124: Chapter 124 The Green Snake Only Has Frogs in Its Mind
"Hey, monk, wake up!"
Xu Qing woke the monk up.
"...A-amitabha?"
The monk looked at the three people in front of him and gave a tentative greeting.
"This poor monk... this poor monk was just begging for alms, I really wasn't trying to steal the candied haws..."
The monk was very cowardly right now.
He didn't even dare to call his Abbot to come save him.
He felt that the veiled female cultivator in front of him was even stronger than his own Abbot.
"No one said you stole the candied haws, why are you explaining? I think you just have a guilty conscience."
The monk felt wronged in his heart, but he didn't say it.
It seemed he was born to be at odds with snakes.
When he was a child, he was almost bitten to death by a venomous snake; fortunately, the Abbot saved him in time.
As a youth, he was dragged into a well by a Giant Python; fortunately, the Abbot saved him in time.
When he had just entered cultivation, he was entangled by a snake demon; fortunately, the Abbot saved him in time.
And now...
That was why he was sensitive to the scent of snakes and could tell at a glance that Xu Qing was a snake demon.
He had plucked up his courage to beg alms from Xu Qing, wanting to settle his ill-fated connection with snakes, but he had still fallen into a trap.
Back then, the Abbot had given him several choices for his dharma name.
There were Dufa, Huifa, Haidu, Xuanmu, and Fahai.
He had taken a fancy to Fahai at a glance, feeling that this Buddhist title was one that could suppress snakes.
As it turned out, things didn't go as planned.
"You monk, your dharma name is Fahai?"
Xu Qing looked at the monk and asked.
After all, the monk's previous sleep-talking had left a deep impression on him.
"This poor monk's dharma name is indeed Fahai."
The monk stole a glance at Elder Li out of the corner of his eye, shrank his neck, and replied.
"Tsk!"
"Why such a name? It sounds terrible. This Snake must change it for you!"
"This Snake sees your head is all shiny, so I'll call you Monk Wuguang!"
Xu Qing was growing more and more fond of giving names.
Whenever he saw something, he liked to give it a name.
Moreover, the Green Snake always believed his naming talent was unsurpassed throughout history.
"Benefactor, this dharma name was given when I took refuge in Buddha."
"It must not..."
"You stole Daya's candied haws!"
Xu Qing interrupted the monk's speech.
"...This poor monk..."
"Elder Li, I see this monk hasn't realized his mistake at all."
"Why don't we turn him into a nun?"
"This poor monk's dharma name is Wuguang!"
Monk Wuguang was very good at following the wind.
His desire for survival was very strong.
Wuguang came from Bodhi Temple; he was a Disciple of the top Sect in the Western Tianzhu Kingdom, Bodhi Temple.
Bodhi Temple, like Xuanji Sect, was a top-tier Sect in the Cultivation World, and there were Soul Transformation monks presiding over the temple.
"Monk, you should leave the Xia Dynasty and return to Bodhi Temple."
"Take this to Master Silent Severity in your temple."
Elder Li took out a green leaf and handed it to Monk Wuguang.
Only then did Wuguang realize that this expert had captured him for another important matter.
It probably wasn't just because she found him annoying.
...Probably.
This leaf was called a Bodhi Dharma Leaf.
In Bodhi Temple, every monk who cultivates plants a bodhi tree.
And the Abbot's bodhi tree was called the Heavenly Bodhi.
A Bodhi Dharma Leaf was something similar to an identification card refined by the Abbot using his own bodhi leaves, which could store information.
"This poor monk will surely bring the Bodhi Dharma Leaf back to Abbot Silent Severity."
"amitabha."
"Then, may this poor monk leave?"
Monk Wuguang asked tentatively.
"You may go."
Elder Li waved her hand.
Xu Qing, however, snatched the alms bowl, took out the sesame seed cake inside, and looked at the Buddhist light behind Monk Wuguang.
Only he, the Green Snake, got to take advantage of others; there was no reason for others to take advantage of him.
However, the Buddhist light did not weaken.
"...Fine, I'll give it to you as charity."
Xu Qing threw the sesame seed cake back into the alms bowl.
Once it was in someone else's bowl, he found it too much trouble to take back and eat.
Then, that Buddhist light actually grew a tiny bit stronger.
