Chapter 62: Can There Be Private Feelings?

  Practicing martial arts without practicing internal strength will lead to a lifetime of emptiness.

  This is an old saying that has been passed down, but it's also a true fact. As the saying goes, "one part of cultivation yields one part of harvest." There are countless martial arts in the world, but ultimately, a high-rise building must be built from the ground up. If the foundation is unstable, no matter what kind of magical skills you master, it will all be for nothing in the end. And when it comes to practicing and building a strong foundation, one must always endure hardships before achieving success. The greater the achievement, the more hardships one must endure.

  The "Sword Classic" of Ci Hang Jing Zhai is no exception. In the eyes of the world, all the masters of Jing Zhai have been elegant and refined, like a rare orchid in a secluded valley that can only be admired from afar but not touched, untainted by worldly desires, like a celestial maiden banished to the mortal realm. However, few people think about (or perhaps they subconsciously ignore) how this noble quality and extraordinary swordsmanship were acquired. What kind of hardships did those beauties endure for the title of "fairy"?

  If it's not too exaggerated, but also not too far-fetched, then what kind of hardships have they actually experienced? Perhaps... one can catch a glimpse from the records in Chapter 19 of the "Mahāpadāna Sutta" in the "Dīrgha āgama".

  The Buddha told the Bhikshus: "In this world there are 8,000 worlds surrounding it. Outside these 8,000 worlds is a great sea of water that surrounds them. Surrounding this great sea of water is a great iron mountain range. Outside this iron mountain range is another great iron mountain range. The space between the two mountain ranges is dark and obscure. Even the sun and moon gods with their great powers cannot shine their light to illuminate it. There are eight major hells there, each with 16 smaller hells. The first major hell is called "Thought", the second "Black Rope", the third "Crushing", the fourth "Crying Out", the fifth "Great Crying Out", the sixth "Burning Heat", the seventh "Great Burning Heat", and the eighth "No Interval". Each of these eight major hells has four gates, and at each gate there are four smaller hells: "Boiling Oil", "Putrid Corpse", "Sharp Blades", and "Fiery River". Therefore, each major hell is counted as having 16 smaller hells.

  "All those who commit the crimes of killing, stealing, adultery, destroying right views, or violating the five precepts will fall into the Avici Hell. They will be bound by iron chains and beaten with hot irons, either horizontally or vertically. They will be driven by ghostly attendants into the Iron Mountain, where they will suffer from the crushing pressure of the two iron mountains, their flesh and bones shattered. They will be thrown into a cauldron of boiling water to be cooked, or driven into a fiery furnace. Alternatively, pincers will be used to open their mouths, and molten copper will be poured in, burning their internal organs. Or they may be forced to lie on hot iron, from head to foot, and beaten with large hot iron rods until their bodies are crushed into a pulp. The suffering of the prisoners in this hell is endless and without respite."

  Feng Qing felt that if she hadn't returned to those years at Jingxiang Middle School, then she must have already gone to hell. In fact, the difference between the two wasn't that big. But if she had to choose actively, then... she would rather be the latter.

  "If one commits evil deeds such as lustful speech, they will fall into the Avici Hell... Guanyin Bodhisattva is above, and my disciples should not harbor lustful or deceitful thoughts in their minds. If they do, they will surely suffer this retribution. However... however..."

  "What is it? Guanyin Bodhisattva? Hmph, she's nothing in front of me!"

  At the moment of being dizzy and suffering from cruel torture, a voice that was confident to the point of being overbearing and arrogant suddenly emerged from the deepest part of her consciousness without any warning. Immediately afterwards, a strong warm current burst down from the Tianling Baihui acupoint like a mountain flood. In an instant, all the meridians and limbs in her body were shocked at the same time. At that moment, she slowly opened her eyes involuntarily.

  There is no hell, nor any prison guards. Even the various pains that were clearly and truly felt before seem to have all turned into a dream. The only real things are the bright moon in the night sky, the Bodhi tree leaning behind, the bonfire burning vigorously in front, and...

  By the bonfire was a man with only one arm and one leg, blind in his left eye, with fiery red hair all over his head - Jiuchangsheng.

  Why didn't I die? Why is a 9,000-year-old sitting here? And... him? Where is he? Has he escaped already?

  With a thought in his mind, there was naturally a reaction on his face. Even if it was just an extremely subtle clue, but for the nine thousand year old, it was already absolutely obvious enough. He withdrew his hand and took back that life-saving rebirth, possessing the cosmic true energy with the miraculous effect of bringing people back to life from white bones. He coldly snorted twice and said: "Looking for that stinky little brat? No need to look around, he's here." As soon as he finished speaking, he flipped his wrist and casually grasped at the air, immediately grabbing a black shadow beside the Black Dragon King, crossing several meters in mid-air, and "thud" put it down beside the bonfire. Fixing his eyes to take a closer look, it was indeed Yang Zhao. However, at this moment, he had his eyes tightly closed, with no breath, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.

