Daoist Competition

The Chen couple stayed overnight at the foot of Baofeng Mountain. Although Ma Daoist had been killed by Zhang Yan, they could not help but feel uneasy. Especially Chen Jishi, who startled awake multiple times throughout the night, drenched in cold sweat, each time dreaming of Ma Daoist turning into a vengeful ghost to come seek his heart and liver.

Mrs. Chen, however, was not in the least afraid. She understood her husband and reassured him, saying, "Husband, there's no need to fret. Zhang Daoist's Daoist boy is guarding the door outside. Forget vengeful ghosts getting in—they wouldn't even make it to our door before being killed again."

Those words were just idle chatter. Not to mention that a Primordial Spirit without cultivation lacks the ability to harm, even a truly ferocious soul wouldn't dare bring calamity upon itself by stirring trouble beneath Baofeng Temple, at the foot of Jurong Mountain.

Nevertheless, these words were enough to ease Chen Jishi's anxious heart.

He recalled the Daoist boy walking atop water during the day, killing with the ease of cutting grass. Even though the bloody scene still made his heart tremble, the fear in his mind did diminish significantly.

He sighed heavily and said, "My wife, I heard everything when you spoke with Zhang Daoist earlier today. Are you truly set on sending our child to learn Dao from him?"

Mrs. Chen suddenly tilted her head, fixing her gaze on Chen Jishi, and spoke softly, "Husband, are you unwilling?"

Chen Jishi stared at the beam inside the room and said, "It's not that I'm unwilling. It's just that the Chen family has so few descendants, and I still don't have anyone to carry on the family name. If this son of ours..."

Mrs. Chen gave him a little push and said, "What are you saying? We don't even know if the child in my womb is a boy or a girl. How are you so sure it's a son? I'm still young. If this child becomes Zhang Daoist's disciple, I'll bear another one for the Chen family to carry on the name." As she spoke, her cheeks flushed slightly.

Chen Jishi said nothing.

Mrs. Chen continued speaking on her own, "Moreover, you've seen Zhang Daoist's abilities yourself. There's no falsehood in what he showed. Not only can he ride the clouds and command light to kill, but he can also foresee the past and future. Even at Baofeng Temple, I've never seen a Daoist with such Dharma Powers. Clearly, he's on the level of a terrestrial immortal. If our child could apprentice under him, it would be an incredible blessing. If the child achieves enlightenment someday, you and I, as parents, might also benefit. Perhaps we'd eat some elixirs and live longer than ordinary people, or at the very least live a life free of worry. Who knows—we may even have a memorial made and be honored with incense offerings by others."

Mrs. Chen said all this to dispel her husband's worries, but Chen Jishi remained silent. After a long pause, he finally asked, "My wife, how many months pregnant are you?"

Mrs. Chen glared at him, displeased. "How could you forget something like this? It's already eight months."

Chen Jishi sighed and said, "I've been thinking that if there were no child, perhaps we wouldn't have so much trouble."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Chen was somewhat annoyed and said angrily, "How could you say such a thing? Clearly, it's this child who has brought blessings to us as husband and wife." She turned her body away from him and refused to respond further.

Chen Jishi sighed softly, reached out to clasp Mrs. Chen's shoulder, and said, "My wife is absolutely right—it's my fault."

Mrs. Chen shifted slightly, displaying a hint of petulance, but eventually turned back around and spoke softly, "From now on, you're not allowed to speak ill of this child again."

"Yes, yes, yes," Chen Jishi replied with a bitter smile. "I'll listen to you, my wife."

But in his heart, he silently thought, "There are still two months left..." His hand beneath the covers tightly clenched into a fist.

Mrs. Chen remained completely unaware. After a while, she began breathing deeply, already fast asleep.

Outside, Zhang Pan, with his keen hearing, had listened to every word of the couple's conversation. However, being a spirit monster transformed into human form, he did not understand human sentiments and thus could not perceive the true implications of their words. If it had been the Mountain and River Child in his place, he might have detected something amiss.

Across a river, under the crescent moonlight, a middle-aged Daoist wearing an Eight Diagrams Robe stomped his feet repeatedly on the opposite mountainside and cursed aloud, "That useless Ma Daoist! He ruined what had been a surefire plan!"

A broad-faced man in short attire maintained a calm expression and said, "I've sent people to check the ferry crossing and had the colorful boat dragged back. The bodies of Ma Daoist and his servants are cleanly cut, as if they were killed by a sharp weapon like a Flying Sword. Word has it, it was the work of a cultivator from Baofeng Temple."

"Baofeng Temple?" The Daoist was taken aback and furrowed his brows tightly, saying, "My master once told me that Master Lu has considerable Daoist Cultivation and warned us not to provoke him unnecessarily. This matter is indeed troublesome now."