The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Trees grow taller than grass because they thirst for sunlight? Flowers are more beautiful than grass because they want to be prettier?” Li Fengxian was confounded.

Fangzheng looked at Li Fengxian and felt his irritated feelings for her decrease greatly. He asked, “Was your name given to you by your parents? This Penniless Monk’s name was given to him by his master. Actually, it should have been a Dharma name. However, This Penniless Monk does not know what the surname of my parents is. Master said he could not give me a name on behalf of my parents. Hence, he always called me by my Dharma name. In fact, he didn’t even know that This Penniless Monk doesn’t care who his parents are. In my eyes, my master is my father and also my mother. However, This Penniless Monk did not have the chance to tell him that even after he passed away. Sigh…”

When Li Fengxian heard this, she chuckled and said, “Then, I am actually luckier than you. My name was given to me by my parents. My original name was Li Linyue. However, I found it unsuitable. I want to be a phoenix or a fairy above the nine heavens. Unfortunately, that is only a dream.”

“A dream?” Fangzheng was taken aback before he thought of something. He smiled slightly and said, “Patron, is your dream only to become a fairy or phoenix?”

“Yes! If there’s an opportunity, I want to soar to the clouds! I don’t want these filthy mortal coils!” Li Fengxian said as she gritted her teeth. Her eyes burned with great dissatisfaction over her present predicaments.

Fangzheng smiled slightly and said, “This Penniless Monk can give you a chance to turn into a fairy or a phoenix. How about it?”

“You can do it? Stop joking, alright? It’s not funny at all.” Although Li Fengxian said so, her heart was thumping vigorously. She had a nagging feeling, a feeling of hope that her dream could be fulfilled!

Fangzheng held his palms together and said, “Amitabha!”

Boom!

Li Fengxian only felt the world in front of her eyes shatter!

“What’s going on?” Li Fengxian was alarmed. She was surrounded by darkness, and she could not even see an inkling of light. There was endless darkness in a silent and confined space. The air was suffocating as if she would die at any moment.

“Is there anyone? Is there anyone there?” People always feared the unknown the most! The surrounding darkness was completely silent, and Li Fengxian was horrified.

At that moment, a beam of light shone down. It was so bright that Li Fengxian was unable to open her eyes, and she could not see a thing. Following that, she heard people talking.

At the next moment, Li Fengxian woke up. She had turned into a baby!

Her father was a large and cold man. Her mother was a beautiful and kind woman.

The Li family was a mighty family clan in Coiling Dragon City. Every child of the Li family could be said to be a dragon or phoenix among humans! However, Li Fengxian realized that she was unable to cultivate! Her mother fell into depression and eventually bade farewell to the mortal world. Her father vented his anger on Li Fengxian and eventually chased her out of the Li family.

“I, Li Fengxian, shall sever all ties with the Li family, never to communicate ever again!” after Li Fengxian said that, she turned and left.

At the age of sixteen, Li Fengxian took advice from an esteemed elder. The secrets of her body were revealed and not only could she cultivate, she immediately became a peerless genius! She managed to reach the Foundation Establishment realm in one year, the Golden Core realm after ten years, and the Nascent Soul realm after twenty years. She survived the tribulations at fifty years old and managed to ascend the heavens at a hundred years of age!

At that moment, the world realized that she had the body of a phoenix. Without the flames of a phoenix, how was she to arise from the ashes?

Just as she was about to ascend to the heavens, Li Fengxian came to a stop. She looked at the sky and felt lost! She had strength and seemed to have everything, but she had a nagging feeling that she lacked something.

“Amitabha. Patron, do you have any questions?” At that moment, a monk suddenly appeared by her side.

“It’s you?” Li Fengxian recognized him immediately. The man standing before her was the monk that had advised her years ago when she was lost in life! She immediately bowed and said, “Greetings, Master! Master, please guide me.”

“Patron, do you have questions on your mind or do you feel as if you had lost something?” Fangzheng asked.

Li Fengxian nodded.

Fangzheng pointed to the land beneath their feet. “Because you lost something, go down and seek it. Perhaps, you may find it.”

Li Fengxian looked suspiciously at Fangzheng before looking back at the vast land beneath her. She could not figure it out. Would she really find anything if she went back down? However, she believed firmly in Fangzheng. Hence she listened to his advice and descended.

Li Fengxian traveled through the mortal world in search of what she had lost.

Her journey took a thousand years! During this time, she traversed the entire world but failed to find what she had been looking for until the day she returned back to Coiling Dragon City.

Coiling Dragon City was in shambles at that time. It had been destroyed in the ravages of war. Li Fengxian could not help but sigh at the sight of the once-familiar city. She eventually walked in.

Standing in front of the Li family’s compound, she discovered that the Li family had been destroyed! Such a massive family clan had been completely destroyed, leaving only the ancestral hall intact…

Li Fengxian walked into the rundown ancestral hall. At that moment, an ancestral tablet attracted her attention. She picked it up, wiped the dust off it and was immediately stunned!

In memory of my beloved daughter, Li Fengxian!

When Li Fengxian saw this, her eyes lit up in enlightenment. Following that, she smiled and placed the ancestral tablet on the table and left. A beam of light descended upon her. Li Fengxian was fully enlightened as she began ascending into the heavens.

“Amitabha. Patron, did you find what you want?” Fangzheng appeared once again.

Li Fengxian nodded and said, “I found it. I lost a family… The rights and wrongs of the past are no longer important. The family of the past is also not important. All I wanted was to have a family that I belonged to and nothing more.”

Fangzheng smiled slightly as he held his palms together and said, “Amitabha!”

Boom!

Li Fengxian felt her surroundings turn black. She screamed as she suddenly opened her eyes. She was stunned to realize that she was in a tiny temple. Standing in front of her was a young white-robed monk. Wasn’t this monk the master who had guided her? Why was she here? Was she done ascending into the heavens?

Just as Li Fengxian was feeling puzzled, she recalled her memories and was enlightened. Everything that had just happened was just a dream! As if she had seen a ghost, she said to Fangzheng, “Was- Was all that done by you?”

Fangzheng smiled and said, “Patron, it’s not important who did it. What’s important is that you found something.”

Li Fengxian was slightly taken aback as she fell silent.

Li Fengxian asked after a while, “Master, how… How do you know of my true experiences?”

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “This Penniless Monk does not know. It’s your heart that created your dream and not This Penniless Monk.” Indeed, when Fangzheng led Li Fengxian into her dream world, he realized that she had an extremely strong will within her! Therefore, Fangzheng used this will as the core, and allowed Li Fengxian to subconsciously play out the dream! As for Fangzheng, he would only appear at critical moments to guide her onto the right path.

Li Fengxian sighed and said, “Master, sorry. I had lied to you again.”

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “It’s alright. Patron, have you thought it over? Have you found what you lost?”