Chapter 975: Like a Method of Body Seizure?

"I discussed it with several elders. In truth, the person guarding the lamp does not strictly have to be a disciple of our Tianji Mountain. The peace and purity between heaven and earth shouldn't be the sole responsibility of Tianji Mountain, either. The myriad living beings should be watched over by the living beings themselves."

"However, this matter cannot be rushed. If we are even slightly careless, it could have the opposite effect. For now, we will simply watch and see if there are any promising candidates among the current cultivators."

Chen Daoqiu paused and asked, "What do you think, Mister?"

Chen Changsheng gathered his thoughts and replied, "This Chen feels it is a good idea. The tranquility of heavenly secrets should not fall entirely on Tianji Mountain's shoulders."

Chen Daoqiu nodded with a smile. "Then let us walk a little further."

Chen Changsheng felt this approach was quite necessary. Tianji Mountain was ultimately just one Immortal Mountain. How many disciples did it really have? How many possessed extraordinary aptitude, and how many of those would eventually achieve great things? Relying solely on the disciples within the mountain to observe and protect the entire world was clearly insufficient.

...

Ning Bufan and Xiao Dongxu had paired off.

Xiao Dongxu looked at his scruffy, unkempt appearance and offered an evaluation: "You have quite a unique style, Fellow Daoist."

Ning Bufan laughed. "I'm a scoundrel, after all. I have to look the part."

Xiao Dongxu chuckled. "You need not say that, Fellow Daoist. The way I see it, a clean exterior does not necessarily mean one is truly clean. Though you appear scruffy, your heart is pure."

Ning Bufan felt a bit embarrassed by the praise. He coughed and said, "You flatter me, you flatter me."

"Say, Priest Xiao, how do you all spend your days in Cultivation here?"

"How do we spend our days..."

With just those few words, the two struck up a casual conversation.

Xiao Dongxu described the daily routine of a cultivator—or at least, his own. His days consisted of reading books, practicing techniques, and finding a little amusement. Other cultivators were likely different; most of their time would be spent in austere Cultivation.

After he finished, Xiao Dongxu asked, "Young Friend Ning, you come from the Mortal World. I wonder what life is like down there?"

"How should I put it..."

Ning Bufan brought up a few interesting things about the Mortal World. They were mostly amusing tales from the streets and markets—someone stealing from a household, two people getting into a brawl, or news about the war. In recent years, war was what the common folk talked about the most.

Xiao Dongxu's eyes lit up as he listened. This was vastly different from the world he knew.

For some inexplicable reason, he found the Mortal World quite fascinating.

If he ever got the chance, he actually wanted to go down and have some fun.

"Have some fun?" Ning Bufan shook his head. "I heard the old monk say that cultivators should avoid getting involved with the mortal realm. Otherwise, if you are tainted by the karma of the Red Dust, your path of Cultivation will surely become treacherous."

"Eh?"

Xiao Dongxu stared blankly for a moment before shaking his head in disagreement. "I cannot agree with that. The way I see it, if a person is simply inadequate, why blame the mortal Red Dust?"

Ning Bufan was taken aback, but then he laughed. "You're an interesting guy. I retorted to the old monk the exact same way. How does the saying go? Great minds think alike."

Xiao Dongxu smiled. "We are kindred spirits."

"A pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine."

They chatted quite happily.

But suddenly, Ning Bufan developed a headache.

Ever since that episode of intense pain back in Yuanshan, these headaches had become increasingly frequent.

"Hiss..." Ning Bufan massaged the space between his brows.

Seeing this, Xiao Dongxu asked, "Where are you unwell, Fellow Daoist?"

"It is an old affliction..."

"If you do not mind, Fellow Daoist, why not let me take a look?"

"I'm afraid it won't help. Mister Chen took a look, and he had no solution either."

"Is that so..."

Ning Bufan said, "My condition is very special. According to Mister Chen, my divine sense is like a severed lotus root with its threads still connected, leaving only a few fine strands linking two separate portions."

"Such a thing actually exists?"

"You can take a look."

"This... is that really appropriate?"

"It's fine. Who knows, you might have an idea after seeing it."

"Then pardon my intrusion."

Xiao Dongxu knew he was overstepping boundaries, but he could not suppress his curiosity about a divine sense resembling a severed lotus root with its threads still connected. He had never seen such a bizarre phenomenon before.

When his divine sense entered Ning Bufan's Sea of Consciousness, he saw that it was indeed exactly as described.

Xiao Dongxu stood stunned for a long time. Amidst his shock, he murmured, "My Great Heavenly Venerable..."

Ning Bufan smiled and asked, "How is it?"

However, Xiao Dongxu's reply caught him off guard.

"An absolute masterpiece of creation!"

"Huh?"

Xiao Dongxu said, "Indeed. This divine sense resembling a severed lotus root with connected threads is like a miraculous work of heaven. The fact that this allowed you to survive is truly unimaginable."

Ning Bufan smacked his lips. Previously, both Mister Chen and the Fox Sovereign had also believed it was a miracle that he was still alive.

"Hm?"

Xiao Dongxu suddenly paused.

He looked closer and noticed something unusual.

"What's wrong?" Ning Bufan asked.

Sweeping his gaze over the two portions of divine sense, Xiao Dongxu felt an overwhelming sense of strangeness. Given his understanding of divine sense, the situation in front of him shouldn't look like this.

"This isn't right..."

"What isn't right?"

"Hey, hey. Priest Xiao, say something."

Xiao Dongxu slowly returned to his senses. He withdrew his divine sense, looked at Ning Bufan, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Perhaps my memory failed me. There is probably nothing wrong."

"Ah?" Seeing him act like this, Ning Bufan pressed the issue. "What exactly didn't seem right, Priest Xiao?"

"The size."

"The size?"

"Correct."

Xiao Dongxu explained, "In the records concerning divine sense Cultivation, it is divided into the five heavens of divine sense. Each heaven is distinct. They are primarily differentiated by power, but a more convenient method is to judge by size. Yours consists of one large portion and one small portion. If put together, they might reach the First Heaven, but their combined size would actually be significantly larger than the standard for the First Heaven."

He paused for a moment and added, "Perhaps it is because they were severed..."

Ning Bufan didn't quite understand, simply asking, "Is it fatal?"

"No, not at all." Xiao Dongxu smiled. "Your divine sense is just a bit peculiar, Fellow Daoist."

Ning Bufan let out a sigh of relief. "I thought I was going to die."

Xiao Dongxu said, "It won't come to that. However, moving forward, you should refrain from touching upon matters related to divine sense Cultivation, Fellow Daoist. Those connecting threads are fragile; if your divine sense were to grow stronger, it would likely cause severe problems."

"Ah, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. My little life is more important."

Xiao Dongxu nodded, yet deep inside, he fell into thought.

His gaze fell upon Ning Bufan. Thinking back on that divine sense, he still found it deeply eerie.

There were some things he chose not to say aloud.

He vaguely sensed that although the severed portions shared the exact same aura, they somehow did not feel perfectly harmonious with one another—as if a clear distinction between 'you' and 'me' had been drawn between them.

In fact...

It looked somewhat like a method of body seizure he had once seen in ancient texts.