This Damned Thirst for Survival

Liao Si soon learned that Qi Ye had lost his spirit body.

As soon as he knew this he rushed to Chi You, the fire in his tone could not be concealed and his face twisted slightly, "Master, Qi Ye is the body I fancy, why have you plucked his spirit from him!"

Qi Ye is a useless person after his spirit body has been removed and is of no use to him!

After Chi You gave Liao Si a faint look, Liao Si's mind went cold and he calmed down abruptly, he took a deep breath, "Sorry, Master."

"He doesn't fit your choice," Chi You said, "you can go on and pick someone else."

Liao Si clenched his fist in silence for a long time and compromised, "Okay, I'll go and see the others."

He exited his master's room and turned to see Ge Wuchen, covered in blood, walking breathlessly back from outside. Ge Wuchen was a man who always cared about his image, and Liao Si looked him up and down, "What have you been doing?"

"My master sent me to do something," Ge Wuchen sat down wearily, he almost died nine times to come back alive, "what brings you here?"

Liao Si couldn't resist the urge to gossip and told Ge Wuchen about Qi Ye. He knew that his master would know what he was thinking, so he didn't dare to go too far, but his words were full of misery, "I had a hard time looking at a body, but what do I need him for without a spirit body? Now I have to look at others, but where can I find one that suits me so easily?"

Ge Wuchen, "I don't believe you don't have a backup candidate."

Liao Si scowled at him, "Ge Wuchen, you know me. I do have a backup, and your brother would be great-"

Ge Wuchen looked at him coldly.

Liao Si laughed out loud and coughed again, "Ahem, take it easy, I'm just kidding."

"But not to mention, Jiang Luo is surrounded by people who really fit my profile one by one. Great potential, no reputation and a simple background ...... is a real crowd pleaser."

"I advise you not to hit them," Ge Wuchen said quietly, looking at the blood on his body, "Jiang Luo is a tough guy who bites and doesn't bark."

Liao Si grunted and laughed, "I know. Ge Wuchen, the master is very unusual with Jiang Luo, so we'd better hide if we can."

Ge Wuchen took another look at his miserable state, "...... Who's your spare tire?"

Liao Si's eyes flickered, "Even the family."

*

Jiang Luo stayed at the bottom of the mountain for half a month, and it seems that the Fates did not force Jiang Luo to return, as he had said.

It was just about the start of the school year and Ji Yaozi hadn't come down from the mountain.

Jiang Luo and his friends have moved back to the school. The grass plants in the school were waiting sickly after a winter without coming. They were instructed by Dean Xu to take the hose and water the grass piece by piece.

A separate vegetable patch was opened in front of the dormitory. I don't know which teacher planted the big white radish, but they secretly plucked a few of them, washed them clean of the mud and nibbled on them while they worked.

The sweet and spicy radish made them all hungry. Lu Youyi went to the canteen to buy a bag of sweet potatoes and several people piled up the fire to roast them, the smell of which summoned Dean Xu too.

Dean Xu loved them, and Jiang Luo respected him. As he waited for the sweet potatoes to cook, he and Dean Xu chatted, and the conversation gradually turned to "man becoming god", drawing the interest of the others as well.

"'Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha' is a metaphor, it's an exhortation to goodness, and the Buddha in it refers to conversion to Buddhism. But is there really someone who has become a Buddha? I have never seen that before," Ge Zhu said, "We do good deeds in order to accumulate virtue, and the virtue we accumulate is to live a good life and to be reincarnated in a good body after death. When people die, they are either taken away by ghosts to be reincarnated, or they are transformed into ghosts and demons. People are people, they can't become gods."

President Xu neither nodded nor shook his head as he listened to Ge Zhu's words, smiling without saying a word.

Jiang Luo and the others glanced at each other and winked at Lu Youyi. Lu Youyi received the message and he boldly asked, "Dean Xu, is it true that no one can live forever?"

Jiang Luo said that the fatalist had lived for over two hundred years and had not aged!

Dean Xu knew in his heart why he was asking this, he gave the group of children a funny look and shook his head with a sigh, "You guys ah ...... forget it, let the old man give you a good answer to this question."

"Have you ever heard the expression 'the soul is good but the spirit is evil'?"

