Chapter 167: The Lonely Grave

“The purpose is simple. Although he has fused with the soul of Kunlun and gained power, he has not cultivated it himself, and in the end, he will not be recognized by the heavens. He only wants to use his power to control this great array of heaven and earth, and then use the ghosts in the great array of heaven and earth to show off his power! To put it more simply, it is like a small feudal state that has its own troops and hopes to be recognized by a great power, and ultimately confirm that the land there is theirs.

I found this a little funny and asked the master, “So what you’re saying is that he wants to use the ghosts to cause chaos and threaten the heavens? He’ll only be honest if he’s forced to give him a positive result? Is that what you mean?”

When I said this, I was shocked myself. How could anyone be so crazy? Ning Zhi-feng was a madman in this respect, daring to directly challenge the will of heaven. All he did was to constantly accumulate his own capital. But if…

At first, I thought it was childish and crazy, but when I thought about it more carefully, I suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. I thought about what Ning Zhifeng had already done. In fact, if he was allowed to continue, it was not impossible for him to get everything he wanted!

“That’s what I mean. In fact, once he has reached this point, there is no turning back. Just like many cultivators in history who have gone astray, since they have done so, they have gone crazy, and they have gone down the path to the end, hoping to get what they want in this way.” The master didn’t comment too much, just a simple sentence.

But from this brief conversation, I suddenly felt that the human heart is actually infinitely terrible. For their own purposes, they betray and use their friends, and they disregard thousands of innocent living beings and ghosts… Not to mention the ending of Ning Zhifeng, in the process, did he really feel that he had gained something and was truly happy?

It’s like I have infinite power and money, but when I see the moment when Master Hongren attains enlightenment, I still feel how empty my possessions are!

That is the contrast between material possessions and spiritual possessions! Master Hongren has always been a spiritual possessor, but too many people are slaves to their desires, pursuing material things. After a lifetime of this, they will feel empty and hollow to the extreme!

“Since Ning Zhi Feng has merged with the soul of Kunlun, what about Yucui Zi?” This question was asked by Cheng Zhen, after all, Yucui Zi has left a deep impression on most of us.

“Yucuizi? When Ning Zhifeng forcibly fused the soul of Kunlun, he had already reached the limit of fusion, and the remaining small part had never been fused. It was only after the arrival of Yucuizi that the small part of the Kunlun soul was fused. In other words, Yucuizi was the one who was truly recognized by the soul of Kunlun. Otherwise, how could an ordinary soul fuse a small part of the soul of Kunlun? As for why it was recognized, I don’t know. Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps the opportunity had arrived. In any case, it would change from an ordinary ghost to a ghost rakshasa. It was a variable. Although it was also used by Ning Zhifeng, in fact, it never had the slightest interest in what Ning Zhifeng did, but only mechanically sought an attachment. Its tragedy lies in the fact that it liked to attach itself too much, ignoring itself. The master explained to Chengzhen.

From the words, the master is really a very open person. He knows what he knows, and he doesn’t add any of his own subjective guesses, even though his identity makes people think he should know everything.

However, compared to our many comments on Yu Cuizi, Grandmaster’s simple sentence says it all. This is the real key, and one can’t help but feel that Grandmaster’s heart is too transparent.

“Everything should be like this. Ning Zhifeng’s winning of Yucuizi has made me and Master Hongren even more passive. Over the years, those who have come to the circle with a righteous heart have become more and more unreturnable, and even controlled. If it weren’t for Master Li’s visit to the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts once, setting up the current situation and leaving us a hint, I’m afraid…” The ferryman didn’t say any more.

“In fact, I only went to complete the formation of this game, and it is a useless formation with only a pattern. Everything depends on the opportunity brought by Chengyi and his friends to officially start it. Before that, in the Ming Dynasty, there were already high-level people who calculated that there would be chaos in the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts, and the outcome was unknown! In order to avoid this chaos, they have already done a lot of things, such as the spiritual power and mental power you see, which have been accumulated generation after generation. I am just a leader, and I have responsibilities that I cannot shirk, but I cannot do them myself, so I have to do this. The master said simply, without any hint of taking credit.

