Chapter 366: A Great Cause

Chen Liuxian listened to their chattering and only felt it was noisy, but he did not know how to refute them. He wanted to say something, but sensing their Resentment Qi, it was like a group of old aunts who had been dissatisfied with everything for years; if he opened his mouth to say one more word, he feared he would be met with ten or a hundred in return, so he simply decided not to speak at all.

Three women make a play, let alone the fact that the three of them had been disparaged by Xu Jia as demonic beasts for over three years; most people would have some mental issues to some degree. Although they were cultivators, they had almost no training in tempering their hearts and minds. They felt aggrieved in their hearts and did not necessarily think they were in the wrong.

Elder Xianhuan was already in her nineties a few years ago, and now she had just reached the full age of one hundred, yet she still looked like a woman in her fifties or sixties, with only a few white hairs. She cultivated the secret arts internally and the precepts externally, always holding herself to strict discipline. Since she took charge of the temple, she had indeed single-mindedly led the monks and laypeople in pursuit of higher Dharma.

Seeing Elder Xianhuan, Fenglei Daoren, that old hen, also showed a bit more reverence. She could see that this Elder had already achieved an Achievement; although she had not entered the Bodhisattva Vehicle, she had entered the Arhat Vehicle, only she had not yet reached completion and entered Nirvana.

Seeing Xu Jia's Talisman Edict, Elder Xianhuan sighed: "He is certainly used to ordering people around. A few days ago, while practicing Small Naihe, he sent the old monk running back and forth, and before that, he pressed a little snake onto this old monk here."

"Follow me," she said. She walked step by step along the small path on the slope of the mountain. The road on the slope was leveled by the monks themselves, and there was a natural spring halfway up the slope. The monks drew water here, and occasionally servants from wealthy Households would also come here to draw water to drink.

But now that the wealthy Households had been broken up and the land had been subjected to Equal Field, this spring had instead become deserted.

Behind a patch of secluded bamboo, one could see a Relic Pagoda. This pagoda was not small, with eight sides and seven levels, enshrining the Sarira of monks, the scriptures from when the temple was first built, and some Magic Tools.

Inside the Relic Pagoda, there was also a space used for closed-door meditation, where one could face the wall to practice. In addition, there were three levels of the Underground Palace. The lowest level of the Underground Palace was the place where Buddha Treasures were kept. As for the remaining two levels, the second level was where imitation Buddha Treasures were kept, along with a large amount of gold, jewelry, and jade Buddha statues, but these were all to deceive people; all of these combined were not as precious as the Buddha Treasures on the third level.

As for the first level of the Underground Palace, it was purely a space for confinement, sometimes used for rituals.

This Relic Pagoda was a remnant of the former Dizang An. When Dizang An was established here, it was to suppress a Shihu Forest.

In the Underground Palace of the Relic Pagoda, Liu Ruyan had been unable to do anything else for three years but practice silently. She practiced the techniques of the Lishan Sect. The Lishan Sect worshipped Lishan Old Mother, claimed to be Doumu Yuanjun, the mother of Ziwei Dadi, and also tried to associate themselves with Nüwa.

But in fact, she was a foreign deity, a Great Brahma deity from the Western Regions. However, this was none of Xu Jia's business. Xu Jia was not a defender of the faith; as long as they did not interfere with him, there was no enmity or hatred, and he would not say that your lineage was unclean and tell you to get out! Why was there a tribulation in this? It could only be said that their Love Tribulation had a tendency to intensify. It just so happened that Xu Jia had a master-disciple Karmic Connection with Chen Liuxian and was easily trapped, so naturally, he made preparations and plans early.

Sensing her lover, whom she had not seen for three years, outside, Liu Ruyan stopped circulating her energy, her heart filled with complex emotions. She had listened to the Dharma for three years; it must be said that anyone with some wisdom, especially when suppressed and in a state of extreme frustration, would inevitably fall into the pull of Buddhist thought and seek solace.

She and Chen Liuxian had a bond spanning three lives, and in all three lives, they failed to get a good result. It was like fate; once the previous cause was planted, there would be a consequence. She had previously had selfish motives, thinking she could pass the Immortal tribulation, ignore Chen Liuxian's life and death, use him as a stepping stone, or even absorb his cultivation from past lives. But now she understood: she wanted to play with him, but perhaps he had already chosen her and wanted to play with her? He was of the Nine Palaces Immortal Rank; before descending to the mortal world, had he not made arrangements for his future? When she thought of one good deed, she extinguished one evil. As the saying goes, when it comes to men and women, men are always cautious and serious about the good ones, and never miss the bad ones. If it were true love and a true heart, how could they fail to achieve a positive result in three lives? If it were not true love and a true heart, it was naturally a romantic debt—you owe me, and I owe you.

Reflecting on herself, she also had an awakening. At this moment, Chen Liuxian was outside the Relic Pagoda; although they had not met, their hearts were connected.

In the end, it was not like the White Lady and Xu Xian in the Legend of the White Snake. Reality made everyone go their separate ways to seek their own futures. If a Karmic Connection was missed, it was missed. If it was the wrong person, the wrong time, or the wrong place, it was not a true match. This third life could not be forced, and it would not have a good ending.

"Ruyan, I have come to save you from the tower." Chen Liuxian stuck the Talisman Edict onto the tower, and the tower door emitted a light, revealing the scene inside. Liu Ruyan had a human body and a snake tail, with a green lamp and an ancient Buddha in front of her. Her black hair was as long as her entire body, and her complexion was pale, giving a sense of the broken beauty of a wife.

"Liuxian, are you willing to go with me? Leave this place, leave Yushan County, leave Jiangnan West Circuit, and let us return to the Lishan Sect."

Liu Ruyan asked with teary eyes, full of expectation: "You have also entered the path of cultivation. We can be a pair of Immortal lovers, flying together, and no one can separate us."

Chen Liuxian opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. He dared not look into Liu Ruyan's eyes. After a long time, amidst her growing disappointment, he said: "I am currently engaged in a great cause, a thing that no one has succeeded in doing in the past thousands of years. I do not want to just leave like this. Ruyan, why don't you do it with me?"

"I don't understand," Liu Ruyan sighed. "My heart is not broad, and I do not care for the common people. My love is selfish, possessive, and absolute. I have always firmly chosen only you. Are you willing to be firm for me once? Just for me alone? If you were an emperor, you could love the country and not the beauty, but you are not. They can accomplish a great cause without you, but without you, I am destroyed."

Liu Ruyan's Earth Immortal Great Tribulation was the Love Tribulation. Being trapped under the tower for three years, it had already loosened slightly, but how exactly to pass it remained to be considered.

For a moment, Chen Liuxian wanted to agree, just like Tang Seng facing the Queen of the Women's Kingdom. But he thought of the smiling faces of those three or four-year-old children toward him, thought of the elderly taking out the snacks they had treasured at home, pulling him into the back room, and chatting while taking his pulse. He thought of the respectful eyes of many apprentices calling him teacher.

"They also need me," Chen Liuxian said. "This is a special cause. Ruyan, True Person Xu is actually not the bad person you imagine. He has good intentions. He is right; we should have great love."

"Great love does not require sacrificing small love. Moreover, love is love; there is no distinction between big and small. You have changed your heart." Liu Ruyan sighed and walked toward the three people from the Lishan Sect: "Senior Sister, Master, let's go."

"Liuxian, I will wait for you to come find me."

(End of this chapter)