283 The Mystery of Immortal State

Dashava Kunloon.

He was the renowned Dharma Spell master in the Chinese Community of South East Asia. Of all the Gong Tau masters, he was the only one of Chinese descent. He was one-fourth Chinese and was considered one of the two most powerful Chinese dharma spell grandmasters, the other being Zhou Daoji. However, unlike Zhou Daoji who used Feng Shui Dharma Spells, Kunloon excelled at the black magic of Gong Tau and Curses.

He resided in the northern territory of Thailand and wielded as much power and influence as the Thailand King himself. Many leaders of northern Thailand militia groups were Dashava's disciples. The residence of Chiang Mai called him the One-eyed Naga King.

Alodi knew that the title of One-eyed Naga King was not easily given to just anyone.

The old man had become blind a while ago, however, he had used dharma spells to create a third eye on his forehead. This third eye not only had much sharper vision than that of normal eyes, but it could also quickly unleash powerful and deadly Dharma Spells.

Alodi had challenged the old man, thinking he was invincible. However, his iron fist that could stun a big tiger seemed as week as tofu. The old man had used many curses on Alodi and weakened him significantly. After the battle, Alodi was deeply impressed by the old man's power and decided to become one of his disciples. Later, he became the Guardian of the One-eyed Naga King.

"Thirty years ago, I traveled to Hong Kong with a great martial artist from Malaysia called Ma Yanxiu. We planned to take over Hong Kong for ourselves, but we were stopped by Zhou Daoji. He used the Nine Dragon Spell Chain and killed Ma Yanxiu. Zhou Daoji's power was on par with me, so I didn't think I would emerge as the victor in a conflict with him." Kunloon rose to his feet and walked on the stone floor barefooted. He continued to tell his memory in a husky voice.

"After I have returned to Chiang Mai, I have dedicated all my time in cultivation and finally achieved the One Eye Dharma Spells. I braved Hong Kong again but was once again stopped by him. This time, he had cast a huge Dharma Array over the Jiu Long Mountain and I am not certain I could get past. So I wavered at the last moment and returned Thailand empty-handed."

Alodi listened quietly.

He knew that the information he had just heard was a secret war between two of the most powerful masters in SouthEast Asia. They had both reached the peak of the Dharma Spells and possessed unthinkable techniques that could turn the tables in a blink.

"Over twenty years, I have focused on cultivation and gained power each day. I am confident that other than the only Ancestral Patriarch, no one in Thailand could stand against me. Even Zhou Daoji was no match against me." Kunloon said lightly. "I never thought that as soon as I finally thought of a counter for Zhou Daoji's Dharma Array, he is already dead."

"He had kept me at bay for thirty years, but he was killed? What does that say about my power then? What have I been doing over the thirty years?"

"Teacher." Alodi shivered. He lowered his head until his forehead was almost touching the floor.

"Who did it?" Kunloon linked his hands behind his back and stood underneath the statue of the One-eyed Naga King.

"A Chinese Martial arts Grandmaster, his name is Chen Beixuan." Alodi said fearfully.

"Chen Beixuan?" Kunloon furrowed his brows and said: "I know the names of all top Martial artists in China. Lin Tatian, Hua Yunfeng, Ye Nantian and even Lei Qianjue from the Hong Sect. I have never heard of Chen Beixuan."

"Teacher, he is a new rising star in the Chinese martial arts community. He made his name by killing Lei Qianjue. People say that he is the most powerful Grandmaster in China." Alodi explained as an expectant light appeared in his eyes.

He was a Master in Ancient Muay Thai in Thailand and was excited to spar with such a powerful foe. At his level, unless he was fighting the Grandmaster-level Martial artists, he rarely got excited about fighting anymore.

"Lei Qianjue died in his hands?" Kunloon paused a second and didn't seem to be alarmed by the news.

"I saw Lei Qianjue's strength ten years ago. I admit that he is powerful, but he was not nearly as powerful as me. I was more surprised by Chen Beixuan's victory over Zhou Daoji than that over Lei Qianjue."

Kunloon lifted his chin as proud flashed in his eyes. "Cultivators who had reached my level could feel how difficult it was to reach the Immortal State from Transcendent State. Of all the Immortal State cultivators in history, only one was a Martial artist and rest of them were spellcasters. For most martial artists, the gap between the two levels was unbridgeable."

"Who was that one Martial Artist who made it?" Alodi asked curiously.

"The one from the Lin Family. The most powerful man in China a hundred years ago." Kunloon said slowly and cautiously. Each word that came out of his mouth seemed to carry a heavyweight.

"Lin family of Southeastern China?" Alodi lowered his head.

Although The Lin Family had been mostly keeping to themselves lately, their name still instilled fear into the hearts of those who evoked it. Twenty years ago, the traitor of the family, Lin Tatian nearly dominated SouthEast Asia. Even Alodi had seen the power of Lin Tatian. However, such a mighty figure was stricken down by the Lin family swiftly. It was evident that despite the Lin Family's reticence, they still harbored great and unimaginable power.

"I have rumors saying that Chen Beixuan was a master in both Dharma Spell and Martial Arts," Alodi said in confusion.

"I see." Kunloon nodded.

"But, isn't the key to perfecting martial arts dedication? If he dabbled in both Martial arts and Dharma Spells at the same time, wouldn't that cause a distraction?" Alodi asked dumbfoundedly.

He had dedicated his entire life to Ancient Muay Thai, he must follow the way of the Muay Thai regardless of the activity he was engaging in. Let it be walking, sitting, sleeping, eating, and even having sex, all of those activities had to be carried out in a manner that benefited his training. Therefore, the fact that Chen Fan had cultivated in both Martial arts as well as Dharma Spells perplexed him as it seemed inefficient to him.

"You don't quite understand it yet." Kunloon linked his hands behind his back and replied as a light of wisdom flickered in his eyes.

"Martial arts are easy to get started but much harder to master, while spell casting was the other way around. That is why you have seen so many more Martial artists than Spellcasters in the world. Let it be the art of Internal Force originated in China, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Indian's Ancient secret art of Yoga or the Ancient Muay Thai in Thailand, they all belong to the category of Martial arts and had much more followers than spellcasting. There were even more Mixed Martial Arts Masters than there were master spellcasters."

"However, Dharma Spells were hard to get into but easy to master; the exact opposite." Kunloon looked up and said proudly. "Although there are only a few master spellcasters, each and every one of them is able to reach the peak of the Dao-Reaching Level, if not Immortal State. Many people had misunderstood the meaning of Immortal, in the name of Immortal State. It referred to one's soul energy. Over the last hundred years or so, there was only very few martial artists who were able to achieve soul energy by practicing Martial arts. Nearly all Immortal State cultivators had reached their level by focusing on Dharma cultivation."

"Therefore, let it the art of Gong Tau, Feng Shui, Ancient Witchcraft, Ninjitsu or Dharma Curse, the longer one stuck with it, the easier the cultivation became. Plus, when they finally became a grandmaster level Dharma Spell user, they were much more potent than a Martial arts Grandmaster."

"Therefore, even a martial artist would have to seek the path to a higher level in Dharma Cultivation. The end of the Martial Arts cultivation was the start of Dharma Spells. The two were essentially the same thing with a slight difference in the lower levels. Once one had reached the Immortal State, the line between the two would disappear."

Alodi was shocked after hearing the old man's knowledge.

This was secret information that was hidden from him until now.

It turned out that there were so many connections between Martial artists and Dharma Cultivation. He had been focusing on practicing Muay Thai kickboxing, but little did he know that he was drifting further away from his ultimate goal. He wagered that only someone as powerful as Kunloon would have known the secrets about Immortal State.

With that thought in mind, Alodi dropped both knees and kowtowed to the old man reverentially.

"Chen Beixuan could counter Zhou Daoji's Array formation and kill Zhou Daoji it meant that he had achieved an unimaginable level of attainment. One more step, he would reach the Immortal State. I think our power must be on par with each other." Kunloon lamented.

Alodi was stunned by the old man's remark, then he felt a hint of indignation.

He had never thought that Kunloon would think so highly of Chen Fan. Alodi was also an accomplished martial artist and hadn't expected too large of a gap between his strength and that of Chen Fan.

Suddenly, a barefooted girl wearing bangles on both her wrists and ankles walked into the temple. She announced cautiously.

"Grandmaster. The family lord of Loong family from Hong Kong wishes to see you."

"Haha, it appeared that the top dogs of Hong Kong are already on the move." Kunloon laughed out loud.

The old man linked his hands behind his back and sauntered out of the temple.

"Follow me Alodi, let's meet this old friend of mine. I have been waiting for this opportunity for thirty years. This time, I am going to claim supremacy in Hong Kong, turning it into the land of the One-eyed Naga."

"Teacher, this is your moment!" Alodi exclaimed in elation.

Thailand's political landscape was complicated, to say the least, and therefore, it was difficult for an outlander such as Kunloon to exert his influence. Without any strong political backing, he retreated to Chiang Mai where people of his own race congregated. However, Kunloon's ambition was much bigger than Chiang Mai, he wanted to claim Hong Kong and replace Zhou Daoji as the dominant figure. There, he could gather strength and pass down his secret arts as well as his bloodline.

"But, teacher… what about that Chen Beixuan?"

Alodi asked with furrowed brows.

If Kunloon wanted to dominate Hong Kong, then the conflict with Chen Beixuan was inevitable.

"Fret not. Fighting in real life is much more complicated than comparing power on paper." Kunloon let out a proud smirk. "Although I wouldn't be able to kill him, I can drive him out of Hong Kong. Plus, don't forget that I have inherited the secret arts of Gong Tau from the Grand Magus of the Ancient Witch Sect. I am much more powerful than Zhou Daoji when it comes down to purely spellcasting."

Alodi nodded his agreement. He had never lost faith in the power of the Grandmaster of Gong Tau.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan was sitting in front of a table, staring at a pile of documents.

Although he was a stranger in Hong Kong, he was well connected in every level of the society through spellcasters such as Huang Wenze, Zhang Ziru, and Qiu Yulin. These men knew the ins and outs of the power dynamic in Hong Kong since they were frequently invited to the houses of the rich and the powerful. Meanwhile, they never lost touch with their low life origins and had the streets and back alleys in Hong Kong filled with their ears and eyes.

The Spellcasters working for Chen Fan formed a large web of information that covered every inch of Hong Kong. There was no information, however small it was, that could slipe under their radar.

The pile of documents beside Chen Fan was collected by Qiu Yulin.

"The Loong family?"

Chen Fan slipped through the paper as a light came up in his eyes.

Many forces were behind the recent attack on the Zheng's Financial Group, and the Loong family seemed to be the one carrying the banner at the forefront.

"I might have to visit the Loong family before I leave Hong Kong. I thought what happened to Nie Shunchen should have scared off these greedy bastards." Chen Fan let out a cold smile and thought to himself.