Chapter 79: Breaking Out of the Coc.o.o.n
Before Mumu could get angry, Shan Duan immediately stopped smiling. “He now has the body of a half-dead person. His blood is circulating in the body but the blood does not pa.s.s through his heart or his lungs! If you don’t believe me, touch it. The baby’s heart is not pumping. His blood vessels are alive but his internal organs are dead.”
Mumu walked blankly towards Ah Dan and touched his little chest. There was no heartbeat. Ah Dan appeared to be ticklish as he chuckled and wriggled his body.
Shan Duan smiled faintly and diverted the topic out of the blue, “It was recorded in an ancient book that there was a complicated evil spell known as ‘Planting a spirit into child’s corpse’! The spirit is the content within the ghost’s flesh mushroom. To put it bluntly, it is the form of a sinful aura. It has no consciousness and loves to pounce on people. Any normal being that is pounced on will die immediately. The demon leader of the evil path could use this spell to plant a spirit into a child’s corpse, allowing the child corpse to grow up together with the spirit. Once the spell is complete, the child corpse will grow consciousness and turn into an extremely powerful zombie corpse.”
As he was speaking, Shan Duan glanced at Ah Dan who was trying hard to push the bronze pan to the little stutter. Ah Dan was just a silly bald little fellow. There was not a trace of zombie corpse in him. Shan Duan continued to speak, “This child corpse retains a trace of spiritual wit in his nature so he can ultimately push down the sinful aura in its body. Any strong power will have its own limit but a child corpse would have more humanity than the other zombie corpse.”
Mumu nodded her head. She liked that A Dan had retained a trace of humanity in him, such that he was willing to lose his powers than to refine himself into an adult zombie corpse.
“The sinful aura in the spirit, which is planted into a child’s corpse, will increase exponentially. Nonetheless, both elements naturally restrict one another. Hence, even a stronger sinful aura would not be able to extinguish the spiritual wit in the child corpse’s body. In the contrary, that little trace of spiritual wit will be forced to absorb the vitality from the world and grow stronger eventually, which will eventually push down the sinful aura in the body. By that time, the spiritual wit will turn into spiritual intelligence!”
Shan Duan’s profound truth stunned everyone. Mumu finally managed to understand the rough concept that the humanity retained by the child corpse would not disappear because the sinful aura was gaining strength. In the contrary, the child corpse would make great efforts to resist the sinful aura and, as a result, the child corpse would become smarter from this experience.
Even though the Heads the Luo family spent their whole lives studying corpses, they were both attracted by the monk’s topic of discussion. At this moment, they could not withhold themselves and interrupted, “How about the adult corpses that were planted with spirits then?”
Inhaling deeply, Shan Duan sneered as he shook his head, “The sinful aura will surge skywards. Who else do you think is capable of controlling it anymore? An adult zombie corpse that is planted with spirit will turn into a monster that favors blood. Any spells cast onto it by the master will be deemed useless unless there is some great magic power that can pulverize it!”
From a cultivator’s point of view, the spiritual aura belonged to the world. Regardless of gra.s.s, trees, bugs, insects, birds, beasts, and even a piece of rock, it could be lucky and cultivate itself into having spiritual intelligence. Nonetheless, a dead corpse would not be able to. This is corpses only absorbs the gloomy sinful aura in the world. Even if a corpse could cultivate itself, it would never be granted intelligence and would only turn a monster that only knew how to shed blood and kill.
As Mumu was raised in a strict family, even though she was the most pampered person in the family, she dared not interrupt when the two grandfathers were speaking. Fortunately, her grandfather only asked one question. She hastily guided the discussion topic back to Ah Dan, “So from your understanding, what really happened to Ah Dan?”
Shan Duan pondered deeply while he answered, “The blood of his internal organs does not circulate due to the entanglement of the sinful aura. Anyhow, Ah Dan’s condition is pretty similar to the planting of spirit into child’s corpse. However, there is just one thing I can’t seem to figure out.”
Mumu was extremely intelligent, her train of thought closely followed Shan Duan’s words. At this point, she frowned and nodded, “That is right. Ah Dan only hugged the mushroom once and the spirit hidden within the mushroom had melted into his body. It was extremely simple. How would it be the complicated spell of ‘planting soul into child’s corpse’?”
