Chapter 5
Of course, defecting from the Hehuan Sect was a joke. A core inner disciple defecting would definitely be hunted down by the sect. A tiring life on the run wasn’t appealing.
“Anyway, the mission time limit is ten years, so there’s no rush.”
Heng Yu stretched and flew back to Ning Yu Peak on her sword.
You Yun sat in the courtyard brewing tea. The tea leaves were from plants he had casually grown himself, not any famous variety. However, even ordinary tea leaves, carefully cultivated and processed by a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, were definitely not ordinary.
Heng Yu flew back to the peak on her sword, intending to find a place to sleep, when a refreshing tea fragrance wafted into her nose. Only she and her master lived on Ning Yu Peak, so the tea was naturally brewed by her cheap master.
Having just received her inner sect mission, she should, by all rights, report to her master and inform him of the matter. She usually stayed within the Hehuan Sect and wasn’t wealthy. A disciple embarking on such a difficult mission should, in all fairness, receive some treasures from their master.
Thinking this, Heng Yu went straight to You Yun’s courtyard.
“Master, I’ve come to pay my respects.” She bowed outside the courtyard gate.
“Come in,” You Yun’s voice called out.
Heng Yu pushed open the wooden door, entered, and bowed again.
You Yun was always casual. He raised his wrist and pointed to the opposite seat. “Sit down. If you want tea, pour it yourself.”
Lifting her sleeve slightly, Heng Yu poured herself a cup of tea. Taking a sip, she found the taste incredibly bitter. She calmly swallowed it. After a few breaths, Heng Yu felt a faint warmth spreading through her meridians, and her mind became clearer.
“This tea—”
Heng Yu smiled and commented, “Has a strange taste.”
She thought for a moment. “Master, do you have any more of these tea leaves? If so, could you give me some?”
You Yun glanced at her sideways. “Didn’t you say it tasted strange?”
Could it be that she had noticed the benefits of the tea? This tea aided in enlightenment. It seemed his disciple had good taste.
Heng Yu said sincerely, “I don’t really like the taste, but the Buddha-son might.”
You Yun readily agreed. “Alright, the inner sect mission is important. I’ll give you some tea leaves.”
“Master, aren’t you skilled in alchemy? Do you have any life-saving or healing pills? Give me a few dozen, just in case. If the Buddha-son gets injured, I can seize the opportunity to show my concern.”
“Also, Master, do you have any life-saving artifacts? I can give them to the Buddha-son as gifts. I don’t need many, just a dozen or so will do.”
You Yun tightened his grip on his teacup.
“Oh right, Master, shouldn’t you give me more spirit stones? I don’t need much, just one or two thousand mid-grade spirit stones will suffice. Inviting the Buddha-son to dinner and such will require a considerable amount of money. If I don’t spend a few mid-grade spirit stones per meal, it won’t show my generosity.”
“What else am I missing, Master…”
You Yun’s expression remained unchanged.
This disobedient disciple of his, talking about the Buddha-son and the mission… It sounded nice, but those bald monks of the Undying Sect usually only ate simple meals. Spending a few low-grade spirit stones on a meal was considered extravagant. Who these benefits were really for went without saying.
“Disobedient disciple, are you going to leave my courtyard yourself, or should I throw you out?”
Heng Yu frowned. “Master, half the amount is fine too. We can discuss it further.”
You Yun flicked his sleeve.
Heng Yu’s vision went black. When she could see again, she was back in her own courtyard.
“He’s a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, can’t he be more generous to his only direct disciple? So stingy.”
Heng Yu grumbled, flew up to sit on the Wu Tong tree in her courtyard, plucked a leaf to chew on, and leaned against the trunk to sleep.
With You Yun’s cultivation level, Heng Yu’s grumbling was as clear as if she were shouting in his ear.
He almost laughed in anger.
Calling him stingy?
He had roamed the Canglan Continent for years, becoming the dream lover of countless female cultivators, partly because he was willing to spend money on beautiful women.
Wasn’t it just a few dozen healing pills, a dozen or so life-saving artifacts, and one or two thousand mid-grade spirit stones?
He would not only give them to her, but double the amount!
When Heng Yu woke up, she saw a storage ring placed on the stone table in her courtyard. The storage ring was intricately patterned and dark red, clearly not an ordinary item.
