Chapter 263 The Lotus Lantern
"You can't stop me!"
"Ruoshui! Ruoshui, listen to me, I will stay with you as before. I have reported to the Jade Emperor that I will not care about anything else from now on, I will just guard the Heavenly Gate and protect you."
Will it?
Facing Tianpeng's pleading gaze, Ruoshui smiled faintly and danced slowly with him. The pale blue water gently surrounded Tianpeng, quickly captivating him with its "gentleness."
"Tianpeng, come with me. Let's forget about the rights and wrongs of the Three Realms. Let's go—"
"Walk……"
...
In the mortal realm, the Yang residence was renovated. The group stayed for several days but did not receive any decree from the Heavenly Court, considering the difference in time between heaven and earth. Therefore, Yao Ji and Yang Tianyou stayed at the Yang residence, while Yang Chan led Yang Jiao and the others to Qianyuan Mountain to pay respects to the Taiyi Zhenren. Firstly, to express their gratitude for his teachings, and secondly, since Nezha had been resurrected, they should return to pay their respects to their master.
"Master, Master—"
Nezha.
With a head of wild curly hair, Taiyi Zhenren heard a familiar voice, rushed out of his cave, and was pounced on by Nezha.
"Master, it's all Nezha's fault for making you worry."
"It's good that you know," Taiyi Zhenren said, stroking his little pigtails with loving eyes. "Come, let your master take a look."
Grabbing Nezha's hand, he looked him up and down, and the more he looked at Taiyi Zhenren, the more alarmed he became: "What is this?"
"Master, it was Brother Yang who saved me."
Nezha ran over and pulled Yang Jiao over to introduce him to Taiyi Zhenren.
"I am Yang Jiao, and I greet the esteemed master."
Yang Jiao greeted him politely, "I haven't yet thanked you for teaching my third sister."
"You are... Yang Chan's older brother? Yao Ji's eldest son?"
Master Taiyi looked at the strikingly handsome and otherworldly-looking young man before him with considerable surprise. Despite years of cultivation, he couldn't see through him…
"Senior brother, come and see my good disciple!"
Yu Ding Zhenren interrupted Taiyi Zhenren's contemplation, eagerly pulling Yang Jian forward to boast, "My disciple Yang Jian possesses extraordinary talent and exceptional comprehension. Under my dedicated tutelage, he is poised to become renowned throughout the Three Realms..."
Taiyi Zhenren slapped Yuding Zhenren across the face and covered his mouth: "Yang Jian?"
"Yang Jian greets his senior master."
Yang Jian clasped his hands in a salute to Taiyi Zhenren. As for his master, Yuding Zhenren, it was unimportant. What was wrong with being beaten by his own senior brother? Absolutely no problem.
"Yao Ji's second son?"
"Yes."
Taiyi Zhenren glanced at Yang Jiao, then at Yang Jian, and then at Yang Chan, who was walking over and sweetly calling him "Master." He couldn't help but murmur, "Is Yao Ji really that good at giving birth?"
"Mmm..."
Master Yuding struggled and finally managed to push away Master Taiyi's hand, bending over and panting heavily: "No, senior brother, are you jealous of me and trying to suffocate me?"
"I'm jealous of you?" Taiyi Zhenren was speechless, and pulled Nezha over. "It's like everyone has disciples!"
Master Yu Ding was unconvinced and waved his fan, saying, "Your disciple was saved by my disciple's elder brother!"
"Ha! So your apprentice's eldest brother is still my apprentice's eldest brother! And your apprentice is still my apprentice's second eldest brother!"
Taiyi Zhenren was serious; all his envy and curiosity were now forgotten. On his own turf, how could he possibly be outdone by Yuding Zhenren?
"What disciple?" Master Yuding shook his head. "Yang Chan is your nominal disciple. Don't make it sound so good! Are you afraid of taking responsibility? We all know each other."
Taiyi Zhenren retorted, his neck stiff with arrogance: "Who said I was a disciple on the honor roll? Who's afraid to take responsibility? Yang Chan, you come..."
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw countless golden lights emanating from the lotus pond in the cave, and his expression changed drastically in an instant.
"Master."
