Turbid World: Martial Arts Master of the Republic of China Era, I Cultivate Immortality!

Chapter 110 The Wondrous Scripture of Fulfilling Vows and Proving Grace Through a Hundred Kalpas! (Please Subscribe!)

That day, at the Night Restaurant.

"As the saying goes, a poor girl from the mud can rise to wealth and honor in a single day. Ye Xian was originally a poor girl, but she was fortunate enough to meet a red fish, which helped her escape her stepmother's cruel hand, abandon her poverty, and become rich and noble in one step." The storyteller in the tavern sang.

The surrounding listeners and diners showed a variety of expressions, from envy to jealousy and even malice, and the discussion continued for a while.

"This Ye Xian is incredibly lucky; he actually got a red fish—"

"This girl has suffered for so many years, and finally she's escaped her wicked stepmother and can enjoy a life of happiness!"

"Hmph, she just got lucky. Why should she be able to rise to the top overnight? If she can get the Red Fish, so can I—"

"What a twist of fate! Who would have thought that a girl from a poor family could turn from a sparrow into a phoenix?!"

The audience and diners had differing opinions, but without exception, they all began to inquire where the Ye family girl had obtained the red fish.

Upon learning that the red fish came from the Ping'an River, the Ping'an River became overcrowded and was no longer peaceful. Meanwhile, in the south of Ping'an County, at the gate of the Ye family's five-courtyard mansion.

"The promised hundred acres of fertile land and servants have arrived, and the silver notes have been given to you. Our transaction is complete!"

Zhao Zheng addressed Ye Xian before he could speak, continuing, "Don't worry, I've taken care of the rest for you. Just relax and be the master!"

When he said he would help resolve the matter, he meant Ye Xian's wicked stepmother. As for why he would help, well, he would help if he wanted to.

We don't need many reasons to live; just be happy and joyful.

"Thank you, Young Master Zheng!"

Knowing what Zhao Zheng was talking about, Ye Xian spoke with gratitude, and was about to kneel down and kowtow in thanks, but Zhao Zheng helped Ye Xian up and stopped him from kneeling.

"The Great Chen Dynasty is gone, why are you kneeling? I'm going back first. As for you, you should learn how to be a master from your steward, Old Li. I don't want to hear about you squandering the family fortune."

As Zhao Zheng spoke, he looked at the butler, Old Li, who was originally the butler of the Guo family but had volunteered to be Ye Xian's butler.

Well, Butler Li meant no harm; he was just feeling sorry for Ye Xian!

To be honest, he was very curious about what Master Guo's expression would be when he found out his butler was gone, especially since his butler had been lured away by his own worker.

"No, no way—"

Ye Xian shook her head and said that Zhao Zheng had given her two thousand silver dollars. With so much money, she felt that she could not spend it all even if she bought candies that cost one copper coin each to eat as meals.

"Okay, bye-bye."

Zhao Zheng smiled and took his leave, boarding a Western-style carriage and leaving Ping'an County with the red fish he had placed in a ceramic fish tank.

"You've grown from two inches to four inches, that's quite fast, but why don't I sense any cultivation within you?"

Zhao Zheng looked at the red fish swimming in the ceramic fish tank on the carriage floor with a strange expression. The red fish's eyes were indeed intelligent, but strangely, it had no cultivation.

Of course, it's also possible that the other party's cultivation method is very strange. Thinking this, he ignored the displeasure in the red fish's eyes and began to recall the original plot. The so-called original plot was "Ye Xian", which comes from a story in "Youyang Zazu".

Ye Xian's story can be roughly understood as a domestic version of the Cinderella story, because Ye Xian, like Cinderella, has a wicked stepmother and a tragic living environment.

The core of the two stories is highly similar.

Both Ye Xian and Cinderella lost their parents at a young age and were mistreated and bullied by their cruel stepmothers.

This includes the fact that both of them received secret assistance from supernatural forces, and that they later inadvertently lost their keepsakes.

Even some details are the same, such as Cinderella's helper being her fairy godmother, while Ye Xian's reliance is on the red fish bones that were cruelly cooked and killed by her stepmother.

