The remnant soul of the jade coin aids me... to ascend to heaven on a chosen day.
The few fellow disciples who emerged from the sect came to this place, mostly because they had heard of Pei Xuan's long-standing illness and Pei Hanzhou's arrival.
Although most of them had already heard or seen that Pei Xuanzhi was able to get out of bed and walk around yesterday, since he had come from all directions outside the sect, it couldn't be treated as simply as it would be inside the sect.
After leaving Yu Yi's room, it was still early, so Yan Huanyue first asked the waiter to deliver several meals to the various fellow disciples' rooms.
Then, he took Pei Xuanzhi to visit each of them to inform them of Pei Xuanzhi's current situation and to express his gratitude to his fellow disciples for coming from afar.
When Han Shuangying, the first to visit, invited them into the house for tea, she calmly said, "Before dawn, Senior Brother Xianqing had already come and said that Junior Brother Pei had recovered. The Sect Leader paid for the room and told all the disciples to go about their business as soon as possible and not to linger."
Then he looked at Pei Xuanzhi and said, "I've heard that it's common for amnesiacs to transfer their affections to others, or even abandon their wives for new husbands. What about you, Junior Brother Pei?"
Pei Xuanzhi, who had been standing quietly behind Yan Huanyue, smiled slightly upon hearing this and replied politely, "Perhaps it's hard to change one's nature, and one's likes and dislikes are hard to change. I'm fine now."
Whether he was unwilling to publicly discuss his marital affairs or was simply talking about his illness, he spoke very vaguely, yet managed to shut down all the questions with his simple words.
But what is his true nature, what are his likes and dislikes, and what does he consider "good"? Who but himself really knows?
In Han Shuangying's memory, when the sect leader went to Chang'an to pick him up, Su Henghua of Qingxu Peak, who was still at home in Xianyang, also rushed to Chang'an and played a few games of chess with him.
"The way a person plays a game can reveal their deepest character. I won one game, and he won another."
"In the third game, he figured out my moves and was able to use my moves to kill my moves. He completely changed his approach from the first two games. All his layouts and predictions made me feel like I was really playing against myself. I'm afraid even the first two games weren't his true moves."
"He is very weak, but his mind is meticulous and discreet. I heard that when the sect leader was practicing swordsmanship at the Chaotian Wall, he could master the sword techniques of mountains and seas after observing the shadows of his predecessors. Clearly, that junior brother has inherited this skill, but..."
At that moment, Su Henghua stopped herself from speaking and said, "He is so weak and rarely speaks. I noticed that the people in his Chang'an family seem to be afraid of him. I don't know if it's because they know about his demonic body, or because they respect the sect leader, or something else."
"However, I am a member of the Su family, and I absolutely cannot interfere too much in the affairs of the Pei family."
Su Henghua is almost demonic in her wisdom. Although she always has a smiling and leisurely appearance, she is extremely intelligent.
Although Han Shuangying was not as perceptive as her, she could clearly sense Su Henghua's hesitant thoughts every time she met Pei Xuanzhi.
He wasn't exactly a saint, but he also didn't commit any major mistakes.
All things under heaven carry yin and yang, right and wrong rotate, good and evil intertwine. No one is absolutely good or absolutely right. It is precisely because of this that cultivation is necessary; otherwise, there would be saints everywhere by now.
As Han Shuangying added water to the teapot, she said, "In that case, take good care of yourself and hope that Junior Brother can wipe away the past as soon as possible."
Pei Xuanzhi nodded with a smile.
Yan Huanyue said, "Senior Sister Han, there's no need to rush. Since Senior Brother and Sister Ji are leaving, we should go and pay our respects as soon as possible."
As she spoke, she pulled Pei Xuanzhi out the door. Just as they stepped outside, she turned back and asked, "Did Senior Sister Han take on any other missions?"
"No."