Ge Zhu smiled, "I know. People believe that prana are the vermin in one's body, and if the soul leaves the body or becomes weaker, the prana left in the body will take advantage of the opportunity to collude with evil spirits, resulting in a series of nightmares or death. Taoist practice is to 'refine the three souls', using the yang soul to suppress the evil-doing yin soul, so that the prana will not be allowed to collude with external spirits to infest oneself, and one can then seek long life." ①

Sai Liaoer, perplexed, said, "Why does the suppression of the prana lead to long life?"

"Because the prana is in charge of the hands and feet, the five senses, our body," Ge Zhu explains patiently, "while the soul is the mind and emotions, something that cannot be touched or seen. The body will grow old and experience decay, and this is thought to be because the prana is doing evil and therefore bringing down the body's functions. But if the soul is used to suppress the prana, the ageing of the body can in theory be stopped."

Dean Xu stroked his beard and said in an old-fashioned way, "That's what it says."

"Theoretically it is possible, but does anyone actually do it?" Jiang Luo looked at Dean Xu, "Can you?"

"If I could, would I still be an old man?" Dean Xu blew out his beard and glared, "From before to now, only one person, the Fatalist, has managed to not age for two hundred years."

Jiang Luo smiled, "You know we want to talk about predestined people?"

Dean Xu snorted coldly, "Just your little tactics of testing me, pouting my ass and I'll know what you're shitting. You're all so hard-winged that you want to find out about the Fatekeeper. I'm telling you, you better behave yourselves, the Fated One is ...... scary strong! Don't mess with him even if you mess with anyone."

Ye Xun lowered his voice: "Dean, talk to us some more, we won't tell anyone."

"Don't even think about it, I have nothing more to say to you, and I don't know him." Dean Xu plucked the roasted sweet potatoes from the fire and nodded specifically at Jiang Luo, "Just because you are someone Chi You likes, they will definitely not let you go. I half-believe the prediction of the Fatal Man, but he is ultimately for the good of the metaphysical community. But again, I don't believe Chi You would be a person who would do something like that ...... you cut to the chase, think more for yourself and don't believe whatever people say."

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Jiang Luo nodded seriously, "I know."

Dean Xu stands up with the hot sweet potato in his arms and pats Jiang Luo on the head.

"He is a false god, not a god. By his very nature, he is still human. When a man speaks, he speaks with selfishness, and since you and Chi You are lovers, give Chi You more credit."

Having said that, Dean Xu walked away slowly.

Jiang Luo looks odd, smiling but not laughing, and finally buries himself in his lap and stifles a laugh.

At night, as he slept, he lay in bed and recalled Ge Wuchen's words.

How exactly does a predestined person absorb the power of the offering?

Jiang Luo thought a lot about it, and a lot of things piled up in his head, and eventually he fell asleep without realising it. The next morning, when he got up to brush his teeth, Yu Guang glanced at the tap and was suddenly lost in thought.

He held out his hand and the clear water stirred on the back of his hand, splashing in all directions.

He picked up the toothbrush cup again and filled it with water, which was in the cup without a drop, and finally brought it to his mouth to rinse.

Jiang Luo's movements are getting slower and slower, his eyes are getting brighter and brighter.

He has found a third way independent of Ge Wuchen's two!

He rushed back to his room after washing up to calculate the success rate of this method. The more he calculated, the more excited he became, and by the end Jiang Luo couldn't sit still any longer.

The method has a 50-50 chance of either succeeding or failing. But fifty percent is a lot, enough for Jiang Luo to gamble on.

Jiang Luo was so excited that he didn't leave home for a day. After much deliberation, he decided to take the initiative and go back to the mountain to find his nemesis.

He had reasons why he had to go back.

The Fatal Man has been waiting for him at the top of the mountain. Although he is not making any moves now, Jiang Luo knows that the Fatal Man will never really let him go. The Fatal Man has made such a big circle of chess pieces, isn't it just to make Jiang Luo kill Chi You? Jiang Luo took the initiative to go back, at least he would have the right to take the initiative, better than waiting passively.

What's more, the last Yuan Tianzhu of Chi You is still in the hands of the Fates.

Jiang Luo wants to kill the Fatal Man, and sooner or later he will have to meet the Fatal Man again.

But Jiang Luo's idea also had the potential to fail, and to avoid implicating his friends if it did, Jiang Luo told no one. He packed his things alone, made a phone call to Bai Qiu, changed into his hiking clothes and knives the next night, left a note and left the school.

Bai Hua University was quiet at night and Jiang Luo left the school without incident. He drove his second-hand car all the way to the front of a secluded neighbourhood in the city centre.

