Chapter 889: Too Early

Outside Nichen Monastery, Ji Yuan stepped directly through the open temple gates. Inside, a portly monk was sweeping the floor. He was about to speak when he saw Ji Yuan, and after a brief愣, his face lit up with pleasant surprise.

"Praise be to the Great King Buddha, Mr. Ji, you're back!"

Ji Yuan returned the greeting.

"Master."

"Mr. Ji, I'll go clean your monk's quarters for you."

Ji Yuan stepped closer and raised a hand to stop him.

"No need, Master. They shouldn't be dirty yet."

The monk realized.

"Mr. Ji is right. Young Master Li often comes to clean there. Oh, Patron Zuo is currently staying in his quarters over there, and it seems he's been teaching Young Master Li martial arts recently."

"Yes, thank you, Master. Please carry on. I know Great Hero Zuo, so I'll go over there myself."

"Understood."

The monk bowed while holding his broom. Ji Yuan nodded and walked towards Zuo Wuji's quarters. Over there, Li Feng was excitedly pestering Zuo Wuji with questions about the Martial Temple, asking how he became the Martial Saint and if he was truly the greatest master under heaven.

Zuo Wuji tried hard to explain, as he had no idea about any Martial Temple, nor was he truly the greatest master. As for the title of Martial Saint, though many fellow martial artists and people from the demonic heavenly caverns called him that, he never believed he was worthy of being a saint.

"Quick, tell me, tell me! Great Hero Zuo, do you have many subordinates? Do thousands of followers heed your every call?"

"Subordinates? Don't be silly. If you want this undeserved Martial Saint title, you can have it."

"Of course I want it! It's so impressive! But I don't have your martial arts skills!"

Zuo Wuji was helpless and quickly changed the subject.

"Footsteps. Someone's coming. Don't let the master think we're disturbing the tranquility of the Buddhist temple!"

Their playful banter showed a closer relationship between them, and Ji Yuan had just arrived nearby.

"What's so funny? Care to tell me?"

Hearing Ji Yuan's voice made Li Feng and Zuo Wuji instantly stop their antics. Their faces filled with pleasant surprise, and Li Feng even leapt down from the corridor and rushed towards Ji Yuan.

"Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji, you're finally back, Mr. Ji…"

Li Feng threw himself into Ji Yuan's arms.

"Mr. Ji, I missed you so much! I knew you'd definitely come back!"

Ji Yuan hadn't really hugged Li Feng much before, but now he half-crouched to let Li Feng hug him, patting Li Feng's back.

"It was my fault!"

Ji Yuan looked up at Zuo Wuji, who was respectfully bowing to him.

"Greetings, Martial Saint."

"Mr. Ji, please don't tease me. How can I, Zuo Wuji, be worthy of those two words?"

Zuo Wuji shook his head with a bitter smile, but Ji Yuan also shook his head slightly.

"It's not about whether you think you're worthy or not. Are you going to try to silence everyone in the world? Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, Great Hero Zuo, over two months ago, the Great Zhen Dynasty performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Ting in Great Zhen, establishing literary temples and martial temples. Though they aren't dedicated to you, your name, Zuo Wuji, the Martial Saint, has already spread throughout the land."

Li Feng turned to look at Zuo Wuji.

"That's right, they're even building Martial Temples in the city! I wonder if Great Hero Zuo will be enshrined in them."

"No, not yet at least."

"Oh, right, Mr. Ji, I bought meat and vegetable buns, many of them!"

Li Feng remembered something and ran to the corridor to get the two oiled paper packages. Zuo Wuji grinned.

"Aren't those for me?"

"There are twenty of them! Ten for Great Hero Zuo, ten for Mr. Ji!"

Li Feng brought over the oiled paper packages and untied the thin hemp string. Immediately, the aroma of the meat and vegetable buns wafted out, making those who smelled it hungry.

"Alright, Martial Saint, this breakfast is on you. Let's go over there and eat while we talk. There are many things you should know."

