Chapter 68: Striving, Striving

The Old Madam addicted to the internet went back to surfing the web, and the deserted village fell quiet again.

Li Si sat on the stone steps in front of the Stone House, listening as Senior Sister Jiang Ying taught the little ones the Heaven-Turning Scripture and basic Dao Techniques. Ji Chang no longer mentioned anything about Heaven’s Grace Baptism and did not dare to step even one foot outside the small village.

As for Xu Shen, he took Li Si’s place, cautiously patrolling around the village.

“Junior Brother Li, do you still have any Mushroom Remnant Husks? Let your Senior Brother show off his skills and cook a secret stash version of the Hundred Herb Soul-Restoring Decoction!”

Ji Chang’s voice rang out. Everyone’s tastes had become picky now; they no longer wanted to drink the Great Soul-Returning Broth, preferring only the Hundred Herb Soul-Restoring Decoction.

The fact that Li Si had trained the Heart Cleansing Curse to the half-step Divine Ability stage was no secret, and because of this, the seemingly endless supply of Mushroom Remnant Husks in his Storage Pouch naturally became legitimized.

“Senior Brother Ji, what is the Pure Land?”

Li Si casually tossed a few Mushroom Remnant Husks over while thoughtfully asking. The information the internet-addicted Old Madam had revealed earlier left him puzzled.

“The Pure Land is just that—the Pure Land. It is a place that blocks the erosion of the Evil God’s power and an essential structure in the Mortal Realm for suppressing the Fortune of Heaven and Earth. Once, this very village under our feet was a small Pure Land, covering a hundred miles in radius. But later… the Evil God Cult relentlessly advanced, and all sorts of Evil Entities and Evil Spirits emerged endlessly. Our Master had no choice but to temporarily shut down this small Pure Land. Because of this, our Master had to bear even greater pressure. Otherwise, that mere Peach Blossom Demon from earlier would have been crushed to dust with just a flick of a finger.”

“Luckily, there is hope now. Some fool actually established a Pure Land in Kao Mountain Town to our north—he has no idea that once our Pure Land reopens, hehe, everything will be ours.”

“Senior Brother Ji, watch your words!” Jiang Ying promptly stopped Ji Chang’s enthusiastic chatter. He truly seemed to think he saw hope, getting so excited. What a pity there were no Little Mushrooms around anymore, otherwise, what a great opportunity this would have been…

Li Si regretfully thought.

“Hey, it’s fine. The other party’s Pure Land covers a maximum radius of a hundred miles. I know Kao Mountain Town; it’s still far from here. Besides, the other party is probably busy dealing with the Evil God’s counterattack right now. Where would they find the time to eavesdrop on me?” Ji Chang, however, remained nonchalant.

So Li Si glanced back at him and sighed sorrowfully.

“Senior Brother Ji, that Peach Blossom Demon earlier was quite troublesome. I knew nothing and still fell for its trap. If Senior Brother Xu hadn’t been worried and come out to take a look, you and I would probably have turned into peach blossom manure by now.”

“Hey, exactly. That’s why experience is so important. Although you, kid, received our Master’s Heaven’s Grace Baptism and soared straight to the Foundation Building Stage, even mastering a half-step Divine Ability, you still lack experience when facing these bizarre Evil Entities and Evil Spirits.”

Ji Chang was in a good mood. If not for the vigilance cultivated over a long time, he might have even started humming a tune by now.

After all, the fact that this incident made Li Si, this kid, suffer a setback—especially possibly losing his primordial yang—struck him as utterly hilarious. Haha, absolutely no ill intent; we are all one loving family.

Suffering a small setback is nothing for a man.

Li Si: …

“Senior Sister, our Master said that Spirit Cultivators can counter this kind of Peach Blossom Demon. What are Spirit Cultivators?” Li Si somewhat didn’t want to talk to Ji Chang anymore. This guy was gradually letting loose; perhaps this was a side effect of mental stimulation?

