Chapter Eighteen: I Like You No Matter What You Look Like

I looked up at Fei Yang in confusion, and he was also staring wide-eyed at the golden particle, his face filled with bewilderment.

"Fei Yang, cough, what… what is this thing?"

Fei Yang was startled, "Meng Er, you don't know what this is? Don't you understand your own cultivation method?"

"I… I understand, but we divine beasts aren't like mortals. We don't form golden cores or primordial infants, and we're not ordinary beasts cultivating into spirits; we don't form inner cores. So… what exactly is this thing?"

Fei Yang looked at me in confusion and smiled bitterly, "Meng Er, if you're asking me, how would I know? I'm just a martial artist, slightly more skilled than others; I haven't even practiced the way of immortality."

I bit my lip and shot a stream of celestial spirit energy towards the golden particle, causing Fei Yang to jump in shock and rush over to stop the celestial energy, "Meng Er! You're being too reckless; what if that is a golden core or an inner core? What will happen if you shatter it?"

I recalled the little carp that had lost its inner core and felt a bit scared, smiling awkwardly but remaining stubborn, "Oh, right, but it doesn't matter. It's my own celestial energy; maybe after I throw it over, it will be eaten by it too."

Fei Yang paused for a moment and then laughed, "That's quite possible. Meng Er, do you Kunlun people ever cultivate with outsiders?"

"Of course! Didn't I tell you? Yun Bai, oh, Yun Bai is my mountain spirit sister; she's going to marry my master."

"Have you ever cultivated with mortals?"

I began to understand what Fei Yang was getting at and laughed, "Well, that's really never happened. So, are you implying that this golden particle is related to you?"

Fei Yang focused on the golden particle and the flowing celestial energy, contemplating for a long time before he slowly spoke, "I don't know, but it looks different from my jade bi."

I rolled my eyes at him, "Hmph, that goes without saying; of course, it's different."

"I'm not saying they look different, Meng Er. They seem to be two extremes. The celestial energy becomes abundant at my place but sparse here. In other words, my side is the Yang extreme, and yours is the Yin extreme, just like the two fish of Yin and Yang in Taiji. Only then can Yin and Yang balance and thrive. However, if that's the case, there should be a Yang point in your Yin fish; the Yang point represents vitality…"

Fei Yang fell into thought, not continuing, just muttering softly, "All things in the world arise from existence, and existence arises from non-existence."

That dazed expression looked so much like Wu Jiu again.

I stared at him in a daze and asked, "Fei Yang, isn't your master from the Buddhist sect? How do you know our Dao scriptures?"

"Dao scriptures? What Dao scriptures?"

"You said, 'All things in the world arise from existence, and existence arises from non-existence.'"

He looked puzzled, "Did I say that? Oh, I don't remember saying that."

Looking at his confused expression, I finally laughed and pushed him, "Alright, who cares about existence or non-existence? It seems we've created our own world. Let's go, Fei Yang; no matter what, they'll be fine without us. Let them cultivate together for us."

[Hehe, this seems like the easiest way to cultivate in the immortal novels I've read, haha, I've finally learned the trick… Hahaha, rolling on the ground with laughter~~~]

When I sat back on the brocade, I finally felt a bit hungry, so I casually conjured some clothes to wear and went to check the little snacks I had whimsically tucked into my sleeves. To my surprise, the snacks had grown long green mold and large patches of mildew; some even had dried up green fuzz, turning a dull gray.

I looked up in astonishment at Fei Yang, "Heavens, Fei Yang, how long have we been here?"

Fei Yang smiled and shook his head, "I don't know either. But we should leave now. Meng Er, didn't you say you wanted to show me your dharma body? What does it look like? Is it like that big literary raccoon you placed on the roof of the inn that day?"

I chuckled and revealed my dharma body, still with the same snowy skin and bright eyes, with fangs peeking out from my mouth. The casual clothes I had conjured were naturally replaced by a luxurious palace outfit, with sleeves adorned with drifting clouds and golden shoes on my feet, and beneath my splendid skirt was a long leopard tail.

My long black hair, as usual, flowed down to my waist. I took off the jade hairpin I had simply placed on the side of my head, smiled slightly, and casually tied my hair up, forming a bun with the jade pin.

"Fei Yang, this is the dharma body of our West Miao clan."

He stared at me in a daze, unable to speak for a long time. I frowned and asked, "Fei Yang, do you find my appearance frightening?"

Only then did he seem to wake from his stupor, shaking his head in confusion, "No, Meng Er, I like you no matter what you look like. It's just that, Meng Er, this dharma body of yours shouldn't have appeared in the mortal realm, right? But why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?"

I looked at him and answered nonchalantly, "Maybe you saw it on the Naihe Bridge. Long ago, someone told me that the Meng Po on the Naihe Bridge looked just like me. At that time, I thought he was talking about my literary raccoon form, but now I realize it was probably this form you're seeing now."

A few days later.

Fei Yang and I sat in a tea house by the official road, drinking tea. According to the old man selling tea, this tea was picked by his little granddaughter from the mountains behind, and the water used for brewing was also from the mountain spring, so I happily watched the leaves slowly unfurl in the water. When the water gradually turned a bit green, I took a warm sip, feeling quite comfortable.

This tea was indeed good; although it couldn't compare to my master's cloud mist tea, it was much better than the leaves I had carelessly crushed. However, Wu Jiu liked the leaves I crushed; he always carried them with him in the mortal realm, saying they had a fragrant paw print.

These days, thinking about Wu Jiu no longer hurt so much. I didn't know if it was because I had followed fate or if I truly began to believe in that ethereal hope.

Fei Yang poured some more water into my cup and took out some dry food he had brought from Lin'an for me. There weren't any other people in the tea shed, and although the midday sun was nice, the cold wind was biting, and the old man selling tea was huddled by the stove behind the tea shed, rubbing his hands by the fire.

"Meng Er, are you hungry?"

I shook my head but still picked a piece of snack to swallow, sticking out my tongue after finishing, "Not tasty; I prefer fresh food."

Fei Yang put the food away, "You picky creature; you should be grateful you have hot tea to drink. Do you still want to eat fresh snacks from Lin'an?"

Of course, when I was with Wu Jiu, there were always fresh foods to eat. His sleeve was much more powerful than mine, able to pull things from thin air, and he could even summon the Five Ghosts. Of course, Fei Yang was already quite good; he treated me well, and I shouldn't have too high demands of him.

I giggled, "Actually, I can go without eating, Fei Yang. You eat instead?"

He shook his head, "Strange, I also seem to not need to eat lately. Meng Er, does this count as cultivation?"

"Of course it does! I've given you my cultivation; you should have a few hundred years of experience by now, right?"

He smiled bitterly, "What about you? Does your cultivation decrease by a few hundred years?"

I didn't care as I lifted my cup to drink tea, "My cultivation was shallow to begin with; a few hundred years were just for fun, so if it's less, it's less. By the way, Fei Yang, are we going to Shaohao?"

Fei Yang shook his head, "Yuan Xi will definitely guess we're going to Shaohao. So, going to Shaohao now is almost like walking into a trap."

"Then where are we going?"

Fei Yang looked at me and smiled, "To Kunlun."

I was furious, "Chen Fei Yang, do you want to throw me back to Kunlun again!"

He patted my hand, "Alright, alright, Meng Er, I don't want to throw you back to Kunlun; I want to go to Kunlun with you."

"Why?"

He didn't answer directly but instead asked me, "Have you forgotten about the Hehe Dan?"

Only then did I recall the Hehe Dan, which had almost cost Fei Yang his life. I hadn't asked him where he got it from until now, so I nodded quickly, "Yeah, I keep meaning to ask you, but you're never around. Fei Yang, that Hehe Dan isn't a mortal item, right? Where did you get it?"

"Chu Yu gave it to me."

"Chu Yu? That Chu Yu from the Meng Po Gate?"

Fei Yang shook his head, "Chu Yu isn't from the Meng Po Gate; she's Yuan Xi's maid. But what's strange is that Yuan Xi only has her as a woman, yet he didn't make her his queen after ascending the throne. That day, when I went to the palace to see Yuan Xi and said I wanted to go find the Mingyue Jade Bi, I was told to wait outside the study. My hearing has always been good, and I heard Yuan Xi talking to someone, but when Yuan Xi called me in, I didn't see anyone inside. After I left, I happened to see Chu Yu standing in the back garden, with a face full of indignation and grievance."

"Meng Er, I've known Chu Yu for a long time; she's very different from you. She's a woman shrouded in mystery, and her actions always seem sinister. She rarely shows herself in front of others, let alone act emotionally."

"When she heard I was going to look for the Mingyue Jade Bi, she asked me to wait and went back to get this jade bottle for me, saying it was given by Yuan Xi and could save my life in a crisis. Chu Yu has always been cold and ruthless, so I never intended to use the medicine in that bottle. But later, when I fought against Kunlun's Feilianzi and fell victim to his evil magic, I had no choice but to take one, thinking that since I was going to die anyway, I might as well take a chance. As a result, the medicine actually did save my life in a crisis. Because of that…" Fei Yang looked a bit embarrassed, "Because of that, Meng Er, I thought of using it to save your life."

Save my life? I sighed deeply in my heart; this life truly was a muddled account!

If Fei Yang hadn't used the Hehe Dan to "save" me, I wouldn't have cultivated with him. If I didn't cultivate with him, no matter how long Wu Jiu held onto his Dao heart, he wouldn't be able to reclaim his life.

What was the Hehe Dan really used for, to save whose life?

"Are you saying that this Hehe Dan was given to you by Yuan Xi?"

Fei Yang replied slowly, "What I mean is, Chu Yu must have stolen Yuan Xi's Hehe Dan at some point, but I don't know why she gave it to me. The last time Cheng Nuo took that so-called 'Drunken Immortal' pill, it probably wasn't a mortal item either, right? And there's also the golden-armored deity who injured me. Meng Er, let's not mention that Yuan Xi has the world's armies; even these celestial items from the immortal realm are beyond our reach. So, we must go to Kunlun, Meng Er, I hope you can ask your master or your lady about whether the chaos in the immortal realm is in accordance with the cycle of heaven."

"Alright," I nodded, but I felt a bit worried, "But Fei Yang, how do we get to Kunlun? The back mountain of Kunlun is easy to reach, but there are only those unworthy Kunlun disciples there. To reach our Kunlun Xu, we must pass through the Fire Mountain and the Weak Water Abyss. My dharma body can't hold up for that long, let alone you. That place is inaccessible even for ordinary immortals. Last time, my brother Chi Bao crossed tribulation at the back mountain of Kunlun, so the immortals could attend the ceremony. I heard Wu Jiu mention that long ago, Kunlun had a falling out with the immortal realm, and with the Fire Mountain and Weak Water Abyss, the immortal realm couldn't invade our Kunlun Xu."

I looked at Fei Yang with a bitter smile, "If even the immortals of the immortal realm can't get in, how can I, a literary raccoon with only a mortal body, and you, a mere mortal who has just stepped into the innate realm, get in?"

Fei Yang pondered for a moment and said, "Although the Wu Jiu Bi is used to look for the verses left by your Wu Jiu in Shaohao, there are also rumors in the martial world that the one who possesses this jade bi is a fated person and can use it to seek out Kunlun's back mountain. This bi can even open the gates of heaven and earth, allowing one to ascend to the immortal realm. So, Meng Er, I suspect Yuan Xi has laid a trap on the way to Shaohao. We might as well go against the current and seek out Kunlun's back mountain; perhaps your Wu Jiu left a way there."

Just as I nodded, I suddenly remembered something, "By the way, Fei Yang, I have another way. How far is it from here to Qingtong Mountain?"

"Qingtong Mountain?" Fei Yang looked puzzled by my question but still answered, "Qingtong Mountain isn't far, about a few days' journey by horse from here."

I smiled, feeling quite pleased, "Then let's go to Qingtong Mountain first; Meng Er is going to find that old phoenix to settle some old debts."