Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Chu Li walked up nine flights of blue-stone steps and strode over to the Taoist Temple.

The temple had an old, weary feel to it.

In Chu Li’s head, he could already see the woman in the temple. She was wearing a dark-blue gown and was holding a jade horsetail whisk. Her face was fair and bright, she was a complete beauty. Her age roughly matched that of Xiao Qi.

They both had the same unique feature between their eyes that exuded a cold and serious personality.

With nobody else in the temple, this lady was the only one in it. Then, this was undoubtedly Lady Xiao’s aunt, Xiao Yueling.

He secretly praised her. He initially assumed that she was an old lady, but he would never have expected her to be young and gorgeous.

He used the Omniscient Mirror for further observation. Aunt Xiao Yueling may be young, but she was already a Grandmaster. Her vigor was immense, and she was far stronger than the four Protectors of Lady Xiao.

She sat, tall and proud, before an antique-vibed coffee table in the hall. She quietly held a jade teacup in her hand and sipped the hot tea. She had a voluptuous body.

There were three images of Gods in the main hall which looked as if they were real. One of them was a middle-aged man with an elegant and outstanding vigor, while the other two were middle-aged women who were extremely beautiful. Standing side by side, they looked like husband and wives.

She sat silently on the chair and was deep in her thoughts. She looked as if she was one with the three Gods.

“Eek!” As the door of the main hall was opened, Chu Li and the other two walked into the hall along with Ah Shu.

Ah Shu flung her horsetail whisk and said in a crisp voice, “Master, Sister Xiao and her friends are here!”

“Hmm, come and have a seat.” Xiao Yueling snapped out of her thoughts. She lifted her head and laid eyes on the three of them. Eventually, her eyes moved towards Chu Li and her stare turned into a sharp glare. Chu Li felt as if a knife was sliced right through his body with all of his organs showing.

“Aunt Xiao Yueling!”

“Greetings, Great Aunt.”

Xiao Yueling waved her jaded hand, though her eyes were still glued onto Chu Li. “You must be Chu Li, I suppose?”

“Indeed, I am.” Chu Li wrapped his fist.

“Come and have a seat. Do have some tea too,” Xiao Yueling said plainly.

Chu Li answered in delight, “Yes!”

The three of them came to the coffee table and sat down across Xiao Yueling. As the mildly pleasant smell of sandalwood entered Chu Li’s nose, it was as if she emitted a surge of spiritual force that forced people to calm down and to throw aside all evil desires. All that remained was tranquility and silence.

There were already three teacups prepared as if she had known that they were coming. Xiao Yueling then served the three cups of tea to each of them.

Chu Li received the teacup with both hands and lightly took a sip. Immediately, the fragrant odor diffused into his stomach and spread across his body. All the impurities in his body suddenly disappeared and his body felt lighter.

He was surprised. It was a spirit tea which could be used to boost one’s body condition and cleansed the body.

He had only seen this in a category of unique stories of a book. He would never have thought that he would have the chance to consume the legendary spirit tea itself. How incredibly generous!

Xiao Yueling lowered her eyes which had lashes so long that it looked like delicate fans were fringing her clear, bright eyes. She opened her mouth and gently sipped the tea.

Whereas Xiao Qi and Su Ru were both concentrating on drinking their teas as well. Not a word was said and the hall was pin drop silence.

Ah Shu’s large eyes swept across the room over and over again. She looked at every single corner of the room until she finally rested her eyes upon Chu Li, and stared curiously at him.

Chu Li was experiencing how amazing this herb was. Not only did it clear the impurities in his body, but his inner energy was circulating much faster too.

However, he knew of the unique trait of the herb. It worked the best the first time, where its effect would be the strongest but it would start to weaken subsequently. Though after a while, it would fundamentally change someone physique, turning them into a martial arts genius.

Chu Li drank so quickly that even the tea in his cup had vanished. He placed the cup down while he remained seated politely. He quietly glanced over at Xiao Yueling and she did not mind it at all as she continued to sip her tea with her eyes lowered.