Shan Duan peered at Mumu. His eyes filled with admiration. It was exactly what he was thinking. The spell of ‘planting soul into child’s corpse’ as recorded in the ancient book, was a spell that was very complicated. It was not as simple as a hug, similar to what had happened to Ah Dan.
Mumu refused to think about it since she could not figure that out. As Ah Dan was smarter and stronger than before, turning more like a plump human baby, those were all good happenings. So, she laughed and said, “Perhaps that spirit within the mushroom is different from normal spirit!”
The old monk Shan Duan was not able to get over as quickly as Mumu. He shook his head and gave a forced smile, “Let’s wait for the arrival of the master and we shall ask the master again!”
At a side, Wen Buzuo was beyond disheartened, “Why, oh why, do you have to ask the master about what happened to Wen Leyang and what happened to Ah Dan, hey!”
At this moment, the old monk Ji Fei suddenly recalled something. He ran madly, with a secretive expression, approached Shan Duan and muttered next to Shan Duan’s ear about the confession of the wicked witch from the Mo family that was obtained from the interrogation a few days ago. From a cultivator’s point of view, Ji Fei’s information was considered a huge piece of useful information.
When Ji Fei was done telling the story, he added, “When the wicked witch was waiting for the skinny lad to come to her rescue, she must have thought that we would be faced with our imminent death. In order to stop us from harming her, it is likely that what she said then was the truth.”
Unexpectedly, Shan Duan chuckled, “Our sect leaders are well aware of the broken gong, the big flat cake and the dog. The demons around the world were taking action. If we were still completely ignorant about that, then we, the Five Blessings, truly do not deserve the love of the people.”
This time, it was the old monk that was stunned, “You are…”
Shan Duan continued to laugh and said, “There is not much purpose in explaining about the three treasures to a stranger.”
The old monk’s face turned scarlet. He flung his sleeves and walked away, feeling embarra.s.sed. In fact, he had misunderstood Shan Duan. The demon rabbit and his disciples did not even bring up this matter to their grand master Chang Li. From their point of view, this dispute only involved the Five Blessings, the cultivators of the right path and those of earthly ancestral. There was really no need to inform others.
After Shan Duan settled the issues, he a.s.signed a few monks to form a troop and guard the giant toad. After requesting the Qing Miao clansmen to help them look for a few bamboo houses to stay, he disappeared. They were to wait for the old master demon rabbit Bu Le before continuing the discussion.
Ah Dan became very close to little stutter. He followed closely behind the monk when the little stutter was meditating, Ah Dan would sit right next to him and stretched out his hand to touch onto the monk’s bald head every once in a while with an elated expression.
The other people also started dispersing. The Second Mother was aware that the Wen and Luo family had sealed off the entire Miao stockade village. Therefore, neither was she friendly nor was she hostile. She also avoided pleasing the two families intentionally. The Qing Miao clansmen had a stubborn yet peculiar temperament. They felt indebted to Wen Leyang and Little Chili Pepper. However, they did not have a favorable impression towards the few family elders. If Wen Leyang truly died in their own home, the Qing Miao clansmen would rather commit suicide, than to be killed by Wen Bucao’s disciples. Eventually, those Miao clansmen who had recovered some of their strength began to get busy setting up their witchcraft spells, ignoring the people from the Wen and Luo family.
The elders of the two families of Wen and Luo too did not intervene. They watched with disinterest. All would be well as long as Wen Leyang was alive. Nonetheless, if Wen Leyang was dead, no one in the world would hear of the two words of ‘Miao Bujiao’ ever again.
The atmosphere in the Miao stockade village was peculiar and unusual.
Wen Leyang did not know, that if it was not for Shan Duan to arrive on time, the disciples of Miao Bujiao, whom he risked his life to rescue, would be dead by now. Even though he could not even move his body, his mind was sober. He was not able to even doze off for a moment. Fortunately, he did not feel hungry. As Wen Leyang was in pitch-darkness in the frog’s stomach, even though a few days had pa.s.sed, he thought that a few years had pa.s.sed. Logically, he would have died of hunger and thirst. Nevertheless, he was still surviving like a cactus standing firm.
