Narration System for the Journey of Martial Arts

"For example, the legendary Buddha Kingdom in the palm of your hand. If you can comprehend even a little bit of it and refine this Great Array of the Sea of ​​Sin into the world in your palm, what are Heavenly Immortals? Even Golden Immortals can only dream about it."

"What are the conditions?" Su Rongrong asked without the slightest impatience.

"Or the legendary palm strike 'Salvation of All Beings' in the Divine Palm. If you can learn it, you can refine the billions of desires in the sea of ​​sins. Not only can you gain countless believers, but you can even dream of attaining the status of a Bodhisattva."

"What about the conditions?"

"There is also a move called 'Nirvana Purification' in the Divine Palm technique, which can sever all karmic ties. From then on, you can use the Sea of ​​Karma to improve your cultivation, and the karma of the Sea of ​​Karma will not affect you. You only get the benefits, and leave the harm to others."

"What about the conditions?"

"Alright, the pie in the sky is done, let's get down to business." Seeing that Su Rongrong remained unmoved, Xuanzhu spread his hands and said:

"You know how great the Tathagata Palm is. It's impossible to know the whole thing. Even just one of its moves is a stretch."

"To gain divine skills, even the merit of saving the world would be difficult to achieve."

"I received praise from a senior master who said he could teach me the Tathagata Palm. But I doubt whether he has fully mastered this divine skill."

"However, these things are irrelevant to us. According to my calculations, if we could accumulate billions of merits, we might be able to learn the true meaning of one of the palm techniques. Even so, I'm afraid I still wouldn't be able to repay the karmic debt."

Su Rongrong looked at his lazy and roguish appearance without caring, and said, "So you've set your sights on the billions of wronged souls and vengeful ghosts under the Heavenly Abyss, wanting to convert them and accumulate external strength? Do you think we can do that?"

Xuanzhu chuckled and said, "It's all up to human effort. How can you obtain the Divine Skill without taking risks?"

Su Rongrong said:

"This abyss has accumulated over countless years, and there are so many wronged souls and vengeful ghosts that even the King of Hell would have a headache."

"If things go wrong, the passage of ghostly soldiers is not just a legend, but a reality. This entire southern barbarian land will probably be reduced to bones. At that time, you will have no merit, and you will be burdened by karma. You will not be able to cultivate. Just wait to be tormented by the punishment of the heavens every day."

Xuanzhu threw the bowl in his hand onto the table and said, "Just because I can't do it doesn't mean it can't."

Chapter 660 Xuanzhu's Methods

Su Rongrong looked at the unremarkable bowl, which even had obvious scratches on its outer shell. If it were thrown on the street, only a beggar would probably like it.

"This...could it be the mantle of Bodhidharma?" Su Rongrong asked hesitantly.

Xuanzhu gave a thumbs up and exclaimed, "Good insight! This is the bowl from Bodhidharma's mantle, a truly peerless divine weapon. If it were to unleash its full power, it could even contain the Emei Sect's Yin-Yang Dust Array."

Su Rongrong said nonchalantly:

"Nonsense. The Two Elements Dust Array was also personally taught by Laozi. Who is stronger or weaker depends on who wields it."

"Furthermore, to put it bluntly, how can a mere monk like you, who is not sincere and has not even formed a relic, really activate this Buddhist treasure?"

"No." Xuanzhu said decisively.

"but……"

Xuanzhu said, "Just because I can't doesn't mean there's no way. Neither you nor I are ignorant. All divine weapons and treasures have spirits. Now that the divine object is hiding itself, if the billions of wronged souls and vengeful ghosts under this abyss were to riot, do you think this pot would spontaneously revive?"

“You’re gambling with your life,” Su Rongrong said.

Xuanzhu chuckled and said nonchalantly, "In the face of the Tathagata Palm, any attempt is worthwhile. If I lose, I can simply abandon Buddhism and become a demon. With my talent, I'm sure those powerful celestial beings in the demonic path would still welcome me. If I win, I can go to any of the myriad realms."

Su Rongrong said:

"You really are as crazy and insane as the legends say."

"However... I'll take your bet."

