Chapter 13: What to Do If I Want to Worship a Foster Father Again

"General Guan, I am a person outside the world, and certainly not a person of Shu; how to do it is entirely up to the General to decide."

After a pause, the Daoist boy Qingsong added: "I understand your doubts; why am I so dismissive after finally finding the Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu."

"I am not dismissive of her."

"Don't look at how I only met her once."

"Meeting once, saying one sentence, is enough."

"Her past lives and present, her future destiny, I have already calculated roughly using the Innate Divination."

"Moreover, she was a great hidden danger before we caught her."

"After we leave, she might jump out and raise another Sha Barbarian Dragon Vein, creating another Sand Dune Empire."

"But she is ultimately just a weak little girl; once she falls into the net of the law, everything becomes empty."

"In any case, you couldn't possibly release her directly in the sand dunes, right?"

"Actually, with her longing for the Dao of Immortals, once she leaves the sand dunes and cuts off her connection with the Sha Barbarians... it won't even take too long; in three or five years, even if you set her free, she won't come back."

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but sigh with a complex expression, "Ultimately, the era is different."

"She is indeed born with innate wisdom, not a great power reincarnated, and doesn't even have a past life."

"Today, she can educate the Sha Barbarians; if she had been born ten million years earlier, in the ignorant ancient era of civilization, her ability would not have changed; she could still educate her clansmen just like today."

"Only because the era is different, the effects and achievements are worlds apart."

"In the ancient era, if she could educate the human race to this extent, even if she couldn't be on par with the Three Sages of the human race, Fuxi, Shennong, and Xuanyuan, she would be a 'Barbarian Sage Emperor'... well, in the ancient era when all humans were barbarians, the Sha Barbarians at this time are no longer barbarians."

"Placed in the present... hehe, never mind 'Sage Emperor', vulgar people like you and me, if reincarnated into a wild tribe, after awakening memories, our achievements would only be higher than hers among the Sha Barbarians."

"As long as you have memories of a past life, you and I, and even many ordinary people, can also raise a barbarian Dragon Vein."

"Salt making, iron smelting, planting, sacrificial rites, etiquette... just copy it according to the experience of the past life."

This theory of the Daoist boy Qingsong requires a major premise: the level of human civilization development has reached its limit and cannot be significantly improved.

If he and Guan Huchen were reincarnated into the wild, at most, they could only raise the level of tribal education to a "modern" level.

Xiang Xiaoyu and the Three Emperors of the human race are different; the Three Emperors are true sages, born in any era, they would inevitably raise civilization by a large margin, or even have a qualitative leap.

Xiang Xiaoyu is essentially the same as an "ancient reincarnator," her limit is the experience of her past life, it's just that her experience exceeds the "modern" level of this world.

Guan Huchen and the Daoist boy Qingsong are "modern people," while she is a "future Three-Body person."

However, the fact that the Daoist boy Qingsong can say these words and believes that the human race of Nanzhan China is currently at its most prosperous period is not because his knowledge is shallow.

On the contrary, he knows a lot and is very knowledgeable, which is why he has this insight.

He knows the history of development over the past ten million years... especially the last few million years, even Nanzhan China has only been in a cycle of one dynasty after another.

Current production technology, such as iron smelting, is no different from millions of years ago.

Human education has only been optimized, not qualitatively changed.

Unlike the era of the Three Emperors, where things changed with each passing day, with a new atmosphere every day, and civilization developed at high speed.

With this understanding, he feels that "Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu," even if she is a born sage, is not a major threat—as long as Great Qin is still here, even if we hadn't caught her today, even if the Western Sha Barbarian tribe really established an empire, it would just be a repeat of yesterday's "Alliance of Thirty-Six Nations," and a deleted version at that.

No matter how the Sha Barbarians develop, they will certainly not be as good as the Lu Kingdom, which inherited the mantle of China.

Even in the worst-case scenario, it would just mean the Marquis of Lieyang has to make another trip.

And the work of his "Dragon Vein Inspector" is to eliminate hidden dangers so that the "Marquis of Lieyang" doesn't have to waste time and energy on small barbarian countries in the West.

The world is very big, and there are too many richer lands waiting for Great Qin to conquer and educate!

For example, the Marquis of Lieyang, wasn't he transferred from the East Sea battlefield?

"Heh, in this era, a 'born sage' with innate wisdom is not worth much; the human path is already prosperous, the Human Emperor is on the throne, and the sky cannot tolerate two suns."

"Even if the Three Emperors were reincarnated into the modern era, they would at most be a generation of wise kings, and would still be firmly suppressed by His Majesty the Great Qin."

"If it weren't for the fact that the karma is truly too great and too harmful to the harmony of heaven, even if they were truly sages like the Three Emperors, it would be a matter of one blade to kill them."

