From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 297 No Life
After changing into clean clothes, Meng Yuan left the meditation room.

It was early afternoon when Lin Yan, along with Zhou Ying and Fan Ye, and Monk Jueming with Xuan Bei, all five of them looked at Meng Yuan.

Lin Yan had spent the most time with Meng Yuan, and after half a month apart, she could already sense some differences. His eyes were bright and clear, and his skin seemed even more delicate.

At first glance, it even has a slightly dazzling effect. The person is like fire, with an inextinguishable and undying spirit.

But if you look at it for a long time, it seems ordinary.

Lin Yan and Jueming were both sixth-rank martial artists and had already seen that Meng Yuan had made some progress, but not all of it.

"Amitabha." Monk Jueming stood up, put his hands together in a gesture of respect, and said, "You have only recently broken through to a higher realm, and it seems you have already gained something."

"How did it go?" Lin Yan asked as well.

Zhou Ying and Fan Ye stared intently at Meng Yuan.

“I feel like something is missing. Perhaps it’s my state of mind, or maybe the Heavenly Secrets method is wrong,” Meng Yuan said.

“It’s alright, you’re young, take your time.” Monk Jueming comforted him with a smile, and added, “Why don’t you ask some senior experts, or perhaps seek out your grandmaster uncle?”

Meng Yuan really wanted to chat with some senior experts, such as Yingmei in the red cloak and Wang Er Guniang, but he would pass on the old monk Zhitong.

“Master, you are a sage. What insights do you have?” Meng Yuan decided to ask Monk Jueming first.

"Amitabha." Monk Jueming first invited everyone to sit down, and after a while he said, "Ascending the three steps to heaven, one's own talent is certainly important, but also depends on a bit of luck."

"It depends on luck?" Zhou Ying suddenly spoke up, glancing at Meng Yuan.

“It’s not so bad.” Monk Jueming nodded slightly and said, “What is called opportunity? Isn’t it just luck? Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. In this life, the opportunity to break through from the sixth rank to the fifth rank is an opportunity. Everyone has this opportunity, it’s just a matter of whether they can discover it, whether they can control it, and whether they can seize it.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ying asked again, "The master said that everyone can obtain it, but some people obtain it easily while others find it difficult. How can this be explained?"

Although Abbot Jueming was a martial monk, he had considerable insight into Buddhism. He smiled and said, "If it's difficult today, who knows if it won't be even more difficult tomorrow? Water has no constant shape and changes with the times. Taoism speaks of the changes of Yin and Yang, and the principles of rise and fall. Our Buddhist school speaks of cause and effect; what you sow yesterday, you reap today. The difficulty or ease depends on your mind. If you are trapped by yesterday's events, isn't that like drawing a circle around yourself and being unable to make any further progress?"

"Master's insight is profound." Meng Yuan agreed with Monk Jueming's words.

"Old monk, the distinction between easy and difficult is really just a matter of difficulty versus even greater difficulty. Advancement in martial arts has always been an arduous process!" Lin Yan said with a smile.

“That’s right. There’s no need to elaborate on the difficulties. Eight or nine out of ten martial artists in the world face difficulties at every step, and taking another step is like climbing to the sky.” Monk Jueming began to ramble on. “I have read through ancient books and stories of many martial arts predecessors, but I have also found many predecessors who had a smooth path. Among them, there is one person who was the easiest to reach.”

"How easy is it?" Lin Yan asked, intrigued.

"In ancient times, there was a young man, innocent and pure, untouched by worldly dust, like a flawless pearl. He lived on a snow-capped mountain, always accompanied by snow leopards, and loved to travel the world on a celestial horse. He was originally destined to be an unworthy martial artist, but by a twist of fate, he entered the realm of martial arts overnight, and then broke through his realm one after another. He ascended to the third level of the Heavenly Realm as if it were nothing, and even went straight to the fourth level of martial arts!"

