Chapter 45: Pagoda of Corpses (Part 1)

  The Vermilion Bird is definitely not a Buddhist thing... But the male pig wants to deal with Buddhism, so it's mixed up to this point. The original intention was to use it to make money, and for the story itself, it strives to be self-consistent, but when it comes to reason, it's very unreasonable. This book doesn't have much reason either, haha, forgive me. All the religious stuff inside is just nonsense - a disclaimer of no responsibility.

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  Retreat is a ritual with rich historical connotations.

  Speaking of this, in the past there was Bodhidharma facing the wall, and now there is Chinese medicine fasting, all sorts of forms but not one; from the perspective of purpose, the lazy Taoist Zhang Sanfeng closed his door to cultivate himself to create Tai Chi, Wang Chongyang closed his door to avoid Lin Chongying, and the world's richest man Gates closes his door twice a year to make more money; from the perspective of results, Zhang Sanfeng closed his door and was beaten by that monk He Zhan until he spat blood, Linghu Chong closed his door and drove away Little Sister...

  No matter what kind of closed-door meditation it is, when one comes out of seclusion, there will always be some unusual encounters or benefits.

  Up until today, Yitian Xing has been in closed meditation in the Chan chamber of the Temple of Return to the Origin for three days, neither drinking nor eating, neither speaking nor making a sound.

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  Early morning, the morning light is soft and warm, the leaves in the temple are gently swaying in the wind, busy insects crawl out of small holes on the trees to challenge the courage of the birds; the monks who are doing their morning lessons are hungry and miss the porridge, steamed buns and pickled vegetables; the abbot of the Return-to-the-Origin Temple, Master Benkuo, is eating fragrant noodles with his beloved disciple, Ye Xiangseng, while worrying about Yitianxing deep in the meditation room.

  The door of the Zen room creaked open from inside.

  Yi Tianxing blinked his slightly sticky eyes, looking somewhat dazed at the surrounding monks. The monks all bowed in unison, this was the etiquette for the first cultivator to go into closed-door cultivation in Kaiyuan Temple in decades.

  Yi Tian Xing smiled slightly and gently stroked the little Zhu Que's head as it poked out from his chest.

  Bin Ku Da Shi hurried over from his meditation room, carefully holding his hand and smiling slightly at Little Zhu Que, asking in a soft voice: "Yi Shu Zhu?"

  Yi Tian Xing's mind was slightly dizzy, the scene in front of him was completely different from usual, as if a thin layer of fog had been lifted, but it became even clearer. He thought of the "Tale of Two Dragons" he had read a few days ago and couldn't help feeling excited and moved... Was this what it meant to have reached a higher level? He smiled slightly, with a hint of pride, saying: "Thank you for your concern, Master, I understand now."

  The monks once again joined their palms together in respect, and the large courtyard was quiet. Master Bin Ku's face revealed a relieved smile, while Yi Tian Xing stroked the warm little Zhu Que with his right hand, his eyes gazing forward. Suddenly, he noticed that the trees within the Gui Yuan Temple seemed to be bathed in a layer of crimson by the morning glow, and his slightly misty gaze appeared to carefully capture every detail of the vivid scene. Looking further into the distance, it seemed as though purple smoke was rising...

  He slightly shook his head to alleviate the dizziness, thinking that he had achieved great success in his cultivation, and couldn't help but burst out laughing. However, this last laugh seemed to be blocked by something, stuck in his throat, and his entire body fell straight back, with the back of his head made of tempered jade hitting the stone steps of the Temple of Return to the Origin, making a loud noise that dented the bluestone slab.

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  "After being cooped up for three days, who would have thought that it was actually a mess." Ye Xiangseng said with a smile as he wiped the wet towel on Yi Tianxing's forehead.

  Bin Ku and the monk couldn't help but let out a light laugh, and he scolded him: "You dare to be so rude."

