Chapter 26: The Tragic Holy Maiden
Editor: Yuui
Inside the ring, Lin Feng’s consciousness also formed an illusionary image, facing across from the remnant Taotie’s soul trapped in the light cage.
Lin Feng stared at the Taotie asking: "If I didn’t mishear just now, you said, the previous holy maiden was killed by someone and left behind a son. He is the son of a concubine in a rich and powerful family but is oppressed by his father and stepmother and is living very miserably now?"
The Taotie subconsciously nodded its head but then quickly reacted over, yelling in discontent: "Why should I tell you?"
Lin Feng smiled brilliantly, with a thought the light cage formed by the Heavenly Cage Mantra immediately shrank, squashing the Taotie. The bars formed by the light pillars pressed onto the Taotie’s body, thick smoke rose up from the surface of the Taotie’s body causing the Taotie to repeatedly scream in pain.
The Heavenly Cage Mantra is not just a means of trapping enemies, it also possesses an offensive ability. It is especially powerful against souls and spirits.
"Ah, it hurts! It hurts!" The Taotie’s face was all squashed together from the pain, a series of distortions occurred to the semi-transparent soul, transforming into a tiny human figure and huddling together in order to avoid the compression of the light cage.
Seeing this Lin Feng was slightly stunned. The Taotie before him had astonishingly turned into a little girl with two pigtails that looks only 3-4 years of age. She had snow white skin and looked very endearing.
This Taotie’s human form is actually a little loli. Just based on the cuteness of her appearance she is able to challenge Xiao Budian that super moe shota. (TL: Firstly, I did not add or modify any words in the sentence. Secondly, no, there is no loli love…)
Only, this loli is truly ferocious. Her appearance may be cute but her expression is extremely unreasonable and domineering. Seeing Lin Feng blankly staring at her she snorted angrily: "What are you looking at, at my age this is what I look like when turning into my human form, country bumpkin!"
The Taotie is not a beast famous for its shapeshifting. The human form that it manifests usually won’t be fake, so this Taotie is actually a female Taotie cub.
Lin Feng came back to his senses, nodding his head: "No wonder your speech and actions are so childish, you’re still just a little brat."
The little Taotie instantly exploded with anger, hopping around and yelling: "Who are you calling a little brat?"
Lin Feng smiled looking at her: "If you really think you’re a grown up then you should have more of a mature reasoning. At the very least be able to figure out your current situation."
He poked the little Taotie, the smile on his face gradually disappearing: "For example, try to figure out who exactly is the boss here?"
The little Taotie looked at the close-by light cage that was still gradually shrinking and constricting towards her. The little girl grudgingly quieted down, although her mouth was still muttering: "If I hadn’t taken a hard hit from that old geezer from the Intense Flaming Sword Sect before, how could this kind of Heavenly Cage Mantra created by mana contain me, I’d eat the whole thing with one bite…"
Lin Feng’s face exuded a warm smile like the spring sun: "So what you’re saying is, you are reminding me to take advantage of your weakest moment right now to completely get rid of you?"
The little Taotie’s body shivered, hurriedly shaking her head, her little face squeezing out a smile: "Of course not, of course not."
Lin Feng nodded his head: "But I think I should eliminate you right now though."
He slanted his eyes looking at the loli shaped Taotie cub, counting his fingers and saying: "Firstly, that kid whose mana was sucked dry by you three years ago is now my disciple. Screwing him over so badly, as his master shouldn’t I stand up for my disciple and help him take revenge?"
"And then, that Yan Mingyue whom you hate to the core, even though she and I can’t yet be considered friends our relationship at least isn’t too bad.
"Lastly and also most importantly, if I keep you then once you recover your strength it will definitely be disadvantageous for me."
The little Taotie’s expression became increasingly worse, her eyes already carried an evident fear.
Lin Feng stared at her: "I have so many reasons to get rid of you. You tell me, why should I let you go?"
The little Taotie swallowed her saliva, opening a pair of big wide, sparkling, black eyes and looking at Lin Feng pitifully: "This… This senior, if there’s anything I can do then I am at your service."
Lin Feng smiled, casually saying: "That depends on your performance."
The little Taotie was helpless and could only obediently respond to Lin Feng’s question.
While the Great Void Temple accepts disciples, they value quality over quantity. Their disciples are few in numbers and many of them will never leave the sect in their entire lives, only wholeheartedly training in the sect and meditating on the way of the universe.
But every time the Great Void Temple has disciples entering the world to train it will definitely set off huge waves. The most outstanding leader amongst the disciples will travel the world acting as the Great Void Temple’s representative in the world.
This disciple is usually called the Taoist Wayfarer by the outside world. If this person just so happens to be a female then she is often known as the Void Temple’s Holy Maiden.