Although Monk Jueming was a recluse, he couldn't hide his envy. "The realm that we martial artists struggle to reach even in our entire lives is nothing more than a snap of his fingers for him. All obstacles are gone, as if he hadn't moved an inch, yet the Great Dao was coming towards him!"

Lin Yan and the others were so shocked that they couldn't speak after hearing this.

"Uncle-Master, are there really people in this world who are blessed with such good fortune?" Xuan Bei was somewhat bewildered.

"What good fortune? You can't just look at the surface; you have to look inside." Monk Jueming sighed slightly and said, "Through countless twists and turns, one cannot know the truth. This story tells us that we must act with sincerity and be genuine in our character. We must cherish the heart of a child and uphold sincerity. As long as there is truth, goodness, and beauty, the great path will surely become smooth."

"I am grateful for your instruction, nephew." Xuanbei respectfully clasped his hands together.

"What nonsense! I've seen plenty of people with pure hearts. My junior brother's pet weasel has a pure heart, but I haven't seen her achieve enlightenment!" Lin Yan frowned and retorted. "Does that mean that those who can't advance any further are all devoid of pure hearts, devoid of truth, goodness, and beauty?"

“Amitabha, then it must be that the time is not right, or that benefactor Huang is not sincere enough.” Monk Jueming became stubborn.

"In my opinion, this must be some nonsense fables made up by your Buddhist predecessors, trying to teach future generations some moral lesson! Even if someone is blessed with good fortune, they can't rise to the top in one step. Otherwise, what would be the point of all our hard work?" Lin Yan cursed.

“This is the real story, and I do not lie!” Monk Jueming said earnestly.

Seeing that Lin Yan was about to argue, Meng Yuan quickly stopped him, saying, "The world is vast and full of wonders; you never know what might happen."

After stopping Lin Yan and Jueming's bickering, Meng Yuan asked about the coming of the Arhat Wusheng from the West.

Before going into seclusion, Meng Yuan had heard Wang Er mention that the Arhat Wusheng would arrive ahead of schedule, probably in about half a month.

Unexpectedly, Meng Yuan went into seclusion for half a month, and when he came out, the Arhat Wusheng was about to arrive.

"They're already thirty miles away." As the commander of the Demon Suppression Division, Lin Yan naturally knew very well. "Their personnel haven't changed. Wusheng Luohan brought one hundred and eight bald monks, of whom there is one fourth-rank bald monk, seven fifth-rank bald monks, and the rest are sixth-rank and seventh-rank bald monks."

"Amitabha." Jueming and Xuanbei remained silent as Lin Yan kept calling him a bald monk.

“I took a look, and they were very well-behaved.” Lin Yan stroked his chin. “Our people followed them the whole way. They didn’t interact with the local people, let alone preach. They looked like devout believers, but I always felt there was something sinister about them, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.”

“A Buddhist who has attained the third level of enlightenment can already be called a Buddha. How could he have any evil spirits?” The monks of Lanruo Temple have never gotten along well with the monks of the West, but since they are from the same root, Monk Jueming also spoke up for Wusheng Luohan.

"Qing Guangzi has also attained the third rank of the Holy King of Light. Isn't he wicked?" Lin Yan said irritably. "Your Buddhist sect believes that you can attain enlightenment by making your own explanations."

“Amitabha.” Monk Jueming did not argue, but said, “The Way is just like this. If you have the Way in your heart, you will naturally attain the Way. In fact, it’s not just Buddhism, but also Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.”

Lin Yan was too lazy to argue with Jueming, and only looked at Meng Yuan, saying, "I came here today to call you out of seclusion! The Grand Supervisor has given the order, so we all have to go down the mountain to see the excitement."

Meng Yuan understood the meaning behind Lin Yan's words: what he called "watching the excitement" was actually a way of welcoming them.

Regardless of whether the visitor is friend or foe, the mere fact that the Arhat of No Birth is at the third level of cultivation is worthy of respect and even reverence, so welcoming him is naturally the proper course of action.

