Chapter 7 Bu Gong’s Choice

At this time, Bu Gong was silent after listening to what Blind Zhang said. He did not say anything, but sat quietly with Blind Zhang on the small stool in the inner room.

Although he was shocked by what Blind Zhang said and had many questions, he did not rush to ask Blind Zhang anything; because he knew that Blind Zhang must be feeling uneasy when he brought up the past.

Moreover, Bu Gong also vaguely felt that the reason why Blind Zhang brought up this old story of his was most likely because of himself.

After experiencing what happened a few days ago, Bu Gong is no longer the honest and upright boy he used to be. In the past, he only wanted to let his father enjoy his old age and marry Ru Meng when he grows up. However, things went against his wishes. The reality came too quickly and too cruelly, casting a thick shadow on Bu Gong’s originally pure heart.

…

“Grandpa Zhang, in the story, the registered disciple of Xianyang Sect, Zhang Fusheng, is you, right?” After a long silence, Bu Gong opened his mouth and asked this question again.

Because Bu Gong was an ordinary mortal, and immortals only existed in legends; therefore, when he first heard about this, it felt very unbelievable; although he knew in his heart that this thing was true, it still felt very absurd.

He wanted to hear Blind Zhang’s exact answer in person; in response to Bu Gong’s question, Blind Zhang nodded slightly, his expression seemed a little lonely, but he also revealed a little inexplicable expectation.

This matter had been weighing on Blind Zhang’s heart for forty years, but today he told Bu Gong about it again. Although he felt very uncomfortable, there were some subtle changes in his whole person. It seemed that he had a vague sense of ease compared to before.

“Boy Bu Gong, I tell you this story because I want to tell you that the so-called immortals we usually talk about are actually not far away from us; they also started out as ordinary mortals, and climbed up step by step; among them there are treacherous and evil ones, as well as loyal and kind people,” Blind Zhang said slowly.

“I know that what happened a few days ago was a big blow to you, but you are an ordinary person and you feel very powerless, right?

I myself have spent forty years in painful torture, and I understand very well how unbearable this feeling of repression and unwillingness is; but I still have to bear it myself.

If you don’t untie this knot in your heart, you will live in extreme pain like me. You are still young, only sixteen years old. Although I also want you to live a better life in the future, it is impossible in your current condition.

So, I came to you this time because I have something I want to tell you. I’ve thought about it for a long time. Maybe I didn’t have the courage to choose this path back then, so I want you to make your own choice.

When Bu Gong heard what Blind Zhang said, he had already made some vague guesses, and a slight fluctuation appeared in his indifferent eyes; but he did not speak, but chose to continue listening.

Blind Zhang paused for a moment before continuing, “If you also want to possess the same abilities as those immortals, I might be able to help you. But if you choose this path, there’s no turning back. It’s a dead end. You can only move forward, with no way back.”

As these words came out of Blind Zhang’s mouth, Bu Gong’s body shook slightly; Blind Zhang’s tone contained a hint of worry and a hint of expectation.

The worry was that if Bu Gong chose this path, what would become of him in the future? No one could predict what would happen next. Would it be good or bad for him? If it was good, that would be fine. But if it turned out badly, then…

However, there was a hint of expectation in his tone; this was because if Bu Gong chose this path, then he might still have a chance to avenge the extermination of his family forty years ago.

Therefore, after giving the two choices of Bugong, Blind Zhang felt both anticipation and worry.

At this time, after hearing what Blind Zhang said, Bu Gong’s eyes, which had been somewhat indifferent and numb, began to ripple violently, as if a stone was thrown into a calm lake; his heart, which had been somewhat dead, now slowly emitted bursts of vitality.

Bu Gong suddenly looked up and looked at Blind Zhang. His eyes no longer had the usual indifference, but now showed a hint of passion, and his breathing became a little rapid.

After feeling Bu Gong’s situation, Blind Zhang smiled bitterly; as expected, Bu Gong was very likely to choose this path; although he had been prepared in his heart, when he understood Bu Gong’s choice, he still felt a little emotional, a mixture of joy and worry.

“Grandpa Zhang, I choose to take this path, I choose to practice.” A slightly excited and hopeful voice came out of Bu Gong’s mouth without hesitation.

“Oh! I expected that you would make this choice.” Blind Zhang sighed softly; then he slowly said: “Boy Bu Gong, this is your choice. This road is bumpy and lonely. In the future, how far you can reach depends on yourself.”

…

“Help me to the pharmacy in front.” After a moment of silence, Blind Zhang suddenly spoke; Bu Gong was slightly stunned, then stood up and supported Blind Zhang and walked towards the pharmacy in front.

“Hey? Brother Bu Gong, why did you come out? Have you finished your work?” A childish voice suddenly sounded. Xiao Hu was sitting on the big stool behind the counter. His body was relatively small, so he looked a little funny.

It turned out that after Xiaohu came out of the inner room just now, he had nowhere to go; he wanted to go out, but it was almost dark, and he was a little afraid to go out, so he walked around a few times and lay down on the big stool behind the counter; just when Xiaohu was feeling sleepy and was about to go to sleep, he saw Bu Gong helping his grandfather out of the inner room, which made Xiaohu very happy.

