Starting with the divine power of the Great Vajra, he traversed the heavens.

Chapter 23 One God Merges with Another (5k-word chapter, please read on, vote with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!)

[In the end, I still ate pickled vegetables and tofu soup. It was delicious and fragrant!]

Mu Renqing smacked his lips and wrote in his diary.

Next to him was the manual "The Art of Sacrificing the Mind" written by Ren Shaoyang, which he placed carelessly.

It's like there's bad luck involved.

[The piece that the girl in red sleeves put on my plate is beautiful! Seriously, putting it on my plate, putting it on my plate... does that mean she wants to marry me? Oh dear, what am I going to do? Hahaha~!]

Mu Renqing put down his pen, feeling somewhat ashamed, realizing he had been too forward with the beautiful woman. Feeling a bit hot, he poured himself some tea.

I couldn't help but chuckle, and while listening to the howling wind outside the window, I found it quite amusing.

After finishing his drink, he picked up his pen again and continued writing.

Oh, and she also showed me her curved sword; it's so beautiful. Just like her smiling, curved eyes, absolutely gorgeous!

"But!" Mu Renqing gritted his teeth.

That scoundrel is inhuman! He actually dragged Miss Hongxiu back to her room! He's utterly inhuman!

As I wrote, my temper flared up again, and I couldn't help but drink several cups of tea to calm myself down before I could continue writing.

Although it's very windy and the environment is terrible outside, but...

Mu Renqing sighed, her gaze softening, and continued writing.

The scenery here is beautiful.

Closing the diary, Mu Renqing felt lost and dejected. Her gaze seemed unfocused as she looked at the candlelight, which resembled Hongxiu's face, the windowpane, and even Ren Shaoyang's face in her mind.
"Pah!" Mu Renqing shook his head violently and shouted sharply, "How did his face show up?"

And so, Ren Shaoyang's face in his mind transformed into Ah Huang, the dog from Mount Hua.

Mu Renqing beamed with joy.

After a while, his longing returned: "Miss Hongxiu, what are you doing now?" She smiled shyly, "You're not thinking of me too, are you?"
-
"You cripple! You son of a bitch, you're so disloyal!"

Hongxiu stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Xiaoyuan, who was furious.

Ren Shaoyang asked in surprise, "Little beggar, what's wrong now?"

"What's wrong?!"

Hongxiu ran over with a thud, pinching Ren Shaoyang's face with her two little hands and pulling it repeatedly.

"Tell me, if you have money, why did you give it to that slut Jin Xiangyu and not to me?"

Ren Shaoyang's sharp, angular face was stretched into a pancake shape, but he still argued, "The roast lamb we ate, the tofu we cooked, all of those things cost money."

She reached out and pinched him, her face fierce: "I haven't even talked to you yet! You eat the most!"

Hongxiu cried out in pain, "You cripple, I saved your life, what's wrong with eating a little of yours?"

"Hmph, you call this a little bit?"

After being persuaded by Ding An, Ren Shaoyang let go of her hand and looked at Hongxiu, who was rubbing her face and glaring at him, still sharp-tongued.

"Eating so much, like a pig, who can afford to feed you?"

"Fine, you cripple, you despise me!"

Hongxiu was struck dumb, completely stunned. In an instant, tears streamed down her face, and she ran to the side, sobbing loudly.

Ding An sighed: "You, you speak so harshly, it hurts people's feelings."

Ren Shaoyang also felt regret. Looking at the thin figure hiding in the corner, crying and facing the wall, and seeing her shoulders sobbing, he felt heartbroken.

Ren, the rogue, scratched his head with difficulty with his right hand and let out a long sigh.

He walked up behind the little beggar and poked her on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't be angry!"

The little beggar didn't speak, but suddenly shook his shoulders, shook off his fingers, and cried even louder.

“This…” Ren Shaoyang pulled out a bulging bag from his pocket and handed it over, “Here, it’s all here!”

Ding'an stared wide-eyed at the bag of clattering silver.

