Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 288 Changes in the Central Region
The Central Region, west of the Eastern Wilderness Corridor.

The night was cold and quiet, with continuous rain.

An old monk wearing a straw hat and a kasaya was walking slowly on a dirt road in a deserted village.

He wore a simple kasaya and held a long tin staff with nine rings attached to it.

"clang……"

"clang……"

"clang……"

The tin staff struck the ground, making a series of sounds that echoed over the desolate village.

Upon reaching a withered tree, the old monk suddenly stopped, looked up at the branches of the withered tree, and revealed an aged face.

After a long pause, he raised one palm, closed his eyes, and nodded slightly: "Buddha saves all people and illuminates the world."

"Why hide from demons and monsters?"

Although he looked old, his voice was loud and clear.

Hehehehehe—

Amidst the swirling, cold rain, a woman's chilling laughter suddenly rang out.

"Abbot Chengyi, how have you been?"

Upon hearing this sound, the old monk suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with astonishment.

"A thousand years have passed in this boring life. Has the abbot forgotten about me?"

The old monk looked up again at the withered tree.

On the bare, withered branches sat a scantily clad woman, her snow-white skin largely exposed except for a few strips of crimson silk covering her body.

Her two slender legs, like white jade, swayed gently.

"Lao Yi!"

The old monk's pupils suddenly contracted, "You..."

His voice trembled slightly: "Are you a man or a woman now?"

"Hee hee hee……"

The woman in the tree suddenly laughed again.

"What's wrong with the abbot?"

"Even the compassionate Bodhisattva who guides people to enlightenment has a male form and a female appearance. Why is the abbot so fixated on such things...?"

The old monk frowned slightly, then clasped his hands together in front of his chest and bowed to the woman.

"It was because I was attached to appearances."

"Abbot, there's no need for that. We are guests, so why don't you come in and have a good chat?"

The woman gently fiddled with the silk fabric at her chest with her slender, pale fingers, and said seductively.

"It has been a long time since I have seen a monk on my way to the underworld."

A cold rain fell, a chilly wind blew, and the old monk's robe fluttered slowly.

……

The State of Chu, a natural pass.

Inside Song Yan's cave, a small cup was placed in front of Zhou Mengdie, and Song Yan poured her a cup of spiritual tea.

"Try it, it'll refresh you."

"Oh, thank you, senior brother."

The girl picked up the cup and took a sip.

"Uh……"

Zhou Mengdie looked at the "magical" person in front of her and asked, "Senior Brother Song, what brings you here?"

It must be said that this senior brother Song Yan is indeed outstanding in appearance; just looking at him is refreshing.

"Oh, it's nothing serious, I just wanted to ask you."

Song Yan said gently, "We are about to leave Tiansheng Pass. Do you want to stay here or come back to Hongfeng Plain with me?"

Oh!
Zhou Mengdie suddenly realized what it was all about.

This was indeed not a big deal for these Foundation Establishment cultivators, but it was very important to her.

In fact, as a Qi Refining stage cultivator, she already possesses quite a few battle merits.

She has accumulated numerous merits in guarding the spirit stone mines and passes. She has been here for almost two years and has just repelled an invasion by demonic cultivators.

Although she didn't do anything special, her merits in battle will still be recorded.

Once you return to Red Maple Plains, you can participate in a few more small missions to accumulate enough battle merits, then you can leave the front lines and return to your sect.

Neither Tian Sheng Guan nor Hong Feng Yuan offered her a peaceful night's sleep, so it was better to go back sooner rather than later.

"Hehe, senior brother, I want to go back to Red Maple Plains."

Upon hearing this, Song Yan did not react, but simply nodded and continued, "Alright, then we will set off together in three days."

"Okay, thank you, senior brother!"

Whether it was because she drank Song Yanling Tea or because she was able to leave Tiansheng Pass, Zhou Mengdie was no longer confused.

"Oh, by the way, do you have a master in your sect?"

"No."

Zhou Mengdie shook her head.

In the Dongyuan Sect, inner disciples without a special lineage are generally classified as registered disciples under the peak master of their respective immortal peak.

It's perfectly normal to not have a teacher.

Song Yan pondered for a moment, then continued to ask, "Was there any elder who came to see you after you entered the inner sect?"

He originally wanted to say "win him over," but he felt that the child didn't understand anything, and using that word seemed a bit too much.

Oh, yes.

Zhou Mengdie was initially surprised, wondering how Senior Brother Song knew.

Then I thought about it again. Even someone like me, who just lazes around doing nothing, received an olive branch from the sect's factions. Of course, someone as talented as Senior Brother Song Yan would know about it.

