(PS: I ran out of drafts. I was in the middle of a new year visit and came back late. Sorry for the delay in updating!)
Along the way, Miao Yi confirmed his current location and direction. He bade Ming Zhao farewell, "Senior, I've been busy here for the past few years. It's time for me to go back and cultivate. Farewell."
Ming Zhao thought for a moment and didn't try to keep him. "Cheshire, take two Junior Brothers with you and escort him back!"
Before Cheshire could reply, Miao Yi hurriedly rejected, "There's no need for that. I have a star chart with me. I can find the way."
Ming Zhao shook his head, "This place is still within the borders of the Banshee Lands. Demons roam the land. You'll be in trouble if you go alone. Let them escort you out of the Banshee Lands."
Miao Yi didn't want to refuse too much in fear of arousing suspicion. He cupped his fists and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Senior. Thank you for your trouble!"
Ming Zhao smiled and nodded to Cheshire County. Cheshire County accepted the order and brought two people with him to escort Miao Yi away. The group split into two groups and went their separate ways in the starry sky.
A few days later, Cheshire and the other two escorted Miao Yi to the stargate leading out of the Banshee Lands. Miao Yi advised, "There's no need to escort me anymore. Once I leave the stargate, I'll have to take another route back. It's too troublesome. I'll go on my own."
The three didn't insist. Cheshire smiled and said, "Take care, Master."
"Take care!" Miao Yi cupped his fists and hurriedly headed for the stargate. Soon, a silver light burst forth and enveloped him. In an instant, he disappeared into the pitch-black void.
Cheshire and the others watched him disappear before returning to the Skytraversing Palace.
As soon as Miao Yi exited the stargate, he looked around and quickly took out the star chart. He cursed, "I told you not to, but you had to. Now I have to take a big detour to get back." He then turned around and flew in another direction.
The main problem was that the stargate was only a one-way passage. There was a way to come from the other side, but not here. He had to go around a few stargates to get back. Here came the problem. After going back and forth, he didn't have enough gold and silver shuttles to pass through the stargate. He had wanted to borrow some from Cheshire and the others, but he didn't want to arouse unnecessary suspicion. In the end, he didn't ask.
Therefore, he had no choice but to rush to the nearest Sky Street. His destination was the Meng Hua Planet. He rushed through the starry sky alone, eager to solve the mystery left by the bronze mirror …
Tianyuan Planet, by the sea. On top of the surging waves on the reef, Ba Jie had his palms clasped together and was facing the ocean. He was extremely vexed as he stared at the blue ocean with a worried expression.
His troubles came from the lady in red behind him. She had a beautiful face, and her arms were wrapped around his waist, hugging him tightly. Her body was tightly hugging him from behind, and her face was pressed against his shoulder. Her face was full of happiness. She accompanied him to watch the ebb and flow of the tide.
This woman was none other than Xue Yao. The reason for such a scene was simple. From the first moment she laid eyes on Ba Jie, she had fallen in love with him at first sight. Wherever Ba Jie went, she followed him and took good care of him. She even helped Ba Jie slay demons along the way to ensure his safety.
And the more Ba Jie kept his distance from her. His dignified, holy, and handsome aura attracted her even more. There was one thing that the Blood Demon could not deny — Ba Jie's appearance was very attractive to women. Men liked beautiful women. How could women not like handsome and good-looking men, especially those who were handsome and looked clean? This had nothing to do with whether he was a monk or not. The main point was whether he was a man in the eyes of women.
Of course, she fell in love with Ba Jie not only because of his appearance, but more importantly. Men in the world, be they monks or laymen, were mostly the same. The Blood Demon had seen her fair share of so-called men. No matter how serious they were, most of them were sanctimonious people who found it hard to resist beauty. The Blood Demon believed that her own appearance was not bad, but this monk was truly pure and unmoved by beauty. Men who were both perfect on the inside and the outside were hard to come by. Since she had met one, the Blood Demon did not want to miss this chance. It was not easy for a woman to meet the right man in her life. It did not matter whether she was a monk or not.
She could return to the secular world. As they traveled, the more she understood about Ba Jie, the more difficult it became for her to leave him. She had already reached a point where she could not control her feelings for Ba Jie. She was so deeply immersed in her feelings that she could not extricate herself from them. Throwing herself at him was a piece of cake. In serious cases, she would even strip off her clothes and offer herself to sleep with him.
Ba Jie was terrified. He was afraid that it would be too late for him to avoid her. Alas, their cultivations were too far apart. In the School of Jie, Ba Jie's cultivation talent in the early stages could be considered extraordinary. Even though he had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation and his progress was beginning to slow, he still managed to reach Purple Lotus First Grade. However, compared to the Blood Demon, who was a Golden Lotus Seventh Grade cultivator, he was completely powerless. He couldn't run even if he wanted to.
It wasn't that Ba Jie was lustful. In fact, he was quite lustful. He was definitely a playboy monk among playboys. However, Ba Jie had his own difficulties. Was this even a woman? Even if she stripped naked and hugged him, he would still be scared out of his wits. Just looking at her reminded him of the first time he met the Blood Demon. She was all skin and bones, and her face was filled with wrinkles. She even sucked human blood. She was as scary as she could be. Even the most lecherous monk would not lust after a woman like her, right? What if he suddenly turned into that appearance after hugging her, biting her and sucking her blood out of the blue? Wouldn't he be so scared that one Buddha was born and two Buddhas ascended to heaven?
