Fahui

Over the past five years, Li Xuanling had traveled throughout the State of Xu. Following the war between the Purple Palace and Lianmin masters, powers large and small across the land had suffered grievous losses and turned inward to recuperate. Moreover, with the Xiuyue Sect stepping into Xu after the war to lay down rules and rein in rogue cultivators, peace and calm had settled over the realm. Life for the common folk was decent enough; though not as prosperous as life under the Li family's rule, it was at least fit for human beings. Having established ties with various factions in Xu and recorded diverse methods of qi harvesting, Li Xuanling had crossed beyond the borders of Xu this year to observe the situation in the State of Zhao. Seeing Duanchen Township withered and desolate on all sides, he had expected the commoners to be seething with grievance. To his surprise, however, the tenant farmers here wore expressions of ecstatic joy. Taken aback, he had no choice but to look toward the tenant peasants below and ask in a low voice: "Which way leads to Mount Luoxia?" Though the north had fallen under the domain of Buddhism, there were still Daoist lineages and immortal cultivators here and there. They merely lived in secluded mountain retreats, having withdrawn from worldly affairs. Most possessed backing of some sort, so nobody bothered them. Mount Luoxia was one such place, where most immortal cultivators of the north gathered. Li Xuanling thus intended to pay it a visit and see how it differed from the Purple Palace and Golden Core Dao of the south. "Mount Luoxia?" The people below exchanged glances, looking at one another with utter bewilderment. Li Xuanling shook his head and was just about to ride the wind away when he lifted his head thoughtfully. Standing on the ridge between the fields was a bare-chested man with well-defined, sun-reddened muscles. His hands were pressed together in prayer, and his eyes were fixed intently on Li Xuanling. He said in a deep voice: "I wonder which path this fellow cultivator follows, to look so unfamiliar. This humble monk, Fahui of Duanchen Temple, greets you!" *I've run into the master of this place...* Li Xuanling felt an instant flash of awkwardness. He wanted to speak, yet feared exposing his origins. He merely nodded, stirred the wind, and turned to depart. Unexpectedly, the monk let out a thunderous roar: "Halt! I knew an evil heretic like you was up to no good!" With a great leap, Monk Fahui soared from the ridge like an eagle, raising his fist to strike at Li Xuanling. Li Xuanling, having only just begun to ride the wind, was horrified. *Has this man lost his mind?! What is he flying into a rage for out of nowhere?* There was no time to ponder right and wrong or cause and effect. He pinched an incantation gesture to conjure a dharmic shield while grasping the dharmic sword at his waist with one hand. His true essence surged like rippling water as he shouted: "You and I bear no grudges! What madness has taken you, monk?!" The monk's eyes glared wide and fierce. His fists, like forged iron, pounded against the dharmic shield with loud thuds. Li Xuanling drew his sword and made to slash, but Fahui kicked against the shield, using the momentum to spring higher into the air. Dodging Li Xuanling's blade, he swooped down once more like a hawk. Li Xuanling felt the stinging lash of baleful wind against his face. Raising his sword to block, grayish dharmic light radiated from the blade. Yet Monk Fahui, possessing a body of steel and iron, brazenly grabbed it barehanded, forcibly pinning the weapon, and reached out to seize Li Xuanling's wrist. "Hah!" Having witnessed the sheer physical strength of his foe, how could Li Xuanling dare let himself be grabbed? Yet he was also unwilling to abandon his sword and lose his primary weapon. With one effort, he condensed a spell and hurled it at the encroaching hand; with the other, he poured all his strength into the sword, sending ripples of grayish-black sword light bursting forth to force the monk back. Fahui was momentarily checked by the spell. He shattered it with a palm strike, but his other hand was already searing with pain, the golden light covering it showing faint cracks. Fahui thought to himself: *I don't know why, but the moment I saw this man, his very face disgusted me and fury flared in my chest! Still, this sword is sharp. If I keep holding on, it might break my dharmic body. I can't stay locked like this!* With that, he smashed another brutal punch into Li Xuanling's protective shield with a deafening boom, released the blade, and kicked off to launch himself airborne once more. Having spent the past five years roaming Xu, slaying plenty of beasts and men alike, Li Xuanling was richly experienced. It was merely his first time facing a Shakya cultivator, and he had been caught off guard by the savage pummeling. Given a moment to breathe, he immediately realized: *This man probably cannot ride the wind. He is only staying airborne by borrowing the force of my blows. There is no need for me to tangle with him!