The glacier-melting sensation on his fingertips became more frequent. It was as if his body was slowly dissolving the Poison of Earth. No matter how much poison that was dissolved by his fingertips, there would be more poison that would surge in. He felt like he was a constantly filled tank. There was a chance that the poison would run out one day. Perhaps, at that point, the melting sensation would grow from his fingertips all the way to his entire body and perhaps his body could start moving again.
Wen Leyang felt relaxed having that thought. G.o.d bless him not to die of famine before his thoughts could materialise.
As his body could not move, his mind started wandering. He thought about Wen Lazi’s evil method of cultivation. According to the ideology of his adventurous ancestor, when the strong poison entered the body, one must use the Faulty Punch to refine the poison into one’s flesh and bones. Otherwise, one’s internal organs would be immediately corroded by the strong poison.
Previously, when the Poison of Death from the Yin Chi combined with the Poison of Life from the hundred types of vermin of the Sickness Trademark, the poison was refined by the Faulty Punch, which he had performed as a string puppet. The poison had voluntarily merged into his blood vessels.
This was a similar situation. Nonetheless, the Poison of Earth was too strong and too much that his body became rigid…
On the next day, as it was breaking dawn, a raging Buddhist hymn erupted from the bamboo house where the old monk Shan Duan was resting. Almost immediately, the sound of ruffling sleeves broke out in the wind. Dozens of monks simultaneously rushed to the front of the bamboo house’s door from all directions at the sound of the raging hymn.
The old monk Shan Duan appeared behind the door. His expression was both surprised and angered, “Hope Voice stay behind and guard the giant toad. The rest, please follow me to vanquish the demon!” He stopped for a moment upon saying that and nodded to Grand Elder Wen who had rushed over upon receiving the news. “In less than ten days, I will definitely return!” In the midst of his determined speech, he had already leaped up. His snow-white colored monk’s robe flashed before everyone’s eyes, leaving behind a stretch of crystal clear shadow. The demon rabbit had left. The group of monks answered loudly in unison. Other than the little stutter Hope Voice, the rest of the monks left with the demon rabbit.
The people of the three families Wen, Miao, Luo were stunned and gazed at one another. No one knew what happened.
The little monk chanted the Buddha’s name as he bowed down towards the shadows of all his senior disciples’ shadows. Only when the shadows disappeared within the horizon, he straightened his back and walked directly towards the giant toad and sat cross-legged underneath the toad’s foot. His eyes were shut and he did not speak. Within his sweet child-like face, his solemn dignity penetrated indistinctively.
As compared to him, Ah Dan was like a little b.a.s.t.a.r.d as he cheekily took a seat next to the monk and babbled every once in a while.
Shan Duan said that he would return in ten days. Nonetheless, when he returned, it was already a month later. The four elders of the Wen clan had already turned green in anxiety. They watched helplessly as the Qing Miao clansmen recovered day by day. They knew that if they did not strike, they would miss the opportunity to do so…
The old demon rabbit Bu Le returned with Shan Duan. However, to everyone’s astonishment, Shan Duan was injured. A terrifying scar extended all the way from the corner of his mouth up to the behind of his ear. The cut was so deep that his bone was could be seen. Even the old monk Bu Le was covered with two patches of unnatural blushes. It was obvious that he was suffering from internal injuries.
Mumu, being a good mind reader, asked her family elders in a hushed voice, “Is it possible that this was done by the ancestor teacher Chang Li?” The leaders of the Wen and Luo family were not aware of the two monks Bu Le and Shan Duan’s background. However, they knew that the two monks were both great demons from the millennial. Other than Chang Li, she could not think of who else would be capable to hurt these two demon monks.
The old demon rabbit Bu Le greeted his acquaintances before walking towards the giant toad. Just as Shan Duan was preparing to cast a spell, he shouted, “Master, you can now…” The old demon rabbit Bu Le chuckled once and shook his head, “Doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter.” Upon saying that, he slowly stretched out his hands and placed them before his eyes. He pinched his eyes vigorously once using the Mudra gesture. His murky old eyes suddenly turned into two pools of crystal clear water! Within the rippling pool of water, a streak of divine light sprung to life and swept past the giant toad as fast as lightning!
The old demon rabbit Bu Le blinked his eyes once and retracted his supernatural power. His eyes returned to its earlier appearance. The red blushes on his face became darker. If it was not for Hope Sense’s and Shan Duan’s support, he would have lost his footing.
The fat monk Shui Jing was filled with admiration. He clasped his hands together and salute the old demon rabbit Bu Le sincerely, “Great master’s Buddhist cultivation had reached the exquisite level. Without your great intelligence and pure consciousness, it must be absolutely impossible to truly appreciate the three enlightenments!”
The old demon rabbit Bu Le was casting the ‘insight’ cultivation of the three enlightenment of Buddhism. The portrayal of such a skill was enough to bring the wild and unyielding Shui Jing into submission.
Bu Le’s tone of speaking was still the same as previously, he chuckled while he peered once at Shui Jing, “You have mixed it all up, mixed it all up. The cultivation of Buddhism is the cultivation of Buddhism; a supernatural power is a supernatural power. Those two are not related at all.” Upon saying that, he left behind the confused Shui Jing and walked in front of Grand Elder Wen, “Please let me have a word with you.”
The few family elders immediately guided the old monk into a s.p.a.cious bamboo house. The Second Mother followed into the house. Grand Elder Wen and Grand Elder Luo gazed towards one another and spoke to the old monk in a low voice, “This is also one of our grand master’s disciple.”
The old monk squinted his eyes to take a look at Second Mother, he chuckled once but did not say anything. He turned away and looked towards Grand Elder Wen, “Wen Leyang is still alive. He is still in the toad’s stomach. However, the situation is beyond complicated. I will only ask of this once: His method of cultivation, how did learn that?”
Everyone heaved a sigh simultaneously. The Second Mother was also delighted, not because the Qing Miao clansmen had managed to avoid a b.l.o.o.d.y disaster, but she was sincerely happy that Wen Leyang was alive. The few elders of the Wen family witnessed the Second Mother’s expression with their own eyes and they instantly felt friendlier to this woman.
Other than the four elders of the Wen clan, the rest of the people left the house. As the elders of the Wen family wanted to discuss their method of cultivation, no matter how close the others were to the Wen clan, it was not convenient for them to pry on their privacy. After a short while, thundering cheers could be heard spreading throughout the entire Miao stockade village. Even though the Qing Miao clansmen had a peculiar temperament, they were very loyal. When they found out that their savior Wen Leyang was still alive they rejoiced. Over the past month, Mumu’s injuries had recovered and improved. Upon hearing the news, she cheered and jumped around in joy, while holding Ah Dan, tossing him into the sky with all her might. She caught him and tossed him once again…she repeated the action for a few times before she finally placed down the little fellow.
As soon as the little fellow was placed on the ground, he immediately chased after the pan that shook off earlier. He was very satisfied with his hat. If Mumu tried to take it from him, he would throw a huge tantrum. Hence, Mumu had no other choice but to let him be.
In the bamboo house, Grand Elder Wen explained the principles of Wen Lazi’s method of cultivation. He then gave a detailed explanation of Wen Leyang’s encounters to the old monk. Similar to everyone else who had heard the story, Bu Le was bewildered as he listened to the story attentively. At the end, he could only exhale a foul breath and exclaimed repeatedly, “Oh dear, oh dear!”
When Grand Elder Wen finished explaining, he hesitated slightly for a moment. He clenched his teeth and roughly explained about the basic principles of his family’s Art of Poison. He mentioned that there were five types of Poison of Life. The Poison of Corpse was also a type of Poison of Death, which was something the Wen family would never meddle in and so on.
The old monk Bu Le was fascinated. He waited until the Grand Elder Wen finished his explanation before he told them about how he discovered using his ‘insight’ ability. “It was the toad’s misfortune to have swallowed Wen Leyang. That strand of spiritual blood inherited from primitive ages within the toad’s body was the purest form of Poison of Earth. There is no more Poison of Earth within the toad’s body anymore as Wen Leyang absorbed them all into his body.”
Fourth Elder Wen was astonished and asked a funny question, “So you are saying that young fellow Wen Leyang grew some golden threads on his body now?”
Bu Le looked towards him once in suspicion. He thought in his head how could such a person like you be worthy to become the descendant of the grand master?
Upon hearing what Bu Le said, the Grand Elder Wen immediately recalled the incident where Wen Leyang absorbed all the Poison of Wind at the Great Mercy Temple. He hastily told the old monk the incident. Once he was done, he asked, “Master, what do you think is going on…with this young fellow?”
