The plaza in the center of Heavenly Yin City:
Most of the cultural Dao experts from all over the world had gathered here, interacting with the cultural Dao. At any point in time, there would be cultural Dao exchanges and clashes. Although this was an unplanned gathering, the plaza became like a cultural Dao holy land. The cultural cultivators did not want to leave, wanting to take in the aura of the cultural Dao.
Ten thousand cultural cultivators surrounded Mo Yike’s group. When Gu Hai’s group approached, they could not get to the front.
“Make way! Make way! We are the Han Nation representatives! Make way!” The officials tried to part the crowd in front.
“The Han Nation representatives?!” The cultural cultivators at the front felt slightly startled. Then, they immediately made way.
That was because the cultural cultivators here understood that the ongoing clash with the cultural Dao was between an insignificant, ignorant royal dynasty, the Han Royal Dynasty, and the Huang Heavenly Dynasty.
The Han Royal Dynasty overestimated themselves and challenged the Huang Heavenly Dynasty. However, they had hung on for a long time without a victor emerging. The spectating cultural cultivators eventually stopped underestimating the Han Royal Dynasty, becoming grave. At the very least, the Go match before them awed many people.
The Han Royal Dynasty? Another representative is here?
Everyone made way, and Gu Hai’s group finally managed to pass.
When Gu Hai reached the inside, he immediately saw what was happening.
A scroll hovered high in the air at the center. That scroll had the “Bodhi” poem written on it. The poem’s characters gave off golden light as noble spirit swirled around it, appearing to form a hurricane. The vast sea of noble spirit in the sky suppressed Bing Ji below, encasing her in golden light.
Bing Ji had some dried blood at the corner of her lips. She sat cross-legged with a sheet of paper in her hand. Although the paper was wrinkled, the words “Bring in the Wine” were visible on it. She seemed to be unconscious, sitting there without moving. However, she held on tightly to “Bring in the Wine.”
“This is Bing Ji? She is trapped in the calligraphy Dao’s artistic conception and unable to come out?” Ensnaring Performance frowned slightly.
“Hah! Intolerable bullies!” A ruthless gleam flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes.
Although Bing Ji had previously given Gu Hai some medicinal soup she had done something to, she was still his woman. When he saw his woman trapped in the calligraphy Dao’s artistic conception, his heart sank.
“Bodhi” suppressed Bing Ji, and there was a Go board nearby. Mo Yike was currently playing Go with a white-haired, white-clad old man.
Many Go Dao cultivators surrounded the group, learning from the two’s match. They laid out Go game records and started playing along.
However, several of the Go game records had blood on them.
Blargh!
A Go Dao cultivator suddenly spewed out a mouthful of blood on his Go game record.
“Southern Island Go Master, what happened to you? You vomited blood too?” A Go Dao cultivator immediately helped up that unlucky person.
“How can this be? What level of Go skill is this? I only focused on a certain area, then…then…,” the Southern Island Go Master said in shock.
“Don’t look at it! Be careful. This Go game is bizarre. Don’t look at it!” the Southern Island Go Master immediately warned the others.
“Once I immersed myself in the Go Dao’s conception, I seemed to see a whirlpool that I could not escape. I seemed to see a vast army charging at me!”
“Me too! It felt unbearable. However, this Go match is very interesting; it is incredible. I cannot bear to look away!”
Blargh!
The Go Dao cultivators more deeply immersed in the Go game had flushed complexions. The profound Go match prevented them from extricating themselves. However, this match surpassed their Go skills, physically and mentally exhausting them until they vomited blood.
Mo Yike and the white-haired old man unhurriedly made their moves, showing extremely cautious expressions as they took turns.
There was a chair not far away from the white-haired old man. A very handsome, white-robed monk sat on it, drinking tea as a group of subordinates stood behind him.
“Your Majesty, the white-haired old man playing Go with Mister Mo is Wu Yazi. The monk drinking tea is Yuan Chu. The others are all attendants from the Huang Heavenly Dynasty. Initially, there were more, but they left,” an official explained to Gu Hai.
“Yuan Chu?” Hah!” Gu Hai revealed a cold smile.
Some Han Royal Dynasty officials stood behind Mo Yike.
When Gu Hai and his group pushed their way to the front, he immediately caught the attention of the Han Royal Dynasty officials.