“Hehe… Little Tiger, I asked your brother Bu Gong to come here to get something. If you want to play with him, it may not be possible today. It’s getting dark, and your brother Bu Gong will be going back soon. You can go play with him tomorrow. Go back to the inner room and go to sleep,” said Blind Zhang with a smile.

“Oh, then I will go to Brother Bu Gong’s house to find him early tomorrow morning.” After the words fell, Xiao Hu’s big black eyes showed a little disappointment, and he turned and walked into the inner room.

“Boy Bu Gong, go to the right corner behind the counter and find the second stone brick above. Open it and take out the things inside.” Blind Zhang spoke only after Xiaohu entered the inner room.

Bu Gong was slightly startled, then he followed what Blind Zhang said and came to the right corner of the wall behind the drugstore counter. He groped with his right hand and found the second stone brick from the corner upwards, then knocked on it lightly.

“Hmm? This brick seems to be hollow inside,” Bu Gong said softly; “Hehe… if you can put things in it, can it be solid? Use a little force to pull it out.” Blind Zhang heard Bu Gong’s muttering and laughed.

Bu Gong found a small piece of iron in the pharmacy and pried the stone brick slightly around it; after loosening it, he pulled it out of the wall.

The middle of the stone brick was almost empty, with a small sandalwood box inside and nothing else. Bu Gong took out the small box and came to Blind Zhang.

Blind Zhang slowly stroked the small box with his hands, but his heart was filled with mixed emotions; “Back then, it was this thing that caused my family to be destroyed! Ha ha…” Blind Zhang couldn’t help muttering.

Bu Gong also understood Blind Zhang’s mood and did not disturb him. After a while, Blind Zhang gently opened the small wooden box in his hand, and inside was a black ring that looked no different from an ordinary ring; it just looked more ancient and profound.

“Back then, they framed me because of the things in here,” Blind Zhang picked up the ancient ring in the box and said softly.

“Boy Bu Gong, I will give you the things inside now. Perhaps, the things inside are not very good, not the top ones, but it can at least allow you to cross the threshold between mortals and cultivators. As for what comes after that, it depends on you. Whether you really want to use it or not, you should think about it seriously. Once you take the first step, there will be no turning back,” said Blind Zhang in a heavy tone.

At this moment, a slight fluctuation appeared on Bu Gongjunyi’s face, and there was a flash of expectation in his dark eyes; then he nodded heavily and said “hmm”.

“You can’t open it now, so I’ll help you take out the things inside first. As for the ring, you’d better not wear it on your finger, because it’s a storage ring that ordinary low-level monks simply can’t own. In large sects, only formal disciples and above can own it,” Blind Zhang warned Bu Gong with a serious expression.

“Grandpa Zhang, is this ring very valuable?” Bu Gong asked with a hint of doubt in his tone.

“It’s not that valuable, but it’s impossible for ordinary people to own it. Because it’s just a storage ring. Even an ordinary storage ring may contain very valuable items. So if you wear it on your hand and some monks find it, it will arouse their curiosity, and that would be bad,” Blind Zhang explained slowly.

After hearing what Blind Zhang said, Bu Gong also understood; even if you are wearing an empty storage ring, others will think that there may be some valuables in it after seeing it, and they will also be interested in it; to put it bluntly, this is just in case.

Blind Zhang was groping for the ancient ring, when suddenly, a silver scroll appeared out of thin air in his right hand. Bu Gong looked at it and saw five large silver characters “Thunder Palace Thunder Method” written on the scroll. When Bu Gong looked at these five characters, he felt a sense of grandeur, sharpness and tyranny coming from the scroll.

A trace of horror flashed through Bu Gong’s mind, and his eyes stared at the scroll with a hint of shock; could this scroll alone have such great power?

Blind Zhang gently stroked the scroll. After a long while, he slowly spoke, “When I first got this scroll, I hadn’t had time to practice it yet. I only took a quick look at it and only knew the general idea.”

“This is a text on thunder magic, for people to practice. It contains the corresponding practice methods for each stage; there are also supporting moves, thunder control techniques; if a general martial arts book is followed by the word ‘technique’, then it is only for practice, and is a method of controlling the flow of immortal energy in the body; and if it is followed by only the word ‘technique’, then it is a martial arts move,” Blind Zhang explained.

“In the Xianyuan Realm, people practice cultivation by relying on the Xianyuan Qi in the air. People constantly absorb the Xianyuan Qi into their bodies according to certain techniques and methods, and then use it to transform their bodies, making their bodies qualitatively different from those of ordinary people.”

After a brief pause, Blind Zhang said to Bu Gong: “Of course, you can also call this technique a ‘gongfa’; now, let me first tell you about the realm divisions of cultivators. I only learned about these when I was in the Xianyang Sect.”

“Generally speaking, the levels of cultivators are divided into: body shaping, peeping into the Yuan realm, Tong Yuan realm, and finally Dan Yuan realm; body shaping is divided into three levels, and each level is divided into early, middle, and peak levels; each of the last three realms is also divided into three levels, but each level is divided into four levels, namely elementary, intermediate, advanced, and great perfection…” Blind Zhang carefully explained to Bu Gong the level division of cultivators.

As Blind Zhang’s words slowly spread, Bu Gong was truly enlightened; although what Blind Zhang said was just the basics, for Bu Gong, this was a whole new world.

…