At the entrance to the neighbourhood, a beautiful woman wrapped in a down jacket was waiting, shivering. When she saw Jiang Luo, she rushed over, "You've come quite quickly."

Jiang Luo smiled and said, " Sister Bai Qiu."

Bai Qiu smiled at the sight of him, "You're getting better looking."

Bai Qiu handed Jiang Luo the flowers in his hand, "I had locked them in the cupboard at the time, but when you called me and asked for them I remembered I still had them. I thought they had wilted long ago, but when I took them out, they were still open."

She looked complicated, the bouquet of red lover's flowers, shaped like a star in the sky, looked like a monster to her. She was relieved when Jiang Luo took it away.

Jiang Luo smiled, "Thanks, Sister Bai Qiu."

Bai Qiu said, "Don't be polite to me."

Bai Qiu and Jiang Luo said goodbye, and as soon as they turned around, they suddenly remembered something, "By the way, Jiang Luo, do you still sell peace talismans?"

Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow, "Someone wants to buy it?"

"Your name has been spread around the circle, people say that the charms you write are very useful, and people everywhere want to buy your charms. Some people have found out that I am related to you and have found their way to me," Bai Qiu explained, "and the prices they offer are good. If you want to sell them, I'll screen the candidates for you, so you won't lose out."

Ah the world of entertainment.

Jiang Luo thought about it, "I won't sell it now, I'll contact you when I have an idea."

Bai Qiu nodded and Jiang Luo watched her leave. Only when Bai Qiu was safely back in the neighbourhood did Jiang Luo return to his car.

He placed a lover's flower on the passenger side, which resembled a star in the sky, but the flowers were much redder and more flamboyant than the star. Jiang Luo smiles for a moment, smells the flowers in the air and drives happily to the countryside.

With this, it can take the success rate up another level.

It takes four to five hours to travel from the city to Lianjia, and it is already light when Jiang Luo arrives at his destination. He plucks a few petals from a lover's flower and puts them in his pocket as he hikes up the mountain.

The snow on the mountain has melted. The first sun rises slowly from the east, spreading its golden rays over the whole mountain. Jiang Luo climbed up to the "no vulgarity" point as the sun was rising.

No one at Nenen expected him to return today, and Disciples hastily opened the door for him, and soon afterwards Ji Yaozi arrived in a hurry.

Jiang Luo nodded with a smile towards Ji Yaozi and walked forward with him, "Is the predestined man here?"

"He's here," Ji Yaozi said with concern as he looked him over, "Did you come all night? Do you want to sleep again?"

Jiang Luo was full of energy, "Staying up late is nothing for a young man like me. It's just as well that I've finished my business at the bottom of the mountain, and I have a little question to ask you on psychic arts, so I'll just grab the mountain."

There were Disciples of Taoist Master Wei He around, and Ji Yaozi didn't talk to Jiang Luo about what he couldn't say. He nodded knowingly and naturally changed the subject to psionics, "How are you practicing now?"

"It's not bad," Jiang Luo smiled, "the wood spirit and I have a connection, so it's easy to practice."

Ji Yaozi asked him again about the trial, and as they chatted, the two men saw Daoist Master Wei He walking slowly by.

"You've come back," Taoist Master Wei He looked at Jiang Luo with relief, "you've been away for half a month, Ji Yaozi is looking forward to you every day."

Jiang Luo smiled faintly at him, "I thought that after I left Tian Shifu, you would not let me go back up the mountain."

He was polite and kept his mouth shut about Lian Xue's pursuit of him. Taoist Master Wei He gave him a deep look, always with some subtle unease, "Your friendship with us is between you and us, you are you and Feng Li is Feng Li. Even if you and Feng Li have severed the relationship of master and disciple, you are still welcome here."

Jiang Luo smiled, "Many thanks to Daoist Master Wei He."

Taoist Master Wei He takes them to the Fatalist.

The Predestined are staying in the middle of the shrine.

The wooden door of the ancestral hall was closed, and Taoist Master Wei He knocked twice on the door first, and without waiting for an answer from inside, he pushed the door open himself and went in first.

Jiang Luo answered respectfully.

Daoist Master Wei He gently closed the door and stepped into the inner room.

Inside, the smoke is misty, the smell of sandalwood is overwhelming and the windows are closed, giving the room an air of immortality. On a long black wooden table, the statue of the deity is placed quietly in the centre. The incense burner is full of incense ash and three incense sticks are slowly burning.

In front of the statue of the gods is the predestined man dressed in white.

