Pear Blossom Upon Malus Spectabilis1
"Wang Lu, if your so-called chance of winning is to let her join the fight, then today's fights are not necessary. We believe that in Jindan Stage, we are not your Master's opponent."
After the defeat of King of Ten Thousand Beasts, the other Daoist Masters of Deity Stage did not have the interest to even try. Even Feng Yin who wasPear Blossom Upon Malus Spectabilis [1] acknowledged as the number one Deity in Nine Regions once frankly spoke that it was impossible to defeat Wang Wu in Jindan Stage, so there was no need for others to humiliate themselves.
Wang Lu helplessly explained, "She is not in the list of today's Jindan group, have any of you, experts of Deity Stage, seen the list? She's a cheerleader, not a group member."
Upon hearing this, those Deity Stage cultivators hurriedly pulled out the notice that was sent out to them a few days ago. Sure enough, when they saw the list of Jindan group members, there was no Wang Wu in it.
"Since there's no Wang Wu, how could you have the assurance to win?"
Wang Lu said, "On this, I have to ask you guys along with the vast number of fellow daoists here to witness it yourself. I can only say that the event that I prepared would not let you down."
With that, Wang Lu turned around and faced the Jindan group behind him. "Senior Wu Xu, please."
From among the crowd, a thin and withered old man came out. He was no more than five feet tall and dressed in a grey-yellow robe. His back was slightly hunched, making him appeared even shorter. His hand was holding a lantern, but instead of bringing out light, the candle actually dimmed the light in its surrounding.
The old man's face looked like a corpse. He slightly turned around and bluntly said to Wang Lu, "We are both Jindan, so no need to call me senior."
With that, Daoist Master Wu Xu slowly walked toward the training arena.
His pace was slow and stiff and every step caused his body to shake. The lantern held in his hand was even more erratic, which perfectly displayed how he already had one foot inside the grave… However, when he arrived at the arena, he snorted and said, "I'm still very young!"
A burst of laughter ensued from around the training arena.
This Daoist Master Wu Xu was a bit famous in the immortal cultivation world of Nine Regions. When he was young, he cultivated the wind and thunder body forging, making him exceptionally strong. He obviously came from a crafty sec--his Soul Tricking Lantern contained countless demonic spells and techniques--but he was more brave and skillful than the sword cultivators who specialized in fighting. Although he was just a Jindan, there were quite many Yuanying cultivators who had fallen under his hand. Unfortunately, as he got older, the side effect of wind and thunder body forging gradually became apparent. His once sturdy figure who at his peak was as high as ten feet gradually withered, no longer able to withstand a fierce fight.
However, regardless, with his hundreds of years of fighting experience and his Soul Tricking Lantern, this time he still managed to be ranked among the top Jindan cultivators. The only ridiculous thing was that the old man refused to accept his old age, still regarding himself as a young man with high spirit.
According to the rumor, at the beginning of this training for the Grand Competition, this little old man actually went to sign up to join the men's group of the beauty contest.
After Wu Xu went on stage, the members of Deity Stage group began to confer among themselves through primordial spirit.
Everyone was reluctant to fight against this old Jindan cultivator. Wu Xu was too old, even older than the old man Feng Yin… Although his demonic spell had reached great heights and was absolutely one of the top powerhouses among Daoist Masters of Jindan Stage, even if one of them win against him it would mean nothing.
After discussing it, no one volunteered, thereupon Feng Yin sighed. "Since that's the case, then I…"
Before he could continue, a young man dressed as a scholar laughed and said, "Let me take this one. If Sect Leader Feng Yin is the one who takes it, what suspense is there in this fight? It would certainly fail to live up the expectation after the painstaking effort of your noble sect's lead disciple."
Feng Yin let out a wry smile but did not reply. This man Three Rivers Scholar, the head of Ten Thousand Books Building, a high-rank sect in the Union of Ten Thousand Immortals. His conduct was generally unpredictable, sometimes righteous and sometimes demonic. He was also not close to any major sects, but neither was he estranged. Just now, his words implied that if Feng Yin were to fight, Wang Lu would never let the Sect Leader of Spirit Sword Sect fail and be punished to cross-dress. Even if there was really a method to make Jindan defeat Deity, it would not be used, hence a waste of time.
However, only family members know about family matters. Wang Lu's sense of belonging and loyalty to Spirit Sword Sect was unquestionable, but it was also equally unquestionable that the guy had cheated his own people, so he was absolutely not going to be lenient...
Therefore, when the Three Rivers Scholar volunteered, Feng Yin was instead relieved, for he was able to sit back and see how Wang Lu bridged the huge gap between Jindan and Deity.
——
After Three Rivers Scholar went on the stage, his face was still filled with an excited smile. "Daoist Master Wu Xu, I have long heard of your illustrious name. In the past, when the power of your Wind and Thunder Forging Body Method shook the Eastern Border Region, your look and expression are so unforgettable. Today those old fogies are so overconfident with their stage, then let us, two young people, show them a good fight."
The expression of Daoist Master Wu Xu was originally tight, but when Three Rivers Scholar said the words 'two young people,' his face suddenly trembled.
Three Rivers Scholar raised his eyebrows and then said, "Although I still have a lot of words to say to you, I can't let so many people wait, so let's get started."
With that, he raised a bamboo tube and then seriously said, "Please be careful fellow daoist Wu Xu, I am known as Three Rivers Scholar, and this is precisely my first river."
