Chapter 566: Junmeng, Would You Be Willing?

In the blink of an eye, a year and a half had quietly passed since Xiao Mo arrived at Seeking Immortals Temple.

For an ordinary person, a year and a half was certainly no short span of time but for a cultivator, this year and a half passed like a mere ten or so days for an ordinary mortal, gone in the blink of an eye.

After arriving at Seeking Immortals Temple, Xiao Mo set aside the Buddhist path for the Daoist one, cultivating the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet from the very beginning.

Daoist and Buddhist practices were, in the end, quite different from one another and because of the particular nature of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet, for Xiao Mo to cultivate it, he first had to release all of his previous cultivation entirely and start over from scratch.

For most cultivators, dissolving one's cultivation and starting anew required tremendous courage because it meant returning to being an ordinary mortal once more, with all prior effort dissolving to nothing, entirely wasted but Xiao Mo did not particularly concern himself with any of this.

Without much hesitation, he dissolved his own cultivation directly.

Gui Junmeng had originally thought that, with Xiao Mo just beginning to cultivate the Daoist arts, she would need to answer his questions frequently, perhaps channel her own true energy to help him through a stable transition but Xiao Mo's understanding of the Daoist arts once again displayed the same astonishing talent he had shown in his previous life.

If the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet were compared to a long road, then when Xiao Mo cultivated this method, it was as though he remembered clearly every step he had once walked.

Only, he needed to walk through those already-traveled steps once more and during this period when Xiao Mo devoted himself to cultivation, his daily living arrangements were consistently looked after by Liu Shui.

In truth, Xiao Mo had declined Liu Shui's help many times, saying he could look after himself but Liu Shui was exceptionally stubborn, refusing to yield no matter what.

In the end, Xiao Mo, unable to decline any further, could only let Elder Sister Liu Shui have her way.

Only, when Liu Shui attended to Xiao Mo, she seemed to hold no wariness whatsoever.

When she bent down to clean the courtyard, she would occasionally reveal a flash of white "unintentionally" before Xiao Mo.

Sometimes, when telling Xiao Mo about matters within the temple, she would quietly press close to him, staying extremely near but every time, Xiao Mo would maintain a quiet distance from Liu Shui without drawing attention to it, neither embarrassing her nor overstepping himself.

In truth, Liu Shui was well aware of the matter between Gui Junmeng and Xiao Mo.

She knew that Xiao Mo needed to cultivate in dual practice with Junmeng, to help Junmeng complete her great path, and that his primordial essence had to be reserved for Junmeng.

And so, Liu Shui made no further advances, restraining herself throughout.

During this period of focused cultivation, Xiao Mo also heard news from the outside world, that a great demon army was launching an offensive against Seeking Immortals Temple.

The commander of this united demon force was none other than the Tushan Holy Woman herself.

Now, throughout the entire Demon Realm, word had spread, that this Holy Woman of the Tushan clan had already entered the Immortal realm.

By any reckoning, this Holy Woman was not yet eighty years old, and had already entered the Immortal realm.

Such astonishing talent had no equal anywhere in the Demon Realm.

However, Seeking Immortals Temple lay behind the Human Alliance's front lines.

For the Demon Realm to break through to Seeking Immortals Temple was no simple matter.

In truth, many among the demon alliance's leadership had already proposed striking directly at Seeking Immortals Mountain.

In their view, if this Seeking Immortals Mountain, symbolic of the Human Alliance, could be taken, it would deal a devastating blow to the Human Alliance's morale, and from that point on the human race would become nothing more than scattered sand, unable to unite again but if the matter dragged on any longer, it would give the Human Alliance more time to develop, and give the Ten Thousand Laws Realm a better opportunity to intervene.

However, this decision meant the demon alliance would have to fight the Human Alliance to the death, with no room left to maneuver, and so quite a few among the leadership hesitated, unable to make up their minds for a long time.

Now that Tushan Jingci was leading her army directly toward Seeking Immortals Mountain, it was merely the spark that ignited everything and precisely because of this spark, the other two demon armies no longer hesitated, both eager to destroy the Human Alliance as quickly as possible.

Full-scale war between the human and demon races erupted from this point.

More and more of Seeking Immortals Temple's Daoists went to the front lines, and Xiao Mo was no exception.

In his tenth year at Seeking Immortals Temple, Xiao Mo entered the Golden Core realm, and thus stepped onto the battlefield.

At first, Xiao Mo was nothing more than an unremarkable Daoist.

