Chapter 29: Increasingly Absurd Art Style
Their conversation made Jiang Ce, who had been listening carefully on the side, unable to sit still.
“No, how did it get decided like this? Martial Uncle, are you just going to let him push me into the fire pit?”
Hearing this, Tide Old Man blinked in confusion and looked toward Jie Tan.
What happened to it being just a one-time encounter? Why is he calling so intimately?
Jie Tan said helplessly, “What do you mean push into the fire pit? That’s an opportunity countless cultivators crave, and it will benefit you greatly.
You’ve stepped onto the cultivation path, so you should know the distinctions in cultivators’ realms. Let me put it this way: Four Gods Hall is a secret realm personally built by a Half-Immortal, its mysteries immeasurable!”
“If it’s really that good, why let me in?”
Jiang Ce looked at Tide Old Man suspiciously, his doubt already written on his face.
If it were an ordinary person, Tide Old Man would have lost his temper long ago. Isn’t this just warmly offering one’s face only to get a cold ass in return?
But Jie Tan’s earlier words using the four Sages as examples, along with the Soul Soothing Technique array Jiang Ce left in the manor, made him have to consider whether this was his once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness the rise of a legend.
If Jiang Ce could truly clear his name, he would naturally remember his kindness after gaining benefits in Four Gods Hall. If Jiang Ce slipped up inside, though it would be a pity to miss this opportunity, it would also eliminate the threat beside Chen Mian, so it wouldn’t be too much of a loss.
“Anyway, you’ll know when you come with us.”
Tide Old Man snorted coldly, said no more, called Lu Yun and the other three, and prepared to leave.
Jie Tan comforted Jiang Ce, telling him not to worry too much: “Don’t worry, your cultivation path was all paved by me, so there’s the bond of a teacher. How could I harm you? Besides, it’s only been a few days, and you’ve already reached Seventh Rank. You must be someone with Great Fortune and great merit; nothing unexpected will happen.”
Jiang Ce fell silent for a moment: “Martial Uncle, have you forgotten that I also come from the Buddhist Sect?”
“No, why do you say that?”
“So can you stop using the methods I discarded to PUA me?”
“.”
Although he said that, Jiang Ce still obediently followed the group away.
He really wanted to go home, but faced with the situation, he had no other choice.
Tide Old Man and the others walked ahead, while Jie Tan walked behind with Jiang Ce.
Both Heaven-Reaching Dharma Masters could see that Jiang Ce only had the realm of Seventh Rank, but his study of sorcery was practically zero. If they used movement techniques, they could certainly return to the base faster, but Jiang Ce definitely wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Relying merely on physical strength, Jiang Ce might run out of energy before they even left the southern suburbs.
So to accommodate him, everyone advanced at a speed slightly faster than walking.
Along the way, Jiang Ce also learned quite a bit of information from Jie Tan.
Jie Tan and Tide Old Man were both cultivators from a righteous sect organization called the Gatekeepers, but Jie Tan didn’t say much more about the organization, and Jiang Ce didn’t press.
As for Tide Old Man, his name was Ye Lu Feng, originally from Maoshan Daoist Priests.
In his youth, he left Maoshan due to some incident, dawdled for decades before stepping onto the cultivation path, formally beginning cultivation at over seventy years old, crossing over Jianghu sorcerers in nearly thirty years, and achieving Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master at over a hundred, which was already not slow.
Jiang Ce finally understood why they found his progress unbelievable—because the path they took many years to walk, he had completed in just a few short days.
No wonder they suspected he was an evil cultivator; after all, under normal circumstances, this was obviously against common sense.
Jie Tan’s exploits were even more legendary. He was once a high monk at Great Ci En Temple. Twenty years ago, after ten years of secluded meditation in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, he glimpsed the Buddhist Dharma truths left by Xuanzang for posterity, stepped onto the cultivation path, and became Abbot at the age of thirty.
Then, in his youthful arrogance, he emulated Xuanzang and retraced the westward journey to India to debate Buddhist Zen with monks, defeating a group of dharma masters before losing to an obscure old monk. From then on, he shed his arrogance, returned to his true self, passed the Abbot position to others, wandered the seas, and by chance joined the Gatekeepers, achieving Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master three years ago—thirteen years shorter than Ye Lu Feng.
While Jiang Ce marveled at their backgrounds, he felt a secret thrill inside.
What is more satisfying than shocking big shots? Naturally, shocking big shots who were already geniuses themselves.
Clearly, he seemed to have already accomplished that.
During the idle chat, the group arrived at the subway station. Jie Tan even took out his mobile phone from his monk robe and skillfully opened the Luocheng One-Card Pass.
This scene immediately shattered the ancient martial immortal hero world Jiang Ce had just built in his mind, or rather, created a strong sense of dissonance.
“Martial Uncle, this is”
Jie Tan looked at him strangely: “Of course we take the subway after leaving the suburbs. You don’t expect us to really walk all the way back, do you?”
“Uh, I suddenly have a question.” Jiang Ce frowned: “Martial Uncle, how did you go to India back then?”
“Of course by train. You don’t think I really rode a horse, do you?”
