Chapter 567: Poaching (13)

"You carry the load~ I lead the horse~"

"Welcoming~ the~ sunrise, sending off the evening~ glow~"

"Treading flat the rugged paths~ to become the Great Dao~"

"After fighting through hardships~ setting off again~ setting off again~"

Minghui sat on the back of Tuo Ma, humming the tune he had heard from Donor Ren earlier, while Zhang Mang sat behind him, eyes half-closed, observing the surroundings.

This was his first time stepping out of the Eastern Wasteland Divine Continent; everything in the outside world was different from what he had imagined.

His fingers kept calculating and verifying, and finally, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly; he was rapidly absorbing the knowledge instilled in him by that mysterious woman, advancing toward the true form of the Hunyuan Body.

After opening his mind to his Master and Sect Ancestor, they had obtained that knowledge from his Consciousness Sea and finally reached a conclusion.

His own Hunyuan Body had not yet been triggered.

Or rather, it was not fully triggered at present, remaining in a semi-activated state; on his entire body, only his eyes had been forcibly activated by the Demon Qi of the Demon Moon by chance, reaching an ability approximating the True Knowledge Heavenly Eye.

Even the activation of the Hunyuan Divine Eye was incomplete, for a normal Hunyuan Divine Eye was not blind, but a top-tier Heavenly Eye.

A perfected Hunyuan Body possessed far more than just this little bit of ability; it was comprehensive in every aspect. The Hunyuan Heavenly Maiden of those years could crush many Body Cultivators with her physical body alone, and only a very small number of physiques could contend with her.

He had to become stronger.

He had to rely on himself to become a True Dragon.

Although his Master did not say it, Zhang Mang knew that this world was already unstable and would become increasingly dangerous.

If he did not want his Master to take risks for him every time, then he needed more power!

At the very least, he would not let his Master worry and risk danger for his sake.

He had to become stronger.

And just as Zhang Mang settled his heart to cultivate, Minghui was humming a song carefree, watching the flying birds in the sky with his one good eye.

"......"

Not far away, Ren Yidao took in the appearance of the two of them, shook his head, and continued chatting with Mingxin.

Mingxin did not know why this Donor Ren insisted on helping him, but he understood Ren Yidao's intentions; there was only gratitude in his heart, and the relationship between the two had also drawn much closer.

They had set out from Kurong Temple for several days, and the two were not just chatting idly, but discussing the past and present, talking about everything, from Buddhism to Daoism, leaving no topic undiscussed.

The two had conversed for several days, yet neither had completely gained the upper hand, and there was quite a feeling of mutual appreciation, almost as if they regarded each other as fellow Daoists.

Although Mingxin's cultivation realm was not high, barely having stepped into the Earth Realm, his thoughts and reflections on cultivation would not only make Ren Yidao think seriously, but sometimes even move the Demon Moon who happened to overhear.

This made Ren Yidao feel that Mingxin only lacked an opportunity; as long as the timing was right, he would meet the wind and transform into a dragon, ascending to the heavens in one step.

However, such an opportunity was rare, and many people might never touch it in their entire lives.

"Mingxin, did your Master not let your junior brother cultivate?"

After they became familiar, Ren Yidao did not hide anything and asked directly whatever came to mind: "His talent is not bad; if looking purely at aptitude, he is above you."

Even by Ren Yidao's picky standards, this little guy's talent was not bad, counting as superior aptitude, only his start was a bit late, and he had not even reached Qi Refining yet.

Mingxin smiled upon hearing this, knowing that Ren Yidao had isolated the sound of their conversation so Minghui would not hear their dialogue.

"Minghui's aptitude is indeed good, but as you know, Daoist, given Minghui's fate, if he only cultivates without refining his heart, I fear it would create a fierce demon in the Earthly Realm."

In Ren Yidao's view, Minghui's fate was only averagely fierce, not comparable to the Blood Star Fate, but in the eyes of others, it was already a thoroughly great fierce fate, belonging to the likes of the Heavenly Fiend Lone Star.

"Actually... back then, Minghui was only one step away from stepping into hell." Mingxin looked at his junior brother with pity and heartache, shaking his head slightly with a sigh.

"Minghui is an orphan; because of the problem with his eyes, he was abandoned by his parents since childhood, and he has been wandering in the Earthly Realm."

"At that time, he suffered all the coldness of human relationships, having been a thief, a beggar, and perhaps... he had killed people."

Killing karma was no small sin in Buddhism, but Mingxin appeared exceptionally calm when mentioning this matter.

"By the time Master found him, Minghui had been wandering for a very, very long time, on the verge of falling into a demon, only a hair's breadth away from truly becoming one."

"Master was unwilling to let him fall into hell in vain, so he used his own cultivation and life to suppress it, sealing away his past memories."

So this was the reason why Minghui looked a bit dull and silly, and was naive to an excessive degree.

He had lost all his memories a year ago, like a newborn baby getting to know this world again.

"For this past year, Master had been using his own cultivation to suppress it; he told me everything was going smoothly back then, but now it seems that some problems might have occurred during the suppression."

Ren Yidao understood; the situation Minghui described was not much different from his previous guesses.

Because he had seen similar examples, the one chosen by Mingxin's master, Venerable Jinglian, was the same method as Li Long's: using one's own cultivation and life to suppress another's fate.

