Chapter 10 Lucky Star, is this Lucky Star Immortal authentic?
Having endured the night, Shen Cangyu felt that the chaotic energy within her body had mostly subsided. She calculated the time; it was approximately Chen Shi (7-9 AM), and dawn was already breaking.
She nudged Xu Qiubai, who was meditating and adjusting his breathing, and said, "It's time to go."
With a flick of her sleeve, as if lifting a curtain, the surrounding scenery changed; darkness faded, and daylight broke, the teapot landing steadily in her palm.
But as the warm air inside the pot dissipated, the cold air from all around seeped in again.
Daylight broke, but the snow had piled up into a thick layer, and the old locust tree overhead drooped its branches, half-dead. Last night, the scene was unclear due to the late hour, but now that it was light, Shen Cangyu could finally see that the old locust tree's bark was charred black, as if it had been struck by lightning.
"Lightning-struck wood?" Xu Qiubai followed Shen Cangyu's gaze and frowned as well. "Isn't this locust wood? Someone wants to dig up lightning-struck locust wood?"
The wood they usually use to make ritual implements is peach or jujube, because peach and jujube are considered yang and can ward off evil. However, locust wood is yin and has no such effect.
"Mortals don't understand those things. They only know that lightning-struck wood is good, so they dig it up and sell it for a good price," Shen Cangyu said with a smirk.
They only knew that lightning-struck wood was a rare and valuable thing, and now that they saw the giant locust tree struck by lightning, they were all vying to get a share of it, stripping the bark and marrow out of this century-old locust tree and squeezing out all its value.
Xu Qiubai's fingers brushed across the hollowed-out tree core: "It had cultivated for a hundred years and developed spirituality. It could survive being struck by heavenly lightning. Unexpectedly, instead of being defeated by the heavenly lightning, it fell victim to humans."
Its trunk has been hollowed out by people, and it probably won't live much longer.
Shen Cangyu tilted his head slightly, glancing at Xu Qiubai out of the corner of his eye. His pupils flashed, as if their colors were changing.
The Taoist magic of the Heavenly Fragrance Goddess granted her successors the ability to communicate with gods, see ghosts, and consult spirits; they could know much information that ordinary people could not.
“The wood carving in the inn last night was made from this tree,” Xu Qiubai murmured, looking up at the drooping branches.
The wind ruffled his hair as he spoke, "That demonic cultivator used it; I must go save it!"
After saying that, he turned and walked away. After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back to look at Shen Cangyu: "Aren't you leaving?"
Shen Cangyu crossed his arms and said, "It's very dangerous there. The two of us can't handle it alone. I advise you to think carefully and contact your sect first."
Hearing her words, Xu Qiubai hesitated for a moment: "No, if we're too late, it will be too late."
"If you're not leaving, then I'll leave by myself." After saying that, Xu Qiubai turned around and walked quickly towards the town.
"Xu Qiubai!" Shen Cangyu raised his voice, his dark eyes fixed on Xu Qiubai's back, and said in a deep voice, "You can see the secrets of heaven, but have you ever looked at your own fate?"
Xu Qiubai pursed his lips, not replying to her, and his figure disappeared into the snow.
Good advice is hard to persuade a damned ghost.
Shen Cangyu snorted coldly and turned to walk in another direction. She had no time to waste on this spoiled brat.
But after taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and muttered under her breath, "Fine, just consider it me meddling in other people's business!"
She turned around and chased after him.
*
White snowflakes drifted down from the sky, mixed with pieces of paper money.
Xu Qiubai watched the funeral procession pass by with gongs and drums. The leader carried a memorial tablet, and several people followed behind carrying a coffin, swaying back and forth. On the coffin was a wooden carving, similar to the one he had seen in the inn yesterday.
Suddenly, he heard the crisp sound of copper coins rattling. He turned his head and saw that the people at the back of the line were holding a treasure bowl, and copper coins were swaying in the treasure bowl.
He stared at the treasure bowl for several moments until the group disappeared into the distance before turning his gaze away and continuing toward the town.
