Chapter 12
As Liaowu stopped chanting, Heng Yu woke up.
Her timing was so perfect that Liaowu glanced at her curiously.
Heng Yu met his gaze and said innocently, “The atmosphere was very conducive to sleep. I was just following my heart.”
Speaking of which, Foundation Establishment cultivators didn’t actually need to sleep. They usually spent that time meditating and cultivating.
Heng Yu had been here for several months. As a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, she never deliberately practiced fasting or deprived herself of sleep.
“Let’s go outside. Miss Man Xue’er is weak and needs to rest,” Liaowu said.
Demonic Qi had seeped into Man Xue’er’s bones and blood. When dispelling it, she also had to endure some pain. Now, after the purification mantra, her face was pale, and she lay on the bed, exhausted, without even the strength to get up and thank Liaowu.
Before leaving the room, Heng Yu paused, turned back, and opened the closed window for Man Xue’er. Beams of sunlight streamed in, and a faint sandalwood scent wafted in with the breeze.
From Man Xue’er’s perspective, she could see the thriving ginkgo trees outside the window.
After opening the window, Heng Yu left the room. Outside, she saw Liaowu and Liaonian waiting for her quietly.
There was a stone table in the middle of the courtyard. Heng Yu walked over and sat down.
After Liaowu and Liaonian sat down as well, Heng Yu took out some candied fruits and nuts from her storage ring and placed them on the table.
Liaowu didn’t move.
Liaonian glanced at his senior brother and lowered his gaze.
Heng Yu tossed the nuts into Liaonian’s lap. “Don’t mind your senior brother. Try these nuts.”
Liaonian caught the nuts, pursed his lips, opened the package, took out a pine nut, and carefully peeled it.
The pine nuts were roasted and had a natural sweetness.
After eating two, Liaonian couldn’t help but smile, his dimples faintly visible.
Liaowu suddenly spoke. “Lord Luo was about to leave, but you turned back to open the window. Was there a deeper meaning to this action?”
Heng Yu looked down, peeling a pine nut. Distracted by Liaowu’s words, she accidentally crushed it.
Brushing the crumbs off her hands, Heng Yu said, “People who stay in dark rooms for too long are prone to psychological problems. Man Xue’er should get some fresh air and sunshine.”
After speaking, Heng Yu felt a little puzzled: How did the Undying Sect train its Buddha-sons?
Liaowu was hailed as the Light of Buddhism. She didn’t doubt his strength or profound understanding of Buddhist teachings, but he seemed to lack empathy for the sufferings of the world.
Thinking this, Heng Yu seemed to understand why the water mirror had chosen her for the mission of pursuing the Buddha-son.
To pursue this Buddha-son, charm arts and dual cultivation techniques were useless. Liaowu’s willpower was too strong for such methods — that’s why Wu Mei and Mu Huan were immediately dismissed.
Heng Yu offered the peeled pine nut to Liaowu. “Want some?”
Liaowu didn’t refuse. “Thank you, Lord Luo.”
But he didn’t eat it after accepting it.
He placed the peeled pine nut on a clean handkerchief, stood up, and walked to the ginkgo tree in the courtyard. Looking around, he found a fallen branch. He cast a spell, and dozens of falling ginkgo leaves were gathered by the wind and brought before him.
Liaowu extended the branch, and the leaves landed on it obediently. At first glance, it looked like a freshly picked branch from the ginkgo tree.
Heng Yu rested her chin on her hand and lazily watched this scene.
She saw the Buddha-son enter Man Xue’er’s room, take out a jade bottle from his storage ring to use as a vase, and place the branch inside. The jade bottle sat quietly by the window. The breeze blew, and the ginkgo leaves rustled gently, exuding a soothing tenderness.
When Liaowu came out, Heng Yu asked him, “Why didn’t you just pick a branch from the tree or some flowers?”
“Amitabha. They were growing peacefully on the branches. If they withered due to the changing seasons, that would be unavoidable. But this poor monk’s act of picking them could have been avoided.”
“This poor monk’s intention in giving the ginkgo branch to Miss Man Xue’er was good, but I didn’t want to harm anything in the process.”
Heng Yu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
This act could be considered a form of gentleness.
Although this gentleness seemed a little strange to her.
Heng Yu returned to her courtyard. She entered her room, sat cross-legged on the meditation mat, and took out the jade pendant from her storage ring.
She had been trying to break through to the peak of Foundation Establishment, but it seemed there was a restriction within her that could only be removed with admiration value.
Using admiration value to advance went against the principle of following nature.
But Liaowu’s words this morning had enlightened her.
“I must understand one thing: if I use admiration value to advance, the consequences will only appear later.”