"Anyway, if there's no other way, I'll break through to the Selfless Realm within a year under the forced infusion of the Sinful Sea Array. At that time, all my divine soul and will will be gone, and I'll completely become nourishment for the array. I'll be neither human nor ghost, so what's the point?"

"Amitabha!" Xuanzhu said mockingly in a low voice, "Life is full of disappointments, and I just want to be a carefree immortal or Buddha."

Su Rongrong asked, "What do you plan to do? Do you want me to directly activate the Sinful Sea Formation to attack this pot?"

Xuanzhu shook his head and said:

"If you rashly activate the Sea of ​​Calamity Formation, you will only face death. I am here to discuss cooperation, not to trick my teammates into risking their lives."

"This abyss has accumulated resentment over countless years; surely it could nurture a terrestrial immortal?"

Su Rongrong nodded in response:

“That’s right. There are at least three ghost cultivators at the Earth Immortal level under this Heavenly Abyss. If it weren’t for the traces of Dao principles left behind by the battle between those dozen or so Heavenly Immortals in the past, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to give birth to a ghost immortal at the Heavenly Immortal level.”

"The function of the Sinful Sea Formation is actually to suppress the ghost cultivators under the Heavenly Abyss. Otherwise, the seven tribes of the Southern Barbarians would have been completely devoured long ago."

Xuanzhu smiled and said, "Given the entanglement of cause and effect, isn't this also a great merit of the Human Desire Sect? It's also the reason why the Emei Sect couldn't destroy the Human Desire Sect. Otherwise, how could the eight celestial immortals have failed to subdue the Human Desire Sect when they descended in the past?"

………………

As he spoke, he reached out and opened the wooden box beside him. Looking at the twelve relics inside, he nodded, pointed at one of the relics, and one of the relics resonated with the true energy within his body.

He took out the relic and put it in his bosom, then took out eight more, before pushing the wooden box toward Su Rongrong and saying:

"My original idea was to take the Dharma Bowl deep into the Abyss, trigger dozens of magical treasures to create a powerful explosion wave, and attract the ghost cultivators of the Earth Immortal Realm below to make a move."

"When the time comes, I'll hide in the Dharma bowl again. Whether I live or die will depend entirely on luck."

"Now that I have these eight relics, I am much more confident."

"There is an Eighteen Arhats Formation in Shaolin Temple. I can use these relics to condense the phantom images of the Eighteen Arhats and form the Eighteen Arhats Formation."

"The true energy within these relics is enough to sustain the descent of the Eighteen Arhats for ten breaths."

"Hehe! When eighteen Earth Immortal Arhats descend, I don't believe those ghost cultivators can sit still."

"When the Heavenly Abyss erupts, you will use those three relics to protect your sea of ​​consciousness and trigger the Great Array of the Sea of ​​Sin to launch an attack. This is equivalent to the energy of a single strike from several Celestial Immortals. I do not believe that the Bodhidharma Bowl will remain unmoved."

Su Rongrong said, "In that case, I can activate the Great Formation of the Sea of ​​Calamity, but with such power, you won't survive!"

Xuanzhu lowered her eyes and said, "I am willing to use this body to repay the suffering of the three evil paths."

“You really are a madman,” Su Rongrong said.

Xuanzhu remained noncommittal, then stood up and said, "Time waits for no one, so I won't say anything more. If I can obtain the true meaning of the Tathagata Palm, I will definitely share a portion with you."

Su Rongrong pointed her finger, and a vortex appeared in the void, from which a white jade token fell into Xuan Zhu's hand.

Xuanzhu took the token and put it away, then left the main hall and headed down the mountain.

………………

"An interesting monk. I hope I haven't misjudged him."

"Besides Master, you are the first person who has made me feel genuine affection."

After a long while, a muttered voice echoed from Tian'e Peak.

………………

The Jade Spring Peak Cave of the Qingcheng School.

The atmosphere here was extremely oppressive. As the energy within the cave grew stronger, the pressure from the outside world intensified. The wind howled, the vegetation bowed low, and the spirit beasts ran about. Everything was in a state of chaos.

