Episode 26

  They arrived at the outskirts of the city and headed north for twenty miles, which was the location of Fanjia Town. The two walked slowly, when Jin Chen'er suddenly sensed several powerful auras of cultivators, whose abilities far surpassed those of Shi Yi. Jin Chen'er was shocked and quickly released her divine sense from her hairpin to investigate. She saw dozens of cultivators surrounding the school, with five or six of them launching a fierce attack on the main hall using their superior abilities. In the sky and underground, there were also dozens of cultivators who had set up a powerful array, trapping Shi Yi inside the school. Far away, four cultivators stood at the four cardinal directions, each one standing high in the air, watching the school from afar. Another cultivator stood even farther away on a cloud, with a broad and magnificent sword on his back, wearing a flowing immortal robe, exuding an extraordinary aura that transcended the mundane world. His spiritual realm had already reached the state of harmonizing yin and yang. Jin Chen'er knew that Shi Yi was in grave danger! She quickly made up her mind, quietly activating the power of the Daoist mystic law to confuse those who were insufficiently powerful, and then used her protective divine ability to cover herself with a golden light, hiding inside a hollow ancient tree. However, Jin Chen'er did not dare to use her own peerless demonic abilities, for two reasons: firstly, she feared that her abilities would attract heavenly tribulation; secondly, and more importantly, her powerful demonic abilities might destroy the divine senses of those who were insufficiently powerful, causing them harm or even taking their lives. Therefore, she also did not dare to have any thoughts of competing with these mortal realm cultivators!

  That giant tree was in its prime, and the spiritual light it emitted was just enough to cover up the insufficient aura! Jin Chan'er flew into the school, not fighting with anyone who came, but only covering up her tracks, breaking through the formation set by others, and entering the main hall. On the side of the offering table in the main hall, Shi Yi spat out fresh blood, his face had no human color, he was just propping himself up, reciting incantations non-stop, activating a protective formation. His only remaining arm had also lost half of it, apparently injured by sword and knife artifacts. Shi Yi's formation was quite impressive, and it actually withstood the fierce attack of so many powerful people outside! Jin Chan'er revealed her original body as a woman, reciting incantations, and only cast a few spells to strengthen this formation. Then she helped Shi Yi up and said:

  "Master, what's wrong with you?"

  Shi Yi shook his head and said:

  "I know you are no ordinary person, but in your heart you are kind, and to my grandson you are not as close as a brother."

  "Master, don't say anymore, wait for me to use my magic to save you!"

  "Enough! My lifespan has come to an end, and even if the Golden Immortal of the Upper Realm were to descend upon the world, it would be of no use! Qian'er, this object is called the Three Realms Coffin, a family heirloom of mine. I had thought that it would inevitably fall into the hands of our enemies, but that's beside the point now. Perhaps they will become complacent and give up on pursuing my grandson after obtaining this object. But since you've returned, I'll entrust it to you instead. If you feel that you're not capable of protecting it, then take it for yourself! Maybe my grandson will have a peaceful life, and I can rest easy. This artifact is the Nine Spirits Divine Box, containing one soul and one spirit of my son, Liu. You've been keeping a jade orb beside it; I suppose it's because you want to preserve the consciousness of your deceased loved one? Originally, this divine box could only hold one person's soul and spirit, but since my son Liu only has one soul and one spirit left, there is still space for another person's soul and spirit. I can perform a ritual to store their soul and spirit inside, but you must guarantee that my grandson's life will be free from worry. Can you do that?"

  Jin Chan'er shed tears and said:

  "Master, even if you don't say it, I will still take good care of you. Alright, Master, let's not speak anymore. I've come to take you away from this place, to see the insufficient one for the last time, how about that?"

  "Chang'er, thank you! But I am already dead, and my corpse has vanished. Will the Qiu family give up? First, I will use magic to calm my spirit, then you take this magic bag and two treasures and leave quickly!"

  "Master..."

  Jin Chan'er choked back tears and struggled to speak.

  Shi Yi struggled to speak, and Jin Chan'er put the delicate, crystal-like creature that had been extracted from the Bi Yu Xuan Bing ball into the Jiuling Shen box. Jin Chan'er tried to persuade him to leave, but the stubborn old man suddenly began to chant, intending to destroy himself along with the formation and die together with his enemy! Seeing his willingness to face death, Jin Chan'er felt a deep sorrow in her heart, and with tears in her eyes, she flew away quickly.

  Not far away, a loud "boom" shook the air, and Jin Chan'er knew that her master was gone. But she was also afraid of not being able to wake up, so after a moment's hesitation, she flew into the ancient tree cave in a flash. Shi Yu had not yet woken up. Jin Chan'er stood by Shi Yu's side, tears streaming down her face as she thought deeply. Her master had used self-explosion to give Shi Yu a chance at life, truly a great act of bravery among cultivators! To know that cultivators cultivate the heavens and earth, the divine ability to nurture the elixir in the dantian, the changes of yin and yang to refine the spirit and the realm of recognition. Among these, refining one's heart is the most difficult! The methods for cultivating the yuan Shen and shi Shen have been passed down since ancient times, with countless mysterious techniques, Taoist scriptures, Buddhist sutras, etc. Although the Great Way has declined, there are still many techniques that exist in the world, and great cultivators often create new mysterious techniques to aid others. Therefore, this cultivation is easy! However, when it comes to refining one's heart, there is not a single technique that has been passed down! Why? Because of the differences in human hearts! Even among those who are as close as family members, such as parents and children, brothers, husbands and wives, masters and disciples, there is no similarity. The complexity of human hearts is difficult to measure, even for those who have achieved enlightenment. Although past sages had their own experiences, they were only individual cases, not something that can be used as a model for others to cultivate. The techniques and principles often surpass the ordinary world, and the heart is often colder than the secular world. Those who cultivate with a cold eye towards the world are already indifferent to worldly emotions such as familial love and friendship. They would even give up their lives for profit! They would not die like Shi Yu did for his grandson! Therefore, Shi Yu's death shook Jin Chan'er greatly. She originally thought that in this world it was hard to find someone like him, but now he had appeared again in this place! And Shi Yu's self-explosion was actually a way of igniting the two gods, exploding away the soul and spirit in the dantian and shi Shen realm, from then on unable to enter the five elements, unable to exist in the three realms, forever without hope of reincarnation!