That was why Ba Jie usually had his back facing her, especially now that she was hugging him. Since his cultivation wasn't high enough to resist, he could only leave his back open for her to hug. Every time this happened, he didn't dare to close his eyes, afraid that it would trigger too many chilling thoughts. It was better for him to keep his eyes open.
Ba Jie could only accept his bad luck. He had always been interested in beautiful women, but then Qi Jie came to cause trouble and cast an art to lock his Yang. It wasn't easy for him to shake off Qi Jie and arrive in the greater realm that cultivators could only dream of. Yet, he ended up bumping into a 'great beauty' who kept clinging to him. She was even worse than that old bald donkey Qi Jie. She clung to him day in and day out, practically never leaving his side. How was he supposed to live?
Right now, he was starting to regret running away. Now that he was being pestered by this terrifying beauty, he might as well have stayed in the lesser realm obediently.
The Blood Demon hugged him and whispered into his ear, "Great Master, please renounce asceticism. Let's be a loving couple!"
"This humble monk is devoted to Buddhism. My Buddhist heart is unwavering. There is no way I will renounce asceticism," Ba Jie rejected firmly once more.
The Blood Demon immediately let go of him and turned him around to face him. He angrily rebuked, "Am I not beautiful enough?"
Ba Jie smiled and replied, "Hong'er, you are very beautiful. But in this humble monk's eyes, no matter how beautiful a woman is, she is still a pink skeleton. Beauty is emptiness, emptiness is beauty. Amitabha!" His words were half-truths. Other beautiful women might not be pink skeletons in his eyes, but the Blood Demon was definitely a pink skeleton in his eyes. Furthermore, he was an extremely terrifying one.
The Blood Demon was clearly enraged. "Ba Jie, there has never been a man in this world who could make me treat him so well. Touch your conscience and tell me how I've treated you."
Ba Jie gently and kindly advised, "Hong'er, you've been blinded by your looks. Once you've entered a state of obsession, all you'll see is a sea of greed and bitterness. Repent before it's too late!"
"Don't give me that crap. You've seen me naked, and you've even touched me. Now that you're telling me to repent, how am I supposed to repent?" The Blood Demon harshly retorted, "I only have one question for you. Are you going to obey me or not?"
Ba Jie groaned inwardly. 'You were the one who took off your clothes. You were the one who touched me, but I didn't even touch a single finger of yours.' He was a little nervous, wondering if this woman was trying to take his life out of desperation. However, he continued to smile and said, "Could it be that you want to kill this humble monk?"
The Blood Demon sneered, "I still want to grow old with you. Why would I kill you? Since you're unwilling to renounce asceticism on your own, I can only help you do so. You won't be able to become a monk anymore! "
She then tapped a finger on Ba Jie's chest. A wave of murderous aura surged out of her body like a blood mist, enveloping Ba Jie and quickly entering his seven apertures. Ba Jie was shocked. He trembled and tried to resist, but under the suppression of the Blood Demon's powerful transcendence energy, he was completely immobilized. He could only watch helplessly as the murderous aura surged into his body and fused with it.
After a long while, the murderous aura finally dissipated. Only then did the Blood Demon push him away.
Ba Jie naturally sensed the abnormal changes in his body. He asked with a hint of fear, "What did you do to this humble monk?"
The Blood Demon chuckled, "Nothing much. I just want to turn you into a human like me. In half a month, you'll become a demon like me. When that time comes, you'll never be able to leave me again. You'll beg me to treat you well!"
Ba Jie smiled bitterly as he stood on the reef, his snow-white monk robes flapping in the sea breeze. "Hong'er, haven't you heard that a melon forcibly picked isn't sweet? If I become someone else, will you still like me?"
The Blood Demon waved his sleeves and said somewhat hysterically, "I don't care about that much. I've already given up my dignity. For you, I've already given up all the restraint a woman should have. I don't even care about my face anymore. What do you think I care about?"
Ba Jie sighed and silently turned to face the sea. His face was already changing rapidly, alternating between red and white. He put his palms together and sat cross-legged on the reef. Facing the surging waves, he slowly closed his eyes. His hands moved in front of his chest as he formed a seal with his ten fingers. Then, he calmly and clearly said, "Close your eyes, cover your ears, dry your heart. Have no form of me, have no form of man, have no form of all living things, have no form of immortality.
Great Enlightenment, Great Enlightenment! "As he finished his words, the lotus shaped fingers on his hands stopped moving, and he once again brought his palms together before his chest. Silence!
Looking at Ba Jie sitting cross-legged in front of him with his eyes facing the sea and sky, the Blood Demon snorted coldly and ignored him. With a wave of his hand, he created a cave on the reef with a loud boom. Then, he walked in and sat cross-legged, waiting for Ba Jie to obey him when the time was right.
The sea, the sky, the sun, and the moon.
Three days later, Ba Jie, who had been sitting cross-legged before the sea, finally opened his eyes. He stood up and faced the approaching Blood Demon with a smile on his face. He still looked as holy and elegant as ever, untainted by the world. The changes that Blood Demon had imagined did not happen.
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