Trinity Traitor: From One Person to the Other

Chapter 765 Zhang Boduan: That brat Wang Chongyang makes me stand on the same level as his disciple, he's truly shameless.

"I see."

He Songling nodded.

If that's the case, then Zhang Boduan's memory module being so enthusiastic is understandable.

As he said, the real Zhang Boduan might not have had such a passionate desire to mentor younger generations, even to the point of sacrificing himself. But the Zhang Boduan memory in front of him was the embodiment of the Daoist principles that Zhang Boduan wanted to leave behind for his descendants to achieve enlightenment. In the words of later generations, "mentoring younger generations and helping them achieve enlightenment" was his underlying code.

There's no way around it.

Especially when you see a genius like yourself.

He Songling then politely replied, "Master Ziyang is joking. I entered the sect at a young age and cultivated the mysteries for forty years before achieving this. But as far as I know, Master Ziyang was already eighty-five years old when he received the Dharma. Moreover, he encountered a strange man, a descendant of Lu Zu, and received a copy of the alchemical method. Without any guidance or protection, without any instruction or clarification, he was able to become an immortal and attain the Dao in just six years. I am far inferior to him!"

"Hey, hey, you're too kind. Oh, say a few more words, quick, say some more, is there any more?" This memory entity, Zhang Boduan, was all smiles.

"..."

Well, so all those with high moral character throughout history have been scoundrels? What kind of weird setting is this in the book?

He Songling never expected to meet like-minded people here. So it seems that Zuo Ruotong and Zhang Lingyu are not just once-in-a-century, but possibly once-in-a-millennium pure lotus flowers.

Unfortunately, Lao Zuo has already led him astray; it is very likely that Zhang Lingyu in the future will also be led astray by Zhang Chulan.

This is probably why people like them are not tolerated in the world of "Under One Person".

"There are many... For example, there was a man named Wang Chongyang who founded the Quanzhen School. Because the core tenets are roughly the same, you and the other four True Men are revered as the Five Southern Patriarchs of the Quanzhen School. Wang Chongyang's own seven disciples were later known as the Seven Northern True Men."

Seeing that Zhang Boduan seemed to enjoy listening, He Songling picked out a few things to say, just to appease the old man.

Sure enough, the old man burst into laughter after hearing this.

"Hahahaha..."

He stroked his beard with one hand, and with the other hand, he produced a banana leaf fan from who-knows-where, fanning himself with such force that it almost blew his ethereal human form apart.

"That brat surnamed Wang, he can think of something similar to me, so he does have some insight. However, he is too arrogant, making his disciple and me stand in the north and south respectively, both calling themselves Quanzhen. Doesn't that make me seem inferior to him? This old man even dares to call himself Chongyang Quanzhen Kaihua Fuji Emperor. He is truly shameless."

While boasting about himself, Zhang Boduan also scorned Wang Chongyang, a junior and the true founder of the Quanzhen School.

"Oh dear, it has to be you, sir. Wang Chongyang is nothing but a piece of trash, not even a hair on Master Ziyang's head."

"Hey, young man, you're quite accomplished at such a young age..."

The two flattered each other for more than two hours, and their friendship progressed rapidly. Despite being more than a thousand years apart, they began to address each other as "brother" and "older brother."

“But Brother Ziyang, when we met before, you said something about me…” He Songling finally got to the heart of the matter. “Oh, that? Don’t you know? Your soul and body aren’t united.” Zhang Boduan said very naturally, as if He Songling’s condition was as obvious as lice on a bald head.

He Songling was taken aback. "I know, I know. This is what's currently preventing me from becoming an immortal. In a hundred or two hundred years, when the two merge, I will achieve immortality. But how did you figure that out..."

"Hahahaha!" The old man laughed so hard his beard flew off. He reached out and patted He Songling's shoulder, saying, "Brother, although you have obtained an immortal body and soul, you are still not a god. I am a thousand years older than you. It would take me too long to become an immortal. You know what I mean?"

"..."

Even He Songling couldn't stand it anymore. Is this how an old immortal should act? Even at this point, he still couldn't resist boasting. He's almost as good as me.

"I don't quite understand..." He Songling still spoke the truth: "To tell you the truth, I once saw another true immortal in the mountains of the Northeast. He said that as long as I achieve the Innate Realm, even gods cannot see through me."

"What kind of deity?"

"The mountain god with the hole that reaches to the sky, the five elements within the Ma family of the Northeast, the weasel who attained enlightenment." He Songling described it in great detail.

"That's right." Zhang Boduan clapped his hands: "What is he, a mere mountain god? Mountain gods and land gods are the lowest level in the hierarchy of gods, okay? In Journey to the West, any two random monsters can command a whole bunch of them. Me, me, Master Ziyang, even the Monkey King has to be polite to borrow my magic weapon. My status in heaven is no less than the Four Heavenly Masters. Are we on the same level?"

???

Three question marks appeared on He Songling's forehead as a special effect, which then broke to show his fear.

"You also know Journey to the West?"

"How could I not know? The books that kid surnamed Feng put here, his own spirit and energy resonate with the Daoist energy of the book I left in the Nine Bends Cave. How could I not know? To put it bluntly, I know everything that kid knows." Old Deng from the Northern Song Dynasty had a face full of pride that transcended his time.

"Hesitant." He Songling nodded. That made sense, but the Heavenly Court and Sun Wukong were nonsense. The entire picture of cultivation in this world had already been fully revealed to He Songling; it was just a small corner left, which wouldn't affect the overall situation.

There is no Heavenly Court in this world, nor is there Sun Wukong. Just like the book Journey to the West, for literary writers, the most important thing is its content, the religion, history, and the situation of the times it reflects. But for those who cultivate the Tao, the most important thing is its chapter titles.

That can be regarded as a work on the secret methods of Golden Elixir cultivation.

Therefore, the terms "Heavenly Court," "Jade Emperor," "Sun Wukong," and "Buddha" are all metaphors, referring to different realms and key points in spiritual practice. Just like the pilgrimage group, the terms "restless mind" and "golden master and wooden mother" are all terms related to spiritual practice.

Even if Zhang Boduan's cultivation was indeed higher than that of the mountain god with the gaping hole, there wasn't a clear hierarchy like in the Heavenly Court of Journey to the West. The mountain god explained it clearly, and He Songling understood it now as well. There are two kinds of gods: the first is ordinary gods, and the second is creator gods like God, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Allah, and Zeus.

Zhang Boduan is just fooling himself.

“Brother, we’re good brothers, friends despite the age gap, and future comrades-in-arms. It’s no fun for you to fool me like this.” He Songling tugged at the Daoist core in his hand, causing Zhang Boduan’s illusory body to sway.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Zhang Boduan's expression changed faster than a Sichuan opera performance. He immediately chuckled and said, "I'm not lying to you. I really only saw through you because I've been an immortal for a long time. I just didn't see through you."

(End of this chapter)