After returning to the black sailboat, Lü Chonglou exchanged glances with Wang Qingzhi. Both of them showed expressions of pleasant surprise in their eyes. Although the Exorcism Department was not lacking in First Rank cultivators, reaching the First Rank realm was a significant accomplishment, and no one would consider it excessive.
Lü Chonglou opened his mouth and said, "Qingzhi, think about how to thank Young Master Chen. Include my share as well."
Regardless of what the Town Suppressor Wang Qingzhi thought, Lü Chonglou stood at the bow of the boat and addressed Chen Xuanze, "Young Master Chen, I have noted it."
He didn't specify what he had noted, but Chen Xuanze nodded in acknowledgment.
Lü Chonglou closed his eyes, starting to contemplate the mysteries of the First Rank. The phantom of his steel spear occasionally appeared and disappeared above his head.
Unlike Wang Qingzhi, who reached the Third Rank as a warrior and swiftly advanced, Lü Chonglou's path involved deep insights into the Dao. The First Rank realm in Dao cultivation required extensive contemplation of numerous principles. Moreover, Lü Chonglou's attainment of the First Rank was not entirely due to the local Daoist scriptures, making his foundation somewhat unstable.
At this moment, risking a decline in cultivation by not thoroughly understanding the realm was a potential danger. Therefore, there was an elderly man standing upright like a spear and a yellow-white skeleton sitting in a meditative posture like a Buddha.
Yes, the demonized lifeform Chen Xiaogu, who cultivated the Nine Heavens Profound Scripture, sat there. There was no trace of demonic energy on him; instead, he emitted waves of Buddhist charm, turning the yellow-white bones into gold. It resembled a layer of golden covering. He spoke, "If it can be like this, what harm is there for me to enter the hell realm?"
Taking out a string of prayer beads, the previous string now held by Chen Xiaogu emitted a radiant Buddha light. Sitting behind Chen Xiaogu and relying on the Buddhist charm, he began to comprehend the nerves of killing gods.
Wang Qingxuan also understood the terror of the demonized lifeform and the Nine Heavens Profound Scripture. After observing the three immersed in cultivation, he felt reassured and knew that the bald monk San Zang sitting beside Chen Xiaogu was just an addition.
There were records in the Azure Cloud Sect that the Buddhist teachings had long been an orthodox inheritance promoting kindness and cultivating for a better afterlife. When the demonized lifeform cultivating the Nine Heavens Profound Scripture appeared, the Buddhist sects treated him as a Buddhist disciple, waiting sincerely to welcome him. There was even a ridiculous incident where the four major Buddhist sects, except for the Shaosheng Monastery, fought over preaching once and almost had a brawl.
Ultimately, when the demonized lifeform was recognized as a Buddhist disciple and entered the First Rank realm, the entire Buddhist community nearly collapsed. Numerous Buddhist legacies vanished, leading to the arrival of wild monks from the west.
In theory, the entire Buddhist community was one, and this wild monk was also a monk. However, they were not willing to adopt a non-violent approach to spread their teachings. If people didn't convert, they killed them; if families didn't convert, they slaughtered them; if countries didn't convert, they annihilated them.
Chen Qianqian couldn't understand all this, but she had a mysterious fondness for the little skeleton, thinking that both of them were companions of Chen Xuanze and should be like this.
Wang Qingzhi stood there, looking at the old and young cultivators immersed in cultivation, feeling gratified.
The old one, Lü Chonglou, achieved the First Rank in one enlightenment, possessing powerful combat strength for the Exorcism Department. The young one, Chen Xiaogu, cultivated the demonized lifeform and the Nine Heavens Profound Scripture, showing promising potential. As for the bald monk San Zang sitting next to Chen Xiaogu? Just an addition.
After watching for a while, Wang Qingzhi whispered, "You two, come with me. It's time to practice swordsmanship."
Speaking softly to avoid disturbing Lü Chonglou's contemplation, Wang Qingzhi was genuinely worried that San Zang might dismantle Chen Xiaogu if he had a sudden brain malfunction.
Chen Qianqian and Wang Qingxuan followed Wang Qingzhi to the stern of the boat, leaving Chen Xuanze alone at the bow with the three absorbed in cultivation.
Stolen story; please report.
The sun rose high.
Practicing the Stellar Nine Transformation within the cabin last night did not yield good results in drawing upon the power of the stars. Everyone was putting in effort, but Chen Xuanze was idling alone. This situation was not ideal.
Chen Xuanze pondered what else he could cultivate. He couldn't copy the Soul Cultivation Scripture, and he would wait for Wang Qingxuan to teach him how to write when she was free. He didn't want Wang Qingzhi to criticize his dog-like handwriting and scold him with strange comments.
Watching the red sun in the sky, Chen Xuanze sat down cross-legged. In the warm sunlight, he relaxed entirely.