  Fang Qinghui's face suddenly turned pale as paper. She was stunned for only two or three seconds, then suddenly came to her senses and immediately reached out to grab the pulse of Little Wangye's wrist. As soon as she touched it, she felt a fierce and intense energy bursting out from Little Wangye's body. Not to mention that she was caught off guard, even if she had been prepared, but having just recovered from a serious injury, her dantian was still empty and not a single thread of true qi could be raised. Her white wrist was shaken high into the air, and the energy surged up through the meridians and into the five organs and six viscera. Fang Qinghui's pale face suddenly turned red as if she had drunk too much wine, her throat sweetened, and she spat out a large mouthful of blood. Her slender body swayed, and she involuntarily took several steps back, leaning against the trunk of the Bodhi tree to prevent herself from falling over. She trembled with fear, saying: "This is... no, this isn't..."

  Fang Qinghui had exhausted all her strength, even using the Jade Stone's secret transmission to temporarily boost her power and block Jiu Qian Sui. Her meridians were already severely damaged, and she should have died on the spot. Fortunately, Jiu Qian Sui used the Cosmic True Energy to prolong her life, allowing her to narrowly escape death. It was expected that Fang Qinghui would be unable to withstand the backlash of the true energy from Xiao Wangye's body. However, both of them had the true yuan inner elixir of the Ice and Fire Qilin, two divine beasts with a common origin. Although their powers were extremely different, they shouldn't have produced such a strong rejection reaction...

  The tyrannical and domineering aura coursing through Yang Zhao's body was fundamentally not the True Yuan Inner Dan of the Fire Qilin.

  "Youngster still has some vision." The 9,000-year-old coldly smiled and said: "This stinky brat got the opportunity but didn't run away, instead he dared to think of rescuing someone from my hands. Truly, what kind of father there is, what kind of son there is, it's simply being extremely arrogant. Originally, I saw that he was young and his martial arts skills were already not low, I had a mind to appreciate him. Who would have thought that this stinky brat wouldn't recognize the favor, instead thinking of playing some kind of die-before-yielding? Hmph, since you've fallen into my hands, whether it's life or death, can you still be your own master?"

  These two sentences were enough to make one's whole body feel cold. But when heard by Fang Qing Hui, they sounded like a big basin of cold water being poured over her head, which was just what she needed to calm down her thoughts that had been muddled by the heat of the moment.

  He is the representative of the Qingcheng Sect who travels in the Jianghu, and at the same time, he uses his body to communicate and unite the Buddhist and Taoist forces of the North and South. Since he came out, he has been turning around among many forces such as Song, Li, Shandong Gaomen and Nan Chen old family, always maintaining a position that is both detached and crucial. Fang Qinghe's experience and mind are not ordinary. Before, he was worried and lost his composure for a moment. But after a slight pause, he immediately realized the situation in front of him, which actually had a lot to do with it.

  Fifteen years ago, the Demon Alliance's power in the Jianghu was truly at its peak. Although it was just a Jianghu force, it had tens of thousands of elite soldiers under its command, and even the newly established Sui and Chen dynasties had to be cautious. Within a radius of 500 miles around the location of the Demon Alliance's headquarters, it was essentially a small independent kingdom that didn't sell anyone's account. Its style was also unscrupulous, annihilating entire families and sects was a trivial matter, and there were even instances where they directly slaughtered cities. In the martial arts world, regardless of whether one was from the righteous or evil path, whoever mentioned the name of the Alliance Master Jiuchang would be terrified.

  But the notorious name of the Demon Alliance was still ringing, after all, it was a notorious name. The 9,000-year-old would kill people, and that was something everyone knew. But when had anyone ever heard that the 9,000-year-old would also save people? It was well-known that the once-powerful Demon Alliance was eventually destroyed by Yang Guang himself. Between the 9,000-year-old and Yang Guang, they were absolutely sworn enemies who could not coexist under the same sky. Following normal reasoning, after the 9,000-year-old and Yang Zhao met face-to-face and clearly recognized each other's identities, there would be no need to say anything more; a single palm strike would have been enough to end things. But now, despite Yang Zhao's situation appearing very strange, he was still alive, which was certain. Moreover, the 9,000-year-old had even taken action to save him. Based on these two points alone, she could sense that her current circumstances were actually more safe than dangerous. As long as the 9,000-year-old did not immediately turn against her and kill her, things would be highly promising.

  Fang Qinghui suddenly understood, and her heart was enlightened. She let out a soft sigh, and casually reached up to tidy the disheveled hair at her temples. Suddenly, she regained some of her former elegance as the Holy Maiden. She bowed respectfully to Jiucheng and said in a gentle voice: "Senior's divine powers are unparalleled in the world, who dares to disobey? Junior..."