Both of them obtained the outfits by making a wish!

Pshaw, it should be called shoes. One is a crystal shoe, and the other is a golden shoe. The plot details are so similar that it can be understood as a Chinese-to-English translation.

As for why it was translated from Chinese to English instead of from English to Chinese, the reason is simple: the story of Ye Xian in Youyang Zazu predates the story of Cinderella by nearly a thousand years.

It's obvious who copied whom!

Of course, Zhao Zheng felt that the story of Ye Xian that he encountered should be different from the story of Ye Xian, after all, he encountered Ye Xian, not Ye Xian, and there was no king nearby.

However, Zhao Zheng felt that the process of making a wish to obtain a treasure should be the same, which made him wonder if he should ask his mother to kill the red fish and then make a wish on the fish bones.

Thinking about it, Zhao Zheng looked at the red fish in the fish tank. What he saw was a fish face with a look of fear in its eyes, which made him raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"You can sense my thoughts?"

Unfortunately, the red fish still didn't speak, which made him think that the red fish must have been mute or deaf in its previous life.

But it's not a big problem, as long as there are fish bones!

"Speaking of which, now that I've bought her opportunity, will she still be able to marry the so-called king? And will her golden shoes still be successfully forged?"

Since the carriage hadn't gone far, Zhao Zheng turned his head and looked through the carriage window at Ye Xian, who was still talking to the steward, Old Li, at his own front gate.

Strangely, the golden shoe pattern on Ye Xian's back did not disappear; instead, it became more and more obvious. If Ye Xian's previous appearance was that of an ordinary shoe that had transformed into a golden shoe after being 50% transformed, it would be even more obvious.

So now at least 80% of the transformation has been completed!

"Could there be a female red fish?"

A thought popped into Zhao Zheng's mind as he began to ponder whether or not to send someone to catch fish in the Ping'an River. Just as the carriage turned the corner and left the alley, it suddenly braked sharply to a stop.

"Pah! You monk, do you have eyes—" Zhao Gao pointed to his mouth in terror before he could finish his sentence.

Zhao Zheng glanced at the crowd of onlookers on the street, gave Zhao Gao a reassuring look, and then looked expressionlessly at the fat monk who came to his carriage and opened the door.

The Bone Painting Scroll – Opening.

Monk Yanyu's favorability towards you: 20.

Zhao Zheng never liked to comment on others, but seeing the smiling monk, he still gave him the four-word evaluation: "Greed breeds resentment."

What Zhao Zheng was thinking was unknown to Monk Yanyu. He merely glanced at the red fish in the fish tank, his eyes revealing greed, and with a forced smile, he put his hands together in prayer.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, benefactor, I have learned that you have obtained a spiritual fish. However, I have observed that this fish is connected to the Buddha. Keeping it with you will only bury its spirituality. I would like to ask you to give this fish to me. I am willing to recite scriptures and pray for you, to ward off disasters and difficulties. This would be a great Buddhist merit for you."

"————"

No, I know that bald monks are shameless, but isn't this just too shameless?

Zhao Zheng stared expressionlessly at the chubby monk Yan Yu, then suddenly chuckled and said, "Sure, you can pay with your money. I spent three or four thousand silver dollars in total, so you can just give me ten thousand!"

"???"

No, I know businessmen are ruthless, but isn't this a bit too ruthless?

Seeing Zhao Zheng's way of making double the profit from the resale, Monk Yanyu's greed was aroused again. He felt that this red fish must be a treasure and put his hands together in prayer.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, benefactor, I am only saying this for your own good. You should know that all things have spirits. Forcing the spirit fish to stay with you will only be bad for both it and you!"

"Oh, I see—"

As Zhao Zheng spoke, just as Monk Yanyu's face lit up with joy, he heard Zhao Zheng continue, "So it was you, monk, who was greedy. You wanted my red fish but didn't want to pay for it!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding onlookers burst into laughter and made mocking comments, which angered Monk Yanyu so much that his face turned dark.