  "Ah-choo! Try going three days without eating or drinking and see how you do!" Yi Tianxing, lying in bed with a sickly complexion, said with a worried expression: "I thought I had caught a glimpse of the great way, but it turns out to be just an illusion. I mistook the black smoke from the factory for the purple energy arriving from the east... Ah... It seems that cultivating the king's aura isn't so easy after all." He suddenly grabbed onto Bin Su's sleeve and said with a sorrowful tone: "Master, I've been in seclusion for three days, and I thought I had mastered the Heart Sutra and its methods. I should have no problem controlling my inner true yuan... So why is this high fever still not gone?"

  He sighed and looked at him for a while before saying, "The donor has indeed practiced...". He glanced sideways at the small red bird that was still sleeping soundly on Yi Tianxing's cheek: "...but this one is still in his childhood, how can he control the fire from overflowing? Moreover, when I examined the donor's pulse earlier, I vaguely discovered that the donor's heart rhythm has a connection with this Vermilion Bird. It seems that as the donor's true yuan grows stronger, the heavenly fire within the Vermilion Bird also becomes more abundant. Since this little Vermilion Bird has not yet transformed and become intelligent, it cannot cultivate on its own, and the donor's high fever...it seems that it will only get worse."

  Yi Tianxing suddenly pulled out a thermometer from his armpit, took one look at the mercury column and was so frightened that he almost threw the thermometer out of the window. After hearing the old monk say that the fever would get even worse, his face turned pale with fright and he couldn't speak for a moment. Half a while later, he stammered: "No way, I've never been sick since childhood, but I can't take this dizzying feeling getting even stronger? Do you think I'm seafood about to be stir-fried in chili sauce?"

  Having said this, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his mind went blank, so he fell asleep again.

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  It's not surprising that he's timid. He has been delicate since childhood, and later on, he even mastered the subtleties of Xuanhuo without a teacher. It's unknown whether he's immune to all poisons, but this illness is one he's never had before, nor has he ever been injured, so he truly doesn't know the taste of pain. These days, he suddenly started having minor illnesses every day, with low-grade fevers and his head feeling heavy as if it was hanging from his neck - just like a girl who's never eaten spicy food before being forced to drink a bowl of boiling fish soup - the discomfort is really indescribable.

  After a while, Yi Tianxing reluctantly opened his somewhat red eyes and asked panting: "What can be done?"

  Bin Ku Da Shi furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment before saying, "Benefactor, considering the current situation, it's really not suitable for you to continue staying with the Vermilion Bird Deity for an extended period."

  Yi Tianxing closed his eyes slightly and thought for a moment before saying, "If it leaves my side, won't it be unable to absorb the fire element from my body? Won't something go wrong?"

  "Of course not. The divine beast has its own way of survival, even if it's separated from you, the worst outcome is just slow growth, and it won't be life-threatening."

  Yitian Xing turned his head to look at the little red bird beside him, looking at its smooth feathers, and a strong reluctance surged in his heart.

  Just then, it seemed like someone coughed.

  Yitian suddenly became alert, because he found that the voice was the person who had stunned him that day. The little Zhuque, who had been sleeping soundly before, also woke up with a start, standing on the pillow, twisting its small round head to look around, and its small feet tapping anxiously on the soft fabric of the pillow, looking extremely tense.

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  A thunder-like voice echoed in Yitian's mind.

  "It's been a long time since I've seen this little thing, come and play."

  The little sparrow seemed to understand the sentence as well, chirping anxiously and fearfully.

  Yi Tianxing saw its demeanor, and his heart was greatly shocked. Before he could react, he saw the air in the Zen room twisting strangely, with faint light being twisted into illusory patterns, as if a power was entering the Zen room through the transmission of the air.

  The little sparrow innocently blinked its small black eyes, let out two mournful chirps, and the feathers on its body suddenly became disheveled, as if someone had grasped it with their hand. It eerily floated into mid-air in the meditation room, and then, with a sudden whoosh, was dragged away from the meditation room by that force, tumbling about in all directions!