Chapter 28: Return to the Mountain (Final Chapter of Prologue)

  A group of people returned from their training, and first went to the main hall to report to the leader. The leader let the four enter, quietly listening to their experiences on this trip.

  Demon Sect, Ximen Commander, Blood Shadow Sect, Blood Nightstone, Bamboo Sword, and Green Jade Treasure Knife...

  The Sect Master Qianyu was not a conservative, but rather had great insight and wisdom. Upon hearing that the Blood Nightstone had been stolen, he glanced at Gu Yan and felt somewhat worried in his heart. Gu Yan's innate talent was extremely high, with an excellent foundation, and his father's external power had helped him build a strong base, making his future prospects limitless. Also because of this, two elders of the Hidden Immortal Sect hoped that the Sect Master would slightly restrain Gu Yan, as they believed that Gu Yan would eventually leave Cloud Clear Mountain to join the Blood Shadow Sect. Qianyu was very insistent on treating all disciples fairly. Gu Yan's high cultivation among his peers was his own good fortune and should not be interfered with.

  It's better not to say it clearly, lest someone suspects that Gu Yan is a mole sent by his father Gu Ping in Yun Qing Men.

  Senya Mibu heard about the Green Jade Treasure Sword and was quite curious: "Let me take a look?"

  Lin Fan took out the Green Jade Treasure Knife, and Qian Yu True Person only looked on without moving, nodding: "The grade of this treasure knife is probably not below that of Wu Shuang's scroll, however..."

  "But?" Lin Fan asked anxiously.

  "But refining it will take a lot of time." replied Senya, thinking to herself, poor kid, this is a Buddha's sword. Why did she say that? Because the style of the sword, its bladeless and other features are similar to those used by ordinary Buddhist disciples and cultivators. Senya didn't tell the truth because she didn't want Lin Fan to give up halfway through his training, as the leader of the Righteous Sect was notoriously lazy and it's rare for a disciple to be so dedicated. Besides, there were ways to solve this problem, once Lin Fan's cultivation reached a higher level, he could practice some Buddhist techniques, although they wouldn't allow him to unleash the full power of the Green Jade Buddha Sword, he would still be able to use it.

  Senya Ichijin was relieved after the ordeal. Fortunately, the treasure was a Buddhist artifact; if it were a Taoist or demonic artifact, there might have been casualties among the four of them. The worst-case scenario would be an evil person's cruel device, which could lead to countless deaths and injuries in the Jiulang Mountains.

  If it weren't for the Buddha's knife seeking only to protect itself and not wanting to harm others, how could the four of them have been subdued? Fortunately, there was the Wú Shuāng's scroll, everything is fate. Many years later, Lín Fán asked Qiān Yǔ True Person, since it's a Buddha's knife, why does it take lives? Why did it kill the small fish? Qiān Yǔ True Person replied, the Buddha's knife is just a sharp blade treasure, and even an ox doesn't have the intention to harm flies, but if there's a swarm of flies constantly surrounding the ox, the ox will also be annoyed beyond endurance.

  Qian Yu Zhen Ren told Lin Fan, this might be the will of heaven. Besides Lin Fan, no one else would go to bathe and catch a dozen small fish out of boredom. This treasure wouldn't have appeared in the world, but because of Lin Fan, it did.

  Lin Fan said, "This pool of water is too ordinary." Qian Yu replied, "A mountain is not famous because of its height, but because it has a fairy on it."

  ……

  Lin Fan began his dull life in the mountains again, and after a hundred days, the sect master came out of his retreat. He asked Lin Fan some routine questions, but then he heard that the Blood Nightstone had been stolen. The sect master snorted coldly twice. When he saw the Green Jade Treasure Knife, he was surprised and asked: "Lin Fan, has this sect master not seen this knife before?"

  Lin Fan said: "I've seen it, she says that this knife's quality is probably not below the level of the Purple Bamboo Forest's law scroll."

  The sect master let out a few cold hums, and he didn't blame Lin Fan. Although Lin Fan had some experience, he had never come into contact with Buddhist monks before, and there were no records of Buddhist weapons in the hidden book pavilion. However, it was impossible to deceive the sect master, who must have had his reasons for not speaking out.

  "Master Tao: 'I'm going out for a few days, you play by yourself.'"