"Of course, the Three Emperors could become Sage Emperors not only because of the great merit of educating the human race, but they themselves were also top-tier cultivators; once they stepped onto the path of immortality, after practicing for a few years, the Great Luo Golden Immortal would be within reach."

"Xiang Xiaoyu is ultimately not the Three Emperors; she only has innate wisdom, without a shred of the Three Emperors' opportunities and talent."

The Daoist boy Qingsong said quite a lot, and the amount of information was quite large; after Guan Huchen chewed on it carefully, he asked: "Daoist, you said she has no past life? How can a person have no past life?"

The Daoist boy Qingsong laughed: "Do you think the Underworld existed when the world first opened? Before the Underworld was opened and the Six Paths of Reincarnation were established, were there no people in the Primordial World?"

"You mean, Xiang Xiaoyu is the same as the creatures of the Primordial Period, not born through the reincarnation channel, but a soul achieved innately, a soul newly born in heaven and earth?" Guan Huchen asked in surprise.

The Daoist boy Qingsong nodded gently, "Don't be too surprised; although this situation is rare, it is not strange."

"The common people all look forward to their children being reincarnations of the Wuqu Star or the Wenqu Star, but cultivators understand the secrets of reincarnation."

"Once a cultivator's offspring starts practicing the Dao, it is easy to awaken memories of past lives, and the affection between parents and children fades."

"Many 'clean freaks' would rather have no descendants than have offspring who inherited their bloodline but whose souls came from elsewhere."

"Especially those demon immortals; many of them have innate great miraculous powers and are unwilling to have their bloodline powers stolen by outsiders."

"Think about it; for great powers, reincarnation is simpler than eating or drinking tea."

"If they reincarnated directionally into the descendants of ancient demon beasts that possess bloodline great miraculous powers, reincarnating a hundred or eighty times, it would be easy to steal the secrets of a large number of top-tier great miraculous powers... why would everyone still practice the Dao, participate in Zen, or chant the Huangting? They could just go to the Underworld and line up for reincarnation."

"Great power cultivators with extreme temperaments even create Daoist techniques to seal the connection between the fetus and the Six Paths of Reincarnation, ensuring that the offspring of themselves and their Daoist companions are innate souls without traces of reincarnation."

"That is why there is the saying that 'it is difficult for cultivators to have offspring'."

"A cultivator's essence and blood are only more abundant and refined than those of mortals."

"Mortals can give birth; if cultivators are willing to consume some heart's blood, they would only be more capable of giving birth."

"It is difficult to have offspring purely because they are unwilling to lower themselves."

"Alas, the Six Paths of Reincarnation are winning more and more hearts."

"The heart of the people is the heart of heaven."

"As the saying goes, 'Heaven cherishes the people! What the people desire, Heaven must follow'."

"The authority of the Underworld in the Great Dao of Life and Death is becoming heavier and heavier."

"After many 'innate souls' appear, they are also drawn by the Underworld into the Six Paths of Reincarnation to 'take a bath,' marked with a reincarnation seal, and then enter the fetus's body."

"As a result, it is even more difficult for great power cultivators to have offspring."

"Do innate souls have any special benefits? Since there is the saying of 'innate,' isn't it more favorable for the path to immortality?" Guan Huchen asked curiously.

The Daoist boy Qingsong asked back: "Before the Six Paths of Reincarnation were established, did everyone in the world become immortals?"

"I heard that it was easier to practice immortality in the ancient era," Guan Huchen said.

"Perhaps this is a fact, but it has nothing to do with innate souls; it is purely because the ancient era was ignorant, there were few cultivators, and the heavenly materials and earthly treasures hadn't been gnawed away by the old locusts... cough, cough, I mean the seniors of the immortal path... um, the seniors were blessed with deep fortune."

"We juniors enjoy the blessings of our ancestors, receive Daoist classics, and can sit and endure bitterness, which can also be considered a blessing."

The old locusts who gnawed away the heavenly materials and earthly treasures aren't dead yet!

Not only are they not dead, but they are now occupying high positions in the sky.

If you dare to speak ill of them, if you are heard, being struck by lightning is the lightest punishment.

"Innate souls have less karma, their souls are newly born, they have no past life, and thus leave no debts from past lives."

"Of course, past lives can leave behind evil debts, and can also cultivate merit; the pros and cons are half and half, which is equivalent to having no advantages and no disadvantages."

"Are you sure Xiang Xiaoyu is an innate soul?" Guan Huchen asked.

The Daoist boy Qingsong said impatiently: "Do you doubt my art of physiognomy? I might not be able to summon a judge from the Underworld with a single talisman and directly ask about someone's origin, past life, and present."

"But whether they have gone through reincarnation, once my spiritual eyes are opened, it is crystal clear."

"If it is an ordinary person who has gone through the Six Paths of Reincarnation, I can even perform the 'Art of Three Lives and Three Fates' for them to watch parts of their life fragments from their previous three lives."