Hongxiu paused in her sobs: "You... gave it all to me?"

Ren Shaoyang said, "That's right, you're in charge of the accounts."

Hongxiu grinned and chuckled foolishly. She quickly grabbed the bag, shook it, and listened to the clinking of silver inside. Instantly, she felt completely at ease, and all her sadness and unease vanished into thin air.

Ren Shaoyang and Ding An exchanged a glance and simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

~(～￣▽￣)～，～(￣▽￣～)~
“Oh, right.” Hongxiu suddenly spoke up, holding her money bag with a serious expression, “I think I know where the tunnel is.”

Ding An's expression turned serious: "Did the inn's cook tell you?"

“He didn’t say,” Hongxiu shook her head. “Every time I ask, he won’t say.”

"Then how do you know?"

“His eyes.” Hongxiu’s expression became arrogant as she raised her head. “He feels guilty towards me, and even more so towards Jin Xiangyu. So whenever he doesn’t speak, he can’t help but turn his head to look at the kitchen.”

Ding An exclaimed in surprise, "The tunnel entrance is in the back kitchen?"

“No!” Hongxiu shook her head, her large eyes slightly narrowed, her expression mysterious. “His eyes are looking down, which means…”

“There’s a secret room under the kitchen,” Ren Shaoyang said casually. “This shady shop has been open for so many years, there must be a secret room to dispose of corpses so they can sell human flesh buns.”

Ding An's eyes lit up: "If there's a secret room, then there must be a secret passage!" He slammed his hand on the table. "Then we'll have a way out!"

Ren Shaoyang nodded: "You guys discuss it with Qiu Moyan, I'll go and meet with the boss's wife!"

It was already night, and a sudden downpour struck, but the rain fell on the desolate Gobi Desert as if it had vanished into thin air.

The lobby has been cleaned up, and there are no longer any traces of the corpses.

"After eating, sit on the kang (heated brick bed). The girl from the desert loves her brother, my little brother, I love your brother..."

Jin Xiangyu sat alone at a table, pouring himself a drink, leisurely and content. When he was in a good mood, he would softly sing a tune that had been passed down in this desert for many years.

Her hair fell down, making a faint blush appear on her cheeks, and her slightly tipsy eyes made the proprietress even more feminine.

"Young Master Ren, since you're here, please do me the honor of having a drink!"

Ren Shaoyang walked over

"it is good."

Sit down opposite her.

Jin Xiangyu looked at the young man as he changed into a black jacket, the stitches of which were crooked but tightly sewn, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, "Miss Hongxiu is indeed very thoughtful."

Ren Shaoyang said, "They're warm to wear, much better than what you buy outside."

"Indeed, a woman's needlework skills may not be impressive, but her sincerity is truly heartwarming!"

Jin Xiangyu chuckled, “The three of you are really strange. You’re not family, yet your bond is stronger than gold. It’s like…” She thought for a moment, then leaned closer, “like small animals that get through tough times by relying on each other’s body heat.”

Ren Shaoyang ignored her words and instead glanced at the impressive view of the proprietress's chest.

Clearly, Jin Xiangyu is a generous and magnanimous woman!
Seeing his appearance, Jin Xiangyu covered her face with her hand and scolded him irritably, "Look, look, look at your mother's head! Have you never seen a woman before?"

Ren Shaoyang curled his lip: "Come on, you're all smelly and stinky, all looks and no use."

Jin Xiangyu was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She was both ashamed and furious. The desert was already short of water, and now that the black storm was raging, everyone was trapped in the inn.

She hadn't showered for several days, of course.

Being told she smelled bad by a man still made her lose face, so she stood up abruptly, put her hands on her hips, and said fiercely, "Pah! Don't you know how many men within a hundred miles can't stand the smell? Stink?"

Jin Xiangyu snorted and said proudly, "That's called femininity!"

Ren Shaoyang glanced at her, flipped his hand to reveal a piece of broken silver, tossed it around, and looked at her with a smile.

