Estranged - Chapter 87

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Yun Weisi frowned.

Xu Jingxian had already gotten used to his cold and aloof expression, but this time it seemed a bit off.

For a little while, she could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

Up until Yun Weisi looked at Jun Zilan.

It was as if he was awaiting orders from Jun Zilan, ready to do the latter’s bidding. Even if they had become friends since they had met each other, this was way too…

Wrong!

Xu Jingxian had also detected another abnormality about Yun Weisi.

Jiufang Changming and Yun Weisi had accused each other of being fake. At first, she was inclined to believe Yun Weisi—after all, she had seen him enter the cave, while Changming had just appeared out of nowhere. However, now she was not so sure anymore. Yun Weisi’s gaze was truly strange.

“So, Shixiong Yun, what’s your Dao Heart?” Sun Buku questioned him again.

Yun Weisi could no longer pretend he had not heard his words.

He spoke coldly: “I’m pursuing immortality, and want to reach the highest cultivation realm. It is the Dao heart of any cultivator, and the reason they embark on the path.”

This answer was not suspicious. Xu Jingxian shared this point of view as well.

Why would anyone suffer the innumerable trials of this lonely and deserted path if not to get stronger?

But Sun Buku burst into laughter.

“You’re really not Yun Weisi!”

As he was saying this, he had already started to move. When the last word came out of his mouth, he had advanced three chi, raising his cane up in the air. Yun Weisi had no time to dodge, so he jumped high up, bumped into a boulder and fell down with a bang again.

Three chi: 1 meter

Since when did Daozun Yun lose the ability to withstand a single blow, and how can just one attack bring him down? Xu Jingxian stared, flabbergasted, at this series of events.

From beginning to end, Jiufang Changming, who was standing nearby, did not intervene.

Jun Zilan realized that the situation had turned against them, so he turned around and ran over to the crack in the boulders to escape!

His movements were extremely quick. He leaped up, and in a flash, his body shrank significantly, turning into a beast with long ears. The rest of them saw a white shadow fly past, and the rabbit-like beast had vanished into the crack swiftly.

Without thinking much, Changming chased after him, also disappearing from their line of sight.

After Yun Weisi fell to the ground, his body deflated, as if he was a ball that was losing air. Very soon, he had turned into a dried corpse, having no real worth anymore.

At some point, Qi Jingu had regained consciousness. He gasped with fear.

“What happened!”

No one answered him. Xu Jingxian and Sun Buku rushed after Changming.

That beast was moving extremely fast. To say it was as fast as a lightning bolt was truly not that much of an exaggeration. Although Changming reacted quickly, for a while, he did not manage to catch the beast, so he could only continue following it. The rabbit was jumping left and right, climbing up high—even if it slowed down, it was impossible to get up to its speed.

The crack was not an ordinary crack that would suffocate people with its tightness. After they entered it, they realized it was not just bright, but also very spacious. The light that was coming from every direction was so blinding that it was even occluding their view. Changming had almost lost sight of the beast several times, but in the end, the Sifei Sword followed it, and pinned the squealing beast to the ground.

“Squeak! Save me! Let me go, let me go!”

Unexpectedly, the rabbit-looking beast could even spit out human words. Xu Jingxian, who reached there at last, was surprised, but not shocked.

Cultivators saw a lot of things during their lifetimes. Although Xu Jingxian had never encountered a speaking beast, she had seen a parrot that could play chess with an old man, while ridiculing the man’s skills at the same time. In the end, the parrot even won the game.

This beast could only talk. That was not all that shocking.

The Sifei Sword had pierced one of its long ears, and even if it struggled with all its might, the beast could not break free. Although its voice was childish, its eyes were brimming with enmity.

“You’ll pay a hefty price for offending a messenger of the deity!”

“If you’re a messenger of a deity, who’s the deity?” Xu Jingxian asked.

The “rabbit” squealed, and its intonation turned even more bizarre.

“The deity is the deity, not someone people like you can go against! You’ve broken into this place, paving the way to your death! The deity will punish you sooner or later!”

Perhaps, if it was not squealing and changing its intonation, it would have sounded a bit more intimidating.

