Narration System for the Journey of Martial Arts

If the fear is of being tainted by karma, then wouldn't slaying demons and monsters also involve karma? Why turn a blind eye to the human world, yet allow the temples in the front mountains to gather refugees and select talented individuals to enter the temples for cultivation?

Xuanzhu, unable to understand, was too lazy to do anything more. He saved people whenever he could along the way, and if he couldn't, he accepted it as fate. He built bridges over rivers and buried bones wherever he found them. Over time, he managed to comprehend a trace of reincarnation from a Buddhist mantra called the Rebirth Mantra.

………………

That night, Xuanzhu arrived at a village, which was close to the Southern Barbarian tribe. His arrival caused tension in the village, with dozens of young men holding spears and sharp blades standing on the tower at the village entrance, nervously watching him.

Xuanzhu quickly realized that in this chaotic world, a traveler like himself who dared to travel alone would definitely be the most wary of the enemy, since one couldn't get here without some skill.

Xuanzhu had no intention of entering the village. He bowed to the village entrance from a distance and then entered the dilapidated temple by the roadside, which turned out to be a local earth god temple.

Looking at the dilapidated statue, the filthy ground, and the altar with a missing leg, Xuanzhu bowed to the statue, tapped the bowl with her finger, and a clump of clear water emerged from the previously empty bowl.

He reached out and grabbed at the scattered dry branches and vines, which gathered together. With a snap of his fingers, a flame fell and ignited the dry branches.

Xuanzhu didn't mind. With a flick of his sleeve, he cleared a space to sit cross-legged and placed the pot over the fire to cook.

"Hehe! That's the good thing about the cultivation world: you can max out all the essential skills for traveling."

Just as Xuanzhu was staring blankly at the fire, a sound of footsteps approached from afar. After listening for a moment, it was clear that the person was heading towards the dilapidated temple.

When Xuanzhu looked up, she saw an old man leaning on a wooden cane slowly walking in.

Xuanzhu rose to greet him, flicking his right finger from his sleeve. A wisp of Buddhist light silently adhered to the other person. Seeing that the other person showed no change, he clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha! May I ask if there is something you need, venerable benefactor?"

The old man chuckled, his clothes, covered in pudding, billowing in the night wind, revealing a bony arm. In his withered, chicken-claw-like left hand, he tightly clutched a mixed-food flatbread and offered it to the old man: "Please forgive me, young master, the night road is difficult to travel, and I have nothing to offer you. Please accept this flatbread to fill your stomach."

Xuanzhu was slightly taken aback. Looking at the other person's sincere face, she nodded, reached out and took it, and thanked him again.

The old man smiled, his simple smile tinged with a melancholy born of the helplessness of life. He didn't say much, shook his head, turned, and slowly walked away, leaning on his wooden cane.

Only after the other party left did Xuanzhu sit down, staring at the flatbread for a long time. Then, he clasped his hands together, and his true energy transformed into Buddhist light, permeating the flatbread.

After a long while, Xuanzhu stared blankly at the flatbread:

"There was no warning from Bodhicitta, no sign of Buddha's light, no sleeping potion, no poisoning; it really was just a flatbread."

"Hehe! Hahahaha..."

"After being a lunatic for so long, you really start to believe there are no good people in the world. Xuanzhu, you are not a qualified monk at all. Where is the slightest bit of awareness of sacrificing oneself to feed the demon?"

Xuanzhu didn't sit up until she was rolling on the ground laughing, her gray clothes covered in dust. She acted as if nothing had happened, dusted herself off, picked up the flatbread, blew on it casually, and took a bite.

After finishing the flatbread and drinking half a bowl of water, the young monk Xuanzhu looked at the temple gate and chuckled, "Fine! Judging from their behavior, they don't seem like good people. After eating the flatbread, I'll save you tonight."

After saying this, he sat cross-legged by the fire and began to meditate and cultivate himself.

………………

Once midnight had passed, the night was deep and quiet, with only the night wind blowing through the broken window, rustling the leaves; there was no other sound.

Xuanzhu opened his eyes, a flash of golden light disappearing in an instant, and whispered, "They really came for this shabby little village. Are they going to kill people to practice their magic, or extract souls to forge weapons?"

The next second, a beam of Buddhist light flashed, and Xuanzhu had vanished from the spot.

