The Daoist Seal

Editor: Vis

Jiang Xiaofan closed his eyes tightly and focused his willpower on the silver-colored bra.s.s piece. What disheartened him was that no matter how much effort and heart he put in, the bra.s.s piece didn"t react at all. It was like a stubborn ox that didn"t budge no matter what.

"Oh, come on! Don"t be like this. I want my treasure!" Discontent, he returned to consciousness. He was like an unhappy housewife, rambling nonstop.

From the time he had met the monk until now, Jiang Xiaofan had already spent an entire day in this cave. After cultivating for a short period, he suddenly felt his empty stomach rumble.

"Hm? What"s that? Smells good!"                                                                                             

His senses had been greatly heightened from before. He sniffed around and walked towards the origin of the scent. Behind the stone platform were a dozen or so stalks of strange-looking and unevenly grown green gra.s.s. Appearing delicate, they were about five centimeters tall and as a wide thumb.

Looking at it in his hand, Jiang Xiaofan grew speechless. He hadn"t envisaged that he would one day eat gra.s.s, but he then thought that it wasn"t so bad. Compared to the Red Army[1] soldiers who had to eat tree bark, eating gra.s.s was nothing. After all, it was organic.

He placed one stalk in his mouth and gently chewed. Instantly, a pleasant aroma permeated his cavity. The sensation was akin to that of flying off to heaven. A faint halo of light blanketed his body.

"f.u.c.k! This gra.s.s tastes so d.a.m.n fragrant!"

Shocked, he widened his eyes and then chewed it forcefully. Not long after, he wolfed down a couple more stalks. He felt his body become lighter by several folds. He gingerly jumped and to his surprise, he rose several meters above ground. He was scared out of his wits, but the good news was that he ended up landing in the water. If he had died falling like that, what a big joke it would"ve been then.

He stared at the remaining six stalks of gra.s.s and then stuffed them in his pocket. Although the appearance wasn"t appealing, the taste, however, wasn"t that bad.

"Hm, I should leave this place…." He swept a serious glance around the cave before approaching the stone platform, kowtowing once again, and swearing, "Saintly monk, rest in peace. If one day I achieve success, I will build you a temple and carry out good deeds across wherever I go."

After he had finished, he followed along the river and left without turning back….

Three days later, Jiang Xiaofan finally left the cave. He was now walking on a path in the middle of a forest. He felt that the world was too mystical. Many things that had occurred were beyond what he could comprehend.

Ever since he arrived at this unknown world from Earth, he had never imagined that cultivators existed in this universe. He was able to meet the legendary Dipankara, Buddha of the Past, and stepped foot into this mysterious realm of cultivation. This was beyond what he could dream of.

He aimlessly wandered around when finally, he saw mankind. From a distance, there were two smirking men in their thirties who had surrounded a seventeen to eighteen-year-old female. It was obvious that they were up to no good.

The girl donned a violet robe and had a fairy-like temperament. She slightly wrinkled her nose as if somewhat dissatisfied. She walked around one of the men but was blocked by the other, trapping her in the middle.

When Jiang Xiaofan saw this scene unfold before him, he felt that as a good, moral youth, he needed to extend his hand of righteousness and fight against evil. He took a step forward and hollered, "Fiends, unhand that maiden! If you got…. cough…. the b.a.l.l.s, come at me!"

"Where did that punk come from?! How dare he interrupt us!"

"Kill him!"

Ferociousness contorted the men"s faces. Their bodies were built like buffalos. They momentarily let go of the violet-robed girl and lunged at Jiang Xiaofan. One of them reached out his hand and aimed to smack his face, clearly wanting to humiliate him.

To be honest, Jiang Xiaofan"s heart, at this moment, was rapidly pounding. He was a bit afraid, but since the arrow had been released, it would be difficult for him to eat his words. Not to mention, there was a beauty in front of him. How could he possibly cower before her? Without another second of hesitation, he swung out his fist.

*Bang*

The result had his eyes bulging. The man shrieked in pain like a swine getting slaughtered.

The man"s body flew out five meters and struck a tree. He immediately lost consciousness.

