Chapter 945: Iron Tree Tests the Heart



However, after Xu Xian left for more than half a step, he immediately used all his strength to circulate his true energy and rushed towards the Iron Tree Immortal's cave as fast as possible.

But unfortunately, he learned the way of immortal martial arts and did not know the art of flying. The reason he was able to move in the air during the previous battle was because he channeled his true energy into his feet, using it as a force to move his left foot and then his right foot to fly into the sky.

Later, when he stood on the clouds with Bai Suzhen, it was Bai Suzhen who used the cloud-driving technique, and it had nothing to do with Xu Xian.

Therefore, Xu Xian could not travel in the sky like Du Qian and walk the shortest straight-line distance.

He could only climb mountains and cross rivers, so the actual distance was more than twice as long as Du Qian's.

But even so, with his true energy running at full power, Xu Xian still arrived here in just three hours.

He came to the valley as instructed by the thousand-year-old ginseng spirit, but found that there was no cave in the valley. Instead, there was a seemingly old Taoist temple on the hillside next to it.

Xu Xian frowned and thought for a moment, then decided to go to the Taoist temple to ask to see if he could find out the whereabouts of the Iron Tree Immortal.

So Xu Xian turned and ran towards the Taoist temple. After several leaps, he easily arrived at the gate of the temple.

At this time, the gate of the Taoist temple was wide open. Through the gate, one could see the Sanqing Hall in the temple, as well as two figures, one tall and one short.

The tall one is a pilgrim who is currently burning incense before the statue of the Three Pure Ones in the temple. The short one is an old Taoist priest with white hair who is currently holding a broom and sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground in the temple.

Seeing this scene, Xu Xian subconsciously felt a sense of closeness in his heart.

After all, in the sparsely populated Ziyang Temple, sweeping the floor was always his job.

Xu Xian raised his hand and knocked on the open door, attracting the attention of the Taoist priest who was sweeping the floor, and then walked into the temple.

Seeing this, the old Taoist paused and looked at him calmly: "Where are you from?"

Xu Xian bowed to the old Taoist priest and said softly, "My surname is Xu and my name is Xian. I am a lay disciple of the Taoist sect and I am a disciple of Master Zishan of Ziyang Temple in Lin'an Prefecture. I am coming to you today to ask for a favor."

“So it’s a fellow Taoist from Ziyang Temple!”

The old Taoist nodded and said, "You can speak freely, Taoist friend."

Xu Xian's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile: "To be honest, I am on this trip because I was instructed by the elders to go to the Iron Tree Immortal Cave in this mountain to meet the thousand-year-old Iron Tree Immortal..."

"I just don't know whether the Iron Tree Immortal doesn't want to see guests or has moved away."

"I have been searching for a long time but still cannot find the cave."

"Since your temple is a neighbor of the Iron Tree Immortal, I wonder if you have any news about that senior..."

"So that's how it is." The white-haired old Taoist nodded slightly, looking at Xu Xian who was full of expectation, he said calmly, "Yes, I do know where Taoist Tieshu's cave is!"

"You do know!"

Xu Xian's face lit up with joy, and he immediately stood up straight and bowed to the ground.

"Now that you know, please let me know, Taoist Priest. I will be very grateful and will come to thank you one day!"

The white-haired old Taoist priest's eyes moved slightly, and he looked at Xu Xian who was bowing to the bottom and said calmly: "Don't be anxious, I haven't finished yet."

Xu Xian was slightly startled, and then he heard the old Taoist priest say calmly: "I do know where Taoist Tieshu's cave is, but Taoist Tieshu and I are not related, and you have never explained why you want to see Taoist Tieshu."

"If I tell you rashly, and you have bad intentions, wouldn't that harm fellow Daoist Tieshu?"

Xu Xian was startled, and immediately became anxious, and quickly explained: "I am meeting Senior Tieshu to ask for the iron tree fairy fruit and iron tree flower, and I will never harm him. If you don't believe me, you can go with me!"

The old Taoist shook his head and said stubbornly: "Although I am a cultivator, I only know some techniques of practicing Qi and have no magical powers. Even if I go with you, I can't help you, Taoist Tieshu."

"Besides, you also said that you came here for the Iron Tree Fruit and Iron Tree Flower."

"The combination of these two is a rare spiritual object that can prolong life in the world. There are already many people in the world of cultivation who covet it. How do I know that you are not one of them with bad intentions?"

Hearing the old Taoist's stubborn words, Xu Xian was naturally extremely anxious.

He asked anxiously, "Then how can the Taoist master guide me to see Senior Tieshu?"

The old Taoist priest looked at him deeply, picked up the broom again, and said lightly while sweeping the floor: "Tell me everything about your story first..."

Xu Xian nodded and said quickly: "To be honest, I have fallen in love with someone. For some reason, her soul has been damaged and she needs..."

"What's the reason?"

The old Taoist interrupted without any hesitation.

Xu Xian was stunned and hesitated for a moment, but finally sighed and told him about Bai Suzhen.

However, due to the wanted list in Heaven, Xu Xian did not tell the whole story. He only said that he had mistakenly trusted the demon, had good intentions but ended up doing something bad, and almost killed his sweetheart. Later, he came to see the Iron Tree Immortal under the guidance of others.

During this time, a pilgrim who was burning incense in the hall had been secretly glancing at the two people in the courtyard. He was holding a strange device in his hand, ready to record their conversation and bring it back to Master Zishan.

After a while, Xu Xian finished telling the story evasively, and then sighed softly: "This is what happened. In order to cure her and to make up for the mistakes I made, I came here to ask for the iron tree flower and iron tree fairy fruit..."

I have to say that Xu Xian covered up the matter quite successfully and did not reveal Bai Suzhen's identity throughout the whole story.

But unfortunately, the old Taoist priest, or Iron Tree Immortal, had already known that the person Xu Xian fell in love with was a demon.

Hearing Xu Xian's answer, he was not satisfied, so he asked: "Her soul is damaged, is she also a cultivator?"

"This..." Xu Xian fell silent, looking hesitant.

The old Taoist looked at him deeply, then turned his head and looked at the fallen leaves under his feet. While sweeping them attentively, he said calmly: "Since you are not sincere, please go back!"

"No!"

Xu Xian panicked, but then he became firm and said, "No, she is not a human... She is a demon!"

At this point, Xu Xian quickly added: "Although she is a demon, she is a good demon and has never harmed anyone. Not only that, Luoshui Town had suffered a severe drought and no rain had fallen for a year. She risked being wanted by the Heavenly Court to bring rain to Luoshui Town. Although something went wrong afterwards, this incident shows her kindness..."

The old Taoist paused, glanced at him and asked, "You fell in love with a demon?"

Xu Xian lowered his arms, bowed his head, and nodded twice: "Yes."

The old Taoist priest asked again: "Is it because she brought rain to Luoshui Town?"

Xu Xian shook his head: "No, I fell in love with her even earlier than this..."

The old Taoist priest nodded thoughtfully and said, "Then she must be very beautiful."

Xu Xian's expression froze, and he immediately scratched his head in embarrassment: "Indeed... But this is not the reason why I fell in love with her. The girl Xiaoqing next to her is also very beautiful, but I don't have any feelings for her at all."

The old Taoist priest stopped sweeping the floor, looked him straight in the eye and asked, "Then what is the reason why you fell in love with her?"

Xu Xian was slightly startled and said hesitantly: "I...I...I can't say it either."

"Perhaps this is love at first sight. Ever since I saw her for the first time, it feels like there's something wrong with my heart. No matter what I do, as long as I think of Miss Bai's appearance, my thoughts become difficult to calm down."

