Chapter 47: Catching the Moon, Observing the Wind

Catching the Moon, Observing the Wind

"Ruan Ci, let me tell you, you must live outside in the future."

Once this black-and-white cat arrived at Ruan Ci's grotto-heaven, it didn't do anything else first but carefully sniffed every inch of the ground inside, then scratched with its claws and rubbed its body against it before it finally felt at ease. It jumped into Ruan Ci's room, licked its paws, and after a while, it put them down, crouching there with extreme solemnity as it said, "If you move into the Purple Void Heaven to live, I am not coming with you—the Sect Master is truly strange, actually sending you to study under True Person Wang."

Ruan Ci also knew that because Wang Panpan was a remnant of Xie Yan, its status in the Profound Heaven Sect was very awkward. She said, "I didn't necessarily have to come to the Profound Heaven Sect in the first place; isn't it all because of your arrangements? You really should blame the Sect Master; he even sent all the benefits to True Person Wang and didn't leave a single bit for you. I heard from Tianlu that True Person Wang only gave me one ten-millionth, and as for the rest, I see you don't have the guts to go ask him for it back."

Wang Panpan was indeed very afraid of True Person Wang. This time, coming over, it was somewhat cowering, seemingly very afraid that True Person Wang had laid some trap to kill it at any moment. It said, "If you mention me less in front of him, I'll thank the heavens and the earth. I originally planned to come over quietly a few months later, but you just wouldn't wait."

Ruan Ci held it on her lap and picked up a silver comb, brushing its fur. Hearing this, she was so angry she pinned Wang Panpan down and fiercely spanked the fleshy parts of its hind legs and waist. Wang Panpan meowed in pain and shouted, "Why are you hitting me? Be lighter! This little Panpan doesn't have much magic power!"

For a Qi Refining disciple to be accompanied by a Golden Core great demon was indeed eye-catching, and since Wang Panpan was Xie Yan's old pet, it wasn't convenient to be so flashy. This little cat only had the cultivation of someone who had just opened their meridians, which matched Ruan Ci's status perfectly. Ruan Ci withdrew her hand and questioned, "I should be the one asking you. True Person Wang had Tianlu teach me the Four Great Root Mantras, and only then did I realize that one's true name is so important—then when I got married, you were watching from the side. Why didn't you tell me, telling me to give my name to Qu Qu Tan Yue?"

Wang Panpan meowed, its voice seemingly containing some amusement, and said, "I thought it was something else; so it's about this. How could I teach you the Four Great Root Mantras? These are things only your master can teach; didn't you see that even Chen Jun didn't dare teach you? Neither of them could bear that karma! Besides, he asked you, not me; what could I do? This is originally the most important step in a wedding. If you don't exchange names, how can you be considered husband and wife? Can you accept this betrothal gift with peace of mind? Shouldn't you return it to him?"

It made a move to snatch the jade disc, but Ruan Ci turned to hold it against her chest, looking at it with a vigilant expression. Wang Panpan meowed and laughed a few times, then added, "Besides, regarding the exchange of names, he asked you, but you didn't ask him, so it doesn't count as the ceremony being completed."

Ruan Ci collapsed onto the bed, groaning, "Think again. When he came to the Junping Prefecture to see me, what did I ask him?"

Wang Panpan said in astonishment, "You asked him his name? You didn't tell me that—"

It chuckled to itself for a while, then licked Ruan Ci, comforting her, "Forget it, it's not a big deal. Didn't you perform the wedding ceremony anyway, and aren't you considered husband and wife? Besides, if you calculate it, he's the one who lost out; he told you his true name, but what you told him might not necessarily be yours."

Ruan Ci asked in astonishment, "Isn't my name Ruan Ci?"

Wang Panpan laughed, "What are you saying? You are a daughter of the Lin clan; you naturally had a Lin surname when you were born, you just forgot it. Ruan Ci can only be considered your secular name; even if you shouted it all over the heavens, it wouldn't matter."

Only then did Ruan Ci recall her background, and she couldn't help but worry whether not knowing her true name would hinder her cultivation. Wang Panpan said, "That doesn't matter much. It is true that not knowing your true name might be a slight hindrance when ascending to the highest realms, but I assume you have no hope of reaching the Dao Ancestor realm, so there's no need to worry about this."

It patted Ruan Ci and said, "Since you know this, don't call Young Master Yue by his name directly in the future; calling him 'husband' would be fine. Qu Qu Tan Yue is his true name; you are husband and wife, so every time you call him, he will sense it. If you miss him every day and recite his name every day, he will know that you must have fallen in love with him, which is why you miss him every day."

