Chapter 23: The Return Journey's Sudden Enlightenment (Part 1)

  Hailong cleaned up the last bit of meat on the chicken bones and said, "There is, naturally there is, but you seem to be angry, do you still need to eat chicken legs? Drinking northwest wind won't fill your belly?" He had already gradually grasped Hongzhi's weakness and thought to himself, this guy was absolutely a typical greedy eater and drinker, as long as he could grasp his stomach, he wouldn't be afraid of him not listening. If Wuyun that old monk saw such a Buddhist practitioner, his nose would probably be crooked with anger. Thinking of this, Hailong couldn't help but laugh.

  For the sake of flavor, Hong Zhi has forgotten everything now, stuck to Shanghai Long's shoulder and smiled: "Boss, what kind of person are you? How dare I be angry with you? Just give me a little bit."

  Hailong patted Hongzhi's shoulder and said, "You understand, that's good. If you throw a tantrum again in the future, I'll help you 'fast'." With a wave of his hand, another chicken leg appeared out of thin air and was stuffed into Hongzhi's hands. Hongzhi was overjoyed and quickly devoured it. Hailong's right hand waved continuously, first producing a sheepskin, then one delicious dish after another fell onto the sheepskin, and finally, he even "transformed" two jars of wine, causing Hongzhi to almost drop the chicken leg in his mouth. Although he felt the fluctuations in spiritual energy, he couldn't understand where these things came from.

  Hai Long was secretly pleased with himself, these were naturally stored in the Qian Kun Ring beforehand. Since absorbing the Xian Ling energy from the Ni Tian Mirror, he found that when using the Qian Kun Ring again, there would be no green light emitted, and it would also be more convenient to use. The Qian Kun Ring was a good preservative, no matter how long it was stored inside, it would remain as fresh as when it was first put in. Hai Long's love for food was not under that of Hong Zhi, most of the silver he spent in Tong Yuan City was used to purchase food, now with the things in the Qian Kun Ring, one person eating alone, even after a year, they would still be unfinished.

  "Hurry up and eat, finish eating and rest early." A large animal hide appeared, and under the swift action of Hailong, a simple two-person tent quickly emerged on the ground. Hailong found a relatively flat area, secured the tent with large nails, and only then continued to devour his food. Everything he did deeply shocked Hongzhi's heart. In Hongzhi's eyes, Hailong seemed like a Bodhisattva of a thousand hands, able to conjure up anything he wanted at will. The respect in his heart grew even stronger.

  After drinking and eating, the two of them entered the tent. The dragon took out his treasured small iron rod from his bosom and placed it beside him. With this heavy treasure here, even if the wind on the plateau was strong, it would not be possible to blow down the leather tent. As soon as Hongzhi saw the small iron rod, his eyes widened in surprise, a circle of golden Buddhist light seeped out from around his body, and the small iron rod also emitted a faint ringing sound. "Big brother, what is this treasure? It seems to contain immense Buddhist power."

  Hai Long smiled complacently and said: "Want to know? You first tell me what that big golden ladle you used yesterday is, and I'll tell you what it is."

  Hong Zhi said, "That Buddha's bowl is one of the few treasures passed down by my master. It is a sacred object that can subdue evil spirits and demons, known as the Bodhi Bowl. With the power of Buddhism infused into it, the golden light produced within has a strong effect in dispelling evil. The power will increase or decrease depending on the amount of Buddhist power infused. Evil spirits and demons will surely be intimidated by it." When he spoke about Buddhist teachings, his face no longer had any childishness, but was instead dignified and majestic, like that of an enlightened monk. A strong aura of Buddhism emanated from his body, giving Hai Long a refreshing feeling, as if he were basking in the warm spring breeze.

  "Alright, alright. What a load of nonsense, I don't understand any of this Buddhist stuff. It seems that your alms bowl is quite impressive, much better than the one used by the Buddha in the Brahma Sect that I saw last time! However, compared to my little iron rod, it's probably still lacking. My little iron rod is called the 'Ten Thousand Demon-Subduing Rod', which means that even if ten thousand evil spirits came, it could subdue them all." He had no idea what the real name of the iron rod was, and was just showing off with a made-up story. Hong Zhi believed him to be true, and couldn't help but reach out for the iron rod, while Hai Long didn't stop him.