High in the sky, bursts of energy, as sharp as swords, stretched as far as the eye could see, yet they could not lock onto their target. As time passed, the wind swirled and clouds surged in the heavens, with streaks of lightning flashing behind the clouds like angry beasts.

On a mountain peak not far from Jade Spring Peak, Jiang Shu and Zhu Mei watched this scene without changing their expressions; instead, they even revealed a hint of mockery.

“With the protection of the patriarch, those people in the Spirit Void Immortal Realm cannot lock onto Thirteen’s aura, nor can they descend to the mortal realm. These people are becoming increasingly impatient,” Jiang Shu said, shaking his head.

Hearing the disdain for the upper realm in Jiang Shu's words, Zhu Mei's eyes showed a trace of confusion. He frowned, and a trace of anger flashed in his eyes. Then, a flash of light appeared on his neck, and his eyes regained their clarity.

He said self-deprecatingly, "Ever since Changmei ascended to heaven and established the Three Heroes and Two Clouds, this world has become the domain of the Emei Sect alone, and naturally, nothing that exceeds our control will be allowed to happen."

Jiang Shu frowned and looked at him, saying, "The secret techniques of the Emei Sect are having an increasingly significant impact on you!"

Zhu Mei said indifferently, "If it weren't for the protection of the Ancestral Master, who bestowed upon me a magical treasure to safeguard my soul, I would have long since become a lackey of the Emei Sect. Now I only hope that Junior Nephew Yan will not disappoint me and will help me to be freed from this predicament as soon as possible."

As the two were talking, they suddenly moved and looked up towards Jade Spring Peak. They saw rays of seven-colored light emerging from the peak, and the spiritual energy lingering in the mountains was flowing towards Jade Spring Peak like a funnel.

After a long time, outside Jade Spring Peak, a phantom of a cyan longsword stood tall and firm. As spiritual energy poured in, the phantom gradually shrank and solidified, transforming into a sword core, which then disappeared into Jade Spring Peak.

"It's done!" Zhu Mei said.

“With the protection of the patriarch, and with Thirteen's talent and opportunities, it is only natural that he has everything he needs,” Jiang Shu said.

The next moment, a magnificent sword light flew out from the cave, soaring straight to the heavens, cleaving through the clouds, revealing a figure—Yan Shisan.

As the clouds parted, a ray of sunlight fell upon him, making him appear as if he were draped in golden armor.

Before Yan Shisan could even process what was happening, a bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens, hitting him squarely on the head with a deafening boom.

Chapter 661 Yan Shisan's Trial

High in the sky, Yan Shisan casually extinguished the last bolt of lightning. After the tingling sensation on his body dissipated, he flashed his sword and arrived in front of Jiang Shu and Zhu Mei.

"Greetings, Master and Uncle-Master."

Jiang Shu nodded and said, "No need to doubt. Firstly, this place is the ancestral vein of Qingcheng, protected by the patriarch; secondly, you have no shortage of merit, so this Yuan Dan lightning tribulation is just a token gesture."

"No wonder this disciple felt the power of this tribulation lightning was so weak," Yan Shisan said in realization.

Zhu Mei, standing to the side, mocked:

"Although the Emei Sect is the largest power in the Lingkong Immortal Realm, it still has to consider its reputation. If the tribulation lightning is too intense, what will the other righteous sects think? How can it still lead the pack?"

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go to Golden Whip Cliff first. If you can comprehend that Taoist scripture, you will also have to help the old Taoist priest to reincarnate."

"Why must I help him reincarnate? Is there some hidden secret here?" Yan Shisan couldn't help but wonder.

Seeing Yan Shisan's confusion, Jiang Shu explained:

"In that Daoist scripture, there is a Zhou Tian Xing Chen Sword left behind by that senior from the past, which is a divine weapon of the Golden Immortal level."

"If you can gain the approval of the Book Immortal, that divine weapon will naturally belong to you. It is only natural that you, a mere Yuan Dan cultivator, cannot control the divine weapon. Your uncle's disintegration was also a helpless act."

"However, as punishment, the divine weapon can only be taken back and sealed by the patriarch. It will be returned to you when you help your uncle return to Qingcheng and regain your memories of this life."