He glared at Zhao Zheng, and seeing that he had met with a tough opponent, his face instantly darkened, and he said coldly.

"What an ungrateful mortal! I kindly tried to enlighten you, but you remained obstinate, obsessed with worldly possessions and wealth. Today I will open your eyes and show you my methods, which are not to be underestimated by a mere mortal like you!"

"???"

Are you crazy? When did I ever look down on you?

Zhao Zheng frowned in confusion as he looked at Monk Yan Yu, who had run to a nearby shop and was asking to borrow a water basin. He still felt that most cultivators in this world had some serious illnesses, except for those who were kind to him.

Then, Monk Yanyu politely borrowed a wooden basin filled with water from a nearby tea stall and brought it out.

However, he did not come to Zhao Zheng, but instead placed a basin of water in the middle of the street a few meters in front of Zhao Zheng's carriage and began to form hand seals and chant incantations.

"Pear planting technique!"

Zhao Zheng frowned as he stepped off the carriage. His frown wasn't because of the pear, that is, because his red fish was about to be taken away.

It's not that this monk is so cruel, but the name "Planting Pears Technique" is ordinary, but in the cultivation world it is known as the "Unorthodox Pear Planting Technique," a famous unorthodox technique among unorthodox spells.

It is said that by using the appearances of all living beings and connecting with people's popularity, one can carry out a deceitful act of stealing things from the truth, which is an evil method of forcibly seizing other people's treasures.

At the same time, this is also a spell that damages the vitality and fortune of the person who takes the pear. Once this spell is cast, all those who take the pear will have their vitality and fortune forcibly drained, although it may not be immediately apparent.

However, afterwards, at best, one will experience dizziness, weakness, and lethargy, with a short period of time when one's fortune diminishes. At worst, it can be very serious, not only damaging one's lifespan but also diminishing one's luck and fortune.

"What a wicked monk!"

Zhao Zheng stared expressionlessly at Monk Yanyu, who had finished chanting the incantation and made a sword-finger gesture with his right hand, pointing it at the wooden basin from a distance.

The onlookers saw a layer of golden light rise from the clear water in the wooden basin. When the light disappeared, ripples suddenly appeared on the calm surface of the water. In the blink of an eye, a hundred red fish appeared out of thin air in the basin, which shocked the onlookers.

"Fish, so many red fish—"

"This monk actually possesses such abilities—"

"What an amazing monk!"

"Why did he conjure up so many red fish?!"

Seeing the astonishment of the people, Monk Yanyu laughed triumphantly and proclaimed, "Everyone, look carefully! This humble monk can spawn a hundred fish with a single finger; why would I covet that one small fish?"

As he spoke, Monk Yanyu looked at Zhao Zheng with disdain and said, "This humble monk was trying to enlighten you out of kindness, but you don't know that the true Buddha is right in front of you, and you even slander me for coveting your sacred fish. It's truly laughable!"

"hehe!"

Zhao Zheng chuckled without saying a word, which made Monk Yanyu feel as if he had punched cotton, and he became even angrier.

At the same time, the common people also spoke up!

"This monk actually possesses magical powers?"

"Whether he has magic or not, this monk is clearly jealous of the other person's spirit fish and wanted to steal it by force, so he used magic because he couldn't."

"Who cares if he's jealous? I want this red fish that can make someone a master—wait, he's the young master who bought the red fish—"

The people were discussing it amongst themselves, wondering whether they could steal the monk's red fish and sell it to Zhao Zheng, and whether Zhao Zheng would actually sell it to them.

Monk Yanyu ignored all of this. He simply reached into the wooden basin and scooped out a red fish, saying, "Namo Amitabha Buddha, this humble monk is not envious. This humble monk simply wishes to share this red fish with you all—"

Thud—

Thud! Thud! Thud—

Monk Yanyu's voice abruptly stopped as the nearly one hundred red fish in his hand and the wooden basin suddenly burst open, turning into filthy, foul-smelling mud that splashed all over him before stopping.

Covered in filth and mud, reeking of foul odors, Monk Yanyu's expression suddenly changed. Startled, he retreated and looked around.

