CHAPTER 236: CHAPTER 207: THE BEST WAY TO CHARM AND CONNECT WITH PEOPLE

Fingertips pressed against Chen Yi’s forehead, Chen Yi remained motionless.

"Why didn’t you dodge?" Zhou Yitang asked.

Chen Yi looked at her oddly and replied:

"I didn’t react in time."

"..."

The one-armed woman fell silent and withdrew her fingertip.

Chen Yi chuckled and reached out, intending to pull her into an embrace. But before his fingers got close, he was repelled.

Awkwardly, he retracted his hand and said softly:

"Actually, there was no need for you to come and say these things to me. If you still intend to sever my Three Corpses, you can just hide it in your heart. If you don’t say it out loud and strike secretly, how would I be able to guard against it? Your swordsmanship is so accomplished."

The Yin Sword Mountain swordsman said coldly:

"My sword is obsolete!"

Chen Yi was momentarily speechless. After a pause, he sighed:

"Indeed, not as good as the Broken Swordsman."

The one-armed woman replied calmly, without a trace of emotion: "I once forced him back ten zhang with a single strike."

Her reaction had always been like this. Chen Yi froze momentarily and then laughed, not for any particular reason, simply because she was a woman who was both dull and amusing.

Dull because she was rigid; amusing because she was truly rigid.

Perhaps a glimmer of warmth toward Yin Tingxue had seeped into his heart, and Chen Yi spoke gently:

"I used to not think much of it, but in recent days I’ve reflected several times and still feel that Master treated me very well."

Soon after, Chen Yi thought for a moment, looked at Zhou Yitang, and joked:

"I knew Master’s heart was the kindest. Even if you wanted to sever my Three Corpses, it was for my own good."

As he spoke, Chen Yi drew the "No Obsessions" blade gifted by Min Ning, holding it with his left hand, and then drew the Hou Kang Sword gifted by her, holding it in his right.

Zhou Yitang was perplexed.

Knife and sword clanged against each other like two mischievous children fighting. Eventually, the knife overwhelmed the sword and pinned it to the ground. He laughed playfully:

"The sword of the living defeated the knife of the killer."

The one-armed woman calmly took in the scene.

She knew the knife was a gift from Min Ning, who would eventually rank among the top ten on the martial board, becoming the Spring and Autumn Swordmaster—and her rival in the path of the Dao. Between the two of them, though there was no deep-seated grievance, they were as irreconcilable as fire and water.

How could it be that, in this reverse disciple’s eyes, the future Spring and Autumn Swordmaster was inferior to her as his Master?

Zhou Yitang, observing this slightly childish display, couldn’t help but tug the corner of her lips upward. When he looked over, she quickly suppressed it.

Chen Yi appeared as though he was about to speak.

"Do not spout sweet-talking nonsense,"

His Master preemptively said:

"I suppose you’re thinking—"

Chen Yi predicted her prediction and interjected:

"I suppose I am equally sweet-talking nonsense before her too, right? No, not like that."

Zhou Yitang stared straight ahead, without shifting her gaze.

"In the end, it all amounts to sweet-talking nonsense."

Chen Yi spoke gently: "My filial respect, no matter how you phrase it, is all sincere truth."

"Filial respect? From you?" The one-armed woman dropped her gaze faintly and added indifferently: "You’re just unable to defeat me."

Exposed, Chen Yi was momentarily at a loss for words, awkwardly stowing away his knife and sword.

Between the two, no words followed for a long while.

Chen Yi had no idea what Zhou Yitang might secretly be plotting. To be honest, he could sense in recent days that she had not entirely given up.

Moreover, between them—even if there was the weight of a Master-disciple bond—there still remained a rift.

Just as Chen Yi thought she wouldn’t say anything, she suddenly spoke:

"Have you ever pondered, among the three heirs, why Zhao Bai was the only one to survive until the end?"

Chen Yi immediately raised his head and looked at Zhou Yitang.

After thinking for a long time, Zhou Yitang finally revealed a bit of the heavenly scheme:

"Between the three of them, the entire sect’s fortune was concentrated. When one dies, the fortune passes down to the next, until it arrived at Zhao Bai. His fortune was as vast as the sea. Once he emerged, he would be blessed beyond measure."