Only then did Ruan Ci know why everyone else called Young Master Yue 'Yue Tan'; it turned out that was also his alias. She asked Wang Panpan again why she addressed Taishi Yi and Xu Shaowei by their full names. Wang Panpan said, "Chen Jun and Xu Shaowei are just secular names; they have other true names. As for Taishi Yi, he also cultivates the 'Heavenly Demon Formless Induction Method,' so that is indeed his true name. But I have my own secret methods to avoid his sensing."

It added, "Most of those who can spread their true names across the world without defense, letting everyone call them, are great masters of supernatural power who have cultivated induction techniques, or even various wondrous methods like the Heavenly Demon Seed Thought. They can sense people through their names, so conversely, not many people call their names. For example, the Yanshan Demon Lord, the Sect Master of the Profound Soul Gate, and Xie Yan are all like this. If Xie Yan hadn't broken through to the outer heavens, not many people would dare call her name casually."

Ruan Ci asked suspiciously, "If that's the case, many people should know True Person Wang's name too. He also cultivates the 'Supreme Induction Chapter'—speaking of which, I need to settle accounts with you. Why didn't you tell me the limit of the Donghua Sword's ability to calm the mind..."

After a tangled calculation of accounts, Wang Panpan always had excuses to absolve itself. It was said that this 'Supreme Induction Chapter' required extremely high and unique talent to cultivate, and even the Sect Master hadn't cultivated it. It originally hadn't expected Ruan Ci to be sent to the Purple Void Grotto-Heaven, so it hadn't mentioned it. "This kind of induction only happens when you are face-to-face, talking together. Whether it will induce, or whether it can be induced, depends on the Grotto-Heaven True Person's own cultivation and personality; how could I have thought of that? Besides, what kind of messy things are you thinking about in your own head? If you were thinking about his goodness and his demeanor, would True Person Wang be angry?"

Ruan Ci protested, "I also think he looks very good. He and Sister Xie look the same in their male forms, but their temperaments are completely different, so naturally, he looks good—"

Wang Panpan's fur stood on end. It glared at her for a long time, jumped off her lap, and left, "I cannot stay in this place—Ruan Ci, if you want to court death, go ahead, but I will absolutely not die with you."

Ruan Ci insisted on keeping Wang Panpan by her side precisely because of this; there were many things Tianlu clearly wouldn't tell her, while Wang Panpan might know even more clearly than Tianlu. She scooped up Wang Panpan and stroked it, "Good Panpan, tell me quickly, were True Person Wang and Sister Xie a pair of lovers in the past, and then, and then the Yanshan Demon Lord snatched his love away, staging a struggle of spirit and flesh and desire—"

"You must have read too many storybooks," Wang Panpan sneered. "There's all sorts of nonsense on the 'Heavenly Boat Crossing.' Don't believe everything you read. What spirit and flesh and desire? Didn't you see it? Xie Yan's male and female forms look very similar, and the female form is also extremely similar to Wang Que'er; this is naturally because they were originally relatives."

Ruan Ci had always been very curious about whether Xie Yan was male or female, but Wang Panpan never said. At this moment, it seemed there was finally a result. Ruan Ci looked at Wang Panpan, trying her best to appear obedient, and took out some dried meat from her bosom to feed it, looking like she was all ears. Wang Panpan sighed deeply and said somewhat reluctantly, "Since you've finally joined the Profound Heaven Sect, there are many things you must know. I will tell them to you one by one now."

It coiled up on the table, stretched out its hind legs, hugged them, licked its fur, and said slowly, "You have always asked me whether Xie Yan is male or female. Now I will tell you: Xie Yan is both male and female, but to you, she is female, and to the people of the South Zhuzhou, she is male. This is the Heavenly Demon Dual Aspect; whatever you think she is, that is what she is, but you must believe it in your heart without reservation. If you start by thinking she is female, but later secretly feel in your heart that she is actually male, and you don't trust your own judgment, then from that moment on, you will lose your induction of her. If she doesn't want you to, even if she stands right in front of you, you won't see her and won't be able to catch her. Because of this, although the people of South Zhuzhou know that Xie Yan also has a female side, they must believe without doubt that she is male, and view the female form as a phantom image she conjures. If they hesitate in their hearts even slightly and lose their anchor, then it's a disaster. Wherever Xie Yan goes, they cannot track her, so on the South Zhuzhou side, once they start by thinking she is male, they must always think he is male."

