Chapter 765: Middle of the Plot

The entire Li family, with the exception of Mrs. Li, the midwife, and the maids who had been present during the delivery, was largely overjoyed by the smooth birth of the young master. Naturally, the three concubines, however, could not shake off their feelings of bitterness.

Old Monk Moyun had become the Li family's most esteemed guest. In the family's eyes, this holy monk had enabled Mrs. Li to give birth successfully to their young master. Furthermore, his identity as a National Preceptor commanded immense respect.

However, Old Monk Moyun did not rest in the Li family's main hall. Instead, he sat in a side room adjacent to the courtyard, a room typically used by maids, which was now temporarily serving as his meditation chamber. Moyun's purpose was to chant Buddhist scriptures to dispel any malevolent aura.

At this moment, Li Ping and Old Mrs. Li similarly had no inclination to go to the front courtyard. They had taken another side room to rest, and servants were tasked with immediately reporting any developments from the adjacent room.

Indeed, before dusk, three wet nurses, looking visibly uncomfortable, were led in by the Li family's steward. Li Ping and Old Mrs. Li, who had been drinking tea, immediately brightened, and the latter eagerly inquired, "How is it? Has my grandson had his milk?"

The three wet nurses shared a distinctive feature: they were all amply endowed. However, their expressions were far from cheerful. Hearing Old Mrs. Li's question, one of them mustered her composure and replied, "Uh... to answer Old Madam, the young master, he, he has a very good appetite..."

"Yes, yes, the young master has an excellent appetite."

"Hmm..."

The three wet nurses still dared not say anything negative about the young master in front of Li Ping and Old Mrs. Li, even though they had been genuinely frightened moments ago.

"You may go now, and help look after the young master."

"Yes!"

Li Ping dismissed the three wet nurses. Once they had left the room, the mother and son inside finally revealed smiles of relief.

"Heaven protects our Li family! In a few days, I, your mother, will surely go to various temples to fulfill my vows."

"And offer incense on my child's behalf."

The table was laden with tea and refreshments, and both now had an appetite to eat.

However, compared to the relaxed mother and son, Monk Moyun, who was currently chanting scriptures in the temporary meditation chamber, was far from calm.

Inside the room, the central table had been removed, replaced by a yellow meditation cushion. Monk Moyun sat cross-legged upon it, chanting scriptures. Although his voice was soft, even his silent recitation emanated a profound, meditative hum, subtly stabilizing the malevolent aura within the Li manor and ensuring that the Li family's young master was primarily exposed to spiritual energy.

Yet, nearly half an hour had passed, and Monk Moyun still could not enter a state of deep tranquility. Instead, his forehead was slightly beaded with sweat, which he gently wiped with his sleeve. The old monk attempted to calm himself once more, but he remained unable to achieve his usual peaceful state.

"Alas... Praise be to the Great Ming King Buddha!"

The old monk clasped his hands, uttered a Buddhist invocation, and removed the ritual prayer beads from his neck, placing them beside the meditation cushion. He then took off the smaller string of prayer beads from his hand, followed by a Vajra scepter from within his robes, setting them all by the cushion.

Finally, Old Monk Moyun unfastened the tie at his chest, removed his Kasaya monastic robe, and folded it meticulously. He then placed it neatly beside the meditation cushion, laying the prayer beads, Vajra scepter, and other items upon the robe.

"May the Buddha's compassion prevail!"

Monk Moyun softly recited a Buddhist invocation once more. Then, amidst the sound of rain outside, he clasped his hands, closed his eyes, and entered a state of profound meditation. Having discarded the Buddhist ritual implements he had cultivated his entire life, he was without any external protection. Yet, this time, Monk Moyun achieved instant, pure meditation, free of any distracting thoughts.

In a corner of the upturned eaves on the roof of the Li family's front courtyard, Jiyuan, almost perfectly hidden in the void using the power of the Great Void Jade Talisman and his own concealment techniques, sat cross-legged on one leg, with the other dangling from the eave's edge.

