Chapter 869 Enlightenment and New Supernatural Power
After a moment of silence, the candle in the snow said:
"He's still useful, he can't die. Seal his dantian and bring him back. Also..."
She paused, lowered her eyes, and spoke in an extremely soft voice:
"...Since he spoke of morality that day, I must also speak of morality today. I will not kill him for now. Fifth Junior Sister, just do as he says."
The girl in the light green dress raised her eyebrows. She understood the first part of what the senior sister said, but she didn't quite understand the second part.
"good."
The girl in the light green dress put away the medicine and jade, slung her sword over her shoulder, and turned back to ask:
"Isn't Senior Sister coming along?"
Snow Candle hesitated for a moment, then shook his head:
"Just in case, I will stay here. I just activated the Hall of Mental Cultivation, which took a lot of energy. I will rest for a while before I go to assist my second junior sister."
The girl in the light green dress leaped onto the insect maiden, glanced at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and asked with some concern:
"To activate the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the host and the participants must undergo the 'mental cultivation' test simultaneously. It would be best for the senior sister to stay inside as little as possible, as it could easily nurture inner demons and disrupt her mental state..."
"Although our sixth-rank Dream Lady realm is naturally immune to such illusions and dreams, and even thrives in them, the Hall of Mental Cultivation is extremely special. It is a test of the deepest part of the heart, and the test is never about seeing through illusions, but about repeatedly questioning one's own heart. How difficult it is! It hurts the enemy a thousand, but also hurts yourself eight hundred..."
"Speaking of which, what kind of moral dilemma is Senior Sister going through in the hall? Is she suffering like this over and over again? Logically speaking, Senior Sister's sword heart should be as pure as crystal, the best among us, but why does Senior Sister's expression look a little off..."
Xuezhongzhu, who had been lost in thought, immediately straightened up upon hearing this:
"Set off immediately, do not delay any longer."
"yes."
The girl in the light green dress said no more, casting aside her doubts.
The next instant, she stomped her foot on the insect girl, and the latter sprang up from the ground.
Just as Xue Zhongzhu breathed a sigh of relief, a sudden tremor came from the main hall behind him.
At the same time, strange bell tolls echoed from within the hall, their sound lingering and resonant.
"簰——珰——!"
The girl in the green dress and the insect girl, who were about to walk away, paused slightly and lowered their heads in confusion.
Xue Zhongzhu's expression changed abruptly, and he turned around abruptly:
"That bell sound... Oh no, what kind of supernatural power is this? It can actually dispel the white mist in the Hall of Mental Cultivation! Restore Mind and Brightness?"
Xuezhongzhu glanced at him and rushed into the Hall of Mental Cultivation like a whirlwind.
"I'll go help Second Junior Sister suppress him! We can't let this brat escape. I refuse to believe that the combined swordsmanship of the two of us can't overpower one of him... Fifth Junior Sister, go quickly!"
"Yes, Senior Sister!"
The girl in the light green dress, accompanied by a bird, sped away swiftly in the northeast direction.
Meanwhile, inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, jointly presided over by Xue Zhongzhu and Yu Nianyuan, the sound of bells rang incessantly, their origin and destination unknown, seemingly trying to shatter countless illusions and awaken countless worldly hearts...
...
Cold raindrops fell from the hole above, hitting Ouyang Rong's face.
He raised his palm and vigorously wiped his face.
The surrounding environment was incredibly realistic, constantly reminding him that this was real.
But cold, clear-headed reason told him that this was a delusion.
But the eyes seem to be deceiving the heart.
Ouyang Rong stood up, turned his back to the embroiderer, the old Taoist priest, and the monk, grabbed his body, and climbed up step by step.
Let's do it one more time.
Even if he had to do it a thousand times, he would still climb out of that hole.
We cannot stay here, we cannot stay here.
Even after the hundredth failure and the hundredth time I covered my ears, that one "ah" still made my heart skip a beat.
Ouyang Rong returned to the original spot, fell down in front of the lotus stone seat, and once again looked up at the sky.
He let the rain fall on his face without wiping it away.
I didn't try again.
From behind came the old Taoist's sarcastic remarks and the monk's patient and persuasive voice.
Ouyang Rong slowly turned around, ignoring them, and stared straight at the girl's figure curled up with her knees drawn up behind them.
The embroiderer dared not look at him, burying her head between her knees, and hiding her hand with the missing little finger.
Why is it that sometimes people feel sad, hesitant, and uncertain even when they know that what they are seeing is fake?
Ouyang Rong was completely baffled.
He leaned back and slowly fell to the ground, panting heavily, his bloodshot eyes staring straight at the hole above from which cold rain was falling.
Ouyang Rong felt a pang of sadness.
Yes, he will feel sad too.
He wasn't as strong, confident, calm, and rational as he appeared in front of his junior sister, Rongzhen, and Li Xian's family.