"How many people have we deployed?" A third-rank Arhat dares to venture deep into the country, so he must have something to rely on. Meng Yuan has seen the unreliability of the Demon Suppression Division before, so he really has no confidence in Miss Wang Er.

Thinking about it this way, Meng Yuan realized that he had never met a reliable person! The four disciples of Chongxu Temple were out of the question, Dugu Kang had never even made a move, Jie Kaiping had repeatedly failed in his endeavors, and Miss Ying was also unnecessary.

After thinking it over, only Master Nie and Lin Yan seem reliable, although the former has a foul mouth and the latter is a smooth talker.

"The two old monks from Lanruo Temple are in charge, and the three major Taoist sects have all sent experts. I heard the Imperial Preceptor is here too, but I haven't seen him yet." Lin Yan counted on his fingers and said, "The Grand Supervisor said everything is foolproof!"

Last time, Xiao Taotao said everything was fine, but in the end, the Songhe Prefecture Incident still happened!

After much thought, Meng Yuan hoped that Li Weizhen could come, since she was a master recognized by both Zhitong and Xuanjizi.

"Have the people sent by the One-Eyed King of the Demon Kingdom arrived yet?" Meng Yuan asked again. "They have," Lin Yan blinked and chuckled.

Upon seeing Lin Yan's expression, Meng Yuan knew that it was someone from Yuan Yaoniang's family who had come.

"Who is it?" Meng Yuan asked curiously.

“There are three people at the front, two of whom are elders.” Lin Yan rubbed his hands together. “You’ve met Cangshan Jun before, the other one is Elder Miaoyin of the White Fox, and the other one is Elder Hua Suzhi of the Flower Deer.”

"Elder Hua has indeed come." Meng Yuan had long suspected that Elder Hua was coming, but he didn't expect him to actually come.

Seeing Meng Yuan deep in thought, Zhou Ying added, "Cangshan Jun and Elder Hua are both demon cultivators, while Elder Miaoyin is a member of the Daoist sect."

"The paths of demons and the path of Tao are not really that different," Monk Jueming added.

"Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are not lacking in anything!" For some reason, Lin Yan was happy to argue with the monk.

Meng Yuan looked at Lin Yan and asked, "Senior Brother, have you met Elder Hua?"

"No!" Lin Yan couldn't help but sigh again. "They don't receive guests, and I'm too proud to talk to them! I only spoke with Lord Cangshan for a while. He said Elder Hua isn't bad-tempered, just a bit eccentric."

“Master Xuanji is at Yunshan Temple. Lord Cangshan offended the four disciples of Chongxu Temple, yet he still dares to come.” Meng Yuan laughed.

"He's quite the man of flexibility. He said that Master Xuanji was too embarrassed to make a move, so as long as Master Jingxu doesn't come, the four disciples of Chongxu Temple are nothing special." Lin Yan also laughed.

They're just picking on the weak! Meng Yuan shook his head helplessly and said, "Elder Hua didn't say anything?"

"No. They only let Cangshan Jun show his face; Elder Miaoyin and Elder Huasuzhi didn't show up at all." Lin Yan looked at Meng Yuan expectantly and said, "I reckon Elder Hua also wants to see an old friend. You and Xiao Xiangling are close, so maybe she'll be willing to see you."

At this point, Lin Yantu revealed his true intentions: "I took out the medicine girl's letter and asked Cangshan Jun to deliver it, but Elder Hua still refused to see me. She's Xiao Xiangling's godmother, and their mother-daughter relationship is closer, so maybe Xiao Xiangling's influence will work!"

Lin Yan gave Zhou Ying a wink.

Zhou Ying took out several letters and handed them to Meng Yuan, saying, "Your family has received letters."

Meng Yuan took the letter; there were only three letters: one written by Jiang Tang and Nie Qingqing, one by Miss Ying, and the last one by Xiang Ling.

Without any pretense, Meng Yuan first opened the letter from his wife at home. The two of them didn't say anything, only that Nie Qingqing and Yuan Yaoniang had decided on the location of the pharmacy, and that Jiang Tang was following Yingru's path of cultivation. Both of them told Meng Yuan to be careful when he was away.