Changming asked: “Do you know the way out of here?”

The beast: “There’s no way out of here! There’s only a way to your death!”

Changming came over, picked the ear of the beast that had not been nailed to the ground with the Sifei Sword, and pulled at its ear with force!

The beast shrieked, feeling like its ear was being torn off.

At this moment, Xu Jingxian smelled a fragrance.

It was not the smell of blood, but a fragrance. It was sweet and enticing, just like the smell of the lotus soup with silver fungus that her old servant used to cook at home.

However, it was not a lotus-seed soup, but the beast’s blood.

How could anyone’s blood be so fragrant?

Xu Jingxian was afraid that the fragrance was poisoned, so she held her breath immediately.

Changming was acting with brutality, but his voice was still gentle.

“I’m asking you once again: where is a way out?”

“To the left, the left!” The small beast shrieked.

Xu Jingxian raised her head to look to the left.

The white light at that side was almost blinding, how could there be a way out?

It was not just the left side—every direction was emitting the same rays of light. They could get closer, but they could not see what was hidden behind the light.

At this point, the shaking of the earth had become more violent.

Changming retrieved the Sifei Sword, and the beast used this opportunity to escape, vanishing in a split second.

“Go to the right!”

Changming said, and his figure disappeared into the light.

The rays of light were getting covered with cracks that kept getting wider, which seemed quite ominous.

The beast said to go left, but Changming chose right instead.

Xu Jingxian thought it was strange, but followed him subconsciously.

There was darkness behind the light.

A boundless abyss that seemed to stretch to the horizon.

Xu Jingxian fell to the ground, unable to control her movements. She wanted to call for her thin silk, but an omnipresent spiritual power appeared out of nowhere, wrapping itself around her in several layers.

The spiritual power was raw and dense, yet exceedingly overbearing, intolerant to any foreign thing. She did not even have a chance to struggle. Although Xu Jingxian’s cultivation was high, she felt her limbs sinking deeper, yet could not do anything about it.

The sound of something buzzing and roaring reached her ears. She listened closely, and realized that it was someone reciting Buddhist sutras. The scriptures soon gained corporeal forms, and every line entered her ears, making Xu Jingxian’s head split from ache. She could not stop it, and her body was only sinking deeper!

The chanting was getting louder, as if hundreds, if not thousands of people were reading sutras at the same time, tapping wooden fish in unison. The sound was pressing down on her, leaving her breathless.

Wooden fish: a wooden percussion instrument, used to keep the rhythm

The techniques of the Buddhist sects were naturally suited to subduing Demonic cultivators, which was why Xu Jingxian abhorred the mere sight of a Buddhist monk. Even though Sun Buku had not shaved his hair, she cursed him silently for being a bald donkey. However, a regular technique of a Buddhist sect had no way of dealing with her. But this sound of chanting had permeated the whole area. Even if she covered her ears, it would have penetrated through her fingers, and if she closed her eyes, it would have intruded into her heart. Xu Jingxian had no way to evade it, so she could only gather her strength to strike back!

However, the burst of her formidable spiritual power only made her enemy place an even greater pressure on her, as if each time she exerted more strength, the chanting intensified as well. No matter how hard Xu Jingxian tried to resist, she could not escape the palm of the Buddha.

Could not escape the palm of the Buddha: from “Journey to the West”: could not escape punishment

No, I don’t believe it!

Xu Jingxian’s vicious nature flared up, and an unrestrained, destructive and rebellious spirit overflowed her heart.

What right do you have to restrain me! Why am I not allowed to live well!

Since you’re not letting me be, then don’t leave anyone out either! Go on, annihilate everything!

The thought of destroying the world appeared in her mind, but it was not the idea of slaughtering the Buddha that had obstructed her way that she had fantasized of before.

“Ignorant and stubborn! No-human, beyond education!”

“No-human” was a swear word used in Buddhist sects. It basically indicated the person was different from everyone.

These light words fell on Xu Jingxian’s heart like heavy blows, like a roar of a lion, shaking the sea of her consciousness and cutting through her mind.

She screamed from pain, but her shriek sank into the countless chanting voices.