Even within the Human Alliance, those who admired Gui Junmeng and saw him walking so closely with the woman they loved harbored no small measure of exclusion and cold regard toward him but in Xiao Mo's very first battle, he forcibly killed a Nascent Soul-level great demon with only Golden Core cultivation, and in that moment, everyone looked at this "newcomer" with new eyes.

At the same time, the demons placed "Xiao Mo" on their must-kill list for the battlefield.

Whether human or demon, both sides worked their utmost to snuff out a prodigy before he could fully grow, refusing to allow him to develop freely on the battlefield.

Over the following twenty years, Xiao Mo spent very little time at Seeking Immortals Temple, nearly constantly locked in combat at the front.

In one particularly brutal battle, humans and demons fought fiercely for three days and three nights, both sides finally withdrawing.

Xiao Mo, too, had reached his limit, covered in blood, flying slowly away from the battlefield with Gui Junmeng's support.

At that moment, something stirred within Xiao Mo, and he suddenly stopped.

He turned slowly and looked toward the distance.

Behind the demon army's formation, an overwhelming pressure of the Immortal realm filled the sky.

A woman dressed in white stepped across the empty air, looking coldly in Xiao Mo's direction.

Their eyes met, gazing at each other from afar.

As though, in this moment, the whole world contained only the two of them.

Gui Junmeng's gaze passed lightly between Tushan Jingci and Xiao Mo beside her, but in the end she said nothing at all.

"Let us go." Xiao Mo drew his gaze back, and with Gui Junmeng's support, turned to leave the battlefield.

Tushan Jingci watched Xiao Mo's figure growing distant, her small foot beneath her skirt stepping forward involuntarily, but in the end she forced herself to stay still.

Another five years passed.

Xiao Mo finally entered the Nascent Soul realm.

Once he had entered the Nascent Soul realm, Xiao Mo could begin cultivating the dual practice method described in the later chapters of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet.

However, this so-called dual practice method was not something to be undertaken directly and crudely from the outset.

That kind of blunt, "straight to the point" dual cultivation was not the proper path toward the great Dao, but rather a shortcut that veered off course, plainly speaking, a form of "harvesting," ultimately unworthy of true mastery.

The genuine dual cultivation method required gradual, step-by-step progress.

At first, Xiao Mo needed to sit facing Gui Junmeng each night on the bed, exchanging spiritual energy, allowing that energy to harmonize between yin and yang.

Once Xiao Mo reached the middle stage of the Jade Simplicity realm, only then could they proceed to dual cultivation at the level of soul and spirit.

And once both of them had entered the Immortal realm, they could formally begin the dual cultivation that fused soul and body together simultaneously but even now, with only the harmonization of yin and yang spiritual energy, both Xiao Mo's and Gui Junmeng's cultivation advanced with remarkable speed.

Even Xiao Mo himself found this somewhat surprising.

He discovered that even a single night's effort yielded gains equivalent to half a year of solitary cultivation.

And every time Xiao Mo and Gui Junmeng cultivated together at night, Liu Shui would stand quietly outside the courtyard, gazing blankly at that firmly closed door, her small hands gripping her skirt tightly, until dawn broke.

Without quite noticing, another twenty years passed quietly.

Beyond dual cultivation, life-and-death combat on the battlefield remained forever the fastest method to advance one's cultivation, and this held true even for Xiao Mo.

Only, Xiao Mo was, after all, a traditional Daoist cultivator.

After these twenty years of bloody battle at the front, the bloodlust and demonic taint accumulated in his heart had grown genuinely too heavy and so Xiao Mo returned with Gui Junmeng to Seeking Immortals Temple for a time, to steady his Daoist heart.

Meanwhile, the war between the Human Alliance and the demon alliance spread across an ever-widening range, and even border regions could not escape it.

Xiao Mo, with lingering concern for his master and fellow disciples at Four Void Temple, asked Gui Junmeng to help gather news from that region.

Gui Junmeng agreed without hesitation.

But three months later, Xiao Mo learned that Four Void Temple, along with the surrounding villages, had all been reduced entirely to ruins, scorched earth stretching everywhere, not a single living soul remaining, only the traces of a blood sacrifice formation left behind.

Gui Junmeng said that many years before, several demon sects had joined forces to launch a surprise attack on Cloud Village and the surrounding villages and towns, intending to use the common people as a blood sacrifice to refine pills.

The monks of Four Void Temple had resisted to the death to protect the people, and Abbot Yuankong had not escaped either.

And behind it all, it was said, stood a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.

Hearing this news, Xiao Mo sat alone in the courtyard, silent for a very long while.

"I do not believe... this was Jingci's doing."

That night, at Xiao Mo's side, Gui Junmeng spoke softly.

"I know."