The monk Bu Le frowned and pondered for a moment. His expression darkened while he muttered, “You have a point there, you have a point there”, he nodded repeatedly in a self-amusing manner.
Grand Elder Wen felt extremely anxious. He thought in his mind, ‘why couldn’t you just tell us the point then?’
After a while, Bu Le heaved a sigh, “The method of cultivation in this child’s body is different from the cultivation of Buddhism. Nonetheless, it does confirm a few heavenly principles recognized by the Buddhist cultivators!” The old monk started explaining to the Wen clan in a leisurely manner.
Within Wen Leyang’s body, the Poison of Corpse from the Yin Chi and the hundreds of different strong poisons from the Sickness Trademark were mixed around. It was known as the entanglement of Poison of Death and Poison of Life.
This Poison of Life and Death was actually the Poison of Yin and Yang.
The old monk Bu Le had lived for almost two thousand years and he had cultivated into the human form for almost one thousand and five hundred years. He was proficient in all sorts of Art of Cultivation from every sect. Naturally, he had a rather profound understanding towards the deepest principles of a Buddhism cultivator’s cultivation. This was the so-called chaotic Yin Yang, the messy combination of Yin and Yang.
Wen Leyang used the Faulty Punch to messily mix up the Poison of Life and Poison of Death. All the poisons were refined into his blood and bones. Whether it was the Poison of Corpse from the Yin Chi or the strong poison of the hundreds of vermins, the toxicity had been converted. His body was a turmoil to the strong poison!
After speaking for a long while, the monk Bu Le also became confused by his own speech. He said adamantly, “What is chaos, chaos is when anything goes inside and everything turns into a chaos!”
The last sentence was so powerful that the air froze…
After half a day, Grand Elder Wen coughed, “So you are saying that the Poison of Life and Death turned into another type of strong poison and settled down in his body, but once the poison came in contact with the other poison it will absorb the other poison, and then…a.s.similate it?”
The old monk was delighted, he slapped on his thigh and said, “On point! a.s.similation, this is an awesome word, how did you even think of that?”
Grand Elder Wen finally understood the situation. He felt relieved, “Wen Leyang is absorbing the new strong poison into his body for his own use. He is now a little monster that can survive any type of poison! What a waste that this toad’s toxicity is not refined. If it is a Golden-earth divine frog, the creation of Wen Leyang would surely be stronger?”
The old monk nodded joyously, “That is correct, but he would require a longer time to absorb and dissolve the poison. If it is the Golden-earth divine frog from the primitive ages, based on Wen Leyang’s body now, it will take at least a thousand years!”
Grand Elder Wen’s laughter ceased…
This ‘earth-splitting toad’ inherited its primitive bloodline. In its body, it had manifested the purest form of earth-burrowing strong poison. It was true that it was trenchant and domineering but the amount of poison was so little that one would weep for it. The poison was able to trap Wen Leyang with such a small amount. If there were slightly more poison, Wen Leyang would have no opportunity to see the sun for the next few centuries.
As for food consumption, the old monk explained, “The strong poison is the best nutrition this young fellow needs! His internal organs have yet to digest all the strong poison, how will he have time to time to think about eating!”
Thus, it could be seen that Wen Leyang’s penchant for eating carrots was purely his cravings.
If only the four old men of the Wen family had heard of the old monk Bu Le’s speech a few months ago, he would have been beaten up by them. However due to the cataclysmic change in the past few months, too many unusual occurrences had happened one after another, the four family elders were more tolerable these occurrences.
Nonetheless, the old monk Bu Le could not estimate how long would Wen Leyang need to escape from the toad’s stomach. However, it should not take too long.
As long as Wen Leyang was alive, he still had the chance to see daylight. The few old men of the Wen clan were delighted that things were better than they expected. After all, Wen Leyang was still alive.
The tense atmosphere in the Miao stockade village was finally replaced with celebration. The hostility between the three families disappeared. The Second Mother’s became friendlier towards the two families of Wen and Luo.
As the old monk Bu Le suffered rather severe injuries, he could no longer cast another supernatural power of ‘insight’ to take a look at little Ah Dan. However, he came to the same conclusion as Shan Duan. The two demon monks with great supernatural powers refused to disclose how they were wounded. Other than Wen Buzuo, n.o.body could gather the courage to ask them. Nonetheless, Wen Buzuo only received a cold shoulder treatment.
