Fo Zi gave Luo Jianqing a gentle smile, âItâs nothing but a common name. Donât mind it.â
Realizing Luo Jianqing had no interest in the Soul Summoning Streamer, Fo Zi put down his vigilance and let go of the Buddha Beads Bracelet which he gripped so tightly. Luo Jianqing smiled elegantly, sizing him up in a friendly way, while Fo Zi was doing the same to the cultivator standing in front of him.
Their eyes met in the air for a long time till Fo Zi broke the silence, âCultivator Luo? The Great Disciple of Tai Hua Mountain â one of the legends from Luo River Thousand Autumn?â
Hearing the Fo Ziâs question, Luo Jianqing beamed, âItâs nothing but a common name. Fo Zi, please donât mind it.â
With an unexpected response like this, Fo Zi was impressed. A short moment after, he smiled and stepped towards Luo Jianqing, âCultivator Luo, you are destined to meet me today. Why donât you forge a karma with the Buddha? How do you like it? If you are interested in Buddhism, then, from now on, you can enter the world of Buddhism just likeâŚâ
Luo Jianqing chuckled, âI have no intention to become a monk.â
Realizing Luo Jianqing has taken him wrong, Fo Zi explained, âWhat I was trying to say is that you are destined to have a connection with Buddhism, so, if you like, we can forge a karma, and from then on, if you come to our sect, we will treat you with Benefactor Standard.â
Luo Jianqing finally relieved.
They exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
From the first moment Luo Jianqing saw Fo Zi, he believed that this monk would be a friend that worth to get to know with. Actually, Fo Zi was thinking the same thing. The âforging karmaâ thing was just a pretext. Fo Zi was born with Intelligence Eyes and already cleared five of the six sense bases. It took him just a glance to know Luo Jianqing was an extraordinary cultivator.
During Fo Zi and Yun Xiangâs confrontation, Luo Jianqing accidentally chuckled and revealed his Spiritual Sense to Fo Zi. Now, two young legendary cultivators were sitting in a humble, moonlit yard, chatting, laughing.
Fo Zi told Luo Jianqing that he came to Yun State for an auction.
Although there was no major sect located within Yun State, the second grand Chamber of Commerce headquartered here. Three days later, the Liu Yun Chamber of Commerceâs Decennial Grand Auction would take place. Gui Yuan Sect was not far from Yun State. Fo Zi was told that a Buddha Beads would be auctioned there. Thatâs why he was here.
The moment Fo Zi stepped on Yun State, he sensed a wisp of Enmity Qi, so he traced the Qi which led him to Yun Xiang.
That made sense, Luo Jianqign thought, but thereâs still one thing he was concerned, âIs it really the Buddha Beads that brought you here?â
Fo Zi smiled gently, âYes.â
Luo Jianqing was confused. Why didnât Fo Zi come to the Yun State in his previous life to meet Yun Xiang? Did something go wrong that led to all this unexpectedness?
As if he could read Luo Jianqingâs mind, Fo Zi explained, âIn fact, Cultivator Yan and I had agreed to have another contest tomorrow. Last time I surrendered at the very start, which made him feel like he doesnât deserve the victory, so he challenged me again before he went to Tai Hua Mountain. However, Cultivator Yan gave in to his Internal Demons during the Septennial Competition. He is confined in the Duan Hun Sect for the elimination of Internal Demons, so our contest has to be delayed.â
Finally, Luo Jianqing understood what was going on with the derailed plots.
It was him who accidentally changed the events that linked to each other. If he knew Fo Zi would come to Yun State, there was no need for him to come and prohibit Li Xiuchenâs sordid harassment, he would probably, no, definitely stay at the Yu Xiao Peak with his Master.
Nonetheless, if looking at the things from another angle, Luo Jianiqng wouldnât have a chance to know this brilliant friend if he stayed at Tai Hua Mountain.
Fo Zi realized that it was time for him to leave after they had chatted for a little longer. Before he flew up to the air, both of them were surprised by the voice penetrated the rooftop of the lodge and reached their ears.
