Body in a Dream
Gu Yi examined the "Transformation Pill" for a long time and finally understood what Li Wujiu had been busy with these days, having rarely been seen.
He looked at it again and again, then suddenly said suspiciously, "The effect of this pill is to dissolve the soul, but you certainly won't give it instructions or teach it which one to dissolve. If, as you say, I have two selves, who knows which one it dissolves? What if it dissolves the worldly self that wants to shoulder the mission of the sect? Who knows if the result will be that I become a blue-faced, fanged monster, less and less human?"
Li Wujiu smiled and said, "So, you can only take a gamble and see how lucky you are."
He then said calmly, "If you really become a blue-faced monster, neither human nor ghost, and can only flee to the mountains and forests from now on, it won't be considered a failure to fulfill your sect's orders. I reckon it will also fulfill your wish to leave the world and your desire to escape it. Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
At that time, Gu Yi was unaware that Li Wujiu was also capable of joking. And no matter how absurd something was, it seemed to become trivial and ordinary when he told it.
He seemed both convinced and skeptical, then said, “Alright then, I will try it as you say, but if I turn into a monster, you must release me in the deep mountains and marshes to avoid disturbing mortals. I can then live a carefree life, dragging my tail through the mud.”
Li Wujiu said lazily, "There is a third outcome. Do you also want to leave a last message?"
Gu Yi asked, "What is that?"
Li Wujiu's clear eyes flashed with a rare cunning light as he said, "It was my mistake in refining the pill that caused you to die from its poison."
Gu Yi was stunned at first, then burst into laughter, laughing until tears almost came out, and said, "That would be even better, it would solve everything. If that's the case, I can only trouble you to find another successor for me so that the Ghost Valley lineage can continue."
Li Wujiu shook his head and said, "If I were to find another successor for Guigu, I would definitely not let him cultivate any otherworldly body to remain in the world and wait for the opportunity to enter the world when the world is unified. It would only cause a lot of trouble for future generations." He added irritably, "In this world, if you can save it, save it; if you can't, then forget it. This is what is meant by the Supreme Nature and the Pure and Tranquil Way."
Gu Yi had only ever followed his master before, and most of the teachings he heard were about the well-being of the people. He had never heard such rebellious and absurd remarks before, and exclaimed in shock, "This is acceptable?"
Li Wujiu replied matter-of-factly, "Why not? If you die, I will be the only one left in the Daoist lineage, both internal and external. Does that mean I can do whatever I want?"
Gu Yi could no longer contain himself and burst into laughter, thinking that Li Wujiu was indeed a wonderful person.
Xiao Yu listened, stunned, and said, "So Master was so witty before. I always thought he was like an immortal, with thoughts as pure as ice and snow, and I never dared to offend him in the slightest."
Gu Yi glanced at her and said, "Of course."
A Qiu, however, felt that Gu Yi's words were loaded with meaning. Li Wujiu would not talk and joke with Xiao Yu, a junior disciple, as he did with Gu Yi.
Besides the difference in seniority between friends and disciples, there's probably also... something else.
A Qiu, concerned for Gu Yi, said, "Fortunately, Sect Leader Li's pill was the right one. After you took it, your body returned to normal."
Otherwise, Gu Yi would never have been able to leave the mountain, and she would never have known him.
Gu Yi said, "After I took the pill, my white hair turned black in just one day and night, and my eye color returned to normal. I was overjoyed and thought I was very lucky. But I didn't know that Li Wujiu never did anything he wasn't sure of. He would never give me a poisonous pill or one that would harm me. The Nascent Soul Pill has its own medicinal properties. It only recognizes and eliminates the side that contains negative energy, but it will not damage the bright and pure self."
He added, "If we're talking about alchemy, Li Wujiu is one of the most talented people I've ever met."
There is no calendar in the mountains, and the years pass without knowing when the cold ends. For a long time afterward, Gu Yi stayed in Mingyue'ao. Because he often talked with Li Wujiu, he gradually became able to speak human language. Moreover, because his appearance returned to normal, Li Wujiu often took him out of the mountains to walk and familiarize him with the world.
However, Li Wujiu informed him that the Transformation Pill could only suppress the appearance of that "other side," but could not eliminate it. Therefore, he had to take one Transformation Pill every month to maintain his appearance. Moreover, on the fifteenth of each month, when the moon was at its fullest, even the Transformation Pill would not be able to suppress his changes, and he would inevitably revert to his original appearance of white hair and gray eyes.
Gu Yi didn't understand why this was said, because since entering Mingyue Pass, Li Wujiu had indeed made him take a Nascent Soul Pill every month. He hadn't paid much attention and had taken it, but in his memory, he had never changed to have a full head of white hair. At first, he was a little worried about the effects of the pill, so he would go to the stream every morning to check on it, fearing that his hair would turn white overnight again. Later, seeing that everything was fine every day, he almost forgot about it.
Li Wujiu sighed and led him to the alchemy room, pointing to the overturned alchemy furnace, stove, and medicine cabinet on the ground, saying, "You broke these on the night of the full moon last month."
Then he led him to the herb garden on the back mountain, showing him the scattered medicinal herbs and plants, and said, "These were damaged by you digging them up on the night of the full moon the month before last."
Then, he led him to the main hall in front of the ancestral temple, pointed to the statue of the Taoist patriarch on it, and asked kindly, "Do you think this statue is any different from the one you saw when you first arrived?"
Gu Yi examined it for a moment, then said uncertainly, "It seems to have gained a bit more ethereal and otherworldly air, but the ancient and rustic charm of the past is gone."