After a brief moment, she lifted her head up when she was done with her tea. “Young Xiao Qi, you’ve almost completed your innate mastery!”

“Still a little bit more to go.” Xiao Qi put down her teacup.

Xiao Yueling looked at her and smirked. “How rare! The effects of the Andromeda is indeed great! Ha… You’re quite like your mother, stubborn really.”

Xiao Qi smiled.

This was the first time Chu Li had seen her smile. It looked like the first day of summer, and she looked gorgeous.

Xiao Yueling looked at Chu Li. “Chu Li, you’re cultivating the Sentient Menace?”

Chu Li nodded.

Xiao Yueling’s long and thin brows wriggled.

“Aunt, I’m a little worried.” Xiao Qi expressed her concern. “The martial arts of the Tempest Temple are violent and toxic. It is inevitable that the guide may contain traps that would trick people into practicing the art with lethal consequences.”

“Chu Li, channel it and show it to me.” Xiao Yueling ordered.

As Chu Li circulated the Sentient Menace, his skin immediately glowed with a golden shine. His vigor instantly changed from gentle and calm into arrogant and harsh. Furthermore, his eyesight sharpened by the second.

“Very good!” Xiao Yueling nodded and revealed a smile. “It hasn’t been a month, has it? It seems like your meditation is pretty good!”

Even if the followers of the Tempest Temple had cultivated the Sentient Menace for years, they might not be able to activate it, yet Chu Li had done it in less than a month. If the Tempest Temple found out, they would definitely find a way to make him their follower.

Chu Li smiled; without his strong meditation skills, he would not have been able to complete the Scripture of Wisdom’s Root. Ever since he completed the Omniscient Mirror, his meditation levels had been getting much stronger and it was quite rare to witness such a level in the world.

Xiao Yueling gently slapped him.

Chu Li did not flinch, allowing Xiao Yueling to slap his chest with her fair and delicate hand.

“Bam!” A loud noise rang out, and Chu Li was still in his seat.

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Xiao Yueling retracted her hand and asked, “How do you feel?”

Chu Li contemplated for a while. “It felt like I was falling into the sea.”

He was surprised that a gentle slap from a hand that was as fair as jade could bring out such fierce inner energy. It was as though a huge wave had come towards him, attempting to tumble him around.

“Bam!” Xiao Yueling gave him another slap.

This time, Chu Li flew out of the hall but quickly recoiled by taking three steps in mid-air and back to the coffee table, gently landing on the ground before taking a seat at the coffee table.

“How about this?”

“It felt like a tornado.”

“Did any part of your body feel something?”

“No specific parts.”

“That’s good.” Xiao Yueling let out her breath and smiled at Xiao Qi. “Don’t worry, he’s not on the wrong track.”

“That’s great.” Xiao Qi nodded. “I’ve tried to stop him from practicing it, but he is very stubborn. The martial arts of the Tempest Temple isn’t easy to learn.”

Xiao Yueling smiled. “The Sentient Menace is great. It’s unfortunate that only people with a profound dharmic base can practice it.”

She looked at Chu Li. “Well, since you’ve got their secret guidebook, how many levels are there?”

“Thirty-six moves,” Chu Li answered, “and six layers.”

“There are actually nine layers to the Sentient Menace.” Xiao Yueling corrected him. “It’s said that if you cultivate it to the highest layer, you’ll become as hard as metal and turn into the Buddha. That is why it’s also called the endless buddha austerities. However, don’t underestimate it; just give it a try.”

“Nine layers…” Chu Li had an epiphany.

The entire time he had been cultivating, he could faintly feel that something was missing. He did not feel a sense of satisfaction when he cultivated and he could not find the reason as to why he felt that way, but it was apparent now — he was missing three layers.

“You’re quite lucky. ” Xiao Yueling smiled. “I have the whole set of the Sentient Menace and you can try to train with it. If you feel that you’ve started to become reckless and feel a little bloodthirsty every now and then, you must stop.”

