Saintess Xuan raised the Tathagata Treasure Seal and smashed it against the back of the head, while Chen Shi thrust and shook his spear from the front. Their coordination was seamless, flawless, and could be called exquisite.
Chen Shi leaned on the shaft of his brush-spear, his heart pounding wildly. It took a mont before his breathing stabilized.
Saintess Xuan's heart was also thumping incessantly as she struggled to calm her mind.
Chen Shi gradually caught his breath, his gaze falling on Saintess Xuan as he slightly frowned.
He had originally intended to risk his life to fight Baili Mu's Primordial Spirit, never expecting Saintess Xuan would actually help him.
If the Tathagata Treasure Seal hadn't smashed the back of Baili Mu's Primordial Spirit's head, who would have erged victorious was still unknown. However, Chen Shi estimated Baili Mu's chances of winning were still greater. Unless Baili Mu attempted to seize his body, only then would he have a chance.
After all, the gap between the two of them was too vast.
Saintess Xuan noticed his gaze and warily grabbed the Tathagata Treasure Seal.
She broke the silence first, "Chen Shi, I helped you not because I'm betraying the Young Master, but to protect myself. I killed Baili Mu because I would die if I didn't. Our opposing relationship has not changed."
Chen Shi nodded lightly, retrieved the Dark Spring Swimming Dragon Sword that had fallen to the ground, and stored both it and the Dragon Whisker Brush into the small temple behind his head.
Saintess Xuan, however, thought he had shrunk these two treasures and stuffed them into his ears.
She had read a book called *Journey to the West*, where a monkey nad Sun Wukong stored things that way.
"Enlarge," she whispered softly.
Chen Shi's head did not explode with a *poof* as she had anticipated, leaving her slightly disappointed.
Chen Shi glanced at her. Considering she had, after all, saved him earlier, he forcefully suppressed the urge to knee her in the abdon and continued searching Baili Mu's remains for anything valuable.
However, Baili Mu was now shattered, leaving only his head and two legs. Even if he had carried anything, it was either blown apart or flung far away, its whereabouts unknown.
Finding nothing of value, Chen Shi began gathering the scattered fragnts of the Mysterious chanism Hundred Transformations Furnace.
"Enlarge," Saintess Xuan whispered again.
Chen Shi shot her a glance, clenched his fist, and after a mont, slowly relaxed it.
She did have a favor, after all. How could he ruthlessly attack her?
He continued sorting the fragnts.
These fragnts were imprinted with nurous talismans, stamped repeatedly over many years. Although many fragnts were damaged and couldn't be pieced back into a complete furnace, the remaining components were still quite valuable.
Take them back, let the Lu Ban Sect study them, they might be useful. Even if they're useless, Shao Jing can sell them for a decent amount of silver.
Saintess Xuan observed him cautiously and whispered, "Enlarge..."
To hell with favors!
With a *whoosh*, Chen Shi charged over on a gust of wind, swinging his thick thigh, his calf sharp as a blade, already poised to chop at her neck.
Saintess Xuan stumbled in fright and fell to the ground.
Chen Shi snorted, retracted his raised right leg, and went back to collecting fragnts.
Saintess Xuan watched him nervously, clutching the Tathagata Treasure Seal. If he dared approach, she would raise the seal.
Even if she couldn't defeat Chen Shi, she would use this seal to end her own life rather than suffer humiliation at his hands.
Chen Shi had absolutely no intention of humiliating her. He focused intently on gathering all the treasures he could find. He then took a small box, about an inch square, from his sleeve, opened it, and stored the fragnts of the Mysterious chanism Hundred Transformations Furnace inside.
Saintess Xuan's eyes widened. Chen Shi's little box was only an inch square, while the Mysterious chanism Hundred Transformations Furnace was seven chi tall and nine chi wide. Such a tiny thing could actually store the furnace!
"One flower, one world; one leaf, one Tathagata."
She couldn't help but say, "The Dharma King is at ease, transformations are infinite, containing Mount Suru within a mustard seed, hiding the sun and moon beneath a lotus flower. Our Buddhist Sect also possesses such supernatural powers. (Excerpted from *Guang Hong Ming Ji*)"
"This is a family heirloom of mine," Chen Shi said.