He walked through the bustling market and found the inn he had seen the night before. The inn's signboard swayed in the wind, and the waiter was still busy at the door.
The shop assistant had changed, but the shop remained open, as if last night's events had had no impact on them whatsoever.
The waiter lifted the curtain and ushered a new customer through the door. Xu Qiubai's gaze passed through the lifted curtain and fell upon the wooden carving placed in the center of the lobby.
The wooden carving that he split in two yesterday has been restored to its original state, with the broken edge intact. I don't know if the innkeeper replaced it with a new wooden carving, or if the wooden carving was restored to its original state overnight.
Just as he was thinking this, Xu Qiubai was bumped hard. He staggered forward a few steps and looked back to see a treasure bowl lying on the snow. The person who bumped into him quickly knelt down, kowtowed several times to the treasure bowl, then picked it up and carefully wiped away the snow and dust that had settled on it.
"Excuse me, what exactly is this...?" He was about to ask, pointing at the treasure bowl in the man's hand, but the man holding the treasure bowl gave him a wary look and quickened his pace to run away.
These people are really strange.
Xu Qiubai thought for a moment, then looked in the direction the person had come from. His intuition told him that he should go that way.
He took a few steps, his figure weaving through the crowd. Suddenly, he felt as if time had slowed down, slowing down enough for him to see the expressions and movements of everyone around him. He felt as if he had stepped behind the curtain of a shadow play, watching the figures move segment by segment, their mouths open, but Xu Qiubai could not hear a single sound.
He knew that the "Heavenly Secrets Inquiry" technique within him had flared up again.
As a child, his three souls and seven spirits were unstable, making him seem like a fool, which led to his abandonment by his blood relatives. His master took him in and told him that this was his destiny to become an immortal, that he was born to cultivate immortality.
He simply stood in the incense hall and received the inheritance of the Heavenly Fragrance Goddess, thus gaining the Taoist ability to "see the secrets of heaven," which confirmed what his master had said at the time.
Everyone says he's a genius and asks him why he's still not satisfied.
Only he knew that it wasn't that he had inherited Tianxiang Niangniang's legacy, but rather that Tianxiang Niangniang had possessed him.
He suffers from a condition where his soul leaves his body. His body is an excellent vessel, and anyone who comes can displace his soul and take over his body. If he is not careful, his soul will drift out of his body again, just like it is now.
Xu Qiubai began reciting the Heart Sutra, his inner elixir circulated, and his three souls and seven spirits returned to their original positions. The sounds from all around surged in like a tide.
"With the clinking of copper coins, one can acquire a thousand taels of gold, ten thousand acres of fertile land, and countless mansions..."
His gaze swept through the crowd and saw pairs of hands raised high, clutching money bags. The ropes of the money bags were pulled open, and copper coins jingled as they fell into the treasure basin.
An old man in the center of the crowd was banging a gong and chanting incantations. Standing next to him was a two-story-high wooden statue of a deity.
The statue has a benevolent face, with a pair of dark eyes looking down at the ant-like crowd below.
The treasure bowl in front of the statue was filled with copper coins, and incense smoke wafted around it.
"May you have many children and grandchildren, a smooth career, all your wishes come true, and good fortune shine upon you..."
He saw countless people in tattered clothes, patched up, desperately trying to squeeze in front of the idol. They were so poor that they couldn't even afford a decent piece of clothing, yet they still put the copper coins in their hands into the treasure bowl.
He seemed to have gone mad.
What is that?
The aunt standing next to him said, "That's the Lucky Star Immortal."
Offering copper coins to the God of Fortune will bring good luck, abundant wealth, and the fulfillment of all your wishes.
As the saying goes, after a person dies, they go to the underworld to settle their merits and deeds in life. Yama, the King of Hell, will then make a mark on their record and decide whether they will be reborn into a good family in the next life.
The next life is too far away for them to see. But as long as they worship the God of Fortune, their luck will change immediately, without having to wait for the next life.
People who feel hopeless about the future often think of taking a gamble, handing over their money to a fortune teller, and betting on their future.
