Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The Central Region was vast but spa.r.s.ely populated. There were many famous mountains, ancient relics, and spiritual meridians gathered there. They formed many spiritual mountains and haven-like places.
The 36 counties of the Yuan Mansion were located in the heart of the State of Tiantai. The north and south intersected there and all the Spiritual Qi was gathered there. Naturally, many brilliant clans and ancient families were born there.
Zhang Ruochen and the Elephant-swallowing Rabbit traveled the entire night and came to the foot of a mountain with heavy Spiritual Qi.
This mountain was shaped like a sleeping ox. Other than the relatively smooth ridges, there were too peaks that shot into the clouds like horns.
It was late at night, but Zhang Ruochen could still hear melodious chants streaming from the crevices of the mountain. Looking up, he saw flecks of light in the middle of the mountain. They were like candles about to get extinguished in the wind. At the same time, they were like spiritual lights that would never go out.
"Lord Chen, the Spiritual Qi here is at least six or seven times thicker than anywhere else," the Elephant-swallowing Rabbit said.
Zhang Ruochen's Spiritual Power was very strong and he was skilled in observing Qi. He'd already studied the surrounding geographical environment.
He found a golden spiritual meridian flowing by deep underground. It flowed endlessly like a dragon. The earth above it was filled with Spiritual Qi at all and cultivated all types of flowers and plants.
Usually, such a prime place for cultivation should be taken over by the various saint families of the Yuan Mansion. How could it be so barren?
Zhang Ruochen looked to the left. He saw a speckled stone tablet amongst the withered branches and leaves.
There were three ancient words on it: Sikong Zen Temple.
The words had an antique feeling as if they were filled with some power from the Buddhist Way. The Holy Qi within Zhang Ruochen's body trembled as well.
"There seems to be a temple in the mountain. We can stay there for a few days and wait for news about the battle between the Guardians of the War and Immortal Vampires."
Zhang Ruochen put the Taotian Sword and Ancient Abyss Sword into his spatial ring. He strode toward the middle of the mountain.
Pa.s.sing through the ancient oak tree forest, he soon reached the end of the road and saw a dark gray colored Zen temple. In the temple, an oil lantern was lit up. The moment Zhang Ruochen came to the temple, the chanting inside stopped.
Thud, thud.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed the rusty rings on the gate and knocked softly. A moment later, the gate opened a crack.
The one who opened it was a young, thin, and tall monk. He had a tall nose bridge and extremely dark skin. He was like a vortex. If not for the whites of his eyes, it would look like a Buddhist robe floating in the air.
Zhang Ruochen had never seen someone so dark before.
He put his hands together and uttered a Buddhist mantra. Trying his hardest to keep his voice steady, he said, "Master, I would like to seek shelter in your temple for a few days. Here is some money for the incense. Please accept it."
With that, Zhang Ruochen took out a saint stone and handed it to the monk.
A saint stone was extremely precious, even to a Half-Saint. Disregarding the value of the saint stone, merely the Holy Qi contained in it was a huge temptation to any Monk.
Zhang Ruochen actually took out a saint stone for a test. After all, the Sikong Zen Temple was in a place that was filled with Spiritual Qi. It was a strange thing. If this monk was a cultivator, he would definitely be tempted by the saint stone.
The monk saw the saint stone in Zhang Ruochen's hand. Shock flashed past his eyes, but then he shook his head. "No, no. My master has said before that we cannot accept expensive gifts from any visitors."
Just then, footsteps sounded in the temple.
"Second Junior Brother, who is it outside? What are you chattering about?"
A short, fat, and pale monk opened the gate completely. With his hands behind his back, he walked out and glared at the dark monk.
The pale monk was the complete opposite of the dark monk. His skin was so white that even the white Buddhist robe seemed ashy compared to him.
"Senior Brother," the dark monk said. "A guest wants to seek shelter in our temple and insists on giving incense money. Do you think…"
"No, no. Our rooms are full. Tell him to go elsewhere… Wait, incense money…"
The pale monk finally processed everything. His eyes shone brightly and he immediately turned around. Putting his hands together, he bowed respectfully to Zhang Ruochen. "Amitabha."
Next, he reached out with his fat, soft, and white hand and calmly took the saint stone from Zhang Ruochen.
"Haha! Our temple lacks everything except empty rooms. Kind sir, my Buddhist t.i.tle is Sikong One. This is my junior brother. He is Sikong Two."
The pale monk named Sikong One peered at the saint stone. The fat on his face trembled. He was clearly shocked.
This young man actually took out a saint stone for incense money. What was his background?
Zhang Ruochen noted the two monks' expressions. He smiled kindly and bowed slightly to them.
"Senior Brother, we can't accept people with unknown backgrounds. It goes against the rules," Sikong Two said. "Did you forget that you've accepted that white-haired woman yesterday and this morning, and she already slapped a man who tried to approach her into dust? Plus, we only have four monks in the temple. Can we manage all these guests?"