"I originally thought this was the inner demon that Master talked about, but later, I fell into Fahai's trap and harmed Miss Bai. When I saw her in agony in my dream, my heart was broken..."

"From that moment on, I understood everything. I fell in love with Miss Bai."

"Even though she's a demon, it doesn't matter. I just want to be with her, forever and ever..."

Seeing Xu Xian getting into the groove and speaking from the bottom of his heart one after another, the white-haired old Taoist priest's mouth curled up slightly.

He shook his head and said softly, "As the saying goes, it takes a hundred years to be able to ride the same boat together, and a thousand years to be able to sleep on the same pillow together. This is true for human love, but love between a human and a demon is even more difficult!"

"Silly boy, if you want to be with that snake demon, you must be mentally prepared..."

Xu Xian was slightly startled, then said firmly: "Master, do you not believe in Xu's heart?"

The white-haired Taoist priest shook his head and said, "I am not looking down on you. The hearts of mortals are always wavering and filled with emotions. Your heart is now set on that snake demon, but if you meet someone prettier and better than her in the future, you may be tempted."

Xu Xian smiled and said, "Don't worry, Taoist priest. If there is a prettier and better woman, there will naturally be a prettier and better man to match her. What does it have to do with me?"

"I don't care about the three thousand rivers, I only take one scoop, my heart is only in one place!"

The old Taoist glanced at him and said, "Everyone is lustful. You also said that she was extremely beautiful. This love at first sight may be lust. Once she grows old and becomes ugly, will your heart still be with her?"

Xu Xian said firmly: "She is old, I will grow old with her, my heart is still with her."

The old Taoist looked at him deeply and shook his head: "You know she is a demon and will not age, so this does not count. But what if I tell you that if you eat the iron tree fairy fruit, you will forget everything and will never remember you again?"

Xu Xian smiled and said, "What's the big deal? It's just a little trouble. I can get to know her again and tell her my name and where I live."

"I understand what you mean, Taoist Priest. There are indeed many obstacles for a human and a demon to fall in love, but I have made up my mind. No matter how difficult the road ahead is, I will never waver. If there is a mountain, I will move it. If there is a river, I will level it."

"Even if the water of the East China Sea is endless, as long as it blocks my way, I will find a way to cross it. At most, I can cut down trees and build a boat to catch up. Master said that as long as your mind does not slip, there are always more solutions than problems!"

Looking at the determined look on Xu Xian's face, the white-haired veteran's eyes became extremely complicated.

After a moment of silence, he sighed and said, "If...if she becomes highly skilled in cultivation in the future, she will be only one step away from becoming an immortal."

"But if she becomes an immortal, she will have to leave you...what will you do?"

Xu Xian was slightly startled, and after a moment's silence, he said firmly: "If she is determined to become an immortal, then I will naturally help her, and then give up martial arts and practice Taoism, and strive to become an immortal as soon as possible and reunite with her."

"But if... I mean if, she has even the slightest hesitation or wavering in becoming an immortal, I will firmly keep her by my side, and I will bear all the regrets and sins!"

Hearing Xu Xian's words, the white-haired old Taoist was shocked. He stared at him in a daze and was unable to speak for a long time.

Xu Xian met the old Taoist's gaze and said somewhat embarrassedly: "Of course, the martial arts I practice are different from those of the world. Master said that if I practice martial arts to the extreme, I can also communicate with gods and become an immortal."

"So, the Taoist priest's problem is actually not a problem for me."

"I sound a little hypocritical when I say this so firmly, but no matter what, I want to save Miss Bai and express my feelings to her in person, so..."

Xu Xian's expression hardened, he slowly knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said: "I hope Senior Tieshu will help me!"

The white-haired Taoist priest came back to his senses, looked at him with complicated eyes and asked, "Did you figure it out?"

"Um."

"How did you know that?"

"To answer your question, Senior, I only said that my beloved is a demon, but I never said that she is a snake demon..."


Recommendation