The burst of her spiritual powers rushed over in a moment to torture Xu Jingxian, like a hurricane turning into a noose for strangling her. It cut through her skin and flesh, slicing her muscles and bones.

This kind of pain was almost akin to being brutally tortured. Xu Jingxian struggled against it as best as she could; she was as tense as a bow string yet ready to break any second.

“[In the beginning, the Sky and the Earth were barren, but every little thing appeared out of it. The Dao comes from the wind of the Sky, and the Heart comes from the seas and mountains. The jasper maintains its spring green color, while the cool moonlight reflects from the snow robes. The moon shines when she pleases, why bother Mount Nan with questions?]”

The cool moonlight reflects from the snow robes: fig. hardships of war?..

Overall, I believe that the meaning of the poem is “nature is beautiful, don’t bother with useless thought”

At this moment, a faint, distant voice sounded, which was accompanied by a cold wind and an icy rain, and Xu Jingxian’s restless heart was pacified.

The fire of retribution that had been punishing her dispersed, and she saw a wide stretch of mountain range that was enveloped with mists and clouds. She saw the mountain wind turn into haze, and luxuriant green plants flourishing there, extending to faraway lands.

The mountains and rivers were vast, and the world was expansive. All the sufferings and worries of the world were swept away by this sight. With this grandiosity, encompassing everything might in sight, why would anyone be troubled by trifles?

Xu Jingxian could see every living creature almost within her reach, felt a soft wind caress her face, and smelled the fragrance of trees and grass. She seemed to have understood something, and relaxed subconsciously, even revealing a faint smile.

But before she could fully grasp this feeling, nature shed its image, exposing blood-red stains everywhere and stinging her eyes.

Xu Jingxian could not help crying.

For a moment, she had almost gotten a hold of the insight that every cultivator dreamed of—the so-called hidden meaning of nature. It was something that not even the most talented people could chance upon, be they a scholar or a cultivator. The three thousand ways of the Great Dao eventually led to the same goal. If someone could grasp this insight, their cultivation would definitely advance a lot, and if they missed the chance, the person would deeply regret it for a long period of time, if not for the rest of their life.

Unfortunately, Xu Jingxian could not catch it. She could not help sighing again before pulling herself together to assess the situation.

There was a chasm in front of her, so deep one could not see the bottom of it.

She had stopped half a step away from the cliff, and if she moved a little more, she would have fallen down it, where her body would be torn apart and her bones crushed, and even an immortal would not have been able to save her.

Moreover, under the cliff…

Xu Jingxian stretched out her neck to look down.

The ground under the cliff was covered with sharpened ice thorns. Although they were clear and translucent, it was as if they had been made of frozen blood, as they seemed a bit red in color. An eerie gleam was coming from their sharp points.

Bones and bodies were scattered in the space between the thorns. Some of them were new, and she could even see their expressions—there was not a single one of them that was not distorted by terror. Some had already turned into dust, bits of their remains lying here and there.

Judging by their clothes, some of these people were common folk, and some were cultivators with weapons.

Xu Jingxian even thought that the ice thorns might be glittering with red because they had been bathed with blood for many years.

Had she fallen down there just now, controlled by the chanting of sutras, she would have had no time to use her spiritual power as a barrier. Perhaps, she would have been pierced in the same manner, dying without a chance at a proper burial like the rest of these people.

A spiritual power swept towards her. Before she could raise her hands to block it, a sleeve dispersed the spiritual power, as if brushing away dust.

Up ahead, two people were fighting.

Pushing off the cliff, they moved around easily, not even raising dust. It seemed they could lift thousands of pounds without putting in any effort.

One of them was Yun Weisi, and the other one seemed familiar to Xu Jingxian. After a short while, she recalled that it must be Shengjue.

The so-called first cultivator of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, the Cyan Lotus of the Buddhist sect.

Cyan Lotus: a symbol of purity in Buddhism

“Step back a bit,” Changming, who was standing next to Xu Jingxian, reminded her.

He was the one who dissolved the attack for her just now, as well as the one who had recited a poem to make her realize her mistake.

Xu Jingxian was almost crying tears of joy.

“Senior!”

Changming sighed softly, and Xu Jingxian shut up at once.