At first, this appellation was merely a form of ridicule from busybodies, but because of the Great Void Temple’s transcendent status as the number one holy land and the extraordinary strength of past female Taoist Wayfarers, it gradually became an established honorific.
The name of the Great Void Temple’s previous holy maiden is Meng Bingyun, her talent was absolutely astounding and she is the publically acknowledged as the most prominent disciple of the Great Void Temple to enter into the world in the last millennium.
The name of the Tao technique Meng Bingyue practised was the Supreme Path of Indifference, together with another of the Great Void Temple’s Tao techniques the Yin-Yang Way of the Void, they are known as the two "Supreme" and "Void" scriptures. Together, they are the strongest tao techniques recorded in the Void Temple’s taoist scripture "Profundity of the Void Tao".
This Tao technique is about first obtaining love and then forgetting it, seeking the Heavenly Path by the means of the human way.
At the highest level one transforms heartlessness into great benevolence, commanding all life without words, subduing the heavens and the earth without moving.
Its greatest taboo is becoming entangled in love, the attachment not broken and becoming lead along by love, trapped by love.
And yet Meng Bingyun just so happened to have met a man with whom she was entangled with for life, the Great Zhou Empire’s Grand Preceptor, the Marquis of Xuanji, Zhu Hongwu.
Meng Bingyun underwent a trial of love because of Zhu Hongwu, in the end unable to resolve it causing her resolve to seek the universal path to shatter and the fruits of her cultivation to turn into nothingness. It can be said to be the worst conclusion to practising the Supreme Path of Indifference.
The Great Zhou Empire is a country even more powerful and prosperous than the Great Qin Empire. The kings of the past all worked diligently to make the country prosperous resulting in the flourishment of the country. When the throne was passed onto the current emperor, Liang Pan, the country’s power rapidly expanded even more.
Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu both advocated the suppression of the development of sects and holy grounds with religious backgrounds in the country. Moreover, 20 years ago they teamed up with the Nine Heavenly Sword Alliance and other powerful groups had engaged in an earthshaking event; changing the power grid of the entire Grand Celestial World.
The elimination of Buddhism! (TL: Interesting fact, this has occurred multiple times in the history of China.)
The Great Zhou Empire joined together with many other forces and led a campaign against one of the world’s three great holy lands located in the borders of the Zhou Dynasty, the Great Thunderclap Temple.
The battle was tragic to the extreme, countless masters died in battle and there were even numerous Primordial Spirit stage cultivators who died.
In the end Liang Pan and Zhu Hongwu succeeded, from that point onwards the Great Thunderclap Temple was erased from this world. Of the world’s three great holy lands only the Great Void Temple and the Mount Shu Sword Sect remained.
The Great Void Temple was one of the three Taoist holy land and was likewise in opposition against the Great Zhou Empire. Because of her relationship with Zhu Hongwu, Meng Bingyun was even swept out of the sect and moreover was nearly executed.
If the story ended there then Meng Bingyun living lovingly together with Zhu Hongwu could sort of be considered a beautiful story of love. But for Meng Bingyun, marrying into the house of the Marquis of Xuanji was just the start of her nightmare.
Because of the Tao technique that she practiced, when Meng Bingyun entered into the world to train she went deep into the mundane world and became a courtesan in a brothel who only sells her talent and not her body. Marrying into the house of the Marquis of Xuanji that attaches great importance to etiquette and education, regardless of how brightly she shone before her marriage she couldn’t be anything but a small concubine.
No Tao techniques and cultivation, no family status, the past holy maiden of the Great Void Temple was actually bullied to death by a woman of the house who was just a regular person.
Listening until here Lin Feng also deeply sighed: "The house of a noble is as deep as the sea, a strong figure like Zhu Hongwu, even if he falls in love, in the face of strength and power it is completely insignificant."
After sighing about it for a moment Lin Feng thought of his main goal: "Then what about that son of Meng Bingyun’s?"
The little taotie shook her head: "I’ve only heard that Meng Bingyun had a son with Zhu Hongwu, I think his name is Zhu Yi? Strange name…"
"Like Meng Bingyun his situation is also very bad, things are probably even worse after Meng Bingyun’s death. Although I don’t know about the details and don’t know if he’s alive or dead right now."
Lin Feng slightly frowned: "Looks like I need to get to the Great Zhou Empire as soon as possible."
After reinforcing the Heavenly Cage Mantra Lin Feng’s consciousness retreated from the ring. Even though he wants to immediately leave and go towards the Great Zhou Empire to search for Zhu Yi, there are still problems at hand that need to be solved. Such as the fire energy that invaded Lin Feng’s body that he’s been using his own mana to suppress the entire time.
"The lottery draw this time has to be good." Lin Feng silently prayed, his consciousness entering into the lottery system.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone