Chapter 45
After pondering over the jade pendant, Heng Yu came to a realization. She had done many things in Huai City, but currently, only the monks of Hanshan Temple knew about them. Once the formation became widespread, the people of Huai City would also know about her contributions and offer their admiration. Although the admiration points she earned would still be minimal, it was a sustainable resource.
Putting away the jade pendant, Heng Yu steered the flying carpet northwest.
After a day of flying, there were no more cities below.
But occasionally, they saw teahouses.
Heng Yu looked down and saw people wearing bamboo hats, carrying bags, and holding bamboo staffs, heading northwest.
“They…”
Liaowu, who was meditating and turning his prayer beads, opened his eyes and followed her gaze. He guessed her question.
“They are pilgrims heading to the Endless Desert to worship.”
Liaonian said excitedly, “Lord Luo, did you know that this area used to be a vast desert, with endless yellow sand and constant windstorms? The locals called it the Endless Desert.”
“Our sect’s founder established the sect here and, using great divine power, moved spiritual veins and mountains, transforming the edge of the Endless Desert into a suitable place for cultivation. Over the next ten thousand years, countless Buddhist pilgrims, while worshipping here, planted trees in the desert. After millennia, this vast desert, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles, has become an endless forest.”
Heng Yu was stunned and looked down.
As far as she could see, there were trees. If Liaonian hadn’t told her, she would have thought it was a natural forest.
“That’s truly amazing,” Heng Yu couldn’t help but praise.
After flying for another half day, Heng Yu expected fewer people the deeper they went into the forest.
But it was the opposite.
The further they went, the more people she saw, even villages and towns.
Liaowu explained, “Buddhist believers settled and multiplied here, gradually forming villages and towns. There’s even a city at the foot of the Undying Sect’s mountain.”
An hour later, they reached the edge of the endless forest and saw the bustling city and the Undying Sect’s mountain gate, shrouded in mist, towering above.
Heng Yu looked up from the flying carpet, unable to see the entire mountain gate clearly.
This scene was truly awe-inspiring.
Just looking at it brought a sense of peace and tranquility, and she could faintly hear the chanting of Buddhist scriptures.
Soon, they landed.
Liaowu led Heng Yu forward, taking off his prayer beads and offering them to her.
“What’s wrong?” Heng Yu was surprised.
“These prayer beads are a sacred artifact of the Undying Sect. You need them to enter the sect,” Liaowu explained.
Holding the black prayer beads, Heng Yu felt a chilling sensation. The aura within them wasn’t gentle; on the contrary, it was filled with malevolence. This made her examine them closely.
“These prayer beads are made from the bones of a Soul Formation demon. This poor monk uses them to cultivate,” Liaowu explained.
Soul Formation.
Just from this realm, Heng Yu knew how difficult demons were to deal with.
She held the prayer beads and silently followed Liaowu.
Approaching the city gate, she saw several blooming lotuses carved into it. She didn’t know what material they were made of, but each petal was lifelike, the water droplets on them crystal clear, as if they were real.
Liaowu walked to the lotuses and took out his identity jade pendant.
A water droplet slid down the lotus carving.
As the droplet disappeared into the lotus, a gate shrouded in mist appeared.
Liaowu stepped forward and entered the mist.
Liaonian and Liaohe followed closely behind.
Heng Yu quickly followed. As she entered the mist, she felt a repulsive force pushing her back. Just as the force intensified, the prayer beads in her hand emitted a golden light, neutralizing the repulsion, and she entered the mist.
The next moment, the mist dissipated, and a long stone staircase appeared before her, flanked by towering ancient trees.
“The sect is at the top of the stairs,” Liaowu said, starting to ascend.
The staircase had only a hundred steps. Reaching the platform at the top, Liaowu pushed open the closed temple gate.
A vast and ethereal scene, like a celestial paradise, appeared before Heng Yu — red lotuses covered the surface of a lake, cranes flew gracefully above, creating ripples. Two monks in robes sat cross-legged on lotus platforms in the middle of the lake, chanting scriptures with their eyes closed.
The Undying Sect’s mountain gate was connected to this lake.
Sensing the gate open, the two monks slowly opened their eyes.
“Senior Brother Liaowu.”
“Senior Brother Liaowu.”
The two monks stood up and greeted Liaowu with their hands joined together.
