High Person

Once Zhou Ning had figured it out.

He no longer wanted to mention the two deities, lest he cause another misunderstanding.

He made something up. "Those two cultivators had black Qi pouring off them. They were probably some kind of Devil Cultivators. I thought you knew them!"

He Zhuoran fell silent at once and continued on his way, a cloud of black smoke.

After spending the past day or two with him, Zhou Ning still didn't trust him. After all, the bastard had played tricks to ambush him during their last exchange at Gazing Immortal Port.

But He Zhuoran clearly needed something from him concerning the Void Wind Qi-Unifying Instruction, and their exchange had been fairly equitable.

For the time being, he probably didn't have much intention of harming Zhou Ning.

Even if he did, Zhou Ning wasn't afraid. This was a false body anyway.

He coughed. "Brother Zhuoran, the place we're going is called Dead Wood Ridge. Are there many cultivators there?"

He Zhuoran said, "There certainly will be. That's the cave abode of a True Person who cultivated the Yi Wood Dao Path. As the saying goes, decay conceals vitality. There's bound to be no shortage of spiritual treasures inside."

"A disciple of the Firmament Treasure Sect has brought a spiritual treasure embryo specifically to break the restrictions and intends to open the cave abode. The genius cultivators of the various factions will all gather there."

As a member of a Purple Mansion Aristocratic Clan, he had learned of this in advance.

Zhou Ning thought for a moment. "With a Treasure Sect disciple there, won't you be in danger?"

If Brother Zhuoran were refined, wouldn't Zhou Ning be embarrassed?

He said with insincere courtesy, "Why don't we play it safe and find somewhere else to get Calamity-Severing Grass?"

He Zhuoran snorted coldly. "I'm supposed to be afraid of them?"

Though his cultivation wasn't high, he had mastered a Secret Method. Ordinary Late Qi Refining cultivators might not be a match for him.

"Besides, a True Person's cave abode is full of treasures."

He couldn't possibly miss out on this cave abode just to help Zhou Ning get Calamity-Severing Grass.

Just then, two more cultivators passed by and spat from a distance.

"Pah! Fucking Devil Cultivator!"

They ran off after spitting.

Zhou Ning's mouth twitched. Even the dogs by the roadside came up to give him a kick.

"Brother Zhuoran, can you change your appearance?" Zhou Ning asked. "For example, with the Flowing Light Concealing Shadow Instruction?"

He Zhuoran was taken aback. "Can I change it?"

Zhou Ning was puzzled. "You can't?"

He had traded for this Secret Technique from He Zhuoran himself.

Zhou Ning was used to being poor, so after obtaining the technique, he had practiced it once each morning, noon, and evening. Through constant exploration, he had developed a particularly profound mastery of all sorts of tricks for concealing unusual signs and changing his appearance.

"I could before. The main thing is, I'm not even human now..." He Zhuoran murmured.

"Besides, before I left, the old ancestor told me not to skulk around, but to conduct myself openly and honorably..."

He Zhuoran took out a Jade Slip and probed it with his Divine Sense, studying it carefully.

A day later.

He Zhuoran cast a Method Formula. The pitch-black smoke suddenly lit up, and the radiance began flowing around his body.

"Haha, Brother Zhou, I did it!"

A cloud of white smoke swam around Zhou Ning, wildly excited.

Zhou Ning poured cold water on him. "Not quite. You still have a little Evil Qi. You don't look quite right."

He gave him some pointers. "There has to be light. You have to look holy."

Another day passed.

The two crossed mountains and ridges, avoiding every dangerous place. When they were still a hundred li from Dead Wood Ridge.

He Zhuoran finally trained his body into a mass of golden light, brilliant and dazzling, radiating the splendor of the righteous path.

Zhou Ning was very pleased. "Good, good, good!"

"It's close to perfect overall, but a lone ball of golden light is still too suspicious."

"Looks like I'll have to come out of seclusion."

With that, Zhou Ning took out a Buddhist robe and draped it over himself.

He had stripped it from a Buddhist cultivator along the way. Unfortunately, the cultivator's Storage Bag had vanished without a trace. Presumably, he had fallen victim to a villain.

Zhou Ning took out a wooden stick he had picked up by the roadside, broke it into the shape of a monk's staff, and then took out a bowl.

He called out, "Brother Zhuoran, come over my head!"

The golden light moved slowly over Zhou Ning's head, instantly illuminating him with extraordinary brilliance. Golden light covered his body, making him look like a reincarnated Buddha.

Wearing a solemn expression, Zhou Ning spoke the truth: "Amitabha, amitabha. This humble Daoist is High Person Golden Light!"

He Zhuoran floated above his head, his two golden eyeballs staring straight at him. "Brother Zhou, isn't what we're doing against propriety?"

Zhou Ning said gravely, "Why worry about that? When you're out in the world, you give yourself your own identity."

"Would you rather be a Buddhist monk revered by all, or a Devil Cultivator despised by everyone?" he asked in return.

He Zhuoran fell silent.

"Oh, right. I've heard that Buddhist monks have different cultivation realms from us Qi refiners."

"Brother Zhuoran, cast a spell to conceal my cultivation realm." Zhou Ning was extremely thorough in his preparations.

He Zhuoran was adept with Law Techniques. With a flash of golden light, he promptly concealed Zhou Ning's cultivation realm.

Zhou Ning formed a Method Formula. "Off we go!"

Dead Wood Ridge was not particularly tall. From the outside, it was only a small gray hill, sparsely covered with grass and trees.

Yet over a hundred cultivators had gathered in just such a place, each of them shimmering with spiritual light.