Yan Huanyue was delighted and said with a smile, "Then we can go back together. I have some questions that I've accumulated, and I'd like to ask my teacher."
Han Shuangying said, "Well, then let's write a record of its publication as soon as possible, as usual."
With just one sentence from Senior Sister Han, Yan Huanyue was busy for two days.
On the day his fellow disciples left, Pei Hanzhou, along with Su Xianqing, Han Shuangying, Yan Huanyue, and Pei Xuanzhi, embarked on their journey home.
Yan Huanyue would conceive ideas while riding her sword during the day, and write the "Record of Birth" by lamplight in the inn at night.
From the beginning of his journey to Emperor Mingde, he wrote all the way to the small world, focusing only on the specific events that occurred during his encounters with danger, and analyzing his own losses, shortcomings, or lucky victories.
Pei Xuanzhi said he couldn't sleep, so he stayed up with her, quietly sitting beside her to grind ink for her, watching her write down her past experiences stroke by stroke.
"...Upon leaving the Mingde Sect, Xuanzhi, still suffering from a cold, was taken by carriage and left behind by his fellow disciples. There, they encountered two people using the Qiankun Step technique, exchanging banter. They bound them with a single-word incantation and interrogated them about their origins. It turned out to be a deserted inn where people killed and refined elixirs. Upon arriving in a small town, they consulted with Elder Feng, while Xuanzhi and I first investigated the matter..."
"...Using his past strength, he thrust his blade against the wall, intending to climb up, but Xuan tore him down, using the alluring demonic mist to traverse the abyss, almost reaching the earth's veins..."
"...The ghost moths swarmed everywhere, leaving no trace of Xuan..."
Pei Xuanzhi spent two days grinding ink beside her, and had already roughly learned a lot about the past. With the addition of Lu Shenchu's Record of His Birth, he had roughly grasped his past experiences in just three days.
Based on his current physical condition, it's reasonable to assume that he acquired many things from his lost memories: the marriage contract, the thousand-year-old child from the Ghost Market, and perhaps something else entirely.
Senior Sister Yan mentioned that they had returned to Chang'an together, and after they left, Lu's adoptive parents died.
He didn't even need to think twice; he must have done it himself...
.
On the third day, while passing by the vicinity of the Mingde Sect, he happened to encounter several disciples of the Mingde Sect upon landing. As a result, on the second day, several elders came to visit him and inquire about the whereabouts of Sect Leader Wen.
Yan Huanyue then realized that Pei Hanzhou had come down the mountain earlier because he discovered that the demons had spread the mystery of the Ghost Market's reopening, intending to draw the attention of various sects and families to the Ghost Market and take the opportunity to forcefully attack the East Sea Abyss.
The major sects and the Sky Patrol Bureau then dispatched their disciples to the Ghost Market.
The elders and leaders of various sects personally led a small number of disciples to the East Sea Abyss, loosened the barrier slightly, set up formations and waited. Those demons who rushed across the abyss were all annihilated.
Taking advantage of the demons opening the other barrier, they rushed in and wiped out the demon army lined up inside and outside the abyss.
This forced the demons to completely move the barrier out of the East China Sea and place it dozens of miles away from the coast.
When Pei Hanzhou crossed into the Demon Realm, he learned that Pei Xuanzhi had left the Mingde Sect. Although he was worried, the battle was in full swing at the time, and he could not worry about anything else.
After setting up a new barrier on the west coast of the East Sea, they learned that Pei Xuanzhi had appeared in Xiling.
On the way back, I heard that he was seriously ill and unconscious again. When I finally found him, I learned from Yan Huanyue that after leaving Emperor Mingdezong's residence, he went to the Ghost Market alone...
Pei Hanzhou felt that although his son was not in good health, he was also a lot of trouble.
In the long run, if he develops a heart ailment someday, it will be because this living ancestor has shown him mercy and let him off the hook.
Pei Hanzhou and several elders of Emperor Mingde went inside to talk, while Yan Huanyue and the others went back to wait.
A tiny tabby cat, no bigger than a palm, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hopped along with Yan Huanyue and her companion back to their room.
Although he had a cloak and a wind-avoidance spell, Pei Xuanzhi had been exposed to the wind for two days and was coughing quite badly. After taking some medicine, he moved a chair to the backyard of the inn to read and sunbathe.
Yan Huanyue was already teasing the kitten with grass leaves in the backyard. As soon as he came in, the kitten started meowing and jumping on him.
Pei Xuanzhi calmly took two steps back, carrying a chair. The little kitten missed its target and looked at him with a pitiful expression. After a while, it turned to play with Yan Huanyue.
He sat on a chair dressed in a gold-embroidered snow-white robe, resting his chin on one hand and casually watching Yan Huanyue. He coughed occasionally, which startled the little kitten, who kept glancing at him while playing.
When the kitten was startled by his low cough again and jumped to Yan Huanyue's skirt, Yan Huanyue couldn't help but say, "You're making a fuss and it's scared. Go inside and rest."
Pei Xuanzhi said quietly, "It'll get used to it. I also need to bask in the sun. Some cats are good at pretending; they're not as innocent as you think."
Yan Huanyue placed the cat at his feet, broke off a blade of grass for him, and said, "Then play with it for a while. Once it gets used to you, it won't be afraid of you anymore."
Pei Xuanzhi looked into her bright eyes, then glanced down at the little kitten that was obediently squatting beside his cloud-patterned shoes, its eyes blinking with watery mist. He felt inexplicably displeased and said in a low voice, "Sister, play with it."
Yan Huanyue was taken aback and asked, "Why do you call me that?"
Pei Xuanzhi said casually, "I've heard Senior Brother Su mention it. Don't you like it?"
Yan Huanyue shook her head. "No, I thought you remembered something."
As she spoke, she lifted her skirt and half-squatted down beside the kitten, stroking its fluffy head, and said, "What's wrong? Don't you like it? Didn't you have a cat before? By the way, why didn't you ask about its whereabouts at all?"
Pei Xuanzhi's eyes flickered subtly as she said calmly, "Sister, you mean it? It has a strange temperament and doesn't obey me. It often disappears on its own, but I'm used to it."
Yan Huanyue laughed and said, "But it was very well-behaved with me. It enjoyed bathing and grooming it, cooing like a pigeon. I originally wanted to keep it with me, but it still ran away."
Pei Xuanzhi felt as if he had been gently stroked in the chest, his expression one of serene clarity after a snowfall, a gentle smile on his face.
While teasing the cat, Yan Huanyue said, "I heard from Senior Sister Han that the Sect Leader killed the demon general who attacked in the chaos. That demon general seemed to be a nobleman in the Demon Palace. The Sect Leader took several Demon Treasure Scrolls from him. I heard that this scroll is called the True Immortal Treasure Scroll. It is a treasure among the demons and few people can read or study it."
Pei Xuanzhi's eyes flickered, then he lazily basked in the sunlight, turned a page of his book, and said unhurriedly, "I've never heard Father mention it."
Yan Huanyue fed the cat some food, but the cat was clearly picky and not very enthusiastic about the food she gave it. While waiting for the cat to eat, she said, "Do you know how he disposed of these demonic treasure books?"
Pei Xuanzhi looked up from the book and asked, "How is it?"
Yan Huanyue smiled and said, "After correcting the techniques that were unsuitable for human cultivation, together with several sect leaders and elders, we printed tens of thousands of copies and distributed them to various continents. I heard that Sect Leader Wen is currently overseeing the printing and distribution on the shore of the East Sea. If you hadn't disobeyed his arrangements and left Mingde Sect on your own, the sect leader wouldn't have been in such a hurry to come back."
Pei Xuanzhi appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was already in turmoil.
The True Immortal Treasure Scroll...
