Chapter 146: The Heart of a Child
Chapter 146: The Heart of a Child
Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii
Since then, Emperor Xia knew that becoming enemies with the Dao Seeking Sect was indeed fulfilling the "curse of a hundred thousand years."
Those lurking in the shadows thought of Yun Zhi as highly talented and very strong, yet they had no clear concept of how "strong" Yun Zhi actually was.
If they knew the extent of Yun Zhi's strength, they would realize how foolish their scheme to drive a wedge was.
...
"Eldest Senior Sister, where are we going?" Lu Yang saw that after flying to the Dao Seeking Sect, Eldest Senior Sister did not stop at Heaven's Gate Peak but continued forward.
Lu Yang had never stepped foot here before; beneath them were vast mountains and swamps, thousands of miles of red lands, and vast deserts.
"Prison Peak."
Neither Lu Yang nor Meng Jingzhou had heard of this place.
Eldest Senior Sister flew over these areas and landed on a gloomy mountain peak wrapped in huge chains. The other ends of the chains were wrapped around four mountains in different directions. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou felt their hairs stand on end, sensing that this place was not friendly.
Lu Yang had learned a bit about Feng Shui and formations. Feng Shui emphasizes "flow," with at least one direction connecting to the outside world in the east, south, west, and north, representing vitality. However, Prison Peak was surrounded by mountains on all sides, blocking all vitality, and the clouds clinging to Prison Peak seemed like a lid, sealing the area tightly.
Prison Peak was used for detaining and interrogating prisoners.
The three landed, and Yun Zhi opened the formation's entrance, dragging two Unity Stage souls, entering from the foot of the mountain and going down about five thousand meters before stopping.
The prisoners were all detained below Prison Peak.
Arriving at Prison Peak, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou felt as if they were back in Commoner Town, unable to mobilize any spiritual energy. This was not a spirit-sealing formation but a kind of [rule].
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou found nearly a hundred cages here, most of them empty, with only about a dozen holding captives.
To be precise, they were not holding people but soul bodies. Under the suppression of the [rules], these soul bodies were listless and dispirited.
Some soul bodies drooled at the sight of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, wanting to pounce on them and devour them, but they all behaved upon seeing Eldest Senior Sister.
Lu Yang thought it strange that so few people were detained here; even the dungeons in Yanjiang County held more.
"These are ancient Unity Stage beings that are imprisoned here. Be cautious," Yun Zhi warned.
Both shivered, no longer thinking there were too few prisoners.
Goodness, a dozen Unity Stage beings imprisoned here?
"Eldest Senior Sister, aren't you afraid they'll escape?" Lu Yang asked quietly.
"Escape? You really underestimate me, young man." A childish voice came, and Lu Yang turned around to see a white-haired child, not very tall, reaching only to his waist when standing on tiptoes.
"Grandmaster."
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were surprised; the white-haired child was actually Daoist Non-Speaker's master.
"Grandmaster," they both exclaimed.
"Hehe, do you think I'm too young?"
"Not at all."
The white-haired child spoke with an old soul's demeanor: "You are still too young, lacking in experience. You don't understand my state; this is a form of cultivation."
Lu Yang quickly thought of a legend: "The ancients said, 'When virtue is constant, it returns to the infant. The masses are bustling, as if feasting on a sacrificial bull, as if climbing terraces in spring, but I alone am calm, not yet showing signs, like an infant who has not yet smiled.'"
"Many great cultivators spend their entire lives seeking the heart of a child, yet they can never reach this state. Deliberately pursuing it is already not a child's thought. How can one achieve the true heart of a child?"
"Are you saying, Grandmaster, that you have 'returned to the infant', reaching the state of returning to the original and uniting with the heavens, possessing the heart of a child?"
Meng Jingzhou was also astonished; the heart of a child has always existed in legends. None of the elders in the Meng family had reached this state. Who would have thought the Dao Seeking Sect had one?
The white-haired child smiled without saying a word, nodding gently in a manner that suggested he found them teachable.
Yun Zhi was a bit puzzled, "That's not the story I heard."
"Master said that when you were young, Grandmaster, you were frivolous and lingered in brothels, delaying your cultivation. Then something stimulated you, and you suddenly realized you needed to diligently pursue your cultivation. To keep your purpose clear, you permanently fixed your body at the age of six, so you wouldn't have to worry about leaking yang energy."
Lu Yang: "......"
Meng Jingzhou: "......"
Strictly speaking, this was indeed a form of cultivation.
The two recalled that cultivators at a certain level could control their appearance, so why did some choose to remain as children or elderly? Could it be for the same reason as Grandmaster?
No, no, no, this wasn't something to dwell on too much. They quickly cleared their minds.
"Anyway, with me here, none of the Unity Stage beings locked up here should think about escaping!" the white-haired child forcibly changed the subject. "Yun girl, you've brought back two more?"
"Yes, I want to interrogate them."
"Why not just search their souls directly?" the white-haired child suggested.
Yun Zhi shook her head, "Soul searching would damage their minds. Unity Stage souls are excellent materials for refining treasures. Losing their minds would greatly reduce the effectiveness of the treasures."
The two Unity Stage souls shivered. Wasn't the Dao Seeking Sect supposed to be a righteous sect? This was different from what they had imagined!
Yun Zhi looked puzzled at the two Unity Stage beings, not understanding why they were afraid. "You've caused so many people to die in fear, isn't it normal for you to receive the same treatment?"
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," Yun Zhi thought these two would have understood this principle by now.
Yun Zhi and the white-haired child each grabbed a Unity Stage soul and threw them into cages, with Lu Yang following Yun Zhi and Meng Jingzhou following the white-haired child.
Yun Zhi began with a series of harsh tortures, using various tools designed for the soul, causing the prisoner to scream in pain. Lu Yang twitched at the sight, not expecting Eldest Senior Sister to be so ruthless.
Wait, wasn't Eldest Senior Sister like this when he first started practicing?
Could it be that Eldest Senior Sister applied her experience in torture to teaching cultivation?
Everlasting Fairy shuddered each time Eldest Senior Sister used a torture device, thinking joining the Dao Seeking Sect was a wise choice.
The Dao Seeking Sect wouldn't be this harsh on their own, right?
"Strange, why isn't he confessing to anything?" Yun Zhi was puzzled. Grandmaster had told her that following this procedure, prisoners would confess everything.
Lu Yang whispered from the side, "Eldest Senior Sister, you haven't asked him anything yet."
Yun Zhi uttered an "Oh," picked up the first torture device, ready to start over, scaring the other party into hurriedly saying, "No, no, no, I'll confess, I'll confess everything."
"What era are you from?"
"The forty thousandth year of the Great Yu era."
"Ever heard of Everlasting Celestial or Everlasting Fairy?"
"Never heard of them."
"Hm? Still lying?"
The man was nearly scared to tears by Yun Zhi's indifferent expression: "Really, I've never heard of them. In our era, we only heard that the Western Golden Buddhist Kingdom and the southern demon realm had immortals, and there were rumors of immortals in the eastern ocean and the far north, but I don't know a single immortal's name."
"If you're looking for Everlasting Celestial, you might want to check the far north. Maybe the immortal got frozen, becoming everlasting that way."
Everlasting Fairy was so angry she wanted to roll up her sleeves and start a fight right there.
(End of the chapter)