"If you ask me whether she was male or female when she first entered the Dao, I won't tell you either. If you think from the beginning that she can be both male and female, then you can capture both her male and female aspects. If you think a person can only have one gender, then you can only make yourself believe she is male or female. If you believe she is female, then your induction of her male form will decrease," Wang Panpan said. "Of course, there is an even higher level, which is that many masters of great supernatural power see her as both male and female at the same time, so their induction of her male and female aspects is extremely keen. It won't be so easy for her to do bad things relying on her Heavenly Demon supernatural powers."

All these supernatural powers related to the Heavenly Demon were, even now that Ruan Ci had opened her meridians, still felt eerie, mysterious, ever-changing, and impossible to guard against. Listening to Wang Panpan, she couldn't help but sigh. Wang Panpan sneered, "All the supernatural powers in the Heavenly Demon path are learned from the Heavenly Demon, so you can see how mysterious and difficult to guard against the demon is. However, most demons are chaotic and mindless, having only the instinctual impulse to devour. It is truly terrifying when humans learn the Heavenly Demon's supernatural powers. Xie Yan is only at the Nascent Soul cultivation level, yet she can roam the world; half of it is because of the Donghua Sword, and the other half is because she is the most outstanding demon sect cultivator in these ten thousand years. After she rebelled and left the Profound Heaven Sect, the Sect Master defiled her true name on the jade book, and most of her Daoist supernatural powers were crippled. Xie Yan switched to cultivating the Heavenly Demon True Scripture, and in less than three hundred years, her fierce reputation covered the world. Other cultivators, even with the protection of the Mother-Son Yin Coffin to shield their true spirits, wouldn't dare roam the void like that, but she dared. This is because of these Heavenly Demon methods, which are ever-changing; even if she goes to a new heaven and earth, she can turn around and re-cultivate them back."

The deeper her understanding of the cultivation world, the more she could appreciate Xie Yan's stunning talent. Ruan Ci couldn't help but say, "But what exactly is Sister Xie looking for by going to the outer heavens? What is there that our Langhuan Heaven and Earth doesn't have, that she must spend so much effort to go to the outer heavens to find?"

Wang Panpan shook its head and said, "I don't know either. She won't tell me. Now you should also understand that many times, not telling you some things is actually to protect you."

Ruan Ci could only nod silently. Wang Panpan moved past this matter and said, "As for the appearance of the male form, she actually didn't have any good intentions. This body of hers looks like Wang Que'er, and when she went to South Zhuzhou, she also pretended to be Wang Que'er, deceiving I don't know how many cultivators. This is stripping away Wang Que'er's fortune. If one day she walks through the entire heaven and earth using this male form, and everyone thinks she is Wang Que'er, then she will truly become Wang Que'er. Wang Que'er's cultivation and grotto-heaven will also be snatched away by her like a cuckoo taking over a magpie's nest, and the person herself will instead become an incarnation of Xie Yan. This is a supernatural power related to karma and fortune, and the intention is very sinister."

"When Grotto-Heaven True Persons fight, many of them use such methods; it's not just simple killing—so you know what kind of rebellious thoughts you were having, right?" Wang Panpan let out a long meow and scolded, "Since you are now studying under True Person Wang, even if you want to think, you must think like this: True Person Wang has a refined appearance and a transcendent temperament; no matter how hard Xie the Remnant tries, it is impossible for her to confuse her true body, and her sinister plots and schemes will inevitably fail."

Ruan Ci was also somewhat floored and couldn't help but laugh, but upon careful thought, it was indeed the truth. Xie Yan was far away in the outer heavens and couldn't give her any help now. And there certainly wouldn't be many cultivators in this world who dared to bear Ruan Ci's karma and take her as a disciple. Since True Person Wang wanted to take her in, she naturally had to put True Person Wang first and do everything according to his preferences. In this way, the spiritual food Tianlu sent next time might not be one cart, but several carts. And the cook she really wanted, and the cultivation methods those four servants should learn, all had to fall on True Person Wang.

However, even so, such sycophantic thoughts were still too much. She tried to think about it and giggled, "No, I can't do it. At worst, next time I see the True Person, I will recite the mantra the whole time. Speaking of which, is the True Person's true name Wang Que'er? He cultivates the 'Supreme Induction Method,' so he can indeed not set a Mouth-Cleansing Mantra, and everyone can recite his name."

"The True Person does cultivate the induction method, but he doesn't like his true name being recited by others, so he still set a Mouth-Cleansing Mantra," Wang Panpan said. "Wang Que'er is his childhood nickname. Xie Yan used to call him that all the time, which was actually not very respectful. Don't let it slip in the future. Even I was a bit overstepping just now, and I won't dare call him that again."

She couldn't help but feel a bit dejected and sighed, "Back in the sect, the two of them looked after each other; how good they were. Who would have thought that today they would become irreconcilable enemies. In the future, you and I must be careful everywhere under the True Person's tutelage and act according to the True Person's wishes."

Ruan Ci pursed her lips and said, "The True Person's temperament is truly chaste and reserved; he seems to care a lot about his face. He thinks I'm a bit unrefined and isn't very happy."

She told Wang Panpan about her experiences these days, and Wang Panpan had its own appraisal, saying, "What's wrong with being a bit unrefined? You deliberately act in a sharp-tongued way, and others won't come to provoke you if they have nothing to do. However, since the True Person cares about his face, you should go out less in the future. After you build your foundation, decades will pass, and few people will remember these things."

It also busied itself with naming the grotto-heaven and the mountain peak. Looking at its intention, it highly approved of True Person Wang's view, feeling that a residence without a name was uncultured and the way of country folk. This was the difference between the Central Continent's great sects and other places, and Ruan Ci had no choice but to get used to it slowly.

After thinking for half a day, she named the mountain peak 'Moon-Catching Cliff' and the grotto-heaven 'Wind-Observing Mansion.' Wang Panpan jumped onto the table again, called the four servants over for a lecture, and set up a reward and punishment system, listing the meridian-opening cultivation method as a year-end reward. Don't look at it as just a little cat; it managed the grotto-heaven with great method. It was extremely busy for a while. Ruan Ci still wanted to ask it about the forces of the various mountain peaks in the sect, but was waved away by Wang Panpan's tail, "Go, go, go, you just focus on your cultivation. Your jade pool is so wide; how can you not cultivate with focus? After these two probes, the limelight has passed. Next time you enter people's sight, it's best if you have already built your foundation. Otherwise, if someone else gets ahead of you, True Person Wang will lose a lot of face, and our days will not be easy."

Ruan Ci couldn't be the master of her own grotto-heaven, but a smile couldn't help but appear on her lips. She watched silently for a while as Wang Panpan arranged for the four servants to run back and forth, then turned and returned to the quiet room. Wang Panpan had said one thing very correctly: sometimes, even if others wanted to tell her some things, they had to wait until her cultivation reached that point. Decades were nothing more than a single closed-door meditation for a Grotto-Heaven True Person, but for a low-tier cultivator, it was enough for many changes to occur. Since opening her meridians, these days had been chaotic, and she finally had the time to carefully consider her future cultivation.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Updated, sorry for the long wait, everyone. I had stir-fried okra for lunch today; I love this dish! It's slippery and spicy, and it feels like it goes really well with rice.

Q&A time: 1. If someone guesses a true name, will it cause danger? For example, guessing that Little Ci might be named Ruan X Ci, or like the Song Crown Prince, where three sects of cultivators already know his name and can pass it on to others.

Answer: Yes, so some cultivators use secular names when interacting with others. Protection against true names is not foolproof, and various exceptional situations will occur. However, 'you telling someone your true name without any defense' and 'someone guessing your true name through other channels' create different karma. Of course, using a true name to deal with a cultivator is also a relatively difficult thing. For low-tier cultivators, it's like how we wouldn't consider being hit by a plane while walking; it's only at higher tiers that one needs to be very serious about defense.

I started reading "Falling in Love with the Tech Tree," and I feel the pacing is a bit slow, ah ah ah ah, but the details are quite good.

. Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me between 2020-08-02 11:57:05 and 2020-08-03 12:04:09~

Thanks to the little angel who cast a hand grenade: Yu Yu Wan Yao x1;

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Li Xiaowei, Yun Shui Shui, Time's Delusion, Li Li He Ping x1;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Xiao Xiao Cao Mu 40 bottles; Ruo Yu Pian Ran 20 bottles; Mu Liu Feng Piao, Terminal Laziness, Xun Xi, Mu Ming Wu Guan Feng Yue 10 bottles; Xiao Ou 8 bottles; Shi Dao 7 bottles; Taili Sha Xiong Xiong 5 bottles; Hu Shanshan, La La La 3 bottles; 3174182, Ginaaaaaa 2 bottles; Dan Dan, Lu Fei, Baby Leyao 1 bottle;

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ===== CHAPTER 48 =====