Chapter 44: Martial Arts Demonstration Imminent, Begging for the Spirit Bead

Zhaoming Zhenren emerged from the room holding an ochre brocade box, his hands trembling; he stroked the box from time to time, his face filled with grief and reluctance. That expression was in no way inferior to Chengxin Zhenren when he had given away his Universe Bag back in the day.

Lingxiang, however, acted as if nothing were the matter, half-reclining on a grand armchair in the hall, one leg hooked over the armrest, swaying it back and forth from time to time.

"Hey, why must Fifth Senior Brother make such a face? It's just a bead; in exchange for a disciple with a limitless future, you've made a huge profit on this deal!"

As Lingxiang spoke, she rose and reached out to take the brocade box from Zhaoming Zhenren's hands. Zhaoming Zhenren was still unwilling to give up, exerting force with his hands as if, by doing so, Lingxiang would not take the bead away.

"Oh, if Senior Brother likes this box, you may keep it. I certainly won't take what you love, just hand over the spirit bead inside to me." Lingxiang gave a hard tug and snatched the brocade box from Zhaoming Zhenren's hands.

Seeing his hands empty, Zhaoming Zhenren's face tightened; he turned his head away and squeezed his eyes shut, looking utterly heartbroken—it was easy for her to say, "just a bead," but this was the Fire Spirit Bead from among the Five Elements Pearls, the only one of its kind in the world!

Speaking of this Fire Spirit Bead, one must mention its origin.

Legend has it that at the time of Chaos, the Taiji was Earth, which gave birth to the two poles of Yin and Yang, and the two poles gave birth to the Four Symbols, which were Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire. This was a theory from ancient times; after being passed down for thousands of years, it evolved into the theory of the Five Elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

It is also said that these Five Elements were born of nature, originating from the stars, and are the basics that constitute all things in the universe.

There are countless such theories, but regardless of what the Five Elements originated from, these statements all express the importance of the Five Elements, and the Five Elements Pearls are the condensation of their essence.

Furthermore, back then, the Treasure-Gathering Qilin, due to gluttony, mistakenly swallowed the Fire Spirit Bead. It was originally a gentle object, but because it absorbed too much Spirit Qi within the body of this ancient auspicious beast, the power of the fire spirit increased greatly, causing the docile beast to suffer immensely. Over time, it actually mutated into a Fire Qilin.

Just when Lingxiang was locked in a struggle with Wu Yuan in Cangzhou City, Zhaoming Zhenren, entrusted by others, used the Mysterious Ice Great Array within the Five Elements Subduing Demon Array to subdue it, and only after using some unknown witchcraft was he able to extract this Fire Spirit Bead.

Because the Spirit Qi of the Fire Spirit Bead was too overwhelming, it set the entire mountaintop on fire the moment it appeared in the world. Fortunately, Zhaoming Zhenren was brilliant and had long since set up the Nine Heavens Spirit Marsh Array, bringing about a heavy rain that averted a mountain disaster.

Now, this Fire Spirit Bead had been nurtured by Zhaoming Zhenren with the Four Symbols Array for a full forty-nine days before it finally settled down; it had cost him a great deal of effort.

Yet now, it had been easily begged away by his little junior sister, so how could his heart not feel as if it were being twisted by a knife!

Lingxiang snatched the brocade box, pinched a hand seal to break the small array on the box, and opened it to see a bead inside, the size of an egg, glowing with firelight and resting quietly on gold silk.

She hurriedly took the bead out. The moment it touched her hand, she felt warmth spread through her body, as if she were no longer in the middle of this cold winter season; a moment later, she even began to sweat.

It truly was an ancient Spirit Treasure; with it, there would be no need to fear this bitter winter ever again.

Lingxiang tossed the Fire Spirit Bead lightly and caught it steadily. After tossing and catching it several times, she scared Zhaoming Zhenren into shouting for her to stop—each toss and catch felt like it was smashing into his heart; how could he not be nervous? If she failed to catch it and it fell to the ground, wouldn't that break his heart to death?

But an ancient Spirit Treasure is not so easily broken.

Lingxiang weighed the Fire Spirit Bead in her hand and felt that it was not as heavy as it looked; rather, it was as light as a pebble, neither inconvenient to carry nor easy to overlook.