They exchanged their glances. Luo Jianqing said, âFo Zi, you heard that as well. That Fiend Cultivatress has been cursing you for three hours.â
Fo Zi shook his head helplessly, âThat lady is possessed by her colossal obsession.â
âSince you already knew she is a Fiend Cultivator, why didnât you kill her in the lodge? âEliminate the Fiend Cultivatorsâ, remember? All of them are our enemies, thereâs no exception.â
Fo Zi smiled, âCultivator Luo, do you truly think this way?â
Luo Jianqing replied him with an appealing smile.
âIndeed, we should kill all the Fiend Cultivators, but I have owed the lady a Cause the moment we met. This, after all, is her Soul Summoning Streamer. I snatched it in order to deliver the souls into samsara, and I should give her a Consequence in return. As a peripatetic, I travel in this world, leaving behind no fragmented karma. A Cause would always trigger a Consequence. This is reason why I did all of these.â
Fo Ziâs pleasant voice eased Luo Jianqingâs mind. The latter was led into an ethereal zone by his words.
In this world, what was Cause? What was Consequence?
Several years ago in the Liu Yan Valley, Luo Jianqing stole Yan Suâs thunder in the battle â this was a Cause. Therefore, Yan Su and other grand sects came to the Septennial Competition to put pressure on Tai Hua Mountain and in the end, they had a rivalry â this was a Consequence. Later on, he defeated Yan Su, earning all the praise and accomplishment while his opponent was left badly wounded and fell into Possession â this, however, forged another karma.
Yan Su was confined by Duan Hun Sectâs Elders to undergo purgation so that the duel was delayed, making Fo Zi available to come to Yun State â this was also a Consequence.
Driven by the Heavenly Will, everything was shrouded by a gigantic web of causality, destined to bear the karma that they deserved. Well, here comes a peculiar one: Li Xiuchen. What Cause had he planted that could bring him such abundant Consequences? He never created any Cause, obviously, then why on earth he deserved all these Consequences that shouldnât have belonged to him at all?
The Heavenly Willâs perfection was broken! It made a mistake!
In a sudden, Luo Jianqing cleared all the trivial thoughts in mind and reached inner peace. The cultivation base that has remained in stagnation for almost two years skyrocketed. Tremendous amount of Spiritual Power dashed toward Luo Jianqing like whirlwind. A stream of invisible power grabbed every wisp of Spiritual Power, trying its best to stuff them into Luo Jianqingâs vines.
Watching his friendâs expression turned sacred, Fo Zi smiled and flicked his sleeve, casting a protection ward for Luo Jianqing, and then sit down to guard the latterâs breakthrough.
One day later, Luo Jianqing finally opened his eyes.
Right now, heâs reached middle-stage Nascent Soul Period!
Luo Jianqing breathed out a mouthful of thick air and turned around to face Fo Zi, âThank you for having my back!â
Fo Zi stood up, casting a spell to dry his bedewed frock, and gave Luo Jianqing a delightful smile, âCongratulations!â
Eyes meeting in the middle of the air, they beamed again.
Fo Zi didnât linger any longer. After all, he needed to get prepared for chanting the Soul Summoning Streamer, so Luo Jianqing didnât detain him. Watching Fo Ziâs figure disappeared in the tip of clouds, Luo Jianqing frowned, âI heard tin my previous life that a Fiend Cultivator sacrificed herself in order to save Fo Ziâs life in the Human-Demon WarâŚâ
Pondering it for a little longer, Luo Jianqing shook his head, smiling, âWell, maybe I remember it wrong.â
The Heavenly Will shouldnât make any mistake! The Cause and Consequence should always come along!
For now, even Luo Jianqing didnât realize that a tiny seed of Cause he had sowed could bear such an intertwined fruit of Consequence, which drove Fo Zi to meet the Fiend Cultivatress today. The karma of this life had just started. The girl sacrificed her life in exchange for a Cause. Not just the Soul Summoning Streamer, what the monk owed her deserved a life-long payback.
Luo Jianqing stayed at the tailor shop for another two days. After paying some extra gold, he left the shop tailing Li Xiuchen.