Xiao Mo gave a nod, his gaze fixed on the stars overhead, his tone calm yet carrying a certain heaviness.

"Jingci is not that kind of person. She may not even know anything about this."

"If I am not mistaken, this was likely Tushan Meng's doing. As for the reason, probably to make me give up entirely on Jingci, or perhaps on the demon race as a whole."

"It is good that you can think of it that way."

Gui Junmeng let out a quiet breath of relief, then continued with gentle comfort.

"And Xiao Mo, you need not worry too much. My master went to look into it personally, and she said the blood sacrifice formation seemed somewhat off, as though it had been added afterward. If nothing has gone wrong, those villagers and the monks of the temple should still be alive, only..."

As she spoke, Gui Junmeng lowered her head, biting her lip lightly, as though unable to continue.

"Only my master... may have run into trouble." Xiao Mo finished her sentence, his voice soft and gentle.

Gui Junmeng did not deny it, only remaining quietly silent.

"Actually, I had already guessed as much."

Xiao Mo let out a quiet sigh.

"Master's cultivation level was already quite high, and Four Void Temple had a secret art called 'Lotus Passage.' Master must have used this secret art to burn away his own essence blood, in order to send everyone else safely away."

"But that is not something you can blame yourself for." Gui Junmeng raised her head and spoke earnestly. "My master also said that Tushan Meng was bound to come looking for Four Void Temple eventually, because the relationship between that abbot and Tushan Meng was no ordinary one. Tushan Meng had always wanted to kill him."

Seeing Xiao Mo fall silent without responding, Gui Junmeng spoke again, softly, "Xiao Mo, you must believe me. I am not deceiving you. I truly am not saying this only to comfort you."

"I know." Xiao Mo gave a quiet nod and let out a deep sigh.

"When I was young, Master would explain Buddhist principles to me, and when we spoke of the topic of life and death, he once said, if it were possible, he wished to die at the hands of a particular person, to repay the debt he owed in this life."

"I once asked Master who that person was, but he would only smile and say nothing, never once answering."

"Xiao Mo..." Gui Junmeng looked deeply at him, her gaze full of heartache and concern.

"Do not worry. I am fine." Xiao Mo gave a faint smile and shook his head, then turned to look at Gui Junmeng. "But Junmeng, I am somewhat curious. Why would you be worried about me misjudging Jingci? You know, Jingci might well hate the two of us bitterly by now."

"That may be true..." Gui Junmeng folded her hands gently on her lap, gazing up at the brilliant night sky alongside him. "But no matter what, I am, in the end, Jingci's elder sister. I do not want you to hate Jingci."

"Why is that?" Xiao Mo turned his head slightly and asked softly.

"Because Jingci... truly does like you very much."

Gui Junmeng drew her gaze back slowly, blinking as she looked at Xiao Mo, those clear eyes reflecting the starlight, and his own shadow as well.

"My cultivation of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet has gone fairly smoothly so far. Only, according to what the later chapters say, for you and me to truly cultivate this method together, we must wait until I have entered the Immortal realm."

Gazing at Gui Junmeng's pure, innocent eyes, Xiao Mo only gave a faint smile and changed the subject.

"Judging by the current pace of progress, it should not take very long. Perhaps... around two hundred years should be enough."

"That is fine." Gui Junmeng gave a gentle nod, a faint blush quietly rising to her cheeks, her voice soft as though afraid of disturbing the moonlight above. "I will simply wait for you."

"But before we formally begin that step, perhaps we could make some preparations first."

Xiao Mo continued.

"Daoist Master Yun Xi once discussed this matter with me at length. The chapter of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet called 'Shared Dream' has, at its core, the linking and merging of two people's cultivation paths into one, and the formal marriage rites practiced between men and women in the ordinary world happen to serve a remarkably similar function."

"Oh?" Gui Junmeng seemed to suddenly understand something. "Xiao Mo, you mean..."

"If you and I were to marry first, our respective great paths would already begin to link together, and this would mean that when we later undertake the dual cultivation method together, it might yield twice the result with half the effort. Only I do not know... Junmeng, would you be willing?" Xiao Mo looked at her, his gaze gentle.

"I... I will follow whatever you and Master decide..." Gui Junmeng's small face flushed red, her small hands curling together without meaning to.

"That is good, then." Xiao Mo smiled. "But Junmeng, when we marry, might I... invite one particular person?"

"Mm, you may invite whoever you like. But this person is..." Gui Junmeng tilted her head slightly, her fox eyes looking at him with curiosity.

Looking at this quiet, pure young woman beside him, Xiao Mo smiled softly.

"Jingci."