A Dream with a Price, a Priceless Sword

As dusk fell, the trees on Mount Laoming seemed to be veiled in a shimmering veil amidst the brilliant sunset clouds.

Half the sky was red, with red clouds like scales. If the heavens were to paint these clouds with their brush, the strokes would surely be the most rugged and bold.

The other half of the sky was a clear, pale blue, serene and peaceful, without any conflict.

The entire sky possesses both a dazzling vitality and a leisurely spirit.

On the mountain road, a little donkey trotted along, with an old scholar in his forties sitting sideways on its back.

This person wore a silver silk scarf on his head, deliberately aged, with phoenix eyes, a long black beard, and a silver robe; his appearance was quite remarkable.

In particular, he held a crystal gourd in his hand, from which seemed to shimmer with extraordinary colors, a seven-colored mist that made it clear at a glance that it was no ordinary item.

As the donkey swayed and rocked up the mountain, he followed suit, nodding and swaying his head, and began to recite poetry.

"Eighty-one years of past events, four thousand miles from homeless. Now I wander to the ends of the earth, dreaming of the Jade Pool Palace—"

This is a poem titled "Xi Jiang Yue" written by Cai Jing during the Northern Song Dynasty, and it carries a somewhat melancholic tone.

But now, when an old scholar sings it, it has a rhythmic cadence and drawn-out intonation, conveying a sense of leisurely self-satisfaction and smugness.

He seemed to feel that singing this song was very dashing, and it also made him seem to have a sense of having experienced many vicissitudes of life.

Above the mountain road, in front of the temple gate.

A few scattered soldiers stood guard at the gate. When they saw someone approaching, they placed their left hand on their swords and raised their right palm forward to indicate that they were about to stop them.

"I am a Dream-Eating Marquis, Ailao Scholar."

The scholar exclaimed, "It was the people of Mount Laoming who specially invited me here. I've traveled a long way and am covered in dust. Why didn't they come out to greet me?"

This shout revealed the Daoben.

The old monk's sleeve still had a few ink stains, probably from when he was writing something. He turned around from the side, crossed the main gate, and immediately bowed.

"This humble monk, Daoben, is the one who placed the deposit."

Daoben looked straight ahead and asked, "Mr. Ailao, why are you thirteen days late?"

Indeed, three days have passed since Chu Tianshu arrived at Mount Laoming.

That day, Daoben visited the post station of the Dream-Eating Marquis again and confirmed that Ailao Scholar had not left after the incident at the temple and he could not find him.

Rather, Ailao Scholar had never actually been there from beginning to end.

"Of course I have my own things to take care of."

Ailao Scholar chuckled, dismounted from the donkey, and laughed, "There are even soldiers from the Divine Machine Battalion guarding this place. Could it be that some general has come here to offer incense?"

Daoben, however, refused to be fooled so easily.

"If you had something to do, why did you set the meeting date thirteen days in advance? Why didn't you tell us beforehand?"

Ailao Scholar, "I see you're in a hurry to find someone, so I'll set an earlier date for you, to put your minds at ease."

"Ah, actually I rushed here as fast as I could, but unfortunately I ran into trouble on the way. Several groups of bandits were fighting, and I almost got caught up in it. Because I had to take a detour, I was delayed even more."

Daoben, being quite old, could naturally see that this person was not being sincere and was clearly just making up an excuse.

He was probably after those three bottles of pills, so he quickly accepted the deposit, afraid that someone else would snatch the business away.

He took the job, but he wasn't serious about it, dragging his feet Three Hearts and Two Minds. He's only just arrived now!

In the past, Daoben would most likely have tolerated it and not pointed it out.

After all, the other party is a disciple of the Dream-Eating Marquis, ranked seventh on the Heavenly Ranking in this era. He is not a mere Laoming Temple who can be provoked.

Even Ailao Scholar himself, his skill should not be underestimated.

However, within those thirteen days, a tremendous change occurred at Laoming Temple. Daoben couldn't help but feel a sense of relief, thinking, "If I had invited a person who kept his promise when I invited Dream-Gathering Sect, and if Ailao Scholar as promised, would the tragedy have been averted?"

In this light, one can see that this person was manipulative, accepted a large sum of money, and then acted nonchalantly after breaking his promise.

Daoben felt an unnamed fire rising in his chest, shooting straight to the top of his head. His teeth were chattering, and his scalp was burning and itchy in waves.

Seeing his face gradually turn red with anger, Ailao Scholar was utterly bewildered.

This bald monk, does he really dare to turn against me over something as trivial as breaking a promise for a few days?

"Master."

Ailao Scholar pondered, "Could it be that your old illness has flared up again?"

He thought about it and still felt that the other party probably wasn't turning against him; perhaps they had some other problem.

I'd heard long ago that monks' martial arts skills often resulted in hidden injuries that would flare up every now and then.

Daoben clenched his fist.

Just then, Zuo Qiu stepped forward and grabbed his uncle's sleeve.

"Amitabha Buddha."

Zuo Qiu said, "Master Ailao, do you know that during the time you broke your promise, the abbot went mad, implicating all the elders of the temple and forcing the disciples to repeatedly undergo trials and cultivate to the point of death?"

He knew the other party had only broken their promise, and that the biggest fault couldn't be blamed on them, but he couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment as he spoke, staring intently at the other party.

