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So Buddhist truths and Chan wisdom had been right beside him all along, yet he had never noticed. It seemed his mind was still too dull.

Chi Yu had no idea what he was thinking. After only a few steps, he found another perfectly straight stick, happily picked it up, and waved it around.

The sun shone brightly, the trees cast shifting shadows, and a gentle breeze blew. Chi Yu's beautiful face, full of pure joy and vitality, became deeply imprinted in Xiaoqiu's eyes. Even many, many years later, he still remembered this scene.

Chi Yu brought Xiaoqiu to the river, took out some thread, and dug around in the soil until he found an earthworm. He cut it in half, tossed one half back into the soil, then halved the other piece again, making Xiaoqiu a fishing rod and bait.

Once he had finished, he tossed the bait into the water and told Xiaoqiu, "In my experience, we should get a bite in a few minutes."

Xiaoqiu nodded earnestly and copied him.

But after a while, nothing had happened.

Chi Yu scratched his head and said, sounding a little less confident, "Uh, actually, getting a bite within ten minutes is perfectly normal."

Ten minutes later, Chi Yu said, "...Maybe the water here is too shallow, and the fish can see us. Let's go over there. The water's deeper."

They moved elsewhere and waited another half hour. Xiaoqiu asked Chi Yu, "Big Brother, are we practicing meditation? Meditating standing up doesn't seem very effective."

Chi Yu: "..."

What a devastating jab.

And Xiaoqiu had said it in such an earnest tone, too.

Chi Yu said stubbornly, "I know what it is. The fish here turn their noses up at earthworms. Heh, these little devils really leave me no choice. In that case, I'll just have to bring out my secret weapon."

Chi Yu took the spirit beast meat he had yet to finish out of his Sumeru Ring, threaded it onto the hook, and lowered the bait back into the river.

Another half hour passed like this.

Xiaoqiu said, "Big Brother, I think I've gained another insight."

"..." Chi Yu asked, "What insight?"

"Looking back, I saw the body as affliction, and only then knew my mind had not awakened. Suddenly entering the gate of sweet dew, I felt the joy of cool relief.[1] Brother, my heart is very peaceful now. I've attained enlightenment," Xiaoqiu said.

Chi Yu: "..."

Xiaoqiu, this is actually called coming home empty-handed.

Don't make catching nothing sound so lofty!

Chi Yu scratched his head, reeled in his line, and told Xiaoqiu, "Looks like we've had a bad start today. We'll come again tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll chum the water before we fish."

Xiaoqiu nodded firmly. "I really learned so much today. Thank you, Big Brother."

Chi Yu: awkwardly scratching his butt.jpg

Although they had caught no fish, Chi Yu took Xiaoqiu around the back mountain for a while and picked plenty of mushrooms to make soup with that evening.

On their way back, they ran into Xie Xiyi again. Chi Yu still greeted him with a smile. "Hello, Senior Brother."

"Hello," Xie Xiyi replied.

After a pause, the corners of his lips lifted. "The fish and shrimp on the back mountain have been steeped in the lingering sounds of Buddhist chants. They're vegetarian."

Chi Yu saw the light. "So that's why!! No wonder we couldn't catch any."

Chi Yu lowered his head and told Xiaoqiu, "In that case, I'll take you somewhere outside to fish next time."

Xiaoqiu nodded. "Okay!"

Seeing that he was not annoyed and had simply gone with the flow and made his next plans, Xie Xiyi paused briefly, then changed the subject naturally. "If there's anything you lack while you're staying here, you can tell me. After all, I am your senior brother."

Xiaoqiu looked at him in shock.

Chi Yu was a little surprised too. Those words did not seem like something he would say.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. Could this future Buddha-son have been won over by my domineering aura too?

This was hardly the first time someone had taken an unexplained liking to him. Hadn't Phantom Lightning delivered itself right to his door back then?

Oh, this is just business as usual. Then I won't stand on ceremony. So Chi Yu happily told Xie Xiyi, "Senior Brother, I'm short of a cultivation method I can use at the Foundation Establishment Stage. The quality needs to be fairly good, not too poor, or it'll affect my foundations. Please, Senior Brother. I'm begging you, Senior Brother."

As he spoke, he pressed his palms together in sincere supplication. His beautifully curved eyes fluttered, like an autumn lake rippled by fallen leaves.

Though he looked pitiful and endearing, Xie Xiyi saw him as he was, as in Buddhist teachings, and was not moved in the slightest.

Still, faced with such unabashed, matter-of-fact behavior, Xie Xiyi could not help smiling, a faint trace of mockery showing through. "Cultivation methods are secrets that sects never pass on to outsiders. If I give you one, what do I get?"

Chi Yu smiled brilliantly and said with complete confidence, "You get my gratitude."

Perhaps feeling that he did not quite have a case himself, Chi Yu thought for a moment, then confidently sweetened the offer. "You also get the friendship of a Long Aotian. From now on, we'll be the closest of friends. When one man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!"

Xie Xiyi: "..."

His throat tickled slightly, leaving him with a strange sensation of being unable either to swallow or spit something out.

In the end, Chi Yu did obtain the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation method he needed most.

