Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 73 Buddhist Cultivators
The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Every year at this time, the streets and alleys are filled with the aroma of glutinous rice, and every household cooks Laba porridge with millet, red beans, and longan.

It wasn't until I entered the world of cultivation that I learned that cultivators also celebrate the Laba Festival.

However, they are mainly Buddhist practitioners.

Laba Festival, also known as the Buddha's Enlightenment Day, has some special significance for Buddhist practitioners.

There were not many orthodox Buddhist sects in the Chu Kingdom, and Huadu Temple was one of the six major sects.

Today, Buddhist monks from Huadu Temple will likely visit to deliver "spiritual offerings" and "medicinal food".

The sect will also offer some spiritual grains and resources as a return gift.

They weren't taking the opportunity to come to the Taoist temple to spread Buddhism; they were simply exchanging blessings.

Song Yan passed by Rudaoping.

At that moment, they discovered that Senior Brother Lu Ziye was receiving two Buddhist disciples who had come from afar.

"Amitabha."

The monk bowed and said, "My junior brother and I came here on this journey without wishing to trouble you. We will simply deliver this dew as a matter of courtesy."

The young novice monk standing nearby was also wearing a kasaya. The monk slapped him on the head, and only then did he belatedly realize what was happening and bow.

"Amitabha--"

After the ceremony, he reached behind him and rubbed the back of his head in slight pain.

As they were talking, Lu Ziye spotted Song Yan and waved to him from afar.

"Junior Brother Song."

"Senior brother."

After the incident at Jiran Valley, Lu Ziye and he could be considered acquainted.

"These two are holy monks of Huadu Temple."

"Thank you for your courtesy."

In the Chu region, the number of Buddhist practitioners is not very large.

The monks of Huadu Temple, a major Buddhist sect in the Chu Kingdom, were all ascetic monks who lived in seclusion in the mountains. They had an excellent reputation and had no conflicts with other major Buddhist sects.

Therefore, there is no conflict between Buddhism and Taoism here.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Song Yan took his leave due to other commitments.

The monk gazed in the direction he had left, a worried look on his face.

The two Buddhist disciples did not linger.

A moment later, they walked down the mountain along the mountain path outside the sect.

"Senior brother, is there anything strange about that benefactor named 'Song'?"

Perhaps sensing his senior brother's worried expression, the young novice asked.

The monk looked worried: "Although that benefactor has a kind face and speaks politely, for some reason, there is a very strong sense of hostility between his brows."

"It doesn't seem like the usual murderous aura."

"It's like..."

He hesitated for a moment, but still spoke.

"A sign of inner demons."

The young novice monk's eyes widened.

Although he did not know what the signs of inner demons were.

However, this word sounds like it implies something impure or tainted by worldly desires.

"Ugh……"

"However, the abbot specifically instructed us before we left that if it involved any of the Taoist benefactors, we must not interfere."

"May this benefactor enjoy good health and all things go smoothly..."

……

Recently.

Some disciples of the Dongyuan Sect may have noticed a somewhat unfamiliar face among the outer disciples.

If this person were a new disciple, they would already be at the sixth level of Qi Refining, so it's clearly not the case.

But if they have been practicing for several years, no one knows about it.

It's truly amazing.

This person had an ordinary appearance, and even a somewhat dull and rigid expression.

He walked slowly, without stopping, and went straight into the mission hall.

Outer disciples cannot actively accept missions from the Mission Hall.

However, there are many cases of sect recruitment, senior disciples taking on apprentices, and other special requirements.

Therefore, there are also many outer disciples who need to come to the Inner Sect Mission Hall to check mission information.

This person was not particularly noticeable among the disciples.

His eyes flickered as he gazed at the spiritual characters that were slowly floating on the huge jade wall.

This contains information about the task, the reward, and who accepted the task.

He concealed himself among the crowd, his gaze occasionally sweeping over his fellow disciples who were preparing to accept the mission.

About an hour later.

He left the mission hall. "Outer disciples can't accept missions, but they can post missions and ask inner disciples for help..."

"When a quest is accepted, the name of the person accepting the quest will be displayed on the jade tablet, although only for a brief moment."

"The party that posts the task can choose whether or not to leave their name, but must specify their contact information in the task details."

"The Mission Hall is more crowded in the morning and less crowded in the afternoon."

For ten consecutive days.

He has been observing here for ten consecutive days.

He had thoroughly figured out every detail of the process for inner disciples to accept missions.

Actually, it's not impossible to find out if you ask openly and honestly.

However, as an outer disciple, he had no reason to ask questions about inner disciples, as it would easily attract the attention of others.

"almost."

He took a step and walked towards Lingyuanze.

Lingyuanze Market.

It was as lively as usual.

People come and go, mostly disciples of the sect during the day.

Three outer disciples walked towards him, but he simply passed them by.

"what?"

Among the three, the female cultivator suddenly turned around and looked at them with some curiosity.

"Yuerong, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"I just passed by a senior brother who looked somewhat familiar."

The honest-looking young man asked, "Do you know him?"

Yang Yuerong thought for a moment, but couldn't recall anything, so she could only shake her head: "...Um, I don't know her."

"Maybe I remembered it wrong."

The three left the market.

Xianxinlou, second-floor private room.

Song Yan touched the human skin mask on his face, feeling a strange sensation.

With this mask, and given his recent breakthrough, he didn't even need to use the Hidden Sword to conceal his spiritual power; he could simply pretend to be someone unrelated to him.

Fortunately, there weren't many Foundation Establishment stage acquaintances in the sect that he needed to contact.

He came to Xianxinlou again simply because he was too lazy to find another place to discuss matters.

That's just how Song Yan is.

When I was in Shiliang, once I found a food stall delicious, I would eat there for days on end, and I would only eat that one thing.

He felt that the service at Xianxinlou last time was quite good.

He's waiting for someone here.

He had inquired around a few days ago and learned that there was a skilled intelligence person in this market.

Claiming to "know the secrets of heaven," they speak frankly with everyone in the sect, but the spirit stones involved are a bit more expensive.

Yesterday, Song Yan spent a full thirty spirit stones to arrange a meeting with this "capable person".

A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

A spark of inspiration flashed at Song Yan's fingertips.

A familiar figure stepped in from outside the door, turned around to close the door, and walked up to Song Yan.

Shao Sichao?!
Song Yan was speechless with astonishment.

"..."

I never expected it to be him.

They didn't even bother to cover their faces?
"Cough cough... So you are..."

"Stop saying those repetitive things!"

Shao Sichao probably didn't notice anything unusual about his fellow disciple. With a wave of his hand, he set up a soundproof array at that spot.

"What do you want to ask? Hurry up."

This senior brother Shao is quite impressive.

Song Yan was about to ask a question when he was interrupted again.

"Hey, let's make this clear first, if it involves the personal privacy of fellow cultivators..."

"hey-hey……"

Old Shao chuckled: "It'll cost extra."

"..."

Song Yan's expression was strange, and he didn't speak for a moment.

Now, his opinion of this senior brother is somewhat "mixed".

"About Senior Brother Shan Zifeng..."

How much do you know?

(End of this chapter)