Chapter 217 - 213: Dharma Transmission: The Direction of the Dao

"A phoenix that falls into the mud is not at fault. It merely underestimated the wickedness of the human heart..."

Beneath the vast red clouds, Mr. Gao sat on the ground, muttering Song Ciwan’s words to himself.

He seemed to be asking himself, yet also asking Song Ciwan, "If it wasn’t my eldest sister’s fault, and it wasn’t our fault, then why were we the ones who had to die in the end? Why my sister?"

"My great-grandfather just wanted to provide disaster relief. Was he wrong?"

"We of the Gao Family just wanted to hold back the enemy at the border. Were we wrong?"

"Why don’t the ones who did wrong die? Why did it have to be us?"

"Reward merit and punish transgression. That’s what the sages teach, so why isn’t that what we see? Who is the liar here?"

"Sages, the Emperor, the common people... they’re all liars! And you, Xin Mian, you’re a liar too!"

"You say it’s only right for a student to save their teacher! Who’s your teacher? With such a passionate act, what are you really after?"

As he roared, Mr. Gao’s expression twisted abruptly.

He turned his head and opened his mouth, and countless crimson tentacles shot out from his throat like lightning.

In an instant, the tentacles reached Song Ciwan. Just as they were about to bind her, she moved, immediately using her special technique, Wind Shadow, to evade their grasp.

But strangely, just as her Wind Shadow activated and she began to retreat, a bizarre power from an unknown source gently nudged her from the void, and Song Ciwan’s direction changed!

She had been trying to retreat, to get away from Mr. Gao. But under this power’s influence, the retreating Song Ciwan instead shot forward ten-odd zhang in an instant.

SWISH!

Song Ciwan shot straight toward Mr. Gao. Just as she was about to collide with him face-to-face, she immediately mobilized her True Qi. With a flick of her Wind Manipulation Technique, she forcefully wrenched herself to the left—

And then, that strange power from the void appeared again! Her body was twisted to the right instead.

Of course, whether she was twisted right or left, this maneuver at least saved her from a head-on collision with Mr. Gao.

The next moment, Song Ciwan appeared behind and to the side of Mr. Gao.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she instantly understood. The power of the Deceitful Realm didn’t just invert one’s perception of things. Here in this subterranean, scorched-earth world, it even inverted the effects of her own Magic.

She wanted to go backward, but the Deceitful Realm forced her forward. She wanted to go right, but it forced her left.

’So, what if I try to harm Mr. Gao?’

’Will my Attack end up hitting me instead?’

In a flash, Mr. Gao roared hoarsely, "Still dodging? What are you dodging for? Didn’t you want to honor me as your master? How can you dodge when your master is disciplining you?"

Amid his roars, he abruptly turned his head, his gaze glaring at Song Ciwan.

The tentacles from his throat that had missed their mark withered and fell away like vines torn from their roots. But from the hollow socket of his left eye, countless new tentacles shot out.

This time, Song Ciwan didn’t dodge. She stood her ground and raised a hand, casting a Ganlin Spell on herself.

At the same time, a Spirit Cloud suddenly materialized, but it appeared over Mr. Gao’s head.

’Just as I thought. My guess was right!’

If she were to attack Mr. Gao, her Attack would surely land on herself. But if she were to cast something on herself, the power would instead be applied to Mr. Gao.

Song Ciwan ignored the sinister tentacles rushing toward her. She just watched as the sweet rain pattered down, transforming into motes of Spiritual Light that fell upon Mr. Gao.

After further Cultivation, Song Ciwan’s Ganlin Spell had now reached the Mastery Level.

Although Mr. Gao was an aberrant being, the Mastery Level Ganlin Spell possessed an ultimate gentleness.

In this bizarre world, the Ganlin Spell was like a sliver of light stolen from the Mortal World. The life force it contained made Mr. Gao freeze in place.

As an aberration, the life force of the Mortal World should have clashed with the Nether Qi in his body, causing him immense pain.

But Song Ciwan’s Ganlin Spell seemed to possess a tenderness that transcended life and death. Bathed in this sweet rain, Mr. Gao felt no pain. Instead, in a daze, he had the illusion of being soothed.

No, it wasn’t an illusion. He was truly being soothed!

For instance, a pain like his bones being scraped and his body being burned had been with him constantly, scorching his body and soul, giving him not a moment’s peace for a thousand years.

Nourishment, relief, comfort—he hadn’t felt such things for far too many years.

He had even forgotten that he was capable of feeling comfort.

"Father, Mother, Eldest Sister..." A single tear rolled from the corner of Mr. Gao’s right eye.

Mr. Gao’s mind reeled. He stared at Song Ciwan, his mouth agape.

And at the same moment Mr. Gao was stunned by the Ganlin Spell, the tentacles that had shot from his left eye socket bound Song Ciwan tightly.

All of this took some time to describe, but it all happened in the blink of an eye.

The descent of the Ganlin Spell and the binding of the tentacles happened almost simultaneously. Both were so fast they seemed to outpace time itself.

However, while Mr. Gao was nourished by the Ganlin Spell and the pain he had accumulated for a thousand years was eased, Song Ciwan was immediately subjected to torture as the sharp-toothed tentacles bound her.

She let out a muffled groan. In that instant, it felt as though a thousand needles were piercing her body and ten thousand ants were gnawing at her flesh.

Although she cultivated the Thunder Fire Body Devouring Technique, making her muscles and bones far tougher than an ordinary person’s, the tentacles couldn’t break through her defenses instantly. Nevertheless, the pain was transmitted with piercing clarity.

Song Ciwan had a strong feeling: at her current level with the Thunder Fire Body Devouring Technique, she could only defend against the Small City Level Mr. Gao’s Attack for a short while, not forever.

She might not even be able to last for half a quarter-hour. She felt the sharp points of the needles, as if her skin and bones could be pierced at any moment!

Mr. Gao’s eyes were wide as he stared blankly at Song Ciwan. "You... Why?" he asked. He couldn’t form a complete sentence, as if he didn’t even know what he wanted to ask.

Though bound by the tentacles, Song Ciwan’s expression was calm and composed. The crimson clouds in the sky cast shifting shades of light upon her, making her seem to possess a kind of divinity in that moment—

—like an ancient sage suffering torture, blazing a trail through all hardships, cleaving through thorns and brambles, all just to follow the path of the Dao!

This divinity even transcended the shackles of her physical form and the inversion of the world. It possessed an indescribable power.

Mr. Gao didn’t know that, in that instant, Song Ciwan had imperceptibly performed a "Dharma Transmission" on herself.