Chapter 16

The moon looked at the human world indifferently, like a fox's eye.

Qingwei Palace, Quiet Room.

When Zhang Fan woke up, the sky was gradually brightening. He staggered to get up from the bed and walked outside the door, only to see that the east had already revealed a touch of fish-belly white.

"'Daoist Pojie?' Zhang Fan called out, his voice hoarse and low. He felt as if his throat had been burned by fire, painful and unbearable, and his body was also extremely weak."

On the quiet corridor, not a single person could be seen, and the large Qingwei Palace had returned to its usual deathly silence.

"'Where did everyone go? They wouldn't all be dead, would they?'"

Zhang Fan rubbed his temples, feeling as if his head were splitting. He clearly remembered being pierced through the chest; he should have gone to see his ancestors by now...

He walked out of the Qingwei Palace in a daze, following the small path in the back mountain. Not long after, he saw a pond appear before his eyes. Beside the pond stood a figure, with short hair reaching the shoulders and fair skin, appearing even more ethereal where the sun and moon shone together.

"'Jiang Lai...'"

Zhang Fan's eyes lit up, and enduring the violent headache, he hurried forward.

"'Why are you here...'"

"'Don't speak...'"

Jiang Lai raised her hand to remind him.

At this moment, Zhang Fan finally discovered that Jiang Lai's gaze was fixed on the center of the pond, where a large turtle had actually surfaced, its shell the size of a millstone...

"'This...'"

Zhang Fan glanced at it, but he was not surprised. Coming to Zhenwu Mountain, he had seen the giant snake watching the moon, the Daoist priest manipulating thunder, the Difficulty-Worm breaking the well...

Such a large turtle also seemed unremarkable, not to mention that in real life, some turtles can indeed be raised to be this large.

"'Where did you go last night?' Zhang Fan couldn't help but ask."

"'He is about to come out...'"

Jiang Lai seemed not to have heard Zhang Fan's words, her gaze always fixed on the large turtle in the center of the pond.

"'What?'"

Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment and subconsciously turned to look.

Just at this moment, the pond suddenly surged with waves, the water ripples undulating, and the waves rising and falling. A pitch-black figure actually spiraled up from behind the large turtle...

"'This...'"

Zhang Fan's pupils contracted suddenly, only then seeing that the pitch-black figure was actually a large snake, and the most bizarre thing was that the large snake was actually connected to the large turtle, as if it were the latter's tail...

Zhang Fan suddenly became alert and turned to look. Beside him, it was empty, without a trace of a person.

"'Jiang Lai...'"

Zhang Fan roared, and suddenly opened his eyes.

This time it really was just a dream!!! "'You're awake...'"

A light, slow voice came from his ear. Zhang Fan looked at the ceiling; he was still in the quiet room of the Qingwei Palace, his clothes already soaked with sweat. Turning his head, he saw a pretty young girl sitting by the bed, one hand supporting her chin, her bright apricot eyes slightly narrowed, staring straight at him like a fox's eyes.

"'Xia... Xia Weisheng...' Zhang Fan recognized her at a glance."

"'You still recognize me; it seems you're fine.'"

Xia Weisheng slowly stood up, walked to the table, poured a cup of water, and handed it to Zhang Fan.

"'I... I am not...'"

Zhang Fan hurried to get up and check his chest, only to find that there were no scars there, but there was a faint mark, like a curve supporting a circle...

"'You're lucky; you took our Zhenwu Mountain's Jade Tablet, so you saved your little life...'"

Xia Weisheng stuffed the water cup into Zhang Fan's hand and continued to support her chin with one hand, staring at him.

"'Why... why are you looking at me like that?' Zhang Fan was made to feel uneasy by Xia Weisheng's gaze."

"'The Daoist Jade Tablet represents a Dharma lineage and concerns the rise and fall of the mountain gate... it's not as simple as just having symbolic meaning...'" Xia Weisheng said lightly.

"'Can it be taken out?' Zhang Fan couldn't help but ask."

"'When you reach the Three Tian Shi rank, you can pass the Jade Tablet to someone else...'"

"'This...'"

Nowadays, he could barely be counted as a 【Qi-Worker】... Among the nine great ranks, 【Three Tian Shi】 is the highest achievement. Even if he lived to be a hundred, he didn't know if he could reach such an achievement.

So, this method was obviously unreliable.

"'There is another way...'"

"'What?' Zhang Fan pursued."

"'Kill you...'"

"'...'"

Once these words were spoken, Zhang Fan immediately became alert and subconsciously shrank back. He hadn't forgotten that just because of the four words 【Fated to Respond to the Tribulation】, the woman in front of him had wanted to do him in. The most terrifying thing was that her 【Five Thunder Orthodox Method】 couldn't even be blocked by Daoist Pojie.

