Volume 2: World of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio Chapter 18: Tianji Sitting on the Fate, Lanruo Swordsman
At the peak of the Spirit Refining Realm, if he takes one more step forward, Jiale will be able to directly break through to the Return to Void Realm.
However, the training should come to an end at this time. Jiale walked out of the room. Wansheng was waiting there early. When he saw Jiale coming out, he hurried forward.
"Master, you are out!"
Jiale nodded. Wansheng's progress was indeed quite fast. He had already made a big step forward in reaching the Grandmaster level. With another few years, he might be able to break through to the Grandmaster level.
With one thought, Jiale scanned the entire Sun Mansion. When he looked at Sun Zichu's yard, he exclaimed in surprise, as if he had seen something interesting.
"Are there guests in Zichu's yard?"
Zhang Long and Zhao Hu also came over when they heard the noise. After hearing Jia Le's question, Zhang Long took a step forward.
"Master, a classmate came to Master Zichu's courtyard today. This classmate has some interesting stories. If you are free, how about I tell you about it?"
Jiale also became interested, "Come on, tell me about it."
"Master Zichu's classmate's surname is Zhu, and his name is Zhu Erdan. He is not from our Jinling City, but from Lingyang County next door. He is the champion of the provincial examination in Lingyang County. This time he came to participate in the college examination. Master Zichu happened to meet Zhu Erdan at a literary gathering a few days ago. Both of them were champions, so they were evenly matched. Now they actually have a feeling of mutual respect.
Master Zichu has been inviting Zhu Erdan to his house to discuss articles these days. The most coincidental thing is that Zhu Erdan’s wife is actually Madam Baoer’s sister. It couldn’t be more coincidental.”
Zhu Erdan! Jia Le's heart moved.
"Come on, tell me more."
Zhang Long was delighted to see Jiale so interested. Now that they had arrived at the county seat, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu's abilities could no longer keep up. They could only maintain their status by being close to Jiale. Naturally, they had to try their best to please Jiale. Jiale now was no longer the person who could be fooled easily. His abilities were unpredictable.
"Master, I heard that Zhu Erdan can communicate with ghosts and gods. There is a Ten Kings Hall in Lingyang County, where the Ten Kings of Hell are enshrined. Zhu Erdan was very stupid before. He couldn't even write well. He was always at the bottom of the class in the academy. It wasn't until he got drunk and made a bet with someone that he went to the Ten Kings Hall and carried a judge on his back. That's when his luck changed. I heard that the judge helped him open his mind and change his spiritual power.
It is said that this judge is a judge under the City God of Lingyang County. His surname is Lu. He gets along well with Zhu Erdan and they often drink together. Not only did he help Zhu Erdan change his heart, but Zhu Erdan also disliked his wife's ugly appearance and asked Lu to help him change his wife's head. What's more coincidental is that the replaced head belongs to the daughter of Wu Shiyushi of Lingyang County who had suffered a disaster. Not only is she beautiful, but her family conditions are also good.
I don't know how it happened, but he recognized Zhu Erdan's wife as his goddaughter. Coincidentally, this Imperial Censor Wu is Madam Bao'er's uncle, and they have become close friends over the past few days, and have even recognized each other as relatives."
Hmm! What a coincidence.
Zhu Erdan! Lu Pan!
Why does Jiale feel like all the characters in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio are trying their best to run towards him?
Lingyang County was also a large county, located right next to Jinling. The city god of a county was generally a seventh-rank deity, and under him were civil and military judges, who were also generally seventh-rank.
In the Shinto system, the lowest level is the fifth grade, which is generally equivalent to the level of cultivators refining essence into qi. Then comes the ninth grade, which is equivalent to refining qi into spirit. The eighth grade is refining spirit to return to emptiness. The seventh grade is the level of refining emptiness. The highest level of gods in the world is the sixth grade, which is equivalent to the level of harmony with the Tao.
The City God in charge of a state is probably at this level.
Now, as the military judge under the City God of Lingyang County, Lu Pan's strength should be at the level of refining emptiness. If such a seventh-rank god was willing to humble himself and make friends with an ordinary person like Zhu Erdan, Jia Le would never believe it. It is said that cultivators are ungrateful and can give up everything for immortality, even their relatives, wives and children.
But compared to gods, monks are actually quite human.
When the gods fall in love, the three realms will be in unrest. This is not just talk. If one burns too much incense, he naturally won't know the preciousness of grains. If one has been a god for too long, he naturally won't be able to feel the emotions of ordinary people.
