Chapter 118 Because of this matter, Yuanshi and…
Because of this, Yuanshi and Tongtian returned to their original cave dwelling. They weren't in a hurry to leave, and immediately asked Duobao and Guangchengzi to come back and prepare spiritual fruits and wine. No matter how simple the wedding was, these things were essential.
Taiqing took Cangli to Zixiao Palace the next day. Originally, the marriage did not need to disturb Hongjun, but Cangli's cultivation had stagnated since he severed his good corpse. Taiqing was a little worried and wanted to take this opportunity to ask his teacher for advice.
Cang Li was curious about Zixiao Palace, and also about that Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
"Master, is the Dao Ancestor easy to talk to? Is he kind?"
Taiqing paused for a moment, then said to Cangli with a slightly solemn expression:
"The teacher is a little different from others. Once you get there, just nod whenever he asks you a question; you don't need to say anything."
Cang Li: ?
"Why, why? Am I supposed to pretend to be mute? Is he some kind of difficult-to-talk pervert?"
Taiqing: "...Don't talk nonsense, in short, don't say anything carelessly."
Cang Li pursed her lips. Fine, she wouldn't say anything then. But it was rare for Taiqing to give such serious instructions. Could it be that Hongjun was really a very serious old man? Like that guy Yuanshi, could he not stand seeing people not cultivating?
Led by Taiqing, the two soon arrived at the entrance of Zixiao Palace.
The gates of Zixiao Palace were tightly closed. Since the last sermon, Zixiao Palace had been shut down, and Hongjun had also begun to withdraw from worldly affairs, focusing solely on attaining enlightenment.
The reason why Nuwa and the others couldn't go out freely when they first became saints was that Hongjun, at the crucial moment of merging with the Dao, directly restricted the saints from moving around at will to avoid any accidents.
"Disciple Taiqing requests an audience."
Taiqing bowed respectfully outside the palace gate, and Cangli followed suit.
A moment later, the palace gates opened, and a boy and a girl, with their hair in topknots, emerged and bowed to Taiqing and Cangli, saying:
“Venerable ones, your teacher is waiting for you inside. Please follow me.”
Taiqing nodded slightly, reached out and took Cangli's hand, and followed the two boys inside.
After entering, Cang Li began to quietly observe the surroundings. After looking around, he found that Zixiao Palace was no different from ordinary palaces, except that it kept more spirit beasts. It was similar to Kunlun Mountain. Cang Li withdrew his quietly observing gaze and held Taiqing's hand tightly.
"Gentlemen, the teacher is waiting inside."
The two children stopped outside a courtyard and spoke to Taiqing and Cangli.
Taiqing led Cangli directly through the door.
The courtyard looked very simple, with three tiled houses inside. The courtyard was paved with bluestone slabs, and there was an unidentified big tree on the east side. Under the tree was a stone table, and next to it sat an old man with black hair, wearing a gray Taoist robe, sitting there calmly drinking tea.
Taiqing and Cangli stepped forward to pay their respects.
"teacher."
Cang Li was about to follow suit and call him "teacher" when she remembered that Tai Qing had told her not to speak, so she swallowed her words and followed suit with a bow.
The seemingly otherworldly immortal looked over, his expression as indifferent as Taiqing's, and nodded slightly.
"sit."
Taiqing didn't stand on ceremony and pulled Cangli to sit down opposite Hongjun.
Cang Li sat obediently to the side. Before she knew what kind of person the other person was, she was sure that Tai Qing was right.
However, this Hongjun seems very approachable; he must be a kind deity.
Then they remained silent for a full half hour.
Cang Li: ?
Should she say, "They truly are master and disciple"?
Wait, how long are these two going to sit in silence?
Cang Li couldn't help but tug at Tai Qing's sleeve under the table.
Taiqing turned her head to look at Cangli, as if asking: What's wrong?
Cang Li: ...
Hongjun, sitting opposite him, suddenly chuckled and asked in a very amiable manner:
"You are Cang Li?"
Cang Li was about to speak, but then held back and nodded to Hong Jun.
Hongjun looked at Cangli with great interest, then said to Taiqing:
What brings you here today?
Taiqing raised his eyelids and glanced at Hongjun, saying, "Something's up."
After saying that, he fell silent again.
Cang Li felt that the one with the problem might not be the Dao Ancestor, but her partner.
Hongjun slammed his hand heavily on the table: "Speak your mind, don't be a silent gourd."
Cang Li nodded subconsciously: That's right, that's right, it's like he's mute.
Taiqing: "...It's Ali. Her cultivation hasn't improved at all since she killed the evil corpse. I'm a little worried."
Hongjun spoke up as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
"Isn't this normal? Does she have Primordial Purple... um?"
As Hongjun spoke, he suddenly realized something, reached out and grabbed Cang Li's wrist, then released it in an instant, smiling as he said:
"You've got some good luck. That unlucky guy Hongyun gave you the purple aura?"
Cang Li was about to deny it, but seeing Hong Jun's knowing look, he nodded again.
Hongjun: ...
"Don't be like Taiqing, keeping silent. Speak up."
Cang Li: ...She's mute.
Unfortunately, Cang Li was not one of them. Cang Li looked at Tai Qing.
Hongjun sneered, "Do you have to watch your step when you speak? How did you acquire your cultivation?"
Cang Li couldn't help but say, "I didn't even look at their expressions, yet my cultivation level increased while I slept."
Hongjun laughed heartily: "You're more interesting than Taiqing."
Taiqing sighed: "Teacher, take a good look, why is Ali's cultivation stagnating?"
Hongjun stroked his beard, looked Cang Li up and down, stared at Cang Li's brow for a long time before saying:
"The time is not right. You yourself said you would educate the human race, but how can you become a saint if you haven't done so? Don't rush. When the Three Sovereigns return to their positions and the Five Emperors follow history, there will naturally be a time for you to sever your original self."