* Rather than pursuing, he pulled away at once. Fahui let out an angry roar and strained to reach upward, but without anything to kick against in midair, he plummeted back to the earth like an awkward bear with a heavy crash. "Hmph! Heretics who bewitch the hearts of the people may all be slain!" Fahui was only an ordinary monk who could not even ride the wind. Li Xuanling pulled up even higher, leaving the monk on the ground with nothing to do but glare upward in fury. Having taken a beating for no reason at all, Li Xuanling was both startled and incensed. He snapped back: "I merely asked for directions! How have I bewitched anyone's heart?!" Before Shakya cultivators attained the realm of Master, they remained mortal in flesh. Yet this Fahui possessed profound cultivation, shattering Li Xuanling's shield in just two punches. Looking down from above, Li Xuanling could have controlled his dharmic sword to strike, but wary of Duanchen Temple's entrenched local power, he hesitated to escalate. Down below, the monk continued to curse and holler: "You cast illusions—is that not bewitching the heart? Has the crooked evil Dao you practice ever delivered a single soul into the Pure Land? You seek only..." While Fahui was still shouting, Li Xuanling paid him no heed. Seeing figures descending from the distant temple in the hills, he knew he could not linger any longer. He merely sneered: "Bullshit! What Pure Land? It's nothing more than whitewashing cannibalism—deceiving yourself and others!" Fahui's eyes bulged with rage, but Li Xuanling was already drifting away on the wind. The monk roared like thunder where he stood until a group of fellow monks reached his side, only then gradually calming down while glaring in the direction Li Xuanling had fled. The surrounding monks offered kind words and consoled him for a long while. Then an old monk stepped forward, clad in a gray robe, fingering a string of translucent prayer beads. He said with a beaming smile: "Fahui, your karmic affinity has arrived!" "Abbot." Fahui acknowledged him with a surprised look and asked, "Why do you say so?" The old monk nodded, looking overjoyed, and said hurriedly: "You have been clever since childhood and made swift progress in cultivation. You possess the deepest roots of wisdom in our temple, only a single step away from becoming a Master. Earlier, I went to the grand temple to inquire on your behalf. Now it seems your opportunity has truly come!" "What did they say?" After all, this concerned his path of cultivation. Hearing this, Fahui's attention shifted instantly. Overjoyed, he asked in a low voice. The old monk twirled his grizzled beard and answered: "I crossed three mountains to seek instruction. Lianmin sat at the head of the hall. I described your circumstances in detail, and Lianmin answered: *In his past life, this man was a fisherman who loved eating snake soup. Year after year he fished, until at last he met a tempest and was buried in the belly of a great whale.* "*In this life, by good fortune, he obtained human form. A Daoist riding the wind would come, possessing dharmic power and true essence like rivers—a serpent-flood dragon reincarnate. Deliver this person, rid the common people of this scourge, and you will nurture a Pure Land within your belly to achieve the realm of Master.*" Fahui clapped his hands repeatedly, his eyes gleaming with brilliant light as he laughed: "So that is it! So that is it! No wonder I felt unstoppable fury the moment I saw him. It was ordained by destiny and karmic affinity!" The old monk laughed and continued: "I then asked: *Is there a chance for him to achieve the realm of Lianmin?*" Fahui's eyes widened. Licking his lips, he stared fixedly at the abbot and asked eagerly: "How did the Great One reply?" The old monk deliberately drew out the suspense. Fahui, naturally irascible, turned red-eyed and shouted: "Abbot! Stop keeping me in suspense, tell me quickly!" "Hahahahaha." The old monk gave a long laugh and said: "Lianmin pinched his fingers in divination, struck a listening posture, and after a long silence replied: *He must seek it from that great whale. Yet if he fails to survive this tribulation, he shall once again perish in the belly of whale and flood dragon.*" The monks looked at one another, their faces fraught with contemplation as hushed chatter broke out. Fahui hesitated for a moment, then took the Dharma artifact handed over by a fellow disciple and said fiercely: "No matter what tribulations await, I will deliver this heretic and become a Master!" Having spoken, Fahui bowed deeply to the old monk, cupped his hands to his martial brothers, and declared in a ringing voice: "Fortunately, that man mentioned heading to Mount Luoxia, so his trail won't be lost. Fahui takes his leave!" His legs moved like lightning, kicking up a trail of dust as he sprinted into the distance. The remaining disciples gathered around the abbot, and one of them remarked: "Senior Brother Fahui practices the Glaring Vajra method, and a breakthrough is imminent. If he catches that man off guard, he can still kill him." "Indeed!" The crowd discussed the matter with great enthusiasm. Only the old monk let his smile fade. Tremblingly turning back, he murmured: "Opportunity is also tribulation... How could there be such easy fortune in this world?" While Fahui of Duanchen Temple had set his sights on Li Xuanling, Li Xuanling was flying along on the wind, sweeping across field after field below. He felt a lingering disquiet in his heart and mused: *The State of Zhao is full of Shakya cultivators. If all of them are this unhinged, this place is simply too dangerous. Who knows where Mount Luoxia even is, and it's not as though I must go there. I have been away from home for months now; I might as well call an end to this journey and return first.* He turned around and flew southward. The hour had grown late. Looking down through the night at the grayish-yellow earth beneath him, Li Xuanling saw tenant peasants gathered around bonfires, listening to a monk preach tales of enduring hardship and suffering in this life so that in the next, they might become a Maha or manifest a Dharmakaya. Li Xuanling quietly concealed his presence and listened as that mortal monk spoke at length with a face full of yearning. Though these peasants were emaciated, covered in scars and grime, their eyes shone with bright hope and longing. Li Xuanling stood silently in the night for a time, watching them cheer with joy and prostrate in devout worship, feelings churning within him. *Whether the pure land of indulgence and samsara are true or false, and which among Immortals, Demons, and Shakyas is right or wrong... the world is sinister and fouled beyond words.