Taoist Master Wei He walked up behind the Fatalist and he whispered, "Fatalist, Jiang Luo is back."

The Fatalist whispered, "I hear his voice."

He turned his head sideways, his white hair falling from the front of his shoulders, the fatalist's brow covered in snow, and sighed in a clear, faint voice, "I did not expect him to return of his own accord."

Daoist Master Wei He was stunned, hadn't the Fatekeeper expected Jiang Luo to return? Daoist Master Wei He's brows knitted slightly as he voiced out the concern in his heart, "Fatalist, will this boy have other ideas?"

The Fatalist smiled faintly, "No harm done."

When he was so calm, Daoist Master Wei He felt a little more at ease. He thought that Jiang Luo had already soaked in the water of Tianbi Pond, and that he had been used by the Destined One to speak his spirit, and that his psychic powers had only been used to channel wood spirits. But there were a few worries that kept Wei He, the Taoist priest, from putting his mind at ease: "I'm surprised he didn't ask me about Lian Xue."

Does the boy not take these things to heart because of what Tianbi Pond does, or is he just too tolerant?

"If he asks, you will not be at ease. If he doesn't ask you, you are scratching your ears instead," the predestined man lit three sticks of incense again, "Lian-ol, you don't have to be so nervous."

Wei He laughed bitterly twice.

"If you are worried, then tell Lian Xue to take his youngsters and not to leave the ancestral home," said the Fatalist, " Jiang Luo did not kill Lian Xue when he first came down the mountain and he will not lay a hand on Lian Xue in the future, he is a man of friendship. "

Wei He opened and closed his lips a few times, "Yes."

The predestined man said, "Let him in."

*

Jiang Luo walks into the shrine.

As soon as he walked into the inner room, he was met by the lodger who was burning incense.

His gaze fell from the host to the tiny idol, the smoke so thick that he could not see it.

"Fatalist," Jiang Luo volunteered, "I am back."

The Fatalist inserted the incense into the censer and looked back at him, "I didn't expect you to return so soon."

Jiang Luo said, "I'm not wasting my time because I'm coming early and coming late."

The fatalist pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, his gaze gentle and forgiving, "Are you thinking straight?"

Jiang Luo is silent.

The predestined man shook his head helplessly, " Jiang Luo, you don't have to turn the tip of your knife on me."

He stepped aside and sat down, as if he was about to ascend to immortality between the smoke and fog. The light-coloured eyes smiled faintly, as if he were looking at a child, "I said that I would not kill anyone. Even if you wanted to kill me, I wouldn't do it to you. Jiang Luo, I will not hurt you, you can trust me more."

It was only after a long time that Jiang Luo said slowly, "I see the catastrophe you speak of, the future of the metaphysical world."

The predestined man looked at him in silence, waiting for his words to follow.

"My friends ......" Jiang Luo inclined his face, teeth clenched in a forced calm, "they will all die in that holocaust."

The predestined man said soothingly, "That all has not happened yet."

Jiang Luo took a deep breath and slowly calmed his emotions, "Predestined One, I still don't believe you. You say you are a false god, so why don't you take action against Chi You yourself, instead of asking me to take action against Chi You?"

"Because I am also in the predestination," the predestined man brought up, suddenly pointing to the Buddha statue, "Would you like to burn incense?"

Jiang Luo obediently walked up to the statue of Buddha.

He drew out the incense and put it on in a disciplined manner. Without a trace, he looked up towards the idol.

The god's features are blurred, but his brow is gentle, and his eyes are as compassionate and generous as he loves the world.

The feeling it gave Jiang Luo was vaguely familiar, and Jiang Luo's heart stirred, "Is this idol ...... you?"

The predestined nodded, "Right."

Jiang Luo said, "Is that how you received the offerings?"

"Yes and no," said the predestined man without haste, "it's not that simple."

Jiang Luo looked at the idol in awe and appreciation, "It's amazing."

The fatalist smiled faintly.

He left the Yin-Yang Ring to Jiang Luo, which was supposed to be the first test. Jiang Luo risked his life to unlock the Ring of Yin and Yang, both to show his determination to become stronger and because his relationship with Chi You had reached a point where he needed to use the Ring against each other. Jiang Luo is unable to resist the temptation to become stronger.

The Predestined appreciate such a person. Jiang Luo dares to question the false gods, and that means he possesses the determination to challenge them.

Jiang Luo memorised the appearance of the idol in his mind before he went to sit down next to the predestined man. He made it clear that he wanted to have a long talk, and when the teapot ran out of water, Jiang Luo took it upon himself to pour another one.

