"Amitabha!" The divine monk chanted, appearing like an enlightened master, but inwardly, he was extremely anxious. He was truly helpless about the current situation. There was nothing he could do; this Disciple Zhao had reached a point of no return.
The evil nature was deeply rooted and impossible to eliminate.
Even if all the eminent monks of Dajue Temple chanted scriptures for Zhao Zhenle to dispel the evil, in the end, it was highly likely that all the monks would cough up blood and die. The evil was too heavy, beyond salvation. Either she dies, or you perish; there was no other choice.
"Divine Monk, the existence of such a demonic being in this world is truly a disaster," the Imperial Prince Zhao sighed, then glanced at the divine monk, wanting to see if he had any way to resolve the situation.
Even though he knew the chances were slim, he still wanted to ask.
What if…
There was some secret method?
The divine monk said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, this matter cannot be done. It's best not to dwell on it."
He knew what the Emperor was thinking.
Truthfully, it was just wishful thinking.
If there were a solution, would they have waited until now?
"Alas!" Imperial Prince Zhao sighed, "I only feel sorrow for the people of the world."
The divine monk glanced at him, then shook his head and left. Whether it was true or false, everyone knew in their hearts, so there was no need to state it so bluntly.
Moreover, his current position as National Teacher was granted by the Emperor before him, so whatever the Emperor said, he would agree.
This old monk would absolutely not contradict Your Majesty's intentions.
Several days later!
Deep within the palace!
"Your situation is a bit serious." Lin Fan looked at Zhenle before him. Although Zhenle appeared obedient in front of him, with a smile on her face, in his eyes, this smile was somewhat fake. Behind the smile lurked a hidden killing intent, as if telling him, 'Be careful, I can kill you at any moment.'
"It wasn't like this before."
He shook his head, not knowing why she had become like this. Zhenle used to be a kind little girl.
Zhao Zhenle blinked her beautiful eyes and said, "I've always been like this, I've never changed."
The heavy evil nature had taught her to conceal herself. To others, it was indeed possible to be deceived by her acting, but she was now facing Lin Fan, who wouldn't be fooled so easily.
"Come with me, I'll show you something good." Lin Fan smiled.
Afterwards, he brought Zhenle to the cultivated fields, beckoned, and told Zhenle to squat down beside him.
Zhao Zhenle obediently squatted down.
Lin Fan pointed at the ants in the field and said, "Watch the ants move with me. I used to have a good friend who loved watching ants move. He told me that watching ants move makes you happy and helps you forget your worries. I think your current situation is that you have too many worries and need to improve."
Due to the evil nature, Zhao Zhenle's personality had long since changed. Calling it a second personality, a dark personality, would be fitting. This type of personality was very evil, but could be patient and cowardly.
Lin Fan's strength was far greater than hers.
With her abilities, she couldn't do anything to him, so she could only temporarily obey and wait for an opportunity. When the opportunity came, she would be like an excellent hunter, delivering a fatal blow.
The weather was fine today, and the azure sky made the world seem beautiful.
Two figures squatted there, watching the most boring, yet most interesting scene.
Lin Fan often watched ants move with Old Zhang.
It was Zhao Zhenle's first time, and she felt extremely bored, her patience gradually wearing thin.
Nightfall.
They left the fields and returned to the house after a short walk. Lin Fan gave his bed to Zhenle, while he slept on a makeshift bed board.
Gradually, Lin Fan fell into a deep sleep. Soft snores came from him. Perhaps because the wind was a bit strong, he had caught a cold. A bubble escaped from his nostril, shrinking and expanding with his breath, then popping with a soft 'plop'.
"Bastard!"
Zhao Zhenle lay there, motionless, her mind racing. She glanced over at him.
"Sleeping so soundly, perhaps this is my chance."
She slowly extended her arm, her fingernails growing longer, black true energy condensing at her fingertips. With a swoosh, she appeared in front of Lin Fan, her five fingers thrusting towards his chest.
Clearly, she intended to rip out Lin Fan's heart and crush it completely.
In the past, Zhao Zhenle, who still retained a shred of reason, would never have attacked Lin Fan, as he was her only connection.
But how could a mortal heart resist the evil nature of the Nine Nether Divine Scripture?
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out.
Zhao Zhenle's expression changed drastically.
Her fingernails shattered.
Her true energy collapsed.
"How could this be?"
Cold sweat dripped from her forehead. Seeing that Lin Fan hadn't woken up, she breathed a sigh of relief and returned to bed, cradling her broken fingernails.
She pondered silently, deeply understanding how reckless her actions had just been.
Impulsive.
She shouldn't have done that.
The next day!
Morning.
While still asleep, Zhao Zhenle felt someone beside her. She was tired from last night and felt a bit dazed, as if she were dreaming. A voice reached her ears.
"Wake up, if you sleep any longer, you'll turn into a lazy pig. I've made breakfast, and after we eat, I'll take you to relax some more."
Zhao Zhenle suddenly opened her eyes. Having cultivated to this level, it was impossible for her to sleep so deeply. She would wake up at the slightest sound. The voice she just heard must have been a hallucination.
It was indeed a hallucination.
She was the only one in the room.
Actually, what she heard wasn't a hallucination. Lin Fan had just been beside her, speaking those words. However, Lin Fan, who was attuned to nature, had already cultivated to an extremely high realm through playful practice.
Attuned to nature!
Merged with nature!
Silent and unnoticeable, he exuded an aura of tranquility.
"Come out for breakfast," Lin Fan's voice came from outside.
With the mindset of 'let's see what tricks you're playing', Zhao Zhenle walked out of the room. She saw Lin Fan sitting at the stone table, waving at her.
"It's almost cold, hurry up," Lin Fan smiled.
Zhao Zhenle didn't like Lin Fan's smile. It made her uncomfortable, so she averted her gaze, refusing to meet his eyes.
After the meal, Lin Fan took Zhenle to the fields again to observe the ants. For Zhao Zhenle, once or twice was fine; she could patiently play this game of endurance with Lin Fan.
Fine, you want to watch, then I'll watch with you. Let's see how long you can keep this up.
"Zhenle, I can sense that your heart is very restless, with all sorts of negative emotions piling up inside. You need to learn to relax and release those negative emotions."
"If Old Zhang were here, I would ask him to give you a few acupuncture needles, and you would fully recover, becoming the polite little girl you once were."
"You were so good back then, so small. Now you've grown so tall, I think it must be because of eating my cooking. You loved my cooking back then."
Lin Fan talked about the past, but for Zhao Zhenle, these words made her irritated and restless. A primal urge arose within her – to slap Lin Fan to death.
Then, Lin Fan took out a grass-woven grasshopper from his pocket. "This is the one you gave me. It's so well made. Because you're my friend, I've always kept it with me, afraid of losing it."
"Can you weave another grasshopper for me? I want to take it back to my friend Xiaobao. He's still a child and likes these things."
He looked at Zhenle with anticipation.
Based on his understanding of Zhenle, he believed she wouldn't refuse. But unexpectedly, Zhenle didn't move a muscle, not even glancing at him, as if treating him like air.
"Alright, you don't want to make one." Lin Fan wasn't disappointed, but instead grinned and said, "I guess this is a gift Zhenle gave me, so you don't want anyone else to have the same gift as me."
The seemingly calm Zhao Zhenle was exploding inside.
So annoying.
I really want to kill this guy.
But I'll endure.
The current Zhao Zhenle was truly evil, wanting to kill everyone.
Legend had it that the origins of the Nine Nether Divine Scripture were mysterious. A demon from another realm once descended upon this land, causing carnage and incurring the wrath of heaven and resentment of the people. Heaven, unable to stand by, destroyed the demon.
Unwilling to accept defeat, the demon transformed its power into the Nine Nether Divine Scripture, vowing, "I will return! Those who obtain my power will once again unleash chaos and bloodshed."
Therefore, a thousand years ago, when someone cultivated the Nine Nether Divine Scripture to completion, they faced heavenly tribulation. Heaven, with its mysterious ways, sensed it and struck down the cultivator, preventing further chaos.
Later, something happened with Zhao Zhenle.
As a result, the demonic nature of the Nine Nether was completely unleashed. Goodness weakened, evil multiplied, and Zhao Zhenle's power surged. No one in the world could control her. Fortunately, Lin Fan appeared and kept Zhao Zhenle by his side, watching over her.
Like a mother painstakingly raising a violent, mentally ill son.
So tiring.
But there was no other way. If he didn't watch over her, who knew what would happen?
A month later!
Zhao Zhenle was about to be driven mad by Lin Fan. For a month, the daily routine was waking up, eating, and watching ants. A few times wouldn't matter, but the key was that she realized Lin Fan was acting like he was sick.
What was so interesting about ants?
Could he really not get enough of it?
At the stone table, the two were eating breakfast in apparent harmony. Lin Fan's cooking skills had improved, much better than before. If someone who appreciated good food were with Lin Fan, they would definitely say…
Wow… so blissful.
A life full of happiness is truly joyful.
The food is so delicious.
Lin Fan, you're amazing! What will I do if I can't eat this anymore?
Zhao Zhenle, eating with her head down, frowned. Lin Fan's sudden smile was terrifying, making her feel an inexplicable sense of danger.
What was he thinking?
Why did it feel so dangerous?
Lin Fan suppressed his smile and said gently, "Zhenle, after we finish eating, we'll continue watching the ants move. Yesterday, I told you why ants move, right? My friend Old Zhang said it's because it's going to rain, but I think it's because the ants want to find a more comfortable place. After all, if ants have families, the couple needs to live together and raise their baby ants."
"So, just agree with me."
Zhao Zhenle lowered her head, her eyes wide and round, her body trembling. A surge of rage erupted from within her. She grabbed the stone table with both hands, abruptly stood up, and flipped the table over.
"Is there nothing but ants?"
"Are you playing with me?"
"What's the point? If I can't eat, no one can! My fate is my own, not yours…"
Zhao Zhenle roared furiously.
Lin Fan watched the food scatter across the ground, slowly stood up, his expression serious, without saying a word or making a single movement.
"Uh…"
Zhao Zhenle looked at Lin Fan, as if seeing something terrifying, and involuntarily took a step back.
"What are you going to do?"