"Holy s.h.i.t! That powerful?!" He stared at his right fist with his mouth agape. Feeling c.o.c.ky, he then pointed to the remaining man left standing and declared, "You over there. How dare you publicly hara.s.s a beautiful flower such as her under the broad daylight?! You will not go unpunished! As the embodiment of justice, I shall smite you with the sun"s fury!"

With a sly expression on his face, the man attempted one last attack and then…. He turned around and fled like a rabbit, disappearing into the forest in the blink of an eye.

"Er…."

Jiang Xiaofan was stunned. What the f.u.c.k? With that kind of speed, he should join the Olympics" one-hundred meters hurdles! He could, unquestionably, beat Liu Xiang[2]!

Seeing the evil man run away, the violet-robed girl walked over with a cheeky grin, just like a spirited fairy. She had an ethereal air around her that tantalized the onlooker"s senses. No matter how Jiang Xiaofan looked at her, she didn"t display the least bit of distress on her face.

Jiang Xiaofan had never seen a girl of this beauty before, and they were standing so close too, gazing at each other. He could smell her faint but sweet scent. Once he got a whiff of her, two b.l.o.o.d.y streaks streamed down from his nose.

"Oh no, your nose is bleeding!"

"Um, it"s nothing. The sun"s just too bright. My name"s Jiang Xiaofan. It"s my pleasure to meet you." He quickly rubbed the blood away and replied in embarra.s.sment.

 "Hehe, you"re an interesting character. I"m Ye Yuanxue. Ye as in leaf, Yuan as in fate, and Xue as in snow. Remember that well! Be sure not to forget it!"

Her eyes twinkled, and she smiled sweetly, revealing two snaggle-teeth. She was attractive yet cute. The sound of her voice was crisp and melodious. It made Jiang Xiaofan"s heart beat one hundred and ninety-nine times per minute, instantaneously breaking the world record.

He quickly shook his head like a pellet drum. Who was he kidding? Even if he forgot his own name, he would never forget hers.

Ye Yuanxue said that she was heading for Emperor"s Heaven Sect. Even though he didn"t know what Emperor"s Heaven Sect was nor where it was located, Jiang Xiaofan responded by saying that he was going there as well.

He only thought that it was a pity if he had to separate from a beautiful, lively, and well-mannered maiden. Besides, his understanding of this world was still hazy.

She originally planned to travel to Emperor"s Heaven Sect alone, but now that someone accompanied her, Ye Yuanxue couldn"t be happier.

As they journeyed together, Jiang Xiaofan"s "ignorance" almost led Ye Yuanxue to cry with laughter. The result of that was Jiang Xiaofan having several episodes of nosebleed.

While pa.s.sing through a small town, Ye Yuanxue eyed him as she continued to giggle. She then brought him into a small shop. Not long after, Jiang Xiaofan had received a fresh new look. With his pristine, white robe, he looked more charming. It was a huge difference than before. He was now a handsome young man.

"Xiao Xue, thank you. This is the first time that someone has treated me so kindly." Indeed, this was the first time that someone had bought clothes for him, and she was an extremely beautiful girl to boot. Jiang Xiaofan was slightly overwhelmed.

"Hehe, really? How do you plan to thank me then?"

"I have nothing on me. Um, how about I offer my body to you?"

"Pft, who wants you?!" muttered Xiao Xue. She then bought him several more items of clothing and few more necessities before leaving the town and continuing their journey.

The place they trekked through was an ancient, tranquil mountain forest. Along the way, Ye Yuanxue explained the makings of this world, clarifying any befuddlement that he had. At the very least, he was able to memorize the basic principles.

"Ungh, I"m hungry. Xiao Fan, do you have anything to eat?" She didn"t know how long it had been. She raised her head and looked at him piteously with her eyes shining like bright, obsidian orbs.

"Ah, I do but…."

He was at a loss for words. He indeed did have food. They were the stalks of gra.s.s which he had picked in the cave from before. The taste was alright. He hadn"t thrown them away when he changed his into his new clothes.

However, was he really going to give stalks of gra.s.s to Ye Yuanxue as food?

"But what? Hurry and bring it out! I"m starving," replied Ye Yuanxue while gritting her teeth.

She really did sound hungry. Feeling helpless, he unwillingly took out the six stalks of green gra.s.s and presented it to her.