"Then I thank Fifth Senior Brother for parting with your treasure!" Lingxiang said, tucking the bead into her bosom, and skipped out of Diancang Hall—she had actually left the brocade box behind.

Zhaoming Zhenren sat down dejectedly, stroking the empty brocade box, his face full of gloom, as if by stroking the box, the Fire Spirit Bead could fly back on its own.

Just as his heart was aching, he saw Lingxiang skipping back. Zhaoming Zhenren thought: Could it be that this girl still has a conscience, and seeing that her Fifth Senior Brother is so old and cannot bear the pain of losing a treasure, she has specially returned the Spirit Treasure?

However, the reality was that he was overthinking it; after all these years, when had Lingxiang ever had such an awakening? In the entire sect, he and Chengxin Zhenren had the most Dharma treasures, and when had a treasure ever returned once she had begged for it?

He only heard the sound of the silver bell at Lingxiang's waist coming from afar and drawing near. When she reached him, she reached out her hand directly toward Zhaoming Zhenren.

"This... what do you want now? Don't be insatiable!" Zhaoming Zhenren felt a chill in his heart, terrified that Lingxiang would scrape something else from him.

"Naturally, it's something for transformation," Lingxiang said with an "it goes without saying" look: "I don't know how to fly a sword, and this Yucang Peak is quite a distance from my Qingwei Peak!"

Zhaoming Zhenren didn't know whether to be angry or amused. He took a piece of Yellow Paper from his bosom, folded it casually, and threw it to Lingxiang. In the end, he even clutched his chest and waved his hand to signal her to leave quickly.

"Senior Brother's craftsmanship is getting more and more exquisite," Lingxiang said with a smile, holding the Paper Crane in her hand: "Then I, your junior sister, will be off. I'll come to bother you again when I have time!" With that, she ran out of Diancang Hall.

This sentence made Zhaoming Zhenren's heart tighten, and he hurriedly urged Lingxiang, who had already left the hall:

"Don't come here to play if there's nothing going on! Your senior brother is very busy! I'm not often here!"

In the end, he emphasized it twice:

"Hey! Did you hear me? I don't have time!"

……

"Do not let the mind be dim, do not let the heart be lost. Clear the heart like water, clear water is the heart. The breeze does not rise, the waves are calm... My heart has no apertures, Heavenly Dao rewards diligence. My righteousness is awe-inspiring, ghosts and demons are all startled. My emotions are overflowing, heaven and earth return to the heart. My ambition is soaring, wind and water arise!"

At Hufeng Hall, Donghui Zhenren was preaching the Dao, when he saw Hanyang standing outside the hall door with two young Daoists.

"What has been said today ends here. After returning, you may contemplate this 'Heart-Clearing Formula' together with the 'Guiyuan Sutra', and you will achieve twice the result with half the effort." After Donghui Zhenren finished speaking, the young boy behind him struck the small bell beside him.

Everyone was packing up to rise when they saw Hanyang walk quickly into the hall and bow to Donghui Zhenren, while the young Daoists behind him signaled the Outer Disciples to sit for a moment.

"Following the Sect Leader's decree, I have come today to announce the location of the martial arts demonstration ten days from now." Hanyang said, chanting words, and then waved his right hand, immediately presenting a mirage before everyone.

"This is Yinyu Peak, under the jurisdiction of the two Spirit-Controlling Elders, Yuan and Qing. You junior brothers will hold the competition here in ten days. This is the place where the sect's spirit beasts are kept. Although the two junior uncles, Danyang and Danzhu, have driven the spirit beasts elsewhere, I hope that during the competition, everyone will treat this place well and not damage the feng shui or Spirit Plants. After the competition ends, the many spirit beasts will return to live here."

As Hanyang spoke, he took a scroll from his sleeve.

"The scroll contains the examination questions for this time. I will hang it in Hufeng Hall, and you junior brothers can familiarize yourselves with it in the next few days to prepare." Saying this, he handed the scroll to the young Daoist behind him.

"The martial arts demonstration will last for one day and one night. At that time, there will be some detailed rules, which will be explained in detail by the two Elders, Danyang and Danzhu, before you enter the mountain. The above is what I had to inform you all of today." Saying this, he cupped his hands in a salute to the Outer Disciples. After the disciples returned the salute, he left Hufeng Hall with Donghui Zhenren.