A steep cliff face was covered in withered black vines, concealing a cave entrance more than ten zhang wide.

A woman in a water-blue dress, her wide sleeves drifting gracefully, suddenly flung a pale-blue jade sword from her hand.

A blade of water slashed at the strange vines over the entrance.

A hazy barrier flashed, silently dissipating the attack without so much as a ripple.

Laughter rang out beside her. "With that paltry Law Power of yours, you'd be better off joining me. I'll perform an empowerment for you and make you my radiant consort. I guarantee you'll have endless pleasure!"

Shi Shuiyue turned her gaze toward the voice. It belonged to a broad-shouldered, thick-waisted monk who was grinning from ear to ear.

A scantily clad woman clung to each of the monk's arms.

The monk turned his head from side to side, kissing one woman and then the other.

Shi Shuiyue frowned and shouted, "What kind of wicked demon from the Outer Dao are you?"

Boming's eyes bulged with anger. He grabbed the head of one of the women on his arm and tore it off, then seized it by the hair and swung it through the air with a fierce whistle.

"Aah! This Dharma master will skin you and make a drum of your hide!"

A fight was about to break out.

A heroic-looking man in the sky was holding a glazed disc, working to break the formation.

He said, "Once you're inside the ridge, you can fight however you like. Otherwise, I must ask you to leave!"

Boming looked at the spiritual treasure embryo in the man's hand, then aggressively put the woman's head back on.

The other cultivators present were secretly alarmed at the sight.

This Esoteric Sect Cultivation Method was truly bizarre and brutal, utterly unlike anything in their Land of Wei. No wonder he was called an evil monk!

Just then, a brilliant golden light suddenly appeared in the distance.

Everyone looked over and saw a robed figure approaching at a measured pace.

Buddha light radiated from him, giving him an extraordinary solemnity. Wherever he passed, the grass beneath his feet withered.

Shi Shuiyue watched the scene and thought, Is this the legendary Nirvana Buddha Light?

Before she set out on this trip, an elder of her sect had told her to be especially careful, saying that someone from Little Western Heaven had entered the Grotto-Heaven.

Could this be him?

The cultivators constantly exchanged messages in secret through their Divine Sense.

Some whispered among themselves. "Which faction does this Buddha's son belong to?"

"How did even someone like him enter the Withered Wood Grotto-Heaven?"

"Isn't there something wrong with his monk's staff? And that alms bowl looks utterly ordinary," someone observed.

"What the hell do you know? This is the Great Dao in its utmost simplicity. How could a Buddha's son's realm be compared to an ordinary monk's?"

Amid this atmosphere, Zhou Ning slowly walked to the center of the crowd.

He transmitted his voice with Divine Sense. "Brother Zhuoran, didn't I say it would be fine?"

He Zhuoran's golden light trembled. Ever since entering the Grotto-Heaven, he had been hated by people and dogs alike. He had never imagined that he would now become a Buddha's son, revered by others. This feeling was truly wonderful!

He just felt a little guilty. "What if we're found out?"

"Naturally, we'll make it a grand affair!"

Zhou Ning held one hand before his chest, neither sad nor joyful. "Benefactors, this humble monk comes from Little Western Heaven. I was passing through this treasured land, and I hope I haven't disturbed you."

Seeing how holy he was, the cultivators all replied courteously, "Master, you haven't disturbed us at all. Greetings!"

Zhou Ning returned their greeting. "You intend to enter this treasured ridge in search of opportunities. May good fortune be with you, and may you return laden with treasures."

As he spoke, he held the monk's staff in one hand and the precious bowl in the other, radiating golden light.

A young cultivator nearby saw this and pondered to himself.

His name was Wu Daoqi, and he was a cultivator of the Wu Household. Ever since the incident at Gazing Immortal Port a few years ago, the Wu Household's reputation had been ruined.

Since entering the Grotto-Heaven, he had not only failed to obtain a single spiritual material, but had also been beaten several times for no apparent reason. Fortunately, he had brought plenty of talismans and had narrowly escaped death.

He had never believed in being dogged by bad luck before, but now that he had experienced it himself, he had no choice but to believe.

They say a Buddha's son is a person of great destiny, the reincarnation of a śarīra, who can help people wash away all their worldly stains...

Wu Daoqi stepped forward, placed a Spirit Stone in the bowl, and pressed his palms together with a devout expression.

"My name is Wu Daoqi. Buddha's son, please bless me!"

Zhou Ning was stunned.

He had previously heard He Zhuoran say that most of the cultivators here came from Aristocratic Clans and sects and were quite wealthy.

But seeing it for himself, wasn't this a little too generous? He had just given away a Spirit Stone like that?

He Zhuoran's angry voice reached his ears. "Hmph! Does he take me for a beggar? I am a Buddha's son!"

He was from a Purple Mansion immortal clan and had his own pride!

"Don't be angry. I'll give you half later," Zhou Ning soothed him. Naturally, he couldn't turn down a fortuitous opportunity that had come knocking.

"Brother Zhou, quick, I want to bestow Buddha light upon him!"

Zhou Ning raised his monk's staff, letting the golden light that Brother Zhuoran had transformed into touch Wu Daoqi slightly.

He returned the courtesy. "Your heart is sincere, benefactor. You shall turn danger into good fortune. Treasures have spirits and will come to seek you out of their own accord."

When the dazzling Buddha light shone on Wu Daoqi, he immediately felt much cooler all over, as though even his bad luck had disappeared.

Overjoyed, he said, "Many thanks to the Buddha's son for bestowing the Dharma!"