Jin Xiangyu stared intently at the shimmering silver pieces, like a cat eyeing a dried fish.

With a flick of the finger, the silver fragments were ejected.

The proprietress quickly grabbed the loose silver coins into her hand and said with a charming smile, "Ask away, I'll tell you!"

Ren Shaoyang glanced at her sideways: "Not going to be a fence-sitter anymore?"

"I wouldn't dare!" Jin Xiangyu said, her face filled with lingering fear. "I originally thought that staying neutral would be fine." She gulped down a glass of wine. "Now I realize that I didn't have a choice at all!"

Ren Shaoyang drank a cup with him and said coldly, "Neither side? Hmph! Let's see who you side with when they win."

Is there anything wrong with doing this?

Jin Xiangyu wasn't afraid; instead, she looked at him very seriously.

“That’s right,” Ren Shaoyang said casually, “but once Cao Shaoqin arrives, you will all die.”

“Yes, in the eyes of the Eastern Depot, we are nothing but ants.” Jin Xiangyu lowered her head, somewhat dejected. “The Eastern Depot has always been ruthless and will not leave any ants behind.”

"Alright, stop pretending," Ren Shaoyang said impatiently. "You don't know you're wrong, you just know you're going to die."

He leaned forward, staring intently at the proprietress: "Even so, you still want more benefits?" He clicked his tongue in amazement, "You're truly insatiable."

Jin Xiangyu, his drunkenness gone and his expression clear, chuckled and said, "I knew I couldn't fool you."

She raised her head and said solemnly, "We want to live, is that alright?"

Ren Shaoyang laughed and said, "Sure! The secret passage is open. We can leave once the storm stops and each of us can leave it to fate!"
-
Inside the room on the second floor. Ren Shaoyang sat upright on the bed, slowly opening his eyes, a hint of joy flashing in them.

He jumped down, used the "Thirty-Two Aspects" once, and then again. The Great Vajra Divine Power within his body had reached a state of "self-sufficiency, not relying on external sources" in a cyclical manner.

A surge of pure and vast energy flowed from the dantian into the eight extraordinary meridians and twelve regular meridians, bringing a sense of satisfaction and joy.

Before long, Ren Shaoyang felt his strength waning, but he did not stop. Instead, he thought to himself, "It's time!"

With a calm mind and focused energy, the "Heart-Giving Posture" was activated in the upper dantian, instantly invigorating the mind and releasing a vibrant energy.

The energy flows from Baihui (GV20) down to Yuzhen (GB39), then splits into two streams at Dazhui (GV14) and enters Jianjing (GB21), finally converging at Tanzhong (CV17).

Seven "dong dong dong dong dong dong" sounds!
Ren Shaoyang felt a jolt in five places: between his eyebrows, in his throat, in his palms, in the soles of his feet, and below his navel.

Each of them transforms into the "Illuminating Void Aperture", "Sound Transformation Aperture", "Object Sensing Aperture", "Void Stepping Aperture", and "Returning to the Source Aperture".

Each orifice is wide open, constantly sensing the vital energy of heaven and earth.

Ren Shaoyang felt that his state of mind at this moment was extremely strange. It was neither fiery nor cold-hearted, but as still as water and as steady as a rock.

"null"!
A sound as clear as metal and stone resonated in my heart.

But I felt as if the Baihui point on the top of my head had opened up, and the Qi of the Nine Heavens poured down upon me, and my vision was filled with great light, a vast expanse of white.

Physical strength and energy can be regained.

In the next instant, Ren Shaoyang suddenly felt ghostly howls all around him, with ice and fire intertwining.

My body was incredibly sensitive, and my mind seemed to have fallen into an endless demonic realm.

Suddenly feeling empty and painful, suddenly feeling joyful and happy, suddenly feeling violent and depressed, all sorts of emotions intertwine in the heart, like ice and fire alternating, or like eating bitter melon and candied fruit at the same time. No one else in the world can truly understand the taste of it except the person experiencing it.