"Will it work?" Xu Qiubai asked. His aunt stood even further away from him as if she had seen some strange person, muttering incantations and begging the Lucky Star Immortal for forgiveness.
How could mortals dare to offend the gods?
Once one person makes a pilgrimage to the God of Fortune, another person will follow suit.
If everyone is moving forward, then those who stay in place are essentially moving backward. People who don't worship the God of Fortune often suspect that others are stealing their money when they see them making money.
So, in order to get ahead and make money, everyone pledged their loyalty to the Lucky Star Immortal and rushed to climb the ranks.
“This Lucky Star Immortal is fake. Even if there really is a Lucky Star Immortal, he would never do such a thing,” Xu Qiubai shouted.
Xu Qiubai had lived in Kunlun for so many years and had never heard of a deity called "Lucky Star Immortal." Deities wouldn't intentionally get involved in people's karma. He concluded that someone must be using the name of Lucky Star Immortal to do this kind of fame-seeking and profit-making thing.
The mastermind behind all this is the demonic cultivator hiding in Nanke Mountain.
He's going to expose this conspiracy!
As Xu Qiubai's voice faded, the bustling crowd gradually quieted down, and a group of people turned to look at him.
Seeing that people had finally quieted down to listen to him, he mustered his courage again and said, "I am a monk from Kunlun, and I can prove that it is fake."
But as soon as he finished speaking, someone threw a snowball at him.
The compacted snowball hit him and instantly turned into snow powder.
The snowball shattered the peace, and then a deluge of rotten vegetable leaves and snowballs rained down on him, nearly burying him.
Xu Qiubai could only raise his hand to shield himself.
At that moment, he felt something wrap around his waist, and then his body was pulled backward and sent flying out of the people's attack range.
He turned around and saw Shen Cangyu holding a rope in his hand, with the other end of the rope wrapped around his waist.
He saw Shen Cangyu snort and said, "I thought you had some great ability when I saw you leave so resolutely, but it turns out you were beaten like a drowning dog."
A note from the author:
Purely fictional.
"Kunlun taught you how to transcend the world, but didn't it teach you how to enter the world?" Shen Cangyu tossed the rope aside and looked at the huge crowd in front of him.
Xu Qiubai's lips trembled slightly, but he didn't say anything.
"If you're going to cause trouble, you should wait until it's dark and windy. You're ruining someone's business right in front of them. Aren't you just asking to get beaten up?" Shen Cangyu heard the distant gong sounds gradually becoming more urgent, the noise penetrating her ears and making her somewhat annoyed.
She really didn't want to come back.
Her coin-shaped eyes are her worst enemy.
"Run!" Shen Cangyu grabbed Xu Qiubai's hand and turned to run. She couldn't beat him, but couldn't she at least run?
The crowd chased after them, and as the gong sounds grew louder, white mist suddenly rose from the ground and clung to their feet.
The road seemed to be stretching out, with buildings one after another on all sides. People would occasionally dart out from the alleyway and rush towards them. Shen Cangyu pulled Xu Qiubai along, slipping through the crowd like an eel.
But this road seems to have no end.
Shen Cangyu glanced at the shadow on the ground out of the corner of his eye and stopped in his tracks.
It turned out that she had been trapped in the formation at some point.
The wrist she was holding suddenly felt light. She looked down and saw that Xu Qiubai, who had been following her, had disappeared. What she was holding in her hand was a puppet.
She let go, and the puppet lost its support, falling to the ground with a "thud".
The puppet's face looked familiar to her, just like the statue she had seen last night. However, the statue's eyes were pitch black, seemingly devoid of luster, yet as if a divine soul had been infused into the puppet.
Shen Cangyu was incredibly bold; he squatted down in front of the puppet and tried to gouge out its eyes.
Before her hand even touched the puppet's face, the puppet's eyes suddenly rolled, staring straight at her. It opened its mouth and said, "So, you're here to kill me too."
Upon hearing this, the disappointed look in her eyes from her senior brother on Blind Mountain resurfaced in her mind.