………………

In the center of the not-so-large village, a huge locust tree with lush branches and leaves appeared quietly under the tree.

Looking around, the dark figure spread his hands, and a flying sword emitting a faint red light appeared in his hand.

"The Seven Southern Barbarian Tribes are all famous for their Gu poison techniques. The only one located at the foot of the Southern Barbarian Abyss, the Human Desire Sect, only accepts female disciples. Where are you from, the Southern Demonic Sect?"

As soon as the sound rang out, the black figure leaped up with his flying sword, drawing an arc and stabbing behind him with a hint of blood.

A golden light rose from Xuanzhu's right hand. As the flying sword approached, he gently pinched it between his two fingers, holding it firmly in place no matter how the opponent tried to control it.

Under the Buddha's light, the blood-red flying sword emitted wisps of black flames. As the Buddha's light spread, cracks appeared in the sword in an instant, as if it would collapse at any moment.

"Wow!"

The flying sword, bound by fate, failed to achieve its goal and was instead easily shattered by the Xuanzhu bamboo, causing the black figure to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, the dark figure's eyes narrowed, and it dared not attack again. With a flick of its sleeves, a few streaks of light flew out from each of its left and right sleeves.

Xuan Zhu's mind stirred, and a sword light swept out, splitting into two sword energies that stirred the flowing light and then dragged it back. They turned out to be two snake worms about the length of a finger.

Letting the opponent fly out of the village, Xuanzhu clenched his hands, kneaded the demonic flying sword into a lump of refined iron, unleashed a burst of Buddhist light, washed away all the demonic restrictions, and then transformed into a sword light, disappearing in a flash.

On a desolate mountain outside the village, just as the dark figure appeared, a silver-white sword light full of Zen-like tranquility flashed by.

As the night wind blew, the dark shadow silently dissipated into a cloud of blood mist, which was scattered everywhere by the wind. When it landed, it stirred up a 'sizzling' sound, and the grass and trees that accidentally stuck to it withered instantly and were no longer alive.

Chapter 650 Returning to Qingcheng

Upon entering the southern barbarian lands, it seemed as if an invisible dividing line separated the Central Plains from the southern barbarians.

Behind me stretched the vast land of China, brimming with the spirit of civilization, while before me lay a dense, ancient forest, a wild and ancient aura emanating from me.

"This truly is a world of cultivation, unlike any other in the mortal realm. It's like a mismatched puzzle pieced together from two different civilizations," the young monk Xuanzhu thought to himself.

He stretched out his right hand, and a dark shadow had just jumped up when it was fiercely grabbed by his right hand covered with Buddhist light: it was a centipede about a foot long, pitch black all over, with a ghost face on its back. He crushed it to death without even looking at it.

As he tossed a lump of minced meat onto the ground, a rustling sound soon followed, and the grass rustled as countless venomous insects, exuding a wild and untamed aura, crawled out and began fighting over the flesh.

Shaking his head, Xuanzhu couldn't help but sigh that this place was truly a paradise for Gu worms, with low-grade Gu worms practically everywhere.

"The seven tribes of the Southern Barbarians have existed for a long time. To convert them is no easier than to rebuild the Central Plains. Moreover, if too much time passes, it will be too late."

"It's a pity that the senior refused to teach me the Tathagata Palm first, otherwise, there is nothing that cannot be converted under the Tathagata Palm."

"Now that I think about it, the only hope is the Human Desire Sect. Hehe! I don't believe that the merit of converting one sect and guiding them towards goodness will not satisfy the old man's demands."

As he muttered to himself, a hint of madness and excitement flashed in Xuanzhu's eyes, as if he was filled with fighting spirit for this extremely difficult challenge.

Without hesitation, Xuanzhu turned and headed towards the eastern part of the Southern Barbarian lands, where the Southern Barbarian Heavenly Abyss was located, the stronghold of the Human Desire Sect. It was said to be a relic left behind by several powerful celestial beings during the last great war between heaven and earth.

………………

The headquarters of the Righteous Alliance is located in the South China Sea.

After arranging everything and settling his younger sister Yan Xiaomei, Yan Shisan arrived at the deepest part of the Star-Picking Tower, where a Great Teleportation Formation was set up that could directly teleport one to Qingcheng.

