because of their inherent attributes. Stories of flower demons marrying men and tree demons discussing old times with old men were common in streets and alleys.
Some households even deliberately kept ancient trees in their homes, for once they nurtured spirits, these plant demons would remember old kindness and find ways to repay the grace of years of care.
That One-Eye within Withered Forest Chan Temple was indeed an exceptional case.
As for why it was like this, that was difficult to fathom.
"Rumors have already spread through Guobei County that Shanyin County's newly appointed county commandant is a sword master of accomplished cultivation. He spent the night here and has already gravely wounded that tree demon."
Su Che looked at Lin Jiugong.
Your information network really was impressive.
"Better to seize the day than choose another. Had I come here alone, I would simply have destroyed that zombie. But now that I have encountered Brother Yue, I have another idea."
"Could it be that Daoist Brother means to root out evil completely?"
Su Che looked at Lin Jiugong. A faint gleam flashed through the Daoist's eyes.
"Brother Yue, demons fill the earth in these times, ghosts walk by day, and the Human Path declines. We cultivators must fight for every fraction we can gain and seize every inch we can take."
Su Che fell silent for a moment.
Perhaps the reason this world had not become a human purgatory like Lion-Camel Ridge in Journey to the West—
Was precisely because there were so many ordinary cultivators like One-Brow Taoist. Like scattered candle flames in the dark night, though they could not cast their light to the ends of the earth, they could stubbornly illuminate the three feet before them. Only then had this world not completely fallen into darkness.
"Brother Lin speaks most truly. That is exactly the reason."
At once, One-Brow Taoist felt greatly reassured.
"Qiu Sheng, Wencai, the purpose of this trip has changed. Go home first. Mr. Yue and I will handle what remains."
Qiu Sheng and Wencai exchanged a glance, but their expressions were entirely different.
"Mr. Yue, please take good care of my master. Don't try to act tough if something happens. Master, if it is time to leave, then we should leave. It is only a job—ten taels of silver. There is no need to risk our lives. People like us spend our whole lives as slaves to money..."
Wencai spoke in a trembling, disjointed manner, his words failing to connect from beginning to end.
"Mr. Yue, you do not look much older than us. Please take care of yourself. If fate allows us to meet again, we shall see whether your swordsmanship is superior or my Daoist arts are more wondrous."
Qiu Sheng clasped his fists with both hands, his words brimming with the righteousness of the martial world.
Su Che also held the peachwood sword's hilt behind his back with both hands and spoke to them.
"Thank you for your concern. But there is no need to speak of meeting again if fate allows. Once we finish tonight's business, I will surely trouble you to warm a pot of aged wine and impose upon you for a while."
The two disciples headed toward Guobei County, turning back every few steps.
"Brother Lin's two disciples are quite good."
Su Che watched their retreating figures and spoke from the heart.
"They are passable, I suppose."
One-Brow Taoist frowned.
"Brother Yue, I do not know whether this may be presumptuous, but ghosts will surely run rampant farther ahead. Allow me to ask one more question."
"Please speak, Daoist Brother."
"Since Brother Yue is a sword cultivator, why do I not see Brother Yue's sword?"
Su Che fell silent for a moment. This Old Lin had indeed hit the nail on the head.
A sword cultivator's foundation was the sword in his hand. A person never left his sword, and a sword never left its person. That was the most basic principle.
What could I say? I was just passing through, and by some coincidence we ran into each other. My cash-shop divine weapon is currently back at home.
"The lineage I come from takes Sword Qi as its foundation and does not place much importance on sword forms. As the saying goes, Bright Sword Heart—everything beneath heaven can become a sword. Borrowing one of Brother Lin's disciples' peachwood swords will be enough."
Su Che recalled the settings he had seen in his previous life.
Lin Jiugong sighed inwardly. Those sword immortals of the Eastern Sea were indeed vigorous and full of life, with one new idea after another. Nowadays, the Confucian and Daoist schools were, by comparison, somewhat stuck in their ways.
"That will do."
Lin Jiugong led Su Che onward, and the two continued deeper into Withered Forest Chan Temple.
The layout of Withered Forest Chan Temple was no different from that of an ordinary temple.
At the mountain gate stood the so-called Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings, enshrining the Four Heavenly Kings: Dhritarashtra, Virudhaka, Virupaksha, and Vaishravana.
Beyond the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings stood Vilu Temple, which enshrined the Buddha Ancestor who had founded the Buddhist lineage in this world. His title was Virocana, hence the name Vilu Temple.
Behind Vilu Temple stood structures such as the Scripture Repository and the Hall of Great Enlightenment.
When first seen, Withered Forest Chan Temple had been immense in scale. Now, only broken walls and crumbling ruins remained.
Su Che and Lin Jiugong walked one behind the other amid weeds and ancient trees, both filled with reflection.
Withered Forest Chan Temple had once been a Dharma lineage left behind by a great cultivator. Who could have known that a strange calamity would wipe out the entire temple, after which a demon would occupy the magpie's nest? Even the dead ghosts of the temple's monks did not dare show themselves in ordinary times.
Human affairs rise and fall; those who come and go become the ancients and the moderns.
That was probably what the saying meant.
Lin Jiugong held a compass in hand, but suddenly stopped ahead.
"Daoist Brother, is something amiss?"
Lin Jiugong looked at Su Che, his single straight brow tightly furrowed.
"Brother Yue, are you human or ghost?"
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