Saintess Xuan blinked. A family heirloom that could rival the Buddhist Sect's supernatural powers?
Once Chen Shi had finished tidying up, Saintess Xuan couldn't help but ask, "Why are you collecting all this?"
Chen Shi sat down on a rock to rest, putting away the small box. "I was terribly poor as a child, always wanting to earn more money. Taking these back can fetch a good price."
Seeing his tongue didn't fly out, she asked curiously, "Are you that short of money?"
Chen Shi shook his head. "I used to be short on money, wishing I could split a single copper coin into two. Later, when I wiped out the Taiping Sect under the Young Master's command, I wrestled with my conscience but finally decided to take their money. That's when I started having money."
His blunt honesty made Saintess Xuan sowhat uncomfortable.
"I've heard about that."
Saintess Xuan thought for a mont and said, "People from the Fu Zheng Pavilion ntioned it to . They said you coveted the Taiping Sect's wealth, killed everyone in the sect, stole the Young Master's money, and even took his Soul-Returning Lotus."
Chen Shi sat there, quietly waiting for dawn, his gaze distant and profound.
"He deserved to be robbed, and the Taiping Sect deserved to be killed. The Taiping Sect bought many kidnapped boys and girls from the Tianmu Society and sent them down to the underworld to steal Soul-Returning Lotuses. The Soul-Returning Lotuses are planted by a major figure in the underworld, guarded by ghosts and deities. Many little boys and girls died."
Chen Shi rubbed his fingers as if trying to scrub off bloodstains, and said, "The oldest among them were about my age. Even if they didn't die in the underworld, being invaded by Yin energy ant they wouldn't live long. After I eradicated the Taiping Sect, I cured their illnesses, gave them so money, and sent them ho."
Saintess Xuan frowned slightly. "The Young Master might not have known about this. When I return, I'll have him investigate."
Chen Shi said, "He'd better also investigate the Tianmu Society. The Tianmu Society traffics people, and that's also the Young Master's business."
Saintess Xuan couldn't hold back her anger. "You're slandering him!"
Chen Shi retorted, "If I'm slandering him, why hasn't my tongue flown out?"
Saintess Xuan was left speechless, unable to respond.
Chen Shi continued, "You can go to Yudu, investigate Rouge Lane, investigate Pleasure Woods, investigate the Matchmaker House. Starting from the account books of these places, you can uncover a lot."
Saintess Xuan couldn't help but say, "These were all the Young Master's forces, which you uprooted completely!"
Chen Shi placed his hands behind his head, leaned back on the rock, and laughed. "I'm a talisman master. Eliminating evil and vanquishing spirits is a talisman master's duty. The Young Master's businesses are that evil spirit."
Saintess Xuan was furious.
Chen Shi looked at the sky and said nothing.
After a while, Saintess Xuan couldn't resist asking, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Chen Shi glanced at her but remained silent.
"Why aren't you leaving this place?" Saintess Xuan asked.
"I'm waiting for dawn."
Chen Shi said, "Right now, we are in the Southern Abyss of the underworld. At dawn, the fragnts of the Tongue-Pulling Hell will disappear, and we will appear on the surface of Great South Lake in the mortal realm. We can't return at night; we must wait for daylight."
Saintess Xuan fell silent for a mont, then after another pause, said, "I was originally a farm girl from the old countryside in Being Province (prototype: North Dakota). When I was five, my master, Elder Miaoyin, took a liking to and brought into the Bodhi Monastery. From then on, I studied Buddhist scriptures, ditated, and refined my Qi within the monastery, never seeing my family again. My master taught many things."
Chen Shi lay on the rock, eyes closed, whether he was resting his spirit or sleeping was unclear.
Saintess Xuan touched the back of her head; it was burning and hurt terribly.
A large blood blister had swollen up on the back of her head. There was no dicine for the wound here, and she didn't know when it would heal.
