Chapter 503: The Three-Cart Monk

Master Lingji, whose secular surname was Yuchi.

The Yuchi clan was a prominent aristocratic family in Yong Province.

Master Lingji was divinely gifted in his youth; in the land of Yong Province, where Buddhism flourished, he would often debate scriptures and discuss the Way with others, frequently leaving high-ranking monks defeated, earning him the reputation of having unimpeded eloquence.

By the year he turned seventeen, his fame had already risen.

At the Dharma assembly that year, the high monk of Dharma Image Temple, Master Xuan Ku, spotted Lingji—who was then a dashing young man of the Yuchi family—in the crowd at a single glance.

Xuan Ku called out to stop Lingji and questioned him on Buddhist principles three times; the youth Lingji answered fluently.

After these three questions, Xuan Ku insisted on the spot that Lingji become his disciple.

Lingji flatly refused!

At that time, Lingji had not yet become a monk, nor had he observed any precepts; he was a direct descendant of the Yuchi family, and being divinely gifted in his youth, he was pampered by everyone in the family, having long since grown accustomed to a life of debauchery and luxury. Not only was he well-versed in Buddhist scriptures, but he was also a master of eating, drinking, and merrymaking—how could he endure the ascetic life of a monk?

Furthermore, Dharma Image Temple was known for its asceticism, and its ancestral grounds were located deep within the Mohe Yanqi, five hundred miles away, a place devoid of human habitation where pilgrims died on the road every year.

And this monk, Xuan Ku, was the master of Dharma Image Temple and the Dharma King of Yong Province.

Although the Dharma King often resided in the Western Regions and rarely interfered in the governance of Yong Province, Buddhism was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Yong Province, and religion was greater than politics.

Every aristocratic family in Yong Province dared not defy the decrees of Dharma Image Temple.

A single decree from Xuan Ku was sent down to the Yuchi family.

"If Yuchi Zong does not become a monk, he shall be put to death."

The Yuchi family was thrown into chaos, but the seventeen-year-old Lingji remained adamant in his refusal. He told the enforcement monk who came to deliver the decree: "Go back and tell that old bald donkey Xuan Ku: I, Yuchi Zong, can become a monk, but he must let me bring a cart of wine, a cart of meat, and a cart of beautiful women into Dharma Image Temple. Otherwise, I, Yuchi Zong, would rather die!"

Once these words left Lingji's mouth, not only did the face of the monk delivering the decree turn ashen, but even the head of the Yuchi family was terrified, his expression changing abruptly.

Xuan Ku was a high monk of his generation, the master of Dharma Image Temple, and the Dharma King of Yong Province; yet Lingji had dared to call him an old bald donkey. Moreover, Dharma Image Temple was a sacred site of Buddhism—how could one be allowed to bring a cart of wine, a cart of meat, and a cart of beautiful women inside?

Any one of these three things would be a great blasphemy, let alone three carts of them.

The monk delivering the decree flicked his sleeves and left on the spot.

Although the Yuchi family doted on Yuchi Zong, they did not want their entire clan wiped out. It would have been one thing if Yuchi Zong simply refused to become a monk, but he had made such rude and blasphemous demands, and even insulted the Dharma King as an old bald donkey—this was a crime punishable by the extermination of the clan!

In these troubled times, people's hearts were wavering, and many began packing their valuables to flee, fearing they would be implicated.

But the next day, the monk who had flicked his sleeves and left returned to the door, and with an expressionless face, he told the Yuchi family that the Dharma King had agreed to Yuchi Zong's demands.

At that moment, the head of the Yuchi family stood there stunned, unable to comprehend the meaning of the enforcement monk's words for a long time. The enforcement monk had to explain it repeatedly.

Thus, the seventeen-year-old Lingji became a monk.

The procession at the time was grand and imposing, with one cart of wine, one cart of meat, and one cart of beautiful women; the whole city watched, and the title "Three-Cart Monk" spread like wildfire.

Seventeen-year-old Yuchi Zong was tonsured under Xuan Ku at Dharma Image Temple and given the Dharma name "Lingji."

