Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 749: Chapter 83: Good Fortune Comes to the Soul, Identical in Every Way
 

Danzeng Batu fled all the way back to Iron City Mountain, occasionally scanning behind him with his Divine Sense to confirm whether Qiu Changtian was pursuing him or not.

Seeing that the other remained standing on the desolate plains, he secretly let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that this person indeed possessed the modesty of an ancient gentleman.

Only after returning to the Treasure Hall did Danzeng Batu report to the various revered masters, his face filled with shame as he said:

“Disciples are incompetent and failed to defeat Changgeng True Person. Fortunately, there was no defeat but only depletion of True Yuan, leading to an early exit… I ask the masters to punish me!”

“No defeat?” The elder known as Demon Void sneered, “Compelled to a defensive fight the whole time, never having the upper hand, if that’s not defeat, what is?”

After giving Danzeng Batu a good scolding, he let him go.

It was only after leaving the Treasure Hall that Danzeng Batu showed a relieved expression.

His master, Reverend Baojing, had disappeared on a journey to explore the Western Region and had not returned since.

The sect was inclined to believe that Reverend Baojing had perished, and his disciples either shifted their allegiance to other masters or secluded themselves in closed-door cultivation, but Danzeng Batu, as the senior brother of the Golden Core Realm, refused to accept any other Great Reverend Master’s invitation, which naturally led to being troubled by the masters in turn.

Not far from the Treasure Hall, Gu Lie emerged from the side, clasped his hands together with a smile, and said:

“Congratulations to Senior Brother for escaping the predicament.”

“Gu Junior Brother, thanks to your reminder, I was able to get through this ordeal,” replied Danzeng Batu with a hearty laugh, “If there’s anything you need, just ask me.”

“Gu Mou is not interested in worldly possessions, only in Buddhist Scriptures,” replied Gu Lie, as he chanted the Buddha’s name and seriously continued, “I heard that Senior Brother has a copy of the ‘Mandala Solemn Sutra’, I wonder if you could part with it?”

“You mean that one,” Danzeng Batu said with difficulty, “Indeed, it came into my possession by chance, but it’s only a fragmentary volume. It seems the latter part was torn away by someone…”

As he spoke, he fished out a Storage Bag and took out a damaged Scripture, handing it over and saying:

“It’s of no use to me anyway, so let me give it to Junior Brother as a token of thanks.”

Gu Lie accepted it with a calm expression, but inwardly knew that since Danzeng Batu carried it with him, it couldn’t truly be “of no use,” and he pretended to carefully examine it.

“Junior Brother,” after a while, Danzeng Batu tentatively asked, “Have you gained any insight?”

“I have benefited a great deal,” Gu Lie said earnestly, “Born from the great compassion, this Mandala arises from the Buddha’s acquisition of all-encompassing wisdom through the power of great compassion, hence the creation of the endless solemnities of the Mandala, thus it is said to arise from compassion…”

He spoke at length about the profound Buddhist principles, leaving Danzeng Batu completely baffled, resulting in a forced laugh as he said:

“So it is profound Buddhist wisdom; as long as Junior Brother likes it, as long as Junior Brother likes it…”

He hurriedly walked away, while Gu Lie watched his Senior Brother depart, covertly calculating in his heart:

I already possess the middle fragment of the ‘Mandala Solemn Sutra,’ allowing the cultivation of the endless solemnity of speech; now I have obtained the front fragment from Danzeng Batu, allowing the cultivation of the endless solemnity of body.

Only the final fragment is missing, which is the endless solemnity of intent. Once I gather the complete ‘Mandala Solemn Sutra,’ I can cultivate the grand Mandala practice of the womb realm… but where could that final fragment be?

The only clue was hearing that a Mortal Life Path Cultivator had seen a similar Buddhist Scripture in the Dharma Transmission Hall. It looks like I’ll need to find time to visit Sect Master Wei and his wife.

I wonder if the relationship that I struck up with them in the past could still come in handy now.

As he turned these thoughts over silently in his mind, Gu Lie sighed once more, intoning ‘Amitabha,’ and was about to leave when suddenly someone crossed the courtyard gate and strode towards him.

It was the favorite disciple of Demon Void, Long Xiang.

This man was eight feet eight inches tall, even taller than Danzeng Batu, his face gloomy as dripping water, resembling a debt collection firm’s enforcer.

“Senior Brother Long Xiang.” Gu Lie quickly bowed in greeting.

Long Xiang nodded slightly, not looking at Gu Lie next to him, and directly entered the Treasure Hall.

After seeing the revered masters inside the hall, Long Xiang left the Treasure Hall again and noticed that Gu Lie had not gone.

With a thought, he approached and inquired:

“Danzeng Batu lost to that Changgeng True Person earlier?”