* *** Time on the lake was always placid like still water. Deep turquoise waves rippled, bringing a gradual chill. Once again, Xiao Xian arrived at Lijing Town accompanied by several clan servants. He sat beneath the main hall, his face brimming with anxiety. "Brother Xiao!" Pale-faced, Li Yuanping managed a smile. Sitting upright in the high seat, he looked down at Xiao Xian and chuckled: "It has been several months. Your cultivation has improved quite a bit!" Xiao Xian's aptitude was mediocre; he had only just broken through to the third layer of Embryonic Breathing. Li Yuanping's words were naturally mere flattery. Xiao Xian simply smiled it off. Sitting below for a while, he hesitated over how to begin, only for Li Yuanping to take the initiative: "May I ask what brings Brother Xiao here today?" Xiao Xian nodded slightly. Organizing his thoughts, he said respectfully: "Xiao Xian has turned eighteen this year, and my family is preparing to choose a wife for me." The moment Xiao Xian spoke those few words, Li Yuanping understood at once. Stroking his chin, he mused: *Qingxiao is thirteen or fourteen now. The Yushan branch likely wants to settle this matter beforehand, lest unexpected complications arise later.* Xiao Xian paused, then continued with sincere earnestness: "The Young Master has likely known for some time that I have long admired Lady Qingxiao and seek to wed her with a sincere heart. I wonder if the Young Master could pass a word along for me to ascertain their thoughts, to see what the clan elders and the young lady herself think... If this matter is amenable, I will have my elders bring the wild goose to formally arrange the betrothal." Li Yuanping caressed the jade cup in his hand. Marriages between prominent families were never proposed rashly. Almost always, someone was asked to sound out the other party first; only when confirmation was assured would they carry the wild goose to the door for a formal proposal. Xiao Xian was now formally initiating this process. After all, for prominent clans, a formal rejection in public was nothing short of an outright humiliation. Sounding each other out in advance spared both sides from awkwardness and distress, preventing an unsuccessful match from turning into a grudge. Li Yuanping merely nodded, set down his teacup, and said with solemn sincerity: "Brother Xiao has helped me greatly. I will certainly not sit by on this matter. I will surely ask on your behalf, get a clear answer, and put in good words for you. Just wait for my good news, Brother." Xiao Xian had been bustling about precisely for these words. Seeing Li Yuanping agree without posing any conditions, he let out a sigh of relief. With deep gratitude, he replied: "Thank you, Young Master!" Li Yuanping smiled. The two chatted about this and that for a while before Li Yuanping suddenly remembered something and asked: "Before the turn of the year, a demonic cultivator named Murong Xia passed through our family's territory, behaving terribly overbearing. I wonder how he fares now?" "Murong Xia?" Xiao Xian pondered for a moment and replied, "You mean that Benevolent Joy Demon who cultivates human heads in his belly? I've heard quite a bit about him as well." "The very same." Seeing Li Yuanping's confirmation, Xiao Xian's spirits lifted as he answered, "After passing through your territory, he headed straight south and consumed several hundred people in our family's lands as well. He made a show of distributing his favor evenly, eating his way through as he traveled, claiming they were all going to enjoy bliss within his belly." Li Yuanping fell silent, stirred by curiosity. He asked: "I heard my elder brother mention him. In your view, Brother Xiao, is this Pure Land of Indulgence real or fake?" Xiao Xian merely sneered and answered: "Whether it's real or fake, I do not know, but I would rather die than enter it. Even if it were true, entering it would mean being controlled by someone else. Even if one enjoys bliss, what is the point?" He paused, smiled ironically, and added: "As for Murong Xia, rumor has it that once he has consumed sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six people, he will become a Maha. He must have quite the formidable background; a host of Masters and Lianmins follow in his wake. Even my family had to respectfully see him off." He took a sip from his teacup and continued: "I thought he was some great Dharmakaya figure, yet he took a detour to avoid the territory of the Xiuyue Sect. To my mind, wasn't he simply afraid?" Li Yuanping realized the reason. Thinking for a moment, he replied: "You mean that sword immortal, Master Shangyuan? Both a sword immortal and at the peak of the Purple Palace—surely even Murong Xia wouldn't dare provoke him." Xiao Xian nodded. "Precisely. With no Golden Core present, Master Shangyuan is the strongest in these parts. The fact that the vast lands of the State of Xu fell to the Xiuyue Sect is proof enough. Master Shangyuan also protects the common folk and prominent clans. If Murong Xia dared flaunt his tricks there and provoked him, a few Lianmins wouldn't be enough to save him." The two chatted in detail for a while longer. Noticing Xiao Xian fidgeting restlessly in his seat, Li Yuanping laughed heartily and said gently: "Please wait a moment, Brother. I will go up the mountain to ask for you."