Mutated Tao

Jingxin was different from anyone he had encountered up until now—she looked very terrifying, but she was very amiable.

But Li Huowang would rather this huge, fat woman just rip off her facade like the others and attack him instead of chuckling as she looked at him, almost as if she knew that everything she said was true. At least, that would make him feel better.

Is all that really true?

Li Huowang started to panic, his thoughts becoming more muddled, and his expression growing more agonized. The air around him seemed to be pressing in on him, almost as though it was heavy, making breathing rather unbearable.

Various images flashed through Li Huowang’s mind constantly. When he remembered Yang Na passing him those examination papers, he seemed to have come to a realization.

“No! That’s not right! A person may be able to imagine an entire world, but they definitely cannot just imagine knowledge!” muttered Li Huowang.

At that moment, all the knowledge that he had learned in high school quickly flashed through his mind.

A look of pity appeared on Abbess Jingxin’s face as she ‘looked’ at the youth muttering to himself while clutching his head. “Poor thing.”

However, regardless of what she thought, Li Huowang quickly came to his senses. He seemed tired, but his eyes were once again filled with determination.

“Looks like you’ve thought it through? So do you believe what I said or not?” asked Jingxin.

“Abbess Jingxin, let’s not talk about your son anymore. Let’s get to the point; tell me what a Strayed One is,” asked Li Huowang, trying to regain control of the topic.

A fat finger with a cracked nail trembled as it pointed at Li Huowang’s chest. “You are a Strayed One. The sense of doubt, confusion and the karmic obstacles in your heart, as well as the karma on your body. Based on the scent of those things that are behind you, you must have killed quite a few people before this, right? So you can’t be considered a complete outsider either, and you should know some of the matters about the formless arts of cultivation. Aside from foreign objects, the most important thing in any cultivation sect is your state of mind. The sense of doubt, confusion and the karmic obstacles that Strayed Ones have are much purer and more stable than those of the ordinary folks. In order to stabilize their own state of mind, some sects require a Strayed One’s sense of doubt and confusion. And, even if they don’t need it for themselves, they can sell a Strayed One to those who do need it, and make a big profit.”

State of mind? Emotions?

Li Huowang immediately thought of the intense amounts of pain and suffering needed to use the red bamboo slip, as well as the monks from the Righteous Monastery who had an obsession with beasts, flesh-and-blood creatures, as well as illicit affairs between the same sex.

From the looks of it, they all followed some sort of rules in everything they did. This was the first time that Li Huowang was getting a preliminary understanding of the supernatural powers of this world.

“Some people might capture you for other purposes as well, but the biggest reason will always be the sense of doubt and confusion that you possess. The only ones who always have this sense of doubt and confusion in their hearts are the Strayed Ones—normal people do not have that sense of doubt and confusion,” explained Jingxin.

Through this conversation, Li Huowang came to understand that in this world, human emotions were not intangible. Here, they were objects that could be made tangible and could affect reality.

Human emotions could even be used as a form of currency.

Li Huowang decisively said, “The sense of doubt and confusion, as well as the emotions in my heart can actually be used to help others cultivate? But, at this point I’m no longer confused now—I am sure that that side is a hallucination, and that this is reality. Even if I sink into a hallucination once again, I definitely wouldn’t mistake that side for reality.”

Hearing this, Jingxin looked at Li Huowang, and smiled faintly. “Really? Alright, I will believe it if you say so; I can’t be bothered to argue about it with you. You can take your leave.”

Leave?

Li Huowang immediately realized that he had not yet completed his main objective for visiting here. He hadn’t come here this time to understand what a Strayed One was.

“Abbess Jingxin, I came here this time to ask for your help in exorcizing an evil spirit,” said Li Huowang.

Based on the current situation, Dan Yangzi was a far more dangerous problem, and the reason for his visit this time around had been to get rid of him.

The first thing he had to do was to survive; he could worry about whether or not he would turn mad after that. After all, if his body ended up getting occupied by Dan Yangzi, then there would be no need for him to consider what happens after that.

“Ah? So you’re not here to ask about the way to resolve your situation as a Strayed One? Then why were you babbling about useless things earlier? Don’t you know how to get straight to the point?” Abbess Jingxin was a little displeased.

After apologizing, Li Huowang explained the situation to Jingxin.

“Became Immortal? There are actually still people trying to become Immortal these days?” remarked Jingxin.

Jingxin mumbled to herself, then retrieved two cow-horn shaped hexagrams from under her nun cap and began divining out loud.

After a long time of divining, she started to carefully study Li Huowang’s face with her ‘eyes’.

Just as Li Huowang was starting to feel uncomfortable, Jingxin suddenly spoke, “On the day he attained Immortality, did you eat your Master?”

“Huh?” Li Huowang was puzzled. “How could I eat him? If I had a way to get rid of Dan Yangzi, then I wouldn’t have made a plan that would end with me dying with him.”

“Hmm…” Jingxin did not rebut and only nodded silently.

Then, with a flick of her right hand, Li Huowang suddenly felt something extremely greasy all over his body, making him feel very uncomfortable. At the same time, he felt as though something was moving beneath his skin.

“Don’t rub it; endure that feeling,” said Jingxin.

Finally, after maintaining that posture for two incense sticks worth of time, Jingxin spoke, “I do have a way to deal with your Master, but it would require using quite a few Buddhist artifacts and merits. So, why should I help you?”

Li Huowang was stunned but quickly regained his composure. This was simply about giving some benefits. Since she was being so straightforward about her conditions, he felt that she was way more reliable than the Righteous Monastery.

He took out the sacred text, the gourd storing the lifespan pills, and the red bamboo slip before placing them on the ground. “As long as you are able to get rid of Dan Yangzi, you can choose any of these items.”

However, he hadn’t expected that even after taking out all these items, he would be met with utter contempt from Jingxin.

“What kind of trash is all this? Take them all away! Especially the Profound Records. Bring that thing as far away as you can; don’t taint the the Benevolent Nunnery’s locale!” shouted Jingxin.

She seemed extremely repulsed by the red bamboo slips. It was also at this moment that Li Huowang learnt of its name.

At that moment, there was a look of greed on her old face, “I can smell gold on you.”

Li Huowang immediately understood. “No problem, I will offer gold pieces to the Benevolent Nunnery’s Bodhisattva later.”

As soon as money was mentioned, Jingxin’s attitude seemed to change completely. It was no longer as kindly as before; she seemed a lot more calculative now.

“Right, silver as well. I smell silver on you too. I want that as well. Besides that, I need you to help me find some items,” said Jingxin.

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

For those who don't want to think too much, eh it's fine to just cruise through the chapter on autopilot.

Basically in this world everything can be a currency, including intangible and abstract stuffs like emotions, karma, and lifespan. Strayed Ones are just more valuable than regular people because they have a special sense of doubt and confusion, just like how people with O negative blood is very rare and hospitals actually keep track of them

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