Xuan Ku let him be, only requiring Lingji to follow him in practice on the first and fifteenth of every month, while he could arrange his own time on all other days.

Although Lingji had been tonsured, he still lived a life of debauchery in his Separate Courtyard every day; from then on, the morning bells and evening drums of Dharma Image Temple were often interspersed with the wanton laughter of women...

The entire Temple was filled with complaints.

No matter how absurd Lingji's behavior was, Xuan Ku turned a deaf ear and did not punish him.

Three months later, on the fifteenth, a night of the full moon, no one knew what happened to Lingji that night; when he returned to the Separate Courtyard, he smashed the cart of wine, dismissed the cart of beautiful women, and threw away the cart of cured meat. From then on, he devoted himself to the scriptures, as if obsessed and intoxicated.

One year for the Qi Cyclone, three years for the Dongming Realm, ten years for the Nascent Soul, and twenty years for the Original Spirit!

At the age of fifty-one, Lingji achieved the Undying Original Spirit, advanced to the Original Spirit Realm, and became the number one person on the Nine Provinces Continent.

That same year, Xuan Ku passed away, and the position of Dharma King was passed to Lingji.

When Zhu He carried Duan Rong, turning into a streak of black light, and landed in a mountain hollow, Duan Rong was still dazed, trapped in the life story of Master Lingji that Zhu He had told him while in the wooden tub.

For some people, you cannot help but admire them just by hearing a brief summary of their life.

Because their radiance is simply too dazzling.

"Became a monk at seventeen, Qi Cyclone in one year—that means he formed his cyclone at eighteen." Duan Rong calculated silently in his heart.

Although both had triggered the Heaven and Earth Vital Energy Tide when forming their cyclones, Duan Rong dared not compare himself to this Master Lingji who was far away in the Western Regions.

Because Zhu He had told Duan Rong that upon advancing to the Original Spirit Realm and achieving the Undying Original Spirit, one's Divine Soul could live forever; this meant that Master Lingji had already attained immortality from the age of fifty-one!

This was the first time Duan Rong had learned of a true example of immortality in this world.

"Original Spirit Realm!?"

Zhu He brought Duan Rong to a small stream in the forest, where there was a thatched cottage.

At this moment, at the entrance of the thatched cottage, an old farmer was sitting there, squinting and basking in the sun.

Zhu He walked over, bowing with a face full of smiles: "Mr. Chu, I have brought Duan Rong."

Duan Rong was slightly surprised; Zhu He was actually very respectful toward this old farmer.

The old farmer only gave a grunt. He opened his eyes, didn't even look at Zhu He, but scanned Duan Rong up and down a few times before standing up, clearing his throat, and saying: "Follow me."

They followed the old farmer, went around to the back of the house, and after walking for a distance, they arrived at a barren hillside. Crossing that hillside and walking down the slope, they entered a Deadwood Forest filled with thin mist.

As soon as he entered the Deadwood Forest, Duan Rong felt a shock in his heart, because the moment he stepped into the forest, the path behind him vanished instantly. Where there had just been a path leading down from the hillside, now there was only thin mist and dense deadwood...

"Is it an illusion?" Duan Rong's heart stirred.

At this time, Zhu He looked at Duan Rong and said: "Watch carefully and follow closely. If you get lost here, even your master cannot find you."

"Yes, Master," Duan Rong replied obediently.

If even Zhu He could not find him, it was definitely no ordinary illusion. Zhu He was a powerhouse of the Dongming Realm; how could an ordinary illusion trap him?

The two followed behind the old farmer. After walking for who knows how long, the old farmer stopped abruptly, took the Copper Ruler from his waist, and performed the same routine again.

Duan Rong watched the old farmer holding a ruler, waving and shaking it as if performing a shamanic dance, and could not help but feel completely bewildered.

The Copper Ruler in the old farmer's hand suddenly flew out of his grip, clattering as if it had fallen to the ground. Then, the thin mist before their eyes suddenly dissipated, and the few dead trees in front of them vanished along with the mist.

Duan Rong's expression tightened.

