Wet viviparity

Chapter 855 The Snail Maiden, the Chaos General
"Xiao Yuan!"

Lu Zhenjun beckoned to Zhang Xiaoyuan and said with emotion, "In your past life, you were an old celestial star who helped me through many tribulations. In this life, you are a disciple of Taiping Mountain, so it should be me who helps you. I have explained this to you long ago, so why do you always act like a fool?"

If you weren't so attached and unable to let go, you would have already attained enlightenment and returned to your heavenly palace.

Zhang Xiaoyuan said with a stubborn tone, "Since it is the past, it should be swept away. Why dwell on it? I only know how to serve my parents and take care of my teacher. This is the great principle of human relations. I do not want to go against this will and cling to the past."

"Reincarnation!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xiaoyuan's appearance, Ji Ming felt inexplicably horrified about the matter of reincarnation.

Even someone as powerful and ancient as Zhang Xiaoyuan in his previous life completely severed ties with his past after reincarnation, seemingly without a trace of attachment. How utterly ridiculous are those in the fourth or fifth realms who regard the disintegration of their bodies and the reincarnation as a way out?

Lu Zhenjun clearly did not accept Zhang Xiaoyuan's statement.

“You have always been filial, which is why many people have high hopes for you. But I never expected that this filial piety would become your obsession.” At this point, he struck a chord and said, “Hey, do you know that the moon reflected in the icy river is no longer the same, and the smoke from the cooking fires around the beams is also dusty?”

This wake-up call jolted Zhang Xiaoyuan into a sudden realization, and Ji Ming also gained profound insights.

In Buddhist terms, whether it is Zhang Yuelu in his previous life or Zhang Xiaoyuan in this reincarnation, they are all just one of the Sambhogakayas. These different Sambhogakayas are different projections of Zhang Su's Dharmakaya. For example, if the Dharmakaya is water, then the different Sambhogakayas are like tea made from water or wine brewed from water.

The moon reflected in the glacier is not the same as before; the smoke from the cooking fires curls around the beams, which are now covered in dust. These words of Lu Zhenjun are indeed profound and enlightening truths.

"Disciple! Disciple!"

The shock on Zhang Xiaoyuan's face gradually subsided. Amidst the murmured calls, his eyes became calm. He raised his hands in greeting to Lu Zhenjun and said, "Fellow Daoist, I already know!"

Seeing that Zhang Xiaoyuan's filial piety remained unchanged, but his demeanor was quite different from before, Ji Ming was unsure whether to be happy or sad for his cousin. Although he knew that his cousin had not changed, he could not accept it from his own moral perspective.

This is perhaps something one must adapt to on the path of the Great Dao. Not only does one's physical body tend towards inhumanity, but one's moral cognition also tends towards inhumanity. No, in the words of cultivators, this is an immortal, or even a saint.

"Congratulations fellow Taoist!"

Ji Ming greeted Zhang Xiaoyuan.

Behind Zhang Xiaoyuan, a jade-like shadow appeared, its light shimmering and shifting between reality and illusion. In that instant, it seemed as if Zhang Su had stepped from the past into the present, and Ji Ming could no longer sense the depth of his cultivation.

Zhang Xiaoyuan's rugged face softened slightly as he nodded to Ji Ming and said, "With my cousin inheriting the Daoist lineage at Taiping Mountain, the legacy can be guaranteed for the next thousand years. Master Lu can also be free from many troubles and live a carefree life in his secluded cave."

Lu Zhenjun smiled and pointed at Zhang Xiaoyuan, saying, "Now that you know I am who I am, and have regained control of the Spirit Treasure Su Yue Bi, my sect's chances of victory have increased even more."

As he spoke, Lu Zhenjun became solemn, a bright halo appeared behind his head, emitting a misty light that shone through to the outside of the courtyard. The Zhenjun stood tall under the tree and said, "Lingxu and Xiaoyuan, listen to my command!"

Ji Ming and Zhang Xiaoyuan both agreed.

An old Dao sword was handed to Ji Ming. The True Lord said, "This is the sword of our sect's first True Lord, Ancestor Gan Xiong. Although it is not a superior sword for refining demons, it has been passed down by the True Lords of the past and is a symbol of the sect leader. This sword also has the Qingping Sword Technique on it."

Although you are not skilled in swordsmanship and have no particular fondness for it, since successive True Lords have all practiced this swordsmanship, you should still put in some effort to learn it in the future.”

"Yes."

Ji Ming held the sword with both hands.

He had no intention of practicing the Qingping Sword Technique. Although it is good to have many skills, he already possessed many other techniques, making it difficult to master such a sword technique. Furthermore, swordsmanship is known to be a skill that requires utmost sincerity to achieve its full potential, which did not suit his temperament.

"Xiao Yuan".

Lu Zhenjun produced a fan in his hand and said, "Your physical body has been refined to a high level, and you also possess profound magical power. Use this fan to command this great spiritual light glazed divine general in this courtyard—Chaos."

"Chaos".

