Hearing this, the Ghost King also began to have doubts. However, the Ghost Master seemed unconcerned by their gazes. Instead, he lowered his head in thought for a moment, and then uttered a sentence that made Lu Xuan's heart tremble slightly.
"I don't want the power of Shura, I just want to make a wish."
Making a wish caused Lu Xuan's expression to change slightly. He now finally understood the source of that mysterious connection.
Making a wish upon something from another world. This has always been a thorn in Lu Xuan's side. In the world of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, he was once lured by a strange spell and made a wish upon some unknown being, instantly killing the Imperial Preceptor Centipede Demon. Now, he has heard of a similar spell once again.
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Chapter 429 The Storm Is Brewing
The blood curse from back then had been buried deep in Lu Xuan's heart for many years. He always felt that something was wrong with the world associated with that blood curse. Those things had never appeared directly in the human world. But why would a corresponding blood curse remain?
The world of Jade Dynasty is clearly completely different from the world of Liaozhai. Yet, it's possible to communicate with similar worlds. Although he hasn't witnessed it firsthand, Lu Xuan instinctively feels that there must be some connection between the two. However, both the blood curse from back then and the Four Spirits Blood Array now are things Lu Xuan finds difficult to understand. He doesn't dare to investigate this matter directly and can only choose to avoid it for now.
Regardless, the Asura in the original work clearly does not have the ability to grant wishes. Moreover, it is completely uncontrollable, and is obviously something like an extraterrestrial demon.
After hearing Lu Xuan's words, the Ghost King also hesitated. In the world of cultivation, there's a simple rule: the higher one's cultivation level, the more secrets they know. This corresponds to the specialized intelligence organizations or individuals found in martial arts novels. But these simply don't exist here. This is a world even more brutal than the martial arts world, a world where the law of the jungle reigns supreme, and without sufficient cultivation, one has absolutely no say.
Seeing the Ghost King hesitate, Lu Xuan spoke again.
"The path of cultivation largely depends on talent and opportunity. While there may be examples of achieving enlightenment through a single thought, it certainly doesn't come from the various methods of the Ten Deadly Sins. Therefore, Mr. Ghost, whatever wish you make, you've already fallen into a lower realm. We cultivators defy the heavens; we should find our own solutions to problems. If we can't solve them, then we should improve our cultivation to do so. Why entrust ourselves to such ethereal and wicked arts?"
Mr. Ghost was speechless for a long time. How could he not know that his idea was nothing more than gambling on a one-in-a-million chance? But there was nothing he could do; what he sought was something that no ordinary person could solve.
"What I ask for is to resurrect someone who has been dead for many years."
Lu Xuan had actually expected this, but upon hearing this, he still sighed in the end.
Even a cultivator of his level is helpless when it comes to matters of life and death. This isn't a world like those in Liaozhai, where heaven and hell are complete and one can enter the underworld at any time to retrieve the souls of the dead. Here, once you die, you vanish into nothingness, with almost no hope of resurrection.
Lu Xuan didn't ask who the other party wanted to resurrect; such a thing would inevitably be a lifelong source of pain. Forcing the issue to be revealed would probably not be a good idea.
Seeing that the Ghost King's interest in activating the Four Spirits Blood Array had waned, Lu Xuan stopped dwelling on the matter. He had already decided that he would find a way to bring all four ferocious beasts into the sect as guardian beasts after some time.
After the small talk, it was time to get down to business. Lu Xuan had come to propose marriage. And since the Ghost King was a doting father, this matter naturally had to be taken seriously.
Since it's a marriage proposal, there should naturally be betrothal gifts. Lu Xuan didn't really understand these things; what was frustrating was that among the many women in the Hidden Immortal Sect, not a single one knew anything about them.
Left with no other choice, Lu Xuan had to resort to being extravagant. The matter of betrothal gifts is actually quite easy to resolve. Aside from a few ancient Confucian scholars who made do with special apprenticeship gifts like cured meat, most etiquette boils down to one thing: more politeness is never a bad thing!
So Lu Xuan waved his hand, and Lin Jingyu, Xiaobai, Xiaoqing and the others behind him presented the betrothal gifts.