"?"
"Thank you for your charity, benefactor. amitabha."
"May the benefactor's wishes come true!"
Xu Qing was bewildered. Does this Bodhi Temple recruit snakes?
"The alms-begging method of Bodhi Temple is a trial for its Disciples; what they cultivate is the Heart Buddha."
"By eating from a hundred houses and delivering all living beings, the Heart Buddha's light forms naturally."
Elder Li seemed to see Xu Qing's confusion and gave him a pointer.
"...?"
"So I've been freaking 'delivered' twice?"
"An Auspicious Beast is not allowed to use foul language. What if you bad influence your mother!"
Xu Qing's head was smacked by Elder Li.
"amitabha, this poor monk takes his leave."
"The two benefactors are welcome to visit Bodhi Temple as guests."
Monk Wuguang immediately fled; he didn't even use the door, jumping straight out the window.
Xu Qing's teeth itched with annoyance watching him.
"Delivering This Snake, and twice at that!"
"I'll remember this debt. When I make it big in the future, I'll definitely go to your Bodhi Temple and pry out a few sarira beads."
Xu Qing muttered to himself.
The following days were unexpectedly peaceful.
Until half a month later, when the Xuanji Sect began its Disciple recruitment.
It was known as...
Ascending the Immortal Mountain.
Outside the southern part of the capital, a mountain peak shrouded in mist appeared.
This mountain could only be seen by those who possessed a dao root.
After reaching the summit of the Immortal Mountain, one could see the Immortals, test their Immortal Aptitude, and enter the Immortal gate.
"Mother, a huge mountain appeared over there in the south!"
A young boy pointed far to the south.
"Where is there a mountain? You child, don't talk nonsense."
"Hurry and help your father carry the chopped wood into the woodshed."
The farmwoman washing clothes looked up casually and glanced toward the south.
Then she continued to lower her head and scrub the clothes.
There was no mountain at all.
The passing Xu Qing and Elder Li glanced at the boy.
But neither spoke nor paused, continuing toward the south.
Ultimately, it was Xu Qing who broke the silence.
Xu Qing opened his mouth.
Before he could speak, he heard Elder Li give a long sigh.
"I know what you want to say."
"The path to immortality is long; some seek the Immortal path across the mountains, others seek the Dao across distant seas."
"Little do they know it is right before their eyes, yet they have eyes but cannot recognize the Immortal Mountain."
Elder Li's sigh was filled with the aura of time that only an old woman could possess.
"No, that's not what I wanted to say."
"There are a few Frogs croaking over there, I want to go catch them."
"..."
"I haven't eaten Frogs in a long time, This Snake is starving for them."
"..."
"...I think those are toads."
"No, that sound is definitely a Frog. A toad couldn't croak out such a delicious fragrance; This Snake can smell it."
Xu Qing sniffed his nose and said with certainty.
"..."
The person and the snake both walked very quickly.
Soon, they arrived at the foot of the Immortal Mountain.
Xu Qing looked up at the Immortal Mountain.
The Immortal Mountain reached straight into the clouds, wrapped in a layer of mist, hazy as if draped in a thin veil.
"Take this and wear it."
"It can conceal your Demonic Qi and Dao Cultivation, making you look more like an ordinary Mortal."
Elder Li threw a necklace to Xu Qing.
"You're only giving it to me now?"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"...No."
And so, an expired old woman of unknown centuries and a nursery-school-level green snake entered the Immortal Mountain.
Their goal was to sneak into the Xuanji Sect.
What kind of merit did the Xuanji Sect have to attract such a pair of 'hidden talents'?
"Remember, the Xuanji Sect's testing divides Aptitude into six grades."
"From lowest to highest, they are Substandard, Low, Medium, High, Earthly Success, and Heavenly Creation—the six types of dao roots."
"Only those with Medium or above will be recruited into the Sect."
"This Elder is a once-in-a-millennium Earthly Success Spiritual Root; entering the Xuanji Sect will surely cause quite a stir."
Elder Li instructed Xu Qing as they climbed the mountain.
"At that time, it might be difficult for you to get close to me."
"I will find a way to bring you to my side."
Xu Qing felt that this old woman was showing off.
Definitely showing off!
How old is she? She's already an old hag, yet she's still not mature enough.