📖 Chapter 1295 - In This Life

02 Apr, 2024

Chen Yunluo and his wife couldn’t hear Wang Baole’s words, but the boy did. He immediately looked at Wang Baole in surprise. For some reason he couldn’t understand, deep in his heart, he could feel a wave of warmth that seemed familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time.

This warmth swept throughout the boy’s body and soul. At this moment, the snow and wind didn’t seem so cold anymore.

It was as if the Daoist Priest in front of him made him feel safe and secure.

It was as if this figure was someone he missed very much, and he wanted to be by his side.

The boy’s parents, Chen Yunluo and his wife, could feel Wang Baole’s goodwill. Affected by the warmth in the atmosphere, their hearts grew joyful as they bowed in gratitude. Then, taking the boy, they left.

As they were leaving, the boy, holding onto his father’s hand, turned his head and looked back at the temple three times.

When he turned for the third time, it seemed he couldn’t hold back his curiosity anymore. His voice was loud as he spoke to the figure standing in front of the Daoist Temple.

“Daoist Priest, have we… met before?”

The boy’s sudden question made Chen Yunluo and his wife instantly grow tense. However, his father’s reproachful glare and his mother’s anxious gaze didn’t make the boy turn back around. He continued to look at the Daoist Temple, as if waiting for an answer.

“We’ve met…” Wang Baole smiled and nodded solemnly. The first half of his answer was spoke out loud; the rest was whispered in his heart.

‘In your past life.’

“Okay.” The boy seemed a little confused. But being a child, he quickly got over it. After his parents apologized, Wang Baole saw them off with a gentle smile. The family of three walked farther and farther away.

The sound of Chen Yunluo admonishing his son could faintly be heard in the wind.

Looking from a distance, the sky was gray and lifeless, and more and more snowflakes scattered down onto the city, draping it in a veil of white. Walking away from the Daoist Temple, Chen Yunluo’s family of three slowly blurred behind the wind and snow.

Holding his broom and standing at the temple gates, Wang Baole looked up at the sky with a smile. As snowflakes covered the world in front of him, his body and soul seemed to be cleansed.

It continued snowing through the month. For some mortals, a month of snowfall could be considered a natural disaster. But here on the Immortal Astral Continent, it was nothing unusual.

Although snow continued to fall, it didn’t hinder the children’s studies. Every morning, the children registered at the Daoist Temple would go to the temple and listen to the priest’s sermon.

Chen Qing was among them.

He had many friends around him, and he liked Er Ya at the table next to him, but he liked the gentle Daoist Priest Wang most of all.

Wang Baole’s sermons were not much different from those in the other Daoist Temples. He just talked about principles of cultivation. These principles were difficult to describe in simple words, so the children would often find themselves not understanding what he was saying. However, a gentle Dao aura exuded from his body at all times.

Under the influence of this aura, Wang Baole’s words would engrave themselves deeply into the minds of these children, even if they didn’t quite understand. As they grew up, they would be able to obtain genuine insights, and Wang Baole’s sermon would serve as a guiding light on their path of cultivation.

For Chen Qing, this guiding light was particularly illuminating.

Sometimes, he wondered why his friends didn’t seem to understand. To him, each and every word of the ever-smiling Daoist Priest Wang made perfect sense.

Just like that, days and nights passed quickly. As Wang Baole preached to the children in the Daoist Temple, a whole year passed by.

Chen Qing turned six years old.

This year, unlike the other children, Chen Qing began asking questions of his own in addition to listening to the sermons. Every time he asked a question, the gentle Daoist Priest would answer with an encouraging gaze.

The more he asked, the more Chen Qing looked forward to truly cultivating. At the same time, he gained more and more benefits from the Dao aura surrounding the Daoist Priest. Furthermore… the other children in his group also benefited from his questions.

“Daoist Priest, why does the world produce spirit qi?”

“Plants, animals, you, me, heaven, earth, and all things have spirits. Naturally, the universe itself has a spirit as well, and that spirit is qi.”

“Daoist Priest, what is Dao?”

“The meaning of Dao isn’t important. Chen Qing, if I ask you to go home, there are many paths you can take. Just like there are many types of Dao. The key point is making it home. Thus, as I understand it, Dao… is the path you take in your chosen direction.”

“Daoist Priest, what if the direction you choose doesn’t have a path?”

“Then carve out a path to your home yourself.” Wang Baole looked deeply at Chen Qing and replied in a soft voice.

Chen Qing’s expression became thoughtful, and he continued to ask questions. Another year passed, and Chen Qing turned seven years old. On his seventh birthday, he had finally asked all his questions. On that day, he obtained spiritual enlightenment.