The kitchen was just a short walk away and Jiang Luo didn't take long to get back and forth. The fatalist saw some wetness above the teapot and asked casually, "Why is it soggy?"

"There was some dust on the teapot and I wiped it with a damp cloth," Jiang Luo said, "and there was a layer of dust in the kitchen. That's the bad thing about cooking with wood, dust is flying everywhere."

"That's true," said the predestined, "but those of us who are no longer young are still used to wood-fired water."

Jiang Luo filled a glass of water for him and gently asked, "So how old are you?"

The Fatalist pondered for a moment, "I don't remember exactly how many years."

He reaches for the water Jiang Luo offers him, and as soon as he touches the glass, his thirst rises. Looking down, he saw that the water in the glass was clear, wavering slightly, rippling sweetly and slightly dry in his mouth. The fatalist took a sip and suddenly smiled, "Something doesn't seem right about this water."

Jiang Luo smiled steadily, "What's wrong?"

The fatalist took another sip and closed his eyes, carefully discerning what was wrong with it, "The paper ash of the Harmony Charm ...... Petals of the Lover's Flower ......"

"Yes," Jiang Luo admitted cleanly, "you were right about everything."

The Fatalist's cheeks rose to a slight flush, the effects of the medicine already taking effect, but his hand was steady as he held the cup of tea. With his eyes closed, he placed the cup on the table and "looked" at Jiang Luo, asking curiously, "Why did you give me this?"

"I don't want to use this for you either. But my purpose is too big, and if I rely only on my own strength, I'm afraid it won't be enough," Jiang Luo's smile deepened, "so I'll have to do both, just in case. But don't worry, Predestined One, you as my ancestor's generation, I definitely don't have that in mind for you."

The predestined caught the most important word with precision and repeated, "Purpose?"

Jiang Luo couldn't hold back his laughter as the conversation turned, "At the bottom of the mountain, I heard that you were once drugged and that Feng Tian Shi was your son."

The Fatalist's face remained unchanged, except for the slight blush on his face, and he still looked like an emotionless, lustless god.

"I didn't expect the false gods to know Chinese medicine," Jiang Luo exclaimed, "but it gave me an idea. I don't know if the other medicines will work for you, but this one is different. I once gave a very powerful evil spirit a healing charm water because of some chance coincidence. A ghost as powerful as he was was controlled by the effects of the medicine for fifteen minutes, so I guess if I put it on you, it would work for at least fifteen minutes."

Chi You are all affected by the water mixed with the Harmony Charm and the Lover's Flower. He is the future victor, the absolute protagonist of the book, then of course others who are not as good as him are also affected, even if they are predestined people.

The predestined man sat calmly at his end, his breath beginning to heat up.

He had already guessed who the "mighty evil spirit" was.

An unfamiliar dryness rose up from the gut, strange and strange. Although the predestined man did not look at Jiang Luo, his ears heard all the movement. There seemed to be the sound of paper and pencil being flicked... Jiang Luo was writing?

Soon the footsteps arrived in front of the predestined.

Jiang Luo abruptly withdrew his smile, his voice was cold, as cold as if he was about to turn into a dagger and kill the Fatalist, "Fatalist, open your eyes."

His voice sounded as good as heaven to the ears of the fatalist. The Fatalist sensed that something was wrong with him emotionally, but he couldn't help it. He opened his eyes helplessly and looked at Jiang Luo.

The dark-haired young man stood in front of him, looking down at him from above. The beautiful face was as cold as ice, making it clear to the fatalist that Jiang Luo was playing a trick that had nothing to do with joking about love, he was only doing it to achieve his own ends.

But even so, a fondness that struck him as new rose up in the heart of the predestined.

He was born indifferent, and as a false god, it was the first time he felt a preference for a human.

Jiang Luo said, "First, give me the last Yuan Tianzhu."

The predestined man paused, his helplessness heavier. He smiled gently, still taking a transparent bead from his body and handing it to Jiang Luo .

Jiang Luo put Yuan Tianzhu away and continued, "Secondly, look at these three characters."

The fatalist subconsciously looked at the note in his hand.

The air in Jiang Luo's body was frantically extracted and the word spirits came into play.

The Predictor's pupils tightened at first, the warning of something bad ringing frantically in his mind, and he stared at the three words with dead eyes and, in his ears, Jiang Luo's nonchalant tone of command.

He said, "Predestined ones, make offerings to me."