As for Miss Ying's letter, it didn't say anything serious. It only told Meng Yuan not to get involved in the affairs of the Western guests and that focusing on cultivation was the proper thing to do.

Xiangling's letter contained the most words, rambling on for a long time without any clear theme. One moment she was talking about the many affairs of the Moon Palace, the next she was talking about brewing osmanthus wine, and then she was talking about how Yuan Yaoniang wanted to hire her as the manager of the pharmacy.

Of course, Xiangling didn't forget Meng Yuan's instructions, saying that she had already taken revenge by tricking Huanxi into eating the candied hawthorn that wasn't sweet, which was already a lesson for Huanxi.

After carefully reading the letter, Meng Yuan put it away.

"The medicine girl also wrote to me, telling me to take good care of myself." Lin Yan was overjoyed, her smile undisguised, clearly envisioning a future filled with children and grandchildren.

"Amitabha." Monk Jueming couldn't help but shake his head when he saw Lin Yan's foolish expression.

"It's not a good day to go out. Let's go see Lord Cangshan tomorrow and see if Elder Hua will see you." Lin Yan was very excited.

Meng Yuan did not refuse and immediately agreed.

"The Grand Supervisor said that you have been in seclusion for a long time and he doesn't know how things are going. If you have broken through to a higher realm, go find her; if not, come with me tomorrow," Lin Yan said.

After chatting for a while, they went to Monk Jueming's place for a vegetarian meal.

Meng Yuan had no distracting thoughts and was in no hurry to write a reply; he simply slept peacefully through the night.

When I woke up in the morning, both of my lower dantian were full, and my whole body was full of energy.

Together with Lin Yan, Wang Er, along with Xiao Taotao, Ding Chonglou, Meng Yuan, Lin Yan, and several hundred others, descended Wulou Mountain from Chanding Temple.

Ten miles to the west, a large number of soldiers had already gathered here, and then people from Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism also came together.

The court and the countryside all contributed their talents to the matter of the Arhat Wusheng coming from the west.

It wasn't until noon that we saw the clouds hanging low in the west, with what appeared to be seven-colored light within them.

Looking at it from afar, everyone felt a sense of exhilaration. Gazing at it for a long time, it was as if they had entered a paradise, or as if they had transcended the cycle of reincarnation.

"Is this a third-grade Arhat?" Ning Qufei frowned, staring at the radiant clouds, completely lost in thought.

Mo Tingyu glanced at the clouds before looking away, and stared straight at Ning Qufei. She said, "Senior brother, you're only at the third rank in Buddhism. When you reach the fourth rank, slay the evil Buddha, and ascend to the upper third rank in one fell swoop!"

"Junior sister, don't speak recklessly," Ning Qufei said in a low voice.

The group waited for a long time, and it was already past mid-afternoon, when they finally saw people approaching from the horizon.

It was already the end of January, but the north wind had not subsided and the chill had not yet faded.

There were hundreds of people in a line, all walking with their hands clasped in prayer. Among them were demons and humans, all dressed in Buddhist attire.

These people traveled in a small group, but the extremely faint sounds of chanting and reciting scriptures seemed to reach the heavens.

As they got closer, they realized that there was a giant elephant in the procession.

The giant elephant was three or four zhang tall, carrying a canopy, and a man sat cross-legged on it. The man had no beard or hair, wore a kasaya, and was very tall.

From a distance, the person appeared as small as a mustard seed compared to the giant elephant. However, no one paid much attention to the elephant; instead, they focused on the person atop it.

Meng Yuan looked up, his once sharp eyes should have easily seen the person's face, but now, it was blurry. It seemed right in front of him, but the more he tried to see clearly, the less he could make out, as if the person had vanished into the heavens.

"Don't look, calm down," Xiao Taotao suddenly said.

Meng Yuan then realized that he had forgotten to activate the Burning Heart skill.

(End of this chapter)