Heavenly script is obscure and difficult to understand, with only a few words but rich meaning. It is very challenging for the duplicate to comprehend, requiring guesswork and inference.
It's like taking a high school calculus course. They recognize the characters and symbols, but when they are put together, they become bewildered. She is now in this situation.
It's not a matter of having a poor foundation; it's more that there is no foundation at all.
The sutra should not be lightly transmitted, nor should it be taken without effort.
Acquiring even a basic understanding in this world is as difficult as scaling a mountain.
The expectations on the other side for becoming a disciple of the Lishan Elder Mom have increased by three parts. With the heavenly script in hand, they recognize the characters, but don't understand their meanings; this is too painful.
It reads a bit tiring, and she subconsciously reaches into Dang Kang's backpack for food while eating and reading at the same time.
"Click."
"Click."
Watching her gnaw on bamboo, the subdued panda was initially startled, followed by confusion in its eyes, as well as a longing.
Having eaten iron all his life and now being pressed under an endless sea of wine for thousands of years, he now craves something light in his mouth...
Feeling his intense gaze, the duplicate paused in mid-motion, realizing only then that the original self had become so accustomed to gnawing on bamboo that it hadn't given it a second thought.
She showed a very friendly smile, but to the panda, it looked very malevolent.
"Come, share the fun. Each of you can have one."
The divine beast team brought a lot of purple bamboo, which is easy to store, nutritious, and with a large stockpile, it's not a problem to eat it as snacks.
Kang can eat anything, but Ziumu doesn't eat living creatures, only plants.
At that moment, there was no hesitation, and the three divine beasts began to gnaw on bamboo in front of the panda.
Panda: "......"
His invented stories can't go on.
He could only stretch his face and show a flattering smile: "We are friends now, right? Give my old bear a few sticks as well?"
The phoenix duplicate took out a stick of purple bamboo, acting as if deep in thought.
The panda got a bit angry: "I've already given you the heavenly script, how could you be so stingy with just a broken bamboo stick??"
"No, I'm just looking. This book still belongs to you. I can swear on the river that I will not covet your heavenly script! My companions won't want it either, right?" The phoenix duplicate asked her fellow companion.
Both little creatures shook their heads in unison. What do we need the heavenly script for? It can't be eaten or drunk; even if you give it to us, we wouldn't take it.
Panda: "......"
He wanted to show some strength, but the three divine beasts gnawing on bamboo in front of him made him too tempted by the refreshing scent that filled his heart. For a moment, he felt that all the iron he had gnawed on for the first half of his life was not as tasty.
"Well, then... I still have another heavenly script here. I can show it to you too. In exchange, you give me a few bamboo sticks to chew on, how does that sound?"
"You still have a heavenly script in your hand? Even Yue in the southern capital was surprised. This thing should be the mount of Chi You. How rich can a demon's mount be these days?"
There's no argument, give it here!
The duplicate immediately exchanged ten purple bamboo sticks for a two-finger-thick heavenly script. This book was twice as thick as the first one, with more text, but the content was far inferior.
The panda has only one head outside, and Ziumu, being kind-hearted, squats next to him to feed him bamboo.
The scene was quite harmonious for a moment.
In no time, the ten purple bamboo sticks were quickly eaten by the panda. He licked his lips, seeming to savor the taste of purple bamboo or even freedom...
He was so desperate to get away from this hellish place that he looked at the phoenix duplicate with a cunning expression at that moment. He knew that this guy was in charge of making decisions.
"Little bird, let's do a business deal again?"
"What kind of business?"
"Did you notice that? My old bear was pressed here for something trivial in the ancient times. You see, can you set me free? I have a third heavenly script on me as well. I know you don't want to owe karma, but it's alright, the book still belongs to me. As long as I regain my freedom, I'll lend you the third heavenly script to read. I swear by the Dao!"
At the end, he also grew serious.
The phoenix duplicate first looked at Ziumu, his eyes suggesting that he was asking if this guy was a bad guy.
Little Ziumu shook his head decisively and used his long tail to scratch the panda's face.
The phoenix duplicate flipped through the two heavenly scripts in his hand and spoke slowly as the panda grew increasingly anxious.
"The first one was a thumb-sized book, and this one is twice as thick. Your handbook, I assume, must be even thicker, right?"
"That's right! More knowledge must be recorded in thicker books, right? My old bear isn't stupid!"
The phoenix duplicate gave him a cryptic smile: "Let's talk about the first book first. It tells about the enlightenment of a powerful being on the Great Law of heaven and earth. My level is too low to understand the specific meaning, but I know it's extremely profound."
The panda had a bad feeling in his heart.
The phoenix duplicate pointed to the second heavenly script and said, "This book seems to be about the use of DUI, SHU, FA, and DAO. The most recorded is in JUE, with more than one hundred kinds. SHU has twenty-four, FA has five, and DAO only has one......".
She coughed and said, "You might think the thickest book in the heavenly scripts is the most valuable, but actually, that's not the case... If I'm not wrong, the third one should contain knowledge from human world, such as irrigation in farmlands, making weapons, building water conservancy projects, or even something like military books."
Military books? Military books!
The panda's round face was filled with horror. I'm a panda trapped underground. What do I need military books for?
The feeling of frustration in his heart is beyond description, and for a moment, he couldn't find anything to say.
The phoenix duplicate wanted to persuade him to follow him to the west, so as not to let him lose hope, he changed the topic again.
"The key to your liberation is actually quite simple. It's written in the second heavenly script. I'll recite the incantation of the faith for you, and you can come out yourself..."
The panda listened expressionlessly. Huh, so it's in the book, huh? The nine-day fairy, you're bullying the old bear for not recognizing your feather script, are you? Dammit!
As one who has seen it, it is not difficult. The duplicate reproduced the contents of the incantation word-for-word to the panda, and this panda, who had lived since ancient times, silently chanted the incantation. With a flash of light, the boundless alcohol that had been holding him vanished completely, and even turned into a black pipestone that fell into his hand.
The pipe inside has endless wine, which can be considered as a treasure left by the nine-day fairy as compensation for the panda.
"Huh!" The round and chubby panda had a much higher level of cultivation than the phoenix and Dang Kang. Once freed, it transformed into a human form.
He turned into a fat man, wearing a bucket hat, a short jacket on top, and a hemp trouser below. A rough-looking stick was slung over his shoulder, and at the end of the stick was tied the black pipestone he had just obtained.
This stick has an extraordinary origin.
The old bear used to like climbing trees when he was young, and of course, he still does now.
At that time, he encountered a very tall tree. Without saying a word, he started climbing. He climbed higher and higher. He didn't know how long it took, but when he was about to pick the fruit at the top of the tree, the branch broke. Both the bear and the branch fell down with a "ah——thud" sound.
That tree was like the prehistoric Wutong tree of the phoenix tribe, one of the ten sacred trees, specifically a prehistoric five-needle pine.
The old bear was unlucky, and he didn't get the five-thousand-year-old flower, fruit, and maturity of the five elements. He only got a branch, and he never saw the five-needle pine again after that.
The branch that fell along with him was not aesthetically pleasing, but it was incredibly hard and had been used by him as a stick for a long time.