The demon race possesses three great treasure scrolls, is a castaway from the heavens, and has divine blood, which is why they call themselves "the reflection of the gods."
The master once vowed to obtain the three great treasure scrolls, "True Immortal," "Heaven and Earth," and "Universe," and vowed to cultivate them diligently before slaying all the demons.
Unexpectedly, my father retrieved the "True Immortal Treasure Scroll." Instead of keeping it for his own cultivation, he revised and improved it before printing and distributing it like cabbages.
What do the demons think?
A single scroll, given to one person, can only lead to one form and one realm of cultivation. But if all people in the world were to cultivate it, there would be countless forms, countless realms, and countless mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens.
He should have learned about the Tianyan Sect's attitude towards books from the Xuanji Ranking in the Tianyan Sect's library long ago.
Each year, the Xuanji List selects the most valuable articles written by disciples after reading books and compiles them into a book for all disciples to refer to and discuss, in order to bring forth newer and more suitable ideas.
Pei Xuanzhi looked at her and said, "Let's get a copy too."
"good."
As the two were talking, the little kitten suddenly scrambled up a tree, jumped onto the roof beam, and disappeared in an instant.
Pei Hanzhou walked out of the courtyard gate and said, "After lunch, we'll continue our journey."
.
Yun Guan'er's real name is Youzhi. He is a black swallow. Because he is young, he has excessive energy and is a natural-born warlike creature.
At this moment, it was smacking its pair of bird claws, surveying the windowsill with an air of majesty.
It overreacts to the slightest disturbance, flapping its wings and chirping incessantly, seemingly never tiring of its activity.
Little did they know that they had been targeted by a cat that had quietly slipped into the room.
Taking advantage of Yun Guan'er's unpreparedness, the kitten leaped from the doorway and bit Yun Guan'er's head.
Suddenly someone pinched the cat's mouth and rescued Yun Guan'er. Yun Guan'er was still in shock and rushed straight outside, her head wet and her feathers flying everywhere.
Pei Hanzhou closed the door with a sullen face, cast a protective barrier, put the cat into an iron cage, and said emotionlessly, "Her life or death is uncertain, yet you still have the mind to go out and play."
The kitten scratched and clawed inside the cage, unable to find a way out, and cried out in frustration.
As it continued to howl, perhaps it was so angry that it suddenly transformed into a strong lioness, bursting through the iron cage in an instant. It roared fiercely at him and swallowed him whole.
In the blink of an eye, Pei Hanzhou stood alone in the room, a wisp of faint crimson demonic mist gently held between his fingers, slowly and deliberately slipping it into his sleeve...
Once the Record of the Birth was completed, Pei Xuanzhi was assigned to follow Pei Hanzhou, Yan Huanyue, and Han Shuangying, traveling together on their swords, traversing mountains and rivers, brushing through clouds and mist, and discussing cultivation methods.
Upon returning to the Tianyan Sect, Yan Huanyue settled Pei Xuanzhi in and, without lingering, eagerly rushed into the Heavenly Stele.
When he came out, he was covered in blood, his hair was disheveled, and he was exhausted.
The good news is that our ranking has improved by ten places.
The phrase "re-entering the cycle of reincarnation" was hidden among the inner disciples. Although it was still not very obvious, she was already quite satisfied.
Now that they have the qualifications to enter the inner sect, they can participate in the inner sect trial in early autumn and become disciples.
Pei Xuanzhi stayed in the room to rest alone. As soon as he entered the room, he saw a very familiar small box on the table under the north wall.
After she left, he went to the table, opened the small box on it, and saw that it contained several boxes.
He casually picked one up and opened it, revealing a stack of silver notes. The first one he saw was a silver note from Xin'an Si, worth one hundred taels of silver.
This was given by the family after the demon was exorcised by Xuanjiang in the past. It totaled 160 taels. According to the agreed-upon method of distribution, Lu Shenchu was to offer 100 taels to him at the place of worship.