“Yes!” Chu Li said as he wrapped his fist.

“Since you’ve already drunk the tea, now is the time for you to put it to work! Xiao Qi, show me how much you’ve improved!” Xiao Yueling gracefully stood up and flicked her horsetail whisk. A gentle strand touched the coffee table and it then slid twenty feet away, halting at the corner of the hall and creating an empty space in the middle.

As Xiao Qi drew her sword and struck it, a cold flash shined.

Xiao Yueling flicked the whisk as if it was part of her arm. It was extremely light and it slithered like a snake.

The flash of Xiao Qi’s sword was like snow. Her gentle strikes made some quiet noises while they shot forwards like lightning.

Chu Li secretly praised her as the swordplay was amazing. If he had to fight her in a contest of pure swordsmanship, he would probably lose even with the help of the Omniscient Mirror. It seemed to him then that he was not satisfied with the Delusion Split. Hence, he would need to find another sword technique when he goes back.

The whisk and the longsword exchanged clashes against each other. The whole hall was filled with threads from the horsetail whisk, and the flashes of the sword were like an electric snake of darting among the threads until the snake began to move slower. In the end, it was caught between the threads.

The whisk then twisted and pulled backward; the sword was snatched directly from Xiao Qi’s hand and flung upwards.

With that, Xiao Qi leaped into the air and grabbed her sword before she landed gently on the ground.

“Not bad! You’re getting better!” Xiao Yueling nodded in satisfaction and smiled. “Come back next time when your innate mastery is complete!”

“Very well.” Xiao Qi nodded and sheathed her sword.

Xiao Yueling waved her hand. “You may leave now.”

“Aunt Xiao Yueling, I’ll be leaving now!” Xiao Qi made a fist salute.

Ah Shu brought over a wooden box and handed it to Chu Li. After he accepted it, he gave a fist salute to Xiao Yueling as a sign of appreciation.

Xiao Yueling smiled. “Remember to take the dharmic base as your foundation. If you have any questions, just seek the answer from Buddhist Scriptures.”

“Understood.” Chu Li opened the wooden box and took out an old, yellowish book. Its material composition was unique — it was not made of paper or cloth. He carefully touched it, feeling its fine but very tough texture.

He flipped through it once, closed his eyes for a moment and flipped through the book again. He then he placed the book back into the wooden box and closed it before he returned it to Ah Shu.

Ah Shu looked at him, surprised.

Xiao Yueling said, “Ah Shu, please put it back. Be careful on your journey, I won’t walk you to the door.”

“Aunt, I shall return now!” Xiao Qi bowed and stepped out of the temple’s door.

By the time the three of them left the temple, the twenty or so Protectors had already surrounded the temple. When they saw them outside, they immediately shrank their formation and surrounded Xiao Qi during the descent.

On the way down, Chu Li took a glance back to have a last look, but he could no longer see the temple.

Just as they came, they too left in a hurry. Xiao Qi was never one who would beat around the bush. After checking on her Great Aunt for a brief moment, she immediately left as if their relationship was very cold.

However, Chu Li knew that the feelings Xiao Qi had towards Xiao Yueling were very deep. She was her mental support, and checking on her for a moment was enough for her to feel relieved and it allowed her to deal with matters in the Public House without feeling burdened.

The seventy-two forms were shifting in Chu Li’s mind, fusing and linking with one another.

The first six layers had thirty-six poses while the last three layers had another thirty-six poses, though they were far more complicated and harder to cultivate. He was also very curious; if his body was hard as metal, would he physically be Buddha?

After they descended from the mountain, they found their horses and it took them half a day to arrive at the front of the woods. Su Ru whispered, “It’s here!”

Chu Li nodded slowly.

“Okay, let’s all have another rest,” Su Ru said.

The group of Protectors could sense that something was peculiar, but they did not think much of it. They stopped their horses and looked around, putting their guard up.