The sounds of breathing from the three cultivators at the bow, the creaking of the black sailboat, the splashing sound of water droplets, and the swimming sounds of aquatic creatures filled the air, entering his ears.
The boat continued on its course, passing landscapes on both sides swiftly.
In a daze, Chen Xuanze's memories of this life surfaced in his mind, vivid and clear frame by frame.
When he woke up, it was the day he passed the New Exorcist assessment through the Town Suppressor Guard and became a Ninth Rank Town Suppressor. The chubby guy who had lived with him for a month gave him a greasy hug despite the odd looks from others.
Later, the 103 newcomers who passed the assessment were scattered into various squads of the Yellow-level teams. Fortunately, the two of them ended up together. He, the chubby guy, and two others were assigned to Li Gou's small team.
After resting for two days in the Town Suppressor Guard, they started their missions.
For three months, they faced various challenges: wandering corpses in the cemetery, hunting dogs turning into demons in wealthy households, eerie singing in ancient houses at night, zombies crawling out of ancient tombs, nightmare ghosts, night-walking hundred ghosts, possession by ghost-faced apes, fox spirits like Hu Yao, white mountain snake spirits, and many more.
During the mission to deal with the eerie singing in an ancient house, two of the newcomers died.
In every subsequent mission, the chubby guy was always assigned to a defensive position. He would end up covered in bruises, yelling and screaming, but would wake up lively and energetic the next day.
What did Lord Ma say? He mentioned that this chubby guy with a hereditary 'unrestrained' fate would bring trouble to himself, including family, friends, colleagues, and eventually himself.
After Lord Ma said that, it seemed like he intentionally distanced himself from the chubby guy, right?
The chubby guy saved him several times, two times? Three times?
It was three times, the third time being when he took the lightning for him and used his life to save him.
The memories in Chen Xuanze's mind froze at the last image of the chubby guy's half-burnt body emitting a fragrance of flesh.
Two clear tears rolled down from the corners of Chen Xuanze's eyes, revealing a sense of guilt and remorse on his face.
"You, why haven't you killed that wild father of yours or my incompetent friend? Why did you die?" After the chubby guy died, Chen Xuanze remained calm, never mentioning that guy named Fan Yu, nor did he show much sadness.
He didn't want to show his emotions.
However, men do cry without much restraint.
"Fan Yu, after this trip is over, I will go to Kyoto to find that wild father of yours. I will definitely send him down to accompany you, and I will take care of him below. Don't worry, I, your friend, am now recognized by Lord Wang. Killing an ordinary person who violates the rules won't be punished." Opening his eyes, Chen Xuanze whispered softly, as if he saw a plump face smiling at him.
At this moment, the sun was already at its zenith, and it was noon.
Wiping away the tears on his face, Chen Xuanze looked at the three people immersed in cultivation.
Soon, Lü Chonglou woke up first, expressing joy. "Young Master Chen, what would you like for lunch? We have everything in this celestial water, except for the Celestial Dragon King. You can choose anything else!"
The arrogance of the First Rank Nine Heavens realm was evident.
Wang Qingzhi, borrowing the power of the stars, reached the Third Rank and then crossed into the Second Rank with his transcendent strength. Breaking through to the Second Rank realm was not solely due to the poem from the Exorcist Department. It also involved over a decade of hard work.
The Buddhist and Daoist paths didn't follow this principle.
Once enlightened, it wasn't uncommon to cross four or five realms at once!
"Elder Lü, anything is fine for me," Chen Xuanze put away his sorrow and replied with a simple and honest tone.
"From now on, you can call me Uncle Lü, just like Qingzhi does. Also, when I say you can choose anything, I mean you can choose anything! Grab something good, don't dilly-dally, or there won't be anything left when Little Skeleton wakes up and has nothing to eat."
With that, Chen Xuanze looked at the cultivating little skeleton sitting there.
What skeleton was there? A slender and delicate girl with a solemn and majestic appearance sat there.
Elder Lü continued, "Freshly formed flesh and blood with insufficient energy and blood. It needs a big supplement."
In Chen Xuanze's mind, the image of the chubby guy's appearance came up. It was on the banks of the Rouge River, with the chubby guy stuffing himself with fish meat while complaining to him, "Xuanze, all you've caught are fish. Don't you have any turtles or tortoises? Those things are great for nourishment!"
With a smile on his face, Chen Xuanze responded, "Nourishment? Uncle Lü, I want to eat a turtle! A turtle with a cultivation of over five hundred years!"
"Good!" Lü Chonglou flew off, spear in hand.
Five miles away in the direction of the boat's course, a hundred meters deep in the celestial water, a large turtle, emitting a mysterious blue light, lay in the water grass.
As soon as Chen Xuanze finished speaking, the inscriptions on the turtle's back lit up. Awaking from its slumber, the old turtle looked sad, and it spoke with a human voice, "My life is at an end."