He flipped through the box of silver notes, and they were indeed all his; even the small creases he left when he took the notes were the same.
He put down the silver notes and picked up another box, which he opened to find several jade pendants inside.
These were all items he had worn himself, along with several stacks of square white jade pieces, which were taken from his old belt.
He even took apart his jade belt and gave it to her?
Opening another box revealed a box full of spirit stones, divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower, using two dividers.
Opening another box revealed a box full of loose gold and silver pieces, also separated by dividers.
This was almost all the money he had earned in his memory, and it was so openly displayed in her room.
At the bottom of the box was a list in his own handwriting, listing all the items inside, with the note: "These are just ordinary household items; please feel free to use them as you see fit, sister."
vulgarian……
He worked himself to the bone for years to earn that much; if he really thought it was vulgar, he wouldn't have bothered to earn it.
The Divine Soul Descent is no simple matter; in fact, he even used the Crying Spirit Blade in several aspects, which damages one's lifespan. It was truly a matter of risking one's life for money and spirit stones.
He glanced at the list and realized she hadn't used anything, which made him feel inexplicably empty.
He tidied up the box and put it back in its original place. He sat on the edge of the bed and read a book for a while. Thinking of the jade pendant he had just seen, he remembered that he still had seven jade coins in his treasure bag.
He took out a jade coin and played with it in his hand for a while before realizing that the spiritual energy in the jade coin seemed to have consciousness and was trying to communicate with him.
He calmly sat up straight, held the jade coin in his palm, and extended a wisp of his divine sense, which indeed entered the jade coin.
A wisp of black energy swirled within the jade coin, lingering for a long time.
Pei Xuanzhi's consciousness stayed inside for a long time. Just as he was about to leave, an old voice came from the black mist.
Do you know the shortcut to spiritual practice in this world?
Pei Xuanzhi remained indifferent.
The black mist swirled around his consciousness and continued, "You went to great lengths to find me, wasn't it because you wanted to know how to quickly become a powerful cultivator?"
All Pei Xuanzhi did was pick it up after being introduced into the small world, and after waking up, he found seven jade coins in his treasure pouch. Today, he just casually took out one of them.
But he said in a serious tone, "Yes, it took me quite a bit of effort."
"People seek me but do not know my true nature. Ah... If you release me, I will impart to you the most superior cultivation method."
Pei Xuanzhi asked, "What kind of cultivation method is it?"
The black mist swirled around him, and suddenly Pei Xuanzhi saw a scene flash before his eyes: he stepped onto the clouds, rode dragons and phoenixes, and roamed the heavens, his sword startling even ghosts and gods.
"See? This is the future you can achieve. If you release me, I will teach you."
Pei Xuanzhi said calmly, "How do I know if what you're saying is true or false?"
The black mist swirled around him, coaxing him gently, "Then you can try the least important, yet also the most important, part."
"What?"
"Kill your wife to prove your path. I know you have a wife. A true strongman abandons love and transcends the mortal realm, severing the world with a single sword. Kill the one you love most to forge your character and become invincible. You will surely make great progress in your cultivation."
Pei Xuanzhi asked, "Is that all? Since you're going to kill the one you love, why not kill your father and mother along with your wife? If your parents are already dead, wouldn't it be considered tempering your character to desecrate their graves, whip their corpses, and scatter their ashes?"
The black smoke paused for a moment, then said, "You could say that... but..."
"A wife is not a true blood relative, but when she performs love, it can be watched and recognized by the world. If killing the one you love most can prove your path, then tell me, for whom is this path proven?"
The black smoke said, "It's all so that you can become the supreme being in heaven and earth!"
Pei Xuanzhi was speechless at its logic, and even laughed helplessly.