Shen Cangyu's face darkened, and he grabbed the puppet's head and slammed it hard onto the ground: "I didn't want to kill you just now, but I do now."
The thing said softly, "What do you want? I can help you."
With a flick of her jade hand, Shen Cangyu swung the axe into her grasp and swung it backward, but the shadow dissipated like white mist and then solidified again in the distance.
It was a little doll dressed in brown clothes. It looked up at Shen Cangyu and said, "Do you want wealth, peace, or a career advancement? I can give you anything. Just give me a copper coin and I will grant your wish."
"You're the lucky star they've been talking about, right?" Shen Cangyu looked at it with a hint of inquiry in her eyes.
“Yes, for just one copper coin, I can give you anything you want,” the little boy said in a clear voice. “If you want to learn Taoist magic and become an immortal, I can help you.”
"You've said so much, but you still haven't guessed what I want to ask for. It seems even you, the Lucky Star Immortal, can't grant my request." Shen Cangyu ran towards it with his axe raised. As soon as the axe struck, the figure turned into white mist and disappeared.
The figures in front of her were all illusions; she hadn't found the creature's true form yet and couldn't harm it.
“You want to kill someone,” the voice whispered in her ear. “That person is still at sea. If I summon a gust of wind to capsize his ship, he will be lost at sea and never appear before you again.” The voice tempted her.
maritime?
Shen Cangyu waved away the illusory image and remembered that there were still three or four years before Shen Qingyan came to Kunlun, three or four years before the story took place, and at this point in time, the time traveler had not yet appeared.
If she remembered correctly, Shen Qingyan was on a ship traveling from Penglai to the mainland when they encountered Hainan Island, where everyone perished. It was at this moment that a transmigrator from another world entered Shen Qingyan's body, possessing him and becoming the new Shen Qingyan.
If that shipwreck hadn't happened, the transmigrator wouldn't have entered Shen Qingyan's body and come to this world.
Or perhaps, if he had died more decisively, completely, leaving no trace of his remains...
Shen Cangyu snapped out of her daze and reached into the money pouch at her waist.
She kicked away the illusory figure in front of her: "Trying to get money out of my pocket? You'll never get it in your life!" She would never allow it!
"Why? A wish for a copper coin, isn't that a worthwhile trade?" The surrounding white mist gradually thickened, wrapping around her hands and feet.
"I will fulfill my own wish!" Shen Cangyu made a hand seal and gestured forward.
"A universe hidden in the sleeve!"
The weather suddenly changed, and the white mist around her began to swirl rapidly, pouring into her open sleeves.
A drop of bright red blood splattered on the ground.
Shen Cangyu felt her internal energy becoming chaotic, but as she looked at the gradually clearing scenery around her, she increased the power of the Universe in Her Sleeves.
*
"Let me see, what do you want?" The little boy stood in front of Xu Qiubai, his eyes dark and menacing.
Xu Qiubai gripped his sword and watched it warily.
"Others seek to live, but you seek to die. What a strange person you are."
When its voice reached his ears, Xu Qiubai's heart skipped a beat, and he stared at it in disbelief.
"You feel that your fellow disciples are taking care of you because they are acting on your master's instructions. You feel that your master treats you well because of your destiny. You feel that Tianxiang will pass on its inheritance to you because of your special constitution. You want to abandon everything and start over."
Xu Qiubai felt a chill run down his spine.
"You want to prove that you are a useful person. You want to see if you could have reached this level without those helpers... but you don't dare to take that step."
His heart was ripped open, bleeding profusely, and he blushed deeply.
It was all true. He grew up in Kunlun. Because he was weak and sickly from a young age, he received a lot of care from the elders and fellow disciples and gained many resources that others could not have.
But ever since he learned about his origins, he couldn't help but worry. He wondered if his fate and constitution had changed, would he have lost everything he had now?
He was exceptionally gifted, but in Kunlun, a place where stars gather, there is no shortage of exceptionally gifted people.
He fears that he is only slightly better than others because of the resources behind him.