She transmitted her message directly to his consciousness.

“Senior, what the hell was going on just now!”

“Jun Zilan ate the meat of an eshou, and his body became one with the beast’s. That fake Yun Weisi was the soul of someone who was devoured before, and now helps it catch a new prey.”

The real Yun Weisi was exploring the road ahead of them at that time.

Xu Jingxian had heard about eshous.

This beast was described in The Legends of the Southwestern Wasteland. It resembled a rabbit with long ears, and had the ability to speak human language in a pleasant voice. It looked harmless, but every word it said was a lie. Its meat was quite delicious, but anyone who tasted it would be unable to speak the truth from that moment on, and thus people called it an eshou, a creature that would never tell the truth.

Eshou: “e” means “false”, “shou” means beast

But Xu Jingxian had never heard of anyone merging with a eshou and becoming one themself after eating it.

As if Changming knew what she was puzzling over, he spoke: “That eshou was nurtured by the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. After a long period of time, it has changed. You shouldn’t compare it with an ordinary eshou.”

After they had gone separate ways in the cave, everyone had encountered something. In comparison to most of the cultivators, Jun Zilan’s cultivation level was not low, but it was still lacking in a treacherous and unpredictable place like this one. Not every person who had set their eyesight on a treasure would endure the trials needed to get it. Jun Zilan and Qi Jingu were only two of those who had fallen to death from power. The path of cultivation was covered with a thick layer of remains, and the number of victims was never low, nor would it ever decrease.

This place resembled a giant lotus. After striping off its petals, they would eventually be able to see the heart of it. Every time they ventured deeper, they could feel the spiritual power around them getting denser.

On the night of the puja of the fifteenth of the seventh month, Changming, Ghost King and the rest of them had set a formation to enter the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. However, immediately after setting foot in this place, Changming had realized that the Wanlian Buddhist Temple was not as simple as it seemed from the outside. It was connected with the Capital of You, and they had already formed a new world divided into countless small worlds by barriers. These worlds were connected to each other, and those who entered here would be scattered around.

Changming had also broken into one of these small worlds, seemingly an old forlorn house in the You Capital. It was tiny—if one went left, then right, the whole visit would be finished. However, the house was plagued with innumerable incantations and restrictions, so it could trap one inside for eternity. Many people had come to this place inadvertently, and had ended up being tortured ruthlessly. They would then be dead in no time at all, with their souls captured and turned into aggrieved ghosts, which would go around in circles and repeat the same experience. The combat ability of ghosts who used to be uninvited guests, and were afterwards brutally slaughtered was high. This was because after assembling here for several decades or hundreds of years, they could form a powerful whirlpool of spiritual power that was capable of entrapping cultivators, let alone the common people who were not even strong enough to tie up a chicken.

Small worlds like this were common for the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. Moreover, the further one went, the stronger the backlash became.

At this point, Xu Jingxian could not even stand steadily. A powerful enemy was waiting for them up ahead, and even Changming did not feel too confident about the situation.

The guardian of this place was Shengjue.

If one wanted to leave here, they would have to defeat him.

Changming knew that this place was not yet the heart of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. And Zhou Keyi was definitely being kept at the center, because that way he would be worth more as bait.

Shengjue was deserving of his title as the strongest fighting monk of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. He had been fighting Yun Weisi for a while now, but neither one of them had fallen into an unfavorable position yet.

Yun Weisi had the cultivation level of a grandmaster, but Shengjue had the advantage of knowing the surroundings. It seemed that a kind of inexhaustible spiritual power was pouring into his body all the time, letting him fight to a standstill with Yun Weisi.

On the contrary, it looked like Yun Weisi was switching from offense to defense.

Changming was not in a hurry to meddle in this fight. For a fight of this scale, Yun Weisi must have planned something beforehand, and intervening could ruin his schemes, doing more harm than good.

His eyes swept across the two fighting men, fell on the ice spikes under the cliff, and froze.

Ghost fires were slowly oozing out from the remains, their blue threads gradually intertwining in knots. Very soon, they gained the shape of a human with a head, shoulders, two arms, hands—it was several times bigger than a normal human. It slowly raised its hand, trying to grab Yun Weisi who was fighting up in the air.