Li Wujiu sighed and said, "This is my new painting; the old one is here." He reached under the large table and pulled out a scroll of silk painting, handing it to Gu Yi to look at.
When Gu Yi opened it, it was almost identical to the Dao Ancestor statue hanging in front of the hall, only much older.
The most ridiculous thing is that someone had painted a huge turtle on the face of the Dao Ancestor with ink. The person who wrote it seemed to be divinely inspired, and the painting was very powerful. On one side, there were also four big characters: "What kind of birdman is this?"
Looking at these things before him, Gu Yi vaguely recalled some bizarre and unrestrained dreams he had been having lately. Once, in his dream, he was extremely hungry, so he went to the alchemy room to look for food and ate most of the Solomon's seal, yam, and other things.
On another occasion, he dreamed that he was sitting alone in a deep mountain valley, surrounded by nothingness and loneliness. In a fit of anger, he uprooted all the flowers and plants he saw.
As for the ancestral master statue before him, he couldn't remember clearly, but he didn't need to remember to know it was his doing. Because he had recently been learning to write contemporary books under Li Wujiu's guidance, although the handwriting on the portrait was messy and chaotic, he could still recognize it as his own.
He was speechless and could not utter another word.
Only then did Li Wujiu ask solemnly, "Are you sure you still want to go down the mountain?"
This question had a hidden meaning, and Gu Yi naturally knew what he was thinking.
His condition remained strange. The Transformation Pill could only suppress his other side, not eliminate it. He had to take it every month, and every month he would inevitably revert to his original form once, causing all sorts of trouble and unleashing his true nature. If he were in the Dayuan Mountains, under Li Wujiu's watchful eye, nothing too serious would happen. But if he were in the mortal world, with no one he could trust, no one knew what might happen.
They might be taken to the government office as sorcerers, or driven away by sorcerers and magicians, or even driven away and beaten by villagers with sticks.
Although his martial arts skills are superb, the fear is that he might go on a killing spree in a moment of confusion, causing himself to develop an irreparable inner demon, and then he would truly become a demon.
Gu Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "You know, although I have now achieved a transcendent state, I do not have the years to wait for you forever."
Li Wujiu remained silent as well.
A hundred years ago, before Gu Yi entered the pass, the world was in the throes of chaos. Although society was still prosperous, people's hearts were already showing signs of decay and debauchery. The patriarch of the Hidden World Sect had divined for Gu Yi, saying that after the great chaos, there would be great order, but it would have to wait a hundred years for the imperial star to appear, and the signs of order would then appear. Gu Yi knew that there was nothing he could do in the world at that time, only poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts to devour him, so he decided to enter the pass and wait a hundred years.
The body beyond the realm of immortality is not immortal. After he emerges from seclusion, he re-enters the human world. He only has this one lifetime, and he may die young due to various circumstances. After all, this hundred years is obtained by stealing the creation of heaven and earth.
As the sect leader of the inner sect, Li Wujiu had long since reached the state of mind of "what is possible and what is impossible," and had no desire to accomplish anything. However, if someone was willing to sit like a living dead for a hundred years, just to fulfill his great wish and the entrustment of his sect, he could not sit idly by.
Li Wujiu was silent for a moment, then said, "Then in three days, I will set up a divination array for you and tell you the exact time and place."
As a disciple of Guigu, Gu Yi knew that divination could shorten the lifespan of the diviner, so he declined, saying, "No need. Human affairs can be understood through human reasoning, which is nothing more than interests and power. I also have some knowledge of recognizing people and observing trends. Once I enter the world and navigate among the various forces vying for power, I can see most of the situation through observation and understanding. There's no need for you to waste your energy trying to calculate the secrets of heaven."
Li Wujiu remained silent again, then said, "If we use divination to open an array, it will save you time."
Gu Yi also paused for a moment.
Indeed, time is his most precious possession. In this chaotic world of warring factions, there are many opportunists who seek to profit from the chaos. How long would it take for him to test each faction? No power in the world would be unwilling to acquire a disciple of Guiguzi, for since the Warring States period, a disciple of Guiguzi has been a guarantee of a nation's rise and strength. From Su Qin and Zhang Yi to Sun Bin and Pang Juan, and then to Zhang Liang, the disciple of Huang Shigong in the Western Han Dynasty, all these figures had intricate connections with Guiguzi.
There's even a legend among emperors throughout history that the successor of Guiguzi was not only a teacher of kings but also possessed the secret to immortality—just look at Gu Yi to understand what this so-called secret to immortality is. But the curiosity of the feudal lords and powerful figures of the world about Guiguzi will not cease because of this.
Gu Yi's actions—entering the fray himself among the various warlords and exposing himself to the world, especially given his significant weaknesses—were extremely dangerous.
A Qiu finally understood and gently parted her lips to say, "In the end, Sect Master Li divined the secrets of heaven for you." Her eyes lit up like stars as she said, "That is, the Southern Dynasty is the one to which the world belongs, so you went directly to Jianzhang."
Xiao Yu, who had been listening the whole time, couldn't help but nod.
A Qiu guessed the process from the later outcome. Everyone knew that Gu Yi did not travel the world. His first appearance was quelling the internal strife of the Southern Dynasty with the Three-Foot Carved Moon Sword. Then he supported the Xie family, the most virtuous and respected of the powerful clans, to rise to power. Next, he cleaned up the powerful clans and weakened the local strongmen. He did not make a single wrong move or a waste move. Every step was closely linked. In just ten years, he created a peaceful world in Dayan.
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