“Your Majesty!” Joy immediately appeared on the officials’ faces.
“Salutations, Your Majesty!” the Han Nation officials excitedly saluted Gu Hai.
The Han Nation officials’ salute surprised the surrounding cultural cultivators.
“The Han Royal Dynasty’s emperor?”
“He is the Han Royal Emperor?”
“Mister Mo’s very skilled in Go. To think that he is willing to remain in a royal dynasty as a subject, submitting to him?”
“I can’t make out anything special about him.”
The cultural cultivators looked at Gu Hai curiously. Most of them did not recognize him, but some did, especially those who came from Major Metropolitan City. When they saw Gu Hai arrive, their faces immediately lit up with joy.
“Mister Gu! Mister Gu Hai here! Hahaha! Yuan Chu is in trouble now!”
“Venerable Yuan Chu is in trouble? Is the Han Royal Emperor skilled in the cultural Dao as well?”
“That is of course. It was Mister Gu who composed that earlier ‘Bring in the Wine’ on the fly. When he first brought out ‘Bring in the Wine,’ strong winds and rain appeared; the poem manifested crying supernatural beings. You should have seen it!”
“Also, Mister Gu’s Go Dao is extremely strong. It seems that Mister Mo’s Go Dao is not even comparable to Mister Gu’s.”
“That’s impossible. How could he be more skilled at Go than Mister Mo?”
As the people who recognized Gu Hai spoke, the surrounding cultural cultivators became restless. After all, a person with Mo Yike’s level of skill was already rare in the world. Yet, Gu Hai was even more incredible than him? Was that possible?
They also wondered whether Gu Hai really composed “Bring in the Wine.”
This immediately piqued Yuan Chu’s interest. He put down his teacup and looked curiously at Gu Hai.
Mo Yike’s hand paused as well as he turned his head to look.
“Mister Mo, since you are in the middle of a Go match, you should remain focused,” Wu Yazi reminded kindly.
“Your Majesty, you are finally here!” Mo Yike’s face immediately lit up with joy.
When Wu Yazi saw Mo Yike’s expression, he felt slightly startled and looked over.
Gu Hai nodded and walked over with a sullen expression. “Mister Mo, you have worked hard.”
“This official did not do anything. This official could not help Bing Ji,” Mo Yike said with a bitter smile.
“Oh? The Han Royal Emperor? Are you the Gu Hai that Bing Ji said could defeat me?” the nearby Yuan Chu asked with a faint sneer.
Wu Yazi glanced curiously at Gu Hai without saying anything. Then, he looked at Mo Yike and said, “Mister Mo, it is your move.”
Mo Yike shook his head and said, “Wait for a while, Mister Wu Yazi.”
After that, Mo Yike followed behind Gu Hai.
Gu Hai walked over to Bing Ji. When he saw the blood at the corner of her lips, his face sank.
Yuan Chu also stood up and approached Bing Ji and Gu Hai.
The surrounding cultural cultivators looked at Gu Hai in surprise. Although people were talking up Gu Hai, they had not seen him do anything yet. How could they believe that he was incredible?
“Amitābha! Is Bing Ji an official in your Han Nation now?” Yuan Chu asked coldly.
Yuan Chu looked at Gu Hai with some arrogance and pride in his gaze.
Gu Hai simply ignored Yuan Chu. Instead, he carefully reached for the “Bring in the Wine” in Bing Ji’s hand.
“Be careful. The conception of ‘Bodhi’ envelops that place,” a kind-hearted cultural cultivator immediately called out.
Indeed, the golden characters of “Bodhi” shone dazzling golden light on Gu Hai. Once the golden light enveloped a calligraphy Dao expert, it would pull them into the conception of “Bodhi,” leaving them unable to escape, like Bing Ji.
Yuan Chu showed a cold smile, waiting to see Gu Hai make a fool of himself.
Leading a group of people, the Azure Emperor stood outside the plaza, looking coldly at the plaza—more accurately, at Gu Hai. When he saw Gu Hai step into the area enveloped by the conception of “Bodhi,” his eyes narrowed.
However, as Gu Hai walked into the conception of “Bodhi,” he did not seem affected at all.
“Huh? How can this be?” Yuan Chu appeared shocked.
