Lanke Chess Edge-Chapter 322: No Problem, No Problem At All!

“Haah… haah… haah… The wind, the storm, is it over?”
The captain, Old Man Zhang, lay panting on the rudder. The exhaustion was now hitting his body just like the storm that had just passed.
Many crewmembers stared blankly at the sea and sky, some even weeping tears of joy.
“The Gods have been merciful!
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The Gods have been merciful!”
“The heavens have saved us!”
“Perhaps the Dragon Lord of the sea has shown mercy!”
“We’re still alive! Hahahaha, we’re still alive—”
The people on the boat gradually came back to their senses and began to cheer and shout excitedly. The captain began to count the number of people remaining, while others searched for the other ships.
“Hey—over there, are you missing anyone? Have you seen the other ships?”
Someone on a nearby fishing vessel shouted, and Old Man Zhang quickly responded loudly.
“I see them… I’ve got three on my left, there’s one I haven’t seen yet!”
The surrounding sea was almost perfectly calm. The fishermen, having survived the ordeal, hurried either back below deck to tidy up, or to find their oars. They reached their oars through the oar holes to secure them and started rowing.
Several boats slowly converged. Fortunately, none of the six boats were missing; one had simply been blown too far by the waves and eventually drifted back.
However, not all the people on the six boats were accounted for: three individuals were missing. The minor scrapes and bruises sustained from collisions were, by comparison, small matters.
Although the fate of the three men was unknown, they had most likely perished at sea. However, even this outcome was already a blessing in disguise, compared to the crisis where they all might have been lost.
The survivors from the six boats conferred, and ultimately set up an altar on one of the center boats, placing offerings and an incense burner on it. Then, all the fishermen knelt on the deck, bowing to both the heavens and the sea.
Ji Yuan, from his peak on the distant island, gazed out at the six fishing boats. Although he couldn’t see what they were doing clearly with his physical sight, he could observe the auras of the rising incense power and spiritual energy. They were most likely offering offering sacrifices and giving thanks to the divine being who had rescued them.
Ji Yuan could even see some of the incense power drifting towards him. However, he merely glanced at it with his supernatural eyes and waved his hand, dispersing it. He had no intention of becoming entangled in the divine path.
The ships lingered nearby, searching for a while, but found no trace of the three missing individuals. They spent the night near the island before returning to the mainland the next day.
In the sky, the two previous Edicts had not yet completely dissipated.
Ji Yuan settled back into tranquility. With a wave of his hand, the colossal characters made of water vapor, which had expanded to a hundred zhang in diameter, seemed to be drawn back towards him. The invisible characters behaved like tangible objects, crashing onto the island with a rumbling roar, causing the mountain trees to shake for a moment before vanishing without a trace. Afterwards, Ji Yuan resumed his meditation.
It was only now that Ji Yuan truly understood the profound significance of the Qi of the Five Elements transforming into Yin and Yang. This concept was only spoken of in vague terms in “Bright Strategies” and “A Historical Account from Outside the Tao.” It was possible that not even their authors grasped this profound mystery.
Within Ji Yuan’s body, the Five Elements’ primordial Qi overflowed, circulating both within his body and around him. The connection between his inner world and the outer universe grew even closer, as if a new Golden Bridge of Heaven and Earth had been erected. He suddenly grew more sensitive, attuned to the shifting changes of the five elements in the external world.
The rocks, trees, soil, and surrounding seawater on the island combined with the Qi of the five elements, creating a unique symbiosis between heaven and earth.
It was no exaggeration to say that Ji Yuan could now deepen his understanding and easily wield any supernatural technique or divine ability, so long as it didn’t transcend the Five Elements. Similarly, he could now perceive even subtle environmental changes caused by others’ application of spiritual techniques with greater clarity.
Ji Yuan was unsure whether the current cultivators of this world, even those who claimed to have achieved the state of “Returning to Origin” through the cultivation of their Qi, could even have experienced anything similar.
Even though they might dare to claim that they successfully cultivated the combined Five Elements Qi, that didn’t mean their cultivation of this technique was complete. This was because the cycle of mutual generation was not yet fully established: even a slight discrepancy could lead to a huge error. Therefore, they likely couldn’t comprehend the profound wonder Ji Yuan was now experiencing.
Although “Bright Strategies” had once mocked the contemporary trend of cultivators claiming to have reached the “Returning to Origin” realm upon cultivating a single elemental Qi, it hadn’t gone into detail. i Yuan now thoroughly agreed with its sentiment. One could only say that the so-called “Returning to Origin” realm in the world of immortal cultivation and the true “Five Elements Returning to Origin” realm were two entirely different states.
Before this, Ji Yuan’s Five Elements’ Qi had already been quite active, but hadn’t yet reached its full potential. While “A Dream of Wandering in the Clouds” was meant to convey a carefree journey wandering freely across the universe, the experience and observations contained within it all embodied the transformations of the Five Elements. This had given Ji Yuan a significant push, allowing him to achieve complete cultivation in the Returning to Origin realm, and furthermore had a deeper, more profound influence on his inner world—though the latter was a matter of mental enlightenment, requiring no further meditative cultivation.
It wasn’t until the summer of the following year that Ji Yuan ended his secluded cultivation. He opened his eyes and gently exhaled. Faint strands of golden light emanated from his breath, the energy stretching far and wide.
After five years, Ji Yuan finally rose from the mountain peak. For a brief moment, his eyes shone with divine light, sharply defined at the corners, his pupils square-shaped. His originally gray eyes also took on a faint emerald sheen at the irises, but this change rapidly faded as Ji Yuan squinted.
“Green eyes, square pupils?”
Ji Yuan murmured to himself, recalling some descriptions of ancient immortals he had stumbled across in his previous life. Unlike the common portrayal of immortals popularized in film and literature, early ancient immortals were often described as having green eyes and square pupils.
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The Ji Yuan of his previous life, of course, did not understand at all why this would be the case, but now he could grasp the reason: the eyes, it was said, were an outward manifestation of the liver, and the liver was associated with the Wood element, connecting back to the pupils. With the completion of the Five Elements Qi and abundant spiritual energy, the element naturally manifested itself in his eyes as green irises and square pupils. To ordinary folk, it might even seem uncanny, but in truth, it was one of the hallmarks of high accomplishment in immortal cultivation.
Ji Yuan calculated the time and realized that the year of Renchen was almost over. However, it wasn’t that too much time had passed, but rather too little. For an ordinary cultivator to reach his current realm, it would have taken countless years of arduous cultivation, often fraught with calamities, tribulations, and bottlenecks. Yet, by his own estimation, Ji Yuan had only been cultivating for less than twenty years.
“A Dream of Wandering in the Clouds has helped me greatly. If I ever meet Zhong Pingxiu in the future, I must certainly repay him!”
True Immortals, of course, were not truly immortal in the sense of eternal life, but rather in that their lifespan was greatly increased, so it was very likely he was still alive.
With that thought, Ji Yuan glanced at the open sea, then turned and leaped into the air, steppingon the clear wind as he flew westward.
…
Qiangang Village and Pianwan Village were among the many fishing villages bordering the Eastern Sea. The two villages were quite close, and intermarriage was common, making them relatively intimate communities.
As the saying went, “those who live by the mountains eat of the mountains, and those who live by the sea eat of the sea.” Normally, fishermen sustained themselves by fishing in the coastal waters.
However, in the past year or two, catches in the coastal waters had become exceptionally scarce. The people of both villages, and even of the other coastal fishing villages nearby, were forced to venture frequently into more distant waters to make ends meet.
The waters were dangerous, and voyages took a long time. The fishing fleets from Qiangang Village and Pianwan Village had once been caught in a storm that almost led to their ships being wrecked and everyone perishing.
However, at that time, the six large fishing boats from the two villages miraculously weathered the storm and survived. Gradually, boats from further out at sea began to learn of a miraculous island.
No matter the weather, the winds and rains near that island would always be significantly milder. Even if they suddenly encountered a storm, as long as they could take shelter near the island in time, their chances of surviving would greatly increase.