Upon hearing this name, Ji Ming couldn't help but ponder it. The name "Glassy Divine General" refers to the golden body of a divine general forged from the refined glazed incense after the general has been created. However, divine generals like True Lord, whose golden bodies have been forged for hundreds of years, are naturally called Great Spiritual Light Glazed Divine Generals.

However, even within the Upper Palace, no one knows the full extent of the wondrous nature of Lu Zhenjun's divine general.

Just hearing the ancient and extremely ominous name of Chaos, one knows that the divine generals cultivated by True Lord Lu must be extraordinary.

Zhang Xiaoyuan took the fan, sensing something, and fanned it towards the dark space outside the low wall. Suddenly, light appeared there, and there were piles of strange mosquitoes wriggling.

These strange mosquitoes each had three pairs of wings, and their thin, slightly curved black bodies had a long slit running through them. They huddled together, making a rustling sound. Startled by Zhang Xiaoyuan's fanning, they took flight in swarms, buzzing loudly.

Seeing that the Chaos God General seemed to be this swarm of strange mosquitoes, Ji Ming was not surprised. He guessed that the swarm of mosquitoes was not the true form of the God General.

Then, Lu Zhenjun transmitted another incantation to Ji Ming, saying, "Go to the Black Mountain outside the Snail House, and according to my incantation, put away the false form of the Nandu Ancient Forbidden Mountain, which was created by the Great Technique of Revealing Diagrams and Shifting Forms. Then go to the depths of the Ancient Forbidden Mountain to wait for the final opportunity."

Upon hearing about the "Revealing the Diagram and Shifting Form Technique," Ji Ming recalled the energy he had sensed in the Black Mountain. His eyes lit up, and he readily accepted the order, leaving the hospital with Zhang Xiaoyuan.

Zhang Xiaoyuan kept waving his fan to drive away the strange swarm of mosquitoes in front of him. With each wave, Zhang Xiaoyuan broke out in a cold sweat, which shows that this simple action must have taken a lot of effort and energy.

"Huha~"

Zhang Xiaoyuan, panting heavily, stood in the divine chariot with Ji Ming, praising the convenience of the Qigong Divine Chariot.

In his memory, this cousin never seemed to lack treasures. No wonder he was known as the Golden Boy when he entered the Daoist path. The word "golden" was truly fitting.

As they circled around the snail-shaped chamber, they had covered more than a hundred miles in a breath or two. Ji Ming gradually lost the pure Yang energy in the True Lord's Yang God. He said to Zhang Xiaoyuan, "What treasure is this snail-shaped chamber? If the True Lord hadn't revealed his divine abilities, I wouldn't have known that he had already broken through the void and become a Yang God Earth Immortal."

It's no wonder Ji Ming was so surprised. He was familiar with several magical treasures left by the sect's founder, but he had never heard of this treasure before.

He also understood that in such a great calamity, the famous magical treasures of the mountain gate would be targeted by the Yunyu Temple, and might be destroyed by the enemy as soon as they were revealed. Therefore, he needed some secret treasures to take them by surprise.

"This snail shell has quite a history; it didn't originally belong to Master."

While waving his fan, Zhang Xiaoyuan explained, "This was made in the stubborn shell of a snail fairy in the South China Sea. When my master was young, he often trained in the South China Sea and was highly regarded by that snail fairy, who intended to bring about a good match between her daughter and my master."

Unfortunately, Master was devoted to the Dao and had great ambitions to revive the sect. How could he possibly join forces with the daughter of the Snail Fairy to cultivate together? However, the Snail Fairy felt that the predestined relationship was rare and wanted to force Master and her daughter into a spiritual marriage, and then make amends afterward.

I heard that many feuds arose in the South China Sea back then, but in the end, it was a celestial being from the Great Pure Yang Palace who mediated, allowing both sides to save face. Finally, the Snail Immortal, to resolve past grievances, gifted my master this thousand-year-old snail-shaped altar.

"This is truly a strange coincidence."

Ji Ming sighed.

Zhang Xiaoyuan leaned closer to Ji Ming, pretended to look around, and whispered, "Actually, in Master's cave, I always saw smoke rising from the chimney. When I got inside, I saw Master eating ordinary food."

"You mean the True Lord and the fairy maiden of the snail are still bound by their love affair?"

Ji Ming pricked up his ears and asked in surprise.

He had often heard the story of the Snail Maiden repaying kindness, and such stories were not uncommon in the coastal area. Just from the unique and mysterious name of the Snail Maiden, one could tell that most of them were kind and had an excellent reputation in both the main and side paths.

The thought that Zhenjun is also the protagonist of this story makes it seem somewhat absurd and bizarre.

"This snail-shaped dwelling is also a rare treasure. Living inside it allows one to conceal one's form and hide one's breath. Furthermore, no matter how high one's cultivation level is, it is difficult to break through from the outside."

The Snail Immortal was taught magic by a disciple of a great immortal from the Great Luo Purple Palace, which allowed her to refine her shell into this snail-shaped abode, thus avoiding persecution by an ancient demon sage in the sea.

As they spoke, the two left the snail hut and arrived at the black mountain below it.

(End of this chapter)