Tai Zhu Xuan Xiang: Me and My Eight Golden Gourd Sisters

Chapter 11 The True Meaning of the Western Region Arhats' Attainment of Enlightenment

"Coo coo...coo coo..."

As night deepened, the sounds of birdsong still echoed through the forest, mingling with the roars of beasts, weaving together a nocturne of a desolate world.

But Cai Xuan didn't hear any of these sounds; he had already fallen into a deep sleep.

The moon tonight is slightly less bright than last night, but it still generously showers down its radiant light. The giant golden gourd vine stretches out every leaf, absorbing the falling light. Strands of moonlight are refined and purified through the veins of the leaves and the roots, transforming into the essence of Yin water, which, together with the power of the earth's veins, nourishes the entire vine.

The eight small golden gourds hanging under the trellis received this double nourishment, and their bodies were covered with a layer of shimmering light, as if they were wrapped in a thin veil of moonlight.

A faint fragrance, slightly less intense than yesterday, wafted from the melon, spreading through the night air. Cai Xuan, smelling this aroma, slept even more soundly, a slight smile playing on his lips, lost in a sweet dream.

"Bang!"

A giant, hundred-eyed toad suddenly leaped over the fence, landing heavily on the ground, splashing dirt and leaving four deep footprints.

Its body was covered with strange eye-shaped markings, and its bulging eyes glowed with an eerie green light in the darkness.

The Hundred-Eyed Ferocious Toad opened its massive mouth slightly, revealing a sinister smile. Its intuition had been right; it had smelled that strange fragrance last night, though it had vanished halfway through, it had kept it in mind. The toad turned and looked around, its eerie green eyes quickly locking onto the second floor, before it swiftly leaped towards the platform.

"Quack quack"

Before long, they arrived at the second floor and saw eight small golden gourds shimmering with a clear, misty light. The Hundred-Eyed Fierce Toad cried out joyfully.

The rough sound, like a broken gong, echoed through the night sky. Fortunately, Cai Xuan was already fast asleep, otherwise he might have been frightened. Suddenly, it opened its ferocious maw and, like a cannonball, shot out a long, scarlet tongue, carrying a pungent, fishy stench, towards the little golden melon!

The fourth golden gourd suddenly spewed out a blazing flame, which precisely pierced into the gaping maw of the ferocious toad.

At the same time, on the second golden gourd, a flash of lightning struck the toad's long tongue.

"Crackling"

The long tongue, struck by lightning, was instantly charred black and limply hung down to the ground. The flames traveled down its throat and into its abdomen, scorching the toad's internal organs. The hundred-eyed toad writhed in agony on the ground, its limbs pawing frantically at the earth, emitting mournful screams.

The first golden gourd, dragging its vine, slammed down like an iron hammer, striking the head of the Hundred-Eyed Ferocious Toad.

"Click"

With a crisp crack, the skull of the ferocious toad shattered.

The Hundred-Eyed Ferocious Toad, which had been violently thrashing about, suddenly froze, its limbs twitching a few times before it stopped moving altogether. Just as the fourth golden gourd was about to spew flames to incinerate the corpse, it suddenly stopped. Thick tendrils of the large golden gourd vine extended from below, piercing into the corpse of the Hundred-Eyed Ferocious Toad and absorbing its blood and flesh essence to nourish itself.

The corpse of the Hundred-Eyed Ferocious Toad visibly shriveled, its skin wrinkled, its muscles dissolved, as if an invisible behemoth was devouring every inch of its flesh. Before long, the entire corpse turned into a pile of ashes.

The large golden pumpkin vine wiggled a few times with satisfaction, then slowly retreated back into the soil.

The third golden gourd immediately sprayed out a jet of water, diligently washing away the dust and dirt on the platform, cleaning up all traces.

Just as the cleanup was finished, a blood-eyed flying centipede flew in from afar, flapping its wings as thin as cicada wings, and landed on the platform. This blood-eyed flying centipede was enormous; its upright body almost reached the small golden gourd under the trellis. Its entire body was jet black like iron armor, and its pair of blood-red compound eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light under the moonlight. Two scythe-like teeth in front of its mouth rubbed together, making a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound.

It flapped its wings happily, gazing greedily at the eight little golden gourds, its mouth dripping with sticky saliva.

Then it suddenly opened its double sickles and viciously bit at the little golden gourd!

"Bang!"

The first golden melon struck again, like a cannonball slamming into the Blood-Eyed Flying Centipede's chin. The force was so great that it flipped the enormous centipede over, sending it tumbling twice in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

The flying centipede struggled to get up, its long legs flailing wildly across the platform.

Just then, the sixth golden gourd suddenly emitted a faint light, silently striking the Blood-Eyed Flying Centipede. The light entered the centipede's body, instantly freezing its frantic struggles before it slowly collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"rustling"

As soon as the battle ended, the thick roots of the giant golden gourd vine immediately emerged from the ground, climbed onto the platform, and unhesitatingly plunged their sharp tendrils into the body of the Blood-Eyed Flying Centipede. Within a few breaths, the Blood-Eyed Flying Centipede's massive body rapidly shrank, its iron-clad shell became dull and lifeless, and its essence of flesh and blood was completely devoured, leaving only a pile of useless remnants like ashes.

"Squeak squeak squeak"

Before the third golden melon could be cleaned up, a white-headed bat silently flew over from the night and hung upside down under the wooden frame.

Its bright black and white eyes darted around, looking at the little golden pumpkin on the left with great delight, then at the little golden pumpkin on the right, as if choosing the plumpest one.

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

The white-headed bat cried out excitedly, opened its blood-red mouth filled with fine, sharp teeth, and lunged at the small golden melon on its left.

"Crack!"

The second golden gourd suddenly unleashed a bolt of lightning, the silvery arc of electricity slicing through the night sky and striking the white-headed bat squarely on the head. The bat's body stiffened abruptly, its claws losing their grip on the wooden frame, and it plummeted to the ground, wisps of white smoke rising from its mouth. After a few twitches, it breathed its last.

The roots of the large golden gourd vine quickly extended upwards, skillfully piercing the white-headed bat's body, devouring its blood and flesh essence to strengthen itself and nourish the smaller golden gourds. A continuous stream of nutrients flowed along the vine into the eight smaller golden gourds, causing them to shine brightly and begin to grow at a visible rate.

Cai Xuan, lost in his dream, was completely unaware of what was happening outside.

When I opened the door in the morning, a fresh, slightly cool breeze greeted me.

Looking up at the small golden gourds hanging under the trellis, Cai Xuan felt that they seemed to have grown even bigger. But after experiencing time travel, the giant golden gourd seeds sprouting overnight, and the gourd seedlings growing vines and bearing gourds overnight, he was already used to it.

"The weather is so nice today."

Cai Xuan stretched and twisted his body before walking to the open space in the center of the platform. He then began to stretch his muscles and bones using the True Meaning of the Western Region Arhats' Enlightenment.

The immortal cups his hands in greeting, the first move.

Breathing calmly, focusing the mind and spirit. Empty the mind and fill the abdomen, nourishing the Qi and generating fluids. Fill the Dantian with Qi, storing it in the heart. Let it flow naturally, accumulating Qi and strengthening the body. Second posture: Stand with feet together as if tied by a rope, draw air in through the nostrils, focusing on the heart. Interlock fingers and turn the palms, using the whole body's strength, the hands leading the sawing motion. Breathing calmly, the spirit refreshed, achieving harmony of water and fire in the Small Heavenly Circuit...

Cai Xuan stretched his muscles and bones according to the true meaning of the Western Region Arhats' enlightenment that he had learned before, but when he practiced the second move, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

As the movements stretched, the faint flow of energy in the dantian began to circulate throughout the body.

When you extend your arms, the airflow rushes into your fingertips; when you lift your legs, the airflow flows into the soles of your feet; when you twist your waist, the airflow swirls around your waist. The more you practice, the more comfortable your body feels, as if every inch of muscle and every bone is being gently massaged by that slightly warm airflow.

This is a feeling I've never had before when practicing "The True Meaning of the Western Region Arhats' Attainment of Tao," it's really strange.

However, Cai Xuan had never cultivated internal energy before. Perhaps, this is the true nature of the enlightenment attained by the Arhats of the Western Regions.

He carefully sensed his body and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him. On the contrary, he felt completely comfortable, so he relaxed and continued to stretch his muscles and bones.

His movements became increasingly fluid and graceful, as if a long-dusted gear had finally been oiled and was now turning smoothly again. Each time he raised his hand, it felt as if an unseen hand was gently lifting him; each time he stepped down, it felt as if he were treading on the pulse of the earth. With each breath, his breathing resonated with the heavens and earth, each inhale and exhale becoming exceptionally deep and long, as if he were not breathing air, but rather inhaling and exhaling the entire universe.