Chapter 9
In her dreams, the familiar plain reminded her how lucky she was today.
Qiao Wan walked confidently, moving forward.
This plain was so vast that it took her half a day to reach the Bodhi tree in the center of the plain. The Bodhi tree was a hundred feet tall, with lush green leaves.
Qiao Wan was startled when she saw the Bodhi tree.
In theory, the senior should be sitting under the Bodhi tree, but now it was empty, with no sign of anyone.
In the distance, there seemed to be a faint sound of waves.
A sense of foreboding suddenly surged in Qiao Wan's heart: "This can't be what I think, right?"
After snapping out of it, Qiao Wan quickly ran, following the wind, and finally arrived at the end of the plain on time.
Normally, the sea here was calm and peaceful, but today it was churning with gigantic waves.
When she reached the beach and saw the scene before her, Qiao Wan's eyes widened.
The waves were so immense that they obscured the sun, and the setting sun cast a red hue on the sea, with fragmented body parts floating in the undulating waves.
The stench of blood overwhelmed her senses as she just arrived, getting drenched from head to toe in the cold and salty mist.
Amidst the raging waves and mist, a gigantic sea monster, resembling an octopus, waved its tentacles. Calling it an octopus wasn't accurate; this sea monster had no face, only a massive, black bulging eye, like a swollen boil.
The sea monster's massive tentacles, as thick as a person's waist, pounded against the surface, generating one wave after another.
And in that instant, there was a blue dot moving through the tentacles, fighting endlessly with the sea monster.
When Qiao Wan saw the blue dot, it stopped. Though it was surrounded by mist, Qiao Wan recognized it immediately. It was the senior from her dreams.
Qiao Wan was shocked and speechless, "C... Cthulhu?"
"Hmm?"
Although the face of the Venerable One was obscured by the mist, it was clear that they took a quick glimpse at her.
That glance allowed the one-eyed sea monster to seize the opportunity and lunge one of its tentacles towards them.
Seeing this, the Venerable One furrowed their brows, shouted in anger, and delivered a palm strike!
"The divine power of the Tathagata!"
"Boom!"
The imposing tentacles were instantly shattered into two pieces by the golden palm print, plunging into the sea.
Witnessing this scene, Qiao Wan couldn't help but twitch her eye.
Damn it.
Although one tentacle was shattered, countless tentacles of the sea monster immediately sprouted again, intertwining into a sticky and damp net.
The sea surface suddenly became turbulent with roaring waves!
The Venerable One's expression turned stern as they darted through the tentacles, flipping and soaring, striking palm after palm!
The one-eyed sea monster seemed to anticipate every move of the Venerable One. Despite the Venerable One's profound cultivation, they couldn't match the strength of four hands, or rather, countless claws.
Perhaps the sea monster wanted to buy some time from the Venerable One to discuss their heavenly father and savior, Cthulhu.
One of the tentacles wrapped around the Venerable One's ankle, while others followed suit, coiling around the Venerable One's wrist, entangling their neck, and restraining their waist, firmly binding them in mid-air.
The Venerable One clearly showed no interest. They raised an eyebrow and angrily exclaimed, "Evildoer!"
They intended to release another strike, but their wrist was tightly bound by the tentacles, rendering them unable to move.
Not only that, but the suction cups on the tentacles firmly adhered to the Venerable One's skin, making it difficult for them to break free. Blood-red seawater dripped down the tentacles, soaking the Venerable One's robe. Even through the dense fog, one could faintly see the outlines of their muscles.
The tentacles gradually tightened, causing the Venerable One to frown and let out a sacred and solemn gasp.
The ends of the tentacles seemed to bend lightly and sway twice.
Qiao Wan : "..."
Seeing the Venerable One bound by the tentacles, Qiao Wan blinked her eyes and could no longer afford to delay. She drew her sword and charged forward, shouting, "Venerable One, I'm here to help you!"
The sea monster, seeing another intruder, extended its remaining tentacles to block her.
Although Qiao Wan had lower cultivation, she excelled in refining her body.
Unable to increase her cultivation, she could only focus on dodging and exerting as much force as possible.
Twisting her body to evade the tentacles, Qiao Wan made her way straight towards the sea monster's watery eye. Then, she lifted her sword high and mercilessly stabbed it with a "puchi" sound!
The ruptured eyeball sprayed liquid that instantly splattered all over Qiao Wan (woman's) face.
Inevitably, she tasted a strange and salty flavor. Qiao Wan : "Pah, pah, pah!"
The octopus sea monster wildly thrashes its tentacles in pain.
Qiao Wan gathers her courage, pulls out her sword with strength, takes a deep breath, and shouts, "Go!"
The sword flies out of her hand like it has a mind of its own, swiftly slicing through the tentacles, which fall to the ground.
Qiao Wan is surprised by how easy it was.
This doesn't seem right.
Even though Venerable One's cultivation is much higher than hers, he couldn't defeat this sea monster. How is it that she can handle it so easily? Did something special happen to her?
As soon as the tentacles loosen, the Venerable One breaks free and, without hesitation, moves through the severed limbs in front of him, quickly forming a seal with his fingers.
"Radiant Buddha Crown Seal!"
"Hah!"
His golden palm lands on the sea monster, demonstrating perfectly what it means to strike when your enemy is weak.
