Nezha snorted, "Chatter! Just a few grass-seed demons, it's no big deal. Let's kill them!"
In his eyes, the demons were just like the grass in the ground. Would the Heavens care about those few blades of grass? They wouldn't.
Meeting the jar master was purely by chance. It's said that this old man deliberately sets some tests, and those who pass the tests can gain extraordinary opportunities. This matter has been widely spread among the solitary immortals. Many "mature in cultivation" solitary immortals try to venture into the jar master's world within a jar, but there are more failures than successes, but there are also not a few successes.
Nezha wants to break through the bottleneck of the Immortal Realm and achieve the status of a Golden Immortal. It's not something that can be achieved overnight. There was no particular destination in mind, but since an opportunity has arisen, it's natural to take a look.
His ability was enough to break through those barriers set for solitary immortals with ease. He didn't need his Heavenly Circles or Cloud Silk, as he crossed his arms and slightly lifted his chin, saying, "Your tests are far from worthy of the grand stage. Up the difficulty, and I don't care about your so-called opportunities. I just want to exercise myself."
"This matter is not difficult at all," the jar master said with a smile, nodding. Having lived for so long, he had seen all sorts of geniuses. Nezha was not the worst in terms of personality, for there were some immortals who were brimming with resentment, and they would even spout dark mist with a simple sneeze. They would readily resort to cursing and even to murder. For such despicable beings, the jar master didn't give them a second thought and had lived in peace all these years. The impertinence in Nezha's words was nothing to him.
"Alright, let's try the next test - heart-opening. As a small immortal, you need to open the top-most trigrams of your heart, and your spirit is sufficient. However, your divine energy is a bit lacking. It's just right for you to visit the Heart-Opening Platform."
"Hmm?" Nezha looked suspiciously at the jar master, not feeling any profound cultivation from this old man. It seemed like he was just an immortal. How could this guy see through his realm? This is highly unlikely.
Nezha went through a series of mental speculations, guessing that it might be because of those immortals he encountered on his journey. Some of them might have been talkative and revealed his information.
Nezha and Yang Zhao have similar qualities, both being intelligent and quick-witted. However, their personalities are entirely different. Yang Zhao is profound, restrained, and hidden in plain sight, while Nezha is extravagant, domineering, and has little subtlety.
During the time he spent away from Emei Mountain, he also lived in Yang Zhao's plum mountain for a while. Without the heavy conflicts between saints and disciples of saints above, returning to his true self, their relationship was much closer than before. They would occasionally spar in martial arts and arts, and both gained a lot from it.
After leaving Meishan, he wandered aimlessly along the way. When the dragon tribe found him, he himself didn't even know where he was, only that it was a mud swamp. It was the dragon tribe who guided him here to the Southern Sea.
"Heart-Opening Platform? My patriarchal heart is unbreakable. Old man, you'll be disappointed." Nezha had already entered the jar world many times before. At this moment, he placed his hand on the surface of the jar without resisting, and in the next instant, he was pulled inside by the jar.
After a quarter of an hour, Nezha burst out with a grim face.
"Old scoundrel! Is that what you call testing the heart? In the illusion, you made my parents die, my brothers die in a tragic manner, and then I was expelled from my school. I endured it all. But you, you went too far by making me eat shit! Isn't that what your family's 'heart-test' is about?"
He was outraged, but there was still a glimmer of clarity in his mind. Although his fists were clenched tightly, he didn't actually start a fight.
The jar master didn't think much of it: "Did you say that's shit?"
Nezha countered, "Isn't that so?"
The jar master shook his head: "That's shit with maggots."
Nezha was on the verge of exploding with rage. This old guy did he think he could get away with murder? Did he believe that Nezha's Heavenly Circles weren't heavy enough?
The jar master said to himself, "If you can't even eat shit, how can you guarantee that you can achieve the status of a Golden Immortal? You can turn around and leave. My 'heart-testing' is just a playful game. In three or five days, the little immortal will forget about it all by himself. The reward is trivial in the eyes of saintly disciples, but however..."
The jar master pointed to the heart of Nezha and said earnestly, "Your heart will remember today's experience, and your mind will no longer be complete. Your path is over at this point, and perhaps you will never achieve the status of a Golden Immortal in this lifetime."
Nezha was gasping heavily, his eyes wide open. For a moment, he seriously considered leaving, wondering why a scrawny immortal who hadn't even mastered his own cultivation was preaching to him about the Dao. Did he have the right to do so?
But after much contemplation and a slight closing of his eyes, he tried to inquire within his own heart. He found that he still cared about this matter. If he left a gap deep within his soul, it would definitely affect him when he was on the path to achieving the fruit of enlightenment in the future.
He had confidence in himself. Even if there were flaws in his heart, he could still achieve the status of a Golden Immortal. It was just that...
He gritted his teeth and stomped his foot. Fine, it's just eating shit. Watch me!
Without a word, he bowed his head and, seething with anger, re-entered the jar world again.
The jar master had no thought of taking advantage of others and running away. He stood quietly in place, waiting.
"There are countless paths to the primordial Dao. Can eating shit allow one to achieve Golden Immortal status? You're taking advantage of my young apprentice's limited knowledge and youthful arrogance. Don't you fear that I'll kill you? He agreed to your trial, binding him with fate. I haven't done anything."
Deng Chan Yu sat on a rock not far away, speaking calmly. Beside her was Bixiao, who looked at the jar master with full disgust. She just wanted to get some "proof" material to show that she wasn't just playing around, but she didn't want to eat shit. The look in her eyes towards the jar master was full of enmity.
The jar master was very courteous: "I, the old man, have seen two immortals."
Bixiao didn't want to talk to such a small character, turning her head to the other side.
Deng Chan Yu had actually arrived early; she had been observing the jar master all along.
She said, "Please, don't call us immortals. Based on your appearance, you must also be a person of great fortune. Let us be on an equal footing."
Bixiao glanced at her and felt in her heart that she didn't want to be on equal terms with a mortal. She was one of the four outer disciples of Jiejiao School in the past. Deng Chan Yu shook her head slightly, indicating that if there were any issues, they should discuss it after they went back.
Bixiao looked down on this old man, but she still gave face to Deng Chan Yu, the pseudo-Second Split Saint.
Bixiao was examining the scenery around her, while Deng Chan Yu was chatting with the jar master.
She had encountered too many ancient deities, almost becoming a vanguard for Hongjun to eliminate ancient deities. This jar master is quite interesting; he is not an ancient deity.
What is he? He is a form created by a magical artifact.
Everything has spirit. A cloud will manifest, a wind will manifest, and magical artifacts can manifest naturally.
Like the Celestial Rule and the Primordial Bell, once an artifact reaches a certain level, its spiritual essence will naturally evoke my consciousness.
Just like the Celestial Rule and the Primordial Bell, their fate is similar to that of the ten innate magical roots. Honghuang has great limitations on them, and it's nearly impossible for them to successfully transform without divine opportunities.
Now this jar master, Deng Chan Yu is inspecting his jar. It's not as good as the original jar from the ancient Mount Buzhou, but it's a late-stage jar. That's normal. The more powerful the roots, the greater the difficulty of transformation is.