That night the monks left the stockade village in a great hurry. They would not say how they suffered severe injuries. Ah Dan sent them off and, finally, he forcefully stuffed a pan that looked exactly the same as the one on top of his head into the arms of the little stutter.
Another day had pa.s.sed, the two families of Wen and Luo too bid farewell to each other, leaving the brothers Bushuo and Buzuo to stay behind to wait for Wen Leyang to crawl out of the toad’s mouth.
Mumu refused to leave, saying that she wanted to recuperate and refused to travel. Hence, she hung out in the Miao stockade village. Everybody knew that what her intention was but n.o.body revealed it.
The fat monk Shui Jing and the old monk Ji Fei also refused to leave. They had never forgotten that they had formally acknowledged Wen Leyang as their master teacher. As the fat monk did not take good care of Mumu, he was anxious and fearful. They must wait for Wen Leyang to come out and gave some rea.s.surance, before that the two of them could not even sleep soundly.
Another half a month pa.s.sed, the Wen family suddenly sent over Wen Xiaoyi accompanied by some people. The little girl had a close-knit relations.h.i.+p with Wen Leyang. Hence, the first thing she did when she arrived was to fight the skinny lad and the monks with the big-muzzled weapon in her arms. At least the skinny lad deserved it, but the monks were truly wronged.
The sun and moon interchanged. However, there was no concept of time in the toad’s stomach. ‘You’ve Got Me’ still could not gather its courage to explore the new world. In the end, it fell asleep on Wen Leyang’s tongue. When it was awake it rolled around, when it was tired from rolling around it slept…
The purest form of the earth-burrowing strong poison was slowly a.s.similated into the Poison of Life and Death. It was as if a million-year-old glacier slowing melting away, turning into a joyous stream. Everything was transforming soundlessly. Suddenly, all the rigid ice was completed melted. The moment the last strand of shackles shattered, the pores on Wen Leyang’s entire body rapidly and vigorously opened and closed. Wave upon wave of soft, tingling sensation rippled from his hairs to his heels. The Poison of Life and Death was like a stream. With a sense of refres.h.i.+ng chilliness, it flowed past each and every pore rapidly!
Unbeknownst how much time had pa.s.sed again, the surging sensation gradually settled down. His body was still heavy but his movements were unrestricted. Wen Leyang opened his mouth and spat out ‘You’ve Got Me’ into his palm. As the bug was entrapped in boredom for an unknown period of time, it leaped here and there joyously.
Meanwhile, the two young girls, who were aimlessly chatting to each other, simultaneously noticed that the giant toad’s eyes blinked once. For a moment, they thought their vision was blurred. However, the giant toad suddenly opened its huge mouth and gave a burp while looking up into the sky!
A familiar laughter flowed out from within the toad’s mouth, Wen Leyang leaped out from there with an elated expression! Just as he was leaping out of the giant toad’s mouth, the toad’s stomach made a gurgling noise. The gastric sand that was coagulated into a solid ma.s.s earlier loosened and melted and turned into the giant frog’s initial gastric juice in a flash. The earth-splitting toad Xiu Er had officially completed its degeneration and turned back into the sitting toad Xiu Er.
Before Wen Leyang had time to breathe in the long-antic.i.p.ated refres.h.i.+ng air, once Wen Leyang’s feet touched the ground, he could hear the surprising yet happy cheers. Two intoxicatingly beautiful shadows similar to a pair of happiest doves in the world b.u.mped ferociously into his arms!
Wen Leyang was a lucky survivor of the disaster. No words could describe his excitement. He thought that he was trapped in the giant toad’s stomach for decades. Yet, he did not expect that the two young girls were still as delicate and pretty as before. His great delight immediately overwhelmed his cautiousness. He opened his arms wide and hugged both Mumu and Wen Xiaoyi into his cradle. Wild with joy, he pouted his lips and kissed hard once onto each of the two little faces that were overflowed with happiness.
The two charming little mouths immediately pecked onto his cheeks. The happiness came too abruptly. It was too touching and too beautiful that Wen Leyang forgot about everything else.
Everything including Wen Leyang was actually not wearing any pants.
His pants were dissolved when he first fell into the toad’s stomach…