Ouyang Rong also had moments of sadness.
He simply never showed it to the women, his companions, or his subordinates such as Yan Liulang and Shisan Niang.
This was a habit he developed in Longcheng. From Longcheng all the way to Xunyang, he always habitually walked in front.
Because Ouyang Rong knew that ordinary people all longed for a steadfast figure to lead the way and guide them, even if they knew it was a game they were almost certain to lose. If someone firmly said they could win and walked at the forefront, many people would still subconsciously follow him and blindly obey him!
In this world, confidence is more precious than gold.
So at that time, he couldn't show his sadness or his vulnerability. He had to always be at the forefront, giving confidence to his junior sister, Li Xian, Li Guo'er, Li Dalang, Yan Liulang, and everyone else!
But Ouyang Rong was not a cold-blooded god; he also had moments of distress, the most recent of which was on a painted boat at the head of the Xunyang River.
That night, the most painful moment was when I was drunk and lying on the boat, listening to the melancholy pipa player's music, laughing as I wrote down the sword manual, and tears soaking my blue robe. But no one noticed at the time; they just thought I was drunk.
Ouyang Rong didn't know why, but he was just sad.
And it's the same right now; I just feel sad.
Sometimes, people are sad for no reason.
I remember that later, when he left Xunyang and went to Donglin Temple to find Aqing's family, he chatted with Master Shandao for a few minutes, and at that time he was also filled with some kind of sadness.
However, Master Shandao seemed to have seen through something and instructed him to ring the bell morning and evening, and to ring it 108 times every day without fail, saying that it could dispel 108 kinds of troubles...
Ouyang Rong did as instructed, and continued to do so even after arriving in Peach Blossom Town. This period of self-disciplined bell-ringing did indeed make him feel much more relaxed...
Later, with the help of Lu Jinghong and her son, he managed to get into Jianze. His mind was completely occupied by the Jianze assessment, and his sadness dissipated considerably. The 108 bells also remained unstrung for a long time...
It's like a stress-induced habit that's been formed.
At this moment, Ouyang Rong, who was deeply immersed in the "mind-cultivating situation" of the Pure Land Palace, suddenly had a strong urge to ring the bell again.
He suddenly looked up and gazed at the cave entrance.
Ouyang Rong didn't come here, but his heart came; his heart was trapped here.
What is the mind? The mind is principle.
The underground palace in his heart was difficult to climb, and there were people in the underground palace whom he could not let go of.
But who can restrain the thoughts in one's heart and the principles in one's heart?
There is no principle outside the mind, no thing outside the mind, no event outside the mind; the mind itself is principle.
Ouyang Rong called softly towards the cave entrance:
"A poor scholar?"
The next instant, a sword came.
The sword hung upside down above the young man's head.
It was a sky-blue sword.
It trembled slightly, like shaking off snow, shedding the white mist on its body and revealing the sword.
Not far away, the embroiderer, the old Taoist priest, the monk, and the others seemed to be blind, completely ignoring the sword that had appeared out of nowhere, as if they hadn't noticed it at all.
The crystal-clear sword blade cast a sky-blue light, which landed on Ouyang Rong's face, which showed no surprise whatsoever.
[The poor scholar] appeared out of nowhere.
Or rather, it has always been there, just obscured by that "white mist"...
His heart had simply not "seen" it before; in fact, it had always been protecting him.
Ouyang Rong remained lying on his back, slowly closing his eyes. The less he looked at it, the clearer he could see it.
At this moment, if viewed from a distance, the scene of the sword hanging in the underground palace vaguely resembled the scene when someone first comprehended the "Return to the Past" technique in the underground palace and summoned the "Craftsmanship" to suppress Liu Zilin and his group.
The young man who had fallen to the ground smiled, as if to emphasize two points:
"There's a bell in the temple, there's a bell in the temple, come on, ring the bell for me."
In the next instant, the azure sword shadow burst forth with golden light and shot skyward out of the cave entrance.
It seemed to be rushing towards the Donglin Temple bell tower, whose existence was uncertain.
The mind is the principle; it says that where there is a mind, there is a clock.
"珰——!"
A resounding bell suddenly rang out, echoing not only through the underground palace and Donglin Temple, but also through the Hall of Mental Cultivation, reaching the ears of the three female rulers inside and outside the hall. The second female ruler, who was presiding with her eyes closed, suddenly changed color.
"簰——! 珰——! 珰——!"
One could only hear the bells ringing one after another, tirelessly and rhythmically.
The sword is striking the bell!
At the same time, as the bells tolled, strange changes began to occur within the underground palace...
Upon hearing the familiar bell tolling, Ouyang Rong slowly opened his eyes, slowly got up from the ground, and looked around.
The scene I saw this time was somewhat different from the one I had just seen.
All that could be seen were the walls of the underground palace, the lotus pedestal, and the monks and the old Taoist priests, all of whom were covered in a grayish-white color, as if they were made of mist, grayish-white like inanimate objects.
