Chapter 918: Sikong Meditation Temple
The Central Domain was vast and expansive, sparsely populated, dotted with famous mountains and great rivers, ancient ruins, and spiritual veins converging to form one sacred site after another.
Yuan Prefecture’s thirty-six commanderies were located in the heart of Taizhou Prefecture, where north and south intersected, gathering the world’s spiritual essence. Naturally, this had nurtured many brilliant sects and ancient aristocratic clans.
Zhang Ruochen and the Devouring Elephant Rabbit traveled through the night, arriving at the foot of a mountain rich in spiritual energy.
This mountain resembled a reclining ox in shape. Aside from its relatively gentle ridge, two green peaks pierced the clouds like the ox’s horns.
Even in the dead of night, the melodious sound of sutra chanting could be heard drifting from a deep hollow halfway up the mountain.
Looking up, a faint point of light flickered at the mountainside, like a candle flame in the wind, seemingly on the verge of extinguishing. Yet it also resembled an eternal spirit lamp, enduring since ancient times.
“Master Chen, the heaven and earth spiritual energy here is at least six or seven times denser than elsewhere,” the Devouring Elephant Rabbit said in a low voice.
Deep underground, he had sensed a golden spiritual vein flowing like a dragon, surging endlessly, imbuing the soil above with spirituality and nurturing all kinds of exotic flowers and herbs.
Normally, such an excellent cultivation site would have long been occupied by the various Saint clans of Yuan Prefecture. Why was it so desolate?
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze shifted to the left side of the path, where a mottled stone tablet lay buried among scattered dead branches and leaves.
Carved into it were four vigorous characters: Sikong Meditation Temple.
The characters bore an ancient charm, as if containing some Buddhist power, causing the Saint Qi within Zhang Ruochen’s body to tremble faintly.
“There seems to be a temple in the mountain. Perfect—I’ll stay there for a few days and wait for news of the battle between the Zhenyu Ancient Clan and the Undying Blood Clan.”
Zhang Ruochen put away the Sky-Soaring Sword and the Abyssal Ancient Sword, storing them in his Space Ring, and strode toward the mountainside.
Passing through an ancient oak forest, he soon saw a blue-gray meditation courtyard at the end of the path.
Inside the courtyard, an oil lamp was lit. The moment Zhang Ruochen arrived outside the temple, the chanting within suddenly ceased.
“Thump, thump.”
Zhang Ruochen grabbed the bronze ring on the door, now covered in green rust, and knocked gently.
After a moment, the temple door opened a crack.
The one who opened the door was a tall, thin young monk with a high, straight nose but extremely dark skin, like the bottom of a pot. If not for the whites of his eyes showing, he would have looked like a floating Buddhist robe in the dark—quite eerie.
Zhang Ruochen had seen dark-skinned people before, but this was the first time he had seen someone so black.
Adopting as gentle a tone as possible, Zhang Ruochen pressed his palms together and uttered a Buddhist greeting. “Master, I would like to stay at your temple for a few days. Here is a small offering for incense—please accept it.”
With that, he took out a Sacred Stone and handed it to the dark-faced monk.
The value of a Sacred Stone was extremely precious even to a Half-Saint. Setting aside its monetary worth, the vast amount of Saint Qi contained within a Sacred Stone was a tremendous temptation for any cultivator.
Zhang Ruochen offered a Sacred Stone as incense money partly as a test. After all, it was strange that the Sikong Meditation Temple was located in this spiritually rich place. If the dark-faced monk was a cultivator, he would surely be tempted by the Sacred Stone.
Seeing the Sacred Stone in Zhang Ruochen’s hand, the dark-faced monk’s eyes flashed with surprise. He shook his head vigorously. “No, no. My master said we cannot accept any money or valuables from visitors.”
Just then, another set of footsteps sounded from within the temple.
“Second Junior Brother, who is it out there? Why are you dawdling?”
A short, plump, fair-faced monk fully opened the door, walked out with his hands behind his back, and glared at the dark-faced monk.
The fair-faced monk was the complete opposite of the dark-faced one. His skin was extremely pale, and the originally white Buddhist robe he wore appeared grayish-black by comparison.
The dark-faced monk said, “Senior Brother, there’s a visitor who wants to stay at the temple and insists on giving incense money. What do you think…”
“No, no. Our temple’s guest rooms are all full. Tell him to find lodging elsewhere… Wait, incense money?”
The fair-faced monk finally reacted. His eyes lit up, and he immediately turned around, pressed his palms together, and bowed respectfully to Zhang Ruochen. “Amitabha.”
Then, he extended a plump, soft, white hand with great composure and took the Sacred Stone from Zhang Ruochen.
“Haha! Our Sikong Meditation Temple lacks many things, but guest rooms are never in short supply. Benefactor, this humble monk’s Dharma name is Great Minister of Works, and this is my junior brother, Second Minister of Works.”
The fair-faced monk, called Great Minister of Works, glanced secretly at the Sacred Stone in his hand. The fat on his face trembled slightly, clearly surprised.
To offer a Sacred Stone as incense money—just what kind of background did this young man have?
Zhang Ruochen took in the expressions of both monks, showed a kind smile, and bowed slightly to them.
