Chapter 663 – The Lotus Seeds Have Already Rotted Away, I Am Still Me (1/2)

“Master, you’ve returned!”

“Looks like you didn’t waste this time either.” Gu Yanying’s eyes shone slightly and also smiled.

“Rongzhi would never let down the great lengths master has gone to to nurture me. Please try out my culinary skills.” Qian Rongzhi presented the bowl before Gu Yanying. The lotus seeds were glistening and snow-white, perfectly round and full. There was a small, porcelain spoon in the bowl.

Gu Yanying extended her hand to accept it when Qian Rongzhi suddenly said, “Ah, it’s the wrong bowl!” Tipping her hands gently, the bowl fell and smashed to pieces with a clank. The lotus seeds scattered across the ground.

Gu Yanying was mildly taken aback. Qian Rongzhi had already turned around and returned behind the curtains, emerging again immediately. She held another porcelain bowl in her hand, but when she brought it before Gu Yanying, it was a bowl of pitch-black mud. There was a small, porcelain spoon in the bowl too.

Qian Rongzhi smiled with a hint of cruelty and resolve.

Gu Yanying gazed at her and sighed. She suddenly felt rather exhausted. “Why won’t you give yourself an opportunity for your wounds to heal?”

“Thank you for your kind intentions, master, but it’s already too late. My wounds have already grown fetid, covering my body. If I were to shave away the rotten flesh, then nothing would remain!”

Qian Rongzhi lowered her head slightly, gazing at the bowl of mud. If lotus seeds could not bloom into lotus flowers, then they could only rot away into mud. Just how many despaired lotus seeds did this bowl of mud contain?

Gu Yanying was left momentarily speechless. Fleeing from suffering and sadness and pursuing happiness and joy was the instincts of all creatures. Even the buddha who had attained emptiness and non-self called the world he existed in “great joy”—paradise.

People were most welcome to suffer, but if they understood how they could obtain happiness and joy and possessed the ability to obtain happiness and joy, yet they chose to conquer this instinct, willingly sinking into the mud, refusing to admire the lotus flowers and refusing to search for the lotus seeds, then even the buddha would struggle to bring them salvation.

As a result, Gu Yanying said, “You’ll probably be even more talented with the Illustrations of Naraka than me!”

“Thank you, master.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I originally thought I saw the shadow of my past on you, so I did many boring things. Looks like I was wrong.”

“Fortunately.” Qian Rongzhi drank the entire bowl of mud in a single gulp and smiled resplendently. “I am still me!”

Ru Xin returned to benevolence island, passing through the long passageway underground. The white light lit up with her steps, extending into the centre of the underground room.

A man with a very ordinary appearance sat among a pile of books, meditating. He was Chu Tian. Through these several days of hard work, he had managed to squeeze his cultivation back to the second layer of Qi Practitioner.

This speed was basically unforgivably slow to him. One reason for this was because of the many hidden wounds left over from the destruction of his cultivation, and the other reason was because he had insufficient cultivation resources. He could not make bricks without straw.

“Fellow Ru, I need some pills.”

“I’m not your mother. I already give you food and shelter, so am I supposed to give you pills too? Will you show me filial piety in the future? I came to check on you to see whether you died or not. Since you’re not dead, you better just stay here then.”

Chu Tian smiled. “Fellow, you’ve got quite the temper. What happened during the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures this time?”

Ru Xin was mildly taken aback, noticing there was something wrong with her emotions. There was a ball of flames burning within her, spreading uncontrollably. She waved her hand.

“Alright, I can give you some regular pills, but if they’re too precious, it won’t do.”

Chu Tian bowed slightly. “Thank you. I’ve managed to recall many things recently, which includes a cultivation method that I think is very suitable for you.”

“Really? What’s it called?”

“The Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace, one of the Myriad Heavenly Tomes. It incorporates the arts of alchemy, placing your body into an alchemy furnace and practising both qi and the body. Combined with the Daoist Arts of Cloud Furnace, it can lead to endless wonders. Although you’ll have to endure quite a bit of torment and pain when you practise it, it’s definitely worth it. There’s probably only a small fistful of cultivation methods from this world that can compare to it. You can treat this as repayment to you and your master for saving my life.”

“What pills do you want? As long as you don’t go overboard, I can provide all of them to you!”

Ru Xin nodded. The value of a decent cultivation method went without saying to a cultivator, while a cultivation method that could be titled as a “Heavenly Tome” definitely was anything but ordinary. Compared to it, these pills were nothing.

“I do have another request!” Chu Tian pulled out a medical classic from beside him. “Please use the techniques of the school of Medicine to change my appearance. I want to go out and start over!”