Elder Yang Wenxuan once came to see Ling'er and me.

really.

Zhou Mengdie recalled the events and recounted them in detail.

When Xiang Zhaoling and others entered the inner sect together, Elder Yang Wenxuan probably took a liking to Xiang Zhaoling, a genius disciple with a single fire spiritual root, so he extended an olive branch to her.

To Song Yan's surprise, according to Zhou Mengdie, Xiang Zhaoling found it amusing and dragged Zhou Mengdie along, agreeing to Yang Wenxuan's attempt to win her over.

But later she found it boring and completely ignored his summons.

The two girls were inseparable; Xiang Zhaoling was like that, and Zhou Mengdie was naturally the same.

Song Yan couldn't help but chuckle: "That's really her style."

However, given Yang Wenxuan's temperament, he probably put a lot of pressure on these two people.

Unfortunately, Xiang Zhaoling's methods were mysterious and unpredictable, and Yang Wenxuan couldn't gain any advantage.

As for Zhou Mengdie...

Her ancestor, who could reside in her dreams as a spirit, could not possibly be a simple character.

Thinking about it, it seems that Yang Wenxuan's career is not going so smoothly.

Zhou Mengdie's words revealed a certain dislike for Yang Wenxuan, but she restrained herself because of Song Yan, a Foundation Establishment senior.

Once she started talking about these things, she chattered on and on, and she wasn't sleepy at all.

Zhou Mengdie also felt a little strange. It seemed that she felt at ease being by Song Yan's side.

Perhaps it's because he entered my dream, so he's considered one of us?
She had no idea either.

After listening quietly to Zhou Mengdie for a while, Song Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Do you know that I am now a disciple of Bamo Peak?"

"Yes, I know, Ling'er too, you're all together."

"Hmm." Song Yan nodded: "Bamo Peak is directly under the jurisdiction of the Dongyuan Sect Master, in order to exterminate demons and eliminate evil spirits."

"Now, I'm going to tell you something."

Song Yan's gaze was sharp and his expression serious, causing the girl in front of him to sit up straight and become serious as well.

"Elder Yang Wenxuan is very likely to have some connection with the cultivators of the Demon Ruins."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Mengdie was startled and speechless for a moment.

what?
Is Elder Yang Wenxuan in cahoots with the cultivators of the Demon Ruins?
Song Yan pressed his advantage, continuing, "Well, previously only the sect leader and I knew about this. Now, you are the third." "I..."

My God, Sect Master?
The girl stammered, somewhat flattered but also puzzled: "Senior Brother Song, but... why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need your help to hand something over to him."

Song Yan took out an ancient jade talisman from his Qiankun bag.

"You don't need to know what it is for, and don't mention my name. Just say that this item was seized from the cultivators of the Demon Ruins."

"Since your cultivation level is too low and you don't know its purpose, you can offer it to the elders and use it to ask for an early return to the sect."

Zhou Mengdie is simple-minded, and facing an old fox like Yang Wenxuan is indeed somewhat risky.

Therefore, you don't have to tell the whole truth, but what you do tell must be the truth.

Song Yan placed the jade talisman on the table and pushed it forward: "How about it?"

"If you're willing to help me with this, I won't have to look for anyone else."

"After all, the fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better."

Listening to what Song Yan said, Zhou Mengdie scratched her face, her eyes filled with confusion.

It's clear that her mind is working very fast.

However, to Song Yan's surprise, Zhou Mengdie agreed after only a short period of consideration.

"Yes! Senior Brother Song, I'm willing!"

She nodded solemnly: "Since you came to Tiansheng Pass, Senior Brother Song, you have helped me a lot. This little thing that I can do, please leave it to me!"

Song Yan's trust, the mystery of the mission, and the desire to repay his senior brother were all mixed together.

It even stirred up a bit of passion in Zhou Mengdie, who was usually so listless.

Song Yan nodded slightly: "Then thank you very much."

Afterwards, the two discussed their explanation in detail, trying their best to extricate Zhou Mengdie from the matter and present her only as a disciple offering a treasure.

As for the purpose of this ancient talisman...

There are some things that you might not believe if someone else tells you them, and you might even have doubts due to other factors.

Only by investigating little by little and discovering the whole picture will one be truly convinced of it.

Yang Wenxuan is a veteran mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he doesn't even have the ability to understand the purpose of ancient talismans, then he has truly lived in vain.

A moment later, Song Yan personally escorted Zhou Mengdie out of the temporary cave.

Upon returning, he used magic to wash up.