"Who, who secretly broke this monk's magic!"

But no one answered him, not even the onlookers. They just pinched their noses and backed away with disgusted expressions.

"It stinks, it stinks, it stinks so bad—"

"It truly stinks to high heaven!"

"Monk, your magic isn't working!"

"Monk, you're not a fraud, are you?!"

The murmurs of the people made Monk Yanyu's face turn extremely ugly. He quickly looked around, and finally his gaze fixed in disbelief on Zhao Zheng, who was standing a few meters away with his hand forming a mudra.

"It's you—you broke my spell!"

"...

'

No, didn't you do some research before you made your move?

Zhao Zheng frowned as he looked at Monk Yanyu, who was unaware of his identity as Abbot Zhao. Before the other party could speak, he suddenly smiled.

"Master, I have suddenly realized that your monk's robe is also connected with the people around you. Keeping it on you will only bury its spirituality. Why don't you take it off and give it to the people so that they will be grateful for your good deed and accumulate great merit?"

This moment is just like that moment!

The monk Yanyu recognized the words and glared angrily at Zhao Zheng. However, given that Zhao Zheng had just broken his spell with a single broken seal, he could only retort with a flushed face.

"This monk's robe is the public property of our temple. How can it be given away to ordinary people at will? If you truly care about the people's well-being, you can simply use your own money to donate clothing to them. Why use Buddhist property to criticize me and engage in this kind of moral blackmail?"

Monks are monks after all; their sharp tongues far exceeded Zhao Zheng's expectations, especially since he discovered that this monk was even more hypocritical than him.

Thinking about it, Zhao Zheng, who was finding the monk increasingly displeasing, chuckled and said, "When you asked me for the treasure fish just now, why didn't you say that private and public property shouldn't be given away lightly? Instead, you kept threatening me with worldly things and merits, which was actually a form of moral blackmail. Now I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

He paused, then chuckled and shook his head with disdain, looking at Monk Yanyu, saying, "Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect you to get so anxious when it comes to you, even your standards have changed—"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "And what you just did—trying to steal my red fish by taking advantage of the people's vitality and good fortune through the pear-planting ritual—your attempt to use the people's blessings for your own selfish gain is completely at odds with your words of Buddhist virtues and compassion—after all, what you did was a despicable act of harming others for your own benefit. Does someone like you deserve to wear a monk's robe? Does he deserve to be called a monk? Does he deserve to chant Amitabha Buddha?"

Zhao Zheng's words were full of disdain. He believed he was second to none when it came to verbal sparring, and if he couldn't win an argument, he could always resort to physics.

As soon as he finished speaking, Monk Yanyu turned red with anger, pointing at Zhao Zheng with wide eyes: "You you you————"

"You're unwilling? Then I might as well help you! If I don't help you, I feel like you're doing this monk's robe a disservice!"

Zhao Zheng spoke, and Monk Yanyu saw a gust of wind coming. He subconsciously stepped back, but then heard a tearing sound.

After Monk Yanyu stood still, Zhao Zheng grabbed a piece of cloth from his sleeve, threw it on the ground, and then made hand seals and chanted incantations.

In an instant, the fabric burrowed into the ground, then sprouted and grew into a large, leafy tree in the blink of an eye.

However, what hung on the branches of the big tree were neither pears nor fish, but fabrics identical to those on the monk Yanyu's robe.

Upon seeing this, the onlookers immediately scrambled to grab the items, and in a flash, they were all gone. At the same time, one of the onlookers asked in surprise.

"This monk—he's naked, hahaha—"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked over and saw that Monk Yanyu was completely naked, standing on the street, utterly ashamed.

Monk Yanyu clutched his groin tightly, glaring angrily at Zhao Zheng and shouting, "You still say I used magic to harm—wait, you you you—"

Sensing something was wrong, Yan Yu's expression changed drastically. He glanced at Zhao Zheng in panic, then hurriedly fled amidst the laughter and pointing fingers of the crowd, carrying his magical artifacts.