"Could it be that those dead trees were all conjured by the thin mist?" He could not help but think in his heart, but immediately rejected this idea. Along the way, he had reached out and touched those dead branches more than once; they were definitely not phantoms, but solid deadwood!

As the thin mist and deadwood before them dissipated, Duan Rong was shocked to find that they were already standing at the entrance of a mountain valley, and not far away stood a primitive Stone Tablet two people tall, the inscriptions on which were ancient and mottled.

Duan Rong's gaze flickered; he naturally did not recognize the ancient, twisted inscriptions on the stone tablet, but for some reason, their form reminded him of the Yinlu Cicada hanging on his chest. On the body of the Yinlu Cicada, there seemed to be those same ancient inscriptions, appearing and disappearing.

The old farmer walked up to the stone tablet, picked up the Copper Ruler from the ground, tucked it into his waistband, and said, "The Ancestor is in the valley; you may go in."

After the old farmer finished speaking, he turned and walked into the thin mist and withered woods, his figure vanishing in an instant.

Zhu He called out a "many thanks, Mr. Chu," then led Duan Rong into the valley.

As Duan Rong followed Zhu He, he looked around the valley.

Steep cliffs towered on all four sides, and from the cliff walls, a few ancient wintersweet and pine trees sprouted sporadically; the cliffs were bitterly cold, and the trees all appeared thin and sickly.

Such steep cliffs could be called "ape-distressing and eagle-worrying," which gives an idea of the valley's seclusion.

In front of a Stone Table under an ancient pine in the valley sat an old man; the old man's expression was tranquil, and although his hair and beard were white, there was not a single wrinkle on his face, which was instead ruddy and lustrous, like that of an infant.

At this moment, he was staring at the Black and White Endgame on the Stone Table, lost in thought.

From the ancient pine, pine needles fell from time to time; some would land on the old man's body and hair, but not a single needle fell onto the chessboard before him.

At this time, Zhu He led Duan Rong over; Duan Rong stared blankly at the old man under the tree, who sat there staring intently at the game, as if the world did not exist.

What he found even stranger was that although the old man was clearly very focused, he gave off a feeling of leisure and ease; the pine needles drifting onto him gave a sense of natural, wild charm. It was a strange feeling of being one with the environment.

Duan Rong knew that the person before him was the Taiyi Sect's Ancestor, Lv Yinlin, that Nascent Soul Realm old monster who had lived for over a thousand years.

But at this moment, there was no Qi to be felt from the old man, as if he were just an old man relaxing under the trees, enjoying his twilight years.

Zhu He had already crawled and knelt down, his voice carrying a hint of sobbing as he said, "Unfilial disciple Zhu He pays respects to the Ancestor!"

Duan Rong immediately followed suit and knelt, also calling out, "Unfilial grand-disciple Duan Rong pays respects to the Ancestor!"

Lv Yinlin raised his head, smiled slightly, glanced at the two people prostrate on the ground, and said, "Rise."

Zhu He stood up with his shoulders heaving; he was already streaming with tears.

It was the first time Duan Rong had seen Zhu He lose his composure like this, and he was momentarily stunned.

Lv Yinlin said, "Zhu He, do not be like this. It is I, your master, who has been thin on the bonds of master and disciple; all these years, I have never summoned you into the valley."

Zhu He wiped his tears with his sleeve and said, "For Master to say such things truly shames this disciple. It is this disciple who has failed to amount to much; how would I dare blame Master?"

When Zhu He was young, his talent was considered quite good, and before Lv Yinlin lived in deep seclusion in this valley, he had personally taught him and Gu Daoling for several years, which is why both he and Gu Daoling could call Lv Yinlin "Master."

Lv Yinlin said, "That brat Gu Daoling being willing to return to the mountain, that was your doing, right?"

Zhu He said, "Disciple brother has always been concerned about Master in his heart. It is just that his temper is stubborn, and he refuses to lower his head and admit his faults."

Lv Yinlin sighed and said, "That brat Gu Daoling is good at everything, except for being full of thorns; he has a rebellious nature by birth."

When Lv Yinlin reached this point, for some reason, he suddenly glanced at Duan Rong.