"Of all our fellow disciples, hundreds perished, leaving only the four of us!!"

Ailao Scholar was taken aback.

"Such a thing happened, what about my other seven bottles of pills—"

Ailao Scholar's eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at Zuo Qiu. "The abbot of the Laoming Temple is a first-rate expert. It's truly remarkable that the four of you survived under his oppressive and arduous training."

"These past few days, you've been having that nightmare of asceticism, haven't you?"

"The aesthetics of Buddhism, the darkness of Zen monks, the sorrow between teachers and disciples, the bloodshed and excitement of constantly overcoming challenges."

Ailao Scholar's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he spoke, and his face became excited.

"Follow my instructions, focus your mind, and stimulate your memory. This will enrich the details of your dream and make it easier for the dream buyer to immerse themselves in it."

"If you handle these dreams well and let me take them, I won't need the remaining seven bottles of pills, how about it?"

Daoben and Zuo Qiu were both stunned.

They never expected Ailao Scholar to react this way. After a moment of astonishment, their anger surged forth in double measure.

"Brute!!"

Daoben twisted his waist, bent his body to the side, and threw out both fists at once, unleashing a move that combined decades of internal energy— the Arhat Strikes the Bell.

At that moment, his two fists and his bald head formed a vertical line.

A right punch to the face, a bald man to the chest, a left punch to the groin.

Ailao Scholar experienced and knew that he absolutely could not attack the bald man in the face of this move.

There was a soft, Gang Qi emanating from that bald head. Once struck, the impact would be transferred to the opponent's fists, making their attacks faster and impossible to avoid.

Boom!!!

Daoben's attack caused the air to sway like silk, and a turbulent, chaotic current of air surged out in the direction from which the attack was launched.

But Ailao Scholar's figure was already completely pressed against the ground, avoiding the attack.

Just as Daoben realized that the other person was lying on the ground, Ailao Scholar suddenly, abruptly, and abruptly stood up again.

Whether you lie down or stand up again.

His speed was so fast it was like a fleeting dream.

The crystal gourd shoved and struck Daoben directly in the chest.

Unexpectedly, an iron nail suddenly burst out of Daoben's chest, its head facing outwards, and slammed viciously into the gourd.

The powerful impact shattered the nail into a lump of iron, embedding it into the surface of the crystal gourd.

But the crystal gourd was also shaken, and three or four cracks appeared around the iron mud.

Ailao Scholar, his figure suddenly sliding back ten feet. He stroked the gourd with heartache and angrily said, "What are you doing?"

"If we can't agree on a price, I'll give you some silver in addition to forfeiting the seven bottles of pills. These dream experiences are definitely worth selling."

"But now you've broken my gourd! You, you, you!!"

He pointed angrily, his fingers trembling with rage.

As for the matter of the iron nails on the Daoben, he understood it immediately upon reflection.

One of the ascetic practices in Buddhism involves driving iron nails into one's own body; some even more ruthless individuals drive them into the bones.

When Daoben escaped from the temple, he forgot to remove the nail. After so many changes, the nail was still stuck in his body more than ten days ago.

When the old monk saw the destroyed iron nail, he placed one hand on his chest and couldn't help but think of how everyone had been alive just over ten days ago, and a wave of sorrow washed over him.

"Breaking your promise is bad enough, but what you're doing now is tantamount to trying to buy the clothes off a corpse amidst the wailing at a funeral."

The old monk's voice was trembling.

"Ailao Scholar, we have no grudge against you, no enmity whatsoever! How can you act like this?! Do you even have a shred of humanity left?!"

Ailao Scholar's eyes darted around, and he coughed lightly. "Let's not talk about that for now. You've broken my gourd, so you have to pay for it."

The soldiers from the Divine Machine Battalion were also stunned.

They always thought they were shameless, but today they realize what true shamelessness is.

What did you do?

Ailao Scholar noticed the disdainful looks in the soldiers' eyes and became somewhat annoyed.

"This crystal gourd of mine was a gift from my master. The dreams sold from this gourd have even been tasted by princes and nobles in the court, who all enjoyed them and discussed them with great relish."

"Those are high-ranking officials that you lowly soldiers will never even see in your lifetime!"

"Is it wrong for me to demand compensation for such a priceless treasure?"

Choke!!

Before Ailao Scholar could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a chill on his shoulder, and a sword's cry rose in his mind.

In his great alarm, he flashed three times.

However, after injuring his right shoulder, his entire arm suddenly lost strength, while the gourd remained in place.

A moment later, the crystal gourd crashed to the ground, covered in dust.

A silver-white sword shadow flew through the air, swirled twice unhappily, and returned to the main gate of the temple.

When Ailao Scholar saw the sword shadow clearly, he only felt a chill run down his spine. But when he saw the extra figure at the door, he inexplicably felt his pores tighten and he became unable to move.

"This sword of mine has slain ghosts, wounded dragons, and destroyed kings and nobles; I can't even count the others. According to you, it must be incredibly valuable!"

Chu Tianshu stood at the doorway, raised his left hand, and lightly flicked the sword, sending away a drop of blood that he had deliberately left on the tip.

"You actually stained my sword with your cheap blood."

"It seems I have no choice but to demand compensation from you."

9