As he spoke, Ji Yuan looked up at the sky and raised his hand. The little paper crane fluttered its wings and slowly landed on his hand, deliberately transforming from its small immortal crane form back into a paper crane, then sliding into the brocade pouch at Ji Yuan's chest.

Ji Yuan had hurried back to the Southern Wilds Continent not only because of a promise to Li Feng, but also to visit the Heavenly Secret Pavilion again. However, there was no need to tell Li Feng and Zuo Wuji about this.

On the afternoon of the third day after Ji Yuan's return to Nichen Monastery, Lian Baiping and Xuanjizi arrived outside.

Inside the small courtyard of the monk's quarters where Ji Yuan was staying, Zuo Wuji and Li Feng were practicing horse stance together. Sensing the arrival of the cultivators from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, Ji Yuan stood up.

"I will be leaving for a few days."

Li Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately dropped his horse stance.

"Mr. Ji, are you leaving again?"

"This time it's only for a few days..."

Ji Yuan looked at Li Feng, thought for a moment, and said seriously,

"Feng'er, I teach you to read and write, and I also teach you how to be a person. But the teaching is mine, the doing is yours. I cannot be by your side forever; not because I don't want to, but because I can't. If you wish, you can learn excellent martial arts from Great Hero Zuo. Should you ever be unable to find me, your teacher, you'll have the skill to seek me out. So, study hard and don't get distracted."

"Hmm..."

Li Feng felt anxious hearing this and could only quietly respond. Zuo Wuji, still holding his horse stance without turning his head, sternly shouted,

"Li Feng, hold your stance!"

"Yes!"

Li Feng's heart skipped a beat at Zuo Wuji's voice, and he quickly resumed a perfect horse stance. It seemed Great Hero Zuo had become much stricter since Mr. Ji returned.

Li Feng's feeling wasn't wrong. If Zuo Wuji had previously only intended to teach Li Feng some basic moves, now he was ready to thoroughly teach him martial arts. Even though he had never been a master, and Li Feng didn't want to call him master, Zuo Wuji was still prepared to devote all his energy to teaching Li Feng. As long as the child was willing to learn, he was willing to teach.

After Ji Yuan returned, he privately discussed Li Feng's situation with Zuo Wuji, making Zuo Wuji understand that this child was truly extraordinary. The large man named Jin at the blacksmith shop was actually a transformation of one of Ji Yuan's guardian divine generals, and beneath the ground, there were earth gods and their subordinate spirits guarding him.

Zuo Wuji understood that Li Feng absolutely must not cultivate spiritual arts, at least not now, unless Li Feng's physical body and spirit grew to an extremely high level.

Zuo Wuji recalled his conversation with Ji Yuan the night before last:

"What would be the consequences if he did cultivate?"

Ji Yuan slowly and softly replied while looking at the moon in the sky.

"More precisely, it's not about cultivating, but about activating the hidden root veins within him. Once Li Feng opens that floodgate, he might never be able to close it again... Look at the moon, does it resemble a toad?"

Hearing Ji Yuan suddenly veer off to a strange topic, Zuo Wuji subconsciously glanced at the moon. The moonlight was bright; it looked nothing like a toad.

"Sir, if he can't close the floodgate, what will happen? Will it harm Li Feng, or others?"

Ji Yuan withdrew his gaze from the moon and looked at Zuo Wuji.

"Harm to others aside, it's just that perhaps at that time, there would be no more Li Feng..."

Though their time together had only been a little over two months, Zuo Wuji still liked Li Feng very much, and it was hard not to feel for him, so he naturally felt a little nervous hearing Ji Yuan say this.

"Even you, Mr. Ji, have no solution?"

Ji Yuan could only shake his head helplessly.

"I have done everything I can. But even I have limits."

"Don't move an inch! Hold it for half an hour!"

Zuo Wuji's stern shout came from inside the monastery, making Ji Yuan, who was already at the monastery gate, smile involuntarily. "What spirit!"

