Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

The finger pointing had the charm of Zhao Xiaoyu’s Wusheng Finger. When there was no birth, there was no destruction and all would return to its original form. Therefore, the black tiger who received this Qi of essence managed to calm its erupted demonic powers. It was like the wind of the spring that blew away the winter. The blood flowed into its limbs and its bone. Although it lost some demonic power, its power was comparably purer.

After Shen Lian settled the black tiger, he could not help but to shake his head slightly.

The descendants of Qing Xuan always held on the principle, ‘Before cultivating one’s behavior, one must first cultivate one’s heart’. Hence, the disciples were recruited based on their temperament. For example, Fang Yanying, Chen Jinchan, and Lei Jing were all spiritually intelligent. Therefore, with some pointers by Shen Lian, they could progress further and subsequently, their future would be far-reaching and inestimable.

For the Pegasus, although it was not as spiritually intelligent as the others, it had determination. That mind would propel it further. As for the black tiger, Shen Lian was clueless.

It was not only lazy but its talent and spiritual intelligence were only ordinary. His temperament was not even worth mentioning. Its situation suited the saying, ‘A dead wood cannot be carved, and the wall of a manure is not masonry’.

Some of these things could not be forcibly demanded but to let it go with the flow.

He gazed out of Zhiwei Temple and saw a monk and a Daoist walking towards this direction.

The monk wore a white robe and his clean face seemed to glow. Hence, his face seemed like the moon while his features were pure like the lotus flower. There was a faint glow of Buddhist ray around his body, like the blossoming of a lotus flower. This person must had practiced a type of meditation from the Bodhi and his level of attainment was not shallow. Although he was not an Arhat, his high attainment would enable him to solve the mystery of reincarnation and to continue his practice and cultivation.

As for the other Daoist, he seemed to be full of vitality, such as the tree at the prime of its life that had a long pulse during the height of the summer. Although the way the Daoist breathe was not the superior way of attaining the highest form of Daoism, it was practiced in such a depth that he could enter the realm of Daoism and use it in myriads of changes.

Shen Lian recognized both men from the Xia Palace.

Lifting his foot, he appeared in front of them immediately. As he moved from inside to the outside of the door, there were numerous layered figures. Barely catching a glimpse of the graceful figure, Shen Lian had arrived.

Both of them were shocked. The move that Shen Lian made was not ordinary, as the monks did not practice it. It was the highest attainment for the state of meditation in Dajue Temple. Being able to view this, it opened one’s eye to the non-being realm.

The non-being realm was referring to its material, not appearance. It was not a place similar to the human world nor the netherworld. In fact, it was a wonderful place in between the material world for psyche sustenance.

The marvel part of his posture was the ability to use his psyche to navigate around the non-being realm yet adhering to the material world. Therefore, the countless figure could be seen but it was hard to reach.

Just like the Buddha who saved the sentient beings; everyone saw it but they could not get close to it.

Fortunately, it was a known fact that Shen Lian was a celestial. Hence, they did not overreact.

Muzhen also behaved the same.

“Why are you looking for me?” Shen Lian asked leisurely. As he stopped in front of them, he was in a defensive position.

Muzhen threw a look to Buneng.

As the bald donkey in the Buddhist sect was smooth-tongued, he decided to let Buneng persuade. Immediately, Buneng took on the role. It brought its palm together and saluted, “State Preceptor, the King was furious as we badly injured the High Priest yesterday. Hence, His Highness had given order that within ten days, all the Daoist and Buddhist temple within the Xia territory had to be closed down and the practitioners had to return to the normal life. Those who registered and left records were demanded to drop off their cultivation experience. Anyone who disobeyed the order would be sentenced.”

Shen Lian lowered his eyelids and replied, “This has nothing to do with me.”

Buneng sighed, “This cause might not happen if it wasn’t for you, State Preceptor. It is better for the doer to undo what he had done. If Sate Preceptor could help us through this time, all of us; everyone in my temple, would be very grateful.”

Shen Lian folded his arms behind, smiled and said, “Aren’t all the Daoist and the monk in Xia territory belonged to Xuanzhen Hall and Dajue Temple? You all recruited many disciples and your power of influence has begun to take shape. At the same time, Dongyi has rise and Yinshang is growing stronger. Being a farsighted man, Emperor Xia would not allow this to happen. However, before he could solve any of the foreign matters, his territory has to be worry-free. Hence, it is imperative to tone down your rising power. Having said that, why would the issue have to do with me? Emperor Xia could not possibly hate everyone from Xuanzhen just because I offended him.”

Buneng was speechless. He was able to think of the reason behind it but was unwilling to do so. After all, although Shen Lian was strong, he was just an individual. The strength of Xia was its masses; the strong army and their horses, the better men that came forth in numbers. On top of that, Emperor Xia was bold and visionary. Hence, Dajue Temple and its similar cohort had to depend on Emperor Xia.

Hence, they only needed to be respectful towards Shen Lian. In the event that they offended Shen Lian, Dajue Temple would still be able to find a way of self-protection against Shen Lian.

To persuade Emperor Xia to change his mind was a difficult task as compared to seeking help from Shen Lian. After all, Dajue Temple might be able to offer something that may spark his interest. In contrast, the tyrannical Emperor Xia had the wealth of the country and so he could just demand anything. Thus, it was difficult to negotiate the terms and conditions.

Muzhen secretly scolded the bald donkey for not helping. Therefore, he continued, “The Xuanzhen Hall had decided to retreat from Xia Kingdom. However, it was very difficult to get past the scrutiny of Xia Kingdom. Hence, we required the assistance of State Preceptor. I received the order from my teacher that if you were willing to cover up for us, the Xuanzhen Temple was willing to offer the Pure Yang Inherited Engravings by the founding master.”

The founding master of Xuanzhen Sect obtained the Pure Yang Engravings through an adventure. It included his life journey for the attainment of Daoism and the origin of the various Xuanzhen methods. It could be referred as the foundation of the sect. Thus, this offer proved Muzhen’s sincerity.

Muzhen could not be blamed too. Surprisingly, the Daoist was so cunning that they reverted the previous agreement. However, Shen Lian understood where he was coming from. After all, compared to Xia, Yinshang was more suitable to develop Xuanzhen Hall. This was because not only that they would be severely monitored in Xia, but also their influence on the believers was far behind Dajue Temple.

Therefore, if Xuanzhen Hall maintained their core disciples and retreated from Xia safely, they would be able to start again at any time. On the other hand, the Dajue Temple had to pay a higher price if they were to withdraw from Xia. Furthermore, it was extremely difficult to hide from Emperor Xia.

The reason for that was Dajue Temple had absorbed many female nobilities from Xia Clan as believers. Hence, they were deeply rooted in Xia. Any actions taken would fall under the scrutiny of Xia officials.

Shen Lian gave away a mirthless smile. Although the Pure Yang Engravings was famous, he was not impressed. He said, “There was still one person in Diqiu who can help to conceal your secrets. Look for him.”

Surprised, Muzhen replied, “That better not be Tianyi because if we meet him, I fear that Xuanzhen Hall would be ashes within a day.”

Muzhen was not lying. They planned to seek refuge from Yinshang. But if they managed to get in touch with Tianyi, and got caught by Emperor Xia, it would lead to the extinction of Xuanzhen Hall.