The more you worry, the more stagnant you become.
He feared he wouldn't meet his master's expectations, feared he wasn't worthy of it all; these thoughts haunted his mind and eventually became his inner demons.
He worried that he was not a fine jade, so he dared not work hard to polish himself, but he also half believed that he was a fine jade, so he refused to associate with rubble.
Xu Qiubai felt that he was living too hard and might as well just give up.
"Since you don't want all of that, why don't I... take your place!" The voice drilled into his ears, and white mist wrapped around his neck.
Xu Qiubai felt a force pulling at his soul, trying to forcibly pull it out of his body.
He fell to the ground, the sword lying beside him. He struggled to reach out and touch the sword, but the scene before him grew darker and darker.
Or... should we just leave it at that?
"A universe hidden in the sleeve!"
White mist surged, swirling up sand and snow. An axe came flying through the air, cleaving the wooden statue in front of Xu Qiubai and splitting its head in two.
Wood chips flew everywhere, and the two mushroom-like eyes in the statue's eye sockets rolled down, leaving behind pieces of charred debris.
It turns out that the eyes of this statue were made from the wood of the hundred-year-old locust tree struck by lightning, which explains why it carries such a heavy aura of yin.
The locust tree survived the tribulation of lightning, but the townspeople hollowed it out and took its life. The locust tree resented these humans, so it poured its essence into a statue and made a deal with them, arousing their greed, disrupting their lives, and leading them step by step into the abyss.
The statue landed on the ground, and the spirit of the locust tree flew out from it.
"Why! Why! Why!" it screamed shrilly, and the sound of copper coins swirled around it. It was absorbing the faith of the worshippers and the greed of people to strengthen its own spirit.
Seeing this, Shen Cangyu knew something was wrong. She coughed up blood, took out the teapot, and tried her best to use the "Sun and Moon in the Teapot" technique one last time to shield herself and Xu Qiubai from the danger.
"Ninefold Fire".
A voice rang out from afar, and flames swept in, blotting out the sky.
Shen Cangyu raised her hand to block in front of her, but the burning sensation did not appear. She looked up and saw that the flames had transformed into a solid barrier around them. The white mist crashed into the flames and disappeared without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.
Seeing this, the locust tree spirit realized something was wrong and was about to flee when the flames, as if anticipating its thoughts, rushed towards it, enveloping it and continuously condensing.
The locust tree spirit struggled in the fire. Before its consciousness faded, it seemed to hear the crisp sound of copper coins. It heard itself ask, "What is this? Isn't this just a stone? Why do humans laugh when they see it?"
That day, the woman standing under the tree smiled, the beaded curtain in front of her face swaying gently with her movements. She placed the copper coin in her palm and said to it, "Little locust tree, this is no ordinary stone. This is human greed, and this is what will cost you your life."
The locust tree doesn't understand human emotions, nor does it understand why, after taking care of humanity for centuries and sheltering them from the wind and rain, they have turned against it with axes.
"Little locust tree, do you want to become an immortal?" The woman placed her hand on the tree trunk. "I can help you."
A warm current enveloped it, and its spirit, which had mostly dispersed, was re-coalesced by this warm current.
“I will impart the Dao to you, and from then on, you will be able to feed on human greed and cultivate the Dao to become an immortal.”
The woman lowered her hand, and the moon-white silk slid down, the bell on her wrist jingling, the crisp sound like copper coins falling into a treasure basin.
A copper coin fell into the snow, its surface charred black.
True gold is not afraid of being tested by fire, but unfortunately it is just copper.
Shen Cangyu felt a sharp pain in her internal organs. She covered her mouth, and the blood she hadn't swallowed seeped through her fingers. As the firelight faded, she could see the figure in the distance, and a name almost escaped her lips.
"Senior Brother?" Xu Qiubai stared blankly at the newcomer.
It is Pei Wenjing, but not entirely him.
Shen Cangyu looked at that familiar, handsome face, her gaze falling on his eyes.
Those were deep black eyes, different from the ones she remembered.
A note from the author:
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