"Hahaha----"

"That monk has such a white butt—"

"This monk is quite shy—"

As it turns out, the smiles didn't disappear, they just shifted. The people laughed heartily at the sight of the disheveled monk Yanyu fleeing.

Zhao Zheng returned to the carriage and looked at himself in the mirror. He saw the small damage he had suffered, but also the vitality and good fortune that he had regained in an instant.

The spell he used to make the monk's clothes disappear was naturally a magic trick, but he wasn't as ruthless as Monk Yanyu.

Therefore, the kind-hearted Abbot Zhao was simply using his own vital energy and good fortune to perform the unorthodox pear-planting technique.

Of course, during the spellcasting process, he took the opportunity to forcibly borrow Monk Yanyu's own vital energy and good fortune to assist him with the marriage luck-stealing technique.

In the end, Zhao Zheng paid 0.2% of all the energy and good fortune required for this pear-planting technique.

Monk Yanyu didn't get much either; the other side only got about 98%. Well, there's nothing we can do about it; Zhao Zheng is just too kind.

This is also the main reason why Monk Yanyu ran away in terror, because he discovered that Zhao Zheng had borrowed his good fortune and vitality.

"Having cold water stuck in your teeth for a month is really something. If that's the case, this monk probably won't dare cause me any more trouble, right?"

After saying goodbye to Zhao Gao, who could speak, Zhao Zheng looked down at the divination symbol formed by the three silver dollars in his left hand and thought to himself.

Then, he raised an eyebrow at the blood that seemed to be flowing from the corner of the red fish's mouth, thought for a moment, and then summoned the Empress with a single step.

"???"

The red fish's eyes revealed a human-like confusion and bewilderment, just like Master Tianyi back then. Seeing this, Zhao Zheng's eyes flickered, and he put his foot on the edge of the fish tank, activating the second layer of the Hun Tian Bao Jian.

A flash of golden light, like a running lantern, made the red fish's eyes blink incessantly. Before long, the red fish was belly up.

"Huh? Died so quickly, my mother doesn't have to kill the fish anymore. That's good, saves her from finding another excuse to beat me!"

Zhao Zheng muttered something under his breath, then took out a dagger from the Five-Colored Divine Light Pearl space and used his left hand to grab the red fish that had flipped over belly from a distance.

Just as Zhao Zheng was about to cut out the fish meat and leave the fish bones to make a wish, the red fish suddenly spoke in human language.

"Fellow Daoist, wait a moment!"

"Huh, you can talk?"

Hearing the androgynous voice, Zhao Zheng feigned surprise and gripped the red fish's body tightly with his left hand, causing its eyes to bulge out.

His right hand swiftly retrieved a needle-like magical artifact that sealed cultivation from the space of the Five-Colored Divine Light Pearl, and quickly pierced it into the fish's body. He had no other intention than to prevent his pet from running away in his previous life.

One minute later, inside the moving Western-style carriage.

Sitting in the same car seat as Zhao Zheng, the red fish, its body pierced by silver needles and resembling a sea urchin, silently watched the wary and vigilant Zhao Zheng.

It desperately wanted to say that it wouldn't run away!

"Come on, tell me your story!"

Zhao Zheng spoke, and since there was no microphone, he specially took out the Soul-Wounding Nail that Master Tianyi had made from the snake woman's venomous fangs and aimed it at the red fish's mouth.

The Soul-Wounding Nail wasn't very powerful, but Zhao Zheng thought it should be able to smash the red fish's head in one swift motion.

"—Fellow Daoist, I meant no harm!"

The red fish smiled wryly, it was hard to imagine that a four-inch-long fish could make such a human-like expression.

"hehe!"

Zhao Zheng chuckled. He didn't believe the fish. After all, the reason Ye Xian refused to sell the fish earlier was because the red fish had cast some kind of psychological suggestion spell on him.

Yes, he figured it out a long time ago, but he just didn't say anything!

"well----"

The red fish sighed helplessly. It wanted to adjust its body, but it couldn't move because it was covered in sealing needles. So it could only remain silent for a while and slowly say.

"The story begins in the dead of winter three hundred years ago, on that day, Ye Xian's past life encountered a fox that almost froze to death —"

"Wait, you—you're not braised duck, are you?"