"'Just joking with you...' Xia Weisheng looked at Zhang Fan's nervous expression and smiled slightly, her eyes narrowing, looking more and more like a fox."

"'Killing people is against the law... not to mention that Heaven has the virtue of loving life...'"

Xia Weisheng slowly stood up and sat on the edge of the bed very warmly, getting close to Zhang Fan. Immediately, a faint fragrance wafted over, making one's heart flutter.

"'You have good natural talent; cultivate well. If you reach the 【Gao Gong】 rank early, perhaps you can try to take out the Zhenwu Jade Tablet.'"

Xia Weisheng patted Zhang Fan's head, looking very much like a thoughtful big sister next door.

"'Gao Gong!?' Zhang Fan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this."

Within Daoism, being able to reach the 【Gao Gong】 rank is already considered a rare existence, but compared to the 【Three Tian Shi】 rank, it was much more reliable.

"'I'll teach you a Daoist secret mantra... this is the unpassed secret of our Zhenwu Mountain. Practice it more when you have nothing to do, and reach Gao Gong early,' Xia Weisheng changed the subject and said suddenly."

"'Really?' Zhang Fan felt suspicious in his heart."

What is a Daoist secret mantra?

There are often sacred beings in the sky who grant people secret words to respond to Qi, which are called secret mantras. When mortals chant them, they can command the power of ghosts and gods.

Famous ones include the 【Golden Light Mantra】, 【Heart-Clearing Mantra】, 【Tian Peng Divine Mantra】, etc.

Every type of secret mantra is the unpassed secret of each Dharma lineage.

As the Senior Sister of Zhenwu Mountain, the secret mantras Xia Weisheng mastered were naturally not ordinary goods.

"'The secret mantra I am passing to you is called...'"

"'Heavenly Mother Heart Mantra!'"

Xia Weisheng whispered solemnly. She stood up, walked to the door to look outside, and then closed the doors and windows tightly.

The so-called "Dharma is not passed to six ears, and the technique does not fall outside the altar."

"'Heavenly Mother Heart Mantra!?' Zhang Fan chewed on the name; he hadn't seen it on the internet."

The so-called Heavenly Mother is the 【Mother of the Big Dipper】 in Daoist mythology. Legend has it that she was transformed from the innate Yin Qi of the Primordial Heavenly Lord, and later gave birth to the 【Emperor of the Hooked Constellation】, 【North Pole Ziwei Emperor】, and the 【Big Dipper Seven Stars】...

Precisely because of this, her status in Daoist mythology is extremely high, and she is called the Lord of the Stars and the Venerable of the Dou Mansion.

"'A secret mantra from Doumu Yuanjun...'"

"'I will pass the mantra to you now; remember it well...' Xia Weisheng became serious, her throat moving, emitting strange syllables."

"'Innate Dao Mother, Zhou Tian Chen Emperor, Lord of the Stars, Dou Mansion Venerable King, Central Brahma Qi, Nine Emperors Upper Emperor...'"

Half an hour later, the door opened.

Xia Weisheng left with satisfaction, her face filled with an unfinished smile.

Inside the quiet room, Zhang Fan was still silently chanting the 【Heavenly Mother Heart Mantra】 passed on by Xia Weisheng. Thinking back carefully, it was indeed lingering with charm.

"'Zhang Fan...'"

Just at this moment, Daoist Pojie came to visit.

"'Are you feeling better?'"

"'I'm fine now,' Zhang Fan said with a light smile."

"'Has someone been here?' Daoist Pojie looked at the teacup on the table."

"'Your Senior Sister has been here!'"

Zhang Fan's mind echoed with the Heavenly Mother Heart Mantra; this passage of the mantra seemed to hide a magic that made people unable to forget.

"'Weisheng? What did she come for?' Daoist Pojie's expression changed, appearing extremely nervous."

"'To see me... not only to see me, but she also passed me a secret mantra.'"

"'What!?'"

Once these words were spoken, Daoist Pojie's expression not only didn't soften, but became even uglier.

"'She passed you a Daoist secret mantra?'"

"'Why? Is there something wrong?' Zhang Fan was stunned, vaguely feeling that something was amiss."

"'This... Daoist secret mantras aren't something just anyone can practice... usually, you can't even chant them recklessly...'" Pojie said earnestly.

"'Why?' Zhang Fan didn't understand."

"'This...' Daoist Pojie pondered for a moment before saying: 'I don't know if you've heard a saying...'"

"'What saying!?'"

"'If you have Blue, deduct Blue; if you don't have Blue, deduct Blood!!!'"

(End of chapter)