As a seventh-rank god, Lu Pan must have been in power for quite some time. A Yin God like him rose step by step from an ordinary Yin God. He understands the ways of the world very well and knows everything about the pros and cons. How could he show his so-called temperament to ordinary people? Therefore, the only explanation is that this Zhu Erdan is special.
The gods are good at investing, and they do things that bring low cost and high income.
"Let's go see Zichu!"
In Sun Zichu's yard, Sun Zichu and Zhu Erdan were talking loudly. When they saw Jiale coming over, they were both surprised.
“Brother!”
Sun Zichu looked at Jiale in surprise. Although there were paper figures taking care of affairs outside, they basically only handled daily chores and had never come to his yard.
When Zhu Erdan heard his grandson Chu call Jiale "brother", he was also surprised.
He had been in Jinling for some time and had become acquainted with Sun Zichu. Although Sun Zichu seldom mentioned Jiale, every time he did, he showed respect on his face without any concealment. Now that Zhu Erdan had changed his mind, how could he not know the position of Jiale in Sun Zichu's heart.
“Brother Sun!”
Zhu Erdan did not dare to be negligent and followed Sun Zichu to pay his respects.
Jiale nodded and looked at Zhu Erdan. A flash of enlightenment came into his mind. He was indeed not an ordinary person. No wonder Lu Pan was so humble and willing to make friends with him.
With Tianji as his destiny, this Zhu Erdan actually possesses the destiny of Tianji, and carries the luck of the stars just like Wansheng.
Like Wenqu, Tianji will surely ascend to the throne once it gains power. As one of the fourteen main stars, Tianji will have to give way to Wenqu even if it is in the same dynasty as Wenqu. In fact, Tianji is the number one literary star.
The mind is blocked!
Lu Pan must have seen that Zhu Erdan had Tianji as his destiny star, so he took the initiative to make contact with him. As one of the fourteen main stars, it is not easy for Tianji to gain momentum. People who have Tianji as their destiny star are obviously born with a smart mind, but the way of heaven is fair, so it will put them through tests. The seven orifices will block the six orifices, and only by studying hard can they open their minds, develop literary talent, and accomplish great things.
However, such a test is not impossible to change, just like now, Zhu Erdan met Lu Pan, and Lu Pan's direct intervention opened Zhu Erdan's mind. Once his mind was opened, his literary talent began to rise.
Looking at Sun Zichu again, his luck at this time was almost completely transformed into gold, the purple energy was active, and it was almost transformed into a dragon. With such luck, it was no wonder that it could attract the Tianji Star to approach.
As for why Lu Pan interfered with the fate of Tianji Star, Jia Le was a little confused. After all, Lu Pan was the Yin God of the underworld. Even if Zhu Erdan rose to power in the future, he would not be able to help him much. On the contrary, Lu Pan strengthened Tianji Star's mind, which was not a simple matter. Lu Pan must have paid a considerable price.
Shaking his head, although he didn't know the specific reason, Jiale guessed that it must be related to the current changes in heaven and hell.
If there is a chance, I would like to investigate.
"Zichu, is this your friend?"
Hearing Jiale's question, Sun Zichu hurriedly introduced himself.
"Brother, this is Zhu Erdan, the first place winner of the Lingyang County examination. His talent is even higher than mine. Brother Zhu may be the first place winner of the autumn examination. Moreover, Brother Zhu married Baoer's sister, so I have to call him brother-in-law."
Hearing Sun Zichu's praise, Zhu Erdan quickly waved his hands and said, "Brother Sun, you are too kind. Brother Sun is more talented than me. I am far inferior to him."
Sun Zichu also smiled when he saw this, "Brother Zhu, this is the brother I told you about. I am where I am today thanks to your support."
"Jourdan has met his brother."
Jia Le shook his head when he saw the two of them. They were close friends and related by marriage. The destiny of the world was really tied to Sun Zichu. In the future, Sun Zichu would become a hidden dragon. He would have Zhu Erdan and Wu Qing in literature and Wansheng in martial arts. If he could also have the foundation for a king or a hegemon, then his good fortune would basically be in place. In the future, he would be able to dominate the world with twice the result with half the effort.
"Since you are both a relative and a close friend, why don't you stay in the mansion when you first come to Jinling? Zhang Long, let the housekeeper make the arrangements."