  Jin Chan'er took a look at the insufficient, seeing that it was about to wake up. She also felt that the enemy was coming for a patrol, so she hid her figure again, carrying the insufficient mouth and reciting the mantra, and escaped into the ground.

  Thousands of miles away, in the southern wilderness, beside a small lake, in the middle of a grass thicket, a bright light suddenly appeared. A soft hum came from underground and two people emerged. One was still asleep, while an extremely beautiful woman slightly furrowed her brow, leaning forward to look at the man with closed eyes. The scene on the ground remained unchanged, as if these two had always been there. These two were indeed Chang'er and Bu Xu. When Jin Chang'er sensed that there were no cultivators within hundreds of miles, she finally lifted the spell on Bu Xu and pretended to faint beside him.

  Before he knew it, he slowly came to and was shocked to see Jin Cheng'er lying on her side. He looked around and saw that the scenery had changed greatly, and he was so frightened that he fell back onto the grassy ground!

  "Chang'er, Chang'er, Chang'er, you'd better wake up quickly."

  He shook Jin Tian'er while loudly calling out. Jin Tian'er let out a long sigh, opened her beautiful eyes and said:

  "Insufficient elder brother, what's going on here? How did we two end up in this place?"

  "I don't know either! I only remember suddenly feeling dizzy, and then I didn't know anything. When I came to, I was already here."

  "Insufficient elder brother, have to ask someone, where is this place?"

  "Alright! But there's no one around here, let's go to that mountain over there and take a look first. If we can find a village or an official road, then we can ask for directions."

  They then went to a small hill, looking for a huge stone, and climbed the stone to look around. Only a few miles east was an official road, and the rest were all dense forests and hills, with no villages or houses. Even on that official road, there were only a few people in sight. Insufficient brought Chang'er from the hill towards the official road heading east. Before long, they arrived at the official road. The road was only about ten feet wide and not very flat, with many potholes filled with water. On both sides were ancient trees, some on hills and some in valleys, and the road was shaded by trees, blocking out the sun, making it seem like a dark and mysterious forest. Chang'er tightly clung to Insufficient's side as they walked along the road:

  "Not enough, brother, this place is also too scary. Why isn't there a single person?"

  "This place is warm and humid, with many large-leafed trees in the forest, and the shape of the grass and trees is very strange, most of which are not found in the Fanjia Town next to the ancient city. Moreover, this place has big forests but low mountains, and the insects and birds in the forest are all colorful, and most of them are unknown to us, just as someone guessed correctly, I'm afraid we two are indeed in the southern wilderness!"

  "Impossible! The Southern Wilderness is at least 7,000 or 8,000 miles away from the Ancient State. How could we have flown here in an instant?"

  "Chang'er, you don't know this, but in the mortal world, there are people with great abilities. Ordinary people call them 'Land Flying Immortals', while they themselves are called 'Cultivators'. These people can summon wind and rain, move mountains and fill oceans. For them, it's not a difficult task to fly from the ancient continent to the South China Sea in just a moment. Maybe we were caught up in their magic by chance?"

  Chang'er's astonished expression suddenly deepened. Another half day passed before they saw an old man sitting in a cow-drawn carriage approaching them from the opposite direction. He barely had time to return their greeting when:

  "Respectful greetings, young master."

  "Oh, you're a scholar! How did you end up in this place?"

  "Is there anything wrong with this place?"

  "No way! Haha! You must be travelers from afar! This place is called the Southern Wilderness, with few people and sparse smoke within a thousand miles. Even on this official road, it's rare to meet someone in half a month! There are many wild beasts, but you haven't encountered any ferocious ones, which is quite lucky!"

  "Southern Wilderness?"

  Chang'er and Bu Xu exchanged a glance.

  "Yes. The heavenly year is unfavorable, and there are disasters and bandits, so even on the official road, few people travel during the day."

  "Oh dear! What's going on? Old fellow, we want to go to Gucheng City, but don't know the direction, can you tell us?"

  "Ah, the ancient city! I once went there with my father when I was a young man, it's over 7,000 or 8,000 miles away from here. It's truly prosperous and flourishing. As for the direction, you're correct. But since you've got a delicate wife with you, who knows if you'll make it?"

  "What?"

  "You all walk a bit faster, sixty miles away from here there is a village town, which can rest your feet. After all, the place is bigger, and the bandits will also be collected."

  "Thank you, old fellow!"

  The old man went away with a smile.

  "Sorry brother, I might bring trouble to you too, I..."

  "Chang Er, stop talking nonsense, our family will definitely ensure your safe return home!"