Chapter 209: Chapter 201 - Born at the Wrong Time_2
A youth in hemp clothes came running over with a jar of wine in his arms, squatted next to Zhou Yi, and lifted the thick porcelain bowl that covered the jar's mouth, pouring a full bowl of sparkling white jade-like rice wine.
"Dao Ye, this is a new brew from Mother, for you to taste."
Zhou Yi took the thick porcelain bowl, tilted his head back and drank it all in one go, nodding as he spoke.
"The taste is good. Tell your mother when you return, Yi Rice has an extraordinary origin and is already a top-quality brewing material; adding other herbs would only lower its flavor."
Though Yi Rice was a product of the decline of Spirit Rice, as a fundamental ingredient for brewing Spiritual Wine, its intrinsic flavor far surpassed ordinary materials.
"Got it, I'll tell my mother when I get back."
The youth took out a book of Taoist scriptures from his bosom and presented it with both hands: "Dao Ye, I've memorized this scripture and have had some enlightenment, but no matter how I practice, I can't feel the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth."
"Little Jin Ye, becoming an immortal is a lie, you should believe in the martial path!"
Just then, the lake water bubbled, and a three-foot-long green fish emerged, opening its mouth to spit out a sparkling, shiny Jade Stone, which landed right in Zhou Yi's hand.
"My maternal grandfather said, Dao Ye is an immortal."
Jin Ye was not surprised by this; he used to squat next to Zhou Yi to listen to the scriptures and had often witnessed such mysterious events.
The villagers had also mostly seen it, and word spread, leading them all to believe that the fish in Greenwave Pond were spiritual, and killing them would bring retribution.
Zhou Yi put away the Jade Stone, and with a flick of his finger, rewarded the green fish with a grain of Spirit Rice: "If I were an immortal, how could I grow old?"
Jin Ye showed a look of distress: "If there are no immortals, what about the extraordinary things I see with my eyes? When my father died, he also saw ghosts, which scared me for many nights and kept me from sleeping."
"Every person possesses Qi, such as the Qi of life, Qi of death, Qi of destiny, and so on; your innate Spirit Eyes can see them."
Zhou Yi casually explained, "The soul is a condensation of thoughts. When a person dies, it's like a lamp extinguished; the disintegration of thoughts manifests as the soul scattering."
Jin Ye did not doubt Zhou Yi's words, but somewhere deep down felt he had missed something, particularly when reading Taoist scriptures; the sense of loss grew stronger, and his body always felt a void.
Zhou Yi shook his head slightly but did not help Jin Ye to resolve his confusion.
A Heavenly Spiritual Root, naturally born Spirit Eyes, a rare talent for immortal cultivation in the world, it was a regret to be born in this era.
At this moment.
A large black fish swam over, its body stretching a full five to six feet long, scaring the nearby lazy fish that were scavenging for food into a frantic escape.
The black fish surfaced, with two long whiskers at the corners of its mouth like arms, holding a round Stone Bead.
Zhou Yi didn't wait for the black fish to throw it and waved his hand to draw the Stone Bead into his grasp. After sensing it with his Divine Sense, he revealed a pleased expression: "I have waited over thirty years for this moment. Finally, I have another harvest. With the Dragon Ball and reverse scales, I have enough!"
"Dragon Emperor, I'll translate for you what a surprise is!"
Having obtained a scale thirty years ago, Zhou Yi exhausted himself divining the whereabout, only to vaguely ascertain that the Dragon Emperor was not in the vast mountains.
Now with the Dragon Ball, he would surely obtain more precise information; then it would just be a matter of slowly investigating and searching, even if it was buried hundreds of feet underground, he would dig it out!
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Seeing Zhou Yi's happy smile, Jin Ye asked curiously, "Dao Ye, what treasure is this?"
"A Dragon Ball—it can grant wishes!"
Zhou Yi put away the Dragon Ball and fished around in his sleeve for a moment before tossing out a vibrant lotus seed: "I never owe favors, and neither do the fish. I give you this rainbow lotus seed to eat."
The black fish opened its mouth and swallowed the lotus seed, then with a swift wag of its tail, it disappeared into the depths of the water.
"The merit is complete."
Zhou Yi spoke, "Little Jin Ye, I have stayed in the mountains for a long time and plan to travel. Our meeting was fated, so I give you this 'Minor Expansion Divine Numbers' scroll. Study it carefully in the future."
Born with Spirit Eyes that could clearly see a person's aura, such as luck, waning energy, purple aura, and so on, used in combination with some methods in the 'Minor Expansion Divine Numbers', one could divine one's future path.
"Dao Ye is leaving?"
Jin Ye took the scriptures, his face showing reluctance: "My mother is still waiting. She said once Dao Ye is done having fun, you'll marry her and become my father."
"What nonsense are you saying, child? I am chaste and pure, I stopped going to Hehuan Yuan long ago!"
Zhou Yi glared at Jin Ye; the girls in the mountains were too enthusiastic, and coupled with his handsome face and an aura of celestial refinement, in recent years he had received numerous confessions and marriage proposals, including from Jin Ye's mother.
In terms of status, Jin Ye's maternal grandfather was the great elder of Moyun City, and Jin Ye's mother was a famed beauty. Unfortunately for Zhou Yi, at the age of thirteen hundred, love was a bit late.
