Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 366 - 360: Shameless Old Man 【Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets】_1
The spider spirits were very panicked and worried.
Sha Chen brought over the Sky Covering Umbrella, and it grew in size at the entrance, shielding them from view.
At the same time, the Taiqing Colored Glaze Cup and the Mystic Artifact of The Nine Orifices were also opened, illuminating the entire lair.
Under such circumstances, Sha Chen finally felt somewhat at ease.
He also noticed the anxiety of the spider spirits and reassured them, "You don’t need to be scared. The Flowing Sand River is still very solid, and our lair is invulnerable. Even if he is the ancestor of all terrestrial immortals, he won’t be able to get in."
The spider spirits naturally had total trust in Sha Chen, and upon hearing his words, they also let out a sigh of relief.
The color of worry on their faces abated somewhat. But still, they were inevitably nervous inside.
Seeing this, Sha Chen smiled slightly and then said, "Alright, you really don’t need to worry too much. Even Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad can’t get in, let alone him."
Chang E said, "Brother, if he can’t come in but keeps guarding outside, what should we do then?"
Sha Chen laughed and said, "That would be for the best. With him on guard, no one will dare disturb me, and I can take the opportunity to cultivate in peace.
"I truly wish for a quiet environment where I can concentrate on my cultivation."
Chang E nodded. As Sha Chen spoke this way, she felt reassured, which showed that Sha Chen truly had confidence.
The spider spirits exchanged glances and also settled down.
As long as Sha Chen said there were no problems, then there would be no problems. At worst, they would die together with Sha Chen.
In truth, however, Sha Chen was not as confident inside as he had claimed. He wasn’t very reassured either.
Since Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad had left without a direct attack on the Flowing Sand River, Sha Chen was also unsure whether Lord Lao truly couldn’t get in.
And Zhenyuanzi had lived countless years. Perhaps he had many means. If somehow he managed to break through the lair, that would be troublesome.
However, Sha Chen was worrying needlessly.
Even if Zhenyuanzi had the Heaven Opening Axe, he couldn’t breach the Flowing Sand River.
Firstly, he didn’t have the strong physique necessary to exert the true power of the Heaven Opening Axe and thus couldn’t split heaven and earth.
His Chaos Chicken Cover in former times was indeed a powerful barrier that shrouded all creation, shielding it from the invasion of gods and demons.
Just because Pangu had cleaved it open with his axe didn’t mean it was weak. Rather, it proved its strength.
To be split by Pangu, wasn’t that proof of its strength?
The Chaos Chicken Cover could block even a Saint, and it was uncertain if even the most pinnacle of Saints could breach it.
After all, the gods and demons of old were probably at the level of ordinary Saints, and how strong they are now is a matter of the present.
Moreover, since Pangu had already slain most of the gods and demons, the remnants were either injured or had fled.
There was no way for them to return to the Three Realms.
In the entire Three Realms, perhaps only The sage Laozi and Taoist Ancestor Hongjun could enter.
There’s no need to mention Taoist Ancestor Hongjun. Having melded into the Dao, he wouldn’t concern himself with the affairs here.
Unless another Saint emerged in the world, nothing could attract the attention of Taoist Ancestor Hongjun.
This did cause some worry for Sha Chen in the case of The sage Laozi.
But now, worrying was useless.
「Outside.」
Zhenyuanzi called out once again. It was clear he wouldn’t give up his attempts to enter.
"Master Sha Chen, I know you’re inside. Has my face become so worthless that I don’t even deserve to meet with you?"
Sha Chen furrowed his brows. With these words, Zhenyuanzi was pressuring him.
He was troubled, not wanting to meet or respond.
But obviously, that was not appropriate.
If he refused to meet, Zhenyuanzi’s repeated requests would lead to a loss of face. If the old fellow then took revenge, it wouldn’t bode well.
After all, Sha Chen was not a solitary individual. He had followers wandering outside.
What’s more, the spider spirits, Bear Monster, and Red Boy had already been exposed.
It was likely that others were being monitored by powerful beings. Even if it were just conjecture, these beings, preferring to kill in error rather than let a target escape, would eliminate Sha Chen’s followers.
Once his left and right arms were cut off, Sha Chen could forget about rising in strength quickly.
With his resources cut off, Sha Chen definitely couldn’t achieve a rapid increase in cultivation. Even if this place was safe, he could only sit and watch his resources dwindle away.
Wanting to become stronger before the calamity of the Journey to the West arrived, to have enough confidence, would become mere empty talk.
But nonetheless, going out was impossible, and letting the person in was also impossible.
He could only find a way to persuade Zhenyuanzi to leave and hope he would be sensible enough to depart.
This was bound to be extremely difficult, but Sha Chen had to try. Otherwise, being targeted by such an old monster would not be easy for him to endure.
Sha Chen hesitated for a moment, then projected an apparition of himself at the entrance of the lair.
Outside, the mud squirmed and slowly took the shape of a giant figure seven to eight zhang tall, then gained color and revealed a face—the visage and stature of Sha Chen at that moment.
However, this was merely a virtual avatar, not worth mentioning.
Sha Chen’s avatar greeted Zhenyuanzi with a clasped fist and a bow, saying, "Junior Sha Chen pays his respects to Saint Zhenyuanzi. Congratulations to Saint Zhenyuanzi on your boundless mana and immense divine powers."
Qing Feng and Mingyue frowned, having naturally realized that this was not his true body but an avatar.
