400: Reincarnation of the Gods (asking for monthly ticket)

“Bang!”

Chen Yuan’s feet once again stepped onto the deck of the ship, the dark green wood exuding the weight of time.

He stood holding his spear, its tip gleaming, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the open cabin door. Inside the dark cabin, bright lights flickered, dispelling the darkness, making it brightly lit.

As the lights ignited, figures were silhouetted in the windows, and voices rose.

Some were talking loudly, some were toasting, some were arguing endlessly, and amidst the laughter, there were discussions of scriptures and tales of common folk, a diverse mix.

In an instant, this deathly silent ship became lively and vibrant.

This scene exuded an indescribable strangeness, yet the setting was incredibly vivid and real, as if a group of people were genuinely inside, discussing the world or Jianghu anecdotes.

At this moment, behind him, a few thuds sounded.

The San Taibao of Tai Sui Mountain followed, turning sideways and looking with surprise at the changes in the ship.

They remembered that the ship’s cabin door had been tightly shut before, and everyone who wanted to enter couldn't. Now that it had opened on its own and caused such commotion, what did it mean?

Like Chen Yuan, the three maintained their vigilance and did not rush forward.

At this time, lights ignited one after another, spreading from the first to the second deck.

More and more figures, more and more voices appeared, as if enacting the myriad forms of life in the silhouettes at the windows.

At this point, a window on the second deck, near the deck, lit up. Unlike the other windows with multiple silhouettes, there was only one figure sitting with its back to them.

Then, a vast and resonant voice sounded in their ears.

“Practicing a body like a crane, two volumes of scriptures beneath a thousand pines. I came to seek the Dao, but no one spoke; clouds are in the blue sky, and water is in the bottle!”

“Fellow Daoists, please come aboard for a chat!”

As this resonant voice rang out, the originally bustling and noisy small ship suddenly fell silent.

The figures silhouetted in the windows also turned in unison towards the deck, as if pairs of eyes behind the windows were staring at Chen Yuan and the three others.

Just at this moment,

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

Powerful Qi surged out from those figures, transforming into a violent wind pressure that enveloped Chen Yuan and the three others, like layers of giant waves crashing down upon them.

“Om!”

“Hmph!”

The faces of the San Taibao of Tai Sui Mountain slightly changed, and they reacted first.

Jade Unicorn Jin Yushan’s body trembled, and he took a step back, leaving a clear footprint on the deck. He snorted, and a righteous Protective Aura, about a foot thick and light white, emerged from his body, steadying him.

Mad Saber Yuwen Guang, on the other hand, slipped under the overwhelming pressure of the surging waves. His brows furrowed, and the Mad Saber wrapped in black cloth on his back hummed. A bloody Saber Qi burst from the blade, transforming into a bloody crescent moon saber, taller than a man, and slashed forward!

The saber light cut through the wind and stopped three feet in front of Yuwen Guang. Protective Aura poured out from both sides, finally steadying his body.

As for Hushan Hu Yanching, facing this wind pressure, his brows furrowed in anger, his muscles and bones resonated, and he let out a roar from his throat. Raising his hands, one hand wind, one hand fire, he stepped back, his veins bulging on his face, and quickly brought his hands together in front of his chest.

“Whoosh!”

Wind stirred fire.

Instantly, a bright flame enveloped his entire body, burning fiercely and generating intense heat, barely blocking the oppressive force.

The three reacted in a flash, steadying themselves.

Only Chen Yuan, facing the layers of Qi like a raging storm, his clothes fluttering and hair dancing wildly, stood as unmoving as a mountain. His Physical Body emitted a precious light like green jade, and sounds of Dragon and Phoenix cries emanated from his muscles and bones, bravely withstanding the oppressive force.

His eyes glowed with fierce golden light as he looked up at the figure on the second deck. The Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Spear in his hand danced with dazzling silver light, then he hurled it fiercely towards the window.

The spear shot out like a Dragon, a long Dragon roar echoing. The Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Spear transformed into a dazzling cold star, directly breaking through the wind and waves, and shot towards the second-story window.

The short distance of a few zhang was covered in an instant. The long spear directly pierced into the window frame, releasing several wisps of powerful Qi that shattered the window.

Then, Chen Yuan soared up, transforming into a startling flash, and directly entered through that window.

Inside was a simple private room. Before Chen Yuan could clearly see the scene within, the scene before his eyes began to change, like yellow sand blowing.

But the next second, a humming spear cry sounded.

The Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Spear, stuck in the window, let out a humming cry, radiating silver light, dispelling the blurry illusion before his eyes and pulling the real scene back.

Soon, the scene inside became clear.

