Chapter 148 Contradictory

The black-robed monk and the old man listened respectfully to the words of the deity.

They dared not doubt what the deity said about history.

That was true mythology.

The past and truth were narrated by a deity.

It wasn't until the divinity concealed itself that the old man respectfully bowed again, then carefully put away the geisha doll. The monk raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, sighed, and said,

"As expected of a divine being, just the aura emanating from you is already almost unbearable for this humble monk."

"With such great power and the protection of a deity, you will surely be able to return to our country smoothly."

The monk looked at the items on the old man's stall, paused, and then said, "You said earlier that you wanted to bury 'calamities' in the land of Shenzhou, and detonate them all when the time is right. I wonder if you've had any success?"

The old man tapped his smoking pipe and said faintly, "Of course."

Seeing the monk's curiosity, the old man took an overturned bowl and tossed it outward. A person appeared right there. Anyone who saw it would be shocked, but the place seemed to be shielded by some kind of magic, and the surrounding pedestrians didn't notice it.

It was a young man in his twenties, with delicate features, but his eyes were all white, and his face was covered with black qi, like a swarm of insects crawling on his neck and face, looking extremely strange and ominous.

The old man replied, "Not everyone is qualified to become a calamity."

"To be corrupted and influenced by the spirits in ancient objects, one must have the qualifications. In other words, their cultivation aptitude must reach a certain level. Heh… if they don't cultivate, even if they have the aptitude, as they get older and their meridians become fixed, their spirituality will gradually become ordinary. So, most of those found qualified to bear calamity are children."

The monk asked curiously, "Is this one too?"

The old man said, "No, this one is an exception. He was originally a cultivator from Shenzhou."

"If you know anything about the cultivators in this land, you should have heard of their highest scriptures, the Seven Heavenly Books of the Three Caverns and Four Supplements."

The old man said, "This is a cultivator of the Taiping division."

"He is the deputy of a certain qushuai (leader) of this generation."

………………

"Taiping division?"

The black-robed monk looked in surprise at the young man, who had obviously lost his mind and was like a puppet. He said strangely, "Although I don't know much about the cultivation system of Shenzhou, since he is a Daoist who cultivates in the Taiping division, his cultivation should not be too bad. How could he be controlled so easily?"

"Of course, it's not easy to control him."

"But if he has the help of his own people, it's very easy."

The old man said slowly:

"The Daoist master of the Taiping division in this generation is also an old acquaintance of mine. When he had not yet risen to prominence, I once sold him some things. But afterwards, he claimed to be a famous sect, and his interactions with us old friends became less and less. I haven't seen him once in the past few years."

"Until recently, for some reason, his usual supernatural power, the Yellow Turban Warrior Guardian Spell, was backfired, and he was seriously injured. Dragging his injured body, he came to me and asked me to help him. Heh… his cultivation is naturally far beyond my current level, but there are some things that only I can do."

"So we made a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yes, he provides me with a vessel for 'calamity', and I give him spiritual objects to speed up his recovery."

"This is a very cost-effective deal. He doesn't know my identity. He probably thinks I'm just a heretical cultivator in Shenzhou, and he roughly guessed my purpose. But he still underestimated me. Strange phenomena have been occurring frequently in Shenzhou recently, and there is news that they plan to start cultivating among the entire population."

"We must not underestimate the mobilization ability of this land."

"So, I must detonate enough calamities in Shenzhou before this happens, to interfere with and slow down their popularization of cultivation techniques. Heh… having many people also has its disadvantages. It's difficult to unite people's hearts."

"There is a saying in Shenzhou, 'With a great reward, there must be brave men.' We only need to pay a small price to instigate some people with influence in society to come out and oppose the popularization of cultivation plans in Shenzhou. The effect will be ten times, or even a hundred times, greater than the price we pay."

"And the speed of restoring trust is far slower than the speed of destroying it."

The black-robed monk suddenly understood, clapped his hands, and smiled, "So that's how it is. There is never a shortage of such people in the world."

"They only care about immediate interests, but they don't know what the premise is for them to safely think and obtain those interests."

"This is a truly marvelous plan."

The wrinkles on the old man's face relaxed slightly, and he pointed to the drowsy Taiping Dao cultivator next to him, saying:

"This is just the 'deposit' to start. He has already been hit by the Soul Seizing spell."

"You just arrived in Shenzhou and don't know or are familiar with anything. This puppet has lost his memory and the ability to think for himself, but he is still usable, so I'll give him to you."

The monk was surprised, then put his hands together and thanked him, "Thank you, sir."

The old man took out a bell and handed it to the monk, saying, "This is the Soul Summoning Bell. Use it to drive him and issue commands, and he will follow your requests. You might as well try it."

"But I don't understand the language of Shenzhou."

"It doesn't matter. This kind of spell is naturally driven by one's own thoughts. Language is just an aid."

The black-robed monk nodded, then took the bell and shook it according to the formula, silently chanting in his heart:

"Soul Summoning Slave, quickly obey my orders!"

