Episode 89

  Another half day passed, and the corpse slowly drifted towards the shore, finally being pushed onto the beach by the waves. Above the sea under the white clouds, several fierce birds were flying in to forage for food. One of them was a gigantic bird, its body several meters in size, with wings spanning tens of meters wide. Seeing the corpse, it let out a few cries of excitement and swooped down. Its enormous beak shone with a dazzling white light that shook people's hearts. Its body was like an arrow, its beak like an arrowhead, charging straight towards the fish and dragons.

  "Wow!"

  A deafening crash, the body of the fish-dragon burst open in four directions! If anyone were to witness this, they would surely be shocked to death. The body of the fish-dragon was as hard as gold or stone, yet under the bird's single strike, it collapsed like tofu and fell to the ground! In the high sky above, the remaining birds swooped down one after another, and in just half a day, the small mountain-like body of the fish-dragon was reduced to nothing but bones and bloodstains.

  Many birds came to peck at the insufficient body, but they only made a few attempts and returned without success! It turned out that its body was so hard that even the strong beaks of those giant birds were unable to move it. The leader-like giant bird circled around the insufficient body for several laps, then suddenly flapped its wings and flew up thousands of feet, after which its bird head flew straight down towards the insufficient body like a sword. It stirred up the surrounding heaven and earth yuan force, instantly forming a powerful black whirlwind that roared loudly and rolled in wildly! The stones and sand around the insufficient body flew about crazily, like withered leaves and grass! But its body didn't budge at all!

  Boom

  Wow

  A loud crash, followed by another mournful cry that echoed through the air. The giant beak struck its body fiercely, and then shattered into four pieces, with blood splattering everywhere! The giant bird spread its massive wings and flew away swiftly, while the other birds took to the skies in fright, following closely behind their leader. In the sky, the cries of the birds grew fainter and fainter, gradually disappearing into the distance until they were almost imperceptible.

  "Hmm!"

  A pained moan, and the body's fingers slightly opened, trembling, its limbs also slowly shaking, at first almost imperceptibly! Then its chest slightly expanded, eyes slowly opening! It seemed dazed, unaware of what was happening, and also seemed perplexed, bewildered, unclear about what was real or not! Suddenly, its consciousness stirred:

  "Is someone dead? Where is he now? Is it in the underworld? Why is the sky clear and vast for thousands of miles? He hasn't died yet?"

  "What? The water in this mouth is very salty, isn't it seawater?"

  "Alright! If it's seawater, this place must still be in the sea! Then some family must still be in the world!"

  "Ah! Someone's still alive! Someone's still alive ahahaha... Cough cough cough..."

  Not a word had been uttered when the sea water rushed into his mouth and he couldn't catch his breath!

  Insufficient movement, unable to lift the body, as if the whole body is scattered and disassembled, unable to gather even a little bit of energy. Lying in the huge pit created by the giant bird's impact, with seawater half deep, half submerged, insufficient body, only the head half leaning on the sand, slightly exposed above the water.

  After several days, the seagulls came to attack again and again. The four limbs were weak, but the eyes were bright and staring straight at the sky! Above, white clouds floated by, drifting away leisurely. In the morning, the sun rose with a fiery glow, and in the evening, the sunset painted half of the blue sky red. The scenery was ever-changing, with countless phenomena. There were also birds flying above, entering the clouds, and fish swimming below, gliding effortlessly through the water. Although I had almost died, my heart felt refreshed after escaping death. At that moment, it was as if I had suddenly woken up from a dream. Before, my mind was confused and didn't know what to do or where to go. I didn't even know what I wanted in life! But at this moment, it seemed like I had suddenly come to a realization. However, I thought about the unpredictability of worldly affairs and the helplessness of human life, all of which were fleeting like a wild dog passing by a window. This is what it means to cultivate one's mind and nature. One should not view life with its superficial meaning! The way of life should be to carefully examine the causes and effects of all things, to think deeply about the wonders of all phenomena, and to pursue the origin of the Tao and reach the ultimate truth. Only then can one truly understand the meaning and principle of life. All else is just a fleeting illusion that cannot be considered the ultimate goal of human existence. It's only worth occasionally thinking about it in passing. From this perspective, the hardships and dangers, birth, aging, sickness, and death are all just aspects of human life! There was no need to worry about these things, and suddenly my heart felt open and expansive, like calm water without ripples or a tree without wind. Only the vital energy of life remained, flowing freely.

  Chang'e searched for several days, and even her true form ventured out, but she didn't dare to release too much of the divine realm, lest it trigger that great calamity of ascension! However, her true form's abilities were already astonishing, having reached a level where three parts of her power could shake the world. At this moment, all sounds from the myriad things within her divine realm's domain entered her ears.

  "Huh? It seems like there's a familiar aura! Ah! It can't be Brother Insufficient! It can't be Brother Insufficient!"

  Chang'e was overjoyed and burst into tears, her tears flowing ceaselessly! She hastily calmed her mind and carefully sensed.