"???"

"—That's all, you can continue!"

Seeing that the red fish was probably not a transformed or reincarnated braised duck, Zhao Zheng breathed a sigh of relief but then frowned and asked again, "Um, you're not actually a snow mountain, are you?"

"???"

"So, you weren't a snow mountain in your past life?"

"Uh—no!"

"Then you—aren't you a slut either, right?"

'

'

"I'm talking about animals, not professions!"

"6

，T

After a few seconds of silence, Red Fish, watching the approaching Soul-Wounding Nail, reluctantly continued speaking.

"I am the fox that Ye Xian saved in his past life!"

"Oh oh oh————"

"???"

"Wait, what's with that relieved look on your face? Are you afraid of braised duck?" Red Fish wondered, confused.

Then Zhao Zheng, while curiously examining it, asked, "Did Ye Xian save you with braised duck in your past life?"

"???"

""

No, what exactly are you trying to say?

"Also, if you don't want to hear the story, give me a pain"—Red Fish said quickly as the Soul-Wounding Nail approached.

"No, she just took me home and helped me get through that cold winter—well, Ye Xian never bought braised duck in her previous life, nor did she catch pheasants—and the mountain we were on wasn't a snow-capped mountain!"

"Oh oh oh————"

66

Hongyu still didn't understand why Zhao Zheng looked so relieved, and continued, "Ye Xian saved me in my previous life but died of illness not long after. Later, I achieved some success in my cultivation and wanted to repay his kindness, so you saw this today—"

The red fish stared silently at the Soul-Wounding Nail, which was only a millimeter away from its eye, and said helplessly, "Alright, to tell you the truth, I'm not only seeking to repay her kindness, but also for the Hundred Tribulations Repaying Vows and Proving Kindness Sutra that I've been cultivating."

"A detailed explanation of the profound scriptures!"

Zhao Zheng raised an eyebrow, and the distance between the Soul-Slaying Nail and the red fish's eye unintentionally decreased from one millimeter to 0.5 millimeters.

"—This method only cultivates life force, not nature!"

"Explain in detail!"

"—Fellow Daoist, you've gone too far!"

"Oh, let's have fish tonight!"

"you----"

The red fish was annoyed, but it was now like a fish on a chopping board, unable to resist, so it began to speak.

"My cultivation method is not orthodox, fellow Daoist, you should just listen to it—" As he spoke, the red fish opened its mouth, though no sound came out.

However, Zhao Zheng heard a strange voice from the red fish, which expounded on the Hundred Tribulations Repayment of Vows and Proof of Grace, a scripture of several hundred words.

After a long pause, Zhao Zheng spoke with a strange expression: "So—you—you've cultivated a strange technique that repays kindness and fulfills vows, a technique for repaying debts and fulfilling wishes?"

"Um."

"Furthermore—if you don't repay the debt of gratitude, your cultivation will stagnate; you must repay the debt of gratitude to continue cultivating!"

The red fish's eyes showed helplessness. Zhao Zheng didn't know what to say and fell silent. There was nothing he could do; he couldn't understand this strange technique or the red fish that practiced it.

"----Um."

Although this technique is very magical!

"This method is a heretical one. Fellow Daoist, just take a look and don't practice it like I did, or you'll end up like me."

Red Fish's tone was complicated, and Zhao Zheng didn't follow up on that topic. Instead, he asked curiously, "Weren't you a fox in your past life?"

"No, in my past life I was a pheasant!"

'

I'm done chatting, I want to eat fish!

Zhao Zheng raised the Soul-Slaying Nail, about to stab the red fish in the head, but the red fish quickly explained, the matter being simple and easy to understand.

The red fish was originally a pheasant. Later, a fox saved it, and in order to repay the kindness, it swapped bodies with the fox.

There is a period of weakness after changing bodies, and then it encountered Ye Xian's past life, and then came the things that Zhao Zheng knew.

"So how did you turn from a fox into a red fish? Don't tell me you swapped bodies with a red fish to repay a debt of gratitude."

