Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 296 - 290: Heavenly Auspicious Signs, Di Yong Golden Lotus, White Bone Da Luo【Subscription and monthly tickets requested】_1
The White Bone Demon was on the verge of tears.
Death?!
She sobbed, "Master, I don’t want to die! Please, save me. I am willing to offer myself to you; you can do whatever you want with me. I know all the positions."
Sha Chen’s cheek twitched. He snorted, "Cut the crap. Guard your original mind."
"On ordinary days, when I tell you to listen carefully, you’re always daydreaming, thinking about who knows what."
The White Bone Demon didn’t dare to argue because, in truth, she really had been distracted by such thoughts. When Sha Chen lectured on the Dao, she found him so handsome that she often wished it wasn’t a cushion beneath him but herself; how wonderful that would be. Then, lost in thought, she became a poor student. Now the consequences had arrived. During her breakthrough, her foundations were unstable, and her Dao heart was not firm enough, posing the possibility of a failed breakthrough.
Though sardonic, Sha Chen naturally wouldn’t just sit and watch the White Bone Demon perish, having invested a lot of resources in her. The money was spent; he couldn’t just get nothing in return. Sha Chen hesitated for a moment but decided to recite a small part of the Quasi-Saint Chapter from the Tao Te Ching to help her stabilize her Dao heart. Even though he’d only grasped the basics himself, reciting them to the White Bone Demon would probably bring her some enlightenment. Especially with the help of various enlightening objects under the Phoenix trees and before the Tai Chi Diagram, if the White Bone Demon still couldn’t gain anything, then she might as well die.
"The Dao begets One, One begets Two..."
As Sha Chen recited the Quasi-Saint Chapter from the Tao Te Ching, he was immediately enveloped in an aura of Dao intent, shrouded in Dao Techniques.
Suddenly, golden lotuses sprung from the earth, and auspicious signs descended from the sky. The innate Spiritual Roots in the Innate Earth all began to stir. The Phoenix trees rustled, and the peach and osmanthus trees swayed and shook. The struggling, almost-bare Popping Willow’s branches even started to sprout new leaves, accelerating their growth.
With the Elixirs undergoing unusual changes, the Phoenix sisters were the first to sense it. They immediately woke up and saw Sha Chen lecturing on the Dao. They flew over at once and landed next to Sha Chen, wanting to act coquettishly. But, sensing Sha Chen’s divine untouchableness at that moment, they held back and listened attentively.
Sha Chen’s voice was penetrating. While he expounded on Dao Techniques, the Jade Rabbit, who was cultivating in the palace, heard the teachings and, unexpectedly, made a breakthrough in an instant. She directly stepped into the pinnacle realm of a Greater Primordial Golden Immortal, and she was still advancing rapidly. The Jade Rabbit had been on the verge of a breakthrough for some time. However, Yang Jian’s previous attack on the Flowing Sand River had nearly caused her to suffer cultivation deviation. Consequently, she had been unable to achieve a breakthrough for a long period afterward. After spending over a decade smoothing out the Dao scars, she had been pushing for a breakthrough these past few years. As a result, upon hearing Sha Chen’s Dao lecture, although she was initially bewildered, her inner Cultivation Technique resonated with the expounded Dao, propelling her to a breakthrough. Though separated by the palace walls, the Phoenix sisters could faintly hear the Jade Rabbit’s cries of surprise and excitement. The Jade Rabbit didn’t stop but continued to cultivate after a moment of joy. Sha Chen had told her to reach the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm, so she couldn’t slack off just yet.
Seemingly stimulated, the White Bone Demon also guarded her original mind. Under Sha Chen’s guidance, the Dao resonated with the Cultivation Technique within her body. Her aura was also growing rapidly. Seeing that the Dao lecture was indeed effective, Sha Chen couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Afterward, he continued to preach for three days and three nights, finally helping the White Bone Demon advance into the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm. The White Bone Demon was about to attract tribulation thunder, but under the cover of the Sky Covering Umbrella, the heavenly thunder didn’t know someone here was breaking through, so the tribulation thunder didn’t appear for the time being. Sha Chen then cast the Nine-character True Words: "Soldiers at the fore, all in formation, advance!"
The White Bone Demon was in a twilight state rich with Dao intent due to her breakthrough. Sha Chen took advantage of this, using the Nine-character True Words to solidify her cultivation and enhance her grasp of various Divine Powers. Overwhelmed with joy, the White Bone Demon had many realizations from Sha Chen’s casting of the Nine-character True Words, feeling that her understanding of many of her Divine Powers had subtly deepened.
「A month later.」
Sha Chen withdrew his Divine Powers and Cultivation Technique. The White Bone Demon’s cultivation had already stabilized, and she had even made some slight progress. Feeling the powerful aura within her, she excitedly threw herself into Sha Chen’s arms. Tears of gratitude streamed down her face as she said, "Master, I owe it all to you; otherwise, I would have completely perished. I have no way to repay your kindness. Let me kiss you once more."
Sha Chen immediately pushed her away, snorting, "Dream on. I helped you, and now you want to kiss me? Is there any justice in that?"
Then he frowned.
Hang on. Again? Something felt off.
Noticing Sha Chen’s suspicious look, the White Bone Demon’s eyes darted around. She quickly ran off, pulling the Phoenix sisters to jump and play with her.
However, her happiness was short-lived. Sha Chen cooked a meal to celebrate her breakthrough and then announced on the spot that she was to leave the Flowing Sand River immediately.
During the feast, the White Bone Demon, whose joy had turned to sorrow, burst into tears, saying, "Master, may I serve you for three to five more years before leaving?"