Now convinced that this future Buddha-son was his cheat, he treated Xie Xiyi even better and excitedly made him grand promises. "From today onward, I declare that we're friends. Don't stand on ceremony. Just call me whenever you need anything."

After some thought, he leaned closer to Xie Xiyi and lowered his voice. "Actually, I think you should give up on defecting. Being the Buddha-son is pretty good." He paused, then added, "You're a pretty good person too, and you have a limitless future ahead of you. Don't go doing anything rash."

Xie Xiyi glanced at him. "Since you're so concerned, why not follow the example of 'If I do not enter hell, who will?' and become the Buddha-son in my place?"

Chi Yu was amused. "Me, the Buddha-son? Hahahaha, my mom wouldn't let me."

One look told Xie Xiyi that he truly had no such intention.

He found it puzzling. Although Buddhist sects had strict rules, they lacked no cultivation resources. The Buddha-son in particular would be nurtured with the combined treasures of the Buddhist sects. Once someone became the Buddha-son, his future ascension to the Immortal Realm was a foregone conclusion.

The cultivators who had come to Zizai Continent to study were not without such ambitions. It was only because the Luopo Chan Sect belonged to the Anuttara Buddhist Sect, and he had already been selected as its Buddha-son, that the cultivators of the four Chan residences-Suffering, Origin, Cessation, and Path-behaved themselves so well.

Even the dragon did not want it. This made Xie Xiyi give him a proper look for the first time, feeling they had at least a little common ground. "Why not?"

Chi Yu stroked his textured fringe, which had grown considerably lately and lightly covered his brows and eyes, looking very protective of it. "The Buddha-son has to shave his head and take the precepts. I'd lose some of my good looks for nothing."

Xie Xiyi: "..."

A thoroughly vulgar dragon. Nothing more need be said.

That evening, Chi Yu looked through the cultivation method he had wheedled out of the crown prince and immediately discovered many parts he could not understand.

He put down the jade slip and could not help reaching up to pinch between his brows.

Chi Yu thought of Ling Hezhou. The chances of having a good-tempered teacher patiently break down every point of knowledge and guide him into cultivation as soon as he arrived in the cultivation world had been low to begin with.

This was also why, despite having a mission log telling him to seize the villain's fortune and then kill the villain, he firmly believed he was a Long Aotian.

Ling Hezhou, Phantom Lightning, and his return to the past all made Chi Yu feel that an invisible hand was pushing things along.

But it definitely was not the power of the novel Divine Path, nor that of the system-with an AI as idiotic as his system's, he did not even want to think about it now.

Suddenly, he remembered that Ling Hezhou had told him more than just about the future Buddha-son. Even the gossip about the future Buddha-son's defection had come up because of something else.

Ling Hezhou had said that Zizai Continent had also had a Long Aotian five hundred years ago.

Chi Yu: "..."

All right, no need to doubt it. That was me.

People without a domineering aura generally would not choose a name like that.

There was another piece of information: Ling Hezhou's father had been friends with Long Aotian and had even set up a memorial tablet for him.

Had I died?

No, I'm hard to kill. I still have a dozen or so lives now. Dying once would hardly matter.

Then I must have gone back.

According to the novels he had read, when protagonists returned to the past, they usually had a mission and could only return to the normal timeline once it was complete.

Then what was my mission?

Chi Yu was not stupid. In truth, he was at the age when his intellect was at its peak. Besides, he had excellent grades and had always ranked among the best.

Much of the time, he simply did not want to think too deeply about things, to avoid adding needless worries. He hoped he could truly live up to his name and always be happy, always joyful.

But once he thought closely about it, he could identify many extraordinary things.

Such as that invisible hand...

I can't think too deeply about it. The moment I do, a fairly monotonous mission turns into a riot of colors.

Still, if he wanted to kill the villain, he needed a basic level of strength.

Chi Yu had never killed anyone, but that was something for later. He did not worry about things that would happen in the future. What truly mattered was doing what he could at his current stage.

Chi Yu picked up the cultivation method again, rose, and asked Xiaoqiu, "Can you take me to His Highness? I'd like to ask him to explain this cultivation method to me."

Xiaoqiu readily agreed. "Of course."

Only after hastily agreeing did he feel that something was not quite appropriate, and he quickly corrected himself. "Wait, I need to inform His Highness first. Stay here a moment."

With that, Xiaoqiu took a lamp and went ahead to Xie Xiyi's palace.

At this hour, His Highness was invariably tinkering with his ancient zither.

The ancient zither had been taken apart and reassembled, and its strings had been replaced, yet His Highness remained dissatisfied and stared at it in a daze.

Sometimes Xiaoqiu felt that carrying on like this was truly exhausting, but while saying so once in a while was fine, saying it too often earned him a rap on the head.

So now he no longer said anything.

Xiaoqiu softly called to Xie Xiyi, "Your Highness."

Xie Xiyi glanced at him. "What is it?"

Xiaoqiu said, "Um... Big Brother Aotian can't understand the cultivation method you gave him. He said he'd like to come ask you about it. Do you have time now, Your Highness?"

Xie Xiyi said in disbelief, "It's only a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation method, and he can't understand it?"