With Hongjun's words, Taiqing felt more at ease. It seemed that Cangli's conditions for becoming a saint were indeed different from theirs. Indeed, Cangli's cultivation was abnormally smooth, and he had reached the Quasi-Saint level in just over ten years. It was understandable that his conditions for becoming a saint were different.
Taiqing stood up and said:
"Thank you, teacher. Ali and I will be going now."
Hongjun: ...
Hongjun tapped the table: "What's the rush? Sit down."
Taiqing: ...
Hongjun glanced at Taiqing: "Aren't you two getting married? Since you're already here, take the wedding gifts with you. I don't have time to go over there."
Taiqing: "I dare not disturb my teacher, and how could I dare to accept a gift from him?"
Hongjun instantly produced a small wooden box in his hand, tossed it to Cangli, and said, "It's for her, not for you."
Cang Li instinctively caught the gift, looked at Tai Qing, and Tai Qing nodded. Only then did Cang Li accept the gift and say to Hong Jun:
"Thank you, teacher."
Hongjun waved his hand: "You don't need to call me teacher. I haven't taught you anything. You can call me whatever you want, as long as you don't call me teacher."
Cang Li found Hongjun's words a bit strange, but still nodded subconsciously: "Okay, Dao Ancestor."
Hongjun remained silent upon hearing this title, but still sighed and waved his hand: "Alright, go ahead. Don't bother me unless it's absolutely necessary. Taiqing, come here in 1,500 years."
The tone of the statement was rather serious, and Taiqing nodded:
"Okay, teacher."
After saying that, he left Zixiao Palace with Cang Li.
After walking for a while, Cang Li held the box and asked:
"Master, may I open the box and see what's inside?"
Taiqing hesitated for a moment, then reached for the box and said, "I'll open it."
Cang Li: ?
Taiqing had already moved the box away, and then carefully opened it with a blank expression.
A giant, purple-haired, ghostly doll suddenly popped out of the room; it can be quite startling if you're not careful.
Cang Li: ? ? ?
Cang Li stared wide-eyed at the scene, his mind a little blank.
Is this... the gift from the Dao Ancestor?
The Dao Ancestor... wasn't he a little too childlike?
Cang Li immediately looked at Tai Qing. So, all of Tai Qing's actions in Zixiao Palace were traceable, right?
Taiqing silently handed the box, which had just frightened the person, to Cangli and said:
"The thing is under the doll. See for yourself. It's a gift from the teacher; no one else can take it out."
Cang Li silently took the box, and while taking out the purple-haired ghost face doll, she couldn't help but ask Tai Qing:
"Does the Dao Ancestor often do this?"
Taiqing thought for a moment: "It doesn't happen often. This is usually directed at me. My teacher thinks I'm not talkative."
Cang Li: ...
Alright, it seems the Dao Ancestor is quite an interesting old man.
After Cang Li took the doll down, there was a lotus petal underneath it, about the size of a palm, with a fresh and tender color and a white jade luster. It was clearly not an ordinary item.
"Master, what is this?"
Cang Li picked up a lotus petal and looked at it curiously, while asking Tai Qing a question.
The thing Hongjun gave was definitely not an ordinary flower petal. Cang Li admitted that he was not knowledgeable enough to recognize it.
Taiqing was somewhat surprised: "The teacher actually gave this to you?"
Cang Li was taken aback: "Is it very valuable?"
Taiqing nodded: "This is a petal from the twenty-fourth grade of the innate green lotus. The twenty-fourth grade of the green lotus is no longer available, and only this petal is left. I'll have my second brother use it to make a protective robe for you later."
Cang Li glanced back in the direction of Zixiao Palace, then carefully collected the flower petals:
"The Dao Ancestor is quite generous. Should we send him something in return?"
Taiqing said, "Anything is fine, it doesn't matter, the teacher isn't picky."
Cang Li began to ponder. Hongjun probably had seen all kinds of treasures and held such a supreme position, so he probably didn't care about her magic weapons. What could she possibly have that she could give away?
After thinking all the way, Cang Li still couldn't figure out what to give as a gift, so he simply gave up and decided to think about it later.
After returning to Kunlun, Tongtian and Yuanshi sat down together in a harmonious manner to discuss the marriage of Cangli and Taiqing.
Cang Li whispered to Tai Qing:
"Looking at it this way, our second and third brothers have a pretty good relationship. The previous conflict was indeed due to having too many disciples. When there are many people, disputes are more likely to occur. Our third brother really needs to set some rules for his disciples, otherwise he will cause trouble sooner or later."
There were some things Cang Li didn't dare to say too clearly. There really was a way of heaven in this world, and she was afraid that if she spoke frankly, she would be struck by lightning.
Taiqing said:
"My second and third brothers have had a good relationship since childhood. My second brother used to be bad at attacking, but my third brother's swordsmanship was superb. Whenever we went out, my third brother would block my way. Later, my second brother became very skilled in weapon crafting and created many powerful magic weapons. Gradually, he no longer needed my third brother's protection."
"However, the two of them still preferred to go out together. It wasn't until they later attained enlightenment that they went out separately to gain experience. Over the past tens of millions of years, they rarely had conflicts. Only in the last twenty years or so have they argued more fiercely."
Cang Li understood. It was because Tongtian had taken on too many disciples and his philosophy on taking on disciples differed from Yuanshi's that things had gotten out of hand. No wonder Taiqing insisted on moving out of Kunlun Mountain and even made Tongtian move all his disciples out as well. It was all to prevent the relationship between the brothers from deteriorating further.
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Author's Note: I haven't had many drafts saved up these past few days, I've been writing as is. The next chapter will be posted later.
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