Chapter 292: An Xianjing

An Xianjing said: "In this year or so, you have made rapid progress, and your cultivation is not low now."

Li Youyi tried hard to see through her cultivation realm, but unfortunately, he gained nothing, and his heart could not be calm: "With your cultivation, Layman, you were actually prepared to kill me, a Spring Realm Wu Xiu, for money?"

An Xianjing had no aura of a powerhouse, nor was she cold or sharp; her smile was gentle, and she was full of affinity: "Your appearance entered the 'Picture of All Living Things in the World,' but there was no cause and effect, no past or future. I was very curious at the time, so I went to see you specifically. If you had been a threat to the rice people, I would have killed you then."

Li Youyi gasped, feeling lingering fear.

Fortunately, he felt pity for that group of children at the time and treated them to noodles, otherwise, how could he have lived safely until now?

At that time, the strength that his Dao-protecting wife could exert was still very low.

The Layman in White smiled: "You don't need to be so nervous! I am a person who cultivates Buddhism, a compassionate one. I return compassion to the compassionate. To the evil, I grant them rebirth."

"Whether it is compassionate or not, isn't it up to the strong to decide?"

Li Youyi squeezed out a stiff smile and added: "Your cultivation must be very extraordinary, right? What is the 'Picture of All Living Things in the World'?"

An Xianjing had no intention of telling Li Youyi the mystery of it and said indifferently: "Just treat it as a magic tool capable of capturing heavenly secrets!"

"Are you here to find the Southern Venerable?" Li Youyi said.

"I have already seen her! She shouldn't be at the Southern Clear Palace recently; she has important matters to deal with."

An Xianjing said: "Li Youyi, what do you think of the rice people?"

Li Youyi knew she was not to be trifled with; one moment everyone could sit at a table and eat noodles with a smile, and the next, she might take action to kill.

Being unfathomable is what is most terrifying.

Li Youyi answered truthfully: "I know very little about the rice people, so I'm afraid I can't answer such a broad question with a narrow perception."

An Xianjing said: "Then what are the rice people you know like?"

"Must I answer?" Li Youyi said.

An Xianjing said: "If you don't answer, you might die. Amitabha!"

"Don't threaten me!"

Li Youyi really wanted to test her weight; pretending to be unfathomable didn't necessarily mean she had real talent.

"If you want to make a move, then make a move! It won't be too late to answer after we've fought. Amitabha!" An Xianjing blinked her eyes, issuing an encouraging invitation to him.

Li Youyi said: "So confident! Do you want to hear the truth, or do you want to hear lies?"

"Is there a difference?"

Li Youyi said: "The truth is unpleasant to hear, and I'm afraid it will make you unhappy. I can also say flattering words; after all, I am at the main altar of the Rice Sect."

"Then tell me the truth!" An Xianjing said.

Li Youyi didn't dislike the Layman in White in front of him very much; at least she didn't kill the innocent indiscriminately, so he said: "The information I have learned about the rice people is mostly told by others. In this, it is divided into two types."

"One is that the rice people are a disadvantaged group in this world, planted and grown, without parents or relatives, not accepted by the mainstream, sold, trained as dead soldiers, servants, or even raised as livestock."

"The other... calls the Twin Rice Sect a cult, acting extremely, hating humans, and being the instigator of many conflicts, wanting to turn the entire Lingxiao Life Realm into a rice field."

An Xianjing asked: "Is there any difference between rice people and humans?"

"There seems to be no difference... but I really don't know much, and I haven't had much deep contact. Why do you insist on asking me?" Li Youyi said.

An Xianjing said: "Since there is no difference between everyone, why do humans enslave rice people? They plant and grow rice people, like the parents of rice people, yet they don't have a shred of love. We don't ask for love, only for dignity and fairness. Is that wrong? As for what you said about wanting to turn the entire Lingxiao Life Realm into a rice field, that is even more nonsense. When have we ever had such great ambition?"

Li Youyi said: "Look, you're unhappy now. If I had known, I wouldn't have told the truth!"

