At that time, they clearly had a thin layer of hair growing; their heads weren't shiny like those of the Buddhist cultivators.
Wen Xuan and Jiang Yao surrounded the little fish and chatted for a long while, even putting strands of their hair into the water for the little fish to touch.
Only then did the little fish believe they weren't Buddhist cultivators.
“So you lot are Xiaoyao disciples,” the little fish said, rolling around in the water.
“Let me tell you, I really wasn't caught. I am a disciple under the Great Baldy, the Elder of the Lecture Hall of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect. My dharma name is Jue Sheng.”
“Don't you only get a dharma name after reaching the Nascent Soul stage? Is Senior a rank four sea beast?”
Or perhaps the tradition of giving dharma names in the Buddhist path was different from the Daoist tradition of giving dao titles.
“Hmph, I am a fish who opened my intelligence at rank two. How could those little baldies compare to me?”
Jue Sheng flicked its tail, and the alms bowl, fish and all, leaped onto Gu Ningyun’s shoulder.
“Where are you staying? It’s boring to death staying in the Lecture Hall. I’m going to play with you.”
Gu Ningyun was stunned for a moment; it turned out Jue Sheng could actually control the alms bowl.
The bowl was larger than Gu Ningyun’s head, pressing her ear tight against her scalp. Half of the bowl even hung off the edge of her shoulder.
Two or three lotus leaves stood elegantly beside her face, spreading out over her head like a lush green umbrella. A pinkish-white flower bud was nestled among them, swaying with her every movement.
Wen Xuan circled around her once and then nodded solemnly. “You look like a lotus spirit.”
Gu Ningyun tilted her head uncomfortably and shifted her shoulder.
Mu Chenze moved the bowl from her shoulder and held it in his hands. “Ningyun said that doing this leads to uneven shoulders. It’s better to carry it.”
“What are uneven shoulders?”
Mu Chenze gave a simple explanation.
Jue Sheng slapped a lotus leaf stem with its tail. “Little brats are so fussy.”
...
After attending morning lessons for three to five days, the quiet Buddhist sect gradually became more lively.
Voices began to drift from the courtyard next to the five children's meditation courtyard.
Gu Ningyun took a look when she went out; they seemed to be disciples of the Star-Moon Sect.
Unfortunately, she didn't see Gu Lianxue.
It was expected, yet she still felt a bit of regret. She didn't want to waste her cultivation time going to great lengths to stake out the Star-Moon Sect just to find Gu Lianxue and cause her trouble.
After all, the old Daoist was the big fish. Without a Gu Lianxue, the old Daoist could find thousands of other girls to take her place.
But if Gu Lianxue delivered herself to her doorstep, she would be more than willing to seek her out to “catch up.” It would be even better if she could squeeze some information about the old Daoist out of her.
It had been several months since she reported the matter of the old Daoist and the Gu family to the Punishment Peak, but no news had arrived yet.
That old Daoist was truly good at hiding.
Gu Ningyun let out a long sigh.
Wasn't Gu Lianxue very good at winning people over and favored by her master? How did she fail to coax Qingxu into letting her come to Penglai?
Jue Sheng stayed with them for a few days.
While they were at morning lessons, it stayed in the meditation courtyard to sleep.
When they returned from class, Wen Xuan would immediately run to the stone table under the tree to check the alms bowl.
“Where did Senior Jue Sheng go?”
Wen Xuan brushed aside the lotus leaves to look. There was so little seawater in the bowl, and it was crystal clear, making everything visible at a glance.
“Many cultivators from various sects have arrived these days. Senior Jue Sheng is a fish... could someone have brought a cat...?”
Before Jiang Yao could finish his sentence, a tail flicked a face full of water onto him.
“Am I an ordinary fish? A mere cat isn't even worthy of scrubbing my scales.”
Wen Xuan hadn't seen where it came from. “Huh? Senior, where did you pop out from? Does this bowl have a hidden dimension?”
“Of course. To you, it looks like an ordinary alms bowl, but the space inside is actually as large as my previous undersea cave dwelling.”
“Similar to the function of a spirit beast bag or a spatial herb garden,” Gu Ningyun summarized simply.
“More or less.”
Jue Sheng flicked its tail. “If this bowl only had the space visible on the surface, I would have fought to the death to tear down that Great Baldy's Lecture Hall.”
“I can't understand most of the artifact patterns on this bowl. It shouldn't be that simple.”
Jiang Yao poked the bowl and suddenly picked it up. “I'm going to study it.”
“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?”
Jue Sheng hopped behind Mu Chenze while still in the bowl. “This bowl is my home in Penglai and my flying artifact for getting around. If you take it apart, what am I supposed to do?”
“I'm just looking, I didn't say I'd take it apart.” Jiang Yao leaned over to chase after it.
Jue Sheng leaped onto Jun Luo’s head. “The mouth of an artifact refiner is a lying ghost. The last fish to be coaxed by an artifact refiner doesn't even know which artifacts its bones ended up in.”
“How can I be like an ordinary artifact refiner? I am an honest artifact refiner, Senior!”
Watching this scene, Gu Ningyun couldn't help but let out a smile. She also felt a surge of joy for her friend.
Jiang Yao seemed a bit different than before.
In the past, although he was also very cheerful, that sunshine always felt somewhat unrealistic. It was like a layer of honey used to wrap up an unspeakable bitterness.
He had suppressed and hidden his true self, leaving only his most agreeable side visible.
After this year of training and experiencing so many things, Jiang Yao’s outer shell seemed to have cracked slightly, revealing a bit of his true self.
He never used to joke before.
Since coming to Penglai, he had already flashed several mischievous grins at Jue Sheng and teased it many times.
Perhaps before the trouble at home, Jiang Yao was originally a child who liked to chase cats and dogs, climb trees, and get into a bit of trouble—a kid with a slightly wicked streak in his nature.
It was only the cruel reality that forced him to suppress his nature, to hide and disguise himself, and to be forced into maturity.
Now, he had finally broken through his mental barrier and shed his disguise.
He was being his true self again.
The third of the Xiaoyao Ancient Precepts said: When involuting, remember to stop and wait for your heart.
When she first read this precept, Gu Ningyun’s understanding was that one shouldn't only focus on increasing cultivation and strength while neglecting the cultivation of one's state of mind.
Now, however, she tasted another layer of meaning on top of that original foundation.
Could this 'heart' refer to one's true heart, the original self?
It referred to the real you.
Cultivation was a journey: cultivate spirit energy externally, cultivate the true heart internally.
In the process of growing up and on the path of cultivation, one would always encounter various temptations and experience one setback after another.
Some of these setbacks would damage one's physical cultivation, while others would wound the psyche.
These experiences would lead a person, bit by bit, in any given direction.
But no matter what one experienced, no matter which direction one took, and regardless of whether the changes were good or bad...
One must never forget to stop and wait for one's heart.
Listen to what your heart truly desires. Listen to what your true self looks like.
Do not let these experiences bury or even kill the real you.
Wait for your heart, find your original self, find your true heart.
A certain rhythm gradually manifested and surged in her chest. Then it reached her dantian, her sea of consciousness, and her meridians.
It felt as if it came from the distant past, yet also from between heaven and earth.
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