Sha Chen was indeed audacious, daring to not show his true self but sending out an avatar instead. He was looking down on Zhenyuanzi!
Zhenyuanzi, however, maintained his composure and only smiled, saying, "I am Zhenyuanzi. It seems that meeting you in person is quite a difficult task."
Sha Chen responded, "Isn’t junior here right now?"
Zhenyuanzi smiled and said, "This is an avatar, not your true self."
Sha Chen replied, "My true self is deep in cultivation, too busy to attend to anything else, unable to come out. I hope the Saint will forgive me."
Zhenyuanzi suggested, "If that is the case, why not open your cave dwelling’s door, and let me come in personally?"
But Sha Chen countered, "My true self is in a closed-door meditation, unable to open the door to my dwelling. I ask for the Saint’s understanding."
Zhenyuanzi fell silent.
Qing Feng and Mingyue were immediately enraged.
Mingyue shouted sternly, "How audacious! Who are you trying to fool? Just a quarter of an hour ago, we were speaking with your true self. Have you entered closed-door meditation in the blink of an eye?"
Sha Chen’s avatar was filled with regret, wishing he had come up with a different excuse.
However, his expression remained unchanged as he spoke calmly, "My true self always loves to cultivate and could start meditating at any time, anywhere—even during meals or while sleeping, one might fall into a state of cultivation.
"Have the two Daoist masters never heard of sudden enlightenment? Indeed, my true self has just experienced such an epiphany and started cultivating upon this realization."
Qing Feng and Mingyue were infuriated, fully aware that Sha Chen was fooling them.
But this explanation also made sense.
If there really was sudden enlightenment, one truly could start cultivating at any time. But they felt that Sha Chen was surely spouting nonsense.
Sudden enlightenment was extremely rare. For it to happen neither sooner nor later, but right at this moment, was clearly deceitful.
Qing Feng and Mingyue were about to scold him again when Zhenyuanzi sternly said, "Silence! You two must not be disrespectful."
Both quickly lowered their heads, not daring to make another sound.
Zhenyuanzi then said with a smile, "Since the Daoist friend is in closed-door meditation, then indeed it is fortuitous that I have come at this time. I wonder, how long will this meditation last? I too have attempted sudden enlightenment hundreds of times, the quickest lasting only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and the longest just three days."
Sudden enlightenment is not regular cultivation. It is called enlightenment because the realization comes abruptly and is also very quick.
Zhenyuanzi had lived for innumerable years and seen all manner of storms, having experienced enlightenment countless times.
His question was clearly aimed at finding out how long Sha Chen would be in meditation so he could wait for him, leaving Sha Chen without an excuse.
Sha Chen’s avatar furrowed his brows and said, "This, I do not know. Cultivation states are unpredictable.
"The Saint has had countless enlightenments and naturally has authority on the matter. My true self, too, has had several moments of enlightenment, the quickest lasting three to five years and the longest, a century."
Zhenyuanzi frowned. Sha Chen was playing Tai Ji with him.
Then he said with a smile, "It doesn’t matter. I have waited countless years already; another thousand years or a century doesn’t bother me."
Sha Chen winced internally.
If Zhenyuanzi really waited for a thousand or a hundred years, then his resources would indeed run dry.
Cultivation already drained resources significantly. He had been eagerly waiting for the spider spirits and Chang E to break through so he could reduce expenditures.
He was now waiting for revenues as followers brought resources back to him.
If Zhenyuanzi were to stand guard here, then his followers would surely not dare to come near.
After ten or eight years, his resources would be exhausted, and he could only practice ascetically—truly hard times.
Even though he was a prodigy with unparalleled potential, cultivation still required an accumulation of numerous resources for rapid advancement.
Otherwise, through ascetic practice, even if he lived to Zhenyuanzi’s age, he might not achieve Zhenyuanzi’s level of cultivation.
After all, Zhenyuanzi had also consumed countless resources to reach his current accomplishments.
Moreover, in over two hundred years, the Journey to the West calamity would arrive. Sha Chen understood that even if he lived in seclusion, he wouldn’t be able to prevent its coming.
By then, he might be replaced or forced to face the ordeal.
Hence, he needed to ensure his strength was formidable enough before the calamity commenced so he could deal with all sorts of problems.
The gate to his dwelling absolutely could not be blocked by Zhenyuanzi. Otherwise, Zhenyuanzi wouldn’t just guard it for a thousand or a hundred years, but perhaps even ten thousand.
The old fellow was right. He had lived long enough, having experienced countless years. Guarding for another thousand or ten thousand years really wouldn’t be a big deal to him.
In that case, it would be Sha Chen who would be driven mad, left without rice to cook.
Sha Chen hastily said, "The elder’s time is precious. Why waste it here? Once junior ends his meditation, I’ll send someone to inform the elder immediately."
Zhenyuanzi laughed and replied, "It’s indeed quite difficult to see you in person. And moreover, you being alone, whom would you ask to inform me?"
At this point, his gaze flickered slightly.
Sha Chen knew he had misspoken, but still, his expression remained unaltered.
He replied tranquilly, "There are many Mountain Gods and Earth Gods nearby, whom I can summon with a stomp of my foot, ready to be dispatched at any moment."
Zhenyuanzi replied, "I see. Well, they can relay your message, but they are not qualified to visit me on your behalf.
"How about this? I’ll continue to wait outside for a thousand years or ten thousand years. Whenever you finish your closed-door meditation, that’s when I’ll leave."
