Chapter 3: Genius? Good-for-nothing

  Rose's new book, seeking support, no more words, Rose thanks!

  Under the Cuiyun Mountain, Hong Haier sat on a huge stone, staring blankly at the school field below. A group of cattle tribe soldiers were practicing in unison, but he seemed to be distracted. The gradually tilting sunset shone on Hong Haier's face, reflecting in his somewhat desolate eyes, revealing his turbulent inner world as if struggling with something.

  Time flies with the rising and setting of the red sun, and Hong Haier has been in this world for three whole months.

  In the three months, Hong Haier repeated that inexplicable dream every night, and he himself also gradually changed. Originally, Hong Haier's soul was scattered due to practicing martial arts, but somehow it merged with him again, becoming one with the universe, and Hong Haier "remembered" many past events.

  "Ah!" A soft sigh escaped his lips, and though he had a youthful appearance, in the fading light of the sunset, there was an inexplicable sense of age about him.

  "Saint Infant!" A soft call came from behind, Hong Haier turned his head and saw that the person who came wore a helmet made of polished iron on their head, a golden armor embroidered with brocade on their body, a pair of boots with rolled up toes and pink soles made of deerskin on their feet, and a belt made of three-strand lion silk around their waist. A pair of eyes shone like bright mirrors, two eyebrows were as red as the dawn. It was none other than the Great Power Demon King who had just walked out of the Banana Cave.

  "Father!" Hong Haier stood up, a complex expression flashing in his eyes as he looked at the renowned Pingtian Dasheng in front of him. On the night that Hong Haier woke up, Niú Mó Wáng had just finished dealing with his persistent and demanding concubine, Yu Mian Hu Li, and then hastily set off on a demonic wind to return to Cuì Yún Mountain. After learning that his son had awakened, he was afraid of startling him, so he observed from afar, only meeting with Hong Haier the next day after he got out of bed. This showed how much the powerful Niú Mó Wáng, famous throughout the three realms, loved and cherished his children.

  "What's on your mind, Holy Infant? You've been staring at something with great interest." The Bull Demon King has always had an image of being bold and fearless in the hearts of all demons, gods, and Buddhas in the three realms. He dares to single-handedly hold off tens of thousands of heavenly soldiers and generals, a feat that few can match. Even when it comes to his own wife, Princess Iron Fan, and younger brother, True Immortal Zhenyin, he is always one who speaks with authority. There are only two people who can make him speak in a gentle tone: the Holy Infant Red Boy and his concubine, Jade-Faced Fox Spirit. As for Red Boy, it's clear that he has deep affection for him, but whether his concern for Jade-Faced Fox Spirit is genuine or just an act, only the two of them know.

  "Father king, I have something unclear, please teach me." Hong Haier looked at the majestic figure and bowed slightly.

  "What's wrong, son? Speak freely?" The Bull Demon King walked forward and sat down on a giant rock, turning his body to face his own son, with concern in his eyes.

  "The Great Sage, Equal of Heaven, who is renowned throughout the three realms and has mastered the seventy-two transformations, the five elements escape technique, and the great divine power that rivals heaven and earth, why does he never personally instruct his own son?" The Red Boy asked, sitting beside him, addressing his father.

  "Alas!" The Bull Demon King sighed and asked, then looked at the Red Boy and gently patted his head, saying: "It's not that I didn't teach you well as your father, but rather, I myself have not yet mastered my studies, and I'm afraid I've delayed our family's Holy Infant."

  The Bull Demon King said, and with a light wave of his hand, the Red Boy had not yet reacted, but found himself being taken to a secret room.

  The little red boy looked around curiously, but found that in the secret room, apart from two meditation mats, there was only a painting on the wall. He then examined the painting and saw that it depicted a Taoist priest wearing a green robe, standing with his sword slung over his back. From a distance, the face seemed blurry and unclear, but upon closer inspection, he saw that the priest had sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, a jade-like complexion, and black whiskers, with an aura of natural Taoism surrounding him, as if he was staring directly at the little red boy, yet also seemed to be about to step out of the painting. The little red boy's heart was shocked and he quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere, which happened to fall on the precious sword behind the priest, feeling that its powerful energy could shatter space and destroy the three realms with just a slight swing...

  "Come here!" At this time, the voice of Niu Mo Wang came over, interrupting Hong Haier and freeing him from the painting.

  "Hiss!"

  Hong Haier was shocked at this sight, feeling his heart racing wildly, and before he knew it, he was drenched in sweat. He took a deep breath and asked repeatedly: "Father King, what is this?"

  "Kneel down!" The Ox Demon King's face turned solemn as he knelt on one of the cushions, his expression devout.

  "Oh." Hong Haier heard this and had no choice but to kneel down on another cushion in a similar manner.

  "The person in the painting is your Master Ancestor, the Supreme Holy One of the Three Realms, the Sacred Founder of the Severed Teachings, the Upper Clear Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Lord and the Master of the Universal Teachings." The Ox Demon King glanced at the Red Boy, a hint of tenderness flashing across his eyes before he spoke.

  "Red Boy has seen the Holy Ancestor!" Red Boy heard this and thought to himself, indeed it is so.

  "My son, do you know why I named you Holy Infant?" Cow Demon King suddenly spoke up after Red Boy finished his greetings.