Even few cultivators from Jade Embrace Mountain, who were most familiar with the Great Void Jade Talisman, possessed the confidence to use it to evade a true demon. Jiyuan, however, could, provided he didn't expend excessive magical power or make any overt movements.

At this moment, Jiyuan held the musical score for "Phoenix Seeks Mate." The instant Monk Moyun's ritual implements left his body, Jiyuan cast a sidelong glance towards the backyard.

"If I don't descend into hell, who will? Master Moyun, what an admirable state of Zen. Even if the true demon does not appear, he will have made great progress this time."

"Hell?"

Xiezhi knew there had once been heavenly palaces but had never heard of hell, but this didn't prevent him from understanding Jiyuan's meaning.

The sky quickly darkened. Less than an hour after the Li family's young master was born, the sun had already set, as if night had fallen exceptionally quickly that day.

The kitchen, which had begun preparations well in advance, had already prepared dinner. Originally intended as a welcoming feast for Jiyuan and National Preceptor Monk Moyun, it now also served as a celebration for the Li family's newborn son. Of course, the Li family members were currently finding it difficult to recall Jiyuan's presence; at most, they had a vague feeling that they had forgotten something, adopting a wait-and-see attitude for the memory to resurface.

The rain had stopped at some unknown point, and the sun even came out.

On a beam beneath a certain eave, Jiyuan took a sip of wine from his Thousand-Measure Gourd, gazing at the last sliver of the setting sun in the west. There was no storm in the sky, nor a rainbow from the post-rain sunset. The malevolent energy that had accumulated in the Li manor had been dispelled by Monk Moyun's chanting, and there was no discernible demonic or fiendish aura. Yet, Jiyuan simply knew the time was approaching.

"Here it comes." Jiyuan murmured, then stood up from the eaves.

Outside the old monk's temporary meditation chamber, a servant walked to the door, composed himself, and gently knocked.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"National Preceptor, the master says dinner is ready. Please come to the dining hall."

Old Monk Moyun slowly opened his eyes.

"Very well," he replied, "go tell Master Li that this old monk will be there shortly."

"Yes, Master. When you come out, simply have the servants outside lead you over."

The messenger servant nodded to a maid waiting outside the door, then turned and left.

On the distant eaves, Xiezhi, hidden in Jiyuan's sleeve, chuckled softly.

"This young monk, he's 'this humble monk' in front of you, but 'this old monk' in front of the Li family, hehe, truly amusing."

Jiyuan paid no mind to Xiezhi's amusement. He simply gazed at the sky; though there was no demonic aura, he felt a familiar sensation. The Green Vine Sword on his back even trembled slightly, a faint trace of sword intent left by the sword itself.

This fully indicated that the true demon was approaching, and its original sword wound had not healed, or at least not completely.

At this moment, Monk Moyun opened the door of his temporary meditation chamber and stepped out. A maid was waiting for him.

"National Preceptor, please follow me."

"Hmm." Monk Moyun glanced at the Kasaya and prayer beads inside the room, chose not to wear them, and closed the door. He had only taken a few steps when he subtly paused.

"National Preceptor, is something wrong?"

The maid leading the way, seeing the old monk hadn't followed, turned back curiously, only to see him looking towards Mrs. Li's nearby quarters.

To Monk Moyun's ears, from the direction of the quarters, the Li family's young master was laughing.

"Ah-ah, tee-hee-hee... ha-ha-ha-ha..."

"I'll go check on the young master first."

Monk Moyun already had a faint premonition, but he steeled himself and walked towards the room. The maid behind him seemed not to have followed. The closer he approached Mrs. Li's quarters, the quieter the surroundings became, until he stood right by the door, where no sound could be heard from inside save for the young master's tender laughter.

"Creak."

Monk Moyun didn't even call out before pushing open the door, immediately seeing the servants sprawled about.

Mrs. Li on the bed appeared to be unconscious. Beside her, in the swaddling clothes, the Li family's young master's hand had emerged and was waving gleefully. Standing by the bed, the only other person was a man the old monk did not recognize.