"Yes, sir."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Erdan hurriedly expressed his gratitude. The Zhu family was also wealthy, but being able to live in the Sun Mansion and discuss articles with Sun Zichu from time to time was a great thing for Zhu Erdan. Even if he was mentally open-minded, the imperial examination was not a trivial matter. Sun Zichu had a solid foundation, and Zhu Erdan learned a lot from discussing articles with Sun Zichu.
There was still a month before the college entrance examination, and Jiale was unwilling to interfere with Sun Zichu. With his literary talent and the attention paid to the Yangzhou and Jinling education officials, even Zhu Erdan could not deprive him of his title of Jieyuan.
Outside Jinling City.
Jiale sat in the sedan chair, and Wansheng followed him, heading towards Guobei County.
Now that Jiale has broken through to the realm of Yuanshen, and with Guan Fei, the Jiazi God, the tree demon grandma is no longer a threat. It just so happens that the energy beads are gone, so he can use the tree demon grandma and her ghosts to replenish them.
The distance between Guobei County and Jinling City is closer than to Jinhua. Wansheng drove the carriage, and in less than two days, he saw the city gate of Guobei County.
"Master, do you want to enter the city?"
"No need to enter the city, just go straight north."
Wansheng knew a little about Jiale's temper, so he didn't ask too many questions. Although it was getting dark soon, he still headed straight north.
boom!
Crash!
The sky was covered with dark clouds, thunder rumbled, and rain fell heavily.
"Master, there is a dilapidated temple ahead. Would you like to take shelter from the rain and rest for a night?"
It is another dilapidated temple, but this time it is a real temple, not a shrine.
"Um!"
Lanruo Temple.
Jiale looked at the temple's door plaque, felt the heritage of Lanruo Temple, and couldn't help but shook his head.
The Tianxin Temple in Jinhua that I saw before was destroyed because a disciple fell in love with a fox demon. Now looking at the Lanruo Temple again, I wonder what kind of story it will have.
If you feel it carefully, you will find that the heritage of Lanruo Temple is even deeper than that of Tianxin Zen Temple.
Although Lanruo Temple is in ruins, its general structure is still there. Touching the temple door, one can clearly feel a burning sensation. It is likely that the fire that burned down Lanruo Temple was not an ordinary fire.
While thinking about something in his mind, Wansheng slowly opened the temple door.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Cold rain mixed with chilly wind whistled past, and after entering the temple, it felt even colder than outside.
Bang bang bang!
Jiale and Wansheng's attention was attracted by a flash of fire in the main hall of Lanruo Temple. Although the door was closed, the sound of the burning flames could be heard, and a hint of fire could be seen through the window.
Wansheng had already walked in front of Jiale and was looking ahead vigilantly.
To this day, Wansheng is no longer the same Wansheng as before. He knows that there are many monsters and demons in this world. Any human beings appearing in this remote place are either monsters and demons or powerful people. No matter which one it is, he is worthy of vigilance. Even though he knows that Jiale is powerful, Wansheng will not put Jiale in danger because of his personality.
"It's okay, go in."
Jiale couldn't help but smile as he felt the familiar breath. Last time, he borrowed Zhang Long's body to explore Lanruo Temple. When he was leaving, he happened to meet this bearded man. Now it seems that this bearded man has probably been eyeing the tree demon grandma for a long time, but he just couldn't capture her in one fell swoop. Maybe he didn't want the tree demon grandma to harm people, so he simply stayed in Lanruo Temple and stared at her.
Return to the Void Realm!
It turns out that the bearded man is at the Return to Void Realm. It seems that the tree demon grandma won't be lower than him either. She can make the bearded man helpless. Maybe she has already reached the peak of the Return to Void Realm.
Thinking of this, Jia Le became more alert. Even though he had already broken through the Yuanshen realm and was confident that he could remain undefeated against those in the Fanxu realm, and he also had the Jiazi God to protect him, this was a place full of infestations. It would not be easy for someone who could cultivate to the peak of the Demon King realm to do so. He couldn't afford to let himself capsize in the ditch.
After hearing Jiale's words, Wansheng did not relax his vigilance. With the defensive posture of a warrior, he slowly walked to the door of the main hall and opened it.
The situation in the main hall was clear at a glance. In the center of the messy main hall, there was a pile of firewood burning.
Behind the firewood, there was a bearded man sitting upright. When he saw Jia Le and the other man coming in, he looked over at them. His eyes were full of scrutiny and a bit of vigilance.