“Spirit Cultivators? I know. We are Cultivators; they are Spirit Cultivators. We greatly value our physical bodies, hence we follow the path of Golden Core and Nascent Soul. They value the soul more and walk the path of questioning the heart. In short, it’s quite interesting. But Junior Brother, don’t think about learning the Dao Techniques and Divine Abilities of Spirit Cultivators. These are two different paths.” Ji Chang answered again.

“Is there any difference?” Li Si could only ask curiously.

“Difference? Of course, a huge one. We undergo the Heavenly Tribulation, ascend, achieve Great Ascension in heaven and earth, until we become True Immortals, and even the legendary Great Luotian Immortal. From start to finish, we never abandon our physical bodies. Even if something unexpected happens, we find ways to make up for it.”

“But as for Spirit Cultivators, once they reach a stage roughly equivalent to our Great Ascension, they directly discard their physical bodies. They also use the concept of Ascension. It is said their souls can go to some mysterious places that we Cultivators simply cannot reach. Well, don’t ask anymore; I don’t know beyond this. Or if you’re brave enough, go ask our Master.”

Ji Chang’s attitude of saying all he knew without holding back actually resolved most of Li Si’s doubts.

For example, the Lanshan Sect’s Dispelling Talisman clearly worked quite well in dispelling Aberrant Corruption, but the Floating Cloud Sect side did not use it. He had wondered before why the Old Madam didn’t know about it.

Now he understood—they each followed their own paths. When transportation wasn’t cut off, they could still obtain it through trade. But once transportation was severed, the people of Floating Cloud Sect truly couldn’t make it anymore.

Probably this was also the reason for the Lanshan Sect’s decline. Even if Spirit Cultivators had many advantages, it was still hard to be all-encompassing.

As for why the sects of Cultivators and Spirit Cultivators didn’t unite, the reason could probably be guessed.

Before the Evil God invaded, Cultivators and Spirit Cultivators definitely couldn’t be as harmonious as brothers—just consider the conflicts between Buddhism and Daoism.

In the early stages of the Evil God’s invasion, both sides still had no intention of cooperating.

So by the time both sides wanted to cooperate, it was already too late.

“Senior Sister, our Master said before that our Floating Cloud Sect actually has Divine Abilities that can counter Illusory Void beings. What are they? Also, earlier when facing that Peach Blossom Demon, my Heart Cleansing Curse actually had no effect. Why is that?”

Li Si continued to ask, showing a hint of indignation—just the right amount. He was now the outstanding talent of Floating Cloud Sect, the leader of the Four Heroes of Floating Cloud. Yet in the previous battle, he was ambushed by the Peach Blossom Demon without a word. This feeling was very stifling.

So both Ji Chang and Jiang Ying understood and each sighed inwardly—still youthful pride, needing tempering. He suffered one defeat and wanted to regain face.

Therefore, Jiang Ying and Ji Chang exchanged a look. Finally, Jiang Ying spoke gravely, “Junior Brother, in the previous battle, you were ambushed by that Peach Blossom Demon not because your strength was lacking, but because the Peach Blossom Demon itself is an extremely special type of Phantasmal Aberration. So, don’t overthink it. These next couple of days, you can rest. If you have nothing to do, help me teach the two junior sisters their Dao Techniques. You might not know yet, but our Master has already given them names—”

“Senior Sister, I’m fine. I’m just worried that the Peach Blossom Demon might come back!”

Li Si could only emphasize his tone. He knew what Senior Sister Jiang was thinking—she actually planned to have the two Little Girls become his wives. Ah, but the problem was, would the Evil God even allow that? What times were these? All sorts of Evil Entities and Evil Spirits could show up at any moment. Yet he couldn’t confess.

Or even if he did confess, would the Old Madam really have a way to deal with that Peach Blossom Evil Spirit?

Don’t joke around. Most of her power was used to suppress the Fortune of Heaven and Earth. The scene in the Illusory Realm wasn’t an illusion.

So in the Mortal Realm, the Old Madam truly couldn’t spare much strength. Otherwise, why would she be troubled by the mere Seven Emotions Tribulation and Six Desires Tribulation?