  "It's indeed not enough for a brother! It's just that his breath is too weak and small! He must have been injured too much!"

  Jing'er's borrowed body soared into the sky and flew in the direction of her emotions. Meanwhile, her true body stood quietly beside the insufficient one, tears streaming down her face. Jing'er quietly used her secret technique to put the insufficient one to sleep. Then, she took him to a higher cave on the island, dressed him in clothes, lit a fire by his side, and took out a few pellets of medicine from her magic bag to feed him. Half a day later, her borrowed body arrived as well. Jing'er hid her true body again and transformed back into Jin Jing'er's appearance, quietly waiting for him to wake up. Another half day passed before the insufficient one let out a light sigh and opened his eyes.

  A beautiful face that is beyond compare is looking at me with an insufficient gaze, and on the smiling face, tears are still hanging.

  "Chang'er, how did you manage to find your way here?"

  "Poor brother, you're suffering too! Nothing..."

  Before he could finish his sentence, tears were streaming down his face.

  "It's all right, Chang'er, don't be afraid!"

  "Insufficient elder brother, and don't move rashly. After taking the medicinal pill, it's best to slowly dissolve it!"

  Chang'er supported him as he sat up. Insufficient slowly closed his eyes, clasped his hands together in a seal, and silently recited the four seals to refine the power of the elixir he had taken. Two hours later, Insufficient ended his meditation, although his energy was still weak and he couldn't move, but his spirit had mostly recovered.

  " Chang'e, this place is remote and in the middle of the sea, with no landmarks to guide you, how did you manage to find your way here?"

  "Insufficient brother, it's not you! Go to the training ground! And didn't tell me! I searched for you in all directions and couldn't see you, so I came down to the sea to search, already several months."

  "Oh! Chang Er! A certain household......"

  Suddenly felt a pang in his heart, he sighed and said:

  "Chang'er, don't cry anymore, I'm fine! It's just... Hmm! Your Taoist body! Chang'er, your Taoist body has been formed! This is really great! Haha!"

  Insufficiently happy laughter rises up. Chang'er also smiles and says:

  "It doesn't matter if I'm useless as a brother, as long as you're safe and sound, then it's fine even if I, Chang'er, accomplish nothing in my life!"

  "Foolish girl! What nonsense! Your cultivation has increased greatly, and even if you were to plot against me, I would still be extremely delighted!"

  "Inadequate brother, I can ride the wind and soar now!"

  "That's great! With such unimpeded actions, in the future when encountering danger, even if it's just escaping with one's life, it will be much faster!"

  "Hey, Brother Insufficient, why are you always talking about such depressing things! Let's hurry up and master our magic so we'll never have to suffer the humiliation of being surpassed by him again!"

  "Hmm! Chang'er, you're right! We should be diligent in cultivating our Taoist skills and immortal laws! You've made such rapid progress, it's clear that your innate talent for cultivation is excellent! However, being lazy in handling matters is unacceptable! From now on, I'll supervise your cultivation, and you can't just go through the motions anymore!"

  "Not enough, brother! Where did I slack off? You're always staring at me, how can I be careless?"

  "Haha! It should be like this! Your cultivation method must have some reference from a certain family! Speak up!"

  "Yes! Insufficient brother. Do you know that Yixiu Gate has a small Fa array to assist the lower cultivation?"

  "Yes, someone knows!"

  "I was on duty in the temple when I threw a few pieces of Giant Energy Crystal into the formation, activating it. Unbeknownst to me, my primordial spirit condensed and merged with my physical body, successfully cultivating my Law Body!"

  "Haha! Good people have good fortune!"

  "What a coincidence! I was still opening the law array and was punished to face the wall. As a result, I missed the opportunity to see you off to the tempering field, almost didn't get to see you!"

  Yu'e's words brought tears to her eyes, and they were on the verge of falling.

  "Hmm! This... Chang'er, now that your cultivation has reached a certain level, help me open the Six Harmony Bag left behind by my grandfather. Inside, there are things he left for me, as well as many elixirs and other items that will be very beneficial to us."

  "Yes! Insufficient brother. The Liuhe Fa bag is on my body, and I don't dare to put it down for a moment. However, your body still needs a few more days to recover, wait until the wound heals before opening the Liuhe Fa bag, it's not too late! Besides, you haven't told Chang'er about this great ordeal yet!"

  "Hmm!"

  In a low voice, he said as he slowly closed his eyes and began to meditate.

  Later, the two of them meditated in a small cave for several days. Not enough to be called away by Ye Wentian's urgent summons, how he went to the Forging Body Arena, how he forged his body, and how he came back to kill several hidden cultivators, how he triggered an explosion of the formation, and how he escaped with his life were all told in detail to Chang'er. However, that thousand dangers were all concealed and not mentioned. Nevertheless, who was Chang'er? How could she not know the danger within? Upon hearing this, she felt a lingering fear! Thus, she made up her mind: from now on, she must protect Insufficient Brother with her life, otherwise how could she be worthy of being called the number one cultivator in this realm?!