Chapter 2 - Startling Change.

Tonight, there was no moon, nor stars.

Only the wild wind howled, stinging one's face.

Li Shiwu used a few bamboo mats to simply set up a lean-to, to block the wind.

Inside the lean-to, a fire burned, holding an iron pot, boiling a pot of monkey soup. The whole monkey was put in, already cooked until the flesh separated from the bones, but its infant-like skull and claws were inexplicably chilling.

Not far outside the lean-to, Hou Qi's mutilated body lay alone on the ground, unnoticed.

"Master, I've actually always wanted to ask, where did you learn about the rumors of this Seed Immortal Temple, are they true or false?" Li Shiwu dipped a white bun into the meat broth, asking as if casually.

Qianyuanzi, sitting in the middle, had his machete appear in his hand again, his mismatched eyes full of gloom.

"Shiwu, are you coveting your master's chance to become an immortal?"

The tall, honest Daoist next to him, seeing this, quickly spoke: "Ma... Master, there are only four of us disciples left. If one more dies, there won't be enough people to carry your sedan chair."

Qianyuanzi thought for a moment, then immediately smiled: "Disciple Guan San, you're still the one who thinks of your master. You eat the monkey head in the pot."

Li Shiwu, looking wronged, said: "Master, how could you think of your disciple like that?"

"I was just thinking that we've been searching for that temple for ten years, enduring hardships all the way, but we haven't even seen a shadow of it."

"Aren't I just worried for you, Master?"

Qianyuanzi looked sideways: "Really?"

Seeing this, Li Shiwu immediately put on a fawning expression: "Hehe, your disciple is useless, I just hope Master becomes an immortal."

"Then us disciples can also bask in your glory, rising to heaven with you, right?"

"Good!" Qianyuanzi slapped his thigh heavily, laughing loudly, "We master and disciples will become immortals together."

"I refuse to believe it. That old Jade Emperor in your dream can sit in the Lingxiao Palace, but I, Qianyuanzi, cannot?"

He spat, his expression inexplicably resolute.

"Disciples, rest assured."

"The Seed Immortal Temple, we will surely find it."

The bonfire crackled, occasionally sending up red sparks, bringing a little warmth to this cold wilderness night.

Qianyuanzi stared at the fire, his expression gradually lost in thought: "Disciples, have I not been good to you?"

"I worked hard to raise you, taught you to read, and even took you over mountains and through valleys, searching for this immortal destiny."

"But why do you always think of escaping?"

He sighed, scooping a monkey paw from the pot into Li Shiwu's bowl: "Thirty disciples, and now, only four of you are left."

Li Shiwu lowered his head, silent.

All thirty of them, master and disciples, were given arbitrary surnames and named with numbers.

Most of them died due to Qianyuanzi's capricious temper, but some were killed because they couldn't endure the torment and tried to escape.

Qianyuanzi continued to sigh: "Shiwu, among all the disciples, I actually valued you and Shi Erba the most." Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"I even once told disciple Erba about the Seed Immortal Temple privately."

"What a pity, what a pity."

Hearing this, Li Shiwu's eyes darted, and he cursed: "Bah, that dog left Master, who knows where he died in some corner."

And Shi Erba was the only one among them who successfully escaped, fleeing two months ago.

Qianyuanzi nodded, his gaze sweeping over Li Shiwu, Guan San, and Hua Erling one by one.

Finally, it rested on the young Daoist who had been silent and curled up.

"Disciple Zhao Si, tell me, have I been good to you?"

"Remember about a year ago, we encountered a rough country man leading an old horse. Sitting on the horse was his newlywed wife, dressed in a brand new red floral jacket, looking very festive."

"The two of them were returning to her parents' home after their wedding."

Qianyuanzi grinned, "That day, you stared foolishly at that wife's chest, saying that girls with big chests surely have good temperaments."

"And that in the future, you'd have to find someone like that yourself."

Speaking of this, Qianyuanzi chuckled gleefully: "How could a master like me let his disciple suffer such grievances?"

"You liked that wife, so Master helped you snatch her."

"Snap, I butchered that man with one knife, then pulled that wife off the horse, letting you take the sky as your quilt and the earth as your bed, consummating the marriage on the spot."

"Zhao Si, how have I treated you?"

The young Daoist named Zhao Si shivered all over, raising his head in panic.

"Good, Master has been the best to your disciple."

But his voice was high-pitched and thin, like a child's voice gone sour, or more accurately, like a eunuch's.

Qianyuanzi sighed, "Alas."

"I, your master, was afraid you'd become obsessed with women, and neglect the serious business of becoming an immortal."

"That's why afterwards, I castrated the thing in your crotch."

Li Shiwu listened silently, looking at Zhao Si's squirming appearance, feeling an involuntary shared sadness in his heart.

Indeed, being by Qianyuanzi's side was something the word "torment" couldn't even begin to describe.

