Chapter 62: Grotto Heaven and Blessed Land

  Ci Hang Pu Du knelt on the ground and asked: "I don't understand, what kind of superior being is there in the mortal world that can hinder the great affairs of the Buddha?"

  Wu Tian coldly laughed and said, "You've been lingering in the Western Cow Herder Continent for a long time, don't you know the principle of hiding dragons and sleeping tigers in the three realms? In the Mortal Realm, let's not mention your kind of hidden and obscure creatures from the Primordial Wilderness, nor the Town Guardian of Wanshou Mountain or the Abbot of Futu Mountain. Even among the scattered immortals in the ten great grotto heavens, thirty-six small grotto heavens, and seventy-two blessed lands, each one is formidable."

  Ci Hang Pu was stunned, he had never heard of the sayings of thirty-six Dongtian and seventy-two Fudi before.

  Wu Tian explained, "It's no wonder you don't know. Over a thousand years ago, in the mortal realm, there was an unparalleled emperor. After his death, some human cultivators followed him, commonly known as Fangshi or Daoshi, who formed their own lineage. They didn't worship gods or Buddhas, nor did they respect ghosts and monsters, almost unifying the entire Nanfan continent."

  Before his death, he had personally divided and allocated 118 spiritual energy nodes across the land, known as Dongtian Fudi. Later, after his downfall, those Taoist priests under him dispersed and hid in these Dongtian Fudi, emerging to exorcise demons whenever evil spirits dared to encroach on human imperial authority.

  "He sneered: 'If it weren't for this, there would be countless gods and demons under the sky, where would mortals dare to claim supremacy?'"

  This matter is a great secret in the universe, and at that time, Ci Hang Pu Du was still roaming freely in Xiniuhezhou, so naturally he wouldn't bother with mortal affairs. There are many blank spaces left in Wu Tian's words, things that Ci Hang Pu Du and Ju Diao Ming Wang shouldn't know about.

  Ci Hang Pu Du didn't dare ask, and could only nod his head: "I now understand why the Buddha chose me to hide in the Song Dynasty court."

  In the dark abyss of demons, even a demon like Ci Hang Pu Du who originally practiced immortal family magic was rare, and only he could walk in court with his original appearance without triggering an attack from the Dongtian Fudi.

  Even if it's a giant sculpture of King Ming, following Wutian to learn Buddhism all the time, he still has to change his appearance in the workshop of Asura realm to sneak into the human world.

  Wu Tian Buddha Ancestor said, "As for you, Giant Eagle, and that Mysterious Void, you can take action to verify the foundation of that person. However, remember not to harm his life, lest you provoke the saints above the Thirty-Three Heavens."

  Ci Hang Pu Du and Ju Zhuo Ming Wang obtained the black lotus from Wu Tian Fo Zu, each transforming into a long rainbow to go about their business. Meanwhile, on the main road, Xuan Kong and others were also arriving at Wang Qi's old home in Ninghai County by the North Sea.

  Wang Qi suddenly pulled over the horse carriage at the city gate and stood still for a moment.

  The little fox lay on the horse's back, her shiny black eyes spinning around to look at Wang Qi, just thinking about where to bite him awake. Suddenly, a hand came from behind and pinched the soft skin on her neck, Xuan Kong smiled: "Little brother is homesick, don't tease him at this time."

  The little fox listened to Xuan Kong's words and immediately shrunk its body, jumping onto his head via his shoulder.

  Wang Qi was a bit distracted, walking slowly to the city wall of Ninghai County, stretching out his hand to gently stroke the green bricks and weeping: "I'm back, I, Wang Qi, am back!" Xuan Kong's eyes also had some shimmering water light, this world is not like the previous one, wherever you want to go, just say it and leave.

  The transportation tools for sea, land and air are all available, even if you want to go to space, it's not impossible.

  But it's different here, the journey is long and arduous, if not for cultivators relying on their mortal legs, even a distance of two fingers wide on the map would be unknown how long to walk. Not to mention, there are also some man-eating demons and ghosts, bandits occupying the mountains.

  It's no wonder that Wang Qi was so excited. When he left home in a fit of anger back then, he thought he would never have the chance to return home for the rest of his life.

  Wang Qi pulled Xuan Kong and said: "Big Brother Master, do you still remember when I went up to Ceng Mountain?"

  Understanding the younger brother's surging emotions, Xuan Kong didn't think much of it and simply nodded: "I remember when you introduced yourself back then, you only said you were from a declining noble family, seventh in line, so we can just call you Wang Qi."

  Wang Qi sighed and said, "My family is a noble one, but it's not in decline. In Ninghai County, we also have considerable influence. When I was young, I admired the Taoist way and heard that there were many immortals on Laoshan Mountain. I wanted to go learn from them, but my family didn't agree. So, I secretly packed a bamboo box and set out on the road."

  "There are elders and brothers at home, I'm afraid they think I've already died on the road." He smiled bitterly: "It's not their fault, only now do I know that repairing roads is hard work, it's not as easy and comfortable as others make it out to be."

  Xuan Kong nodded in agreement, and Wang Jun beside him also perked up his ears to listen carefully.

  Wang Qi recalled: "I ascended Lao Mountain and saw the Upper Clarity Hall, which felt extremely serene. As I entered the hall, my master was lecturing to fellow disciples, every sentence profound and ingenious, making one ponder deeply."

  "He thought to himself: 'That's only natural, although Master's own cultivation still needs improvement. But the legacy of the ancient Wen Zhong's Thunder Method is bound to be profound and abstruse.'"

  Wang Qi flowed with tears and smiled: "At that time, I had just gone up the mountain, didn't understand anything, Master asked me to go chop firewood, and a month passed in an instant. To be honest, at that time, I was really regretful in my heart, you know, Big Brother Shifu, it was when I saw you practicing magic in front of the temple, in front of those peonies and mountain tea flowers, that I felt the Taoist magic was so wonderful, and only then did I make up my mind to stay."

  Xuán Kōng's face turned slightly red, it was his usual flirtatious habit, he had been thinking of hooking up with the two beauties, Xiāng Yù and Jiàng Xuě from the Chatou story.

  But unexpectedly attracted those two beauties and also strengthened a little junior brother's determination to follow the path of cultivation.

  Wang Qi said a lot, and Xuan Kong didn't mind his verbosity. He just stood aside with his apprentice Wang Jun, listening to him speak. The little fox who was originally lying on the carriage, however, was extremely bored. She had no interest in knowing about these mortals' emotions.

  They simply gazed at the passersby, and when the city's pedestrians saw the little fox's gaze, they immediately panicked and dodged to both sides. Some bolder ones even returned home, fetched weapons, and surrounded Xu Kong and his group.

  Xuan Kong looked at the approaching good men, somewhat puzzled: "I haven't caused any trouble in Ninghai County yet, why do the county people look at me with eyes like they're looking at a monster?"

  He also didn't like being gawked at as if he were an animal in a zoo, so he tugged on Wang Qi's clothes and said, "Younger brother, the customs of your hometown aren't very good, it seems that you're somewhat bullying outsiders."

  Wang Qi was pulled by his senior brother and came back to his senses, only to find that they were surrounded.

  There were also some strange scratching heads: "No, when I left that year, it wasn't like this. Could it be that in the past two years, my family has been urging me to come back, and these fellow villagers saw me and tied me up to take me home?"

  Wang Jun was shocked, and he heard the implicit meaning in Wang Qi's words. It seemed that Wang Qi's family was absolutely a local tyrant in Ninghai County. Frowning secretly, from Wang Jun's identity, he didn't like such local despots, especially those with a family-style existence.

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