The ultimate goal of children entering a Daoist Temple was to obtain spiritual enlightenment; in other words, catching a wisp of qi from the universe and making it a part of themselves. Generally speaking, most children in Daoist Temples would obtain spiritual enlightenment at seven or eight years old.

In fact, the time it took to obtain spiritual enlightenment didn’t necessarily correspond with natural talent.

Moreover, Chen Qing’s enlightenment was a bit unique. Over the past two years of preaching, Wang Baole had already left the seeds of the Underworld Dao in his heart. The path he took in the future would depend on Chen Qing’s own decision.

On the same day, Wang Baole gave Chen Qing a birthday present.

This present was… an ethereal sphere containing nine suns, as well as an equally ethereal seal containing a moon.

Both of them floated in front of Chen Qing. It was still winter, and just like when he had first come to the temple, it was snowing.

Amid the wind and snow, Chen Qing looked at the nine suns and the moon seal in front of him. Then, eyes full of confusion, he looked at Wang Baole.

“Choose one. It will be your beginning Dao in this life.”

Chen Qing was silent. He looked at the suns, looked at the moon, looked at Wang Baole, and hesitated.

“Can I follow you?”

Wang Baole smiled. He rubbed Chen Qing’s head and spoke softly.

“There’s something I have to do soon. Pick one first, and then wait for me to come back.”

Chen Qing nodded happily and surveyed his two choices again. His gaze flickered between the nine suns and the moon seal. In the end, he grabbed the moon seal.

“Then I’ll choose this one.”

In an instant, booming laughter echoed from the vault of heaven. Situ suddenly appeared in the sky, walking over step by step. Behind him, nine figures could be vaguely seen among the clouds. These nine figures sighed and nodded toward Wang Baole. As Wang Baole returned the gesture, they left one after another.

Only Situ was left. Laughing loudly, he landed next to Wang Baole and Chen Qing.

“Baole, Chen Qing’s eyes are much better than yours. Heh, I haven’t had any disciples all these years. Back then, I half-accepted one on a whim, and ended up teaching a Paragon.” As Situ laughed, Wang Baole chuckled as well. Then, his expression became solemn, and he gave Situ a deep bow.

"Thank you, Senior."

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this. Chen Qing, let’s go.” With that, Situ swept Chen Qing up and headed straight into the sky.

“Daoist Priest…” Chen Qing’s reluctant voice drifted on the wind. In his eyes, the Daoist Temple was getting smaller and smaller, and the city was getting smaller as well. Only the gentle figure of Daoist Priest Wang, waving at him with a smile, remained constant.

“Don’t be so unwilling, kid. Your junior brother’s got something to deal with, he’ll probably be back soon.” Situ said with a smile.

“My… junior brother?” Chen Qing was stunned.

“Yeah. I don’t dare to claim to be your master, and you can only count as half a disciple. Your master… is Wang Baole’s master, and Wang Baole has accepted you on his master’s behalf. He’s even willing to let you be the senior brother. So, little guy, you’ve gotta work hard to cultivate.”

“Ah…” Chen Qing’s eyes were full of confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but the city was already a tiny dot in the distance and growing farther and farther away.

Inside the Daoist Temple, Wang Baole stood amid the wind and snow, staring at the departing figure of his senior brother. The snowflakes scattering on the ground seemed to be falling on Wang Baole’s heart, forming circular ripples that filled his body and soul.

After a long while passed, Wang Baole’s gentle smile became even gentler. Turning around, he walked step by step into the distance…

‘In the last life, you stood in front of me and shielded me from the wind and rain when I started on the path of cultivation. You ensured that the cold wind did not freeze my body and the falling rain could not reach my soul.

‘No matter what happened in my life, your figure was always watching from on high, silently helping and reaching out in times of crisis, then melting away back into the void. My journey was always smooth and happy, thanks to you.

‘Because… I am your junior brother.

‘Because… you are my senior brother.

‘Your tall figure was like a giant tree in my eyes. Sometimes, you didn’t seem like a senior brother, but more like a master. Others, you were like my real blood brother.

‘I can’t forget the first time you appeared, in your azure robe and holding a jug of wine and a wooden sword. With your long flowing hair, you looked like an unsheathed blade, an immortal beyond this world.

‘I can’t forget the sight of your back as you left. Your azure robe turning black, your wine turning cloudy, your wooden sword filling with spots… That bleak figure even now is engraved in my mind.

‘As I watched you disappear into the void, I knew that you weren’t just going to seek your own Dao. You were also… going to verify the path forward for your useless junior brother.

‘At that moment, staring at you, I couldn’t help but think back on my life of cultivation. Your care, your protection, your kindness, your smile…

‘Chen Qing, Chen Qingzi.’

“In this life, I will protect you.

“In this life, I will take you on the path of Dao.

“In this life, I will still be your junior brother.”