Chapter 105 Before he vanished, he gave her a…
Legend has it that thousands of years ago, a great Buddhist cultivator and Mount Garan protected the four directions. At that time, the rivers were calm and the seas were peaceful, and demons and monsters were far less rampant than they are today.
This was the first story Meng Chiwan heard related to Buddhist practice. This story has been passed down through generations, and everyone knows that there is a great Buddhist practitioner in the monastery. People build shrines and temples for him, worship him, and pay homage to him.
Such a person should have had no connection with her life whatsoever; one should be in heaven, and the other on earth, living her life honestly and simply.
The Umbrella of Sorrow hung in the air, its holy light enveloping the entire earth. Everything within sight was cleansed. Several humanoid figures, for some unknown reason, made a gesture of clasping their hands together, like believers who had been converted, making their last act in the human world before completely disappearing into the heavens and earth.
"Can you tell me why you want to save me? What is my relationship with you?" Meng Chiwan looked up at the golden figure and asked the question she had asked before.
Last time, the Buddhist monk didn't give her an answer; this time, she hopes she will.
The Buddhist monk did not look at her; the golden light emanating from his body grew stronger and stronger, making him appear solemn and holy.
Meng Chiwan once again mobilized her spiritual energy and manipulated the Questioning Umbrella.
She knew that the Buddhist monk might leave again soon, so she tried her best to resolve these matters quickly so that she could get a little time from him to figure out everything she wanted to know.
The question of the Umbrella of Sorrow is like a mushroom growing bigger and bigger, and more and more things are being converted.
As the last humanoid figure vanished, the world cleared up, trees were trees, grass was grass, flowers were flowers, and the tombstones, like fish and shrimp after the tide receded, disappeared back into the ground.
The boy not far away was the last to disappear.
Before he disappeared, his voice was no longer so unpleasant; it was a strange, youthful voice: "Guess what they are?"
Meng Chiwan had a thought in her mind, but she pursed her lips and said nothing.
The boy continued, "They all come from the Meng family of Jingtai. Some of them, you should perhaps call them ancestors, while others are spirit pets that the Meng family has raised for many years, but they still couldn't escape the curse."
Meng Chiwan closed her eyes briefly, then asked, "Why did they become like this?"
The boy said, "Perhaps it can be considered deserved. It's the curse of the Demon Release."
Release the demon?
The moment Meng Chiwan heard those two words, she looked at Yun Xianqing, and a bad feeling popped into her mind.
Yun Xianqing stood to the side, her face expressionless, it was unclear whether she already knew or simply didn't care.
Why is it said they deserved it? Perhaps the downfall of the Meng family in Jingtai shares similarities with the Yun family. Perhaps they were both killed by the Demon Slayer himself.
Meng Chiwan said, "You mean..."
Judging from her appearance, the boy probably guessed what was going on.
He scoffed, "As expected, even with the destruction of the Meng family in Jingtai, the various sects of the immortal realm will not easily let go of this shortcut to ascension. It's a pity they don't know that everyone who has used that method will eventually die at the hands of the Demon Slayer. Without exception."
Meng Chiwan felt a chill run down her spine: "Back then, did all the various sects of the immortal world participate in cultivating geniuses with Blood Spirit Pills?"
If that were the case, the entire cultivation world would probably have been rotten to the core long ago.
The boy left with these last words: "You are really naive. But as a descendant of the Meng family of Jingtai, perhaps being a little naive is not necessarily a bad thing."
Then, the fishy smell of grass and trees in the air gradually faded away, and the boy's figure gradually dissolved, turning into an appearance exactly like those things.
"I don't want to die yet." The boy's last syllable echoed in the air.
Meng Chiwan was shaken, but when the Buddhist monk cast a glance at her, she still spoke firmly: "What exactly do you mean by 'saving me'? Why do you have any connection with me?"
The Buddhist monk gazed at her, and the golden light emanating from his body gradually dissipated.
The silence lasted for quite a while, and Meng Chiwan thought that he probably still wouldn't give her any answer this time.
She stared at the Buddhist monk, trying to discern something from his face. But as countless times before, his face remained only a vague, indistinct outline.
But she was still unwilling to give up, and her eyes always shone with a pale golden light.
Dead silence. Still dead silence. The Sorrowful Umbrella slowly shrank and fell, landing steadily in her hand.
It was at this moment that Meng Chiwan noticed a lotus flower mark drawn with gold thread on the umbrella handle.
The Buddhist monk's voice finally came: "This may be the last time. I am just a fleeting shadow. The reason I can still appear is because I still have unfulfilled wishes."
The Buddhist monk spoke in a soft, gentle voice, yet it didn't sound cold at all. His voice, like the man himself, was warm and powerful, inexplicably reminiscent of a lighthouse guiding a lost ship at sea.
Meng Chiwan asked, "What unfulfilled wish do you have?"
The Buddhist monk glanced at her, seemingly smiling, his voice tinged with amusement, as if bathed in the warmth of spring: "Seeing you grow up to be what you are today, this wish should be fulfilled. I can't remember how many years ago, the ancestor of the Meng family in Jingtai saved me, but I have never been able to repay this kindness. Later, I fell into a deep sleep, and my last remaining consciousness foresaw your fate. I thought that I should repay this kindness before I dissipate. I was worried that he might not like my way of repaying kindness, but then I thought that he cherishes his descendants so much, he shouldn't be unhappy with my actions."
Meng Chiwan stood there stunned. In truth, she didn't have any particular feelings for the Meng family of Jingtai, so she was somewhat shocked to suddenly hear that her situation was related to the Meng family of Jingtai.
