Chapter 575: Two Reasons (23)

After settling the details with Ren Yidao and swearing the Dao Oath, Mingxin, his mind finally at ease, lay down beside his junior brother.

He just fell asleep like that.

Although no signs were visible on the surface, Mingxin had been keeping his spirit taut ever since learning the truth, enduring mental torment at every moment.

And after receiving the promise from Ren Yidao, he finally felt relieved enough to catch his breath and get some proper rest.

Like a power cut, he fell straight into a stupor, sinking completely into a defenseless, deep sleep.

If Ren Yidao wanted to harm him at this moment, he would have absolutely no defenses or power to resist, and would die just like that for nothing.

Of course, if Ren Yidao made a move while he was awake, he wouldn't be able to defend against it either.

Can't beat him, simply can't beat him.

"What is this, trust?" Seeing Mingxin in this defenseless state, Ren Yidao felt a bit amused and shook his head helplessly.

I don't like men being defenseless around me.

Why do you have to be a monk instead of a nun?

What a pity.

"Master, are you quite fond of him?" Cang Lan's voice rang out quietly from the shadow behind him, her tone carrying a faint trace of oddity.

Ren Yidao knew she might have misunderstood something, but he didn't intend to explain it proactively; such things only get darker the more you describe them, and more twisted the more you say, so it was better not to explain at all.

So he ignored the oddity in that tone and asked calmly, "Hm? Why ask that all of a sudden?"

"Because it's obvious you intended to help him all along, yet you insisted on making him swear that kind of oath." Yao Yue's teasing voice sounded from his embrace, and her figure in a white dress appeared out of thin air.

Although Mingxin couldn't see them, Yao Yue and Cang Lan had actually been present the entire time during their private conversation.

Ren Yidao was sitting cross-legged on the ground, two junior sisters occupied his left and right, and she was sitting on his lap with her knees hugged.

At this moment, she leaned back, tilted her head, blinked at Ren Yidao, and teased, "I didn't expect it~ my dear disciple, so you like this kind of man~"

"... You move aside first, my legs are going numb."

During the conversation with Mingxin, no matter how respectfully the other party stood up to bow, Ren Yidao only sat and nodded, never rising to return the gesture.

He hadn't stood up earlier not because of arrogance or because he was putting on airs with Mingxin, but because he simply couldn't stand up.

A Yu Yu on his left leg, a Li Lingling on his right leg, a Cang Lan hidden in the shadow behind, and a Yao Yue sitting in his arms in front.

Surrounded on all sides, front, back, left, and right, with no way to retreat; move one hair and the whole body is affected.

I! Can't! Stand! Up!

"Heh, I'd be a ghost if I believed you."

As for the excuse of numb legs that Ren Yidao casually pulled out, Yao Yue ignored it entirely.

With his current physical body, even if a great mountain were pressing on his lap, it would be impossible to make his legs go numb.

Yao Yue rolled her beautiful eyes and gave a coquettish pout; although she was in the appearance of a young girl at this moment, every look and smile held the most mature charm, and this contrast, which was strong enough to be somewhat jarring, was extremely lethal.

Even Cang Lan, who was hidden behind the shadow, stared blankly at this scene, her body stiffening uncontrollably for a second, but she quickly reacted, shook her head vigorously, and looked at Yao Yue with some alarm.

How did her charm technique become so strong now!?

Is this the talent of the Fox Clan?

Even I, being of the same sex, fell for it, so Master is probably unable to resist...

Logically speaking, the Fox Clan's charm technique actually has the greatest lethality against their own kind.

But the situation at hand was exactly the opposite of what Cang Lan thought; Ren Yidao's reaction was quite cold.

"Heh."

He sneered, raised his hands to grab Yao Yue's cheeks directly, and quickly pulled them outward gently.

"Ugh!? Wat are you doing?"

Yao Yue hadn't expected this rebellious disciple to be so disrespectful, and for a moment she forgot to defend herself, raising her hands to pull at the hands making mischief on her face.

But Yao Yue forgot one thing: although Ren Yidao's current physical body couldn't fully compare to hers, he was grabbing her face!

As Yao Yue exerted force, Ren Yidao didn't resist and just pulled outward along with her, which was equivalent to two forces acting on her face.

!!!

"You! Let! Go!"

"Heh heh, haha shut up."

"!!!"

The two foxes pulled at each other like this for a while until Yao Yue reacted and went to tickle Ren Yidao's flank; the two barely fought to a draw, and this battle finally came to a temporary end.

"Ahem, back to the point. Cang Lan, you said just now that I am very fond of Mingxin; I don't deny that. You all heard my conversation with him along the way; he is indeed a rare talent."

"However, this is not the real reason why I did this."

"There are two real reasons."

Saying this, Ren Yidao waved his hand to seal the conversation of the three, and only after carefully confirming that it would not be heard by anyone did he continue:

"If he were merely a novice monk with extremely high talent, he would not be worth me taking on that share of Causality."