After his gaze stayed on Jiale for a few seconds, he directly glanced at Wansheng.
At this time, Jiale had already used the fetal transformation to conceal his cultivation level, and the bearded man could not see it at all. As his practice of fetal transformation deepened, Jiale felt more and more that this magical power was extraordinary. Jiale's method of concealing his cultivation level was obtained from the magical power of fetal transformation, which was also gained during this retreat.
At this time, Jiale no longer needed to use the Kunlun Mirror to conceal his cultivation level. With Jiale's current mastery of fetal transformation and changing form, after concealing his cultivation level, no one could tell his cultivation level unless he was at the Hedao realm. It was even more impossible for the bearded man to be at the Fanxu realm.
For ordinary people, the bearded man naturally doesn't care, even if Jiale has a somewhat extraordinary temperament, it is still the same.
The appearance of Wansheng did interest the bearded man, but after a flash of interest, his eyes dimmed again. He might have thought that a master would be of no help to him in what he was about to do.
"This is not the place for you to come, leave now."
In fact, the bearded man had said this not only to Jiale and the others. The Lanruo Temple was located at the intersection of several small paths, and peddlers, scholars taking exams, and young men going for an outing often passed by. The tree demon used her magical powers to make it rain whenever someone passed by, forcing these people to enter the Lanruo Temple to take shelter from the rain .
Once these people enter Lanruo Temple, the ghosts under the Tree Demon Grandma will attack. You should know that these ghosts under the Tree Demon Grandma are all beautiful female ghosts. Under the careful training of the Tree Demon Grandma, they are best at seducing men and stealing their yang energy. Once these people become lustful and do things with yin and yang, their yang energy will be sucked dry by these ghosts and they will die.
The bearded man couldn't bear to see the tree demon grandma harming people, and he didn't want her to absorb more and more yang energy and become stronger, so he stayed in Lanruo Temple, trying to stop them. However, these people were often self-righteous and didn't listen to him at all. In the end, they all died in Lanruo Temple without exception. Naturally, the bearded man wanted to kill these ghosts.
But these ghosts are also very cunning. They only come out when people pass by, and otherwise live in the demon domain of the tree demon.
When ghosts harm people, whenever Big Beard tries to stop them, the Tree Demon will fight with him. The two are equally strong and it is usually a tie. After the ghost has harmed people, it will leave directly without fighting with Big Beard. As for chasing after it, Big Beard doesn't dare to do so because the Tree Demon's real body is behind Lanruo Temple.
That place has become a huge demon domain run by the tree demon grandma. If Big Beard breaks in, he has no guarantee of escaping safely. It's possible that the tree demon grandma would even hope that Big Beard would chase after him.
Therefore, the bearded man was actually very helpless. It was difficult to persuade the devil who was seeking death with kind words. He could only do his best to do his duty in Lanruo Temple and practice hard. If he could make some progress, it would be great if he could win the next battle with the tree demon.
Jiale was also looking at the bearded man in front of him.
The reason why he is called Big Beard is because he has not cleaned his beard for who knows how long. Now it looks like a scruffy beard, covering half of his face. In fact, this Big Beard does not look very old, and should be not much older than Jiale. He has such a realm at such a young age. On the one hand, the concentration of spiritual energy in the world of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio is higher than that in the world of Uncle Jiu. On the other hand, it is enough to prove his qualifications and opportunities.
Jiale is not an ordinary person. If he observes the bearded man carefully, he can easily see a lot from him.
A scholar, a knight, and a monk, Jia Le actually saw the temperaments of three different identities in the bearded man.
What is most deeply hidden is the elegance and refinement, and what is most obviously revealed is the murderous aura of hatred for evil, but what governs the two is his most core identity as a cultivator.
Looking at the bearded man's equipment, he realized that he had been wearing those clothes for who knows how long and they were very tattered. He used to be a monk, but now he looked like a butcher or a beggar.
In addition to the clothes, there were some other things that caught Jiale's eye.
The bearded man carried a sword case on his back. Although it was wrapped in black cloth, the sharpness and preciousness in it could not be hidden from Jiale, who was already a master of weapon refining. The sword case was probably at least of spiritual level. In addition to the sword case, the bearded man also carried a bow. This was even more obvious. The bow had a lot of evil spirit. I'm afraid the bearded man had killed many demons and monsters with it.
This bow is not just a spiritual weapon, it is probably at the level of a magic weapon.
He was also holding a scroll in his hand, which was emitting a strong aura of precious light, and should be of spiritual weapon level.
