Chapter 701: Chi Songzi
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The mere fact that Shen Lian regarded this method as exquisite was a testament to how extraordinary this diversionary technique was.

Majestically standing on the heap of snow, water buffalo said, “Old bull could give it a go at breaking this diversionary technique. How about it?”

Its demonic bull divine power was enough to break a thousand techniques. The diversionary technique may blind his eyes, but it was not impervious to his divine power.

With a smile, Shen Lian replied, “Forget about it. It would be a waste for such an ingenious technique to be broken. You need only focus on moving forward as you did before.”

Water buffalo understood that its newly worshipped Master Shen was skilled. It did not doubt his ability to enter. Moreover, it was curious as to what exceptional method Shen Lian would use to enter.

A black buffalo with a young Daoist on its back slowly and leisurely headed forward. It was barely two hundred feet when the scenery in front changed. Up ahead there was an extremely deep overhanging cliff. The old bull was unconcerned at this. He stepped foot in the air and did not fall into the abyss.

Sure enough, huge changes overcame the scenery ahead. There were Lingzhi and Mesona, as well as flowing streams in limestone. It was truly a beautiful celestial environment.

Water buffalo was still unable to discern how Shen Lian managed to break the diversionary technique. After all had been said and done, it was simply inconceivable that it could reach the celestial environment simply by closing its eyes and moving forward.

Shen Lian’s cultivation was sufficient to perceive that this celestial environment was not contaminated by any dirty Qi from the outside world. It could clearly be seen that the inside was sealed from the outside and that it was not merely an illusory technique which separated the two worlds.

“Old Master Shen, how did you break this baffling diversion?” A perplexed water buffalo questioned Shen Lian.

The reply was unhurried, “Free Form Incantation. Coming and going without restriction.”

The water buffalo trembled in its heart. It did not expect that Shen Lian could attain the Dao of Sky Demon. Furthermore, there was the connection with the Parinirmita-vaśavartin 1. Parinirmita-vaśavartin was not the same with the Primordial Sky Demon but was rather the Demon Order Master that was born during the splitting of the earth and opening of the heavens. Formerly, he was on par with Buddha but later on as Buddha detached, Parinirmita-vaśavartin fell short of Buddha to some extent.

In addition, Parinirmita-vaśavartin was not only an almighty capable of being on par with Buddha, but he was also a kind of cultivation state. Such as state was dissimilar to that of heavenly immortals or Bodhi, but leaning more to towards being a distinctive feature.

Rumor had it that once the highest point of Parinirmita-vaśavartin was reached, people were seen as dust, and universes would seem like one’s own heart. As a result, there was nowhere in the universe and the heavens and earth where one could not go and nothing in those places which could not be known and examined.

Naturally, having reached this state, it would be the ultimate in cultivation even though the state was not of Daoist Master or Buddha. In any case, the perfect state that was derived from Parinirmita-vaśavartin was merely a dream, difficult to realize.

However, the Sky Demon Technique contained another power that Water Buffalo was particularly afraid of – the ability to subtly know and examine the heart of a person. As it came to think about it, all its thoughts could be roughly known by Shen Lian if he desired to know them. Lucky for it, there were no evil thoughts in its mind for if it was careless, Shen Lian would put it in its rightful place.

Shen Lian paid no attention to the various distracting thoughts in water buffalo’s mind, as ahead of them there was a celestial palace. With the crow of a cock, a woman came out of the palace. A very tame cock was by the woman’s side and it followed her out. Its beauty was similar to that of a phoenix. The woman herself was not strikingly beautiful and that it was possible to find a prettier one in the mundane secular world. However, she had a trait that was grand and noble. Shen Lian might have seen numerous outstanding women before, but it was impossible for him to not admit that this woman was somewhat special.

It was as if her eyes could speak. As she looked at Shen Lian, he could know that she was asking, “Who are you?”

Shen Lian looked at her for quite some time, extensively sizing her up from head to toe. She was not at all shy but her quick-witted two eyes were brimming with curiosity.

Even after a while, not a word was spoken between them. Then, water buffalo mooed. The woman leisurely walked over to the buffalo, then smacked it on the head. The surprised buffalo could not thwart the blow.

“Little buffalo, please do not moo. My Master is asleep.” Her voice was akin to ancient Chinese bells, beautiful yet natural.

Deep down, water buffalo was incredibly afraid, for the woman had a heat in her hand that seemed capable of instantly reducing it to ashes.

Shen Lian got down from the back of the buffalo. With a smile, he said, “Poor Daoist who rode on the buffalo is ignorant of many things. Forgive the disturbance caused to fairy.”

The woman gave a sweet reply, “You are very well-mannered. When my Master wakes up, I shall ask if it is alright for you to enter the palace and have a cup of water.”