She continued on her own, "Everything my master taught made sense. One day, my master told to leave the mountain. I wasn't very willing; I wanted to spend my whole life with the dim lamp and ancient Buddha, contemplating these truths. My master said I hadn't experienced anything and couldn't comprehend the profound truths within the Buddhist Dharma; I needed to go down the mountain and walk around. She said I had a destined connection with the Young Master."
She tossed the Tathagata Treasure Seal in her hand, her gaze sowhat lost.
"My master also said the Young Master is a man who does great things. Go down the mountain, first form an emotional bond with the Young Master. Once the Young Master accomplishes his great deeds, then sever this bond. One formation, one severance; between forming and severing, cut off the trivial thoughts of the mortal world, and the Buddhist Dharma will be achieved. Moreover, doing this both secures an opportunity for our Bodhi Monastery to propagate the Dharma and severs this karmic tie, advancing in the Buddhist Dharma. So, I went down the mountain."
She tossed the Tathagata Treasure Seal aside, wrapped her arms around her knees, rested her chin on them, stared at the ground, and muttered to herself, "I t the Young Master. He was indeed as my master said, a handso young man without a single flaw. He was very good-looking, highly learned, excellent in dealing with people, and satisfactory in every aspect. I was also very satisfied with him, but..."
She sighed, her eyes still filled with confusion.
"I don't know if this is liking."
"He has too many won around him. I have to push forward, I have to do everything to get his attention, I have to please him."
lancholy, she lay back, resting her head on her hands. When she landed, she touched the blood blister on the back of her head, grimaced in pain, hurriedly turned on her side, and whispered, "But, I don't like this kind of life. Because it's too fraught with anxiety about gains and losses. My master doesn't know any of this. She doesn't know. She told I must like the Young Master; this is our destined connection..."
Chen Shi tilted his head slightly and glanced at her.
Saintess Xuan's tongue was still there; it hadn't flown out with a *poof*.
"So, do you like the Young Master or not?" Chen Shi asked.
Confusion still lingered in Saintess Xuan's eyes. After a long while, she shook her head. "I don't know."
Chen Shi said nothing more and closed his eyes again.
Saintess Xuan lay on her side beneath the rock.
Lying there, her thoughts raced. Although her Heavenly Aperture was blocked and her Nascent Soul couldn't fly out, her thoughts flew everywhere.
The Young Master's figure, face, every word and action, his deanor, swirled around in her mind.
At so point, the Young Master's face gradually transford into Chen Shi's. At first, Saintess Xuan didn't realize it. When she did, she was startled, quickly reined in her thoughts, and stole a glance at Chen Shi.
Chen Shi seed to have fallen asleep on the rock.
After an unknown amount of ti, the earth rumbled and shook as if sothing terrifying were happening.
Both of them stood up and looked up to see the sky gradually brightening. The Celestial True God opened his enormous eyelids, which grew longer and longer. Morning clouds spread across the sky, a red glow stretching for ten thousand li.
Chen Shi stretched lazily, said nothing, and walked out of this fragnt of the Tongue-Pulling Hell.
Saintess Xuan followed him.
The two walked into the Southern Abyss Sea, one after the other.
Chen Shi looked down and saw, beneath the sea surface, the white skeletons of a man and a woman. The female skeleton behind quickened her pace, reaching out a hand toward the male skeleton in front as if to take his hand.
"Boom!"
A violent tremor ca from the sea surface. The Tongue-Pulling Hell behind them vanished, and the strange phenonon beneath the sea also disappeared.
The calm expanse of Great South Lake appeared beneath their feet.
Chen Shi looked down at his reflection in the water; there was no strange sight of hand-holding.
What he saw earlier was probably just ghosts of the underworld toying with human hearts.
"Ji Xuanxuan, let's part ways here," Chen Shi said, turning back with a smile.
Saintess Xuan had returned to her usual self, wearing a gentle smile as she nodded lightly. "Let's part ways. But Chen Shi, next ti we et, I won't give you any chance to hurt ."
Chen Shi laughed. "Hard to say. Can you really defend against it?"