Before the sea monster can react, it shatters into pieces, exploding into nothingness.
The fragments of flesh and severed limbs fall into the unpredictable waves, while the Venerable One calmly walks towards Qiao Wan, stepping on the waves.
"Let's go."
Qiao Wan, who witnesses this scene, says to herself, "Real men never look back at explosions, just like in movies."
The Venerable One stops in front of her, noticing that she hasn't moved. He frowns and asks, "Hmm?"
His voice is deep and commanding.
Qiao Wan quickly snaps out of her daze and shakes her head, wanting to ask him what just happened.
But the Venerable One's expression suddenly changes, and he quickly moves her behind him with a burst of energy, like spinning a spinning top.
Qiao Wan looks up and sees waves rising half a zhang high on the sea surface. Something is slowly crawling out of the depths of the sea, facing the waves.
The Venerable One looks at the sea and says, "Now is not the time for conversation."
Qiao Wan: ?
With a sweep of his sleeve, the Venerable One fiercely strikes her chest with another burst of energy.
"Bang!"-
Qiao Wan is sent flying, curling up like a shrimp.
She wakes up.
Upon waking up, the lights in the cave flicker.
That last attack almost caved in her chest. The first thing Qiao Wan does after waking up is to jump off the stone bed and touch her chest.
Thank goodness, it's still full and unharmed.
Relieved, Qiao Wan silently recalls, "What was that dream about?"
When did this senior's dreams become so violent?
Qiao Wan knows what the sea surface represents - it represents the Venerable One's inner demons.
Most of the time in her dreams, the sea is calm. But occasionally, waves as tall as a zhang rise, raging and roaring. At these times, strange and fierce demons and nightmarish creatures stand on top of the waves, looking eagerly at the Venerable One under the Bodhi tree, itching for a fight.
The Venerable One stands guard under the Bodhi tree.
With unwavering mindfulness, the demons on the sea surface itch to attack but dare not make a move.
But what about today's dream?
Qiao Wan quickly considers jumping back into bed and closing her eyes to see how things develop.
But just as she approached the bedside, she almost bumped her head on the bed, knocking out two of her front teeth.
Her legs felt weak.
Qiao Wan quickly stopped her steps.
This feeling was not like her spiritual power being drained, but more like being poisoned. She felt a chill from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
She pulled open the clothes on her shoulders and saw that the black marks around the two blood holes seemed to have deepened a bit, gradually spreading downward.
Oh no, she forgot to take the Bi Ou Fairy Pill. Master must have forgotten to ask Xiao He to bring it to her.
She closed her clothes, grabbed her sword, and went to Zhou Yan's dwelling.
Saving her own life was the top priority. As for the senior in her dream, Qiao Wan had great confidence in their abilities.
At least, they were definitely more powerful than Feng Wangyan and his featherless rooster.
If they could hit her chest and make it explode, dealing with those demons shouldn't be a problem. Besides, they didn't want her staying there.
Her master, Yuqing Spiritual Master, was cold and lived in a high and cold place, especially at night, when cold winds blew on the mountain.
With the bitter winds outside and the evil cold air of the snow and tiger whirlwind inside, Qiao Wan felt shivering cold, barely making it to Zhou Yan's residence.
Xiao He stood in front of his door and when he saw her, he waved his feather duster and immediately came up to her.
"Is elder martial sister's injury better now?" Xiao He asked cautiously.
"Much better," Qiao Wan replied cautiously.
Xiao He observed her expression, "Elder martial sister, your complexion has betrayed you."
Qiao Wan sighed and answered casually, "It's cold."
"Has Master gone to rest?" Xiao He shook his head, "Not yet, he's taking care of Elder Martial Sister Mu."
There was a hint of envy on Xiao He's young face, "Master is so good to Elder Martial Sister Mu. I've never seen him treat anyone else so well."
"You came in late, so it's normal that you haven't seen it," Qiao Wan replied.
Xiao He looked at Qiao Wan and secretly thought that he came in not too late and still hadn't seen Master treat Elder Martial Brother or Qiao Wan like that. But he only kept those thoughts to himself.
Xiao He then said, "Elder martial sister, do you want to come in and sit for a while, have a cup of tea to warm up?"
Qiao Wan shook her head, "No need, I'll go find Master right away."
Her master, Yuqing Spiritual Master, was actually very easy to get along with, except for being a bit cold, he didn't have any major faults. He was generous to his disciples, but had one quirk - he didn't like people coming uninvited, not even his direct disciples.
When she was young and reckless, she accidentally entered his old man's dwelling while chasing a fairy crane, broke a jade bottle, and was eventually rescued from confinement by Elder Martial Brother Lu Pihan.
Thinking of Elder Martial Brother Lu Pihan's dead face, Qiao Wan asked again, "Xiao He, do you know when Elder Martial Brother will come back?"
When she left the mountain, Elder Martial Brother had just been sent out by Zhou Yan to run errands. If he received the news, he would definitely rush back.
In the story "Immortal Ascending Road," not much is described about Lu Pihan, possibly because he wasn't attractive and was therefore excluded from being a potential male lead. In the end, he saved Mu Xiaoxiao.
Lu Pihan's death became the catalyst for the relationship between Mu Xiaoxiao and Pei Chunzheng. Due to jealousy, Pei Chunzheng did some questionable things, like locking her up.
