Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 394: A Thunderstorm Crying and Laughing

The power of this final heavenly lightning tribulation was simply outrageous. With the powerful lightning control and absorption ability of the Lightning Control Talisman, it was able to absorb more than half of the power of that single strike. The unparalleled might of the immortal sword was able to cleave through the heavenly lightning and thunderclouds, yet even still, the remaining lightning still stubbornly struck Ji Yuan.This lightning strike wasn’t a solid hit, but it was extremely painful, allowing Ji Yuan to fully experience a long-lost agony.

But further along he endured, the less Ji Yuan could afford to give up. He had already withstood 90% of the way through; if he wasted all his efforts on the remaining 10%, the pain he would experience would be far more severe than merely coughing up blood.

However, this wasn’t entirely a bad thing; even if Ji Yuan could block all the heavenly lightning without breaking a sweat, this was his scroll’s tribulation, not his. He couldn’t block every single bolt of lightning from striking the scroll, otherwise this might happen again.

Amidst a burst of crackling bolts, all that remained before Ji Yuan’s eyes was the purple-gold color of tribulation lightning.

With his whole body trembling, Ji Yuan slowly loosened his grip on the immortal sword with his right hand, then slowly inched it closer to his chest, placing his palm on the inner pocket where the paper crane resided.

While Ji Yuan himself was still confident that he could withstand the onslaught, the the paper crane, whose spiritual enlightenment was becoming increasingly apparent, was still extremely fragile. If this level of heavenly lightning were to strike it directly, it would surely turn the paper crane to ashes.

Fortunately, when Ji Yuan touched the brocade pouch, he could still feel the bulging paper inside. It was also fortunate that the pouch had been reinforced by supernatural means; otherwise, things might have been very different.

The primary target of the tribulation lightning was still the “Transformation of Heaven and Earth” scroll that Ji Yuan gripped tightly in his left hand. Therefore, the lightning merely used Ji Yuan as a conduit, converging heavily towards his left hand.

Ji Yuan mustered his spiritual power, using it to support the scroll in his left hand, while simultaneously using himself to block the lightning. In a thought, a row of spiritual coins flew out from his sleeve, instantly transforming into pure spiritual power and energy, greatly increasing Ji Yuan’s power at this moment, and even coating him in a supernatural membrane layer, directly pushing away the lightning.

The last glimmer of lightning finally disappeared, and wisps of smoke billowed from the ridge and the surrounding peaks. Ji Yuan stood there, calming his racing heart and surging spiritual power, his body also enveloped in the white smoke.

The thunder was still rumbling, but Ji Yuan was not alarmed. He looked up at the sky and saw that the rolling and gathering of dark clouds had vanished.

Furthermore, the slash of the immortal sword caused a wide opening to split open in the rolling dark clouds, allowing sunlight to stream out and illuminate the mountainside, creating a band of light that significantly improved visibility.

Although the lightning still lingered in the sky, it was no longer the terrifying lightning of a tribulation.

“Hooh…”

Ji Yuan took a deep breath and then exhaled, releasing his right hand that had been pressed against his chest, and then looked down at the scroll in his left hand.

The original white Xuan paper had lost its color, and the paper now possessed a withered yellow hue, with some edges even showing vague scorch marks.

A little paper crane emerged from the brocade pouch tucked in Ji Yuan’s chest, poking its head out to peek out at Ji Yuan’s left hand. It noticed that this usually fair hand was now faintly blackened.

However, Ji Yuan had no time to pay attention to his injuries, and had forgotten the pain. He carefully grasped the top and bottom ends of the paper scroll with both hands and slowly unrolled it.

Based on how it looked from the outside, the scroll didn’t seem to be intact, so Ji Yuan’s heart, which had just relaxed a little, became tense again.

Finally, as the scroll unfurled, Ji Yuan saw the words. His own handwriting was still clear to read, and as more and more characters were revealed, the spirit and meaning imbued within them gradually became apparent.

The ink on these characters was jet black, occasionally briefly tinged with a golden-purple hue. The characters were perfectly intact, and retained their spirit and meaning. Upon closer inspection, he could even sense an aura of vast and majestic divine power.