An Xianjing chanted a Buddha's name: "Amitabha!"

"Having emotions is normal. I have always believed that opposition in stance exists at any time and in any place. But once one falls into paranoia and extremism, it must also be a wrong path."

Li Youyi thought of the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and said: "Everyone is born free and equal in dignity and rights. If rice people are really exactly the same as humans... forget it, I feel like saying it is useless..."

An Xianjing said: "Then you'd better not say it! I feel like you are just a child who hasn't grown up yet, completely an idealist. Where is there any freedom and equality in this world? Even if there is, it must be fought for with powerful cultivation."

Li Youyi was only too happy not to discuss such a profound problem with her: "Your appearance seems to have become different from before?"

An Xianjing's emotions calmed down completely: "I cultivate the 'Formless and Imageless Buddhist Scripture,' and my appearance changes every day, changing with my mood and heart. Only when I reach the transcendental realm will it stabilize, my heart like a calm lake, returning to one."

"You aren't trying to scare me, are you? You make the Disguise Technique sound so mysterious?"

Li Youyi could not suppress the curiosity in his heart and did not want to be scared by the unfathomable appearance the other party was putting on.

"Swish!"

He rushed out like lightning and slapped out with a palm.

The palm wind caused the surrounding grass and trees to sway, and waves rose on the lake.

An Xianjing moved sideways by two feet and dodged: "You can go all out; there's no need to hold back."

The Layman in White in front of him had a very immature temperament, turning her face as fast as turning a book; under the Disguise Technique, there might be a very young face.

Since she was a figure of the younger generation, why be afraid of her?

Li Youyi was provoked into a competitive spirit, changed his palm into fingers, operated his magic power to the fullest, and pointed out dozens of finger shadows within a breath.

But they were all blocked by the palm prints she formed. She stood on the spot like a Thousand-Hand Guanyin, her eyes fixed on Li Youyi the whole time.

Li Youyi withdrew his fingers and retreated, his expression grave: "So powerful! What is your cultivation realm?"

An Xianjing laughed: "I have always been interested in your Cihang Aperture Opening Finger, feeling it has a lot of Buddhist rhyme. How about you try it on me?"

"Forget it! Your cultivation is profound, and I can't afford to provoke you."

Li Youyi flicked his sleeves and turned to leave: "But I can afford to hide."

"You can't hide!"

An Xianjing grabbed his arm, flashed, and the next moment crashed into a formation inside the Southern Clear Palace.

Li Youyi landed on his feet, tried hard to suppress the suspicion in his heart, and looked back at the formation light screen that was still vibrating behind him.

This formation was the most powerful one in the Southern Clear Palace, and Li Youyi couldn't see through it even using his Heaven-Piercing Eyes.

But she crashed directly into it.

Li Youyi asked: "May I ask the Layman's name?"

"An Xianjing!" she said.

"Boom!"

Li Youyi's head was about to explode, and then he thought of the Hall Master of the Spirit Valley Hall, who also seemed to have the surname An, so he tentatively said: "That Bodhisattva An from Coffin Mountain? The Hall Master of the Spirit Valley Hall?"

Inside the formation was a mu of paddy field.

In the field was three-colored spirit soil.

The water was an inch-deep blood water.

In the field, only one three-foot-tall rice plant was planted.

It looked like it was cast from gold, its leaves were as sharp as swords, and its whole body radiated dazzling golden brilliance. Its life energy was strong, and it looked extremely extraordinary at a glance.

An Xianjing walked on the ridge with one hand behind her back, her gaze fixed on that golden rice: "In your heart, neither Bodhisattva An nor the Hall Master of the Spirit Valley Hall are good people, right?"

Li Youyi thought of Yao Qingxuan's warning before, so he changed his face: "How could that be? Since we parted in Jiuli City, I still remember Miss An's charming smile, very gentle, truly a Bodhisattva descending to earth."