Chen Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Zhou Yitang had previously mentioned that the Joyful Sect had hosted a banquet of heroes from across the realm, all to gather fortune. After that, the Joyful Sect was exterminated. It turns out their purpose had been to consolidate the sect’s amassed fortune?!

Consolidate it among the three heirs, and eventually onto Zhao Bai.

In other words, even without him, the other two heirs of the Joyful Sect would ultimately face a grim fate.

Chen Yi’s expression grew heavy. Despite repeatedly acting unexpectedly, he hadn’t realized that the immortals and Buddhas had hidden contingencies. Avoid one trap, and another awaited him.

"And what of the little fox..." Chen Yi glanced at Yin Tingxue, fast asleep.

Zhou Yitang lifted a finger and traced four characters onto the ground—Fish Basket Guanyin.

Chen Yi was struck with sudden understanding. Zhou Yitang was implying: The Princess of Qing Luo County resembled... Fish Basket Guanyin?

Legend holds that Guanyin Bodhisattva once transformed into a stunning fisherwoman carrying a fish basket. On the sands of the riverbank, she offered her fleshly body as a gift to lead all sinners to completely abandon lust, repent past sins, and embrace the Buddhist Law.

And the Qing Luo Princess was leading Yin Tingxue to awaken to Buddhist enlightenment...

A Buddhist enlightenment of all earthly detachment.

All the clues intertwined in Chen Yi’s mind.

The Qing Luo Princess had sacrificed her own fleshly body and soul three years ago, dying from a concoction of relic soup. Afterward, the Qing Luo Prince colluded with the demonic sect but was exposed; the Prince Mansion was confiscated, leaving the Yintai Temple desolate and barren, with absolutely nothing left, while the visage on the Medicine Buddha began to align with hers...

Everything seemed reasonable, yet it was all meant to guide Yin Tingxue to enlightenment.

This Medicine Buddha was urging Yin Tingxue to attain fruition and become a Buddha?!

No wonder why Zhou Yitang claimed he had disrupted her destiny.

The effort was nothing short of calculated manipulation...

Even having disrupted Yin Tingxue’s destiny, that Bodhisattva still had backup plans left...

Chen Yi took a deep breath, his back chilled.

Zhou Yitang gazed at this restless disciple.

In truth, Chen Yi had disrupted Yin Tingxue’s destiny not just once.

The first instance was when he unexpectedly appeared and took Yin Tingxue, who was supposed to be taken to the demonic sect, as his concubine.

Though painful for the girl, being taken to the demonic sect would have allowed her to grasp the meaning of earthly detachment much sooner.

The second instance was in Yintai Temple when Yin Tingxue mistook him for her mother. Out of compassion, he didn’t correct her.

The third instance occurred recently in Thousand Buddha Village, where Chen Yi destroyed a Buddha statue with the killer’s sword, severing Yin Tingxue’s enlightenment.

The first instance was the most subtle, completely accidental, and purely driven by Chen Yi’s carnal desires. Had she not reflected afterward, she might never have discovered it.

Zhou Yitang glanced at the girl lying on the ground. She’d invested so much effort only for this girl to ultimately fail to become a Buddha. But was that good or bad?

One more Buddha could mean one more measure of virtue for the people.

Chen Yi caught the significant look in her eyes, and his heart jolted.

But Zhou Yitang withdrew her gaze, calming her unsettled thoughts, and said:

"Next, you face a battle."

"Against the Prince of Annan, Qin Qingluo?"

"Precisely. And accompanying her is a woman named Zhu E." Zhou Yitang then slowly explained her origins, "She is Qin Qingluo’s mother’s younger sister, and moreover, a Saintess of the demonic sect, bound to Qin Qingluo by a Blood Covenant."

Chen Yi’s eyes brightened upon hearing this. In recent days, he had been pondering how to deal with Qin Qingluo. After all, according to Zhao Bai, Qin Qingluo bore the mark of the Glazed Light and was protected by the Vestment robe of Wuxiang Zen Master, immune to death and calamity, becoming increasingly invincible.

"So in other words..." he slowly led the thought.

Zhou Yitang countered:

"Aren’t you the most adept at disrupting destinies?

Then disrupt hers, like the Demon Lord Mara."

The killer’s sword was meant precisely for this purpose.