In the distance, the yellow color of the sunset appeared. The young cultivator's body seemed to move, but he didn't act as freely as the old man usually controlled him. A look of ferocity and confusion appeared on his face. Controlled by the Soul Seizing spell, his past, memories, and emotions were all like mud.

He didn't know who he was now, sometimes recalling his childhood, and sometimes seeming to turn into livestock.

His self-awareness had obvious defects.

The black-robed monk shook the magic tool and said:

"Soul Summoning Slave, quickly obey my orders!"

Still no response.

The monk frowned, unable to hold back his face. He stepped forward and shouted:

"Quickly obey my orders!"

This time, the controlled vice qushuai raised his head, his eyes turning white, and a gloomy expression appeared on his face.

His tone was cold.

"Japanese pirates?!"

……………………

This Daoist, who had devoted himself to the evil path, seemed to have condensed his thoughts. Even if he didn't know who he was, he at least felt the disgust rising from his heart. In the next moment, he stepped forward to kill. The black-robed monk, who was close at hand, didn't have time to resist and his abdomen was pierced by the Daoist's palm.

Then, as the old man was about to resist, the Daoist relied on this bit of courage, opened his teeth, and bit through the old man's throat.

One old and one young Japanese pirates fell.

The young man's spirit was shaken, and he seemed to break free from the shackles of control.

His mind was clear.

He quickly dealt with the situation here and then ran away quickly.

He ran all the way, running home in one breath.

He really ran for a long, long time.

When he opened the door, he saw his elderly mother, his wife, and his children. Only then did he relax, and a smile appeared on his face. His mother, wife, and children were all surprised by his sudden return, asking him why he didn't continue to cultivate. The man said sincerely:

"I won't cultivate anymore. I'll stay at home from now on."

"I'll be filial to you, and take care of you…"

He took off his Daoist robe and applied for a job, doing the work that he had always looked down on.

Every day when he returned home, there was hot food cooked by his wife, his mother's instructions, and lively and lovely children. He felt that this kind of life was more real and more tangible than following the Taiping Dao master before.

However, he didn't notice that the clock on the wall never seemed to move.

…………………

The bloody smell was strong and pungent.

The Daoist's body fell stiffly to the ground.

The blood on the ground was almost black, already congealed as it flowed out.

And the Soul Summoning Bell fell on the ground, stained with traces of blood.

The black-robed monk lowered his head, saw a large hole torn in his monk's robe at the position of his chest, and his face was slightly pale. If his reaction had been a little slower, it might not have just been his clothes that were torn. He spat out a mouthful of turbid air, looked at the Daoist lying on the ground, and his eyes were wary.

From the geisha doll, a white light emerged.

In the white light, strands of streamer entered the Daoist's seven orifices, making the Daoist's expression even more dazed. His body was still bleeding profusely, but a feeling of happiness and intoxication appeared on his face, making people feel extremely strange.

"Life is fifty years, like a dream, like an illusion."

The old man's brows relaxed, as if he was sighing in a low voice, and also explaining to the monk: "The deity controls people's five colors and five desires, and can make people sink into dreamy bubbles. But these dreamy bubbles all come from this person's past and memories, and therefore, it is easier to make people sink."

"Everyone has things they can't get, things they can't let go of, grudges, and separations of loved ones."

"They bind their own hands and feet and draw a circle on the ground as a prison."

"This is the ultimate in illusion."

The old man took out a bowl and covered the Daoist, who was immersed in illusions and the past, and left him to fend for himself. The young monk was frightened by this and felt a chill down his spine. The old man smiled and took out an object from his arms, an ancient talisman, and handed it to the monk, saying:

"Okay, this time I didn't control him well."

"This thing is the token of the Taiping Dao master."

"Take this thing and go to him, and say that you are acquainted with me and that I sent you."

"He will naturally give you some good things as compensation. Of course, you can also keep this thing for yourself. Ancient talismans from Shenzhou, especially those from the Age of Gods, naturally have their own value."

The monk, who was still in shock, showed some joy when he saw the ancient talisman. After thanking him, he took the talisman.

He carefully looked at it and put away this talisman, which seemed to be from the Three Kingdoms period.

After saying goodbye to the old man again, he left. This time, in addition to wanting to find the old man, he also wanted to find some Buddhist scriptures, hoping to go through the experience of 'journey to the west'. But this time, the true scriptures he hoped for were not words, but the Shenzhou vow power condensed into sharira.

"Amitabha…"

…………………………

The monk left.

And the old man was still setting up his stall alone.

It was already past six o'clock.

In a little while, a little while, there should be students and children passing by here.

A true spirit that has not been deceived can be used as a vessel for 'calamity'.

He looked at the things on the stall, thinking silently about when he should completely send out so many calamities. When that time comes, he should be able to return to Sakura Island. It had been more than fifty years since he had returned to his shrine. At this time, footsteps sounded slightly. The old man raised his eyes, and there was no ripple in his dim eyes.

A customer had arrived…

ps: Today's first update… three thousand four hundred words.

I originally wanted to finish this section in one breath, but I found that I couldn't control the number of words. I'll post it first, and then the second update is being coded. I hope it will be earlier than yesterday, vomiting blood.