  When Hongzhi's hand grasped the small iron rod, it suddenly emitted an abnormally intense golden light. The Buddha's power output by Hongzhi was completely absorbed by it, and for a moment, the golden light swirled around, making it impossible for Hailong and Hongzhi to open their eyes. Hongzhi tried to pick up the small iron rod, but even when he pushed his Buddha's power to the limit, he could only lift one corner of it.

  "It's so heavy, it's indeed worthy of the name 'All Evil Subduing Staff'! Big brother, this treasure of yours is much more powerful than my Bodhi Bowl! I saw you holding it with ease, but as soon as it got into my hands, it became so heavy."

  "That's only natural, my cultivation is far superior to yours, so I can easily pick it up." As he spoke, he effortlessly grasped the small iron rod in his hand. With the infusion of Hongzhi's Buddha power, the small iron rod became incredibly hot, and the surging energy flowed into Hailong's body, mixing with his energy and rapidly circulating. Before Hailong could explain to Hongzhi, he had already entered a meditative state. Hongzhi saw that Hailong's body suddenly emitted a faint layer of yellow aura, although it was far from being as powerful as his own Buddha power, but it was indeed the same kind of energy as his own. He thought to himself, "Could big brother also be a Buddhist cultivator?" Just then, the light changed again, and a blue-green light appeared, giving Hongzhi a completely different feeling. Although it was still orthodox spiritual energy, this was absolutely not Buddha power. After a moment, the light changed once more, turning from blue to blue-green, and a pure, ethereal aura wafted out, its nature identical to that of the ghostly spirits Hongzhi had refined earlier. Seeing this, Hongzhi's eyes widened in shock, and he muttered, "Impossible... Big brother has three absolute arts on his body? This is too unbelievable."

  As the blue light appeared, a silver glow burst forth from the chest of the sea dragon, and an invisible aura spread out, pushing Hongzhi to the edge of the tent. Hongzhi clearly felt that this aura was based on the energy of the immortal spirit, but its power was extremely strong, and even if he could use his Buddhist powers to break through it, it wouldn't be easy. Big brother is really too mysterious, how did he manage to fuse three completely different energies with one body? Although these three energies are all pure and belong to the righteous path, it's really too difficult to merge them. In fact, not only does Hongzhi not understand, but even the sea dragon itself doesn't know why the three energies can be perfectly merged within its body without any conflict. The Inverse Heaven Mirror is indeed a treasure of the immortal family, and although the sea dragon cannot control it yet, when it enters a meditative state, the protective aura it emits on its own can not only block external demons but also withstand attacks from high-level cultivators below the peak. With this, even if the sea dragon encounters an enemy several levels higher than itself, at least it can protect itself. Hongzhi looked enviously at the small iron rod held in the palm of the sea dragon and began to meditate quietly within a space supported by his own Buddhist powers inside the tent.

  It was unknown how much time had passed when the sea dragon slowly opened his eyes, and the small iron rod in his hand had returned to normal. The mixed energy inside his body had once again merged into one furnace, just like before, and the volume of the merged energy hadn't increased by a single bit. The Buddha's power that had been triggered by Hongzhi on the small iron rod before had long been swallowed up by the bottomless deep lake-like Lingtai. Although his cultivation hadn't improved, the sea dragon still felt refreshed and invigorated. Hongzhi sat cross-legged in front of him, emitting a faint yellow glow from his body, looking completely majestic and dignified. The sea dragon knew that during cultivation, he feared being disturbed the most; once he went into a state of demonic madness, it wouldn't be enough to describe it as dangerous. Just as he was about to quietly get up and go outside the tent to take in some air, he heard Hongzhi say: "Big brother, you're really strong, it took you seven days and seven nights to wake up." Hongzhi's cultivation had already reached a certain level; in this kind of place, he wouldn't completely seal off his six senses. As soon as the sea dragon finished cultivating, under the guidance of his energy, he woke up.

  The dragon rubbed his head and said, "Has it been seven days already? I don't feel like it." He was secretly delighted, knowing that the longer he cultivated, the better it would be for his cultivation.

  Hong Zhi Zheng Se said, "A monk doesn't speak deceitfully. I've always been clear-headed and of course know how much time has passed." Hai Long snorted in disdain, saying, "What kind of monk are you? You drink wine and eat meat, at most you're just a wine-and-meat monk. I think that in the future, you'll probably ask me to help you find a wife. I'm acquainted with the leader of the Lotus Sect, they're all female Buddhists." After finishing speaking, Hai Long sneered and chuckled to himself. He had already decided that once his cultivation was high enough, he would definitely find a Daoist partner, at least someone as beautiful as Tian Qin.