Nine bronze oil lamps adorned a lamp stand resembling a sun tree. Two bamboo curtains hung, and behind them, a figure sat on a futon, vaguely, with its back to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan’s gaze first fell on the oil lamps, which were the same style as the one Little Squirrel had earlier. Then, he shifted his gaze to the figure sitting with its back to him behind the bamboo curtains, a slight crease forming at the corner of his eye.

Under his Dharma Eye, this person seemed real yet illusory, unclear. He gently closed his eyes, unable to perceive anyone in front of him, then opened his eyes again, and the figure genuinely appeared there.

“Is Your Excellency the spirit of this ship?” Chen Yuan asked in a light tone.

He wanted to see what exactly was hidden in this ship.

A spirit, detached from the category of demons, ghosts, and monsters, is a certain entity that has attained the Dao either by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon or by experiencing long years in a special environment.

In the Jianghu, there are often rumors that reclusive masters in mountain Daoist temples, by constantly reciting scriptures, would, over time, cause the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees to attain the Dao.

There is a widely spread Jianghu anecdote about a monk in the previous dynasty who copied scriptures daily in his meditation room.

Suddenly, one day, a woman entered the meditation room. The woman covered her face with her sleeve. The monk thought she was a ghost and ignored her.

However, the woman came daily, and one day the monk couldn't help but ask, “Who are you?” When the woman heard this, she lowered the sleeve covering her face, and her face surprisingly had no mouth. The monk was greatly surprised.

A greatly enlightened monk heard of this and entered the meditation room to investigate. It turned out that in the scriptures the monk was copying, he found the character ‘Ru’ ( like) from ‘Great Sun Tathagata’ (大日 like来), but he had only written the left radical ‘Nu’ ( female) and not the right radical ‘Kou’ ( mouth), making it ‘Nu without Kou’ ( female而无 mouth). Knowing that the monk had written the character incorrectly, this character transformed into a spirit to tell the monk he had made a mistake.

After Chen Yuan finished speaking, his Dharma Eye operated at full power, quietly observing the figure, wanting to see what it truly was. At the same time, the Golden Core in his Dantian trembled, his internal furnace fully activated, blood surging like a river, and his two Divine Repositories poised for action.

Unexpectedly, from behind the bamboo curtain, the figure with its back turned stood up, then leisurely spoke, calling out Chen Yuan’s name directly,

“Chen Yuan, you have a karmic connection with this Venerable One!”

“About a year ago, you were still just a Body Profound practitioner. You weren't invited, but you broke into my ship, and then, with the help of everyone’s power, successfully broke through the Heavenly Gate. At that time, this Venerable One never imagined this scene would happen today. I didn't expect that when we met again, you would have already advanced to the Martial Repository realm, and your Divine Ability is not small, not inferior to that half-step Dragon Tiger who wanted to enter the ship before. This Venerable One is curious, how did you do it?”

“Over several hundred years, this Venerable One has seen many martial arts Prodigies in the eyes of the world, but these people are far inferior to you. This Venerable One even suspects you are the reincarnation of a Celestial.”

As these words fell, the person slowly turned around, finally revealing their true face.

Their face was like jade, their brows like bright stars, with a three-foot-long beard, and a head of black hair impeccably held by a wooden hairpin. They wore a black inner collar and a white outer robe, standing over eight feet tall, with a dignified appearance. Their entire being exuded an ethereal and transcendent aura.

Upon seeing this person’s true face and hearing the words “Celestial reincarnation,” Chen Yuan felt a little sensitive, his eyelids twitching slightly.

He had heard the Huanlong Clan’s Old Man Dong mention Celestials once when discussing White Jade Capital. They were legendary beings who transcended terrestrial Immortals and reflected a realm of heaven and earth, elusive and difficult to trace. Old Man Dong of the Huanlong Clan had said at the time that ancient legends claimed White Jade Capital was the abode of Celestials.

And his own origin was a secret he had never told outsiders. He was naturally not a Celestial, but he had indeed been reincarnated from outside this world.

The other party’s few words, trying to probe his origin, or more precisely, the secret of his rapid Cultivation, were probably not without purpose. It was possible that this was the very reason he had been secretly following him.

He had always been one to speculate about others with the greatest malice!

Moreover, his various experiences had given him his own judgment.

Thinking of this, a chill rose in his heart, but his face remained expressionless. His eyes, tinged with faint golden light, met the other person’s gaze through the bamboo curtain.

He was confident and did not fear this person. If this person truly had the ability to act, they would have done so when he was trapped in the Ten Thousand Mountains. Why would they need to be so secretive and sneakily follow Chen Yuan and the others?

As for the implications in this person’s words, it seemed to be telling Chen Yuan that he was the owner of this ship.

Whether it was before or after death, he would know by asking.