My “Bodhi” has extremely strong offensive capabilities. No matter how strong a calligraphy Dao expert is, they cannot walk into it so easily. As long as one cultivates the calligraphy Dao, one will be affected, so why does Gu Hai not seem affected at all?
“Oh?” The distant Azure Emperor narrowed his eyes.
“Imperial Lord, does that Gu Hai not have any calligraphy Dao’s artistic conception at all? Why is he not affected by ‘Bodhi’?” Seven Kills asked in surprise.
“How can he not have the calligraphy Dao’s artistic conception? Didn’t you hear that Gu Hai composed ‘Bring in the Wine’?” someone at the side said in confusion.
“But…” Seven Kills appeared confused.
In the Future Buddha’s courtyard, the monks already viewed Gu Hai as their enemy, so they also paid attention to him. When they saw this scene from far away, they felt shocked.
“Lord Buddha, why is Gu Hai fine?” a confused monk suddenly asked in the direction of a large hall.
That large hall was silent for a while before the Future Buddha’s voice rang out. “How strange!”
Countless cultural cultivators in the plaza goggled as they discussed why Gu Hai was utterly unaffected.
Naturally, Gu Hai would not tell them he was not affected because he did not have the calligraphy Dao’s artistic conception. Instead, he frowned at Bing Ji, feeling heartache. Then, he wiped off the dried blood at her lips.
Although trapped in the conception of “Bodhi,” Bing Ji still held “Bring in the Wine” tightly.
Then, Gu Hai slowly grasped “Bring in the Wine,” wanting to pull it out.
“Don’t. This is His Majesty’s ‘Bring in the Wine.’ You are not worthy. You are not worthy.” Despite being in a daze, Bing Ji tried to resist, not permitting anyone to take “Bring in the Wine” away.
“Bing Ji, it’s me. Give me ‘Bring in the Wine,’” Gu Hai said gently.
“Your Majesty? Your Majesty, you are here? Your Majesty, save me! Your Majesty, save me!” Bing Ji shouted while dazed, her entire body trembling.
Then, she relaxed her hand, letting Gu Hai pull away “Bring in the Wine.”
Bing Ji still did not wake up. Instead, her entire body shivered. “What an intense snowstorm! Your Majesty, I’m cold. Your Majesty, I’m very cold!”
Bing Ji shivered while disoriented, making Gu Hai feel heartache. She had a water cauldron physique. Even with such a physique, she felt cold. How cruelly cold was the conception of “Bodhi”?
Gu Hai raised his head to look at the floating “Bodhi.” Then, he showed an extremely sullen expression.
“Bing Ji, we are here. You are trapped in the conception of “Bodhi.” We will teach you how to get out. It is just one version of “Bodhi.” It is only so-so,” Gu Hai said gently.
“Bring paper, brush, and ink!” Gu Hai called out.
“Yes!” The officials immediately brought brush, paper, and ink over.
Gu Hai picked up the brush and placed it in Bing Ji’s hand.
“Bing Ji, listen to me. Use your calligraphy Dao’s artistic conception to shatter ‘Bodhi,’” Gu Hai said.
“I’ll listen to Your Majesty. I’ll listen to Your Majesty. Your Majesty, I’m very cold.” Bing Ji trembled as she spoke. Her voice sounded sad, on the verge of tears.
“Break my ‘Bodhi’? Hahahahaha! Furthermore, you want Bing Ji, who is trapped in the conception of ‘Bodhi,’ to write it? In her current state, even if she has a first edition to write, it would only be a hundredth of what she can bring out in her peak. Gu Hai, you overestimate yourself!” Yuan Chu sneered.
“Mo Yike, read out ‘Bodhi’!” Gu Hai commanded.
“The heart has a bodhi tree!” Mo Yike read out.
Gu Hai said gently to the dazed Bing Ji, “Write ‘Bodhi is not a tree!’”
[TL Note: The word for bodhi also means enlightenment. The story is that the Gautama Buddha gained enlightenment under the bodhi tree.]
“Bodhi is not a tree!” Bing Ji wrote what Gu Hai said.
The words were crooked and did not look like how they were supposed to. While Bing Ji managed to infuse her calligraphy Dao’s artistic conception, it was just a little. However, the moment these crooked words appeared, they gave off a bright Buddhist-natured light. A wave of noble spirit suddenly surged out in all directions from the plaza.
Whoosh!