"General Guan, I am willing to help you see what your previous life looked like; do you want to try?"

"Perhaps you can find your children and grandchildren from your previous life."

"No, no need; the Daoist's miraculous powers are peerless, how would this subordinate dare to doubt?" Guan Huchen waved his hands repeatedly.

"This subordinate just feels that Xiang Xiaoyu is too mature and doesn't quite fit her age," he explained.

"You are inexperienced! In our land of China, there are many who were generals at eight and ministers at twelve; what is being mature?"

"If you are not precocious, you are not qualified to be called a genius!" The Daoist boy Qingsong disagreed.

"As the saying goes, outstanding people all have strange signs; those without strange signs are mediocre."

"The Daoist is right; this subordinate comes from a humble background and hasn't seen much of the elegant figures of China, so I was a bit narrow-minded and judged others by myself."

Guan Huchen had a bit of sincere yearning and self-reproach on his face.

He also wanted to be born in the superior land of China!

The Daoist boy Qingsong didn't want to continue talking nonsense with him.

He had important matters to attend to, so he gave instructions directly: "The captured Xiang Xiaoyu is no longer the focus; I am going to break the Dragon Vein of the Sand Dune Kingdom next, and by the way, find the Ouyang Qianlong."

"Once the Ouyang Qianlong is found, bring both him and Xiang Xiaoyu back."

"Do whatever you want with them, as long as they are always under your nose."

"As for the remaining Sha Barbarians, you can deal with them as you please, kill them, bury them, or leave them alone; it is all up to you, do you understand?"

Guan Huchen nodded and said: "This subordinate understands. If you occupy the latrine but don't poop, others can't poop either."

"The Ouyang Qianlong is still there, so the luck on him will not flow to the next Ouyang Qianlong."

"If you kill him directly, the Ouyang Qianlong is like chive seedlings; cutting the previous crop only makes it easier for the next crop to grow."

"Moreover, wantonly slaughtering the Ouyang Qianlong will also provoke the wrath of heaven and cause serious backlash of luck."

The Daoist boy Qingsong said indifferently: "What I mean is, you give the orders, you do the work, and anything you do has nothing to do with me."

"I am a person of quietude outside the world, and I am still hoping to pass the heavenly tribulation and become an immortal; I don't want to get involved in too much karma."

"This subordinate understands," Guan Huchen's mouth twitched.

"Luck..."

After parting with Guan Huchen, the Daoist boy Qingsong walked into the woods while curling his lips and muttering.

"Dragon Qi is indeed real; if you kill the Ouyang Qianlong, the Dragon Qi and the Mandate of Heaven will likely transfer and will not disappear immediately."

"It's better to keep the Ouyang Qianlong by your side and slowly grind him down for a lifetime."

"Hehehe, among the eunuchs in the Xianyang Palace, more than half were once Hidden Dragons from foreign lands!"

"As for luck... luck is far less real than Dragon Qi."

"It is better to believe in miraculous powers than in luck; miraculous powers can determine destiny."

"Never mind a mere Ouyang Qianlong, how many true dragons in the world have been slaughtered by my Great Qin?"

"Just for this Alliance of Thirty-Six Nations, the Marquis of Lieyang, a mere 'Marquis,' cut off enough heads of kings and crown princes to fill dozens of carts."

"But all that awaits the Marquis of Lieyang is promotion, prosperity, and even deeper imperial favor."

"Hmph, in the final analysis, luck, and even Dragon Qi, are just tools driven and utilized by great miraculous powers."

"Wanting to turn around and determine the destiny of people and dynasties—do you really think Daoist arts are something you wait to be manipulated after practicing?"

"Alas, the accumulation of karma will inevitably lead to a killing tribulation, and the future heavenly tribulation will be terrifyingly horrific... sigh, I really want to become an immortal! Let the Western Shu barbarians do all the bad things."

Compared to "luck," which has strong operability, karma is the thing that makes immortal practitioners fear the most.

The Marquis of Lieyang killed kings like cutting melons and vegetables, and his luck did not suffer any backlash; instead, he was to be promoted and given a raise, moving toward the peak of his life.

But even the twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect during the Enthronement of Gods period, which of those big shots wasn't full of merit and had luck like a dragon?

Among the twelve Golden Immortals, there were even several who had assisted the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, such as Yun Zhongzi and Chi Songzi, and were even called "Blessed Immortals," yet they still became infected with the killing tribulation due to the accumulation of karma, and had to have their three flowers knocked down and lose their sagehood in the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array of the Three Xiao Goddesses.

If even the twelve Golden Immortals were like this, one can imagine the situation for other cultivators.

Luck can be played with, merit can be earned with purpose, but only karma is hard to eliminate, and the killing tribulation triggered by the accumulation of karma is unavoidable.