“Your Excellency knows Chen’s origin, but Chen does not know Your Excellency’s name. As far as I know, the owner of this ship passed away several hundred years ago and was a Dragon Tiger Senior!” Chen Yuan said this, his eyelids slightly raised, watching the other party’s reaction.

The other party heard this, seemed to see through Chen Yuan’s thoughts, and chuckled, “No need to guess. I indeed passed away over two hundred years ago. What remains now is merely a wisp of spirit left behind by a secret technique, residing within this Dharma ship that accompanied me day and night, drifting across the four seas, surviving precariously.”

At this point, a hint of reminiscence appeared on the person’s face,

“Time truly passes too quickly. This Venerable One hasn’t had a good talk with anyone in a long time.”

Then, the person recalled his life story.

This person’s name was Wen Yan, courtesy name Anhou, from Jianghuai, born into a prominent family. In his youth, he loved debating scriptures with others, later gaining fame and entering officialdom. Afterward, he grew tired of the pursuit of fame and fortune, returned to his hometown, and spent his days traveling with friends, visiting famous figures in the Jianghu, and discussing the Dao over tea. Unbeknownst to him, his cultivation advanced rapidly, and he entered the Dragon Tiger realm, gaining considerable renown in both the Jianghu and the imperial court. As for what came after, it became a conventional story.

Throughout this narration, this person did not use many embellishments, speaking plainly and directly, making it hard not to believe him.

Chen Yuan listened and cross-referenced it with the information he had gathered from various sources about the ship’s owner, feeling that this person was likely not fabricating anything in these statements.

The earliest rumor he had heard said that the ship’s owner was an ordinary martial artist who piloted the ship in his early years. He often heard strange individuals from all corners of the world discussing Jianghu anecdotes and debating scriptures on the ship during night voyages. Over time, he gained insights and thus attained the Dao.

To be honest, most rumors with a Jianghu romanticism are false and impractical. If one carefully analyzes them, they will find that the leap from an ordinary martial artist to a Dragon Tiger mighty figure, like the transition from a commoner to the scholar-gentry class, where talent is secondary, and the most important things are resources, Medicinal Pills, Cultivation Techniques, and Divine Ability diagrams.

How could one ascend on the spot just by listening to others chat and discuss the world!

The origin revealed by the other party was the most consistent with reality: born into a prominent family, with sufficient resources and extraordinary talent.

“Chen will temporarily believe what Your Excellency has said!” Chen Yuan’s expression remained unchanged after listening to the other party’s narration, then his tone shifted, “But Chen does not know why Your Excellency is following Chen?”

He asked the most crucial question, waiting to see how the other party would answer.

As he spoke, his eyes revealed an undisguised sharpness.

Yet, facing his glare, this Dragon Tiger Senior, who claimed to have passed away over two hundred years ago, still maintained a gentle, faint smile, appearing as if he saw through everything.

“Hehe, I understand General Chen’s concerns. Wen naturally has no other intentions. I merely wish to find a way out with General Chen, having helped him slay those demons in Qingshan County and now being trapped in the Ten Thousand Mountains. After all, it’s better to live poorly than to die well, and I’ve already endured for several hundred years.”

He spoke lightly and naturally, making it difficult to suspect him. Moreover, the other party emphasized that he had helped slay demons in Qingshan County.

And this reason was also plausible.

“Then how did Your Excellency find Chen?” Golden light flickered in Chen Yuan’s eyes, his voice slightly changed.

At this point, Marquis Wen’an smiled faintly at Chen Yuan, “This is the result of Wen’s good fortune. General Chen once visited my ship and left an imprint.”

He said half the sentence, and the latter half naturally didn't need to be said.

It was a clear hint.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, “Om,” the Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Spear hummed as it detached from the window and flew back.

At the same time, a figure in green robes flew out from the broken window, directly soaring over the deck, breaking through the white mist, and leaving the ship.

Below, the San Taibao of Tai Sui Mountain were still resisting the strange pressure released by the ship, which also disappeared at this instant.

The three seemed to have received a voice transmission, casting a surprised glance at the ship, where figures flickered and lights blazed. Then, with a shout, they stomped their feet and followed Chen Yuan, rushing out of the white mist and leaving the ship.

Once the four of them left, the lights on the ship quickly flickered out, and the figures silhouetted in the windows also vanished as the lights dimmed.

Soon, the entire ship fell silent, the white mist rolled back, and then swiftly sank into the underground dark river.

In just one or two breaths, the water surface quickly returned to calm, and the ship had completely disappeared.

“Deputy General Chen, what happened when you went in just now? What did you see?”

The three of Tai Sui Mountain stood beside Chen Yuan, watching the ship disappear, then looked at Chen Yuan, asking out of curiosity. (End of Chapter)