“Senior Brother, we can’t accept someone of unknown origin. It’s against the rules. Have you forgotten the white-haired female visitor you took in yesterday? This morning, she turned a male visitor who tried to get close to her into ash with a single palm strike.”
“Besides, our temple only has four monks. Taking in so many visitors—can we handle it?” Second Minister of Works said.
Great Minister of Works sighed deeply and said earnestly, “Buddha dwells in the temple for cultivation, but the door opens wide to welcome all beings. Junior Brother, your state of mind is still too shallow; you need more experience. Earlier, Master asked me to copy ten volumes of the ‘Mahayana Sutra’ to solidify my mind. Now it seems you’re the one who should be copying it. The brush and paper are ready in the Sutra Library. Go quickly!”
Second Minister of Works, being honest and simple, believed he truly lacked depth of mind upon hearing this. He immediately hurried off to the Sutra Library.
Great Minister of Works watched his junior brother’s retreating figure and added, “After you finish copying, remember to bring it to me, your senior brother, for review.”
Then he turned around, wore a solemn and dignified smile, and said, “Benefactor, this way, please.”
“Please,” Zhang Ruochen replied.
Under Great Minister of Works’ guidance, Zhang Ruochen entered the temple.
The temple was quite serene, with flowing streams, bamboo bridges, and wooden Buddhist pagodas enshrining various unknown Buddhas and sacred beings.
At the center of the temple stood a three-zhang-tall stone statue.
Though not particularly tall, the statue appeared extremely majestic. Walking beneath it gave one a tremendous sense of pressure. An ordinary person would likely have knelt to worship.
Zhang Ruochen stared intently at the statue. Suddenly, his heart trembled, and he involuntarily murmured, “Buddha Emperor.”
The statue was identical to one of the Nine Emperors from eight hundred years ago—the Buddha Emperor.
Someone was enshrining the Buddha Emperor here?
Great Minister of Works, walking ahead, turned around and asked, “Benefactor, what did you just say?”
Zhang Ruochen carefully observed Great Minister of Works’ expression. He seemed genuinely unaware, so Zhang Ruochen didn’t explain. He simply shook his head with a smile. “Nothing. I was just remarking that the Sikong Meditation Temple is truly a pure land of Buddhism.”
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Great Minister of Works’ face. “Of course. Our Sikong Meditation Temple has a history of eight hundred years, yet it remains hidden deep in the mountains, isolated from the world. It is indeed a very peaceful place.”
Zhang Ruochen made no further comment, merely nodding with a slight smile.
Great Minister of Works led Zhang Ruochen into a fairly spacious guest room. “Benefactor, you can stay here as long as you like. Our temple not only provides meals but also ensures you eat your fill. Haha!”
Great Minister of Works closed the guest room door, and his footsteps gradually faded away.
Zhang Ruochen touched the oak bed with his finger. There wasn’t a speck of dust.
Simple, yet very clean.
Originally, Zhang Ruochen had only wanted to find a secluded place to hide from the Undying Blood Clan’s pursuit. He hadn’t expected to discover a statue of the Buddha Emperor in a mountain temple.
When Empress Chi Yao led her army to attack the Western Region, she faced resistance from the Buddha Emperor and the entire Ten Thousand Buddha Path. In the end, the formidable empress killed the Buddha Emperor.
Fearing they would anger the empress and the imperial court, no temple in the Kunlun Realm dared to enshrine the Buddha Emperor from then on.
Anyone who enshrined the Buddha Emperor was considered a rebel and would be hunted down.
“This is rather strange,” Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Then, he released his spiritual power, turning it into tens of thousands of light points, and began to probe the entire temple.
His spiritual power detected a formation in a neighboring guest room.
However, the formation wasn’t very sophisticated. Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power easily penetrated it, and he heard the conversation of three people inside.
“Fourth Brother, don’t stop me. I’m going to kill that bitch right now to avenge Big Brother.”
A burly man, baring his right shoulder, lifted a heavy blade and charged toward the door.
“Third Brother, you’d better calm down. That woman’s cultivation is very powerful—not something we can handle. I’ve already reported our situation here to the Ministry of War. They’ll send experts soon. We’ll deal with her then,” said another, younger man in a steady voice.
“I can’t wait that long. If you won’t avenge Big Brother, I will.”
The burly man rushed out of the formation, smashed through the door, leaped to the second floor, raised his heavy blade, and slashed at one of the guest rooms.
But the moment his blade rose, a terrifying force surged from the room, like a cold wind sweeping over him.
The burly man’s body, as if made of sand, began to disintegrate. In the end, not even a single bone remained.
True annihilation—body and soul.
That burly man was no weakling; his cultivation had reached the third change of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Clearly, the female visitor in that second-floor guest room was a formidable and ruthless character.
Zhang Ruochen sent out a strand of spiritual power to investigate.
But the moment his spiritual power got close, it shattered instantly. Even using his Heavenly Eye to penetrate the wooden walls, he could only see a blurry, illusory cloud of mist—nothing more.
“Formidable.”
Zhang Ruochen was secretly startled. He hadn’t expected that a random temple he chose for shelter would house such a terrifying expert.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit poked its furry, fist-sized head out of Zhang Ruochen’s pocket. “Master Chen, those men are from the Ministry of War. And from what they said, Ministry of War experts will be arriving soon. This place is also a hotspot for trouble. We should leave as quickly as possible.”
…
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