Seven Emotions Tribulation: Mere? I feel somewhat insulted…

Six Desires Tribulation: I have nothing to say…

“Junior Brother, our Master said the appearance of the Peach Blossom Demon is a low probability…” Jiang Ying herself seemed somewhat uncertain.

“Senior Sister, please think quickly. Is there any Formation Array or the like that can deal with the Peach Blossom Demon? Our Floating Cloud Sect has so many legacies; they can’t all just rot inside that iron chest.” Li Si continued to persuade. He had been coveting the Dao Techniques and Divine Abilities inside for a long time.

“This…” Jiang Ying hesitated for a moment. “Junior Brother, it’s not that I won’t help you, but you must understand—the Peach Blossom Demon is actually a soul entity. It is even more special than other Phantasmal Aberrations because it truly was imagined into existence out of thin air. Once, many people wished for peach blossom luck. When enough people wished, the peach blossom did not become peach blossom luck, but turned into peach blossom calamity. Such peach blossom calamities then formed the Peach Blossom Evil Immortal. Very frightening.”

“What you encountered earlier was merely a Peach Blossom Demon under the Peach Blossom Evil Immortal. There are even more powerful Peach Blossom Evil Spirits. As special soul entities, they naturally are immune to most Dao Techniques and Divine Abilities of the Mortal Realm. Our Floating Cloud Sect, as a world-suppressing sect, if you count, only several dozen Dao Techniques or Divine Abilities can counter them.”

“However, among these Dao Techniques and Divine Abilities, the very powerful ones often require Golden Core Realm, or even Nascent Soul Realm cultivation to master. Those that can be mastered at the Foundation Building Stage are insufficient in power. In short, if you want them, Junior Brother, I’ll give them to you. But remember not to spend too much effort on them. Firstly, the chance of the Peach Blossom Demon reappearing is extremely low. Secondly, such Dao Techniques’ ability to counter the Peach Blossom Demon is truly very weak.”

After much talking, Jiang Ying finally agreed. She took out a hand-copied booklet from the big iron chest and solemnly handed it to Li Si. Then she couldn’t help adding, “Junior Brother, although I know it might not be of much use, I still hope you heed this piece of advice: it’s better not to master too many Dao Techniques and Divine Abilities. Otherwise, if you get the chance to advance to Golden Core and come into contact with the Primal Divine Ability, it will have a big impact.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Li Si solemnly expressed his thanks and took the booklet. Just the name on it made him pause; the name sounded quite grand.

Soul-Searching Curse

Jiang Ying glanced at the booklet and explained, “This ‘soul’ is not that ‘god’. It refers to the soul. But your current realm is too low, so you cannot comprehend it. Even I only have a superficial understanding because I transcribed the notes and insights of our sect’s senior experts.”

“Senior Sister, is the soul related to the Illusory Realm?” Li Si asked.

Jiang Ying thought for a moment before answering, “This question is much more complex. The soul does not represent the Illusory Void, and the physical body does not represent the Mortal Realm. But a strong soul indeed has certain advantages within the Illusory Realm.”

“If you want to learn more about the Illusory Void and the Mortal Realm, I can only repeat our Master’s original words to me. She said, ‘Speaking of the Mortal Realm, there are concepts of the Land of Infinite Vastness and the Land of Infinitesimal. Do you think you, in the Mortal Realm, can go anywhere? No, you cannot go to the Mortal Realm of the Land of Infinite Vastness, nor can you go to the Mortal Realm of the Land of Infinitesimal.'”

“‘Yet within the Land of Infinite Vastness and the Land of Infinitesimal, there also lies another layer of the Illusory Void—but definitely not the Illusory Void as we understand it now. As for the Illusory Void we currently understand, it also comes in many varieties. It’s even possible that within such Illusory Void lies another Mortal Realm. Therefore, we Cultivators, even if we achieve True Immortality, are but a drop in the ocean—striving, striving.'”