An Xianjing frowned, gave him a cold look, and then said: "When I saw you in Jiuli City, I didn't take you seriously. But at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, you returned to my field of vision. Your cultivation speed is too fast; you walked in one year what others couldn't walk in ten years."

Li Youyi hurriedly said: "Senior An, I really don't have any special opinions about rice people. I haven't had much contact with you, and I'm not a threat. Besides, my ancestral field... alas, it's a long story. Why does everyone have to target me?"

"You killed quite a few people from the Divine Sect, right? At the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, a batch of Five Sea realm experts were killed by you," An Xianjing said.

Li Youyi said: "I didn't know they were from the Divine Sect."

"Did you kill Wang Zhi and Wang Shouxin?"

Li Youyi said: "..."

"Did you kill Zuo Shi?"

Li Youyi said: "That was self-preservation."

An Xianjing said: "I won't kill you; you treated me to noodles, and we have no grudges. But if I throw you out of the Southern Clear Palace, how many people do you think will want to take revenge on you?"

Li Youyi was not scared by her, his mind turning rapidly: "Does Hall Master An mean that you, senior, intend to protect me?"

"I didn't say that, but if you are useful to me, I can use you," An Xianjing said.

Li Youyi said: "May I ask how Hall Master An plans to use me?"

An Xianjing's gaze fell back to the golden rice in the center of the blood field: "About two years ago, the Rice Ancestor found four golden Dao seeds from the ancient Po Jialuo Sect period in the Sacred Heart layer of the underground immortal mansion and handed them to the three Hall Masters and one Deputy Hall Master to plant."

"The Rice Ancestor believes that these four rice seeds can grow infants with extremely high talent."

"Whoever can successfully plant them can observe the Divine Sect's supreme scripture, the 'Jidi Hunyuan Sutra,' and gain the opportunity to impact the transcendental realm."

"For two years, the Southern Venerable and I have taken turns using our longevity blood to irrigate and cultivate with longevity magic power, but it only allowed the rice to take root and sprout, growing into a seedling. After it grew to three feet tall, it wouldn't grow anymore!"

Li Youyi said: "Why not look for the blood of transcendent beings? The melee ten months ago was heaven-shattering, and several transcendent beings fell. There were even more transcendent beings who spilled blood on the Lingxiao land, so you could surely find some."

I don't know what angered her, but An Xianjing's tone was slightly cold: "In your eyes, Ren Rice is a monster that sucks blood, right?"

"I didn't say that."

Li Youyi was very helpless, feeling she was too sensitive.

An Xianjing said: "The vast majority of Ren Rice only need to borrow the water of the blood sea or the water of the underground blood river to grow."

"Using the corpses of human Wu Xiu as rice fertilizer is just a means of revenge and a way to deter enemies. Although, I don't like this method."

"Once human blood is used to interfere with the growth of Ren Rice, the infants that grow will inevitably carry the characteristics of the blood donor in appearance and personality, representing a kind of inheritance."

Li Youyi said: "Like parents and children?"

"Something like that," An Xianjing said.

Li Youyi nodded and said: "This is indeed a headache-inducing matter, with complex cause and effect."

An Xianjing said: "If using transcendent blood could cultivate it, why wouldn't the Rice Ancestor cultivate it directly? Instead, he handed it to us?"

"The Golden Valley Seed must be an extremely powerful seed that can raise infants with high talent. Therefore, using the blood and magic power of people with sufficient talent to nourish it might allow it to continue growing. Your trace veins are all gold, and your physique and bloodline are definitely not ordinary."

Li Youyi was stunned: "Hall Master An wants me to help you raise the golden rice?"

An Xianjing cut her wrist and sprinkled blood into the field. Immediately, the blood energy spread, causing a layer of blood mist to permeate the entire paddy field.

"You offended the Divine Sect and are being watched by many people. If I don't look for you, you will be looked for by others. Zuoqiu Cangwu is already thinking about you, let alone others?"

"You help me raise the rice, and I will protect your life."

"Of course, the premise is that your blood must be truly useful to it. I am also just holding a wait-and-see attitude!"