Stepping into the grand formation, with the input of true energy originating from the same source as the formation, the formation flashed with spiritual light, and Yan Shisan disappeared into the formation.

The land of Sichuan.

In a flash of inspiration, Yan Shisan appeared deep in a mountain.

Looking around, to the left are towering mountains, with cascading waterfalls and cranes appearing and disappearing; to the right is a vast expanse of fertile land, with bamboo forests stretching as far as the eye can see, and from time to time, colorful pheasants and snow-white eagles appear.

Beneath your feet are thousands of steps that stretch into the depths of the sea of ​​clouds, with no end in sight.

Every now and then, you could see a figure flying on a sword, weaving through the clouds, revealing a corner of their clothes, before quickly disappearing into the distance.

After bowing to his senior uncle from the Qingcheng Sect who was guarding the teleportation array, Yan Shisan unleashed a burst of sword light, riding a hundred-foot-long sword beam, speeding across the sea of ​​clouds and the main hall of the front mountain, and without stopping, descended towards a green cliff on the back mountain.

As Yan Shisan stepped onto the cliff, a giant ape, about three meters tall, with a snow-white body, scarlet eyes, and a tuft of red hair on its head, emerged from the bamboo forest at the mountain peak.

Upon seeing that the newcomer was Yan Shisan, the giant ape turned its head and disappeared back into the forest, leaving only a few fiery red monkeys peeking out from the treetops.

Yan Shisan reached into his Qiankun bag and took out a few spirit pills. He tossed them casually, and a monkey leaped up from the treetop, caught the pills, distributed them to the other monkeys, chattered at Yan Shisan, and then pointed to the back mountain.

"Thank you very much, Brother Ape!"

Yan Shisan bowed respectfully before riding his sword towards the other side of the cliff. After passing a deep lake, he saw a figure in a Taoist robe lying on the cliff face not far away. With each breath, wisps of spiritual light flickered between his nostrils.

Beside the figure, countless monkeys were busy at work. Every now and then, a monkey would emerge from the forest and toss a spiritual herb or fruit into a large cauldron in front of the figure.

The large cauldron was purplish-blue in color, and nine flames beneath it transformed into dragons, baring their fangs and claws, spewing flames at the cauldron; as the Taoist made hand seals, streams of five-colored spiritual mist rose from the cauldron, only to be pulled back into the furnace by the cauldron.

Yan Shisan stood aside without disturbing them. Only after the nine fiery dragons were retrieved from the alchemy furnace to nourish the elixir within did Yan Shisan land.

"Disciple greets Master, congratulations on your success in alchemy."

The Taoist priest in the green robe smiled and said:

"This batch of Heavenly Origin Bone-Changing Pills is only in its initial stage. It still needs to be nurtured in this furnace for forty-nine days to remove its dryness and subdue its elixir head before it can be used."

"Why did you come back instead of seeking opportunities in the South China Sea? Did you find anything?"

Yan Shisan reached out and pulled out a scripture, the very same "Qingcheng Sword Scripture" that Little Fire Dragon had given him: "As expected of Master, I have met that senior, and he instructed me to bring this scripture back to request an audience with the Ancestral Master."

The Taoist in the green robe was none other than Jiang Shu, the leader of the Qingcheng Sect, known as the "Demon Subduer."

Upon hearing this, he did not take the Daoist scripture, but simply waved his hand and said, "Since it was requested by that senior, you can give it directly to the patriarch. There is no need for it to go through me."

As he spoke, he looked at Yan Shisan, stood up and said, "Do you know why I sent you to the South China Sea to seek opportunities?"

Yan Shisan stared intently at 'Demon Subduer Jiang Shu' and said firmly, "Is it because of my personality?"

Master Jiang Shu, the Demon Subduer, stroked his beard and said with a smile:

"Among my disciples, you are the most generous and open-minded, sincere and genuine. This kind of personality makes it the easiest for you to make friends."

"Now that you've returned, there are some things I won't hide from you. When that senior was born, our Qingcheng Sect's founder was unsure of the future outcome, which is why he chose you to go and see."

"Firstly, it's because of your personality. Secondly, it's because you practice the sword scripture personally passed down by the patriarch. When that senior saw you, he naturally understood your identity."

"Now that we have a result, no matter what, we have given an explanation to our ancestor."

Yan Shisan then realized that, unknowingly, the two Golden Immortals had already clashed once, so much so that his guesses, though numerous, were still far from the truth.