Sikong One sighed and said sincerely, "The temple opens its doors to welcome everyone for cultivation. Junior Brother, your mindset is still too low and must undergo more challenges. Before, our master told me to transcribe ten scrolls of the Mahabharata to reinforce my mindset. It seems that you need it even more. The papers and brush are in the library. I've already prepared it for you. Go now!"
Sikong Two was very simple. Hearing this, he thought that his mindset really was too low, so he hurried toward the library.
Looking at Sikong Two's back, Sikong One added, "After transcribing, remember to show me so I can check." With that, Sikong Two turned around and smiled solemnly. "Sir, this way please."
"After you," Zhang Ruochen said.
Under Sikong One's guidance, Zhang Ruochen walked into the temple.
The temple was very calming. A creek flowed under a bamboo bridge. The wooden paG.o.das had some unknown Buddhas and deities inside.
There was a 30-foot-tall stone statue in the center of the temple. It wasn't very tall, but it seemed to loom over them. One felt great pressure when walking under it. A regular person would probably fall to his knees and wors.h.i.+p it.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the statue. His heart suddenly jumped and he couldn't help but say, "Emperor Buddha."
The stone statue was identical to Emperor Buddha, one of the nine emperors from 800 years ago. He didn't expect people to wors.h.i.+p Emperor Buddha here.
Sikong One, walking up front, turned around and asked, "Sir, what were you saying?"
Zhang Ruochen studied Sikong One's expression and realized that he seemed to truly be clueless. Thus, he didn't explain anything. He just shook his head and chuckled. "Nothing. I was just in awe. The Sikong Zen Temple truly is a peaceful and quiet Buddhist refuge."
Hearing this, Sikong One smiled. "Of course. The Sikong Zen Temple already has 800 years of history, but we're still hidden in the deep mountains. We are isolated from the world, so we're naturally a very peaceful place."
Zhang Ruochen didn't make any more comments and just nodded, smiling faintly.
Sikong One led Zhang Ruochen to a relatively open room and said, "Sir, you can stay here for however long you'd like. Not only will we give you food, we'll make sure you get enough, haha!"
He closed the door and his footsteps faded into the distance. Zhang Ruochen touched the oak tree bed softly. There wasn't a speck of dust. The place was very simple but also very clean.
Zhang Ruochen had just wanted to find a secluded place to hide from the Immortal Vampires. He didn't expect to find Emperor Buddha's stone statue in a temple deep in the mountains.
When Empress Chi Yao had led the army to the Western Region, she'd faced the defenses of Emperor Buddha and the entire Buddhist Way. In the end, the powerful Empress still killed Emperor Buddha.
No temple in the entire Kunlun's Field dared to wors.h.i.+p Emperor Buddha after that, for fear of angering the Empress and imperial court. All those who did so would be seen as traitors and be wiped out.
"This is quite strange," Zhang Ruochen mumbled to himself.
After that, he released his Spiritual Power and transformed into thousands of specks of light. He began investigating the entire temple.
His Spiritual Power found a formation in the room next door. However, the formation wasn't very advanced. Zhang Ruochen's Spiritual Power pa.s.sed through easily and he could hear the three people's conversation inside.
"Fourth Brother, don't stop me. I'm going to go kill that b.i.t.c.h right now and take revenge for First Brother."
A burly man with a bared right shoulder picked up a heavy sword and was about to rush out.
"Third Brother, you should calm down," a younger man said earnestly. "That woman's cultivation is very strong. We can't face her. I've already sent our discoveries here back to the Ministry of War. I'm sure they'll send strong fighters here soon. We can deal with her then."
"I can't wait that long. If you're not going to take revenge, I'll do it myself."
The burly man rushed out of the formation, cras.h.i.+ng through the door. Then he lifted his heavy sword and flew to the second floor. He brought his sword down on a room.
Right as he lifted his sword, a strong force surged out of the room. It was as if cold wind blew past the burly man. The burly man actually scattered as if he was made of sand. In the end, not even his bones remained.
He'd really turned to ashes.
The burly man wasn't a weak figure. He was already in the Third Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm. It was evident that the female guest on the second floor was a very dangerous figure.
Zhang Ruochen split his Spiritual Power to investigate.
As soon as his Spiritual Power approached the room, it shattered. Even when he used his Heavenly Eye to see through the wooden walls, he only saw wispy mist. He couldn't see anything else.
So powerful.
Zhang Ruochen was shocked. He didn't expect to meet someone so powerful in the random temple he'd found to hide in.
The Elephant-swallowing Rabbit poked out a furry head from Zhang Ruochen's pocket. "Lord Chen, those men are from the Ministry of War. From what they said, strong figures from the Ministry of War will hurry over quickly. It seems that we cannot stay here either. We should leave as soon as possible."
