Shui Miao gave it a try and indeed detected another of his split souls.
The atmosphere inside the car immediately tensed. Shui Miao quickly calculated in his mind. Although they were all split souls, his strength was far inferior to theirs. If he created a hostile atmosphere, it would only be detrimental to himself.
After a while, Shui Miao said indifferently, “Didn’t I previously say to wait for me, to let me finish my worldly affairs before resuming cultivation?”
“I’m afraid we can’t wait…” The young man in the black robe shook his head gently, speaking in a similarly indifferent tone. “I went to the Immortal-Demon Realm and met a Demon King. He recognized me, honored me as his master, claimed I was his previous master, and told me a way to grow stronger quickly.”
“What method?”
Shui Miao felt a jolt in his heart.
The young man in the black robe replied, “Nine Souls Reunited—combining the nine split souls into one, just like a bundle of chopsticks held tightly together. In fact, I’ve already found the other seven brothers and merged with their souls. Now only you remain.”
“Then why didn’t you appear directly?”
Shui Miao grew alarmed. If he merged with them, would he still be himself?
The young man in the black robe shook his head, his tone troubled. “That’s the problem. Your soul is very different from ours. There’s a Buddha’s mark within your soul, which prevents us from merging with you.”
“A Buddha’s mark!?”
Upon hearing this, Shui Miao felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, he couldn’t merge with them, or else his consciousness would be swallowed by theirs.
“Yes, a Buddha’s mark.”
The young man in the black robe looked at Shui Miao. “After the eight of us merged, we regained many memories. Back then, we were connected with the Buddha, who personally promised to assist us. But what we didn’t expect was that the Buddha’s help would be imprinting one of our souls with a Buddha’s mark and sending it to the mortal world for cultivation. Instead of aiding us, it seriously hindered our progress.”
The person the young man referred to was naturally Shui Miao.
“Perhaps the Demon King was mistaken?” Shui Miao questioned doubtfully.
The young man in the black robe smiled faintly. “But after the eight of us merged, our strength indeed multiplied exponentially.”
“Then have you sought out the Buddha to ask what exactly he meant?” Shui Miao licked his lips, worried about what this young man might do to him next.
Suddenly, the young man’s expression darkened. “He refuses to see me and even sent a powerful Arhat to block me!”
“So you couldn’t defeat that Arhat?” Shui Miao’s eyes flickered.
The young man turned and glared coldly at Shui Miao. “What are you implying?”
“Calm down. I’m also part of this soul. I won’t harm you. If you can’t even bear a few harsh words, how can you seek revenge?” Shui Miao suddenly realized that his other split soul brothers were evil, impulsive, and utterly ruthless—so much so that they couldn’t even tolerate a few unpleasant words. Could he really merge his soul with theirs?
The young man exhaled deeply. “I know you don’t want revenge. You want to live a good life, so I don’t want to hear your excuses.”
So that’s how he saw him! Shui Miao was startled. It seemed his split soul brothers were not here with good intentions!
“Excuses?” Shui Miao couldn’t help but become emotional after a pause. “Brother, do you really consider me your brother? Do you even understand what brotherhood means? I’m just trying to tell you that if we can’t even defeat an Arhat under the Buddha, then we must calm down and think carefully. Perhaps we should find a place to cultivate and strengthen ourselves rather than rushing to confront the Celestial Sovereign and throw our lives away. Your approach will never succeed in revenge because you’ve lost yourself completely, blinded by hatred. I’m only trying to remind you, yet you narrow-mindedly think I’m making excuses to deceive you. Where did you get such a terrifying idea from!?”
Shui Miao wanted to shock him back to his senses.
At the same time, Shui Miao found it somewhat unbelievable that his own split soul brother could be so foolish.
What had happened?
Could it be that his intelligence had been suppressed by the Buddha?
Shui Miao naturally thought of the Buddha. Since he was a split soul personally cultivated by the Buddha, the Buddha must have favored him. Perhaps the Buddha had even sent a powerful Arhat to weaken their intelligence. That seemed quite reasonable.
Upon hearing Shui Miao’s words, the young man in the black robe actually froze.
After a long while, he finally spoke, “I’m sorry. I was wrong. Then tell me, what should I do now?”
Indeed, his intelligence had been suppressed!
To Shui Miao, this sounded like listening to a child with no mind of his own.
Shui Miao looked at the young man in the black robe. He looked exactly like him, and Shui Miao couldn’t help feeling compassion. “Are you really willing to listen to me?”
“Of course. We’re brothers, and what you said makes perfect sense. Why wouldn’t I listen?” The young man looked at Shui Miao with sincere devotion.
Shui Miao nodded. “Alright then. I’ll teach you a cultivation method to enhance your intelligence. Return to the Immortal-Demon Realm and cultivate diligently. When I come back in the future, we’ll unite and fight together for our revenge.”