The Daoist boy Qingsong turned and left, Guan Huchen followed to ask questions, leaving Xiang Xiaoyu alone in the clam shell, dazed.

Well, she was dazed on the surface, but she was actually observing her surroundings with the corner of her eyes, and thoughts were spinning at high speed in her heart.

There were armored knights curiously looking at her, with more curiosity than malice in their eyes.

This made her breathe a sigh of relief.

The matter of killing the "Great Power of Gang Qi" yesterday was not exposed, or it was exposed, but they only regarded it as a normal battlefield slaughter, where life and death are determined by fate, and they didn't hold too much of a grudge.

Then she saw a familiar figure, an old barbarian wearing a leopard-skin apron.

That old thing was actually staying with the black-armored knights, and the knights didn't strictly guard him... could it be that this guy defected to Western Shu and became a "Barbarian Traitor"?

Hateful... and he didn't bring her along!

"Uncle Prime Minister..."

"Shh, don't shout!"

The black-armored knights were staring at her; his "shh" was useless.

The old barbarian braced himself and said: "Don't call me 'Prime Minister', girl Xiang, we are servants, don't think wildly, don't talk wildly."

"What is the situation now?" Xiang Xiaoyu asked.

—You are usually so shrewd, why are you acting stupid now? In front of so many armored butchers, how do you expect me to talk?

"We will honestly listen to General Guan and Daoist Qingsong, and do whatever they tell us to do."

"General Guan has the eyes of an immortal, looking up at the Heavenly Palace and down at the Underworld; he is a heavenly man descended to earth, invincible in the world."

"Daoist Qingsong has peerless Daoist arts and is almost an immortal."

"As long as they show mercy, it is a great blessing for us Sha Barbarians to be slaves and maids."

He said vaguely, but still revealed some information.

Eyes of an immortal, peerless Daoist arts...

Xiang Xiaoyu completely gave up the idea of struggling, and the "Great Father-Destroying" technique began to stir.

"Yu Yu Ya Tou Xiang, why are you in the clam shell?" Seeing that his speaking didn't provoke the armored knights' scolding, the old barbarian's courage grew, and he even took the initiative to lean over.

"I can hold my breath, you know that," Xiang Xiaoyu said.

The old barbarian's expression was complex, saying: "We thought you had escaped to the north; we didn't expect you to have been in the sand dunes all along, just hiding in the water."

—If there were no monsters in the Liushahe, I really would have escaped directly to the north.

Xiang Xiaoyu thought to herself.

When being chased by Ge Qing's squad, she deliberately fled south.

The corpses of the cavalry she killed were arranged in an arc fleeing toward the southeast.

Later, Zhu Tong and Zhang San all chased the "murderer" toward the south.

In fact, after she entered the Liushahe, she walked at the bottom of the river, walked toward the north, and returned to the "paddy field" of the sand dunes.

The clam shell was submerged in the Liushahe on the edge of the paddy field.

She wasn't directly soaking in the water, but hiding in the clam shell.

The giant clam hadn't opened its spiritual intelligence and wasn't a real monster.

But its shell was truly hard, and the faint "demon aura" emitted by the clam shell could also mask the "human aura" on her body.

"Didn't you say the clam shell was thrown away?" the old barbarian asked again.

He could tell the story of "Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu bravely eliminating the clam monster," so naturally, he knew the origin of the clam shell.

But he clearly remembered that after killing the giant clam, she said that keeping the remains of the monster was inauspicious, and she didn't let the chieftain take the clam shell, but threw it into the Liushahe on the spot.

"It was indeed thrown away, thrown into the Liushahe, everyone saw it. This time it was just a coincidence," Xiang Xiaoyu said.

"Coincidence..." A shrewd look flashed in the old barbarian's eyes, and he lowered his voice: "You had already prepared this 'Clam Shell Escape Technique,' right?"

Xiang Xiaoyu wanted to slap him: In this kind of time, in this kind of occasion, is it appropriate to perform little cleverness?

She glared at him and didn't speak.

What "Clam Shell Escape Technique," it was actually a magic-modified version of "Old Bo's" well-bottom refuge from "Meteor Butterfly Sword."

She did it more thoroughly than Old Bo, but Old Bo escaped Lu Xiangchuan, yet she didn't escape a few "cannon fodder."

This is the Journey to the West world; compared to Wukong and the monsters Wukong met, the Daoist boy Qingsong and Guan Huchen were just cannon fodder.

It's just that she wasn't reincarnated into an immortal sect of the superior land of China, so she lived more miserably and sneakily than cannon fodder.

"What are you talking about?" Guan Huchen ended his conversation with the Daoist boy Qingsong and walked back.

"Daddy~~~" Seeing Guan Huchen, Xiang Xiaoyu subconsciously shouted out what was in her heart. ===== CHAPTER 14 =====