Originally, this torment of the demonic realm was an essential step in cultivating the "Great Vajra Divine Power".

If you pass the test, the sky's the limit; if you fail, your entire life's cultivation is wasted!
In the original novel "Canghai," the last disciple of the Fish Monk, Bu Neng, fell into a demonic state and transformed into the "Tenjin Sect" in Japan. He committed numerous evil deeds, and no one could control him.

If it weren't for the fish monk risking his life to fight, the protagonist Lu Jian would probably have already passed away.

Now, Ren Shaoyang is experiencing something even worse than what he couldn't have experienced back then!
He circulates the "Great Vajra Divine Power" in his lower dantian and practices the "Giving Heart Style" in his upper dantian. He does both in parallel, cultivating the Vajra Dharma internally and opening the seven orifices externally.

It felt as if my mind had left my body, experiencing a magical realm of fierce winds, as if I were standing naked in the sky.

His level of danger was so high that even the Outer Demons, if they could speak, would give him a thumbs up and exclaim, "A model for all!"

However, the "King's Divine Skill" is truly extraordinary.

Despite his ferocious expression, Ren Shaoyang was experiencing increasingly rapid cycles of birth and death within his body, with the transitions between joy and sorrow becoming more and more frequent.

But for some reason, that spark of inspiration remained as firm as a rock.

Between the two forces that are constantly shifting between each other.

The power of selflessness and the divine power of the Great Vajra began to spontaneously converge in the upper and lower dantian, no longer under one's control, and transformed into a unique force.

It is continuously generated within itself, coming and going, forming a self-sustaining cycle.

This truly embodies the saying of "the mind-abandonment style": "When the body and form are united, one becomes empty and spiritual; spirituality leads to transformation; transformation leads to emptiness; emptiness leads to the abandonment of the mind; and divine perception is thus achieved."

Suddenly, Ren Shaoyang threw a punch.

With a resounding "Abyss," a tremendous force appeared in the void.

Ren Shaoyang felt all pain, emptiness, joy, and satisfaction being drawn away from his body, leaving his heart completely clear and his soul seemingly detached.

After a while, he slowly opened his eyes, moved his body, and threw a punch. His fist technique was simple and straightforward, yet it conveyed the feeling of "great straightness appearing crooked, great skill appearing clumsy".

This is the "One Divine Fist" passed down by Peanut Master!
But his every move was no longer bound by the "thirty-two forms of body posture," his movements were naturally varied, shifting and tumbling, strange and abrupt.

Ren Shaoyang struck it several times, smiled slightly, and completely relaxed his mind, not thinking or pondering, only using "giving up his mind" to control his strength.

The "Dragon Claw" and "Great Brahma Banner" were used in succession, adapting to any shape and striking in unexpected places, their movements indescribable.

A faint rumbling sound could be heard emanating from within its body, gradually growing into a dragon's roar that overwhelmed the howling wind.

Suddenly, the wind subsided, Ren Shaoyang's expression turned cold and aloof, and his previously sweeping and powerful moves also changed.

With a light flick of his right finger, a thin, fine fingertip shot out with a "whoosh," splitting the wick of a candle on a table two zhang away in two.

Because the force was sharp and thin, the wick did not separate and remained burning as one.

Ren Shaoyang's eyes gleamed, and his moves changed again. His fists were like mountains collapsing and his sleeves like water flowing, combining strength and gentleness, embodying both mountains and water.

Two zhang away, the candle flame swayed precariously with the force of the punch, tilting when the wind was strong and straightening when it was weak. But no matter how strong or weak the wind was, the candle flame would always seem to go out but never quite extinguish.

With such mastery of power, one finally reaches a state of complete control, where intention precedes action; this is called:

One God unites with all!
The two sets of kung fu I just used were "The Zen of a Hair's Breadth" and "The Mad Zen of Mount Sumeru" from the Six Absolute Techniques for Suppressing Demons.

Ren Shaoyang felt completely refreshed, with a surge of extraordinary power within him that he could not release.