"No, that's not it. To be honest, I was fortunate enough to refine a drop of dragon essence blood, which is why I transformed into a red fish!"

"."

Zhao Zheng didn't say anything, but just looked at Hongyu with a "do you think I'm stupid" look, and incidentally let the Soul-Wounding Nail get closer to Hongyu's eyes.

Seeing Zhao Zheng's eager expression as if he wanted to eat the fish, the red fish reluctantly revealed the truth: what it had encountered was not the essence of a dragon, but a dragon egg, an egg whose life force was almost gone.

Its fox body had potential, but compared to the dragon bloodline, its potential was still insufficient. So it used a secret method to merge itself into the dragon egg, and then it gained the body of a red fish.

To be precise, it has the body of a dragon. Furthermore, this is not possession, since it has already stated that the dragon egg itself has little chance of survival.

The consciousness inside the dragon egg was long gone; it had merely occupied the body of an unclaimed dragon using a secret technique.

"Explain the secret method in detail!"

Zhao Zheng grasped the key point, and Hongyu looked helplessly at Zhao Zheng, who was far more ruthless than those merchants, and transmitted her secret technique to him.

After a long while, Zhao Zheng silently looked at the Hundred Tribulations Body-Searching Method in his mind, which was of the same lineage as the Hundred Tribulations Repaying Vows and Proving Grace.

A method that can only replace an unclaimed body, and one must repay the original owner afterward; a method he doesn't want to comment on—the Dao.

"continue!"

"—The rest is about me seeking repayment from Ye Xian, and you know what happened after that!" Hongyu said, looking helplessly at Zhao Zheng.

"Huh? Did I ruin your chance to repay your kindness?"

Zhao Zheng asked curiously, and Hongyu remained silent for a moment before shaking her head to indicate no. This made him even more puzzled. "Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"—That's not how you repay kindness!"

Hongyu spoke helplessly, and Zhao Zheng looked at her strangely and said, "So, if you succeed, this is how you repay a debt of gratitude? What? Are you planning to let Ye Xian suffer some more hardships, then reappear to reveal your identity, and then go to repay her?"

"----right!"

"Your mother is your benefactor, and you're letting her continue to suffer for your own selfish desires. What are you thinking? And you even say that this isn't how you repay kindness? Are you out of your mind?!"

Zhao Zheng berated the red fish, not for any other reason than he simply disliked it.

The red fish was stunned by the scolding. When Zhao Zheng stopped, it weakly said, "These hardships were her destined tribulations, and have nothing to do with me. I have never intentionally harmed her in the slightest."

"But you could have changed all of this, yet you chose to stand by and watch. You could have repaid kindness by changing the suffering, but you didn't. Why didn't you? Don't tell me your cultivation hasn't recovered yet?"

Zhao Zheng sneered, looking at the silent Hongyu, he chuckled, and after a moment of silence in the carriage, Hongyu spoke helplessly.

"Ye Xian is a virtuous person who has lived ten lifetimes. This is her tenth life, and there are some hardships that she must personally experience."

"Can't you change a major difficulty into a minor one?"

Zhao Zheng interrupted, looking at the silent Hongyu, and continued, "I'm angry because I can't understand your way of repaying kindness. You could have easily freed her from suffering, or at least reduced her hardship—"

"—But what about you? You chose to stand by and watch her continue to suffer the same great hardships and experience the same great sorrow before you finally showed up to repay your kindness. Hmm? Am I right? That's how it should be, isn't it? If I hadn't appeared."

The red fish remained silent, and Zhao Zheng, seeing this, didn't bother to discuss the method of repaying the debt of gratitude anymore, and asked directly.

"Now it's your turn to repay my kindness. According to the Buddhist concept of cause and effect, my not killing you is already a great favor. Think about how you can repay this kindness."

"???"

No way, what kind of Buddhism is this?

The red fish stared wide-eyed, and finally, as the Soul-Wounding Nail drew near, it remained silent for a moment before choosing to repay this life-saving debt.

"I can grant you three wishes!"