“Yes, Senior Brother,” Gu Lie replied with utmost respect, “Senior Brother Danzeng Batu was concerned about the opponent’s First Grade Golden Core, whose strength was overwhelming. Hence, he engaged in a tough fight until ultimately, running out of True Yuan, he was forced to leave the stage.”

“Heh,” Long Xiang sneered.

Surely Gu Lie had gone senile, spouting such incoherent nonsense.

First, he’s “worried about the opponent’s First Grade Golden Core,” then he’s “struggling in a bitter fight”; what’s the causal connection between the two?

He spoke with a tone full of disdain:

“Danzeng Batu is a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. When he faces someone who’s also well-rounded in their skills and has better innate talent than him, naturally he can’t win.”

“Once I descend the mountain and claim the head of that Changgeng True Person, I’ll come back and properly mock your senior brother,” he declared.

Having said this, Long Xiang burst into loud laughter and strode down the mountain.

Gu Lie looked upon his retreating figure with pity, thinking that his senior brother’s character was truly straightforward, which was no wonder he had chosen the path of body refinement.

Would he be thrashed by Changgeng True Person, or would he be slain instantly?

Emotionally, he hoped for the latter; but rationally, the likelihood of instant death was slim—it would probably be a severe beating instead.

Meanwhile, Long Xiang made his way down the mountain, eventually breaking into a run. With each step, he leaped tens of feet, and his very strides sounded like rolling thunder.

Once he reached the wasteland, he saw a true person standing on a Flying Sword in the air ahead and immediately shouted:

“I am Long Xiang from Iron City Mountain! Come forth and meet your death, Kunlun cur!”

After bellowing his lines, he drew a magical treasure from his Storage Bag—it was an Octagonal Golden Spear, a rather uncommon sight.

As for spear-type magical treasures among flying artifacts, they were rare indeed, mainly because their straight-line flight speed was comparable to Flying Swords, but they were cumbersome to maneuver. Miss once, and you’re done for, which is why few cultivators chose to use them.

Long Xiang grasped the Octagonal Golden Spear, and his body suddenly bent like a drawn bow, then he hurled the long spear toward Qiu Changtian.

Qiu Changtian, seeing him assume the pose of a spear thrower, was first taken aback, then instantly reacted by shooting the Tianyuan Yiqi Sword forward with all his might.

The Golden Spear tore through the air, emitting a thunderous boom, and collided head-on with the Tianyuan Yiqi Sword.

Despite Qiu Changtian’s robust True Yuan from his First Grade Golden Core, he failed to withstand the onslaught of the Golden Spear. The Tianyuan Yiqi Sword was sent flying, while the Octagonal Golden Spear, knocked off course by the tremendous force, whizzed by Qiu Changtian’s right side, the sound alone threatening to rupture eardrums.

Qiu Changtian immediately became furious. With his left hand, he steadied the Tianyuan Yiqi Sword, and with his right, he quickly unleashed Thunder Light, which was the life-extinguishing Shenxiao Thunder.

Shenxiao Thunder, in ancient times, was specifically devastating to the Demon Race, as it could obliterate life directly. No matter how strong the physical body, one strike would destroy it… Before the Thunder Light could reach him, Long Xiang sensed the immense danger, biting the tip of his tongue in a desperate move and spitting out a mouthful of Essence Blood to quickly weave a net in mid-air.

The net was sticky and filthy, yet it only delayed the Shenxiao Thunder for a moment before being torn apart from the center.

The remaining force unabated, it passed just over Long Xiang’s head—he had used the brief delay to desperately execute a maneuver akin to a limbo dance, bending his upper body back 180 degrees to narrowly avoid the brunt of Shenxiao Thunder.

The strike that missed him blasted a huge crater into the wasteland below.

I’m going to die…

I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die!

Long Xiang, having narrowly escaped obliteration by Divine Thunder and though not yet understanding what had transpired, was overwhelmed by a gut-wrenching fear, realizing that the opponent’s Thunder Method was extremely potent against the body refinement sect. A single misstep would mean being struck by lightning and reduced to ashes!

What to do?

Through his mind flashed a lightning-quick recollection of Gu Lie’s earlier words:

“…worried about facing a First Grade Golden Core, whose strength is formidable, thus engaging in a grueling fight, only to end up exhausted of True Yuan…”

Suddenly, Long Xiang had an epiphany, and he began to shout:

“Such formidable Five Thunder True Law! Such a formidable Changgeng True Person! I, Long Xiang, am completely convinced and admit defeat. I intended to determine the better of us today, but my True Yuan is exhausted. I’ll return after taking some Elixirs to continue the fight!”

After the shout, he immediately turned, covered his face, and fled toward Iron City Mountain.

One after another, two Cultivators from the Asura Path were beaten using the same excuse. Now, even the Kunlun Main Formation spectating from behind understood what was really happening and couldn’t help but erupt into unreserved laughter.