Among the equipment of the bearded man, the most common one is probably the wine gourd around his waist, which is also a low-grade spiritual weapon.
It has to be said that this set of equipment makes Jiale very envious. This is a walking treasure house. Not to mention the realm of refining the spirit and returning to the void, even to have a magic weapon in the realm of returning to the void and merging with the Tao is already a profound foundation. This bearded man is so good that he has so many treasures even in the realm of returning to the void. Jiale is wondering if the bearded man is the reincarnation of some big shot.
The bearded man's cultivation level is the middle stage of the Return to the Void Realm. With all these treasures, even some cultivators in the late stage of the Return to the Void Realm would have to suffer. It seems that the tree demon grandma is really at the peak of the Return to the Void Realm.
Jiale bowed his head.
"Sorry to bother you, Taoist priest. It's raining heavily outside and the sky is dark. I can't walk. Please help me."
Um!
The bearded man looked at his own attire. How could anyone tell that he was a Taoist priest in these tattered clothes? But it didn't matter anymore. Seeing that Jia Le didn't listen to the good advice, the bearded man stopped talking. In fact, he had repeated the words countless times and knew that it was useless to say more.
"As you please."
It's a pity for this guard, the bearded man couldn't help but sigh in his heart after he finished speaking.
Jiale didn't care, and Wansheng looked around.
"Master, there are many houses in this temple that can accommodate people. Can I go and get one first?"
At this time Wansheng also realized that Jiale seemed to have his own plans, so he simply followed the previous pace and just did his own thing.
Jiale nodded, then sat down opposite the bearded man and picked up some firewood and threw it into the fire.
The bearded man glanced at Jiale and Wansheng again, as if he couldn't understand who Jiale was that could make a martial arts master obey his orders so well. Even the royal heir wouldn't be treated like this.
Bang bang bang!
Time passed slowly, Jiale and Big Beard both sat cross-legged with their eyes closed.
Boom boom boom!
"Anyone there?"
At this moment, there was another knock on the door. The bearded man could not help but look forward. The temple door had been pushed open. A scholar saw a fire in the main hall and was overjoyed. He strode to the door of the main hall and knocked twice. Seeing no response, he opened it carefully.
Looking at the bearded man and Jiale sitting on the ground, the scholar was also smiling happily.
"I'm sorry to bother you two. It's getting dark and the thunderstorm is heavy. I can only borrow the precious land to rest. Please agree."
The scholar was a man of good manners. After bowing deeply, he neither waited for a response nor stood up.
The bearded man suddenly sighed in his heart, there are so many fools nowadays.
"This is not the place for you, leave now."
It’s the same thing, but the person I’m talking to has changed.
The scholar was a little angry when he heard this. He looked at the bearded man, then at Jiale, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes.
"Sir, why are you so stingy? This temple is quite big. You don't look like a monk, so you should be here to take shelter from the rain. Since you are not the owner, why not lend me a place?"
As he said this, he actually sat down. The bearded man didn't get angry when he heard it. He just shook his head helplessly. He didn't want to say any more. He was tired.
Seeing that Jiale didn't even look at him, the bearded man felt a little curious, but he wasn't the kind of person who liked to meddle in other people's business, so he just continued to close his eyes like Jiale.
Bang bang bang!
As the matches were burning, the hall became very quiet. It seemed that even the sound of rain outside could not be heard clearly. The only sounds were the burning matches and the sound of the scholar who had just entered the temple taking off his clothes and drying them.
He was a sensible man. He didn't just eat the food ready-made. He also found firewood nearby to add to the fire.
Boom boom boom!
"Anyone there?"
Here comes another one!
The bearded man didn't even open his eyes this time. Not long after, another scholar walked in. He was about the same age as the previous scholar, but he looked more bookish.
Seeing the three people in the main hall, the scholar who had just arrived was also very happy. Apparently, in this remote place, with the thunderstorm, the night and the lonely temple, he was a little scared. Only when he saw the three people did he feel a little braver.
"My humble name is Wang Sheng. It's raining and the roads are slippery. I'm sorry to bother you all."
The scholar who came in earlier saw that Jiale and the bearded man looked like they didn't want to pay any attention to him, so he didn't care and stood up enthusiastically to help the scholar take off the book box.
"Brother Wang, you don't have to be polite. My name is Ning Caichen. I'm here to take shelter from the rain as well. I think the other two are doing the same. Please feel free to do as you please."