Except for one bright spot.
She is an embroiderer.
She wore a light sky blue hue, like a touch of blue on a sunny summer day.
The sound of the bell seemed to stir up strange waves, golden waves that "washed" the underground palace again and again, separating reality from illusion and revealing a certain "flaw".
The scene of the golden bell appearing was very similar to the scene in Xunyang Grottoes where the old musician used the sound of the "Emperor Wen" zither to make hidden Qi cultivators within a hundred miles appear.
The only difference is that the area is not as large, and the music has been replaced with bell sounds.
This time, Ouyang Rong, awakened by the bell, did not climb up to the underground palace.
He let go of his obsession, turned around, and walked towards the embroiderer.
The latter seemed to think he wanted a water pouch.
"Eeya".
The embroiderer handed over a sheepskin water pouch.
But this time, Ouyang Rong did something he had never done when they first met in the underground palace.
He reached over the water pouch, grabbed the embroiderer's arm, pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly.
In an instant, the entire underground palace froze, like a statue.
In the next instant, the old Taoist, the monk, and the lotus seat collapsed and vanished like sandcastles, turning into mist.
The surroundings returned to the scene of white mist surrounding the main hall.
The embroiderer in Ouyang Rong's arms was the last to disappear, turning into a speck of sky-blue light that disappeared into his brow.
Ouyang Rong maintained the posture of holding him.
The bell tolled temporarily, and the azure sword shadow returned to above his head.
The deadlock in the questioning of the heart vanished without a trace.
He returned to the same spot, inside a grand hall shrouded in white mist.
His tall, slender figure stood there for a while, looking rather lonely.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head and rubbed his face vigorously.
He raised his head again, his eyes filled with a sense of loneliness as he gazed up at the fading golden light on the sword shadow of the "Humble Scholar," his lips seemingly murmuring in a dream:
"Mr. Yu, so this is the divine power of the [Emperor Wen] that you have come to understand... Dispel all illusions and see it as it is..."
"[Emperor Wen] has many supernatural powers. The first-level supernatural power is golden light protecting the body and turning reality into illusion. This is the middle level, like the greatest sound that is silent. It can see through all the illusions and realities in the world and make hidden things appear, including the cultivation light pillars of Qi cultivators... none of them can hide."
"As for the highest level of divine power, you haven't reached it either, sir. If I'm not mistaken, it's the divine power that Cui Hao used when he controlled the Emperor Wen... Words become law."
"But it's not your fault. Only Confucian Qi cultivators can achieve this. Scholars are the most suitable lineage for the [Emperor Wen]. You and I have only reached the middle stage, which is already quite remarkable..."
Ouyang Rong snapped out of his reverie, and this time, he spoke calmly and gently to the poor scholar:
"Stop what? Haven't you eaten? Keep banging."
The azure sword shadow suddenly rose into the air, spinning overhead, its blade bursting with golden halos like the striking of a bell.
"簰——! 珰——!"
As one of the bells continued to ring, the surrounding white mist began to vibrate violently.
The entire hall began to tremble and quiver.
The white mist space seemed unstable, as if it were about to shatter at any moment, and ripples had begun to appear in the air.
He gazed into the distance and, through the dissipating white mist, saw a woman's figure hovering in the air. At the same time, a tall, blonde woman seemed to be rushing over, as if to assist the latter... He wondered if it was Lady Zhi Shuang.
Ignoring the unusual movement of the diamond-shaped floor beneath his feet, Ouyang Rong strode towards that direction with his sword.
Along the way, white mist would occasionally try to approach him, and one illusion after another would appear, enveloping him in a series of trials and tribulations.
There's the rescue of Di Gongzha, the counterattack against the tyrannical Liu family, the clever battle against Qiu Shenji, the Xingzi Lake Buddha's scheme to kill Lin Cheng from afar, and the battle at Shuangfengjian that destroyed the Donglin Buddha...
Each time these questioning puzzles gathered in the white mist, the sound of the bell would soon reveal the hidden azure objects within them, which were the key to solving the puzzles... Ouyang Rong strode towards them and reached out to touch them.
As a result, all the attempts to find the right answer, which were prone to getting stuck in a vicious cycle if they hesitated for even a moment, failed.
"簰——簰——簰——!"
Accompanied by the rhythmic, grand tolling of bells.
The white mist dissipated again and again! Inside the main hall, it was as if countless orbs of light exploded, like footprints extending all the way to the depths of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Ouyang Rong walked steadily and without stopping through the exploding light, heading deeper into the main hall.
A glimmer of azure light shone between his brows, like a guiding light in a vast labyrinth of white mist.
I want to see what kind of sacred place this palace is, and where Miss Zhi Shuang is hiding.
The bell tolls 108 times, and you depart as you please.
(End of this chapter)
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