He didn't even dare to sleep soundly at night, fearing that the other party, in a fit of caprice, would casually chop him down with a knife.

The night was long.

A pot of monkey meat gradually dwindled to only bone fragments.

Even the soup base was slurped clean by Guan San.

Hua Erling got up and walked towards a small lean-to not far away. As he approached, he stripped off all his clothes.

Just as Hou Qi said, every night, he had to warm Qianyuanzi's bed.

Li Shiwu was not surprised, he just tidied up the pots and bowls with Guan San and Zhao Si, and added some new firewood. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

The night wind howled, making the wild grass and bushes sway. From a distance, they looked like black ghost shadows, watching the group.

Li Shiwu spread a bamboo mat by the fire, covering himself with a thin blanket. Perhaps because of Hou Qi's death, he felt particularly distraught tonight.

In this world, are there truly immortals?

He couldn't help but question himself in his heart.

Because along the way, he and Qianyuanzi had searched through countless mountains, never seeing any cultivators, or even spirit beasts, demonic beasts, or any spirit flowers or herbs.

At most, they had encountered strange and eerie things, similar to the Coffin Master.

Thinking of this, he simply sat up, staring at Hou Qi's remains in the distance, then turned to stare at Qianyuanzi's tent.

A fierce look gradually appeared in his eyes.

He was wondering if he should just give up and see if he could chop Qianyuanzi down.

"Shiwu, don't, you'll die."

Zhao Si, next to him, had woken up at some point, shaking his head repeatedly, his eyes full of dissuasion.

"You can't defeat him, don't throw your life away for nothing."

Li Shiwu breathed a sigh of relief, his expression relaxing into a smile: "Sleep, we still have to travel tomorrow morning."

But suddenly.

The previously silent earth began to tremble violently, emitting a terrifying rumbling sound.

Heaven and earth shook violently, and the thick clouds overhead even split open, revealing a crescent moon as if stained with fresh blood.

Under the Blood Moon, everything seemed to be covered in a layer of crimson firelight, filled with an unspeakable strangeness and apocalyptic beauty.

Li Shiwu stood up, stunned for a moment.

Then a thought filled his limbs and bones, making his blood surge uncontrollably.

Earth Dragon Turning, heaven-sent opportunity, escape!

But before he could act, Qianyuanzi had already rushed out, his old face showing a rare flush of excitement.

"The Earth Dragon is turning?"

"No, that's not right."

"Heaven and earth stained with blood, all things trembling together, could it be that the Seed Immortal Temple has appeared?"

"Haha, becoming an immortal, this old Daoist is going to become an immortal!"

Qianyuanzi's voice was hoarse like a vengeful ghost, "Disciples, quick, quick, follow your master to seek that immortal destiny!"

Li Shiwu frowned, it was clearly an earthquake, what madness was this old man getting into now?

However, he had no say in the matter.

For a time, under the crimson moonlight, the group stumbled around, dodging falling rocks, searching in all directions.

Finally. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

An hour later.

A dust-covered Daoist temple actually appeared before them.

"The Seed... Seed Immortal Temple, does it really exist?"

Li Shiwu stared blankly at this scene, feeling an extremely absurd sensation gradually welling up in his heart.

Guan San, Hua Erling, Zhao Si, and the others felt the same way, simply because it was too unreal.

Only Qianyuanzi, overcome with joy, couldn't help but let out a long howl towards the sky.

"Found it, finally found it."

The Daoist temple before them was actually not eye-catching, just like an ordinary mountain temple.

It was built entirely of stone and wood, with many parts of its exterior weathered, severely dilapidated and decayed, yet it exuded an ancient charm that spoke of the passage of time.

"Disciple Zhao Si."

"Go, open the temple gate," Qianyuanzi suddenly said.

Zhao Si was stunned, immediately prostrating himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"This immortal destiny, Master is the one destined for it, your disciple would never dare to rush in."

Qianyuanzi's eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice: "What, are you not listening to your master anymore?"

Seeing this, Zhao Si could only reluctantly get up, trembling as he walked towards the Daoist temple.

As he approached, what came into view was a gray-brown gate of unknown material, with two brass door knockers on it.

But just as Zhao Si reached out to push the door, Qianyuanzi, holding his machete, swooped down.

After a streak of blood, accompanied by a sharp scream, Zhao Si's legs were severed at the root, and he fell into a pool of blood.

Qianyuanzi extended his tongue to lick the blood drops from the blade, his mismatched eyes full of sinister cruelty.

"Hehe."

"I told you to go, and you went? You can't stand even a little test."

"It seems, indeed, you wicked disciple covet your master's immortal destiny."

And in the next instant.

Qianyuanzi's gaze locked onto Li Shiwu, his twisted mouth smiling terrifyingly.

"Shiwu, you always dream of immortals at night."

"It seems you also have an immortal destiny."

"This temple gate, you open it for your master!"