“But if I don’t use admiration value, I can only remain where I am. So there’s no choice.”
This time, Heng Yu didn’t hesitate.
She poured spiritual energy into the jade pendant, chanting the mental formula to activate the formation. The admiration value on the pendant plummeted rapidly.
1450-1400-1350…
And the barrier between late Foundation Establishment and the peak slowly dissipated.
The doors and windows were closed, and there was no wind, yet Heng Yu’s long hair fluttered slightly. A faint golden light flowed from the tips of her hair.
After a long time, Heng Yu slowly opened her eyes.
Only 300 admiration points remained on the pendant. Heng Yu put it away. She stood up from the meditation mat, drew her sword, and practiced her swordsmanship in the courtyard.
Her swordsmanship was sharp and filled with killing intent. Judging by the spiritual energy surrounding her sword, she had clearly broken through from late Foundation Establishment to the peak.
Man Xue’er was, after all, just a mortal. No matter how strong the demonic Qi within her, it wasn’t difficult to dispel.
With Liaowu’s cultivation level, he succeeded after chanting the purification mantra for three days.
Heng Yu’s breakthrough took some time. When she went to Qingyun Temple again, the demonic Qi in Man Xue’er had been completely dispelled.
The officers arrived at Qingyun Temple to take Man Xue’er away.
Before leaving, Man Xue’er walked up to Heng Yu and bowed deeply. “I can’t repay your great kindness. For the rest of my time in prison, I will pray for Miss every day, wishing you success on your path and a long life.”
After bowing, she raised her head, a sincere and shy smile on her face.
Then, Man Xue’er bowed to Liaowu. “May Master also achieve great success on the Buddhist path. I’ve troubled you greatly these past few days.”
After thanking them, Man Xue’er left with the officers. Before leaving Qingyun Temple, she couldn’t help but look back at the end of the stone path, as if she could still see Heng Yu and Liaowu standing there.
As she walked out of the temple, Man Xue’er saw a large crowd gathered outside. She didn’t pay much attention at first, but as her gaze swept over the crowd, she saw Zhao Fan and Uncle Zhao among them.
Zhao Fan was supporting his father, standing quietly in a corner of the crowd, watching her.
He waved at her, as if saying goodbye.
Then, Man Xue’er saw her parents, supported by her brothers and sisters-in-law, also there to see her off.
Man Xue’er took a deep breath and lowered her eyes.
A smile touched her lips.
When Qingyun Temple became quiet again, Heng Yu saw a faint golden light descending from the sky. Part of it enveloped her, and part of it enveloped Liaowu.
Even Liaonian received a small amount.
“Is this merit golden light?” Heng Yu asked.
After doing good deeds, one would receive merit. Accumulating enough merit could protect a person from tribulations. From this perspective, merit golden light was a form of luck. The Buddhist sect even had special techniques to cultivate using merit, ultimately achieving enlightenment through merit.
Heng Yu even reached out to touch the golden light around her.
Of course, she couldn’t touch anything.
“Yes,” Liaowu said.
Heng Yu asked, “How can one see the merit golden light on a person?”
She knew Liaowu could definitely answer this question.
Liaowu turned his prayer beads and chanted a mantra.
“After chanting the mantra, channel spiritual energy into your eyes, and you can see the merit golden light.” However, he warned, “Lord Luo is not a Buddhist cultivator. Frequently observing merit golden light can be harmful to your body.”
Heng Yu nodded, memorizing the mantra but not intending to observe the merit golden light on Liaowu.
Seeing that her troubles had dissipated, Liaowu said, “In that case, Lord Luo, please do as you wish. This poor monk is going to distribute porridge and offer medical treatment with the other monks.”
There were many beggars in this small town, as well as refugees from nearby areas, so Qingyun Temple would regularly provide porridge and medical treatment.
Heng Yu wasn’t interested in this and waved goodbye to Liaowu before leaving the temple.
But after leaving the temple, she didn’t go home immediately but wandered around the town.
As it grew dark, Heng Yu walked home with a sugar figurine.
Passing by a street corner, she caught sight of a familiar figure in her peripheral vision.
She stopped and stood still.
Lying on the street corner was a sickly beggar, about five or six years old, thin and frail.
He lay quietly on the ground, one hand clutching Liaowu’s robe. The dirt from his hand smudged the robe.
“Amitabha,” Liaowu chanted softly.
He held a bowl of plain porridge, gently stirring it, and fed the starving beggar.
Seeing the beggar struggling to swallow, Liaowu supported his back to help him.
In this moment, Heng Yu suddenly felt that —
Although this Buddha-son didn’t understand the sufferings of the world, he truly lived up to his title as the Buddha-son of the Undying Sect.
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