Jiang Shu, of course, knew what he was thinking, and said:

"You don't need to be discouraged. Even I, your master, can't see through the thoughts of a Golden Immortal, let alone you?"

"To some extent, their words and actions represent a part of the will of Heaven."

"Besides, do you think that without the protection of the patriarch, you can hide your little scheme from that senior?"

"The reason I sent you is simply because the Ancestral Master needed such a person, and I also thought you could gain some benefits from it."

Upon hearing this, Yan Shisan cupped his hands and said, "This disciple must thank Master for giving me this opportunity. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for this disciple to cross the Yuan Dan realm. Now, as long as I go into seclusion once, I can successfully break through the Yuan Dan realm. As for the Yuan Ying realm, this disciple is confident that I can enter this realm within ten years. And this disciple has already gained some understanding of the Zhao Shen realm."

"Oh!" Jiang Shu paused, then said, "I didn't expect this opportunity to be so great. But since this opportunity is so great, I'm afraid you'll have to repay the karmic debt. At the very least, you'll need to cultivate tens of millions of merits to increase your blessings and offset the karmic debt."

Upon hearing his master's words, Yan Shisan recounted what he had seen in the cave that day, and then said, "When I saw how precious that tea tree was, I already knew that the karmic debt owed was enormous, which is why I promised to repay it with the scripture from the back mountain of Qingcheng."

As for who was stronger between the two Golden Immortals, Yan Shisan knew he was just making assumptions, and saying it would only make him a laughing stock.

Chapter 651 Su Yuchen's Meeting with Lingbao Tianzun

Jiang Shu thought for a moment and said:

"The scripture at the foot of the Golden Whip Cliff on the back mountain is of great importance, but I do not know the cause and effect involved, and the Patriarch did not say much about it either."

"However, according to the rules set by our founder, all true disciples of the Qingcheng Sect who have broken through to the Yuan Dan stage have the opportunity to try it out."

"If you can truly subdue that immortal in the book and obtain the true scripture, the patriarch will not interfere with how you deal with him."

Yan Shisan's eyes lit up as he seized upon a fleeting thought and asked, "This disciple doesn't understand why only disciples at the Yuan Dan realm can try? Logically speaking, the higher one's cultivation level, the more likely one is to gain the approval of the immortal in the book."

Jiang Shu glanced at him, surprised that he had grasped the crux of the matter:

"There are some hurdles involved, a great secret that you cannot know. However, I can tell you that only the Yuan Dan is the most suitable."

"If my cultivation level is too low, that Book Immortal won't take notice of me; if my cultivation level is too high, it will be troublesome to change the scripture I want to study."

Seeing that Jiang Shu was being cryptic and clearly didn't want to be explicit, Yan Shisan could only nod.

Jiang Shu said, "Alright, when you reach my level in the future, you will naturally understand the reason. I will contact the Ancestral Master now and ask him to make a decision."

As he spoke, Jiang Shu flipped his right hand, revealing a talisman in his grasp. With a flick of his wrist, the talisman spontaneously combusted, and wisps of green smoke condensed into a halo of light in front of the two of them.

Soon, a child of about ten years old stepped out of the halo.

………………

"I've met the ancestor!"

Jiang Shu and Yan Shisan bowed.

The boy waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities. I'll have to trouble you, little fellow, to make a trip to the South China Sea for me."

Yan Shisan handed over the scriptures, saying, "It is my duty as a disciple."

The Taoist chuckled and didn't reach out. As he channeled his true energy into the scripture, a flash of spiritual light appeared on the scripture, and a blurry Taoist figure hidden in the chaos rose from the scripture, automatically supported by a spiritual cloud beneath his knees.

Upon seeing the figure of that Taoist priest, countless thoughts seemed to arise in Yan Shisan and Jiang Shu's minds, yet their minds also felt empty, and they froze on the spot for a moment.

The indistinct Taoist smiled slightly, and a wisp of chaotic energy dissipated. This place was both within and outside of heaven and earth, impossible to discern, yet without any unusual features. The various contradictions were not something that could be explained to outsiders.

The moment Li Jingxu saw the Taoist priest, a similar figure seemed to rise from the depths of his mind, and he blurted out, "The Supreme Taoist lineage! So that's how it is!"