Today, in addition to my cultivation, I plan to contemplate the Five Stars Grasping the Pulse Transformation Diagram once more.

Xiao He's life has been very regular lately. She practices her cultivation and flute playing, and during her rest time she tinkers with a little gadget, keeping it a secret and not even letting him see it.

Song Yan was sitting cross-legged in the quiet room, preparing to meditate, when suddenly a thought struck him.

"Ok?"

He took out a Nuo mask made of armor from the Qiankun bag. The patterns on it were faintly glowing.

He then realized that it was already the second year of junior high school again.

Today is the day for the meeting of the Fangxiang family.

Song Yan did not hesitate and put on the mask.

……

Nuo realm.

Black mist filled the air, and a giant human figure stood silently with its arms outstretched, palms facing upward and fingers spread.

In the darkness, wisps of mist gathered and condensed into a black outline on the right thumb.

The silhouette opened its eyes, and a faint golden light appeared.

Song Yan glanced at it briefly. Just like the last meeting, the giant statue had ten fingers, and including himself, seven of them had people standing on them.

"Gentlemen, how have you been?"

He nodded slightly, his tone relaxed.

"Amitabha."

The figure on the little finger of the right hand spoke and uttered a Buddhist chant.

Judging from the man's features, whether it's his bald head or the robe he's wearing, it's easy to tell that he is a Buddhist practitioner.

During the last meeting, the master did not participate much in the exchange, and like Song Yan, he listened quietly.

His mask is "Xiongbo".

Besides him, there was also a graceful woman's figure on the ring finger of his right hand.

"I hope you are all well."

The woman's voice was gentle and pleasant to listen to.

It's not hard to tell from her silhouette that she must be a fairy from the Central Region.

Her mask was for "stomach slough".

"Master, have you obtained that page of scripture?"

Master Xiongbo clasped his hands together and bowed slightly: "Thank you, fairy, this humble monk has obtained it."

"Unfortunately, this humble monk is of dull talent and has not yet grasped anything from it..."

The fairy-like Shuwei shook her head slightly: "No need to be polite. If it weren't for the master's guidance, I would have missed a great opportunity."

Song Yan remained silent, listening quietly to their conversation.

In fact, he noticed something during their last meeting: these people didn't seem to care much about the code name for Nuo masks.

Some of them even knew each other's backgrounds or names.

During the conversation, the group also discussed the movements of the cultivators in the Central Region Demon Ruins.

Have you heard about what happened on the Eastern Wilderness Corridor?

Suddenly, Cuoduan asked, "It's been all over the news these days."

Song Yan's eyes narrowed.

He had seen the name "Eastern Wilderness Corridor" on that map; it was a long, narrow strip of land stretching from northeast to southwest.

It is a vital passage connecting the central and peripheral regions.

To travel from the Chu Kingdom to the Central Region, one must traverse this Eastern Wilderness Corridor.

However, the more he listened, the more alarmed he became.

One issue is the rampage caused by demonic cultivators in the border regions, resulting in fierce fighting that shook the heavens and the earth, yet the cultivators in the central regions seem to have made no mention of it at all.

I don't know if it's because they don't care, or if they simply don't know.

Secondly, an incident occurred on the Eastern Wilderness Corridor, causing an uproar in the cultivation world of the Central Region.

A few days ago, Cheng Yi, the previous abbot of Fuxin Temple in the Central Region, was murdered in the Eastern Wilderness Corridor.

Chengyi was a great Buddhist practitioner who had already cultivated the six senses and no longer concerned himself with the affairs of Fuxin Temple.

The monks in the temple were unaware that the group was traveling from the Central Region to the Eastern Wilderness.

It is said that the monks in the temple discovered that Abbot Chengyi's life lamp had gone out, and reported it to the senior monks in the temple, which led to the discovery of the body based on the clues.

When his body was discovered, it was placed on a strange altar, seemingly by some kind of evil means.

The six senses in Buddhism are equivalent to the spiritual transformation realm in Taoism.

Fuxin Temple is one of the two major Buddhist temples in the Central Region.

The fact that such a great Buddha cultivator died quietly in the Eastern Wilderness sent chills down everyone's spine.

The entire cultivation world turned its attention to this place.

"Hmm... Master, is there any news from within your Buddhist community?"

He made a mistake and said, "Because of this matter, my master has gone to the Eastern Wilderness."

The others also echoed.

"Amitabha……"

Speaking of this matter, Xiongbo's tone became somewhat somber: "This humble monk is indeed aware of this matter."

"The story of Master Chengyi's passing away is indeed true."

"..."

The crowd looked at each other and fell silent.

(End of this chapter)