Jie Tan put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist chant:
“Amitabha, times have changed. This monk even has an airline membership.”
Jiang Ce suddenly felt that the world of cultivators was not quite what he had imagined, but he couldn’t help asking:
“Don’t Heaven-Reaching Dharma Masters fly?”
Jie Tan’s gaze suddenly became kindly affectionate, like looking at the foolish son of a landlord.
“We do fly, but it’s very tiring.”
Jiang Ce fell silent.
His mood now was very complex, like a child who had just come of age finally able to enter an internet cafe, only to see Diga in there online-dating.
Very strange, extremely strange.
And when even stranger things appeared before Jiang Ce, he realized he had still overestimated the style of cultivators.
He stared dazedly at the towering building in front of him, his expression complex as he read out word by word the few big characters on the roof that were low-key yet ostentatiously arrogant.
“Qi Men Dun Jia. Private High-End Spa Clubhouse? And Luocheng Branch?! I thought it would be some temple or dojo!”
Jiang Ce looked at Jie Tan in disbelief, as if to say, are you sure we didn’t get the wrong place?
Seeing this, Jie Tan gave a dry laugh: “You wouldn’t understand. The great hermit hides in the city.”
Ye Lu Feng saw the two muttering behind and not catching up. He had already gone in but came back out to call: “Master, hurry up a bit. The Gatekeepers are waiting.”
“Coming, coming.” Jie Tan patted Jiang Ce’s shoulder: “Let’s go. It’s quite legitimate inside.”
Jie Tan not saying that last part was fine, but once he did, Jiang Ce found it even more outrageous.
This suddenly stirred a strange feeling in his heart.
Dating a nun, visiting a clubhouse with a monk—the two most outrageous things Jiang Ce had ever imagined were actually happening to him.
And even more outrageous was that after Jiang Ce took the elevator with them to the top floor, instead of the imagined small dark room with faceless mysterious people sitting around a long table, he saw three middle-aged and elderly men wearing bathrobes, comfortably reclining on lounge chairs and soaking their feet.
Their relaxed expressions and leisurely demeanor made it hard for Jiang Ce to associate them with the high-style Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master cultivators.
So what was the difference from ordinary uncles and old men after all?
Lu Yun and the other three had already been sent away by Ye Lu Feng, so there were only six people in the room now.
Seeing Jie Tan and Ye Lu Feng return, the three nodded in greeting.
The oldest among them, a kindly old man who looked to be in his seventies, sized up Jiang Ce: “This is that young man?”
Ye Lu Feng nodded: “Please open Four Gods Hall and let him enter.”
Another man who looked forty or fifty but was the youngest among them all, a gaunt man, reminded: “Are you sure? If we wait for the next opportunity, it’ll be next year. Your treasured disciple doesn’t have the talent. If he misses it, this year will be wasted.”
“No matter.”
Seeing Ye Lu Feng so resolute, the three said no more. The sturdy old man with a full head of gray hair but still maintaining a body of robust muscles, who hadn’t spoken, looked at Jie Tan: “What’s your opinion?”
Jie Tan thought for a moment: “Let’s do it this way.”
From beginning to end, no one said a word to Jiang Ce or asked his opinion.
But Jiang Ce didn’t mind. Anyway, for him, these people wouldn’t intersect with him. Better to finish early and go home to release Aatrox, see what benefits that male hormone ghost could bring him.
The kindly old man spoke again, his tone very gentle yet carrying an unquestionable meaning.
“Then open Four Gods Hall. As long as three of the eight gates are opened, the entrance to Four Gods Hall will activate. You three are perfect for it. I won’t move. Lu Feng, the water’s cold. Call someone to change it.”
No one present objected to the kindly old man’s instructions. Ye Lu Feng just nodded respectfully and went out to arrange for new water.
Jie Tan, the gaunt man, and the sturdy old man gathered together, forming hand seals at speeds imperceptible to the naked eye, muttering incantations.
Under Jiang Ce’s curious gaze, a white octagonal array disc filled with countless runes appeared out of thin air.
The runes on three of its sides lit up. With a command from the three Heaven-Reaching Dharma Masters, the array disc rapidly disassembled and reorganized. Soon, an ancient light gate appeared before Jiang Ce.
“Go in.” Jie Tan nodded to Jiang Ce.
Jiang Ce didn’t hesitate and directly stepped into the light gate.
The moment Jiang Ce entered, the light gate automatically closed, and a trace of worry finally appeared in Jie Tan’s eyes.
Ye Lu Feng returned again and, seeing Jiang Ce gone, sighed.
Jie Tan shook his head: “Amitabha. I’ve never concealed anything from others regarding life and death in my life. If he comes out safely, fine. If he perishes inside… even if he deserves it, I might still birth a heart demon.”
Ye Lu Feng looked apologetic: “Master…”
The kindly old man immediately sensed something off and said in surprise: “What’s this? Isn’t this the junior you value?”
Jie Tan and Ye Lu Feng exchanged a glance, and the latter explained: “This matter is a long story…”
Meanwhile, the moment Jiang Ce stepped into Four Gods Hall, he sensed something wrong, and his expression suddenly became extremely ugly.
“Damn, I didn’t return the shared bicycle!”