Changming formed a finger seal to order his sword, and turned towards the ghost fire.

The sword glow flew past, dissolving the ghost fire. But it gathered back quickly, and the dying embers started to glow again, growing only bigger.

After repeating it several times, Changming was sure that spiritual power from the human world could not be used to extinguish the ghost fire. Moreover, they were in the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, and its spiritual power supported the fire, which was the equivalent of having a protective talisman.

The dark-blue flames seemed to have realized that Changming had no way of dealing with them. With a whistle, the human-shaped fire jumped high up, intending to engulf Yun Weisi.

But a figure obstructed its way.

The ghost fire was enraged. It wanted to go through the person.

It opened its mouth wide to “devour” the whole person.

The blue fire trembled, as if chewing and digesting the prey.

But it soon noticed that its opponent was like a stone. No matter how hard it tried to “chew” him up, it could not crack him into pieces. Instead, its “cheeks” started to ache unbearably.

That pain was spreading from the inside, becoming sharper and sharper. In the end, the ghost fire had no choice but to “spit out” the human.

No, it was even torn apart!

“The Dao is the root to one’s heart, and sincerity goes along with the Heavenly Dao, pacifying both within and outside; the void and the spirit intertwine to uncover the truth!”

The void and the spirit intertwine to uncover the truth: from 金光咒, a Daoist mantra

The Dao. Not the Dao of the Daoist sects, but Jiufang Changming’s Dao.

For many years, he had been treading the path of cultivation, taking no breaks along the way. His goal was not to rebel against the four schools on a whim, but to accumulate hundreds of teachings into one, starting a new clan.

The Sifei Sword: no to Daoism, no to Buddhism, no to Demonic sects, no to Confucianism. He had long since set his sights on achieving the highest realm of cultivation there was to achieve.

He had returned after a lot of suffering, having lost most of his memories. In the eyes of others, he was nothing but another poor soul in dire straits. There were many masters in the world, and Jiufang Changming had already lost his might.

But, taking one step after another, he was returning to the top.

A pair of jade-like white hands appeared from the blue flames. Changming had torn it apart, and it would not heal quickly now.

At the same time, several threads of black fire appeared from the cliff. It stumbled upon the blue flames, and the latter was sucked away cleanly.

The black fire had gained a human shape. The Ghost King, Linghu You, appeared out of thin air.

He lowered his head, looking at the ice thorns.

In no time, those dark-blue flames oozed out again, joining into a sea of flames that pursued the Ghost King and Changming in order to submerge them.

In a moment, the sea of flame disappeared without a trace alongside Jiufang Changming and the Ghost King.

The whole process did not disturb the battle between Shengjue and Yun Weisi.

Yun Weisi, who had already crushed Shengjue once, had greatly advanced in his cultivation.

And Shengjue, who had suffered a defeat under his hands, was no longer the same Shengjue.

Shengjue had shown his face during all kinds of events, ranging from grand celebrations of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple to any meeting between sects and the Qianlin Assemblies that determined the ranks of all cultivators’ realms. Almost every time, people could see Shengjue there.

It could be said that Shengjue was the representative of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, and his words were representative of the whole sect’s stance on matters.

But Yun Weisi knew that the Wanlian Buddhist Temple was more than one Shengjue.

Shengjue did not want others to interfere in his battle with Yun Weisi. Perhaps, he was a bit too concerned with that minor defeat caused by Yun Weisi, so he wanted to use this fight to dispel that trace of a heart demon.

A Buddhist chanting sounded.

A bystander would have thought it to be candid and peaceful, void of vanities.

But for Yun Weisi, it was like a seal, a tremendous power pressing down on him from the skies to crush him into powder at once.

Although he was shrouded in his abundant spiritual power, under the pressure of this place urging to restrain everything, Yun Weisi also seemed to be out of breath.

“Each matter is accountable, everything follows the dharma.”

Nothing is eternal except for the law of cause and effect

Shenjue pursed his lips. Obviously, that voice belonged to him, but it seemed to be coming from elsewhere.

The golden light of the Buddhist seal was getting brighter, almost forcing people to shut their eyes.

