Chapter 42: Dusty Fate

  "Who is he?" Tang Yan can now be certain that the inheritance of Wan Fo Guang Yin has a great relationship with the golden light shadow of the Anti-Heng Magic Shadow in the abyss, but who is he and why did he control the Blood Doll?

  Wu Zhen joined his hands together in a reverent gesture: "One of Shifu's uncles."

  "Is he... still alive? Can you explain what happened today?"

  Wu Zhen shook his head: "Shifu Zu has always been a lone wanderer, traveling the continent and visiting ancient sites. He only occasionally returns to Dusty Pavilion. It was about a hundred years ago that Shifu Zu left Dusty Pavilion again, and since then there has been no news of him. The old ancestor sent people to search for him many times, but he was never found until two months ago when the life monument imbued with his vital blood suddenly shattered, indicating that Shifu Zu had met with disaster."

  Encountered an accident? Tang Yan's heart slightly trembled, how could this be? Two months ago? Was it during the period when he received baptism? It seemed that there was a special struggle in his body at that time, and the blood doll also appeared during that period.

  "Master Shu's magical powers are vast and boundless, the Buddha's seal is unparalleled in the world of martial arts. It's impossible for him to fall without a reason, so... The Old Ancestor has issued a strict order to investigate the truth behind this incident. Not long ago, my master sensed a familiar aura from these stone carvings with Buddha seals, right here in the Mystic Forest of the Great Zhou Empire."

  Tang Yan decided to tell the other party: "I accidentally fell into a bottomless deep pool, and found a very large stone coffin inside. Then... I still don't understand what happened specifically until now, it seems that your Shifu Zu saved me."

  "Deep pool? Stone coffin? Young master, can you tell me more about it?" An ordinary-looking old man walked slowly over, nodding slightly at Tang Yan, being quite polite.

  Tang Yan hastily stood up, his hands clasped together in a gesture of respect. It could be inferred that this person was the Master mentioned by Wu Zhen: "When I fell into the deep pool, the stone coffin was slowly opening, and there was a blood-colored demon shadow as well as a golden light shadow. They seemed to be fighting, and finally they both wrapped around my body."

  "Oh?" The old man hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his hand: "Little donor, may the old monk take a look at your dantian?"

  "Please."

  The old man stretched out his hand and pointed at Tang Yan's wrist, a thread of warm energy extending along the meridian. Tang Yan began to hesitate, but eventually slowly opened up his heart, allowing the other party to explore clearly.

  After all, this series of unexpected events that occurred on his own body was too strange, he needed someone to investigate clearly.

  "Huh?!" The old man's face suddenly changed, and his gaze at Tang Yan flashed with a hint of inexplicable flavor.

  "Master, inside my body..."

  The old man did not respond immediately, continuing to investigate for a long time before stopping and sighing softly: "Good fortune is predetermined by heaven, everything cannot escape the mysterious fate, Master Brother could not bear to create killing karma, resulting in the extinction of his spirit. Little donor, no matter what changes occur in the future, I hope you can remember one sentence from the old monk... Guard your Buddha heart, don't lose your true nature."

  Tang Yan was somewhat perplexed, but still accepted the other party's reminder.

  "Your senior brother has planted the Buddha's heart in your body, which is his expectation that you can inherit the Wanfo Seal he created over a thousand years. This Wanfo Seal is sealed within ten thousand stone carvings, each of which contains the Buddha's mark personally forged by your senior brother. Today, I only brought two of them with me, and after you have refined and absorbed them, you should be able to feel their extraordinary nature."

  "Master, where are the other stone carvings?"

  "A hundred years ago, most of the stone carvings shattered for some reason, and the Buddha's seal inside was lost. Some of the stone carvings were scattered in various parts of the world, used by my senior brother to suppress evil things. Now, the remaining stone carvings in Dusty Hall are extremely overbearing talismans that you cannot bear for the time being. If you have the chance in the future, you can go to Dusty Hall to gain insight, and perhaps there will be new gains."

  "May I know... his... Buddhist name?"

  "Senior Brother's Dharma Name —— Duokong."

  "...degree empty..." Tang Yan whispered softly, silently memorizing it in his heart. For this high monk who had never met, but because of various coincidences and passed on to himself this extraordinary martial skill, he should call out...Master.

  "Little donor, please listen to the old monk's words once more. Regarding today's matter, please temporarily suppress it in your heart. As for Dusty Affinity Pavilion and Shixiong, don't casually mention them to outsiders either. Just treat everything as a fleeting dream of dusty affinities, leaving only a mark in the heart. The old monk is willing to wait for the little donor's visit at Dusty Affinity Pavilion, but that day... would be best after ten years..."

  "Ten years?" Tang Yan looked at him strangely, not quite understanding his vague advice.

  The old man smiled and nodded, without much explanation, turned around and disappeared into the dim forest.

  Wu's chubby face burst into a brilliant smile: "Little brother, introduce yourself?"

  "Tang Yan, from the Tang family of the Northern Wilderness of the Great Zhou Empire."