Lv Yinlin was clearly still harboring some anger, and Zhu He immediately stopped speaking.

After a pause of several breaths, Lv Yinlin looked at Duan Rong and asked, "You are Duan Rong?"

Duan Rong cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Reporting to the Ancestor, it is this grand-disciple!"

Lv Yinlin stood up, and the pine needles all over his body fell off with a rustle, saying, "Follow me!"

After Lv Yinlin finished speaking, he turned away from the Stone Table and walked toward a cave not far away.

Duan Rong turned his head to look at Zhu He, his expression questioning.

Zhu He said, "The Ancestor told you to go, so go!"

Duan Rong immediately followed Lv Yinlin toward the cave.

Zhu He stood there, watching Duan Rong's back, pursed his lips, and muttered, "This kid still looks reluctant. I wanted to follow inside too."

But since Lv Yinlin had not called Zhu He just now, Zhu He naturally did not dare to follow; he had no choice but to pace over to the Stone Table to look at the endgame on it.

At this moment, a pine needle fell from above the Stone Table; the needle spun a few times, then brushed the edge of the Stone Table and fell to the ground... after brushing the edge of the Stone Table, its original, lightly floating state suddenly plummeted...

Over there, Duan Rong followed Lv Yinlin into a dim cave.

Although the cave entrance was dark, the interior was filled with a faint light; it was neither blinding nor dim, and everything could be seen very clearly.

Inside the cave, there were all sorts of items, but it was not cluttered at all; it was very simple.

Lv Yinlin pointed to a meditation cushion on the ground inside the cave and said, "Sit there."

Duan Rong followed instructions, walked over, and sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion.

Lv Yinlin poured clear water into a Bamboo Tube at the Stone Table and took two sips.

Sitting on the meditation cushion, Duan Rong glanced at Lv Yinlin from time to time; he could not help but feel a bit anxious, wondering why Lv Yinlin had made him sit on this cushion.

After Lv Yinlin took two sips of the clear water, he set down the Bamboo Tube in his hand.

The moment the Bamboo Tube in his hand landed on the Stone Table, Lv Yinlin's figure suddenly vanished like a ghost.

Duan Rong had been keeping an eye on Lv Yinlin with his peripheral vision; the moment Lv Yinlin's figure vanished, Duan Rong was startled, but almost simultaneously, without any warning, Lv Yinlin suddenly appeared before Duan Rong's eyes.

Like a ghost, Lv Yinlin appeared abruptly, sitting cross-legged in the void about half a zhang in front of Duan Rong.

The moment Lv Yinlin's figure sitting in the void appeared, Duan Rong realized his body could not move, as if he had been frozen by an Immobilization Technique; his hands, feet, and neck no longer obeyed him.

The height at which Lv Yinlin sat in the void was exactly at the level of Duan Rong's eyes; at this moment, he saw that his eyes were tightly closed, his expression tranquil, and a few strands of white hair hung down from his temples.

Just then, a mass of something suddenly emerged from the top of Lv Yinlin's head.

It was the spirit body of an infant; its body was like light and shadow, not solid at all, semi-transparent, clear as glass, yet its features were distinct and its limbs were agile.

The infant's face was extremely similar to Lv Yinlin's.

Duan Rong looked at the eerie scene before him, his heart pounding wildly. He knew that the thing before him was a Nascent Soul.

This was his first time seeing a real Nascent Soul.

The Nascent Soul is the embryonic form of the primordial spirit.

The Nascent Soul already possesses some of the wonders of the primordial spirit, but it is far from being as solid as the primordial spirit; compared to the primordial spirit, it is still very fragile.

The Nascent Soul opened its eyes, and a pair of glass-like pupils looked at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong also looked at the Nascent Soul; their eyes met. The Nascent Soul's expression was tranquil, without joy or sorrow. Suddenly, the Nascent Soul leaped, jumping directly toward Duan Rong. The next moment, the glass-like body of the infant, only the size of a human head, actually sank into Duan Rong's brow and vanished without a trace.

In that instant, Duan Rong's eyes suddenly became dull and lusterless, and he just stared blankly ahead.

(End of chapter)