"That means that those who can kill their wives to prove their path still love themselves the most. They are just selfish people using the blood of innocent people to cover up their own despicable and ugly nature. They kill people and then claim that they killed them because of love. According to your logic, you should advise me to kill myself, senior."
"Nonsense! Nonsense! Those who sever all emotions and love have minds as firm as a rock; those who kill their wives to attain enlightenment can penetrate heaven and earth! Do you know how many have already practiced my methods and attained true enlightenment...?"
Pei Xuanzhi's consciousness circled around the jade coin. When he was young, he had also seen the man who killed his wife when he traveled through the world with his teacher.
They are nothing but incompetent cowards, mostly addicted to gambling and alcohol, or born violent and vicious. They are worse than pigs and dogs outside, but at home they bully their wives and children, act like kings and bullies, and domineering and tyrannical.
When did these cowardly rats in prison become the all-powerful figures in the mouths of this black smoke?
Isn't the standard set by such all-knowing and all-powerful people far too low-level?
There are actually people who believe this?
It's unclear whether the black smoke is boasting or if someone has actually raised a butcher's knife to reflect their own despicable and ugly state.
Pei Xuanzhi's consciousness floated in mid-air as he casually said, "I respect your right to express your opinion. Perhaps some people think what you said is quite reasonable. I can let you out, but how should I let you out?"
Human nature is greedy and selfish; it is not uncommon for people to sacrifice others' lives to climb higher. If this is covered by a beautiful illusion as a moral shield, it becomes more acceptable to people.
There are few people who cannot be reformed by black smoke, and he was quite satisfied with Pei Xuanzhi's similar response to those of the others before him.
There are always people who pretend to be virtuous and righteous, saying they can't bear to part with this or that. Such people are hypocritical, and when they kill their wives for their future and interests, they are often more ruthless than others.
Ironically, when it devours the souls of these women offered up through magic, some foolish women actually believe they were killed because they were loved, loved too much, and that's why they were killed. Hahahaha...
Having this kind of thought means you don't even love yourself, so how can you expect another person to love you? Hahaha...
“I have been sealed inside a jade coin for a hundred years. You only need to break the seal with your blood. After I get out, I will help you ascend to heaven on a chosen day.”
"Alright, I will release you shortly. I hope you will help me... to ascend to heaven on a chosen day."
His divine sense withdrew, and Pei Xuanzhi opened his eyes; it was dusk.
He pasted several talismans on the doors and windows, set up a protective barrier, took out a silver-tipped dagger from his treasure pouch, and very stingily cut his fingertip.
A drop of blood slowly seeped out, and in no time, the small wound was almost scabbed over.
He smeared the blood droplets onto the jade coin with the tip of his knife. In an instant, a wisp of black smoke billowed out of the jade coin, causing the books and clothes in the room to fly and become disheveled.
Pei Xuanzhi had a headache. The room was so messy that it would take a lot of time to clean it up, but if he didn't clean it up, Senior Sister Yan would definitely be angry when she came back.
Unaware of Pei Xuanzhi's increasingly gloomy face, the black smoke continued to rage and scream wildly in the room, causing Pei Xuanzhi's head to throb with pain.
"Hahahaha, I'm finally out! Nothing can hold me back anymore, I... ah... what is that...?"
Pei Xuanzhi made a hand seal with one hand, and the black jade bracelet on his left wrist flowed with dark light, swallowing the twisting, trying-to-escape black smoke whole.
After the dust settled, Pei Xuanzhi slowly smoothed out his embroidered gold sleeves and said in a low voice, "Naturally, it's to nourish the Soul-Crossing Bracelet so that I can guide the souls of the virtuous to the afterlife, and help your evil soul... to ascend to heaven sooner."
He listlessly put away the jade coins, looking at the messy state of the room.
There are six more jade coins like this; I wonder what they contain.
Pei Xuanzhi always felt that, following his own path, his memories might be hidden in one of them.
But now, the important thing is not to search for those jade coins, but to get up and tidy up the house.
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