  Wu Zhen smiled foolishly and rubbed his bald head: "We'll meet again if fate permits, no need to worry about the years that have passed. Master is old and sometimes has too many concerns. I still hope we can meet soon, remember, my name is Wu Zhen, waiting for you at Dusty Fate Pavilion."

  "Hmm, I'll go past, but there's another problem..." Tang Yan was about to ask when Xiao Hei suddenly darted into the dense forest like a startled swan, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

  Ailin walked over and said, "Congratulations to you, able to establish a good relationship with Dustyuan Pavilion. This is an opportunity that others may pursue for a lifetime but cannot obtain, even I am a little envious."

  "You should have told them you're my wife earlier, maybe they would have given you some meeting gift or something. A big sect like this shouldn't be stingy with their meeting gifts."

  Aileen was speechless, this guy's mouth couldn't spit out ivory. "I just calculated the time, it's almost two months now, the pursuit from the Wang Manor should be ending soon, are we going back now or waiting a bit longer?"

  "It's time to head back, the Giant Elephant City has calmed down." Tang Yan took a deep breath and a faint smile appeared on his face. This time, he might be heading into another storm, with endless troubles waiting for him. But... what was meant to come would still come, and what was meant to be fought would have to be fought to the end!

  After resting in the valley for a night, the two of them set out on their return journey early the next morning. Although it was easy to get lost in this vast and mysterious forest, they had struggled to survive here for nearly three months and had roughly adapted to the environment, so they could make some vague judgments.

  Tang Yan didn't have any extravagant hopes of easily leaving the Mystic Forest, so he directly extended his time to a month and continued to treat it as a trial.

  In the blink of an eye, ten days passed, and the two were tempered and gained insight in the uninterrupted hunting, while trying to find a way out. During this time, they hunted and killed seventeen third-level demon beasts again, and jointly killed a fourth-level demon beast - Golden Ringed Snake, Lingyuan liquid was treasured by Ailinda.

  That evening, the two of them walked in the dense forest, searching for a relatively safe hiding place under the afterglow of sunset.

  "This time when we go back, I don't know what kind of trouble we'll encounter. I'm thinking... should I report this to the principal?" Elinda had been struggling with this issue for some time. In fact, the best approach was still to keep quiet, but her silence didn't mean that Zhou Lingwang would turn a blind eye. So after much deliberation, Elinda felt it was best to report to the principal, at least she could get some protection."

  "Are you familiar with the dean?" Tang Yan asked casually while getting familiar with the trajectory of the seal.

  "Not very familiar, met a few times."

  "Are you familiar with other powerful college elders?"

  "Not familiar." Eriol's background was very ordinary, and because she was normally cold and aloof, she rarely interacted with the higher-ups of the academy. Some people hadn't even seen her before, so it was natural that they weren't familiar.

  "That's the problem, without evidence, no one will believe you and instead think that you are slandering. If those stubborn old men in the college are afraid of Zhou Ling Wang or have colluded with him beforehand, what you're doing now is even more dangerous."

  "Are we just going to wait passively like this?"

  "Of course not, there are always ways, but it depends on the situation. I'll go back and tell my old man about it, he should believe me and take some necessary precautions."

  "What about me?"

  "Who are you?" Tang Yan stopped and looked up and down at Elynda, because of the long time spent in the dense forest, the original fresh and elegant blue clothes were already torn in many places, and the tender skin inside could be vaguely seen.

  "You!! Your nature won't change! Where are you looking?!" Eriol perhaps had already resigned herself, but she glared at him discontentedly, and didn't have the intense rejection and disgust as before.

  "Ai Lin Da mentor, what type of man is your heart's desire?"

  "What does this have to do with anything?" Ailinda said irritably.

  "Of course it matters, answer me seriously, what kind of type is there an age limit for? Is being sentimental okay? Of course, being sentimental doesn't mean being promiscuous." Tang Yan adjusted his tattered pants and struck a natural pose.

  Ailinda had no choice but to ignore him and continued to move forward in search of a suitable place to rest.

  "I'm not joking with you, I'm being serious. Staying in the academy will pose some danger to you. It's perfectly fine to move into the Tang's residence, but as a female instructor of an entire academy, there needs to be a reason for that to happen. So... I've decided to make a grand sacrifice and offer myself up - let's get married, won't everything be easily resolved then?"

  "Thanks for your kind intention, I appreciate it!"

  "Aylinn, I think we're actually quite a good match. We're like two peas in a pod, made for each other. Although I'm still young now, I have plenty of room to grow and develop. And the age gap isn't an issue either - by the time you're thirty and at your peak, I'll be strong and vigorous, which will help us avoid many family conflicts."

  "What's thirty like wolf?" Erlinda asked in surprise.

  "Hmm... this question is quite profound, let's find a suitable place to discuss it in detail." Tang Yan blinked his eyes, and his smile became meaningful.

  "Never mind." Eriol didn't bother with a reply and leaped forward, landing on the canopy of the trees in front of her, preparing to spend the perilous jungle night there.

  But...

  "Is that a fire?" Tang Yan and Ailin almost simultaneously became alert, in the increasingly dark dense forest ahead, a small fire point could be vaguely seen, flickering in and out of sight among the trees.