Stronger from Earth

Chapter 216 215: Hell Ant

He doesn't feel there's something that can or cannot be said, only if he wants to say it or not, and whether he should say it. He is able to pick it up because he has already put it down.

Xiaowei is surprised and curious; it turns out her master was like that when he was young, not perfect.

"Master, does this count as breaking your vow?"

Puji said, "It didn't count at that time, but now that I've spoken of it, it does."

But such breaking of vows would not trouble his heart at all, let alone cause a reversal in cultivation. His spirit is like the sea; how could a tossed stone cause the great ocean to lose control?

He is unafraid to recount that past incident; even as a Bodhisattva, he was once ordinary, having human desires and emotions.

"Oh." Xiaowei felt guilty and stirred, thinking it was she who made her master break his vow.

"Ming Ling, love is not a sin. If you become troubled by it, giving rise to anger and foolishness, only then does it become something bad." Puji said.

This feeling is like people's love for watching the sunrise and sunset, observing the wind making clouds rise and fall, watching the stars shift; it's an appreciation of beauty, too attached to the point of reluctance to part.

Xiaowei's pretty face blushed as she softly said, "Oh."

"Ming Ling, cultivation is about achieving great peace of mind, a grand freedom. Even gods and Buddhas experience joy, anger, sorrow, and parting, but these cannot cause them to lose their true heart.

Sakyamuni Buddha was once married and had children, enjoyed worldly riches, and had human desires and emotions, then became a Buddha, transforming from human to divine.

You are not a Buddha, so you will also have desires and emotions, troubles and worries; this is your life's journey, just because you are my disciple doesn't mean you cannot have them.

Navigating the bitter sea starts with saving oneself before saving others; how can you understand the pain of struggling in the bitter sea if you don't experience it yourself? How can you relieve the suffering of living beings without understanding it?"

Puji picked a mature Bodhi Seed, put it in a box, and said, "The heart like Bodhi, should be constantly polished. Some things need not be suppressed, yet cannot be allowed to grow wildly."

"Disciple is foolish." Xiaowei pouted.

"Wang Xuan's comprehension far surpasses yours; if he had chosen to become my disciple back then, he would have been your senior brother." Puji snapped his fingers, and the box in his hand vanished, "He Fang gifted me many good Pills, and it's time to return the favor."

As for the good Pills, they were naturally all eaten by his little apprentice. The Bodhi Seed he gave would likely end up gifted by He Fang to Wang Xuan.

"If he were my senior brother, then we could see each other every day, right?" Xiaowei thought, and felt this was an extremely happy matter.

"If he became your senior brother, it would be no difficulty for him to relinquish desires and emotions, attain purity of the senses and emptiness of the great elements, reach this level at the age of a hundred." Puji said, "At that time, his treatment of you would be most cruel, because he would disregard your emotions."

"He's already treating me badly, leaving me here alone without even looking back, definitely thinking Xiaowei is a burden." Xiaowei huffed.

She felt a bit angry, although just a little.

Puji laughed and said, "I don't feel he's bad anywhere; he's actually very kind to you."

"He dislikes me, so he doesn't want to see me, eager to be as far away from me as possible, how's that kind?" Xiaowei felt her heart sink.

Puji did not blame the child, he only said, "He knows what you seek, but this desire is unattainable; staying by his side will only increase your pain.

You're a child, acting on impulse and making mistakes is normal because you're inexperienced.

He's an adult; those things you can do, even if he wants to do them, he cannot. Do you understand?"

"What I want, is it wrong?" Xiaowei's eyes welled up with unexplained tears.

"It's not about right or wrong; it's nature. But whatever Wang Xuan does will be wrong, which is very unfair to him." Puji said.

Xiaowei couldn't understand and was unable to comprehend.

She is still young, still just a young girl.

"You should live happily, not filled with constant troubles; this is the master's hope and also what Wang Xuan wishes to see. And for you, this is the best." Puji said.

After speaking, he drifted away; some things cannot be explained clearly by words, they can only be understood through true realization.

After hearing her master's words, Xiaowei felt muddled in her mind, thinking she should sleep, if she can't figure it out, she shouldn't think about it.

Wang Xuan believed that time is a significant force; what can be overcome and what cannot will ultimately pass, giving people an answer.

After staying in the Hell Realm for two months, everyone who trained turned into killing machines, with the bloodthirsty aura becoming part of their own temperament.

This kind of training activated their blood's innate killing instinct; in the darkness, in a place where only slaughter and power are needed for survival, they lived on valiantly.

A young girl was nibbling on an Immortal Peach, the young Human Immortal disciple in the team, the taste of the Immortal Peach spread in her mouth like a pleasant enjoyment.

If it were at the start of coming to the Hell Realm, she absolutely wouldn't eat this Immortal Peach made from Hell Creatures, feeling nauseated.

But now, having seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood, experienced countless dangers nearly costing her life, in such a state, besides holding on to life and some core principles, everything else can be relaxed.

Wang Xuan observed everyone's condition and knew they should return to civilization, or problems would arise affecting their mindset.

"Let's go back and rest first." He said, "Other teams have returned at least ten times, while we have stayed here for long periods; it's time to go back and unwind a bit."

His combat power wasn't the strongest in the team, but his voice held substantial authority, whether it was healing injuries or supplying Pills and Immortal Peaches, everyone depended on him.

Without his presence, the team couldn't have stayed here for such a long time.

After a brief discussion, everyone set off to leave.

"Boom!"

As they passed by a black-coated Flame Mountain, suddenly a swarm of ants crawled out from underground, one after another, thousands upon thousands, each the size of a calf.

They crouched by the magma river, absorbing the heat from the magma, their dark exoskeleton emitting a red glow, as if energy was circulating within them.

Thousands of Hell Ants spread out quickly, their speed beyond imagination, soon noticing Wang Xuan and the others passing by.

Some Hell Ants spread their wings and leaped, flying in the air, approaching the food in their eyes.

"Move! Don't get tangled with them!" Wulin yelled.

These Hell Ants are endless, the swarm creatures feed on flesh and energy, even easily gnawing through steel.

Once entangled, even the Great Demon Lord would be troubled.

As they flew, they attacked back to repel the pursuing Hell Ants, using the push-back force to accelerate.

A buzzing sound suddenly resonated in everyone's mind; the Spiritual Wave vibrated through, the ant queen made a move, the Spiritual Power attack caused them to lose their Heart Spirit, lacking enough energy to control their bodies.

Wulin and Lin Xi, each carrying a Human Immortal disciple, the female disciple instantly bled from the nose, screaming miserably.

Wang Xuan, faithful to himself, his Spiritual Cultivation was high, the Spiritual Attack caused him trouble, but not to the point of losing external perception.

A dozen ten-meter-long male ants emerged from underground, with a hundred-meter-long flesh-colored insect in the center, its two long antennae probing the sky.

A sharp mental scream made everyone's minds increasingly drowsy, and Wang Xuan's vision immediately filled with illusions.

He never expected the Hell Ants to be so powerful.

Before his eyes, the team's speed suddenly decreased, with the Hell Ants quickly catching up, fearing they would have only a few more breaths before being caught.

(I need to write a graduation thesis, which will likely keep me busy for ten days; there will not be interruptions during this period, please don't worry.)