At this point, a celestial voice drifted from inside the palace, “Disciple, invite Zhenren Shen to enter.”

Shen Lian appeared somewhat shocked by this. He did not predict that the owner of this palace would recognize him.

Even from the celestial strength of the woman as well as the vital force of the celestial environment, Shen Lian could not see the arrival of the other party.

The woman replied, “Since my Master has invited, please follow me in, my friend.”

Shen Lian pointed to water buffalo, “As for my ride, I implore dear fairy to please arrange a suitable place for him.”

With a nod, she replied, “Yu, please bring this little buffalo to the herb garden at the back.”

The beautiful phoenix-like Jade Rooster lifted its head and faced the water buffalo. With a plop of its wings, it flew on top of the water buffalo’s head and immediately brought water buffalo away.

Shen Lian knew deep down that water buffalo was controlled through the means of the woman, but he was also startled at the strength of the Jade Rooster.

“This rooster,” he said, “appears to be considered extraordinary. I wonder where it came from.”

“Yu,” she replied, “used to be the Sun Deity of Mao in the Heaven Courtyard. Later on, when the Heaven Courtyard was no longer, it returned here.”

At its worst, Maori Zingjun was still on par with an immortal. If his military strength were slightly more skillful, he might surpass Taiyi in general. Sun Deity of Mao was one of the more renowned Xingjun of Heaven Courtyard, yet surprisingly, it was able to become mere poultry of a master in such a place. Because of this, the origin of this woman’s Master appeared to be nothing short of grand. Furthermore, Shen Lian did not know who this person was. Perhaps this mystery man could be a former ancient celestial.

However, even if he was one of those ancient Saints of folklore and legends who wanted to discuss the rights and wrongs with Shen Lian, a match must be held before he could know. Thus, Shen Lian was astonished but not so much as being shocked.

The woman led Shen Lian to enter the abode of immortals. They reached the hall of the palace, and it was as if a sentence of warm jade and new smoke was present. Surprisingly, the palace hall was a strange and grand king’s jade, as if made by heaven. A lot of manpower would surely be used in building it and creating it completely.

If a person who had absolutely no idea about cultivation breathed in the place’s fumes every day, they may well be able to live to a thousand years old, maybe even longer than the life of pine and cypress trees.

With a clear mind where Dao could be made aware, a Daoist welcomed Shen Lian at the door. Immediately, wind and rain were born in Shen Lian’s heart, along with floating clouds of life and death as well as flourishing blossoms of loneliness. All those great waves of events that happened long ago instantly came before his eyes.

He refined his supreme primordial spirit and in a flash a fire rushed forth from the gaps of his heart, burning completely all the trials and hardships and events of the past, ridding himself of their disturbance.

The Daoist smiled, “I did not know that Zhenren Shen would be paying a visit. Please excuse me for not going out to meet you. Disciple, get some exquisite wine ready. I shall entertain Zhenren Shen.”

He stepped forward and grabbed Shen Lian by the hand. Such a grab could be said to have created a mystical art. As the wind and rain, there was no orifice which it did not enter. Shen Lian could deduce that this charm and grace of grabbing him by the hand was traceable to the same stock as the ‘summoning of wind and rain’. However, it was far more superior to the ‘summoning of wind and rain’, possibly even better by a hundredfold or thousandfold.

Without a trace of his steps, Shen Lian entered the hall, no longer being dragged by the Daoist. This exhibited Shen Lian’s ingenuity. The considerable ease of movement between various Boundless Universes coupled with the mysteriousness of the Free Form Incantation caused the Daoist to be somewhat emotionally moved.

One after the other, they reached the hall and sat opposite each other.

Shen Lian asked, “How may I address you, my Daoist friend?”

The Daoist gladly replied, “Poor Daoist goes by the name of Chi Songzi. I am a cultivator in the Era of the Heavenly Emperor. As for my disciple, she is the daughter of Shennong. From the beginning, she has been cultivating along with me up until this day.”

Shen Lian was very shocked. It was a name Shen Lian had definitely heard before. Chi Songzi was not only a famous celestial, but he was also the bearer of a title known as the ‘Rainmaker’. He was the God who managed the rain of the world, with profoundly mysterious supernatural powers. Even if he was not a person of Daluo, he was still an apex person of Taiyi.

Shen Lian smiled, “I see. So you are senior Chi Songzi. I wonder, how did senior manage to know a person such as myself?”

Translator’s note:

[1] 他化自在天 – refers to the Heaven of the Devas; it is the sixth and last of the six heavens of desire. The beings there do not create the things that they desire, but they enjoy a good environment and have their desires created by the Devas that wish for their favor.