Chapter 58: Dharma Battle

"I, this old Daoist, have bad luck. I entered the Dao late, only learning that immortals existed in this world at over thirty, and stepping onto the path of the Dao at forty-five. I am now seventy-three, and after thirty years of bitter cultivation, I have only opened fifty-some apertures. It is truly a bit embarrassing for you, Daoist."

Ge Laodao stroked his white beard, half-regretful and half-complacent: "If not for entering the Dao so late, this old Daoist would have had a chance to compete for a spot as an Inner Sect Disciple, heh."

Why say these things? Did he think I wanted to hear them?

A 'heh heh' expression appeared on Chen Ci's face, but inwardly, he felt a bit sour.

This old man's cultivation aptitude was likely much better than his own; truly, the heavens have no eyes.

"Although I entered the gates of Longhu Mountain, as for being an Outer Sect Disciple... sigh, to tell the truth, isn't the only purpose to do odd jobs for the sect so that the Inner Sect Disciples can cultivate with more focus?"

Ge Laodao chewed his mouth: "Inner Sect Disciples get Spirit Fields, eat Spirit Rice, pay little in levies, and basically perform no labor; Outer Sect Disciples get ordinary fields, eat common rice, and cannot even cultivate with peace of mind. It is truly unreasonable. Since one has entered cultivation, who doesn't want to seek Longevity?"

Chen Ci nodded subconsciously, almost empathizing with him.

If he hadn't luckily accumulated some initial capital relying on the Frost Sugar Method, to be honest, with that Gold Finger cheat that wasn't even a hair as deep as the deep blue, let alone improving his cultivation, he would likely have had to lower his bottom line again and again just to complete the assigned Essence Refining tasks.

Chen Ci sized up the old Daoist and suddenly said: "With talent like yours, Daoist Ge, you really should come to my He Mountain Sect to develop."

"Haha!"

The old Daoist Ge Zhou also laughed: "The He Mountain Sect is far inferior to Longhu Mountain. Just saying... forget it, I won't say it. But Daoist Chen, don't compare this old Daoist to your He Mountain Sect disciples. Thinking back to when I first entered Longhu Mountain, I was also diligent and conscientious, protecting the borders and calming the people, and even often used my own earnings to subsidize the commoners. Aren't immortals supposed to be like that?"

A trace of nostalgia appeared on Ge Laodao's face: "But those days were truly interesting—the joy of having hope for Longevity, the ease of acting chivalrously, the pleasure of being respected by others, and getting along quite well with fellow disciples, sitting and discussing the Dao, rising and putting it into action."

At a time like this, there should be a 'but' to turn the tide.

Chen Ci thought to himself.

"But as time went on, this old Daoist discovered something was wrong. Some fellow disciples had mediocre aptitude, so how was their cultivation so much faster than mine?"

Ge Laodao sighed slightly: "Only then did I discover that many fellow disciples had family support behind them. As for the little earnings of this old Daoist... heh, isn't immortal cultivation still divided into different ranks? Especially since this old Daoist didn't understand much back then and learned the most difficult Thunder Technique; by the time I realized it, it was already too late. This road really couldn't be walked anymore."

"One cannot cultivate immortality by being naive. Living for the Dao, dying for the Dao—mainly, the gains this time are too sufficient, Daoist Chen, please don't blame me too much."

Chen Ci gave a dumbfounded laugh and shook his head slightly: "Why blame you? Things have reached this point; dividing the high and low, the winner takes all, that's quite fine too."

The old Daoist Ge Zhou pondered for a moment, nodded, and replied: "That is the logic."

But immediately after, the old Daoist Ge Zhou added: "But since things have reached this point, do you see any other opportunity? You and I each take what we have gained, and part ways here?"

"The clouds are about to disperse."

Chen Ci looked up and glanced at the sky, the expression on his face gradually fading, and he asked coldly: "Daoist, is the talisman in your hand drawn yet?"

Chen Ci had long discovered that this fellow was sitting cross-legged; although he was pinching a Thunder Seal with his hand, he was also secretly drawing a talisman at the same time. However, the thunderclouds had not dispersed, so even if he had discovered it, there was nothing to be done.

But now, he could not wait.

Chen Ci stood up, pulled up the Iron Spear beside him, weighed it slightly, then infused it with True Qi and threw it fiercely at the old Daoist Ge Zhou.

"Hit!"

Following a soft shout, the mysterious altar in front of Ge Laodao exploded violently, and all the talisman artifacts scattered across the ground.

"Daoist Chen is truly direct, but..."

Ge Laodao retreated two steps with some regret, watching his own mysterious altar be written off just like that.

"Pagoda Yin Horse!"

Chen Ci slapped the Dharma Artifact at his waist, and five Pagoda Yin Horses lowered their heads and charged toward Ge Laodao. With his full-strength strike, the ground even showed slight tremors; it truly had the momentum of an army charging a formation.