  "Enough of this nonsense, no need to show off in front of me." Jiucheng Sui cut off the other person's words with a wave of his hand. He had never been fond of women, and any beauty in his eyes was just a pile of red powder skulls. He spoke coldly and solemnly: "Little girl, look at that sword move earlier, you're from Cihang Jingzhai, aren't you? Hmm, the nuns of Jingzhai aren't all thinking about becoming immortals and Buddhas, what are they doing running around in the jianghu? And actually getting together with someone surnamed Yang? How is it, little girl, has your heart been stirred?"

  These two sentences are extremely rude, but the power of the 9,000-year-old also gives him the right to speak so recklessly. However, when heard by Fang Qinghui, it didn't provoke anger, but rather shame. She quickly composed herself and carefully explained: "Senior Fahai is impartial, and I indeed inherited from Jingzhai. My sect has rules, and after my disciples' skills are accomplished, they must go down the mountain to practice for several years. As for... Yang... Mr. Yang, it was just a coincidence that we traveled together. There is absolutely no private relationship between me and Mr. Yang."

  "Is there no personal feelings?" Jiucheng Sui's gloomy face smiled: "No personal feelings, would you be willing to risk your life to delay me and create an opportunity for him to escape? No personal feelings, this little dog would not run away even if he could, instead choosing to come back and confront me? Little girl, don't think that just because you have a bit of cleverness in your heart, you can come before me and show off. I myself may not have experienced any romantic love, but I've seen many men and women who are like dogs. In the past, the carefree deity and Dong... Hmph, in short, you should stop playing tricks."

  What Jiuchang said was an old story. At that time, the Demon Alliance was vast and had many masters. The alliance's structure was strict, with each person having their own duties, from the leader Jiuchang down to the two Vice Leaders, three Dukes, and four Marshals. One of the Vice Leaders, Dongsheng Yaohou, was originally married to Kuaihuo Shenxian, the master of one of the three major forces in the martial arts world, but they had separated due to misunderstandings when they were young. Later, for the sake of the Demon Alliance's plan to annex the Leiyu Domain, Yaohou and Kuaihuo Shenxian cleared up their misunderstandings and reunited. However, this move was actually equivalent to betraying the Demon Alliance. Jiuchang was furious about this and immediately took action to eliminate the traitor.

  Unexpectedly, the demon queen and the joyful immortal joined forces to launch a move based on true love - "Sworn to Follow in Death". The power was so strong that it shocked heaven and earth, and made ghosts and gods weep. Even Jiutian, who had successfully merged the dry yang and kun moon techniques at the time, achieving a feat that shook ancient and modern times, was completely defeated. Not only were his five organs ruptured, but his entire body's meridians were also severely damaged. If he hadn't coincidentally realized the cosmic true energy of the "Final Chapter" of the "Wordless True Classic" at the right time, he would have gone to report to Yanluo Wang in the underworld by now, and wouldn't be alive today.

  This defeat was the greatest shame of Jiuchangsheng's life. Although there were two more records of defeats, being captured by Emperor Yan and losing to the Tianjing Giant Explosion, Emperor Yan's Yang Huo divine power was absorbed by Jiuchangsheng after the "Sun Eater War", forcing him to be second in the world, which somewhat redeemed his shame. As for losing an arm and a leg under the Tianjing Giant Explosion, that was just Jiuchangsheng losing to Nüwa, not because of the Tianjing successor Haojie's abilities.

  So for over a decade, he has been harboring a deep grudge, constantly thinking of avenging this arrow's revenge. Unfortunately, "Sworn to Die Together" is a forbidden move that burns both jade and stone together. After the Demon Queen and the Happy Immortal joined forces to unleash this move, they themselves couldn't withstand it and were incinerated into nothingness. As a result, even after 9,000 years, he still can't find anyone to take revenge on.

  At the age of ninety, he did not despise true love and affection, and even more resolutely refused to believe in martial arts that were driven by true love and affection, which could unleash a power that was unmatched by the "Wordless Scripture". However, no matter what, the shame of this battle had left an indelible impression on his heart. And so, subtly, a question arose in his chest, one that had troubled him for over ten years, yet he did not dare to confront it directly and reopen old wounds.

  Was I deviating from the correct path when I practiced the "True Scripture of the Wordless" back then?

  Recently, the state is not very good, so it's written a bit rough, and the click rate has dropped a lot, can't even squeeze into the top ten. No way, just have to work hard to lift the state back up again. This series "Divine State Dragon Pulse" is almost finished, I promise everyone that the optimization project has been launched. The next series "Tangmen Storm" will definitely be exciting, making everyone eager to read on.

  PS: Tomorrow is the Guangzhou readers' meeting of Yu Huang Chao, where we will discuss the story of "Tianzi Legend 7". I have to attend, so I won't be able to update tomorrow. Let's make an exception, I'll add one more chapter after 12 tonight...