“Great! I’ll do as you say!”
The young man paused, then nodded firmly.
Considering the many evil forces in the Immortal-Demon Realm, and the possibility that his split soul brother might be manipulated, Shui Miao decided to pass on the intelligence cultivation method of Sima Zongheng. Sima Zongheng’s approach focused on conquest, suitable for a world where the strong dominate the weak.
Possibly due to his suppressed intelligence, the young man took quite some time to memorize the relatively simple method. After finally grasping it, he excitedly said to Shui Miao, “Thank you, brother. I’ll return to the Immortal-Demon Realm immediately and won’t bother you anymore. Oh, and if you come looking for me in the future, just mention the title ‘Nine Heavens Demon Emperor’—that will be me!”
With that, the young man was about to leave immediately.
Shui Miao was startled and quickly called out, “Brother, wait! Could you change your title?”
“Sure! You can give me a title if you’d like!” The young man looked at Shui Miao eagerly.
A title too grand might sound impressive, but it brought more disadvantages than benefits. ‘Nine Heavens Demon Emperor’—wasn’t that just asking for trouble? Shui Miao thought for a moment. “Forget it. Just call yourself Ba Ling.”
“Ba… Ba Ling…”
The young man was stunned. Even though his intelligence was currently low, he still felt this title was even more ridiculous.
“If you don’t like Ba Ling, then you can just stick with Nine Heavens Demon Emperor.”
Shui Miao didn’t really care.
He had never been one to insist on his own opinions or force anything upon others. He believed in going with the natural flow, in accordance with the Dao. The Dao of Heaven is vast; those who follow it survive, while those who oppose it perish. Shui Miao understood this principle well. Applying the Dao and natural order to worldly affairs was like befriending good people to become good, or associating with bad people to become bad. One gains from conversations with the wise, but only loses when conversing with the wicked.
Shui Miao deeply understood the natural way—when encountering differing opinions, he would not force his will, only offer guidance as far as necessary.
“Alright then. I’ll be Ba Ling…”
The young man scratched his head, gave a brief nod, and vanished in a flash.
“Ahh!”
Shui Miao sighed, unsure why he felt a vague sense of loss deep inside.
Perhaps it was an omen.
Shui Miao pondered and guessed that his brother would not follow his advice. But that was fine—when he eventually went to the Immortal-Demon Realm, he could learn about his brother’s temperament and changes.
Behind him, Lin Xue was sleeping soundly, drooling.
Looking in the rearview mirror, Shui Miao mused that although his brother wasn’t very intelligent, his power was formidable. He had been circling around Shui Miao without Shui Miao even sensing his presence. It was clear that he needed to seize every moment and find every possible way to strengthen himself. Without power, he would always be at a disadvantage.
Currently, Shui Miao was not lacking in cultivation methods, only in spiritual energy.
Although the seal on the Heavenly Gate within his consciousness had been lifted, Shui Miao had always hesitated to open it and draw energy from the Immortal Realm, fearing that it might attract the attention of the Yu Xu Sect—the most powerful sect in the Nine Heavens—and endanger his loved ones and friends.
Therefore, he had to find other ways to obtain more spiritual energy.
Among various methods, dual cultivation was the most effective, but it required an opponent of equal strength, which was hard to find.
As a second option, Shui Miao considered the art of Feng Shui—drawing power from the earth’s spiritual veins.
“Alright! After passing through Huanghai City, I’ll search for the spiritual veins in the mountains, use Feng Shui arrays to draw their energy, cultivate, enhance my power, and prepare for future revenge.” Shui Miao opened the car window, inhaled deeply a few times, and felt a wave of relief as he set his future direction.
But where would be the best place to go?
Suddenly, a place name popped into Shui Miao’s mind—Tibet!
He thought of Tibet because of its proximity to India, the birthplace of Buddhism, which gave it some historical connection. Moreover, Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, was located in Tibet. Surely such a massive mountain range would be rich in spiritual veins—perhaps even overflowing with them.
“Right! I’ll go to Tibet. If possible, I’ll even visit India again!”
Shui Miao could now easily activate illusion arrays, creating various illusions for others. He no longer needed passports or anything like that—he could simply walk across the border unnoticed.
※※※
The car passed the Yangtze River Bridge and drove for about ten miles when Shui Miao suddenly noticed a disheveled old Taoist standing by the roadside. The old Taoist was tall and thin, with a white beard, wearing a tattered gray robe full of patches and splits. His exposed arms and legs were covered with festering sores, making him look extremely repulsive.
Yet strangely, he was holding a dead crow in his hands.
He grinned foolishly at the passing vehicles…
“Hey, Daoist Master, stop pretending to be silly. Want a ride?”
Shui Miao stopped the car, rolled down the window, and smiled wryly at the old Taoist.
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