It's unclear which ancestor he was referring to. It's probably impossible to know now; none of the books in the Immortal Alliance mention this past event between Buddhist cultivators and the Meng family of Jingtai.
She is now considered a descendant of the Meng family of Jingtai, but her understanding of the Meng family of Jingtai is limited to what she hears from trees and other people.
How pathetic and laughable!
She lowered her eyes, unsure of what to say.
I've said thank you a thousand times before, but now I'm afraid I have to single out saying goodbye.
“Do you know what happened to the Meng family in Beijing and Taiwan?” she asked.
The Buddhist monk shook his head: "At that time, I had already entered the land of eternal sleep and no longer concern myself with worldly affairs."
As time passed, Meng Chiwan still didn't know what to say; she was someone who disliked talking about parting.
Although she wasn't particularly close to the Buddhist monk, he had saved her countless times and had been her faith for a long time. It could be said that without the Buddhist monk, there would be no Meng Chiwan.
A leaf drifted down and landed in her palm. A few strands of hair brushed against her cheek. She looked up and asked, "Where are you going?"
The Buddhist cultivator conjured a golden lotus from his fingertips. Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on his lips as he presented the lotus to her: "Return to the land of eternal slumber. Return to the place where we first met."
Meng Chiwan lowered her eyes and looked at Jinlian in front of her.
He had given her golden lotuses before, most of which were related to her cultivation level, but this time the golden lotus did not have any spiritual energy flowing on it; it was just a flower, a pure flower.
Before he vanished, he gave her a flower.
"Meng Chiwan, you must live well, live like a flower, live a wonderful life." Just a second before his figure disappeared, he said goodbye to her with a smile in his voice.
Meng Chiwan took the flower; it bloomed vibrantly in her palm.
Goodbye. Never again.
The fog dissipated, and the sky cleared. Everything here was reborn; this place witnessed reunions and farewells.
In an instant, the illusion shattered, the world intertwined and shifted, finally settling in front of a small boat.
The boatman sat on the boat, smiling as he looked at her.
"I told you I could safely lead you out of the Desolate Abyss, didn't I?" The boatman's smug voice carried to her ears on the wind across the water.
"Indeed, it's possible." Meng Chiwan said with a forced smile, "Was abandoning us and running away also part of your plan?"
The boatman immediately retorted, "I didn't run away on my own. You all suddenly disappeared, so I found a place to hide. That's why I knew you could definitely resolve the crisis!"
Meng Chiwan didn't want to argue with him anymore; after all, he had led her to the Returning Origin Grass.
He took Yun Xianqing aboard the ship and began their journey home.
It was supposed to be the return trip, but there was actually one place we didn't visit.
When I passed through Yun'an Sea earlier, I promised that beautiful girl that I would visit her again.
...
Once again, upon arriving at Panhai Island, the beautiful young woman was still sitting by the water, slowly combing her hair with her hands folded.
Perhaps hearing the sound of oars striking the water, she turned her head and a smile appeared on her face. That smile was like moonlight spreading across the steps, slow, gentle, and serene.
The boat docked and stopped.
Meng Chiwan disembarked.
The first thing the beautiful young woman's gaze swept over was her hands. Only then did she realize that she had forgotten to ask Yun Xianqing to untie the red thread.
"How about it, in the desolate abyss? Is it as beautiful as my little island?" The beauty smiled, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons, yet her voice carried a faint warmth.
Meng Chiwan was a little nervous, but upon seeing her, all those inexplicable emotions seemed to vanish instantly.
She thought about it carefully and said, "It's not as nice as yours."
The beautiful woman stood up and said, "Do you know why I called you back?"
Meng Chiwan answered honestly, "I don't know."
She glanced at Meng Chiwan, then at Yun Xianqing, and finally at the red thread binding their hands. Then she waved her hand, sweeping the boatman back onto the boat.
Then she said to Meng Chiwan, "You are cursed."
Meng Chiwan's breath hitched. Here we go again?
The beauty said, word by word, "It is the curse of the Demon-Slaying One."
Meng Chiwan: "What will happen then?"
The beauty said, "I can sense that someone placed a restriction on you in the past to protect you. When I first saw you, the restriction was loosened, and now it has loosened again."
Prohibition?
Meng Chiwan had never heard of such a thing before. Could it be that her mother gave it to her?
"This restriction has been protecting you, preventing you from being devoured by the curse," the beauty said.
Meng Chiwan was somewhat anxious and asked, "What should we do?"
The beauty paused, lowered her eyes, and then looked at the red line on her hand. She then looked at Yun Xianqing with a somewhat unpredictable and complicated expression.
She said, "Now there's no need to worry about that anymore. You don't have to worry."
Meng Chiwan followed her gaze and then looked suspiciously at the red thread in her hand.
The red thread has become much redder than when it was first tied, and now it looks even more scorching and dazzling than the fiery clouds in the sky.
Meng Chiwan asked directly, "Is it related to this red line?"
The beauty nodded, not trying to hide it from her.
She turned her head to look at Yun Xianqing and asked, "What exactly is this mark for? What do you mean by saying that it can be removed once you leave the Desolate Abyss?"
He seemed to have become a mindless puppet again.
Meng Chiwan's heart skipped a beat as she recalled Yun Xianqing's various strange behaviors: his long silences, his unpleasant expression, and his intermittent spiritual energy.
For some reason, she suddenly had a bad feeling and even became a little anxious.
She quickly reached for his wrist.
However, they found not a trace of human presence.
He became a puppet devoid of emotion once again.
What worries her most is that she doesn't know what this red thread has brought him, or whether he is alright now.
She frowned slightly, but ultimately didn't bring it up.
She had originally intended to break the curse for her, but now it was clear that someone had beaten her to it, so she no longer needed to worry about it.
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