"My Hidden Immortal Sect is small in number. If Biyao marries my disciple, she will become a member of my Hidden Immortal Sect. Therefore, for this marriage proposal, every disciple of my Hidden Immortal Sect has sent a betrothal gift. This is our way of welcoming our own family. However, since this is an important place in the sect, not everyone can come to propose marriage. So, let these juniors deliver the gifts."
After he finished speaking, Lin Jingyu was the first to step forward.
“My skills are not yet proficient. After entering the sect, I had nothing of value except for a few magical treasures bestowed upon me by my master. Therefore, I traveled through several mountains to find this Vermilion Fruit. My master said that it has been refined for five hundred years. I am Xiao Fan’s best friend, so I offer this Vermilion Fruit to congratulate you two on your happy occasion.”
A five-hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit is considered a rare item, but not particularly precious. However, the fact that Lin Jingyu found it himself shows his sincerity.
"This bottle of pills was sent by Senior Sister Xin Shisi Niang; she did indeed refine it herself. She couldn't leave to guard the herb garden, so she opened this bottle of pills that I brought her. It helps with cultivation, has healing effects, and most importantly, it has a youthful appearance-preserving effect."
"These bracelets are a gift from Senior Sister Hongxiu. She is the only disciple in our Hidden Immortal Sect who has inherited Master's unique talisman-making techniques. As for the wonderful uses of these bracelets, that's for you to figure out yourself."
After Lin Jingyu came Xiaoqing and Xiaobai, who each presented their own Qingfeng Yuechi gifts.
Finally, it was Lu Xuan's turn. He presented Hongyu, whom he had received in return. Hongyu's gift, of course, was a sword—that was almost a given. Regardless of which disciple she was, the first gift she always gave was a sword.
As for Lu Xuan, he gave away a cultivation technique. It was the Five Elements Escape Technique that Zhang Xiaofan used when he escaped from Kongsang Mountain with Biyao.
Magical arts and supernatural powers are extremely private matters in this world. In a sense, the sectarianism in the world of immortals and heroes is even more severe than in the world of martial arts. Back then, Puzhi was among the most powerful in the world, even willing to exchange his Great Brahma Prajna for it. But still, no one was willing to trade. This shows how deep-seated sectarianism is.
This practice of imparting supernatural powers to someone before they've even entered the path is probably unique to Zhang Xiaofan and Biyao, and yet these two have come together again. One can only say that the most extraordinary thing in the world is this.
This action even surprised the Ghost King beside him. He then relaxed, realizing that the more the other party valued her, the less likely his daughter would suffer.
All the betrothal gifts were presented, and everyone around looked satisfied.
Although none of the gifts contained top-tier magical artifacts or rare treasures, the sincerity of the sentiment was evident.
In fact, this is one of the very few times in nearly a century that Lu Xuan has devoted his time and effort to something that seems to have little practical value.
Having cultivated for hundreds of years, no matter how much he rested, some things would still fade with time. That's why he decided to do this. Firstly, to fulfill a wish he had from several lifetimes ago: to help this ill-fated couple be reunited. Secondly, to rekindle the humanity within him.
Even though the Great Dao is ruthless, Lu Xuan will still try his best to maintain his humanity. He has a deep-seated feeling that maintaining humanity is an extremely important thing.
The marriage proposal went very smoothly. Both sides agreed to meet on the 17th of next month for the bride to be picked up. Thus, the marriage proposal journey came to a successful conclusion.
However, upon returning to the Hidden Immortal Sect, Lu Xuan heard some unpleasant news.
"No adjustments are needed, the wedding will continue. It's our Hidden Immortal Sect's wedding procession; who are they to interfere!"
Hearing Lu Xuan's words, Hongyu smiled.
"Just as I thought, my sword hasn't drawn blood in a long time."
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Chapter 430 Instant Kill
Zhang Xiaofan was Lu Xuan's first disciple in nearly two hundred years. Furthermore, the Hidden Immortal Sect was mostly composed of reclusive men and women, so a lively occasion was a rare treat. Naturally, they made excellent preparations. On the day of the wedding, almost the entire Hidden Immortal Sect mobilized, leaving only Hongxiu to look after the house.