However, although the Shura Fate was not as ferocious as the Blood Star Fate, the old Abbot's cultivation was also not as good as Li Long's, nor did he have a Dragon Vein or Supreme Treasure to help suppress it, and he only had Spirit Transformation cultivation until he passed away.

This cultivation was not considered weak in the world, but for suppressing such a great fierce fate, it was still lacking; fortunately, the old Abbot's Buddhist and Daoist cultivation was solid enough to successfully suppress it.

But now it seemed that even so, it had only barely suppressed it for a year; after a year passed, problems arose, resulting in the end of his life and the dissipation of his cultivation.

"During this past year, we have been chanting scriptures to deliver him, hoping to dissolve the demonic nature in his heart, and it has already had some effect. In another half a year, he will be able to completely dissolve the demon in his heart and suppress it at the bottom of his heart; by that time, he will be able to cultivate."

After listening to Mingxin's explanation, Ren Yidao shook his head slightly and muttered to himself: "A demon, huh."

You might not believe it, but I am very familiar with this thing.

As a Fox Demon who often eliminates demons, I know all too well how to suppress demonic nature...

Just do this first, then do that, and finally do that and that.

It's very simple!

Thinking this, Ren Yidao's gaze swept over Minghui unintentionally, and just as he was about to move his gaze away, he discovered that the little guy twitched unnaturally.

Hm?

Although the tremor was very subtle—if Ren Yidao hadn't been observing carefully, he wouldn't have noticed—and it returned to normal in an instant, he could not have been mistaken; he could not be seeing a hallucination.

Ren Yidao did not pause and naturally withdrew his gaze, but his Divine Soul perception remained on Minghui.

He discovered my gaze.

Oh ho?

Such sensory ability is truly a gift from Heaven.

"A fine seedling."

One reason the Divine Path Sect has few disciples is that the requirements for a disciple's Divine Soul are very high; one needs extremely high perception to communicate with Heaven and Earth during the Descending God Selection Path and create one's own Dao God.

"Mingxin, if you two are ever truly at an impasse, perhaps you could join my sect; our Divine Path Sect will shelter you."

The old men in my family would surely love him.

Heh!

I want to poach you.

No, that's not right.

Not only do I want to poach you, I want to poach you as well!

I'll pack you all up together.

A family should be kept together, after all.

"Eh? Haha, Daoist, you really are blunt; how can you say such things to me?"

Mingxin was stunned for a moment before laughing, shaking his head as he said, "This is poaching from Buddhism; if others were to hear you say this, it would cause great trouble."

"Although I would like to say the same... but if one day it truly comes to that point, I hope you, fellow Daoist, will take good care of Minghui."

Mingxin did not ask for them to be taken care of, only his Junior Brother; he himself would not join another sect, but his Junior Brother was different.

Minghui was still too young; although he had shaved his head and taken vows, he had not yet formally entered Buddhism. If he had his own thoughts and choices in the future, he, as his Senior Brother, would not stop him.

"Of course, I was just saying that casually; I still wish for you, Mingxin, to successfully resolve your issues."

"Many thanks, Daoist." Mingxin pressed his palms together in thanks; he understood that Ren Yidao was showing concern for the two of them.

The two chatted for a while longer. Mingxin's gaze swept over Li Lingling and Yu Yu, who were riding the same mount, and there was hesitation in his eyes, but in the end, he whispered to Ren Yidao, "Your two Junior Sisters, fellow Daoist, seem to have something... unusual about them."

Oh?

"You can see it?" Ren Yidao was surprised; he had not expected Mingxin to notice even this.

"I can only vaguely sense it." Mingxin lowered his head modestly and pressed his palms together: "Benefactor Yu has a faint Demon Qi on her, shaped like a dragon; Benefactor Li has even stronger Dragon Qi, and the Dragon Qi has sprouted two wings, similar in appearance to the ancient Yinglong."

"If you do not wish to cause trouble in the Western Desert, Daoist, it is best to have them suppress it slightly; some Buddhist followers like to find those with dragon bloodlines to serve as Panlong Dharma Protectors."

What is this, the Eight Legions of Heavenly Dragons?

"I understand." But this was a kind gesture from Mingxin, and Ren Yidao had no reason to refuse; he nodded and transmitted a strand of true Qi into his two Junior Sisters to conceal them.

As long as one did not observe them very carefully, they would not be discovered.

"By the way, our first destination on this trip is Lingxin Temple, correct?" The group did not use Dharma Power to fly, but instead traveled along on pack horses like ordinary people.

"Yes, Lingxin Temple. My master had old ties with Abbot Lingxin of Lingxin Temple; he told me to seek help there after he passed away."

"Are you confident?"

"Naturally, I have some." Mingxin smiled slightly and said softly, "My master said that the two of them were close friends in their early years; even if he is unwilling to help, he will not cause them any trouble."

"Get out!!!"

Bang!

Accompanied by a roar, the mountain gate of Lingxin Temple was directly smashed open by a figure flying out from within.

This caused the surrounding Believers who were offering incense and worship to look up, where they saw a young Novice Monk in simple clothing being thrown out from inside, falling heavily to the ground.

"To think you would want to ruin the orthodoxy of my Lingxin Temple!"

"Considering that you are also people of the cloth, we will not beat you this time, but remember, there will not be a next time!"

Two dark-skinned, sturdy monks walked out from the gate, glaring at the Novice Monk who was climbing up from the ground.

"The Abbot has spoken: leave this place! You are forbidden from entering!"

"Get lost!"

"Do not let me see you here again!"