Saintess Xuan bit her lower lip, a half-smile on her face. "I've studied the esoteric thods of the Buddhist Sect, mastered various true mantras, refined a Golden Body, and am proficient in Buddhist supernatural powers. I haven't used a single one! How do you know I can't defend myself?"
She felt a bit stifled inside.
Twice now. Chen Shi had beaten her twice.
Both tis, she was taken down before she could even use a single move.
It was truly humiliating to say out loud.
The cultivation techniques, supernatural powers, Golden Body, and true mantras she had learned were all the best from the Bodhi Monastery. Even in sparring with her peers at the monastery, few could best her. Couldn't she at least get one chance to use them?
Chen Shi laughed. "Learning sothing is only useful if you can use it. If you can't use it, it's the sa as not learning it."
Saintess Xuan gritted her teeth in anger, struggling to maintain the smile on her face as she stamred, "Wait until my injuries heal..."
"Let's et again in Western Capital!" Chen Shi laughed heartily, waved his hand, and walked into the distance.
Saintess Xuan hesitated for a mont, then shouted loudly, "Chen Shi, let advise you! Don't go to Western Capital, don't oppose the Young Master anymore! Go ho, find a woman who likes you, get married, don't go to Western Capital to die!"
Chen Shi stopped, turned back with a smile, and said, "I'm going to Western Capital not only to take the top scholar exam and bring glory to my family, but also to beat the Young Master so badly even his own father won't recognize him!"
Saintess Xuan was furious and turned to leave. "If you want to die, I won't stop you! When you die out there, don't bla for not warning you!"
She walked in the opposite direction from Chen Shi, but as she walked, she began to hesitate.
She didn't know the way.
Great South Lake was too vast.
Without knowing the direction, she might never find her way out.
She chose a direction and pressed on stubbornly. She walked for an unknown amount of ti until she was starving, but still couldn't see land.
Saintess Xuan gritted her teeth and persisted. Just then, a boat appeared ahead.
The boat wasn't large, less than three zhang long, resembling a pleasure boat for sightseeing, only able to seat a few guests. The cabin could be used to brew tea and prepare simple food.
Saintess Xuan walked forward and called out from a distance, "Boatman! Boatman!"
The boat stopped. Saintess Xuan caught up, boarded, and heard a voice laugh, "Xuanxuan, what are you doing here?"
Hearing this voice, Saintess Xuan looked into the cabin. A blue-robed scholar stepped out, tall and stately, with a handso face, a mustache on his upper lip, and a goatee on his lower lip, both neatly trimd.
His blue robe was also a provincial graduate's robe, seemingly plain, but the embroidery at the lapel was exquisite, undoubtedly the work of a master embroiderer.
He was the rit Officer and Military Consultant of the Fu Zheng Pavilion, Fang Tan.
Saintess Xuan's heart skipped a beat, but she revealed a smile. "I was pursuing Chen Shi, searched for him fruitlessly, and lost my way. rit Officer, why are you here?"
Fang Tan's expression was gentle as he smiled. "Several people from the Mountain-Moving Clan contacted the Fu Zheng Pavilion. I happened to be nearby, so I ca to take a look."
Saintess Xuan's heart trembled slightly. "They notified the Fu Zheng Pavilion? This is bad. I'm afraid Chen Shi is dood!"
"Saintess is injured."
A Primordial Spirit manifested behind Fang Tan, standing about two zhang and seven or eight chi tall, towering in the void like a deity descending. It reached out and gently pinched the air.
The blood clots at the back of Saintess Xuan's head and at her Heavenly Aperture imdiately transford into wisps of black energy, falling into the Primordial Spirit's hand.
Saintess Xuan touched her head. The previous swelling had subsided, and it didn't hurt when pressed.
"rit Officer Fang truly has remarkable skill."
Saintess Xuan's eyes flickered. "What is rit Officer Fang's current cultivation level?"
Fang Tan smiled faintly. "Refining Void realm. Saintess, I have already found traces of Chen Shi."
He waved his sleeve, and the small boat suddenly rose into the air, whistling as it flew away. The boatman stood on the boat, holding a bamboo pole, at a complete loss.
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