Liaowu nodded and returned the greeting, then pointed to Heng Yu. “This is a Fellow Daoist traveling with this poor monk. She’ll be staying in the sect for a few days and then accompanying this poor monk to the Sword Sect.”
The monk on the left had a scar above his eyebrow and a rather stern appearance.
He looked at Heng Yu. “Since she’s a friend of Senior Brother’s, there’s no problem. But according to sect rules, this Fellow Daoist needs to introduce herself for our records.”
Heng Yu smiled. “That’s understandable. Luo Heng Yu of the Hehuan Sect, greetings to both Fellow Daoists.”
…The Hehuan Sect?
The two monks exchanged glances, surprised.
But the monk on the left quickly composed himself and bowed to Heng Yu. “So it’s Fellow Daoist Luo of the Hehuan Sect. I apologize for my earlier presumption.”
Heng Yu returned the gesture with a spell, indicating it was fine.
“Please enter the sect,” the monk gestured invitingly.
Liaowu stepped onto a lotus platform rising from the lake and walked across the vast expanse of water.
Heng Yu lazily followed in his footsteps.
Soon, they reached the other side.
Liaowu said to his two junior brothers, “Return to your courtyards.”
After they left, he turned to Heng Yu. “This poor monk will take you to your room.”
If the Hehuan Sect was a place of exquisite pavilions and ornate carvings, a gentle paradise, then the Undying Sect was grand and sacred, an otherworldly realm untouched by mortal dust.
Heng Yu sat on a crane’s back as it carried her towards Quyang Peak.
This peak was specifically designated for guests.
Arriving at Quyang Peak, Liaowu fed the crane a pill, stroked its feathers, and then let it go.
“Senior Brother Liaowu,” a young novice in gray robes hurried over. “What brings you here?”
He was a disciple responsible for receiving guests on Quyang Peak.
“This is Young Master Luo Heng Yu of the Hehuan Sect. Please arrange suitable accommodations for her,” Liaowu said gently.
The novice, who had already noticed Heng Yu, bowed to her. “Fellow Daoist Luo, please follow me.”
“Thank you.”
Heng Yu took two steps, then turned back to look at Liaowu.
She raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, “Aren’t you coming with me?”
Liaowu smiled and shook his head. “This poor monk just returned to the sect and needs to pay my respects to Master. I’ll come find Lord Luo later.”
He stood there, watching Heng Yu and the novice disappear from sight, then turned and headed towards the back mountain.
“Master.”
Inside the empty hall, the Undying Sect Leader knelt before a benevolent-looking Buddhist statue, his back straight.
He turned his prayer beads with his left hand and struck a wooden fish with his right.
The rhythmic sound of the wooden fish and the sect leader’s voice echoed through the hall. “I heard you brought a guest. Is she a Hehuan Sect disciple?”
Liaowu replied gently, “Indeed.”
The sect leader opened his eyes and stopped striking the wooden fish.
He stood up and turned towards Liaowu. His eyes were covered with white cloth, his cultivation at the late stage of Nascent Soul, just half a step away from Soul Formation.
“Liaowu, you seem to have changed.”
“After a year of travel, this disciple has gained much insight.”
A faint smile touched the sect leader’s usually stern and imposing face.
The sect leader hadn’t specifically inquired about Liaowu’s whereabouts, but he and the abbot of Qingyun Temple were old friends. He had received a message from the abbot mentioning Liaowu and the Hehuan Sect disciple. Besides that, the incidents in Gan City, involving Yuanjing, and Huai City, with its anti-Buddhist sentiment, had been quite significant, so the sect leader had heard about them.
“That’s good. If a Buddha wants to transcend the world, they must first experience it. Your understanding of Buddhist teachings is profound, but you lack experience in other aspects. This master has always been worried about you.”
Liaowu joined his hands together and acknowledged his master’s words.
The smoke swirling in the hall made the cinnabar mole between his eyebrows appear even more prominent.
“That Hehuan Sect disciple is called Luo Heng Yu, right…” The sect leader thought for a moment. “If fate allows, this master would like to meet her.”
The sect leader and Yuanjing were fellow disciples.
He had always been aware of the entanglement between Yuanjing and Mi Yi.
From the information he had gathered, he had reached a surprising conclusion — that Hehuan Sect disciple seemed to be sincerely helping his disciple on his Buddhist path.
The tribulation of love was difficult to overcome, but his disciple’s destined partner was rather unexpected.
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