Sha Chen replied, "All good things must come to an end. You’ve made your breakthrough; it’s time for you to make a contribution."
The White Bone Demon said, "But I still have so many positions I haven’t shown you."
Sha Chen retorted, "Save those tricks for when you’re squatting on the toilet by yourself."
The White Bone Demon was heartbroken. Sha Chen’s refusal was all too clear, and she could see that he truly wanted her to leave. Staying on would likely result only in cold looks, or perhaps even a taste of military boxing. The White Bone Demon no longer had an appetite for food. She just took a cup of wine to Sha Chen’s side, reluctantly pouring it for him.
"Master, your servant is about to leave—could you fulfill one last wish for me?" she asked.
Sha Chen, being easygoing, said, "Let’s hear it."
The White Bone Demon said, "A family should be complete—serve me a meal."
Sha Chen clenched the fist he was about to strike with. Then he went to the kitchen himself, brought out a bowl of longevity noodles, and even cracked an egg into it, cooking it on the spot with Samadhi True Fire. He chopped up some green onions and sprinkled them over the top. Presenting the chopsticks to the White Bone Demon, he said, "Here, don’t be shy. The noodles are ready—eat up."
The White Bone Demon was stunned for a long moment but eventually ate the noodles; otherwise, she might have had to taste Sha Chen’s fist.
Ultimately, Sha Chen still allowed the White Bone Demon one more day to say goodbye to the Phoenix sisters.
「The next day.」
Sha Chen saw off the White Bone Demon, giving her a lofty goal—to earn back ten times the resources she owed him. Then, the White Bone Demon walked away, crying profusely.
Watching her, the Phoenix sisters said, "Daddy, Aunt Bai is such a good person. She couldn’t bear to leave us and now she’s crying."
Sha Chen chuckled and replied, "She’s crying now, but once she leaves the Flowing Sand River, she’ll be laughing."
The sisters didn’t understand.
At that moment, the White Bone Demon indeed hadn’t been gone from Flowing Sand River for very long before she forgot all her sorrows and began laughing heartily.
I’ve broken through! I’ve finally broken through! Now the heavens and earth are vast and open for me to roam. I’ll play to my heart’s content before I return.
Humph, humph, humph, Sha Chen, I gave you a chance, and you didn’t take it. Just you wait. When this queen returns, there will be a time for you to grovel.
Singing to herself, the White Bone Demon passed her delayed tribulation thunder. Then, confirming her direction, she took her leave. Sha Chen had given her a goal: to repay ten times the resources required for her breakthrough. That was an astronomical figure, and she dared not renege on the debt. To repay it, robbing seemed the only viable method apart from other unsavory means. She then thought of several of her former master’s old friends, planning to lure them in, then kill them and plunder their possessions. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
Her words, of course, reached Sha Chen’s ears. However, he did not use a Soul Attack. How could a follower not harbor some hidden thoughts about their master? Some disdain was to be expected; otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense. He understood. As long as she didn’t go too far, it didn’t matter if she cursed him or spoke ill of him behind his back. After all, as long as the money was paid, it was fine. The next time the White Bone Demon returned, Sha Chen would also let her know who was in charge.
After the Phoenix sisters watched the White Bone Demon depart, only they and Sha Chen remained, and they suddenly felt bored. Then they started pestering Sha Chen again, asking him to let them out. But Sha Chen flatly refused, insisting they had to reach the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm before he would allow them to leave.
In actuality, at this point, the Phoenix sisters had been alive for twenty to thirty years. Although they still appeared to be teenage girls, their strength had already reached the high stages of the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm, with Bai Luan at the pinnacle stage. They were not far from reaching the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm. Indeed, it was only because of their association with Sha Chen and the blessed grotto-heaven of Flowing Sand River that they could ascend to such heights so swiftly; otherwise, such rapid progress would have been impossible.
The pure bloodlines of Phoenixes and True Dragons allowed for rapid strength improvement, but even then, advancement required time to mature. The three sisters didn’t have that kind of time. Being with Sha Chen, they had all sorts of support, could listen to Dao lectures, and had Cultivation Methods arranged for them by him. It could be said that they possessed post-natal conditions that other members of their clans lacked, thus their cultivation progressed as if divinely aided. A realm that other Phoenixes might take tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years to reach, they achieved in merely twenty to thirty years. Furthermore, while other Phoenixes might need hundreds of thousands of years to reach the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm, they could probably do it in a century, or even faster. This was all because their opportunities were far better than those of other Phoenixes!
True Dragons and Qilin were in a similar situation in this era; powerful ones were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns—exceedingly few. The most famous, the Ink Jade Qilin who followed Wen Zhong, was only at the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal Realm, perhaps not even as formidable as the Phoenix sisters. Yet, the Ink Jade Qilin was likely over a hundred thousand years old. As for True Dragons, they were even less comparable. As much time had passed, pure-blooded True Dragons were already scarce. With impure bloodlines, although their resources were relatively abundant, their progress was slow due to a previous lack of Cultivation Methods and their diluted lineage. Only the Dragon Girl and Ao Lie, having received Sha Chen’s support, were able to improve rapidly. They might even surpass Ao Moang, who was hailed as the foremost prodigy of the True Dragon Clan during the Journey to the West era. However, Sha Chen had no way of knowing his current status.
Sha Chen sent the Phoenix sisters back to cultivate while he himself planned to continue his cultivation. He was looking for an opportunity to attempt a breakthrough to the Peak Daluo Jinxian Realm.
Just then, visitors arrived from outside. They were not strangers but the tardy San Xiao Trio from the Sect of Interpretation.
