Chapter 109: The Past of Daoist Non-Speaker
Chapter 109: The Past of Daoist Non-Speaker
Lu Yang silently took two steps back, indicating he had no intention of removing the talisman. This way, if Eldest Senior Sister suddenly appeared, he could disassociate himself from the situation.
“The wise do not stand beside a shaky wall,” probably describes this scenario perfectly.
The talisman left by Eldest Senior Sister showed no signs of spiritual power fluctuations, meaning there was no danger in removing it, but Lu Yang dared not to.
He would be risking his life to remove this talisman.
Master, it’s not that your disciple is unfilial, but I only have one life, and there’s an immortal in my spiritual space. If Eldest Senior Sister kills me, it would be two lives lost with one corpse, not worth it.
Seeing Lu Yang hesitate, raising his hand then putting it down, Daoist Non-Speaker could easily guess his concerns.
Lu Yang was not the first to react this way, and Daoist Non-Speaker was not surprised, chuckling, “It’s normal that you don’t understand me. You can go and ask other elders about me. With a more comprehensive understanding, you’ll know I’m not lying.”
“However, don’t tell them about Little Yun imprisoning me. Little Yun has managed the Dao Seeking Sect for ten years, some elders might not stand on my side.”
Lu Yang thought his master made sense. He knew his master was Daoist Non-Speaker, but never really looked into what kind of person he was. This might be an opportunity, thinking thus, he left the pine forest.
After Lu Yang left, Daoist Non-Speaker scratched his head. He had asked several people to remove the talisman, but no one wanted to.“What’s written on the talisman that scares them so much?” He craned his neck and looked for a long time but couldn’t see the talisman’s appearance.
Lu Yang returned to the mission hall, only to be told that the Grand Elder had gone out on business and was not in the sect. Lu Yang, having no choice, went to the Second Elder at Yan Chuan Peak.
Yan Chuan Peak was responsible for teaching some basic knowledge of cultivation. Lu Yang had crammed there for a month when he first joined the Dao Seeking Sect, but he had never seen the Second Elder before.
“Excuse me, brother, is the Second Elder here?” Lu Yang asked a disciple who was on duty at Yan Chuan Peak.
The brother looked at Lu Yang with a strange look: “You’re looking for the Second Elder? Then you should go to the medicinal garden. The one lying at the entrance of the garden is him.”
Lu Yang was stunned, not expecting that the one who made him dig soil, Grandpa Ba, was the Second Elder.
He thanked the brother and went to the medicinal garden. Sure enough, Grandpa Ba was there.
“Hmm? Want to come dig some more soil?” Grandpa Ba asked with a chuckle.
“No, I just wanted to ask about my master.”
“Old Nine, of course, I know.” Grandpa Ba became spirited once he started talking about this.
“Old Nine?”
“Yes, from the Grand Elder you know, to the Eighth Elder, and then to your master Daoist Non-Speaker, we were all taught by the same master. Your master is the youngest, the last to join our master, thus ranked ninth.”
“Old Nine is a chatterbox, his mouth always going on non-stop. Have you seen ‘Introduction to Cross-talk’ on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion? That was donated by Old Nine.”
Lu Yang nodded. He remembered very clearly when he saw ‘Introduction to Cross-talk’ in the Scripture Pavilion; he was stunned for a long time, thinking he had gone to the wrong place.
“Later, our master really didn’t want to listen to Old Nine anymore, so he gave him the name Daoist Non-Speaker, hoping he would speak less.”
Lu Yang: “Did it work?”
“It’s no use. Old nine said ‘A wise man does not speak of supernatural forces and chaos, as long as he does not speak of them, all will be fine,’ and then his little mouth just kept babbling non-stop. That mouth of his really needed to be sewn shut.”
“However, among us nine, Old Nine had the strongest cultivation talent. Of course, he couldn’t be compared to Yun Zhi. I reckon Yun Zhi’s talent is rare through the ages.”
“After our master retired, we nine had to decide who would become the sect leader. The eight of us unanimously agreed that Old Nine should take the position. Given his eloquence, we were sure he’d do well. Old Nine refused at first, but we followed the rules of the jianghu—strength dictates. Old Nine agreed to that.”
“Then, the eight of us teamed up and gave Old Nine a beating, forcing him to take up the position of sect leader.”
Lu Yang recalled his master’s mention of “going through a bloody battle.”
It wasn’t wrong to say so.
“Our judgment was indeed excellent. Old Nine had a talent for management and organized the sect well, clearing the previous atmosphere of decline. Of course, this might have something to do with his personality.”
“Later on, somehow, ten years ago, Yun Zhi suddenly came to us, stating she would manage the sect from then on. We thought the younger generation would take over sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner. As for where Old Nine went, we didn’t pay much attention. After all, we’re nearly two thousand years old, more flexible-minded than the young ones. Who knows where he might be hopping around now, could he even get lost?”
For cultivators like Grandpa Ba, their perception of time differs from ordinary people; ten years to them isn’t considered long.
After saying goodbye to Grandpa Ba, Lu Yang went to the Physical Cultivation Peak to find the Third Elder.
Meng Jingzhou was at the Physical Cultivation Peak, and with his help, Lu Yang quickly found the Third Elder.
The Third Elder was playing chess in the fields with an ancestor of the Blue-Eyed Water Buffalo clan.
The Third Elder, being short in stature, would not be associated with top-tier physical cultivation by Lu Yang if seen in the outside world.
Lu Yang knew the Third Elder harbored an immensely terrifying power within, capable of moving mountains and filling seas with just a flick of his finger.
His creation, the “Heaven Shaking Six Forms,” was coveted by all physical cultivators, wishing they could learn even a bit of it. Countless people dreamt of being under the Third Elder’s tutelage but couldn’t.
Lu Yang also tried to find the ten water buffaloes he had once summoned in the fields, only to realize that all water buffaloes looked the same and couldn’t be distinguished.
“You’re asking about Old Nine? Haha, then you’ve come to the right person. Old Nine was picked up by me, fed from a toddler!” The Third Elder seemed to imply encountering him was Lu Yang’s good fortune.
Meng Jingzhou reminded softly, “Master, it’s ‘raised,’ not ‘fed.’”
The Third Elder waved his hand impatiently, “Same thing, don’t nitpick like the Fourth all the time.”
“Old Nine was famously clever. He was the first among us nine to master the spell Minor Major As You Wish.”
“Minor Major As You Wish is about changing one’s size, right? Old Nine thought, what if it could be modified to change the size of parts of the body instead, not too much, just an inch or two longer or bigger for convenience. It would require less magical power to maintain, and it would be very popular among men and women—men could enlarge certain parts, women could enlarge others.”
“Following this idea, Old Nine actually managed to develop it.” The Third Elder slapped his thigh, marveling at Daoist Non-Speaker’s ingenious concept.
“He then wrote a new spell, ‘Minor Major As You Wish (Localized Version).’ When the spell was released, it was wildly sought after. We made a fortune in spirit stones then, dining at the most expensive places without caring for the cost, not even bothering to pick up spirit stones that fell on the ground.”
“Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. The Great Xia Dynasty quickly intervened to halt the sale of the spell, prohibiting its distribution.”
“Why?”
“They said it was obscene.”
Lu Yang: “…They probably weren’t wrong.”
(End of the chapter)