  One day later, someone broke into the Tianyin Temple's scripture storage room and found that a handwritten copy of the Buddhist introductory mind method "Qing Xin Xin Fa" was missing. One day later, the missing Buddhist mind method had its cover torn off and replaced with a new one: "Wu Liang Xin Fa". Two hours later, this Wu Liang Xin Fa fell into Lin Fan's hands.

  "This was given to me by a good friend of mine. It conflicts with the Cloud Clearing Heart Method, you can practice it but don't need to comprehend it."

  "What does it mean?"

  "In the foundation, it is the true energy of Yun Qing Xin Fa... If you are stupid and die, then use the true energy of Yun Qing Xin Fa, and then use the method of Wu Liang Xin Fa, that's all."

  What the master said was simple, and Lin Fan quickly understood. It's just that the true energy cultivated by Yun Qing Xin Fa is used to cast spells in a way of Wu Liang Xin Fa. However, after practicing for three days, Lin Fan was very puzzled. Practicing Wu Liang Xin Fa had no difficulty at all, but... Suppose a punch using Yun Qing Xin Fa and casting method can shatter a large stone, but using the casting method of Wu Liang Xin Fa can only break off a wooden stick.

  Lin Fan looked puzzled and asked Zong Zhu: "Is it necessary to practice Wu Liang Xin Fa?"

  Zong Zhu sighed: "Lin Fan, this Wu Liang Xin Fa is indeed very poor, but it's the last thing my good friend left me before he died. I don't want to see it lost."

  It was originally a souvenir, Lin Fan suddenly realized. This infinite heart method is not worth practicing, just learn the law of casting spells. In these three days, he has already studied it thoroughly. Lin Fan decided that when he had the qualifications to accept apprentices in the future, he would also pass on this law to his apprentices. However, Lin Fan was very perceptive and since he only needed the spellcasting method, he cut off a large part of the infinite heart method, making it even simpler to grasp.

  ……

  In the mountains, there is no first day of the lunar year, and the cold has ended without knowing the year. In the blink of an eye, a whole year has passed.

  ……

  During this time, Bai Mu and Lin Fan often visited each other, Ye Wushuang also came out to gather together, but Gu Yan was in a closed state at Tianhang Sect.

  Lin Fan bid farewell to Qingyuan Zong and Bai Mu, and returned to Zhengyi Zong. He mentioned the matter of Gu Yan to the sect master during a game of Go. The sect master held onto the chess piece for a long time without letting go, saying: "The Tao is natural, everything follows one's heart. Your senior brother Gu Yan has been in seclusion for half a year, obviously he encountered a strong opponent in this trial and felt that he was lacking, with some impatience to achieve quick results."

  "Is this bad?"

  "The King of Cheng loses to the bandit, and it's hard to say whether this is a good or bad thing now." The host asked: "What do you think about this ancient rock master?"

  "Although it's a bit stubborn, but having such persistence is rare." Lin Fan replied.

  "Ah, persistence... somewhat of a demonic temperament." The Sect Master said: "Different principles, you, Elder Gu Yan, insist on strongly cultivating the Righteous Path, I'm afraid it's twice the effort for half the result. If you were to cultivate the Demonic Path, you could achieve twice the result with half the effort. The methods of the Righteous Path have never been quick to succeed."

  Lin Fan said: "Please put it simply, Master."

  "Isn't that simple?" The sect leader said: "Two people with the same qualifications, one enters the righteous path and the other becomes a demonic cultivator. Within ten or twenty years, the demonic path will surely defeat the righteous path. However, after thirty or fifty years, the righteous path will triumph over the demonic path. Nevertheless, the demonic path is arduous to cultivate and requires more effort. Even if it's two hundred years later, it's still impossible to know who wins or loses. Your senior brother Gu Yan has made rapid progress through intense cultivation, but if he were a demonic cultivator, his achievements would be far greater than those on the righteous path."

  Lin Fan said: "Gu Yan insisted that he was a disciple of Yun Qing Men."

  "Heh, Yun Qing Men, Yun Qing is just a mountain, and Yun Qing Men is just the grandeur of Yun Qing Mountain. Alas... Brother Gu Yan's realm is probably hard to break through. Being too obsessed, he becomes bewildered." The Sect Master was somewhat worried, looking at it this way, Gu Yan was someone who pursued cultivation over realm, once limited by his realm, unable to break through his cultivation, afraid... never mind, everything is fate.

  PS: This weekend will be temporarily updated twice, and it will be busy until December 5th, so please forgive me.