Slaying the Divine, Ascending the Path

15

There were too many mysteries.

I chose to stay and wait for the right moment.

Soon, the sect organized a mission for dozens of new foundation builders to the Guanzhong area. A place suffering from years of drought and rampaging drought fiends. The plight of the people was unbearable.

Qi Mo accompanied us, led by Xuan Yan, our sister who had just returned from her travels. She was in red, not wielding a sword but a pair of curved blades, reportedly nearing the end of the Nascent Soul stage. Her strength was indeed formidable; with a single strike, she split a charred drought fiend in two.

Then frowned and sheathed her blades: "Rough and tough! All in their fifties or sixties, still at the foundation stage. Only three out of ten get to escape, and this is called training, what a joke, they should just go back to farming tomorrow!"

"Cough, cough." Qi Mo coughed softly beside her, breaking up her scolding and calming everyone,

"Sister is just hot-tempered, don't take it to heart. Today's task is almost done, distribute the pamphlets and then wander around." Everyone dispersed, smiling awkwardly.

Distributing "Tales of a Hundred Spirits" and the first draft of "Classic of Mountains and Seas" to the locals, teaching them to identify 'ghosts and spirits.'

I handed her a water bottle: "Sister, have some water."

Xuan Yan glanced at me, ruffling my hair: "You drink, I'm almost at the Out-of-Body stage, I've been abstaining from grains. Just a couple of sips of water in the morning is enough."

Maybe it was because I was only sixteen, a drop in the ocean compared to their experiences. Xuanji's three direct disciples were all very fond of me.

Which only complicated my feelings further.

A few days later, at night, we stayed and meditated in a temple. The dark sky lit by a crescent moon.

A breeze rustled the old pagoda tree, causing the temple candles to flicker. Suddenly, Xuan Yan opened her eyes in delight, "I've broken through to the Out-of-Body stage." As she spoke, she touched her dantian, revealing an opening.

Wriggling, sticky tentacles struggled to probe out, then instantly expanded, resembling the Thousand-Armed Guanyin statue in the temple.

At the same time, in my left eye, I saw her ethereal Nascent Soul, a perfect likeness of Xuan Yan.

Willowy brows, phoenix eyes, porcelain skin, and rosebud lips, her eyes slightly closed, like... the compassionate Thousand-Armed Guanyin. "Congratulations, Sister! Well done!"

"Amazing, Sister! Truly the foremost of our generation." Praises rose all around.

I sat emotionless on the meditation cushion,

Watching everyone admire the dignified ethereal figure behind her. Just then, a shout came from outside.

I turned to see, at the temple entrance, a small monk in robes sat on the ground in fright.

He was terrified, supporting himself with his hands, tremblingly moving backward: "Monster, a monster..."

Xuan Yan glanced at him, and the tentacles from her dantian moved instantly.

In a blink, they pierced through the young monk.

Her 'Nascent Soul illusion' also moved swiftly, her blade descending—

I couldn't stop her in time and widened my eyes in shock: "Sister! Why did you kill him?!"

"Ah?" Xuan Yan looked at me, puzzled and earnest, "Wasn't he a drought fiend?" "...Yes." I felt a coldness throughout my body.

Then I lowered my head and laughed bitterly. Yes, I saw it too -

In my left eye, the hideous scorched corpse, eerily standing outside the temple.

As 'cultivators,' what reason did we have not to kill?

Thousand-Armed Guanyin: also known as "Avalokiteshvara with a Thousand Arms and a Thousand Eyes," is a prominent figure in Mahayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhist traditions. Guanyin is a bodhisattva, which is a being who has attained enlightenment but chooses to remain in the cycle of rebirth to help all sentient beings achieve liberation.

Drought fiend: a supernatural being or spirit associated with drought and dry conditions. It is often described as a malevolent entity capable of causing droughts and water shortages. It is used to explain the occurrence of droughts and their negative effects on agriculture and water sources.