  "The child doesn't know." Hong Haier heard this and shook his head, muttering to himself in his heart, but also feeling somewhat curious.

  "As a father, I was once a disciple of the great sage who subdued the Bull Demon King. Under his protection, I survived the great calamity." The Bull Demon King suddenly sighed and said.

  The Great Calamity of the Sealed Gods, for 1,500 years, the Twelve Golden Immortals had not beheaded the Three Corpses. Therefore, they were guilty of killing in the mortal world and violating the heavenly rules. Coincidentally, the Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Court entered the throne, feeling that the Heavenly Court was empty and there was no one to command, so he asked the Ancestor of Taoism for a Sealed Gods' List, intending to let the disciples of the Three Religions sign up on the list, all 365 orthodox gods, maintaining the operation of the Three Realms and Six Paths, entering the Heavenly Court, listening to its commands. This led to dissatisfaction among the saints of the Three Religions. However, this was decided by the Ancestor of Taoism, Hongjun, and it was a heavenly number. At that time, the Jie Teaching was at its peak, with incense and fire burning brightly, known as the gathering of ten thousand immortals, but the spearhead pointed to the Jie Teaching, intending to put more Jie Teaching disciples on the list, fulfilling the heavenly number.

  The Upper Clear Heavenly Sage pitied his disciples, so he made an agreement with the other sages that when the great calamity arrived, they would all look to Heaven's will. However, the Intercepting Sect's millions of immortals came to pay their respects, and soon became a thorn in the eyes of the multitude of sages. The Sealing God War began, and the Upper Clear Heavenly Sage, the Great Supreme Old Lord, and the Jade Clear Heavenly Sage, the Original Heaven Venerable, joined forces with the two Western Sages to suppress the Intercepting Sect together. The Heavenly Sage was provoked by his great disciple, Duobao Daoren, and set up the Exterminating Immortals Sword Formation at the Boundary Marker Pass, engaging in a fierce battle with the Four Sages. In the end, they were outnumbered, and their situation was hopeless. The Intercepting Sect collapsed and dispersed, many of its fellow daoists either being eliminated or taken across by the Western Saints, while more than half were reduced to ashes.

  "This is a great hatred in my father's heart, but as a Taoist disciple, I must respect the Three Pure Ones. However, I resent those two Western saints who pushed many Taoist friends into the well and made them slaves. The Western teachings claim to be free and unencumbered by cause and effect, and they also claim to have three thousand methods for achieving sainthood in nine transformations. Although this 'saint' is not that 'saint', it means transcending and being superior, but I don't agree with it. Therefore, I named my son 'Sheng' (meaning 'saint'), which means he was born a saint."

  After a long time, the Bull Demon King suddenly opened his mouth and laughed, looking at the Red Boy with some affection and embracing him in his arms. "Moreover, my son has excellent qualifications, having four heavenly immortals' cultivation from birth, and there is an extremely strong fire element in his body which is the primordial energy of heaven and earth. Such qualifications are comparable to many primordial great gods, and even surpassing my fellow cultivator, the Great Master of the Severed Teachings, Many Treasures Daoist. Even compared to the current Heavenly Saint, he is not much weaker."

  "But Father, why..." Hong Haier was shocked by what he heard and asked.

  "The child, however, wanted to ask why his cultivation had stagnated for so many years?" Niu Mo Wang let out a light sigh and then looked up at the portrait of Tong Tian Teaching Master and said: "Unfortunately, as his father, he didn't master the skills well. Although it's rough, but until now, he hasn't broken through the Great Luo Heavenly Way. Otherwise, he would have been able to help the child refine his own Huo Yuan power."

  The Red Boy's heart was now churning with massive waves, if possible, he would have complained for three days and three nights. It turned out that it wasn't that he couldn't cultivate, but because his talent was too good to cultivate. My god, what kind of thing is this? The Red Boy suddenly had some understanding, why the soul that had merged with him was so confused.

  Originally, because he was unable to help the Red Boy refine his own fire yuan force, the Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan had no other choice but to repeatedly calculate and seek help from all sides, only to get a reply of "it will happen naturally". Unable to do anything else, the Bull Demon King could only pass on the most basic Upper Clear Way method to the Red Boy, without passing down any divine powers.

  So Red Boy has been practicing for decades since his birth, but he hasn't made any progress. Fifty years ago, he witnessed his father return from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits with a depressed mind, indulging in sensual pleasures, which pained Red Boy's heart. By nature, Red Boy is kind and loyal, thinking that his father must have encountered a huge problem and he couldn't share it with him, so he practiced day and night. Unexpectedly, he ended up being possessed by the devil.

  At this moment, Hong Haier's heart was as if he had knocked over a bottle of five flavors, with an inexplicable emotion, staring blankly at his father, his face full of gloom.

  "Haha, why must my son be like this?" The Ox Demon King saw this and stretched out his hand to gently scratch the Red Boy's nose. He then smiled and said: "I have repeatedly calculated that my son will have a strange encounter, meet a famous teacher, and from then on make a breakthrough in his cultivation, so that he will be unmatched in all three realms."

  "What a coincidence?" Hong Haier suddenly thought of a name in his mind, Huoyan Mountain...