With that, he opened the lid of the bamboo tube and poured a black ink from it onto the arena.
This bamboo tube looked small, but its capacity was quiet astonishing. Very quickly, the ink poured onto the arena and formed a river. Daoist Wu Xu looked at this from the distance. Although his face didn't show any reaction, the lantern in his hand was actually stable, no longer swayed.
The opponent was a Daoist Master of Deity Stage. Although at this time the opponent's strength was forcibly suppressed to that of Jindan Stage, it was still an insurmountable peak. Thus, this seemingly ordinary action must have a hidden killing intent behind it.
At the same time, the crowd outside the arena also paid attention to the action of Three Rivers Scholar. This Daoist Master of Deity Stage had always been known as a weird person. As the head of the Ten Thousand Books Building, there was almost no record of him going into action, thus, very few people knew about his cards. Fortunately, at the moment, they finally could see it.
The ink from the bamboo tube was still flowing, far beyond the apparent capacity. However, the mustard seed bag technology had long been known to everyone. Since this bamboo tube was the spiritual treasure of Three Rivers Scholar, it was not unusual for it to have this function. It was just that, the ink had been flowing for a long time that it puzzled everyone's mind.
Three Rivers Scholar himself, after pouring the ink for quite some time, also felt puzzled. "Fellow daoist Wu Xu, why don't you stop me? If I continue to do this, I fell like would have an unfair advantage. I heard that you used to be like wind and thunder, so how could you be so cautious and lethargic?"
Other words were fine, but the word lethargic immediately infuriated Wu Xu. He immediately shook the lantern and thousands upon thousands of ghosts and malicious spirits flew out of it. The temperature on the training arena sharply dropped and the frost even appeared on the ground.
Soon, even the sky became gloomy and then dark. The crowd began to talk among themselves, unexpectedly Wu Xu's lantern actually contained such powerful malicious spirits that they could block the sky and change its color.
However, Wu Xu was actually shocked, because although he did summon the strongest ghosts, he did not have the time to arrange those ghosts so that they could display their strongest power of turning the sky dark. This blotting out the sky thing was not his doing.
The next moment, Wu Xu's jade mansion trembled violently. Immediately his instinct drove him to look up.
A dark waterfall descended from the sky, as if milky way spilled over the earth, and soaked everything. The thousands upon thousands of malicious spirits and ghosts in the air were stained with the ink. And then they, along with their scream, melted and mixed into the ink, becoming a mass of black.
Wu Xu himself responded in time. He used his lantern to prop up a piece of the same darkness, hiding from the black rainstorm.
Three Rivers Scholar was a really well-deserved reputation. Even suppressed in Jindan Stage, this river of ink actually had such power! It was almost comparable to Qiong Hua's Kill Immortal Sword!
No wonder he said something about having an unfair advantage. If the opponent immediately went all out as soon as the fight start, not letting him open the bamboo tube, presumably this river of think would not have such power...
Was it really because of age that Wu Xu's character became dull and cowardly? Could he be able to get back his young and invincible self?
At this point, the lantern in Wu Xu's hand shook again. He clearly felt the space around him had become narrowed and crumbling under the erosion of the river of black ink.
This Jindan against Deity fight seemed a bit too much for him. Perhaps the cream of the crop Jindan Stage cultivators like Wang Lu and Qiong Hua might have a bit of a chance to win, but he...
He was, after all, no longer young.
However, at this time, in the darkness, Daoist Master Wu Xu suddenly heard a song.
A passionate, exciting song. And it had its mysteriousness. Obviously, it was clearly heard in the ears, but the images could not help but vividly appear in front of his eyes.
This was the five-sensory resonance, which used the stirring sound to project information to the other four senses.
In Wu Xu's eyes, the young girls who previously danced with lava and flame as the background began to dance again. He saw them danced in the training arena, singing loudly and cheering for him!
Wu Xu froze for a moment and then shook his head.
At this time, even if you cheer for me, what's the use? The strength gap is so big that it could not be reversed just by personal will alone.
However, just a short time later, Wu Xu's eyes gradually glazed, completely immersed in the figures of those young girls. And the song continued to infiltrate, soaking his already dried jade mansion like a spring.
A moment later, an inexplicable force began to rise. Wu Xu was surprised to find out that the power that he thought could no longer be recovered actually began to slowly recover.
Was this because of the singing of those young girls? Or was it because of their immaculate dance? Or their sexy and enchanting bodies? Or could it be that… the expectant look that they cast at him caused his spirit to rise up, which brought him back to his youthful age.
In a trance, he returned to the past, when his once cherished companion was still right beside him. At that time, they were young and full of passion, always sticking together and exchanging their feelings in the most intimate way.
Heaven, earth, everywhere could be their 'battlefield'. The young Daoist Master Wu Xu indulged in debauchery and left his mark in many places. And now, as the song was near its climax, he seemed to be young once again.
In his lower abdomen, a powerful flame was burning! The heat soon spread all over his body, moistening the withered, stretching the atrophied, and from which endless power was born.
"Hahaha! Girls, thank you for your performance, now it's my turn to show mine!"It is a poetry by a famous Chinese poet Su Shi 苏轼 (1037-1101). The poet was made to make fun of that a man, who had been 80 years old, married an 18-year-old girl. The Pear Blossom is a white flower which alludes old men's white hair, while the Malus Spectabilis is a pink flower which is more colorful and more like a young girl.