The monk, clutching his broom, ran from the entrance and only stopped when he came face-to-face with Ji Yuan.

"Uh, Mr. Ji, I was just about to call you. These two..."

"Yes, thank you, Master. I will be leaving for a while; the monastery doesn't need to prepare meals for me."

Ji Yuan nodded and passed the monk, quickly walking outside the monastery. Xuanjizi and Lian Baiping bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Mr. Ji!"

"Greetings, fellow Daoists."

"Mr. Ji, after the Fengshan ceremony of Great Zhen, the Heavenly Secret Wheel showed unusual activity, and the murals in the Heavenly Secret Hall also underwent new changes. We ask Mr. Ji to please come to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion."

"Yes, please, fellow Daoists!"

The three took steps and soon disappeared at the end of the road. In an instant, they were out of the city, flying on clouds, rushing towards the Heavenly Secret Pavilion at an extraordinary speed.

After flying for thousands of li, Ji Yuan suddenly thought of the woman he had met in Great Zhen and asked those beside him,

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Lian, do you know who Lian Ping'er is?"

Lian Baiping frowned, shook his head, and was about to say he didn't know, but suddenly froze slightly.

"What's wrong, Junior Brother?"

Lian Baiping looked at Xuanjizi, then back at Ji Yuan.

"Strange. I have no impression of the name Lian Ping'er, and I was just about to say I didn't know her. But after hearing this name, my spiritual perception was stirred. It seems there is indeed some connection to me, yet when I tried to divine it, it was completely blurred. Strange indeed..."

Ji Yuan looked thoughtful, then said reassuringly,

"Fellow Daoist Lian can ponder this matter at leisure. Let's go to the Heavenly Secret Hall first."

"Hmm..."

Lian Baiping's face was calm, but he was troubled by it in his heart. It wasn't just because the other person's surname was Lian, but because his spiritual perception was stirred, yet he could divine nothing.

When Ji Yuan and the two reached the outside of the Heavenly Secret Hall, it was two days later. This time, not many high-ranking cultivators from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion accompanied them; including Ji Yuan, there were only a few people. Although the two divine generals on the great gate no longer blocked Xuanjizi and others who carried the Heavenly Secret Wheel, they only bowed when Mr. Ji came, and then the great gate slowly opened.

"Mr. Ji, please see, it's the east hall wall."

Ji Yuan looked up. The wall was covered in dense murals. Below were monstrous waves surging, with a turbid barren sea and a clear blue ocean colliding. Above, swirling clouds and fierce winds clashed violently.

Naturally, the murals depicted water and many landmasses, with mountains, rivers, cities, and people, as well as various animals, and no shortage of immortal, Buddhist, human, divine, demonic, and ghostly cultivators.

All living beings in the water and on land seemed to be connected by wisps of smoke-like threads, some entangled, some conflicting, mixed in the chaos of heaven, earth, and the ocean. It was as if heaven and earth had been torn in half.

Staring with wide eyes, everything before him was very familiar, almost identical to what he had perceived when he played the 'Derivation Chess' previously. In fact, it could be said that the murals in the Heavenly Secret Hall covered much more than what Ji Yuan had gained from his 'Derivation Chess', though they were also more chaotic.

What Ji Yuan and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion cultivators had seen in the Heavenly Secret Hall before, they had considered ancient scenes, Heavenly Secrets preserved from antiquity. But this time, Ji Yuan knew that what was presented before him was not.

"Too early... It's come too early... Much earlier than I thought..."

Ji Yuan murmured dispiritedly, reaching out to touch the mural. But as soon as he touched it, the mural became murky, as if a dye vat had been stirred.

Seeing Ji Yuan as if he had lost his mind, Xuanjizi and the several junior brothers beside him suddenly panicked.

"Mr. Ji, what's wrong?"

"Mr. Ji!" "Mr. Ji, are you alright?"