Moreover, it would unfairly lower Jin Ye's status by a generation. That old youngster would be insufferably arrogant!
"I'm leaving, don't pine for me."
Zhou Yi packed up his fishing rod, leaped back up the mountain with swift steps, and, in high spirits, sang out loud.
"True to the sun and moon, true to man, never deceive gods or the poor. When people ask me about the path of cultivation..."
Despite having lived a thousand years, mastering music, chess, calligraphy, painting, wine tasting, and tea appraisal, he had made no progress in the art of poetry. Zhou Yi didn't force it, instead choosing to recite a Taoist chant heard in a past life.
Lu Zu's poetry is much favored.
Zhou Yi is cautious in his actions, like treading on thin ice, yet he also envies the spirited and bold Sword Immortal!
The mountaintop.
A Taoist temple with blue bricks and green tiles stands upright, at its entrance a little Taoist boy in blue clothes is dozing off and yawning, yet he opens his eyes when he hears singing.
"Immortal Master, why are you back so early today?"
"There is a happy occasion."
Zhou Yi pushed the door open and entered; the protective spiritual light flashed, as if he was passing through the surface of the water, entering another layer of the world.
The Spirit Fields spanning over a hundred yards were neatly tended, and the rich Spiritual Energy naturally condensed into rain, which was scattered into the Five Elements Spiritual Rain for irrigating the corresponding Spiritual Medicines under the effect of the Formation and Prohibition.
"As the Jianmu tree keeps growing, my place of secluded cultivation finally has some of the mysterious charm of a heavenly grotto!"
Zhou Yi, without delaying his cultivation, had set up more than a dozen layers of Formations and Prohibitions, each with its ingenious uses, such as this automatic irrigation Formation, no longer as poor and simple as in the earlier years.
The little Taoist boy in blue followed him inside, rolled on the spot, and transformed into a Spirit Ginseng child with a red satin ribbon tied around his waist.
"Immortal Master, are we moving again?"
Zhou Yi replied in surprise, "How did you guess?"
The Spirit Ginseng child said proudly, "Every time you go down the mountain for fishing, it's at least for the whole day, and I can lie at home for a good sleep. Today, you've come back early and mentioned a happy event, that must mean you've found traces of a treasure!"
"I see."
Zhou Yi didn't know whether to consider the Spirit Ginseng child clever or foolish; spirits and monsters by nature are like innocent children; he kicked it.
"When I'm not looking after you, you lazy creature, you sneak off to nap. Now get to work!"
The Spirit Ginseng child, holding his buttocks in pain, wailed and then realized he had slipped up, vanishing from sight in a whiff of smoke.
Zhou Yi entered the Taoist temple, calmed his mind, and adjusted his breath to the optimal state.
He first took out the divination cup and gently shook it.
The divination stick fell to the ground.
A flash of light solidified into characters: Bodhi.
"Auspicious, most auspicious! Is the old Dragon hiding in Yizhou's Buddhist domain?"
Zhou Yi pondered for a moment, thinking this was highly probable.
Among the four major orthodox sects, only the Buddhist sect has a less firm attitude towards the demon race, and it holds a deep-seated grudge against Xuan Xiao Daojun. After the Dragon Emperor sealed himself away and hid in Yizhou, even if the Buddhist sect accidentally discovered him, they would discreetly hide him away for worship.
After the revival of Spiritual Energy, the Dragon Emperor owed such a debt of gratitude, he should be serving as a protector, a heavenly dragon safeguarding the Buddhist sect.
The Little Cutting Heaven technique showed a very auspicious sign, making the trip to Yizhou imperative; Zhou Yi then took out the Black Tortoise Shell and performed the Little Extension of Divine Calculation.
Zhou Yi placed the dragon's reverse scale and the Dragon Ball on the Black Tortoise Shell, using the divination technique to seek the Dragon Emperor's whereabouts, and after a while, a thread of information emerged in his mind.
Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple!
...
The land of Buddha.
Located at the extreme west of the continent, bordering the Western Sea.
The Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple sits in the middle of Bodhi Buddha Land, backed by mountains and spanning over ten thousand acres, with pavilions, terraces, and towers stretching endlessly.
The upper half of the Bodhi Peak is carved into a hundred-yard tall great Buddha, visible from dozens of miles away. The surface of the Buddha statue is coated with gold powder, making the entire mountain look golden and radiant from afar.
"It is said that the Buddha statue was built after the apocalypse; it took manpower in the millions. If the Imperial Court were to build it, it would have collapsed the state!"
Zhou Yi observed from the air for a moment, the ground teeming with countless commoners in hemp or brocade, kneeling and walking towards the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, as well as monks in gray or white robes.
He descended from his flight.
With a shake of his body, he transformed into a monk in a yellow robe, wearing a five-Buddha crown and a splendid Kasaya.
In one hand, he held a nine-ringed tin staff, and in the other, a purple-gold begging bowl.
"Amitabha Buddha!"
Zhou Yi chanted the Buddha's name aloud, his eyes showing compassion, and his Dharma appearance dignified.
Having studied the Buddhist scriptures for a thousand years, no one in the world could match his depth of understanding in Buddhist Law, let alone pretending to be a disciple of the Buddhist sect. He could even pass as the abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple.