The Immortal’s Poison

The ray of golden light slowly engulfed the twilight as the rogue cultivators hastily released their magic weapons to protect themselves. Other than the few mortal beings like Wen Leyang, every cultivator had their own magic weapon for self-protection. After a while, they realized that the golden light appeared to be harmless. Only then did the crowd heave a sigh of relief, but they still do not know what the monks of the Great Mercy Temple were up to.

Earlier, while at the foot of Zhanyan Peak, Wen Leyang was starting to comprehend that self-cultivation seemed to differ from self-defense cultivation. For example, it would be very difficult for a trained boxing coach to win a fight against ten regular boxing coaches; but for a self-cultivator, it was still possible to win a fight against a group of lesser-skilled practitioners even though they had greater numbers. The nine monks had only chanted a few verses of the Buddhist hymn and more than half of the rogue cultivators had already fallen without a chance to strike a blow at all.

The golden light felt sunny and warm, but there’s no knowing when it will suddenly transform into a sharp steel knife. Though Wen Leyang has an innocent and sincere character, even he knew that the monks would not release a golden light that shrouded the entire mountain just for the purpose of making things look pleasant. If this was a spotlight, one would wonder just how big of a light bulb it needed in order to keep it illuminated.

Red Grandaunt, with her extensive experience, and said to Wen Leyang in a low voice, "This is the Buddha’s Golden Light that originates from Mount Emei’s Great Mercy Temple." She smiled as she noticed that a few of them had a blank look on their faces and continued the explanation, "Each practitioner of Buddhism has their own method of cultivation and magical power. They also have individual levels of suppressing or boosting the five elements. For example, the power of a method of cultivation based on the fire element will be greatly diminished if it used underwater. However, if one were to practice in a place filled with celestial Yang force it will be enhanced to a higher level of power. The golden light which is being released by the monks is equivalent to a place filled with celestial Yang force."

Wen Leyang nodded his head in understanding. Under the glow of the Buddha’s Golden Light, the monk’s power and magic arts will be greatly amplified compared to their normal levels.

Suddenly, a long and powerful howling sound was heard as it rushed skywards from the foot of the peak. The sound vibrated with a metallic hum as it drowned out the soulful chanting of the Buddhist hymn. A few shadowy figures sped up from afar like comets, rushing towards the peak at a great speed!

The rogue cultivators beamed with delight and erupted into loud cheers. Before the sound of their cheering has died down, a person of short stature followed by a few others appeared in front of their faces. The old monk Ji Fei and Shui Jing were standing behind the short person, who immediately approached Wen Leyang and Mumu with a smiling face.

There were three others persons behind Ji Fei and Shui Jing. They were tall and muscular men dressed in skin-tight black shirts which showed off the bulging muscles on their bodies. The exposed parts of their chest and neck showed an array of colorful tattoos. If these fellows had walked down the main street they would be immediately recognized as thugs who made a living out of using their fists.

The short man appeared to be around thirty years of age and had a pimply face, small eyes, and a bulbous nose. He was dressed in all black with a thick gold chain hanging from his neck. He held a small pouch under his armpit and his appearance is on par with a socialite’s style of attire.

Red Grandaunt, Giant Bull and old man Gongye immediately moved together and walked to the front of the short man, "It’s our pleasure to meet you, Lord Leyang (Happy Goat)."

The rogue cultivators of higher seniority gave the short man a respectful nod while those of a lower seniority kowtowed and paid their respects. They saluted the short man one after the other and their smiling faces were filled with warm sincerity.

The short man, Lord Leyang, had an unlovely appearance. However, on second glance, his forehead naturally exudes a stately temperament and the smile on his pimply face was genuine and sincere. He laughed and greeted them with a voice full of Beijing accent:

"Grandpa Gongye, your old body is still so hale and healthy!"

"Red Grandaunt, your youngest grandchild should be enrolling in high school now, right? You ought to pick a good school, it’ll be best if you can send him to study in Beijing! I have a few acquaintances in the Ministry of Education and I gave them a call before coming here, it should only take half a day for them to give me a reply!"

"Haha, Sir Bull, how are you not feeling cold with your chest exposed in the middle of winter!"

"You are…Fourth Laoqiu from Buluan Valley. Tsk tsk, it has only been a few years since we parted and you’ve cultivated yourself into an immortal! Is your father well? After I am no longer preoccupied for the next few days, I am thinking of meeting up with the great old man for two drinks."

"Eh, Monkey Liu, your sun-covering gold sand is getting more and more dazzling! If I ever become broke, I may need to borrow a hundred grams of your gold sand to buy some cigarettes."

...

Lord Leyang greeted the crowd in an easygoing manner. He was soon well acquainted with the rogue cultivators, and every person who was addressed by him proudly answered his greetings with respect. They were in high spirits as if they had been granted a great honor.

Wen Leyang missed the cue and he quietly asked Red Grandaunt, "Grandaunt, who is this Lord Leyang person?"

Red Grandaunt, whose grandchild had just been offered a place in a Beijing high school by the short man, was beaming like a flower as she said, "Silly child, there are noble cultivators with profound foundations and there are wicked cultivators with evil practices. If the rogue cultivators do not gather as a group, we will soon be destroyed by those with evil intentions. This is why normally we will collude with one another so that those who are being bullied for no reason can still seek their friend’s help to fight back against the bully. The Leyang family from Painting Town have always supported us. Even after so many generations, they are still considered the nobility of the rogue cultivators."

Wen Leyang pondered for a moment, "Is the Leyang family the leader of the rogue cultivators?"

Red Grandaunt giggled uproariously, "Well they are not really considered as our leader per se. After all, we are rogue cultivators and our organization is usually not particularly strict with hierarchal structures. However, Painting Town has a prestige of over a few thousand years and Lord Leyang is an earnest character. In the hearts of our people, he does indeed hold a high position."

Wen Leyang nodded his head, "I understand now, so the information of the birth of a treasure on Zhanyan Peak was also relayed by Lord Leyang to the rogue cultivators, right?"

Giant Bull shot a puzzled look at Wen Leyang from the side before laughing as he said, "So, the foolish child was not that foolish after all!"

Wen Leyang pulled out a carrot. He bit off the carrot’s pointy end as he smiled and answered, "Other than Lord Leyang, I don’t think any other person can rally up so many supporters to come here." As soon as he said that, he unintentionally raised his head and met the gaze of the short man.

The short man’s gaze was shining as he looked at the few members of Wen Leyang’s group. He smiled as he spoke to the old monk and the fat monk behind him, "Is this young fellow here the apprentice that the both of you took notice of? He’s got good insight, what a waste that you two fellows have already accepted him under your wing. Otherwise, I would surely bring him home with me and beg my father to allow me to take a junior apprentice! Oh, I made a mistake, I won’t need to beg as my own father will be fighting to take him as an apprentice!"

Judging by the meaning behind the short man’s speech, Ji Fei and Shui Jing had told the lie that Wen Leyang had formally acknowledged the two old thieves as his Masters.

Lord Leyang looked towards Wen Leyang once again and his small eyes were full of good cheer as he asked, "How may I address you, little brother?"

"My name is Wen Leyang."

An angry curse broke out suddenly as the three muscular men who had been following closely behind the short man simultaneously went into a rage. They reached with their big arms to grab Wen Leyang as they swore, "Little mother*cker, how dare you insult Lord Leyang!"

There was the sound of a click as Wen Xiaoyi raised her eyebrows and asked, "Who dares to come forward?!" She had unstrapped the big-muzzled blunderbuss and had deftly reloaded the weapon. Upon seeing the gun, old monk Ji Fei and Shui Jing immediately tucked their heads in out of reflex.

The short man’s face showed a puzzled and odd smile as he waved his hand and ordered the three thugs to stand down, "Is your name really Wen Leyang? Hehe, my name is Leyang Wen."

Wen Leyang was stunned for a moment, then he too laughed strangely as he thought of the two little goblins from the ‘Journey to the West’ story, one was called Benbao Erba while the other was called Baobo Erben.

Lord Leyang was going to say something more when the soulful chanting of the Buddhist hymn once again echoed from the Buddha’s Golden Light in the sky. A voice said, "It is the greatest honor for the members of the Great Mercy Temple to welcome the arrival of Lord Leyang from Painting Town! Amitabha, Hope Phase from the seat of honor at the Great Mercy Temple’s Triple Illuminated Monastery is pleased to greet the Lord."

Before the sound of the first voice had faded away, another softer voice which sounded like the last breath of a dying person was heard, "Hope Guard from the seat of honor at the Great Mercy Temple’s Six Passes Monastery pays his respects."

A third voice, which sounded even more peculiar as if each member of a group was relaying the message word by word, spoke from the air, "Hope Cause from the seat of honor at the Great Mercy Temple’s Eight Samsara Monastery kowtows the visitor."

The fourth voice, on the other hand, was like the cracking of the thunder in spring, those who heard it experienced an unexplainable sense of joy, "From the seat of honor at the Great Mercy Temple’s Ten Modes Monastery, Hope Aware!"

The rogue cultivators looked all over the place as they tried to locate the speaking monks. But each voice echoed from all directions and they could not find the speakers no matter how hard they looked.

Prince Leyang no longer cared to make small talk with Wen Leyang as he laughed once and answered with a loud voice, "Triple Illuminated and Six Passes, Eight Samsara and Ten Modes, four out of the five supreme monasteries of the Great Mercy Temple have arrived. It is I, Leyang Wen’s utmost honor to have attracted the inquiry of these four divine monks with only my virtue and abilities."

The old monk Ji Fei fawned smugly from behind Leyang Wen and added, "It is not considered complete as we are still lacking one more supreme monastery. It’s only satisfactory if all five of them are present."

Leyang Wen turned around and gave the old monk a hard stare for his smugness was a divisive wedge between the two parties.

Then, a fifth voice was finally heard, stuttering and stammering as it relayed its message with extreme effort, "Great M-M-Mercy Temple…One Prime Deed Mona…Monastery, H-H-Hope Voice puts his palms together…in s-s-salute…"

The crowd of rogue cultivators collectively made a low sound of exclamation when they heard the fifth voice speak. It was a sincere and earnest voice, and it belonged to the little monk who had blocked them from ascending the peak earlier!