  After hearing Hailong's words, Hongzhi's solemn expression on his face suddenly disappeared, and he smiled bitterly: "Big brother, just give me some face. This matter of finding a wife is absolutely impossible. Master once said that women are tigers, even Buddhist women are no exception. I don't want to be with a tiger every day."

  Hai Long smiled and said, "Alright, alright, you've only seen a few women. The ancients said that a virtuous woman is a good match for a gentleman. This isn't anything major, we cultivators forming dao companions aren't uncommon either. Ah, actually I don't usually cultivate for so long, but that day I was stimulated by the energy of the Myriad Demons Must Fall Rod and didn't want to waste it, so I could only quietly meditate and absorb it. How about it, is my treasure powerful?" Hong Zhi nodded from the heart and said, "Big brother, your Myriad Demons Must Fall Rod is indeed an extremely powerful treasure, I couldn't even probe its depth, within it contains a vast Buddhist power and energy similar to the green light emitted when you cultivate. That should be what you cultivators call 'fa li' (mystical power). I've never seen a treasure that has two different types of energy before, let alone someone like big brother who possesses three types of cultivated energy, little brother truly admires you with utmost sincerity!"

  Hailong was surprised and said, "How did you know I have three kinds of energy?" Hongzhi recounted the strange phenomenon he saw when Hailong was meditating. After listening to his account, Hailong furrowed his brow and muttered, "I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse. It seems we really need to hurry back to the mountain and find that strange senior." Thinking of this, he stood up and said, "Let's go, we've been cultivating for so many days, it's time for us to hit the road." After finishing speaking, he put away his small iron rod and was about to leave the tent. Hongzhi grabbed him and said, "Big brother, wait a bit before leaving."

  Hailong suddenly spoke up, "What's wrong?" Hongzhi looked a bit embarrassed and said, "It's been seven days since we last ate anything. I'm a bit hungry. Let's eat something first before continuing on our journey, it'll give us some energy."

  Hai Long smiled and said, "You're not hungry, you're just craving something. Alright, let's go with that." In the midst of their excitement, all sorts of delicious food reappeared, and after the two of them had a big meal, they finally set off on their journey.

  Ten days later, the two of them finally arrived in the northern part of the Western Regions according to the map. The scenery before their eyes gradually became familiar, and a feeling of returning home rose up in Hailong's heart. He couldn't care about teasing Hongzhi anymore, quickened his pace, and rushed northward. Finally, when the sun slowly set in the west, from afar, he saw the small village where he was born and grew up.

  His feet suddenly stopped, and the sea dragon stood still, and Hongzhi, who was following behind him, almost bumped into the back of the sea dragon without any warning, and was startled. "Big brother, why did you stop?"

  "Home... I'm home," the dragon muttered to himself. Wu Yun was taken aback, "Home? Do you mean this village is your Lianyun Sect? But didn't you say..."

  Hai Long shook his head and said, "No, this is not our Lianyun Sect. This is my hometown where I was born and raised. There's a best friend of mine here." After finishing speaking, he suddenly accelerated and flew quickly towards the village. Having left for nearly five years, how much he yearned to see Zhang Hua, who had grown up with him since childhood!

  Everything was normal in the small village of Xiyu, just like before. The surroundings were quiet, and Hailong knew that the villagers should be farming at the back of the village by now. All this was too familiar to him. Without any hesitation, he rushed towards Zhang Hua's home, muttering to himself: "Douban, you lazy egg, you must be at home. You have to be at home!" The village was small, and with Hailong's current speed, it would only take a few blinks of an eye to reach his destination. Zhang Hua's house suddenly appeared in front of him, the old wooden door still half-closed as before. Hailong pushed open the door violently and shouted: "Douban, I've come to see you! You little rascal, get out here quickly!" The loud voice almost echoed throughout the entire village. Under Hailong's excited gaze, the wooden door opened, and an old man walked out shakily from inside. Hailong vaguely recognized that this old man was Zhang Hua's father. In a flash, Hailong appeared beside the old man, who took a step back in surprise, his feet trembling, almost falling over. "Who...who are you? Who...who are you?" Hailong grabbed the old man's shoulders and exclaimed excitedly: "Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhang, it's me! I'm Hailong, don't you recognize me?"

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