Zhao Xiaoyu stared closely at the lady boss’, Zhou Ling’s, exposed skin; it was still silky smooth, but she noticed that the skin sagged slightly. Light wrinkles even appeared between her brows. “You are aging,” she sighed.
The lady boss casually removed the jade hairpin on her hair and aimed it towards Zhao Xiaoyu. Even though her skin had started sagging, it was still as clear as white jade. It was hard to tell whether she complemented the jade, or was it the jade that complemented her beauty.
The jade hairpin did not travel at a frightening speed, and there were no glaring lights either. However, it made Zhao Xiaoyu felt as though there was nowhere to hide in this big wide world.
Wind rose indoors, but the wind extinguished within seconds. Clouds appeared and dispersed. It was not that her spells malfunctioned, but it was because they were undone the moment they were produced.
The reason why the lady boss was aging, was because she was at the Degenerate Age. At a Degenerate Age, no one could attain Dharma.
She finally managed to find a hint of the true meaning behind Degenerate Age in the secular world.
In the end, the jade hairpin struck Zhao Xiaoyu at the middle of her brows. There was no blood, and the jade hairpin fell.
On the other hand, the lady boss wrapped herself in a red silk scarf with her slender legs exposed. Her porcelain white skin could still be seen now and then.
Between Zhao Xiaoyu’s brows, there was glowing white light in the shape of a lotus flower. She was giving off the vibe of a Water-Moon Guanyin, and seemed extremely holy and delicately beautiful.
“Senior Apprentice-Sister, you have finally mastered the basics of “The Sutra of Total Annihilation of the Dharma”, congratulations!” Zhao Xiaoyu smiled as she spoke.
The Sutra of Total Annihilation of the Dharma was a set of secret martial exercises of Luoism. Allegedly, at the pinnacle of cultivation, it could annihilate every spell. In the end, one could conjure up a place of enlightenment for the Degenerate Age, any holy deities who got caught in it would have their erased and all of their cultivation experience would turn into naught.
The lady boss had not reached this state yet, it was just that she had understood a hint of the meaning of Dharma. The consequences would be her taking up on the pain of the meaning of Dharma and to go through the aging process gradually.
In the realm of the Degenerate Age, there were no deities of any sort. The World-Honoured One pitied the pain and suffering of the masses that were trapped in the endless reincarnation cycle, so He manifested Himself in the world and subjected Himself to the cycle of life, and eventually passed away at the age of eighty.
“I could not even break through the Dharma cleanly, what more the non-existence of Dharma. You had already entered into the profound state of “without Dharma and without mindfulness”, and you are just one step away from the Nine Lotus characteristic of phenomena. What difficulty could you possibly be facing that you must seek for myself?”
Zhao Xiaoyu bowed and reached for the jade hairpin. She dusted the jade hairpin and said, “You are still keeping the jade hairpin with you.”
“Back then you loved fighting with me and ended up breaking my jade hairpin. Master got me a new one, even though it is just an average item from the secular world, but I could never let go of it,” the lady boss said as she looked at the jade hairpin in Zhao Xiaoyu’s hand with a gentle expression.
“Regardless of how we fight now, master will never come back,” Zhao Xiaoyu spoke gently, as though she was reminiscing, or had ceased her longing. Dao was having emotions even though when one had none, Dao was not having emotions even though when one had any; real or fake, the lady boss could not differentiate the two.
She knew that Zhao Xiaoyu was not here for the old days or for her hidden scar, no one would understand as well as her how scary her Junior Apprentice-Sister was.
“Speak up, what are you here for?”
“Do me a favor, kill someone for me.”
“Who?”
“The Empress of the Da Zhou Dynasty.”
“That is not someone whom I am capable of killing.”
“You just have to try, even if it is just once, but I hope that you can try your best.”
“I will do it for you, with one condition,” the lady boss pondered on her options for a while, and finally agreed to do it.
Zhao Xiaoyu seemed to have expected it and did not seem particularly affected.
******
The Xiangji Temple was situated in the mountains out of Shendu City. The mountain range was endless, and the peak hid in the clouds.
One could not see the temple from the foot of the mountain. There was a path up to the mountain and was flanked by rows of ancient trees, surrounded by chirping birds and singing insects.
A delicately handsome young man was walking in the mountains, and he brought along a young pretty girl.
The clear stream was slapping against the cold stone, and the faraway sunshine shone on the ancient woods; it was a beautiful and moving scene.
The scenery was enjoyed by only two people. There was no one else, as the Empress was here.
The Empress was very fond of the Xiangji Temple, and frequented the temple. She even graced the temple with a set of calligraphy –”Continued to recall the gardens of Xiangji Monastery, and delight in its hills and streams.” She frequently visited the Pure Land sanctuary, offering treasures from the oceans. She repeatedly mingled with the common people, donating valuables from the rivers.
The passage was engraved on the stone tablet; Shen Lian and Ruoxi were looking right at it.
The stone tablet stood at six meters tall, and it was jade green in its entirety. It could well be considered as a precious treasure, but at here, it was merely a stone tablet.
Behind the stone tablet, a high tower stood. The tower had a circumference of two hundred over steps, and thirteen floors.
A thirteen-floored tower was considered very tall, and the Buddhist tower was also known as a Buddhist pagoda. It was an important magic talisman in Buddhist legends, which could lead all Buddhas of the ten directions, to protect the immeasurable world, and to keep the demons away. As the saying goes, “Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-floor pagoda”, a seven-floored pagoda was considered as tall, what more a thirteen-floored pagoda.
However, the Empress was wealthy. With just one word, she could blast open the mountain or fill the lake. A mere thirteen-floored pagoda was nothing to her.
Kuhui was waiting on the ground floor and had a serious expression on his face. Ruoxi looked up at the tower with her black eyes; she had to put in a lot of effort to raise her head in order to observe the view in its entirety.
Shen Lian felt the gaze from thirteen floors above.
Shen Lian was not a demon, and the person at the top of the tower was not a Buddha.
Both of them were not the mere mortals, and yet they were both still struggling in this world.
“Her Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time,” Kuhui smiled and welcomed Shen Lian.
Shen Lian nodded and was ready to bring Young Ruoxi up along with him.
Kuhui stopped him with his hand, “Why don’t you let me take care of this young girl so that you don’t have to worry about her.” Kuhui did it out of goodwill, as Ruoxi would be a burden to Shen Lian if he were to get into a fight with the Empress.
“Do you mind staying with this Master for a while?” Shen Lian asked Ruoxi.
“Yes,” replied Ruoxi.
She raised her head as if she was a little peacock – beautiful and proud.
“Let’s head up together and meet with the Empress then,” Shen Lian smiled.
He held Ruoxi, and was flanked by a shapeless wind. The wind gently pushed Kuhui away, and Shen Lian hiked up the tower along with the young girl.
“Brother, are we meeting with the Empress?” Ruoxi queried softly after they entered the tower.
“Yes, I told you before didn’t I?”
“The uncle and aunts said that the Empress killed a lot of people. Brother, let’s tell her to stop killing, should we?” Ruoxi stared at Shen Lian.
Ruoxi started to realize what was life, and what was death. She knew that killing was bad.