"The waters in the Western Desert are very deep, and that Fozhu doesn't sound like an easy character; you have probably guessed what it is, right?" Ren Yidao looked at Yao Yue, and seeing her also put away her smile and nod gently, he said softly: "I fear they have already returned long ago."

This trip to Zhongzhou, coupled with the various rumors heard in the Western Desert in recent days, made him realize that the Immortal Gods might truly have never gone far.

They have been lurking, hiding in the dark corners of the world by various means, waiting for the arrival of the opportunity.

And judging from the current situation, the opportunity seems to be almost here; those hiding fellows can no longer endure.

Or rather, they have actually been acting for a long time; there are traces of their actions in the world, it's just that no one has ever associated them with that direction.

Perhaps, this can also be counted as a kind of Spirit Qi recovery?

Ancient recovery?

Oh!

When the stars return to their positions, they shall eventually return!

*Cough, cough! *

"Hmm, it seems I missed the most crucial few hundred years..." Yaoyue sighed, her tone filled with some regret.

If she hadn't had an accident back then, hadn't rushed to study herself, and hadn't been forced into a state of comatose slumber, then with her strength, she would have actually been capable of finding those awakening Immortal Gods... and then studying them carefully.

"Since we will inevitably clash with the Immortal Gods sooner or later, rather than being caught off guard in the future, it is better for us to take the initiative to probe them. Even if we cannot fully fathom them, we must at least figure out their general level."

That there is an irreconcilable conflict between the people of the current age and the ancient Immortal Gods is beyond doubt; it is something anyone can see.

Can they coexist peacefully?

They can, but it is very, very difficult—almost impossible to achieve.

There is no need to say anything else; just one point is enough to prove it.

If the Immortal Gods were truly willing to coexist peacefully, they would not have hidden themselves but would have appeared long ago.

Since the Immortal Gods chose to hide in the shadows, they must have their own schemes, and these schemes likely conflict greatly with the interests of the people of the current age.

It didn't matter when they were hiding before, but now that they have returned, will the Immortal Gods still tolerate having such a group of people pressing down on their heads?

They will not.

With their strength and status, they will sooner or later want to ascend to the pinnacle of the world again.

And will the people of the current age, having been the kings of the mountain for so many years, allow anyone to be above them again?

That will not happen either.

Since the two groups will inevitably stand in opposition one day, rather than being bewildered when the time comes, it is better to strike first.

"If we face the Fozhu head-on, that certainly won't work. Although I don't know who exactly He is or what His strength is, He is at least at the Ask Dao Peak, or even higher. In your current state, you might not necessarily be His match."

Ren Yidao spoke very tactfully, which could be considered giving his master some face, but the actual situation was much more dire than what he described.

Nowadays, Yaoyue has no problem facing an ordinary Ask Dao, and she can rely on her rich experience to make up for the gap between them, making it easy to fight to a draw.

But if she were to truly face those peerless figures at the Ask Dao Peak, such half-baked strength would still be somewhat inadequate.

"... Hmph."

Yaoyue naturally understood this point; she gave a light huff, crossed her arms, and stopped speaking.

Angry!

Ren Yidao smiled and, treating the child-like Yaoyue as his Senior Sister, habitually raised his hand to pat her head for comfort.

Don't be angry, don't be angry, let me pat your head.

!!!

The moment his palm landed on the top of her head, Yaoyue immediately widened her eyes and subconsciously wanted to dodge and resist, but she forcibly suppressed the impulse before she could move.

She felt she shouldn't dodge; if she dodged, she would lose!

It would be like showing weakness to her disciple, so in the end, she stiffly did not move, letting Ren Yidao stroke her hair like that.

Ren Yidao truly did not notice this point this time and continued to explain: "Therefore, since we cannot openly clash with the Western Desert, we can only act indirectly in the shadows, and Mingxin is a very good candidate."

He has ambition and ability, but no strength; he is a qualified proxy.

A Western Desert Monk with a clean background who wants to become the Fozi—no one would even suspect him.

"On the road to helping him become the Fozi step by step, we will gradually understand the arrangements within the Western Desert and be able to catch a glimpse of the Fozhu's handiwork."

"I do not believe He has been sitting upright on Spirit Mountain cultivating all this time, nor do I believe He has not made any arrangements during the hundred years He has controlled the Western Desert."

"See a spot and know the leopard; see a falling leaf and know autumn."

Do those incomplete Incense Ghost Path techniques really have no tricks? Has no one discovered the flaws and problems within them?

I am afraid not.

It is highly probable that someone deliberately concealed this point in the dark, without pointing it out directly, wanting to let them sink deep into it.

Who is that person?

And who has the ability to conceal it from the entire Shenzhou?

There is only one person in the entire Western Desert: the Fozhu.

After a long silence, Canglan broke the stillness and asked, "Then what is the other reason?"

"The other reason is very simple."

"You can call it intuition, or you can call it a feeling."

Ren Yidao smiled, looked at the sleeping Novice Monk, and chuckled:

"I think he..."

"Can succeed."