He immediately leaped out of the window and ran wildly for miles in the wind and rain, letting out a long howl as he ran. The howl was filled with ecstatic joy, and the surrounding wind and ghostly howls were drowned out.

Ren Shaoyang had been running and roaring for a long time, but he still felt that there was an inexhaustible power in his body. Finally, he stopped in the midst of the storm.

His heart was surging with excitement and lofty ambitions, and he felt as if he could lift a huge boulder from his heart.

Thinking of the uplifting moment, he put his hands on his hips and laughed loudly.

Such laughter shook the heavens and the earth, reaching even the swirling clouds and rain in the sky.

This smile truly reveals the Vajra successor, a man of "outward sagehood and inner kingship, whose brilliance shines like the sun and stars, penetrating to the core!"
Ren Shaoyang got his new coat dirty the next day.

Ren the rogue covered his face with his sleeve, not daring to face the furious Hongxiu.

"Fine, fine!" The little beggar gritted her teeth in anger. "I've been sewing this coat for so many days, and you've only worn it for one day!"

"Na!"

She stretched out her hands, and on her slender fingers, tiny red needle dots were clearly visible.

"You cripple, you've caused so much trouble, how could you face me?!"

"Young Master Ren, this is wrong of you." Mu Renqing suddenly appeared at the doorway, looking distressed. "Miss Hongxiu injured her hands like this while sewing clothes for you, how dare you be so ungrateful?"

"You damn monkey," Ren Shaoyang uttered through gritted teeth, "Are you trying to cause trouble?"

"Hmph!" Mu Renqing strode in and sat down next to Ding An. "I have come for justice."

He looked at Ding An and asked, "Brother Li, you think so too, don't you?"

Ding'an was stunned.

He glanced at Ren Shaoyang, who was staring fiercely at him.

Then he looked at the beggar with a stern face.

Finally, he scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.

Hongxiu continued, "What were you doing yesterday?"

Mu Renqing chimed in, "Yeah, did you go out on purpose and get your clothes wet?"

Ren Shaoyang laughed and said, "I went out to scout things out and found some clues."

Ding An and Hong Xiu's expressions changed, and Mu Renqing also noticed the change in atmosphere, unconsciously suppressing his smile.

Hongxiu asked, "What discovery?"

Ren Shaoyang said, "The evil monk from the Blood Blade Sect who escaped the day before yesterday died ten miles away."

Ding An frowned and asked, "Blown to death by the storm?"

Mu Renqing coughed and said, "Not necessarily, I'm afraid he was killed by someone!"

Ren Shaoyang smiled and said, "That's right."

Mu Renqing asked excitedly, "What did the wounds look like on the corpse?"

Ren Shaoyang said, "Two monks were struck on the head by the sword, which split into four pieces."

"Taiyue Sword Technique!"

Mu Renqing stood up abruptly and shouted, "This move is called 'Clouds Part and Mist Disperse,' which aims to use the momentum of a mid-air spin to strike down headfirst!"

Ren Shaoyang nodded: "Good moves, good swordsmanship."

"Of course, excellent swordsmanship!" Mu Renqing slowly sat down, his face full of disbelief. "I never imagined that Cao Shaoqin could have reached such a high level!"

Ding An swallowed hard: "So, the Eastern Depot's people are nearby, ready to attack at any moment?"

"They won't attack at any moment!"

Suddenly, Qiu Moyan's clear voice rang out. She stood at the door, holding a sword, her face serious.

"I'm afraid they've already arrived!"

"Impossible!" Mu Renqing exclaimed in disbelief. "With such a fierce storm outside, how did they get here?"

“Actually,” Ren Shaoyang raised his hand and pointed out the window, “the wind just stopped.”

Mu Renqing was stunned: "Oh no!"

Before the words were finished, the neighing of horses and shouts, accompanied by the howling wind, came from outside the wall, followed by the "bang bang bang bang" of crossbows being drawn.

The sound of arrows whistling through the air was incessant!
The Eastern Depot is here!

(End of this chapter)