Heng Yu’s face lit up with “excitement.” “Could it be Master…”
She flashed down from the tree, picked up the storage ring, and infused it with her divine sense. Using her divine sense, she “saw” hundreds of bottles of high-grade pills piled in a corner, dozens of life-saving artifacts stacked together, and even several sets of exquisite robes.
Mid-grade spirit stones were piled up like a small mountain, and there were even a hundred high-grade spirit stones. Besides these, there were various rare materials.
Heng Yu withdrew her divine sense, her expression moved. “This is too much. No wonder Master is the dream lover of millions of female cultivators…”
In the next courtyard, You Yun heard Heng Yu’s heartfelt exclamation and leisurely took a sip of tea.
See, his disciple’s taste was finally improving.
Heng Yu put the storage ring on her finger, looked towards the neighboring courtyard, stretched, and sighed silently.
Life was hard. She had to rely on tricking her master to earn some resources. Her master was too easy to fool and must be often deceived.
Rather than letting other bad women swindle him, it was better for her, his disciple, to take advantage of him a few more times. At least it wouldn’t benefit outsiders.
Having thought this through, Heng Yu happily entered the study. The study wasn’t large, but the corner was piled with books and manuals.
She had been in the Canglan Continent for over a month, mostly spent healing. Now that the hidden injuries in her meridians had recovered, it was time to properly understand this continent.
Heng Yu thought for a moment and picked up “A Brief History of the Continent.”
As the name suggested, “A Brief History of the Continent” recounted the ten thousand years of history of the Canglan Continent. It was compiled by the eight major righteous sects and five major demonic sects and revised every thousand years. The copy in Heng Yu’s hand was the latest version, revised just ten years ago.
Heng Yu opened the first page. Written in bold calligraphy were the words: “Demons and monsters rampant, all beings suffer.”
Her eyes narrowed.
Demons and monsters?
Continuing to read, Heng Yu gradually understood what kind of cultivation continent this was. Ten thousand years ago, the Canglan Continent had experienced a catastrophic tribulation. Countless brilliant cultivators perished, and the remaining powerful figures established sects and recruited disciples.
Over ten thousand years, the Canglan Continent gradually recovered and prospered.
However, the catastrophic tribulation hadn’t completely disappeared. A black mist that could erode people’s hearts still lingered in the world. When someone developed inner demons, the black mist could take advantage of their vulnerability, gradually controlling them and turning them into the walking dead. Only Buddhist cultivators could purify those corrupted by the black mist.
Therefore, Buddhist cultivators mostly cultivated in the mortal world, traveling and spreading Buddhist teachings.
Reading this, Heng Yu turned to the section on the Undying Sect and found the records about “Buddha-son Liaowu.”
— Buddha-son Liaowu, born with Buddha bones, heart like a clear mirror, cultivates the great compassion and great mercy of Buddha.
Seeing these words, Heng Yu suddenly became curious — what kind of brilliant person was this Buddha-son, revered by the world as the Light of Buddhism?
Driven by curiosity, Heng Yu took out a paper crane from her storage ring and wrote a line on it: What kind of person is Liaowu?
She infused the paper crane with spiritual energy. “Qi Le Peak, Mu Huan.”
As her voice fell, the paper crane transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into the sky.
Mu Huan was sulking in her courtyard. Among the ten young masters, she had joined the sect earliest and had the highest cultivation level. Yet, not only did the mission to pursue the Buddha-son, which she had her heart set on, not fall to her, but Lord Chi received an S-rank mission, Wu Mei received a quasi S-rank mission, and she only received an A-rank!
“Fine,” Mu Huan sneered. “Who says that just because Luo Heng Yu took the mission, she’s the only one who can pursue the Buddha-son? After I complete my inner sect mission, I’ll also go find Liaowu.”
Having made up her mind, the sullenness on Mu Huan’s face instantly dissipated. She was about to go find a partner for dual cultivation when she suddenly saw a paper crane land on her barrier.
Mu Huan raised her hand, and the paper crane landed in her hand, transforming into a piece of paper.
On it was Heng Yu’s question.
The paper crane flew back.
Heng Yu raised an eyebrow: As she expected, Mu Huan would answer her question.