Shengjue was sitting cross-legged in the air, surrounded by circles of sutras, just like a deity looking down on the earth from on high.

He opened his eyes, and a golden light flashed through them. His expression was merciful, as if he was feeling compassion for every person suffering in the world.

Unfortunately, that did not include Yun Weisi.

Shengjue’s expression changed slightly.

He noticed the shackles that had been put on Yun Weisi gradually disappearing.

“Each matter is remunerated, that shouldn’t be doubted.”

Remunerated: “transfer of merit”

Another layer of golden light appeared.

“Every matter is quiescent, World has no me.”

Every matter is quiescent: “dharma doesn’t come [or go]”: the state of silent Nirvana

Has no me: Budd. no individual independent existence, wiki: “no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon”

Another layer of golden light appeared.

But all these layers of golden light were torn apart by his opponent.

Shengjue’s expression remained the same, but his voice was getting deeper.

“Each matter is unchangeable, everything will settle down!”

 Everything will settle down: the chain of cause and effect is flawless

The doctrines he uttered turned into shackles of golden light.

If there had been a disciple of a Buddhist sect present, they would have noticed that Shengjue had already reached the Lotus Realm. In the secular world, he would have been considered an incarnation of the Buddha, a Bodhisattva that had descended to the world of mortals, to be worshiped by the common people.

But Yun Weisi only closed his eyes, not moving at all, as if he could not see him.

Shengjue squinted.

This person was unmoved like a mountain, still standing firmly under layers of golden light. He must have completely integrated with his Dao heart, so he had not broken down yet.

What was Yun Weisi’s weak point?

Shengjue pondered this question.

He was no stranger to this old enemy. Before Yun Weisi had gone to the Nine Layers of the Abyss, they were chess players meeting their match, two opponents worthy of each other.

Yun Weisi seemed indifferent, but deep in his heart, he was very arrogant. It looked like he was adhering to the teachings of the Dao, while in fact, he defied the rules.

Shengjue even suspected him of being insane.

The world imagined Yun Weisi to be aloof like an immortal, and few people had seen him act unruly.

Such an overweening and unbridled personality was definitely not flawless.

Was it him going through a lot as a result of the misfortune despite being born into a rich family, or was it him falling from the high pedestal of a lucky man after becoming enemies with his teacher?

Or…

It seemed that Yun Weisi was unable to hold on for longer. His expression cracked slightly.

It was only a small change, but Shengjue managed to grasp it!

“Each matter has no law, I’m the law!”

Meaning things appear the way we feel them, everything is relative

With the last word, a golden 卐 symbol burst into the air, its single target being Yun Weisi!

Sweeping away every obstacle, unmatched in its perfection!

Yun Weisi opened his eyes, revealing a trace of fear.

Right now!

Shengjue did not hesitate anymore. He flew up, slashing his cane heavily towards his enemy!

But Yun Weisi suddenly smiled.

“Do you want to know what my weakness is?”

Shengjue heard him say.

Wrong!

I shouldn’t attack him now!

But he already had no time to stop the charge.

What had fallen could not be retrieved, and even four horses could not catch up to a word that had already been spoken.

Shengjue’s five senses were stretched to their limits. He could even hear a worm squirming on the edge of the cliff, and a bead of water falling on top of his head.

Water?!

“My Dao Heart is—”

Shenjue saw him open his mouth, silently saying two words.

That drop of water had broken his spiritual power, turning into an ice needle piercing his head and destroying Shengjue’s formation.

Yun Weisi had unsheathed the Chunzhao Sword.

Another sword was glowing behind his back. That was the Sifei Sword, that had held the world in fear.

The golden light had abruptly disappeared, and Shengjue fell down from the air.

The moment before the ice thorns had pierced his body, he saw Jiufang Changming, who was supposedly devoured by the ghost fire, appear in front of him.

He and Yun Weisi, one in front and the other from behind, attacked him from two sides.

My Dao Heart is Jiufang Changming.

This was the last line Shengjue remembered.

To his surprise…

Shengjue closed his eyes tightly. Even in his death, he was unable to understand how someone whose Dao heart was another person could have achieved a formidable power like this.