The fishermen were willing to believe that the island was being protected by a deity, calling it Dingfeng
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Island. Whenever fishing boats approached the island, they would set up an altar on board to offer sacrifices and prayers for blessings.
However, even with Dingfeng Island serving as a blessed haven for fishing boats, as all the vessels from the surrounding coast rushed there to fish, the fish around the island would eventually be depleted, forcing them to venture back into more dangerous waters.
This situation was unsustainable in the long run. The most crucial factor was the continued lack of fish in the vast coastal areas. Consequently, at the turn of this new year, several surrounding fishing villages came together and decided to pay a hefty price.
It was on this very day that Ji Yuan, riding the wind, returned to the mainland.
As he flew through the sky, Ji Yuan habitually scanned the nearby villages. He happened to spot a village below bustling with the sounds of drumming and the clanging of hammers. It was a very lively sight. A large crowd had gathered, far exceeding the population of the entire village, and people were continuously arriving from outside the village.
;Is this some New Year’s custom I haven’t seen before?’
With this thought, Ji Yuan descended from the sky. It had been a long time since he’d joined in such a lively atmosphere; it would be good to experience it, and perhaps even take part in a celebratory meal. He had done such things many times in the past.
Ji Yuan, dressed in a grey robe, landed behind a hill. Seeing a young fisherman in a cotton padded jacket pass by, rubbing his hands from the cold, he emerged and pretended to be merely passing through as well.
“Hey, young man, please wait a moment!”
At this call, the young man with a childish face really did stop. In Ji Yuan’s experience, youngsters from the countryside tended to be pure-hearted, naturally less wary, and sometimes more impulsive, but also more willing to help when earnestly asked.
The young man looked at Ji Yuan, who was dressed in his wide-sleeved long robe. He looked to be a scholar, and spoke quite politely.
“Sir, were you calling me?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right, young man. My name is Ji Yuan. I have traveled here from qutie some distance and got a little lost when I arrived. I see many people heading towards that village, and it sounds quite lively with all the drumming and hammering. May I ask if this is an important New Year’s custom here?”
Ji Yuan asked politely, bowing with cupped hands in greeting as he approached the young man.
The young man hurriedly returned a somewhat awkward cupped-hand bow.
“Over there? Oh, it’s not really a New Year’s custom. New Year’s Eve is in a few days, a time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Several villages pooled their money to invite a great Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits and ensure that the coastal waters will be bountiful with fish next year. This is by the Taoist master’s request: he said there must be a strong human presence. Many people from the surrounding fishing villages have come. And tomorrow, there will be a banquet large enough for a thousand people and a lantern display!”
“Oh, oh, oh… That is quite unusual…”
Ji Yuan responded, suddenly understanding. The last portion of his words was a low murmur as he was deep in thought. He looked towards the village. Just these few sentences allowed him to deduce a wealth of information, such as the scarcity of fish along the coast.
However, his thoughtful expression was fleeting. Ji Yuan quickly put on a distressed look.
“I had thought it was a New Year’s celebration and intended to brazenly join in the fun. Never did I imagine it was an exorcism! Ah, they surely won’t allow an outsider like me to participate. I’ve been separated from my friends and have been wandering alone in the countryside for quite some time now, feeling both hungry and exhausted…”
The young man at his side scratched his head, then hesitantly spoke.
“Actually, the more people who can come for the exorcism, the better. If you don’t mind potentially being contaminated by the evil spirits, sir, then surely would be no problem for you to join us for the thousand-person banquet, would it?”
Ji Yuan’s face lit up with pleasant surprise, and took a few steps closer.
“Not a problem, not a problem at all! It’s been so long since I’ve eaten, why would I be so reserved? Come on, come on, little brother, let’s go together! If anyone asks, please cover for me!”
T/n: The return of master actor Ji Yuan, LOL
Lit. “The gods have opened their eyes”
I can’t find anything to verify that, but I can verify that unusual pupil shapes were viewed as auspicious (especially double pupils) and light colored eyes were rare
定 (dìng): to fix/to set in place, 风 (fēng): wind –> “Still Winds Island”