Clearly, Jiang Shu and Li Jingxu had already considered all aspects of Zhu Mei's death. If it weren't for the need to avoid arousing suspicion from the Emei Sect, they probably wouldn't have needed to go through this complicated process.

Having dispelled Yan Shisan's last doubts, the three of them immediately rode their swords down to the foot of Golden Whip Cliff.

With a wave of Jiang Shu's Taoist robe, a flash of light appeared below Golden Whip Cliff, revealing a narrow, winding path that led deep into the cliff.

The old Taoist priests, who were sitting cross-legged on either side of the path entrance, opened their eyes at the same time and glanced at the three of them.

"Greetings, my two senior uncles!" Jiang Shu and Zhu Mei greeted each other.

"Greetings, Grandmaster Uncle," Yan Shisan said hastily.

The two old Taoist priests nodded without replying, then closed their eyes again and fell into silence.

Jiang Shu and Zhu Mei didn't take it to heart. After bowing, they led Yan Shisan deeper into the path.

“Uncles Xuanxu and Xuanjing are Earth Immortals who have not yet passed away in our sect. The Daoist scriptures under Golden Whip Cliff are extremely important. They have been guarding this place for many years, partly for cultivation and partly as a covert operation,” Jiang Shu said as he walked.

"This disciple understands and will never tell anyone," Yan Shisan hurriedly replied.

Zhu Mei shook her head and said, "Actually, it's not a secret. Back then, the old Taoist was in a daze, and everything that needed to be revealed was already known to the Emei Sect."

Jiang Shu said calmly, "The Emei Sect knows, but as long as they don't know that we already know, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It saves them from keeping their eyes on us."

The three of them arrived deep in the mountains. At the end of the path, a deep pool covering a hundred acres lay before them. The water was clear and cold, clearly a rare treasure of nature.

"This icy pool was formed by our ancestor refining a wisp of ancient Xuanming Heavy Water from beyond the nine heavens, creating a Xuanming Pearl; then, with the addition of an underground icy spring, it was diluted to become Xuanming True Water, possessing the power to freeze heaven and earth. It can not only assist our sect's cultivators who practice water-attribute secret techniques, but also draw a portion of its power to the sword-forging pool to assist in the forging of divine weapons and magical treasures," Jiang Shu said.

As he spoke, Jiang Shu flicked his sleeve, and a sword light struck the sky above the cold pool, stirring up ripples. As the ripples spread, the scene before him changed, and a three-tiered jade platform appeared out of thin air above the cold pool.

In the center of the jade platform, a scroll that is neither gold nor jade floats in mid-air.

"This is the 'Zhou Tian Hun Yuan Zhen Jing'," Jiang Shu said.

Before he finished speaking, a flash of light appeared on the jade book, and the figure of an old man in white robes appeared on the jade platform, looking at the three of them calmly.

The old man had long, snow-white eyebrows and beard, and his whole body radiated a faint spiritual light. His wise eyes were filled with boundless wisdom, and he was clearly an elf or something similar.

"The Qingcheng Sect has been around for over two hundred years, and not a single true disciple has come to undergo trials! I thought I was destined to be separated from Qingcheng in this life, so why are you bothering me?" said the Book Immortal.

Jiang Shu bowed and said, "I, a junior, have been enlightened by the patriarch and have a destiny with this book. I humbly request that you begin the trial, senior."

"Oh? Does Li Jingxu approve?"

The Book Immortal looked at Yan Shisan, scrutinizing him from head to toe for a moment. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes as he said, "You're quite strange, kid. Although your origins are in Qingcheng, they're vague. Could you be the reincarnation of some great being? Or perhaps a visitor from outer space?"

Yan Shisan cupped his hands and said, "Senior, you have broad knowledge, but I am only connected with the outer world."

The Book Immortal curled his lip and said, "It's not surprising that there are visitors from outside the heavens. My master was also a visitor from outside the heavens in the past, but he just happened to fall into this world and that's why he suffered a calamity. Sigh... well, then I'll give you a chance."

Yan Shisan immediately bowed and, under the watchful eyes of Jiang Shu and Zhu Mei, stepped onto the jade platform. Instantly, the scenery before him changed, and he found himself in a void illusion.