Chapter 8

After a stick of incense had burned, Bai Mu and Lin Fan returned. Gu Yan had already returned to his seat and was drinking water, and Ye Wushuang was also drinking water. Bai Mu sat down and started drinking water as well. Lin Fan sat down, feeling uncomfortable all over, looked around, and started eating the roasted chicken.

Ye Wushuang said, "Lin Fan, you are so rude. Can you be more refined?"

Lin Fan replied, "Bai Mu, you be refined. Show me how."

Bai Mu frowned and looked at the large chicken leg, with its thick layer of fat enveloping the tender meat. He had the shortest fasting period, and food still held a considerable allure for him. During his fasting, he could only abstain from simple meals; if there were such a roasted chicken, he would have lost control long ago. The key was that eating a little wouldn't cause much of a problem; fasting made his true qi pure, and eating wouldn't make it impure. However, taking this step would lead to the next.

Bai Mu stomped his foot, turned, and walked out of the inn, then took a deep breath, feeling relieved for his persistence. The image of the large chicken leg appeared in his mind, causing him great distress.

"Food and sex are human nature. Our righteous path is about going with the flow, isn't it?" Lin Fan said while eating.

Gu Yan replied, "Cultivating a clear mind and few desires may go against human nature, but it greatly benefits cultivation. The cycle of the five grains leaves impurities in the body, affecting one's cultivation level. Although the Yunqing Sect does not prohibit secular marriage or eating meat, would you be willing to marry an ordinary woman and let it affect your cultivation?"

This would indeed have a significant impact. Union cultivation and marrying an ordinary person are fundamentally different. Union cultivation benefits both parties' cultivation, while marrying an ordinary person not only halts progress but may even cause regression. As for why, no one has studied this topic, but it is a known fact. Lin Fan once guessed that it might be because ordinary women are too nagging.

There was a real tragedy in the Yunqing Sect. A disciple from the Purple Bamboo Grove fell in love with a scholar. They got married, and later the scholar became a county magistrate. However, as the scholar aged, the disciple remained in her twenties. After the magistrate was reassigned, he introduced her as his concubine. On the next reassignment, she became a servant. When the magistrate died at the age of sixty-eight, the disciple, still in her early twenties, could not even attend his funeral due to her low status. With nowhere to go, she returned to the Yunqing Sect, but she could not shake off her sorrow, grief, and memories. In the end, she left the sect and committed suicide next to the magistrate's grave.

Lin Fan thought for a while, "Anyway, I definitely won't give up fasting. In three thousand years, only a few have achieved enlightenment. Why should I make my life so meaningless for something so uncertain? Besides, our lives are quite long." The highest record in the current cultivation world was set by an elder from the Zixiao Hall in Zhongzhou, who lived for 980 years and was still alive, striving to reach a thousand years. The highest record in Yunqing Mountain was 560 years, and those who achieved success in cultivation generally lived between 300 and 400 years, sensing their impending end and dying without illness. Lin Fan had already planned to live for 400 years and was not willing to abstain from meat for 400 years.

Ye Wushuang said, "Each person has their own destiny and fortune. This is a phrase often said by our sect leader."

Gu Yan nodded and stopped trying to persuade him.

...

After the meal, it was already dark. The four of them returned to their rooms. Gu Yan, Ye Wushuang, and Bai Mu sat cross-legged in meditation. Lin Fan meditated for an hour and then fell asleep.

It was the second watch of the night when Gu Yan became alert, got out of bed, and quietly opened the window. He saw a man in white floating in the air about a hundred steps away from the inn. The man looked to be in his early twenties, holding a fan, with no other possessions. Gu Yan was startled; this man was of extremely high cultivation, probably at the Yuan Ying stage, or at least at the late Jin Dan stage. What was his background? From his appearance, he did not seem to be from an evil sect.

"Ximen Shuai requests an audience with the Palace Master," the man said, waiting quietly.

Ye Wushuang was startled awake and looked outside: what a handsome man.

Bai Mu and Lin Fan were also startled awake and looked out the window.

Ximen Shuai exclaimed, "I didn't expect such hidden dragons and tigers in this small inn. Are they helpers sent by the Palace Master?"

A woman in light gauze appeared on the roof, sitting cross-legged with an ancient zither on her lap. "Ximen Shuai, our sect does not need help."

"Ximen Shuai greets the Palace Master," Ximen Shuai bowed and said, "The Palace Master and I met in the Cloud Sea, and we fell in love at first sight. I was captivated by the Palace Master, and the Palace Master also fell for me. We agreed that if we were fated, we would meet without the veil within seven days."

"Phew." A woman in short brown clothes stood beside the Palace Master, angrily shouting, "It was clearly you, relying on your high cultivation, who wouldn't let go. The Palace Master had no choice but to use this delaying tactic to escape."

"Oh, I see." Ximen Shuai nodded thoughtfully, "Let me guess. The Palace Master must have wanted to return to the sect for reinforcements, but unfortunately, Orchid Girl was ill. Out of deep sisterly affection, you had no choice but to seek help from the Yunqing Sect, but you got lost and were trapped in the mountains for six days... Oh dear, what to do? In the end, you thought of a way to hide among ordinary people."

Lin Fan thought, "This man is utterly shameless. I bet Orchid Girl was intentionally injured by him, and the two of you were trapped in the mountains. When the seven days were up, he came here shamelessly."

The woman in short brown clothes said what Lin Fan was thinking, "You deliberately injured me. The Palace Master treats me like family and couldn't bear to leave me behind..."

"Eventually, you did leave her behind."

The woman in short brown clothes choked, "When you saw it wasn't going well, you set up an array in the mountains to trap us."

Ximen Shuai nodded repeatedly, "Orchid Girl is wise. Indeed, I set up the array to trap you, so you couldn't escape or seek help. Now that the seven days are up, I can see the beauty's face. Isn't this a clever plan?"

Ye Wushuang laughed, "How can you be so shameless?"

"Miss, you are right. I am speaking the truth. I am being sincere. If being sincere is wrong, then I have nothing to say."

Ye Wushuang was speechless. Yes, he admitted it was his doing, and she was calling him shameless... It felt wrong somehow.

Lin Fan laughed, "Brother, my senior sister just admires your ability to speak of your schemes openly. Not everyone can do that."

Ximen Shuai replied, "Thank you, young brother. I am a dragon among men. If the Palace Master and I are willing to spend the night together, she will surely see my virtue and talent and favor me. Then we can practice union cultivation and become immortal lovers, a beautiful story for the ages."

"Ximen scoundrel, die." The woman in short brown clothes couldn't bear it anymore, recited a spell, and a rock flew up, striking Ximen Shuai.

Ximen Shuai easily waved his hand, gently placing the rock on the ground, "Orchid Girl, you use this move too often. Next is the Thunder Spell..."

"Thunder Spell!" Orchid Girl, being straightforward, used it immediately.

A bolt of lightning struck down, but Ximen Shuai's fan completely blocked it. He shook his head, "The Thunder Spell is not used like that. Let me show Orchid Girl. Thunder Spell!"

A hundred bolts of lightning rained down, striking the ground with a continuous thunderous roar, displaying astonishing power. Lin Fan sighed; the difference in cultivation was like one being in the sky and the other on the ground. The Palace Master of the Demon Sect? The Demon Sect must be quite watered down.

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