Chapter 336 – Choosing the Future (1/2)

However, Han Tieyi’s reply brought Li Qingshan disappointment. He did not know the whereabouts of this cultivation method either. Then he recommended the Bone-shattering Fist of Ice to Li Qingshan, which could convert Gui Water true qi into power of the extreme cold. It possessed great destructive power, and it could also clad the user in an armour of ice, offering both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Li Qingshan had already checked through all the jade slips. Gui Water true qi was not suited for destruction, so most of these battle skills focused on triumphing over force with gentleness. The Bone-shattering Fist of Ice could be considered as the strongest among them in terms of offensive power, but it was nothing compared to the Ocean Wielding’s sheer brutal force.

This battle skill from the Ocean sect had completely upheaved the saying that Gui Water true qi was not suited for attacks. With a single stroke, it could unleash tsunami-like waves that were never ending.

Li Qingshan considered it for a while. He opened his eyes. “I choose this one!”

As a result, he stored the Ocean Wielding jade slip away in his hundred treasures pouch. Li Qingshan was not planning on trying his luck with this. If he was unable to power this battle skill with true qi, then what about daemon qi?

His daemon qi was of the water element too, and its sheer brute force went without saying. He would have no issues in wielding this battle skill. The path of daemons was his true foundation, so he obviously made his decision after a moment of consideration.

And, it was not like it would be impossible for him to find the latter half of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean!

Han Tieyi did not try to convince him otherwise. He stowed the other jade slips away and brought Li Qingshan back to the surface.

Han Anjun had finished his talk with the military disciples. Suddenly, he pointed at Li Qingshan and said to them, “Before long, this person will become even stronger. By then, what are you going to do?”

“Defeat him!” said the military disciples with brimming vigour.

Li Qingshan smiled. Let’s see who improves faster!

His Gui Water true qi was extremely refined and pure. Although it was still a little difficult to power Ocean Wielding, it was not impossible. As long as he could unleash even a tenth of its force, his battle prowess would increase drastically.

The next morning, the red sun had emerged from the Lake of Dragons and Snakes when the sound of a bell rang through Anāsravāṃ temple.

The buddhist assembly of dharma that the One Thought master had prepared for so long had finally begun.

The entire island was shrouded in a thin milky-white mist; the faint smell of burning sandalwood incense permeated the air.

A total of nine Foundation Establishment monks had arrived. All of them were dignified. Although this was a matter of the school of Buddhism, it was so important that a few school leaders led by Zhang Lanqing had come to receive them, who then stayed behind to listen along. There were a lot of disciples from other schools present too.

Paths of cultivation were similar. They did not study buddhism, but it would still benefit their cultivation if they could become wiser.

Li Qingshan listened along for a while and soon felt giddy. A swathe of large, shiny, bald heads filled his vision, going on about some allegories or dharma or whatever. He understood none of it.

He only saw Xiao An sitting in the hall in bluish-white robes with her black, seaweed-like hair running down her back. Sometimes, she was thinking, sometimes nodding, and sometimes refuting. She answered them with composure.

Li Qingshan stopped worrying. He silently backed out, returning to Cloudwisp island to focus on cultivation.

As they explained the dharma, Xiao An rarely spoke, but she would often leave the monks speechless when she did. They would need a moment of thought before they could answer her.

The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was not just an ability or cultivation method. It also recorded a great buddhist monk’s entire life of wisdom and knowledge. Xiao An needed to comprehend the essence within it. Every single question they asked was centred around this supernatural ability, and they would all hit the mark.

She made all the monks rethink everything with a clear mind. Often, they would have to give it some thought before they answered her. These monks were all highly educated in the buddhist dharma, so they could give her an answer most of the time after some thought. However, these answers would differ from monk to monk, which would lead to a new round of disputes.

The monks no longer looked at Xiao An in the same way anymore either. They directly began to suspect whether she was a Reincarnated Celestial too, possibly the reincarnation a great grandmaster at that. If it were not for her innate knowledge, how could a child ask such profound questions? For some questions, even they felt like they were not clever enough, unable to answer them.

Naturally, they could not answer all of Xiao An’s questions, or they would not just be at Foundation Establishment. However, this process had allowed Xiao An to deepen her understanding of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty yet again.

After comprehending all this, she could relax her control over her cultivation as a Qi Practitioner. On the third day of the dharma assembly, her cultivation reached the ninth layer; she was close to the final step now.

It had directly dumbfounded the eminent monks there. They had never seen a person practise qi as easily as drinking water. If this continued, reaching Foundation Establishment would be a piece of cake for her.

It lightened the One Thought master’s burden slightly, but his original plan fell through. Now, it no longer seemed like the monks guiding Xiao An. Instead, it seemed like she was guiding the monks.

However, this led to another problem.

The monks who had all cast aside their worldly desires all started to grow greedy. They all felt like she had not actually taken the One Thought master on as her master as she was studying in the school of Buddhism. At most, it was like the relationship between a child and a teacher in a private institution. With Xiao An’s talent, she completely deserved a formal master who could support her more.

The school of thought of Buddhism circled around the word “buddhism”, but there were thousands of sects that fell under it. They constantly contended against one another. All of them wanted a disciple like this to continue their legacy and carry on their teachings.

It was too late for the One Thought master to feel regret. From the day the dharma assembly had begun, he did not allow Xiao An to take a single step away from him. At the same time, he secretly penned a letter.