"Alright, my first wish is for you to give me a hundred more wishes!" Zhao Zheng said directly to the red fish.

"."

—

"Oh, no way. Then how about you make me an immortal?"

"—I can't do it!"

"So you're telling me to directly enter the Refinement of Void and Integration of Dao realm?"

"—I can't do it!"

"Then can you help me find a celestial inheritance?"

"—Just kill me."

The red fish spoke calmly, sensing that Zhao Zheng hadn't come to make a wish at all, but rather to cause trouble and find a reason to eat it.

"You're a piece of trash. Alright, get out of here."

Zhao Zheng retrieved the meridian-sealing needle artifact and tossed the red fish towards the Ping'an River under the Ping'an Bridge, which they happened to be passing by, with a splash—

The red fish, now free after falling into the water, looked up blankly at Zhao Zheng on the bridge, not understanding why he had suddenly released it.

Looking at the people catching fish around it, it cast an invisibility spell on itself, leaped to the carriage window, and said to Zhao Zheng, who didn't actually intend to eat it, "You can make some simple wishes!"

"I hope for world peace."

"???"

Is this wish of yours really that simple?

Red Fish looked at Zhao Zheng blankly. Zhao Zheng also realized that his wish was too difficult, so he simply said to Red Fish.

"Then your world will become a little more peaceful."

"—I'm not a god!"

The red fish said helplessly, "It is true that it can fulfill vows and prove the grace of the scriptures through countless eons, and use many methods that seem like those of a god."

But it is not a god after all!

You can't reach the point of being omnipotent!

"Alright then, tell me the whereabouts of the Gongshu family!" Zhao Zheng said, giving up on having Hongyu help him fulfill his great wish.

"—As you wish!"

The red fish remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhao Zheng activated his innate ability, the Insightful Eye, and looked at the red fish before him.

He saw that the cause and effect on the red fish instantly became complicated and entangled, and that things he couldn't see clearly—probably the laws of heaven and earth—were constantly intertwining on the red fish.

A few seconds later, the red fish, its body becoming slightly more transparent, opened its mouth and spat out a piece of paper onto Zhao Zheng. Zhao Zheng reached out, caught it, and read it.

"I want to make a second and a third wish!"

"—That's all. Your wish just now involved too much cause and effect. Two of your three wishes were consumed because of this."

"oh----"

Zhao Zheng spoke, and then suddenly reached out and grabbed the red fish. A few seconds later, the red fish, now back in its sea urchin costume, looked at Zhao Zheng with a blank expression as he took off its sea urchin costume again.

"If I don't kill you again, according to the Buddhist concept of karma, it means I've saved you again, and now you owe me three more wishes."

"————"

Do you understand Buddhism?

Do you even know anything about Buddhism?!

The red fish stared wide-eyed at Zhao Zheng, then floated helplessly to his side and said, "The reason I can grant you three wishes, besides the fact that you didn't kill me, is mainly because you bought me before!"

"Well—how about this, I'll sell you later and then buy you back. Can you grant me three more wishes?" Zhao Zheng asked curiously.

"???"

Honestly, you're not a Taoist priest, are you?

Furthermore, you don't understand Buddhism!

Besides, you're actually a demonic cultivator, right?

Hongyu looked at Zhao Zheng with a puzzled expression, took a few deep breaths, and shook her head, saying, "No, I can't deceive myself!"

It was only by fulfilling Zhao Zheng's three wishes that it was able to do its utmost. This was only because its cultivation had improved. When it was first cultivating the Hundred Tribulations of Repaying Vows and Attaining the Wondrous Grace Scripture, it would have been completely unable to fulfill Zhao Zheng's wishes.

"I didn't ask you to deceive yourself. Look, I'm going to sell you to some old gourmand later. He'll definitely cook and eat you, and then I'll spend money to buy you back and save you again. So, you'll owe me three more wishes, won't you?"

"???"

The red fish looked bewildered; it couldn't understand how Zhao Zheng could speak so confidently—hmm? Suddenly, it felt like what Zhao Zheng said might actually be feasible!

"Shall we give it a try?"

'

----good!

'