The man was dressed in black robes interwoven with strands of gold thread, and his long hair, unknotted, flowed loosely around him. He was reaching out, playfully teasing the Li family's young master.

"Praise be to the Great Ming King Buddha, who are you, and what have you done to the Li family members?"

"Me?" The man raised his head, his eyes flickering with an eerie glow, and looked at the monk at the doorway with a half-smile.

"I am a wanderer, freedom itself and liberation. I am the path to Buddhahood you, great monk, yearn for, and also the desires in your heart that you can never sever. I am what you love, and what you fear. Great monk, who do you say I am?"

Despite his earlier fear, Monk Moyun had cast aside notions of life and death after his meditation, and his "performance" was impeccable. At this moment, his eyes were wide, filled with an imposing authority.

"What fiend dares to act so brazenly before this old monk? May the Great Ming King's sacred laws aid me in vanquishing this demon!"

"Vanquish the demon... vanquish the demon... demon..."

The majestic voice echoed throughout the entire room. The old monk crossed the threshold in a single stride, reaching out to seize the man by the bed. His palms glowed golden, and Buddhist chants resonated, imbued with immense spiritual power.

"Poof..."

The Buddhist palm passed directly through the man, causing the old monk, who felt no resistance, to freeze in slight astonishment. He stared incredulously at the man, who still wore a smile, trying to withdraw his hand but finding his body unable to move.

The black-haired, black-clad man paid no heed to his penetrated chest. He leaned his face close to the old monk, clearly observing the shift in the monk's expression from shock to a subtle hint of fear. He thoroughly enjoyed this sensation.

"You..."

"I am the demon within your heart!"

The man's voice was deep and hoarse. Then, his entire body disintegrated, transforming into a cloud of black smoke that drifted towards Old Monk Moyun, seeping into his body through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth—his seven orifices.

During this process, Old Monk Moyun displayed an expression of fear and horror that was seven parts genuine and three parts feigned.

It was at the very instant that the demonic energy had fully seeped into Monk Moyun's body that a golden rope suddenly appeared beside the old monk, instantly binding his body from head to toe.

"Hehehehe... The Immortal-Binding Rope is a cage and shackles!"

As Xiezhi's wicked laugh resounded, Jiyuan also stepped through the doorway. In his view, Monk Moyun's face was ashen, his eyes tightly closed, as if he had collapsed unconscious.

And the true demon had just entered the monk's mind; it probably didn't know yet that the monk's physical body had been bound by the Immortal-Binding Rope.

"Let's go in too!"

After saying this, Jiyuan waved his sleeve to close the door of the room. A large portion of his powerful divine sense then projected forth like a dream, carrying a blurred painting into the depths of the old monk's mind.

Yet, a true demon was still a true demon. The very moment the Immortal-Binding Rope began to coil around the old monk, a powerful sense of unease suddenly surged within it, and it instantly attempted to flee outwards without hesitation.

"Bang..."

At the boundary of the bizarre and ever-shifting inner world of the mind, a wisp of eerie demonic energy suddenly collided with a burst of golden light and was violently repelled. Within this wisp of demonic energy, the true demon faintly manifested as a smoky human face. It observed streaks of patterns on the golden light, surrounded by the energies of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, like a wall connecting heaven and earth, or a golden dragon coiling across the cosmos...

'What? This... could it be... Damn it! It's the Immortal-Binding Rope!'

The true demon's thoughts changed with extreme rapidity. Almost the very instant it was repelled by the Immortal-Binding Rope, it retreated with utmost speed into the deepest recesses of Old Monk Moyun's mind.

The true demon knew perfectly well that it absolutely could not kill the old monk at this moment. Otherwise, should the old monk perish, the Immortal-Binding Rope would immediately bind its true demonic form. No matter how confident it was, it dared not gamble on breaking free from the Immortal-Binding Rope, of which it had only heard legends. Furthermore, if the Immortal-Binding Rope was present, how could Jiyuan not be?