Heng Yu unfolded the paper crane and found only one line written on it: Even if you’ve never seen him before, the moment you lay eyes on him, you’ll know he’s Buddha-son Liaowu.
Just one glance?
This Buddha-son Liaowu was even more extraordinary than she had imagined.
Heng Yu put away the paper crane, smiled, and continued reading “A Brief History of the Continent.”
She read for the entire afternoon. “A Brief History of the Continent” was very thick, and Heng Yu only selected the parts that interested her.
Seeing that it was getting dark outside, she closed the book and put it back on the shelf. Standing up from the meditation mat, Heng Yu walked out of the study and closed the wooden door.
For the next few days, Heng Yu stayed in the study, reading “A Brief History of the Continent” and occasionally browsing other books.
This continued until Wu Mei came to find her.
“You’ve been in the courtyard reading this all these days?” Entering the study, Wu Mei seemed incredulous.
Heng Yu glanced at her. “Is that all you came here to say?”
They were neither enemies nor friends, and she couldn’t quite figure out Wu Mei’s intentions.
“Mu Huan has left the sect. Believe it or not, she’ll complete her inner sect mission as quickly as possible, then interfere with yours,” Wu Mei said with a charming smile.
Heng Yu remained calm. “Not surprised.”
Her reaction was too calm, and Wu Mei, who had been hoping for a good show, was disappointed.
She shrugged. “I also came here for another matter. I’ll be leaving the sect in a few days to carry out my mission and look for a breakthrough opportunity. If you’re also planning to leave in a few days, we can travel together.”
The area around the Hehuan Sect wasn’t peaceful. Traveling together would save them both a lot of trouble.
Heng Yu thought for a moment and shook her head. “Probably not. I’ll need to stay in the sect for at least another month.”
After leaving the sect, she wouldn’t be able to return for a while. Plus, her mission time limit was ten years, so there was no need to rush.
Seeing her firm refusal, Wu Mei could only bid farewell and leave with regret.
Not long after Wu Mei left, You Yun summoned Heng Yu. As soon as she entered his courtyard, she saw a pile of… aphrodisiacs on the stone table.
“Well? What do you think? This is the surprise Master prepared for you!” You Yun said with a smile.
Heng Yu: ?
“Even an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would be affected by these aphrodisiacs. A Core Formation Buddha-son is nothing,” You Yun patted her shoulder. “Disciple, are you touched?”
Heng Yu said decisively, “Master, these aphrodisiacs are too precious. Why don’t you exchange them for spirit stones and give them to me? I prefer spirit stones.”
You Yun looked at her suspiciously. “Are you short of spirit stones?”
Was the sect’s monthly allowance for core disciples that little? He remembered relying on the allowance when he was at the Foundation Establishment stage.
But that was over a thousand years ago.
Heng Yu nodded seriously. “Of course, I’m short.”
Traveling outside, wanting to sleep in a comfortable bed every night and eat delicious food every meal required a considerable amount of money.
“Alright,” You Yun said. “I’ll give you the spirit stones separately, but you must take all these aphrodisiacs as well.”
“In times of need, you must resort to extraordinary measures. You can’t expect Master to use his authority to lower the penalty for mission failure.”
Heng Yu’s eyes lit up, and she asked expectantly, “Can you?”
“No, but you can get out now.” You Yun’s expression was flat.
Heng Yu stood up, straightened her sleeves, and calmly left the courtyard.
In the evening, she received a thousand mid-grade spirit stones and hundreds of bottles of aphrodisiacs that could supposedly knock out even Nascent Soul cultivators, sent by You Yun.
Looking at the aphrodisiacs filling a corner of her room, Heng Yu: “…”
A month later, Heng Yu had finished reading all the books in her study and become more familiar with using spiritual energy in combat. She packed her belongings, went to the next courtyard to find her master, and informed him that she would be leaving the sect tomorrow.
Looking at her handsome and easily fooled master, Heng Yu put on a show of reluctance — such a handsome and generous master was hard to find.
The generous fool was delighted: His disciple was actually so reluctant to part with him.
When the generous fool was happy, he liked to give away spirit stones.
Two thousand mid-grade spirit stones in hand, the reluctance on Heng Yu’s face instantly vanished.
Leave a Reply