Chapter 37: The Fickleness of Life, the World's Darkness

Chapter 37: The Fickleness of Life, the World's Darkness

"The path I cultivate is the Dao, and within it, I perceive the divine."

"As for the 'divine', I won't go into specifics. Knowing too much at this stage may only bring you more worries. It's best to build a solid foundation first."

Cold Blade paused for a moment, then spoke again, his tone gentle,

"In a thin land, great things do not grow, and in shallow waters, great fish do not swim."

"Jingqiu, once you've made some progress in your martial arts, go to the central region and see the federal peers of your generation."

"This planet is too small; it will hinder your growth."

Too small...

Ji Jingqiu remained silent.

In truth, not only had he never left this planet in his life, but he had also never ventured beyond Taian City.

In the Dong Sanhuang Star, Taian City was already the largest metropolitan area.

But in the eyes of the Federation, Dong Sanhuang Star had long become a fringe region.

Compared to the central region, Taian City was like a rural area to a provincial capital.

"I will go to the central region," Ji Jingqiu nodded firmly.

Cold Blade revealed a faint smile, "I've conveyed your intentions from yesterday to my sister and her husband, and they asked me to express their gratitude to you."

Ji Jingqiu shook his head, "I didn't help much. Please let me know once there's an outcome."

Cold Blade nodded in understanding.

He had already learned about Ji Jingqiu's condition from Zhang Chongba and had some suspicions about the 'gift' Ji Jingqiu mentioned.

Ji Jingqiu trained at the martial arts hall daily, and his Nete Poison Syndrome had never acted up. The only issue was that he only arrived at the hall at 9 AM every morning.

If his guess was correct, Ji Jingqiu likely possessed some kind of recipe targeting Nete Poison Syndrome, perhaps to suppress its onset.

According to the information he found, Ji Jingqiu's parents had not achieved much in martial arts, but they had both graduated from one of the ten great academies, the Li Hua Academy. Both were experts in gene-related disciplines, disciples of Professor Jia Weiting, winner of the Federation's highest science award and the Galaxy Award.

However, the reputation of Professor Jia Weiting was not so pleasant to hear these days...

Cold Blade's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he thought of this.

When investigating Ji Jingqiu's family background, he naturally also looked into his parents' whereabouts five years ago.

It turned out that the place where these two had gone missing was precisely in the western rebel region of the Federation five years ago.

Even the Administration and Security Bureaus couldn't trace the clues, leaving everything severed in the ruins of that war-torn area.

Hesitating for a moment, Cold Blade chose not to inform Ji Jingqiu of this news.

In the evening, after finishing dinner at the martial arts hall, Ji Jingqiu walked home as usual.

But this time, he was not alone.

Cold Blade hid in the shadows, accompanying him on his way home.

As they walked, Ji Jingqiu suddenly received a communication.

Sender: Ms. Mei.

This surprised Ji Jingqiu. Previously, Old Man Mu had said he would be away for about a month, and then there had been no further contact.

[Ms. Mei: Kid, what did you do at the martial arts hall? Why did Yang send me so many messages inquiring about you?]



Why would Yang Shi inquire about him from Ms. Mei?

Ji Jingqiu touched his nose, first greeting Ms. Mei and then asking if Old Man Mu was still around.

[Ms. Mei: Tsk, not a bit of concern for your sister! Old Man Mu is busy. Our purpose for coming out has fallen through, and he's pacing around in frustration now.]



Ji Jingqiu thought for a moment and asked Ms. Mei to convey his gratitude to Old Man Mu. He also mentioned that he had successfully cultivated the Observation Diagram and could indeed suppress Nete Poison Syndrome. He promised to visit and thank them in person when they returned and also wanted to ask Old Man Mu about some details regarding the Observation Diagram.

After sending this message, there was no response from Ms. Mei for a long time.

After waiting for a while, Ji Jingqiu had no choice but to exit the communication.

...

"He's cultivated it?" Old Man Mu's expression was one of astonishment. He blurted out, "How long has it been?"

He didn't doubt Ji Jingqiu's ability to cultivate this Observation Technique, but the time it took was indeed too short!

After calming his mind, Old Man Mu spoke, "Ask him, is the house he built made of thatch or stone? If it's brick and tile, how many stories high, and how many rooms inside and out..."

Ms. Mei illuminated her terminal.

"Sorry, no signal. The Xingchen Group people destroyed the nearby signal station."

Old Man Mu's face darkened, "These self-destructive beasts!"

Ms. Mei curiously asked, "What were those questions you asked just now?"

Old Man Mu took a deep breath and explained,

"The biggest challenge of the Fire Mansion Buddha Hell Observation Technique is enduring the heart tribulation day and night!"

"The key lies in the word 'mansion'. If the constructed mansion isn't sturdy and solid enough to withstand the sinking into the bitter sea and the falling fire rain, then all efforts are in vain, and one must endure torment daily..."

...

When Ji Jingqiu returned home, it began to rain outside.

Grandpa Dao wasn't with him; he had a hidden place to stay.

On the table in the living room, a water glass held down a note.

It was left by his grandfather, saying that he had moved to Grandpa Shen's temple for a few days to stay with the latter.

Ji Jingqiu poured himself a glass of water and headed back to his room.

But as his hand touched the doorknob, his body hair inexplicably stood on end.

His heart sank, and before he could react, the door opened inward automatically.