“It’s alright! I’m so glad that it’s alright!”

Only at this moment did Ji Yuan truly relax, his body was no longer as tense as before.

A torrential downpour began at that moment, extinguishing the flames that had been ignited by the lightning on the surrounding mountains, and cooling the earth.

Ji Yuan did not use any supernatural powers or techniques, letting the heavy rain lash him. The icy rain invigorated him and made him more alert.

Only now did the stinging pain throughout his body become more pronounced, particularly in his left hand.

“Ouch…that hurts quite a bit!”

Ji Yuan chuckled self-deprecatingly. With his composure and strong will, he was naturally able to bear this pain, but that did not mean it was mild. If it were any other cultivator, they would probably be in pain so intense that they wouldn’t even be able to stand.

Then Ji Yuan gently brushed his right hand across his left arm, and the charred color instantly faded, with some fine black powder dusting off.

Ji Yuan’s arm quickly returned to normal, as if there were had been no injuries or pain to begin with. But only Ji Yuan knew that this was just the outer appearance; inside, the injuries were still there.

Where Ji Yuan now stood in the desolate mountains, the rain had arrived belatedly, but the entirety of Tongqiu Prefecture had already been bathed in this thunderstorm. Aside from a few select people, the inhabitants of Tongqiu Prefecture were unaware of the events unfolding beyond the sight of ordinary people.

Inside Daliang Monastery, Monk Huitong and Princess Chu Ruyan sat together on a prayer mat in the corridor under the eaves of the monks’ hall. The lady-in-waiting stood a little further away, leaning against a pillar. All three were watching the heavy rain.

The thunder continued to rumble. As she listened to the sound, the princess suddenly spoke.

“The thunder seems much quieter than before? But the rain seems to be getting heavier.”

“Yes, the thunder is indeed a bit quieter than before!”

As the two were spoke, the rain intensified.

The wind and rain howled in the sky, the sound of thunder growing sharp. The rain made continuous pattering sounds agianst the ground, pooling in puddles and splashing with a lingering, melodious sound.

Chu Ruyan unconsciously moved closer to Huitong. She didn’t know if it was because of the cold, but she got goosebumps. After a long while, she whispered to Huitong, who was frowning.

“Huitong… this wind, rain, and thunder are a bit frightening…”

Huitong was startled and opened his eyes to look at the sky. The princess’s words reminded him of something.

“The sky… I don’t know if it is laughing or if it is crying!”

He hoped Mr. Ji was alright!

With a worried heart, Monk Huitong looked up at the distant horizon. Suddenly, he froze. In the distance, a long white line stretched to the very edge of the sky.

‘No, it’s not a white line, it’s the clouds being parted!’

When the Green Vine Sword slashed into the sky earlier, the storm had been at its peak. The entire Tongqiu Prefecture had been ablaze in lightning. Even the eminent monks of Daliang Monastery had failed to notice the sword’s light. So now, when Huitong noticed the white streak in the sky at this moment, and the sunlight was particularly conspicuous through that white line in the clouds.

Seeing that ray of sunlight in the distance seemed to brighten up some of the gloom in his heart.

“Master Huitong, are there many immortals and deities in this world like Mr. Ji, who can fly and escape into the earth?”

The eldest princess asked softly, but Huitong kept his hands clasped together and didn’t turn to look at her, simply answering quietly.

“This humble monk’s cultivation is shallow, and my experience and knowledge are not deep, but I know that there are not many people like Mr. Ji in the world. As for flying and sinking into the earth, those are just a few of the myriad supernatural powers and techniques. Anyone who knows these supernatural techniques can use them. Of course, one cannot have a poor cultivation level, but threshold is not very high, so it is only relatively more difficult.”

“Then why haven’t we seen them before? Are they all cultivating in the world of immortals?”

Chu Ruyan kept looking at Huitong. Even in profile, Monk Huitong was still so handsome. His thicker earlobes1 made his overall aura even more gentle.

“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha! Princess, cultivators naturally have their own Dharma lands and Taoist sacred spaces. Mortals are not destined to find them. However…”

Monk Huitong faced Chu Ruyan, smiled slightly, and continued.

“However, it’s not that ordinary mortals can never see them; it’s merely that ordinary people are too greedy, too preoccupied with their own thoughts. Often they wouldn’t even be able to recognize a cultivator when face-to-face. Take Mr. Ji, for example. He often goes to the teahouse to listen to the storytellers. He has a pot of tea and two plates of dried fruit, and like ordinary tea drinkers, he applauds and cheers for the storytellers’ wonderful tales.

“Haha, if the Princess were to pass nearby, how would she know that he is a highly skilled immortal cultivator?”

Chu Ruyan lowered her head and thought for a moment, before shaking her head in reply.

“Perhaps I would only think of him as a refined and elegant gentleman.”

Perhaps because she was too familiar with Huitong, even after visiting Daliang Monastery once more, Chu Ruyan felt no distance from Huitong, and her purpose remained unchanged.

Under the trees in the forbidden area of ​​Daliang Monastery, monks had already set up a simple rain shelter to prevent the table left by Ji Yuan from getting wet in the heavy rain.

About half an hour later, the thunderstorm gradually weakened, and then slowly stopped.

The rain came and went quickly, and even the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed after the rain, and the sun shone on the earth again. A rainbow hung in the sky north of Daliang Monastery.

“How beautiful! It’s rare to be with you and not be reciting sutras, but to see a rainbow after the rain!”

Chu Ruyan exclaimed in slight reverie, while Monk Huitong merely sighed softly and said nothing more.

However, when their gaze fell upon the rainbow, he noticed the faint light of the Dharma flying towards him. It was was Ji Yuan approaching Daliang Monastery on a cloud.

“Mr. Ji is back! Mr. Ji is indeed alright!”

Huitong exclaimed with joy. All the monks in Daliang Temple who had some spiritual power and could detect his arrival expressed their delight. Even the Princess and the lady-in-waiting were overjoyed.

Ji Yuan was certainly not completely unharmed, but so far no one had been able to see through his concealment, so at least on the surface, he appeared to be perfectly fine.

When Ji Yuan landed in the forbidden area of ​​Daliang Monastery, a number of monks had already gathered around, including Huitong, who was accompanied by the princess and her lady-in-waiting. However, no one entered the forbidden area.

Landing beneath the tree, Ji Yuan casually tucked his desk into his sleeve and slowly walked out of the so-called forbidden area.

“Mr. Ji, what was that lightning tribulation just now?”

The abbot of Daliang Monastery cautiously inquired. Ji Yuan thought for a moment, deciding it was best not to go into too much detail about the wondrous method, so he gave a somewhat ambiguous answer.

“Abbot, please rest assured. This tribulation has nothing to do with Daliang Monastery. It was caused by something I just wrote. We have already passed through it safely and there will be no more trouble.”

“Excellent, excellent, it’s good that Mr. Ji is alright!”

Ji Yuan’s gaze swept over the courtyard, the monks all bowing their head in Buddhist greeting, showing him the same same respect due to a Mingwang Buddha. In the end, his gaze settled on Huitong.

“Master Huitong, Daliang Monastery already has an incarnation in Master Foyin, and now you… well, since I have witnessed Master Foyin’s wondrous teachings and benefited greatly from discussing the Tao with him, I must take my leave now.

“May all the masters here make daily progress in their cultivation; there is no need to see me off.”

Ji Yuan originally wanted to tell Huitong that since the incarnation of the Mingwang Buddha had already descended at Daliang Monastery, he could now continue his travels, but upon seeing Chu Ruyan beside him, he decisively shut up.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a clear female voice rang out.

“Sir! Mr. Ji, please wait a moment!”

Ji Yuan looked at the lady-in-waiting and asked in confusion.

“Is there something you need, Attendant Lu?”

The usually assertive lady-in-waiting was unusually nervous and hesitant at this moment. She looked around, swallowed hard, and lowered her voice.

“Sir, are there any qualifications or requirements that you have for someone looking to cultivate immortality?”

She was very straightforward; as soon as she spoke, Ji Yuan immediately understood her intentions. So he smiled and shook his head.

“I do not accept disciples.”

In physiognomy (face reading divination), ear shapes indicate luck and prosperity, with large earlobes signifying a kind, open-minded personality.