"Uh, it may not look too appetizing, but the taste is not bad." Jiang Xiaofan sheepishly explained after noticing Ye Yuanxue stare blankly at it.

"My G.o.d! Immortal spirit roots! They"re immortal spirit roots!"

To his great disbelief, Ye Yuanxue grabbed the so-called gra.s.s from his hand. Her cheeks were flushed red as if she was exhilarated.

"Immortal spirit root? What"s that? You mean this green gra.s.s here?" He was baffled.

Ye Yuanxue rolled her eyes and answered, "What green gra.s.s? This is an immortal spirit root! Immortal spirit root, don"t you know?! This is the king of all herbs! The rarest of the rare! It"s priceless!"

As she mentioned, the immortal spirit root was a prized herb since primordial times, containing an immense amount of spiritual energy inside it. If a mortal ate one strand of it, he or she could live for another one hundred years. For a cultivator though, the effects were more astonishing. Because of its rarity, countless of cultivators have warred over this invaluable treasure.

Ye Yuanxue was beyond astounded. She had never imagined that Jiang Xiaofan would possess the king of all herbs. The fact that one stalk even appeared in front of her was already in defiance of nature, let alone six stalks.

Jiang Xiaofan was slightly speechless as he looked at Ye Yuanxue"s expression. If Ye Yuanxue knew that he used seven stalks of these rare immortal spirit roots to satiate his hunger, she would probably choke him to death.

Nevertheless, he was happy after seeing her get so excited. Now that he knew about the treasure in his hands, he unselfishly gave half of the six to Ye Yuanxue. Overwhelmed with jubilation, she soon forgot about her hunger and even gave Jiang Xiaofan an intimate hug.

"Awesome! Let"s get going. We need to reach the Emperor"s Heaven Sect"s base before we miss this time"s chance. Otherwise, we"ll have to wait ten years later."

Feeling cheery, she didn"t give him any time to ponder. She grabbed the nose-bleeding Jiang Xiaofan and flew into the distance.

Two days later, they arrived at a spiritual mountain range. Tall mountainous peaks loomed over each other. This was home of the Emperor"s Heaven Sect.

Of the many mountains here, there were seven that were the most magnificent. Cranes soared around the dense spiritual aura. The scene was very serene. The two of them mingled among the crowd who were preparing to be initiated into the Sect. No incident occurred as they pa.s.sed through the gate.

"Why are there so many people? Isn"t this a bit too exaggerated?"

Before them were seas of people. Startled, he couldn"t see beyond what was right in front of him. With this number of people, it was even more crowded than Tiananmen Square"s flag raising ceremony.

Ye Yuanxue rolled her eyes at him again and responded, "How is it exaggerated? Not one bit! The Emperor"s Heaven Sect"s reputation is beyond prestigious. There isn"t a single cultivator in the world who doesn"t want to become its inner disciple."

Just then, seven figures appeared, flying in the sky. They were aged with white hair flowing past their shoulders; however, they looked springly like an elderly immortal.

The seven landed on a platform and peered down at the crowd. One of them spoke. His voice was soft but was audible enough that everyone from each corner of the crowd could hear him.

"Let the trial commence. Anyone who can walk beyond three steps pa.s.s."

Jiang Xiaofan was really speechless this time. Why this stupid stairway again?! It was the exact one back at the village. He almost thought that he was at Ziyang Sect instead. Just when he was thinking, a queue was already forming.

Although there were many people who took the trial, more than ninety percent couldn"t make it past the third step. They were deemed to have no fate with immortality. Naturally, they were discontent, with many of them having a prominent background, but none dared to cause trouble at the highly renowned Emperor"s Heaven Sect. They could only leave in despair.

When it came to their turn, Jiang Xiaofan and Yue Yuanxue showed no signs of nervousness. Ye Yuanxue breezed through the trial, gracefully making her way to the ninth step, made her way past the dumbfounded elders, and stood to the side. Because Jiang Xiaofan had briefly cultivated the Buddhist Sutra in addition to eating a few stalks of the immortal spirit root, his body already contained a small amount of spiritual energy. He managed to climb up to the fifth step and consequently pa.s.sed the test, successfully becoming an outer disciple of the Emperor"s Heaven Sect.

Footnotes