This is the kind of person my master is. I do what I should do. Credit or merit is not important. The only reason that anything can move him is that it is something that should be done, and what should be done is something that is predestined!

The ferryman remained silent for a long time, thinking deeply, before he said to Jueyuan, “Jueyuan, you must carry on the tradition of Master Hongren. Remember that the affairs of the Lake of a Thousand Demons are never finished in the Buddhist world. The power of your prayers needs to be replenished, and you must never forget to liberate the spirits of the Lake of a Thousand Demons from their suffering.”

“Amitabha.” Jueyuan held the 108 beads in his hand and had already started to chant, singing a Buddhist name, and then said, “This is our responsibility, and we will never refuse.”

“That’s good.” The ferryman took a big gulp of wine and then took out a Buddhist bead and said, “I’ll keep the blood in this Buddhist bead. Go back to the temple and let them complete the final inheritance. Originally, this should have been passed on to Huijue’s disciple, but passing it on to you, his grandchild, has also settled a matter of my heart.”

Hui Gen took the bead with trembling hands. It was transparent, like amber, but not exactly. I didn’t know what it was, but I could feel the golden blood inside it was particularly dazzling.

“With this drop of blood, your physical fitness will be much stronger, and it will be much easier to use the blood tattoos on your body. I’m not very sentimental, but I’m also proud of you, and I’m happy that my disciple Hui Jue can find you to inherit the mantle. I can have two blood tattoos, haha…” The ferryman laughed happily, and as he laughed, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Master,” Hui Gen’er called out with tears in her eyes.

The ferryman didn’t even bother to wipe the blood from his mouth, and instead took a big drink of wine directly from the blood. He said, “Okay, don’t call me anymore. I’ve been ferrying people for so many years, I’m very tired. If I don’t wake up again, remember to bury me behind this boundary stone. I’ll be guarding here forever, and I won’t say why.”

As he spoke, he slowly closed his eyes. Hui Gen was beside herself with worry, but the ferryman really started to snore, as if he was sleeping very soundly.

We all watched quietly as his snoring, which had been loud from the beginning, gradually became quieter and quieter. In the end, the sound of chanting even overpowered his snoring. I don’t know if the chanting was too loud, but the ferryman gradually stopped making any sound.

“Master!” Hui Gen was now in tears, and after a final choked cry of “Master,” he was unable to speak any more.

My master also sighed and said, “Although he has not achieved the same level of enlightenment as Hong Ren, his merits have been recognized by heaven and earth. Even if he does not achieve enlightenment, his blessings will be great.”

These words can give us some comfort, and when we buried the ferryman, we discovered a tear hanging in the corner of his eye. We didn’t want to speculate on why it was there.

Outside the boundary stone, there is an additional lonely grave. It is somewhat desolate, but also somewhat at peace. Jueyuan said that the monks who come here to transfer souls will guard this anger for generations and will not forget that there was once a ferryman here.

Only Hui Gen was still upset and kept crying beside me, muttering, “Brother, why did my master disappear before I could meet my master?

I didn’t know what to say, so I put my hand on Hui Gen’er’s bald head as I was used to doing. I was also sad in my heart. My master had also said that he was leaving.

At this moment, the sunset has already dispersed, and the stars are hanging in the night sky. The night has come without us realizing it. Looking at the stars, I am a little excited. Sometimes the meaning of a battle is very simple. Just being able to see the stars in the sky is a kind of satisfaction.

We had many questions for our master, but we were afraid that he would leave after answering them, so we didn’t dare to ask.

After the ferryman was buried, everyone was silent around the fire, and ten minutes passed in a flash.

In this silence, the master stood up and stretched, saying, “All banquets must end, and it is rare for us to gather together. If you have any questions, just ask. I’m leaving. I’ve calculated that when dawn comes, someone will naturally take you away from here.

The boat we came on is still floating below the island. Even if no one comes, we can still leave. Besides, the three-day promise will be fulfilled in three days, and most likely someone will come here after three days.

It was already the third night, and it didn’t feel like it had been long, but it had been long enough for the Grand Master to come and leave again.

Faced with the words of the master, none of us spoke, because there were so many things to say, but what should we say?

“Don’t you have any questions?” the Grandmaster looked at us and then added, “Then I’ll leave.”