As soon as Feng Xi entered her own stone chamber, she heard that voice say, "Feng Xi, your question is very simple. Guess why I forcibly dragged you into the Heaven-and-Earth Banner.
If you answer correctly, I will reward you with an Earth-rank defensive spirit artifact.
If you answer incorrectly, you must return all the rewards you previously obtained to me.
Now, you may answer."
Feng Xi blinked, "Can I refuse to answer?"
The voice carried a trace of malicious joy, "If you refuse to answer, that is equivalent to answering incorrectly."
The melon-eating onlookers outside the Heaven-and-Earth Banner began discussing, "No matter how Feng Xi answers, the Heaven-and-Earth Banner can say she's wrong.
This question has no solution in the first place!
It seems like the Heaven-and-Earth Banner is targeting Feng Xi!"
"It's not 'seems like', it is targeting her!
She exploited loopholes in the rules earlier, plucking feathers wherever she could. Of course the Heaven-and-Earth Banner won't let it go.
This time, Feng Xi seems to have a bamboo basket to draw water, all that effort for nothing!"
"She should have thought about it first, that's the Heaven-and-Earth Banner's territory. How could it let her take advantage so easily?!"
...
Baili Muchen glanced at Xiao Baidao, feeling extremely satisfied in his heart!
When Feng Xi went to Shen Zhilan's chamber to cause trouble earlier, if not for the presence of the demons, he would've long since spoken to Xiao Baidao about it.
Now look, Feng Xi, this little brat, was finally reaping what she sowed!
What Xiao Baidao thought instead was, losing the rewards didn't matter. As long as his precious disciple came out safely, that was better than anything!
At this moment, Feng Xi said leisurely, "There's only one reason for why you dragged me in, and that is because you were following the Heavenly Dao!
This is fate, this is destiny, this is the arrangement of the Heavenly Dao!"
The Heaven-and-Earth Banner: "..."
The melon-eating onlookers: "..."
Hu Wankui, Sect Master of Beast-Taming Sect, couldn't resist laughing out loud.
Feng Xi, this little girl, was too sly!
She attributed the reason to the Heavenly Dao, so no matter how much the Heaven-and-Earth Banner wanted to nitpick, it couldn't refute that.
After all, it couldn't claim it was acting against the Heavenly Dao, right?!
The Heaven-and-Earth Banner remained silent for a long time.
Who knows whether it was because it was angered, but there was a faint tremor on the stone chamber floor.
"For now, I will count that as correct!
Then do you know why the Heavenly Dao qi mechanism chose Shen Zhilan and not you?"
Feng Xi blinked, "Because there's a better reward for me, right? Stop hiding it, hurry up and give it to me!"
The Heaven-and-Earth Banner: Never have I seen such a shameless person!
"Feng Xi, it seems you lack a clear understanding of yourself.
Your dantian is damaged, and you possess five spiritual roots. No matter how hard you try, you will never achieve success in cultivation.
Therefore, you and Shen Zhilan are not comparable, the difference between you two is as big as the clouds in the sky and the mud on the ground!"
Feng Xi nodded, "I don't agree with what you said before, but what you said at the end is correct.
Shen Zhilan and I truly are as different as the clouds in the sky and the mud on the ground, I'm the cloud and she's the mud!"
The Heaven-and-Earth Banner: "..."
Before it could say anything, Feng Xi continued, "I don't know whether you're innately deficient or just didn't work hard enough later, but your understanding of the Heavenly Dao is seriously skewed.
'Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they regard all things as straw dogs.' (1) Do you know what that means?
Heaven and Earth treat all things in this world equally!
Whether they're a genius or trash, everyone has an equal opportunity to attain the Great Dao. And do you even know what genius means?
'Heaven gave birth to me, then I must have a purpose!' (2)
As long as one is confident enough, everyone is a genius and can comprehend their own Dao!
So your so-called distinction between a genius and trash is utter nonsense. If you have the time, go read more books!"
After saying that, Feng Xi seemed to feel something and immediately sat cross-legged.
She attained enlightenment!
The Heaven-and-Earth Banner: "..."
The melon-eating onlookers: "..."
You actually gained enlightenment from mocking someone else?
Unprecedented and unmatched!
A once-in-a-generation oddity!
Previously, many had envied Shen Zhilan for obtaining the Heavenly Dao qi mechanism. But now it seemed Feng Xi wasn't lacking either!
After all, enlightenment was also a good thing that's rare and hard to come by!
Xiao Baidao desperately tried to maintain composure, but his mouth had a mind of its own, it stretched all the way to his ears!
It's just that, wasn't his disciple supposed to have four spiritual roots? Why did the Heaven-and-Earth Banner say five spiritual roots?
At that very moment, the light screen suddenly turned pitch black.
Xiao Baidao's smile froze on his face.
What happened?
The others also erupted!
Some speculated that Feng Xi's enlightenment had stirred the spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth, affecting the light screen.
Perhaps once her enlightenment ended, the light screen would return to normal.
For now, they could only believe this explanation and wait anxiously.
Inside Feng Xi's stone chamber, spiritual power became mottled and chaotic. The ground trembled continuously, and sharp grating sounds echoed.
Yet Feng Xi remained in enlightenment, completely unaffected by any of it.
The Heaven-and-Earth Banner said angrily, "Feng Xi, your master is dead!"
Feng Xi suddenly opened her eyes, fury surged within them like wind and thunder, "If you dare use my master again, I'll slaughter you!"
The Heaven-and-Earth Banner sneered, "I thought you were immune to all attacks, turns out you're just a foolish woman ruled by sentiment!"
Feng Xi's gaze flickered, "You shut off the light screen?"
"How did you know?"
Feng Xi sneered lightly, "A fame-seeking hypocrite like you naturally wouldn't let others see this ugly side of yourself.
Go on then, what exactly do you want?"
The Heaven-and-Earth Banner said coldly, "Hand over the Mountain-River Heaven-and-Earth Brush, and I'll let you leave.
Otherwise, I'll throw you into the formation and let you die endlessly!"
Feng Xi had previously suspected that the Heaven-and-Earth Banner was related to the Mountain-River Heaven-and-Earth Brush, after all, the names were too similar.
She hadn't expected it to be true.
Originally, she felt a little guilty about coveting the Heaven-and-Earth Banner this hen that lays eggs, now she had no psychological burden whatsoever!
So it turns out they were both pining for each other!
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(1)'Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they regard all things as straw dogs.':
A famous line from Dao De Jing"道德經", written by Laozi (老子), a famous chinese philosopher. This line was often misunderstood to describe nature or heaven as cruel because of the straw dog metaphor, when it actually meant that nature/heaven is impartial and treats all things equally and indifferently. Just as how most humans wouldn't feel any benevolence towards ants, all are but ants in front of nature/heaven.
The straw dog metaphor was used in reference to how straw dogs were worshiped and revered in a ritual, then discarded without sentiment afterward. In the same way that the nature of existence is an everchanging process between birth, growth, and death.
(2) 'Heaven gave birth to me, then I must have a purpose!':
One of the most famous self motivational quotes in Chinese literature, written by Li Bai (李白), a legendary chinese poet. The full poem is "將進酒". The line basically meant everyone was born with a purpose. It's also often used to comfort your friend who is unemployed.