Immediately after, Chen Ci followed behind the five Pagoda Yin Horses, shielding his figure and waiting for an opportunity to act.

The distance of ten zhang was covered in the blink of an eye.

"Where are the warriors!"

Ge Laodao's face was also full of gravity. He reached into his bosom and scattered a dozen beans. As soon as they hit the ground, they condensed into figures, becoming more than ten armored Daoists, eight feet tall.

"Yin spirits? Heh."

They were called Yin spirits, but they were slightly different from those of the He Mountain Sect; they lacked some filth and resentment, and had more of an incense aura.

Chen Ci took out a few Soul Fixing Talismans and scattered several of them back into beans. However, the remaining warriors were all fearless of death, and they actually fought the Pagoda Yin Horses to a mutual destruction, forcing the Pagoda Yin Horses back into the Yin Horse Pagoda Lock.

These beans were somewhat similar to talismans, but they looked expensive; a look of heartache clearly flashed across Ge Laodao's face.

This was also one of the reasons why cultivators do not easily engage in Dharma battles.

Even if one wins, there might be no profit, and one might even lose a sum.

This thought flashed through his mind, Chen Ci's eyes narrowed slightly, and his palms were already sweating slightly.

This was his first time truly engaging in a head-on Dharma battle; to say he wasn't nervous would be a lie.

"Five Yin Black Evil!"

Two streams of Five Yin Black Evil attacked Ge Laodao from the left and right. Ge Laodao raised his hand, the talisman in his hand ignited again, and he shouted: "Wind, come!"

The sound of wind began to rise on the field; although no gale was seen, the spiritual energy had shifted.

Chen Ci could clearly feel that his two streams of Five Yin Black Evil were like duckweed in the wind for some reason; both their accuracy and speed were much worse, and even the lime powder he had secretly mixed in was blown away, failing to take effect.

"If the Dharma Artifact Daoist Chen is holding were some other great art of the He Mountain Sect, this old Daoist might not have had other thoughts, but this Five Yin Evil Qi Bag... heh."

The old Daoist Ge Zhou laughed, but there seemed to be a different meaning in his smile.

A surge of restless fire rose inexplicably in Chen Ci's heart. He was about to fully activate the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag to kill the enemy, but at the final step, he stopped himself abruptly.

One cannot let their heart be chaotic during a Dharma battle.

This old man knew a lot about the methods of the He Mountain Sect, but he himself had fallen into the opponent's rhythm.

Once the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag was fully activated and all seven streams of Five Yin Black Evil were released, if he couldn't win in one strike and it dragged on for a while, his own Three Yin True Qi would be over-consumed, and the situation might shift again.

"Talisman methods have their limits. Can your wind-calling method, Daoist, last long?"

Chen Ci slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and asked indifferently.

"Daoist truly hits the main point. With this old Daoist's cultivation, this Wind-Calling Cloud-Sealing Talisman only affects a radius of five zhang, and the time is less than the duration of an incense stick."

The old Daoist Ge Zhou sighed: "If you had kept your distance and slowly worn me down, Daoist, I probably wouldn't have had any way to deal with it. Actually, the suggestion just now for you and me to let it go was also giving you a chance, Daoist."

"Heh."

Chen Ci pressed down on the Five Yin Evil Qi Bag and slowly felt the changes in the spiritual energy on the field; he had never encountered such targeted crowd-control methods before.

"Every time I engage in a dharma battle, for some reason, I recall the experiences of my early days seeking the Dao."

"I was swindled out of money, encountered mountain bandits practicing an Evil Method, and inadvertently entered the black shop of a Leftist Cultivator."

"The first time I killed someone in a dharma battle, my sword got stuck in their cervical vertebrae and I almost couldn't pull it out; my hands were shaking."

"Although there were many calamities, fortunately, I eventually obtained a fortuitous encounter and joined Nine Springs Temple."

Ge Laodao looked at the talisman in his hand and shook his head slightly.

"What, saying so much, do you want me to sympathize with how difficult your path of seeking the Dao has been?"

Chen Ci gave a dark laugh; in the time it took to say these few sentences, the talisman in his hand had already burned halfway through, and it would lose its effect in just a little while longer.

"Not at all, not at all."

Ge Laodao also smiled: "Saying so much, I actually wanted to tell you that although I am aged, I am actually still very capable of fighting."

Hmm?

Chen Ci keenly grasped the change in Ge Zhou's tone, and he felt a faint pressure of cold light between his brows.

Clang!

The Spirit Iron Short Sword suddenly appeared, striking the Longhu Dharma Sword in mid-air, sending sparks flying everywhere.

A-Ci, A-Ci, the Great Dao is not yet achieved, how can you be so slack~ Update quickly!

(End of this chapter)