A man with a buzz cut stood by the bed, his face pale and sickly, wearing a fiery smile that made one feel as if they were falling into an ice cave.

He didn't look at Ji Jingqiu but stared at a dull jade Buddha in his hand, his expression growing more and more excited.

"How did you do it?"

The man's lips trembled as he stood up, seemingly on the verge of shouting from the intensity of his emotions.

"Do you know what is hidden within this?"

The man held up the jade Buddha in his hand and approached Ji Jingqiu.

An immense pressure bore down on Ji Jingqiu, making it difficult for him to breathe and even move.

The man stood so close that their noses almost touched.

Spittle flew onto Ji Jingqiu's face.

As the man's face loomed before him, his eyes seemed to have suddenly enlarged, filled with bloodshot veins, and his madness sent shivers down Ji Jingqiu's spine.

"Within this lies the essence of the Supreme Buddha!"

"How did you manage to completely extract the essence of the Supreme Buddha, leaving nothing behind?"

"Moreover, your mental state seems to have improved significantly since I first met you..."

The original text can be found in Chapter 6, Section 9, on the book bar.

"It's incredible! Do you know that your methods could completely dismantle the foundation of the Supreme Buddha Sect? If the high-ranking figures were to find out, even as a naturally gifted Buddha son, you would still face death..."

His eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked at Ji Jingqiu, his gaze like a bottomless vortex, now ignited by a greedy flame.

The fervor on his face was as if he had witnessed a miracle right before his eyes!

Under such a gaze, ordinary people would involuntarily succumb to fear and oppression, as if surrounded by hungry wolves, their vicious eyes filled with naked desire.

It had already locked onto the deepest secret within Ji Jingqiu's heart, determined to tear it out, blood and all.

Ji Jingqiu felt his skin break out in goosebumps under this intense scrutiny.

He forced himself to calm down.

He no longer expected life to be smooth sailing.

But when faced with challenges on life's path, he wanted to be a worthy opponent.

The recent streak of good fortune had led him to believe that his luck was finally turning around.

Unfortunately, it seemed that fate had other plans, and the world was ever-changing.

The heavens seemed to take pleasure in making his life difficult.

Ji Jingqiu clearly realized the predicament he was in.

The only thing he could do now was to save himself.

He needed to buy time, create a distraction, and wait for the surveillance team outside to notice something amiss, for Grandpa Dao to arrive.

Ji Jingqiu pursed his lips and spoke three words to the man before him, who had seemingly descended into madness:

"I'll teach you."

The words rang with deafening clarity.

It was like a bucket of ice water had been poured over the crazed Li Buyi, snapping him out of his frenzy.

Like Ji Jingqiu, Li Buyi took deep breaths, seemingly to calm his excitement, but his pupils dilated, turning bright red and eventually bloodshot.

The bloodshot eyes sent chills down Ji Jingqiu's spine, and at this moment, they were fixed on him.

No one knew how long Li Buyi had been staring at Ji Jingqiu.

His heavy breathing gradually calmed.

Li Buyi suddenly spoke in a gentle tone, "Good, you teach me, and I'll leave once I've learned, I won't harm you."

Ji Jingqiu's expression remained unchanged as he looked at the painting that Li Buyi had casually tossed onto the ground.

Following Ji Jingqiu's gaze, Li Buyi asked in confusion, "You're tricking me? This is just an ordinary painting! And it's unclear what it's supposed to depict!"

Ji Jingqiu's expression remained neutral, "That's a Supreme Tier Conceptualization Diagram. You're just too foolish to understand."

"Supreme Tier..." Li Buyi's breath hitched, "How is it possible that you have... No, only the Supreme Dharma could achieve this... Yes, only the Supreme Dharma!"

His expression turned to one of delight, yet he seemed perplexed.

Even the entire Supreme Buddha Sect didn't possess a Supreme Dharma-level Conceptualization Diagram!

But he couldn't understand it at all. This diagram, which Ji Jingqiu claimed was a Conceptualization Diagram, looked like an ordinary painting to Li Buyi. Even with Ji Jingqiu's mental fluctuations, Li Buyi couldn't discern that it was a Conceptualization Diagram.

Li Buyi suddenly asked, "Have you attained enlightenment?"

"Of course," Ji Jingqiu replied, his expression unchanged, his eyes like a deep well.

Li Buyi understood, "I see, you're a naturally gifted Buddha son, no wonder you're not on the same level as us ordinary people."

At this moment, Li Buyi's heart lamp suddenly flashed a warning.

The warning was fleeting, a mere moment, but it signaled a life-threatening crisis! The source of the danger was none other than the youth before him.

This made Li Buyi instantly vigilant, his gaze fixed on Ji Jingqiu.

No matter how he looked at it, no matter how he calculated, he couldn't find any possibility of Ji Jingqiu harming him, let alone a life-threatening crisis.

And his heart lamp remained calm, without even a ripple.

Perhaps the warning was just a false alarm...

But Li Buyi didn't dare to be careless, "Let's move to another place."

Outside, white lightning snaked across the sky, leaving behind a long-lasting trail of light.

Thunder boomed nearby, followed by a silent, blank void.

Tonight, heavy rain poured down, shrouding the world in darkness.

This plot will be resolved on Monday, and if it's not resolved in two chapters, there will be an extra chapter! So, please remember to come and click to read on Monday!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end