Yang Chan, unaware of what was going on, had already walked over.
"Come!"
Taiyi Zhenren grabbed her and led her to the edge of the pool.
The remaining people looked at each other and followed curiously.
"Yu Ding, do you still remember this place?"
Master Yuding paused in his fanning, looked at the lotus pond radiating light in front of him, and narrowed his eyes: "How could I not remember? It was because of this lotus pond that you opened up this cave dwelling."
"What's wrong with this lotus pond?" Nezha asked, puzzled, his train of thought having been led astray by Yang Jiao's earlier explanation. "Isn't it because Master likes to eat lotus roots?"
Taiyi Zhenren glanced speechlessly at his beloved disciple and explained, "Five thousand years ago, I was drawn here by a burst of light. I saw a lotus root emitting light, but gradually the light disappeared. So, I settled here, waiting for it to shine again, and named this place Golden Light Cave."
"We waited and waited, until the pond was covered with lotus leaves, but it never bloomed..."
Taiyi Zhenren sighed, and at this moment Yuding Zhenren proudly raised his head: "So, he can only come to ask me, the know-it-all of the Three Realms!"
Under the curious gazes of the crowd, Master Yuding circled the lotus pond, earnestly and solemnly introducing it to them: "This is the transformation of the precious lotus lamp used by the Goddess Nuwa when she created humans!"
"The Lotus Lantern?"
“That’s right,” Jade Cauldron Master waved his fan, “The Goddess Nuwa brought light to the Three Realms with the Lotus Lantern. After she went into seclusion, the Lotus Lantern transformed into a lotus root. It will only bloom when it smells the scent of benevolence, and only the power of mercy can control the Lotus Lantern again!”
"The power of mercy?"
Everyone seemed to be deep in thought, and Yang Jian couldn't help but think about the source of his power.
Yang Chan looked at Taiyi Zhenren and asked, puzzled, "But Master, you are also very kind, why..."
Taiyi Zhenren shook his head and laughed: "Everyone has a kind heart, but there is a difference between great kindness and small kindness. True kindness is having a kind heart towards all things in the Three Realms."
He turned to Yang Chan and said, "I have been guarding this place for five thousand years, and countless guests have come and gone. But only when you came did this flower bloom. Are you the new owner of this Lotus Lantern?"
"I?"
Yang Chan pointed to herself in disbelief. Compared to her two older brothers, she was actually inferior. She didn't think she had anything outstanding about her, and she felt that she had never been of any help. She never expected that the Lotus Lantern would choose her.
“It’s you.”
Master Taiyi couldn't help but nod. "I deliberately only accepted you as a nominal disciple, but didn't teach you seriously. Have you ever resented that?"
Yang Chan shook her head: "It is already a great kindness for Master to accept me as a student, how could I resent it?"
"I foresaw that Nezha would face a great calamity he could not overcome, yet I did not help him. Do you resent me for that?"
“Master said it was Nezha’s tribulation, and how could others participate in it? So naturally I have no resentment.”
Taiyi Zhenren then asked, "When the Heavenly Court suppressed your parents, did you harbor any resentment?"
Yang Chan answered honestly: "At first I was resentful, but my mother confessed and voluntarily accepted punishment, so how could I disregard her wishes? More than resentment, I wanted to get them out as soon as possible."
After their conversation, everyone seemed thoughtful, but Yang Chan was still not entirely confident: "But is not harboring resentment the same as being benevolent?"
Taiyi Zhenren smiled and looked at her: "You'll have to figure that out for yourself. Anyway, the Lotus Lantern has already recognized you as its master, so take it."
As soon as she finished speaking, a jade lotus-shaped lantern flew into Yang Chan's hand. Looking at the lotus lantern in her hand, Yang Chan felt a deep sense of warmth and familiarity.
"Is this the Lotus Lantern?"
The golden light above the lotus pond transformed into a stream of light that surrounded Yang Chan and quickly entered her body. Yang Chan opened her eyes, and her bright and clear gaze revealed her complete transformation.
Seeing this scene, Master Yuding couldn't help but say the same thing as Master Taiyi: "Is Yaoji really that good at giving birth?"
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