Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

To be fair, amongst those from Luoism who received the Invitation from the King of Hell, only a small portion of them died. Those who got killed were either extremely evil or were cultivating some form of cruel and evil techniques, both serving as good reasons for Shen Lian to kill them.

After Shen Lian’s intervention, there were only two of them left who were capable of competing in the Daluo Devotion Ceremony.

One of them was Zhao Xiaoyu’s Nine Lotus Order, and the other was Sacred Nun Qingyin who had the support of Guangqing.

In terms of mana, even if Sacred Nun Qingyin had three times her power, it would not stand a chance against Zhao Xiaoyu. Even if injured by the assassin from Tianwaitian, Zhao Xiaoyu would still be able to triumph over Sacred Nun Qingyin.

However, Sacred Nun Qingyin had amassed considerable influences among the various branches of Luoism. She had plenty of experts to back her up. Apparently, even Guangqing Zhenrens had come to lend a helping hand during the Daluo Devotion Ceremony this time around and had shocked the petty opponents.

Despite that Shen Lian had killed some of the members of Luo Order, after Shen Lian’s act of sending out the Invitation from the King of Hell around Jimo Peak, a lot of the branches of Luo Order gathered around him and looked up to Zhao Xiaoyu.

These days, Shen Lian’s admiration for Zhao Xiaoyu’s methods intensified. She was a born religious leader, and she was able to conquer most of these people with her incomparable charm. They took her as their superior willingly without so much as complaining.

Moreover, this showed how religions triumphed over celestial schools in certain aspects. At least in terms of manipulating the cultivators, they did it better than the celestial schools.

However, most of these people were of dubious character. Despite that Shen Lian had killed most of the extremely evil individuals, those who were left were not too kind either. However, as the saying goes, ‘there would not be any fishes where the water ran too clear’. Shen Lian did not have much influence over Luo Order anyway, and he decided to just let it be.

Despite his talents and his attainment at such a young age, he was still humble around these people. After all, he bore the teachings of Qing Xuan and was knowledgeable. On top of that, he was at an advanced state of cultivation. Hence, the clash of ideas with these people ignited sparks of wisdom. He was especially moved by this.

According to an ancient Chinese saying, it is necessary to experience the world in order to enhance one’s learning process.

After all, the wisdom of a single person is nothing when compared to that of the masses. There would definitely be a mistake amid a thousand thoughts of the wise, and there would definitely be something to learn from a thousand thoughts of the unwise.

Even if the masses were stupid, their combined wisdom was something even the Daoist master and Buddha could not ignore.

While Shen Lian was discussing Dao with the rest, something was happening over Jimo Peak, at Temple Qingyin.

Temple Qingyin was built recently by Sacred Nun Qingyin, and it was located on top of a giant rock with the radius of a few miles. It was impressive and had a hint of the calmness of Daoism.

Chen Mubai was dressed in white, and his clothes were spotless. His expression was calm, and he walked into the hall from the outside.

Qingyin welcomed him respectfully.

Amongst the Twelve Zhenrens of Guangqing, Chen Mubai was the one who rarely fought against anyone. However, he was mysteriously powerful. Even Huanzhen treated him with respect usually. Apparently, he had reached an unprecedented breakthrough with the Hunyuan Qigong that he was cultivating. It evolved from what it once was and was something of its own now.

He walked with great divine Qi, and he nodded when he saw Qingyin welcoming him. He did not seem too enthusiastic.

Qingyin was familiar with the Uncle-Master’s demeanor and hence was not angered by his lack of enthusiasm.

“Uncle-Master Mubai, you came at the right time. Senior Apprentice-Brother Chicheng is meditating in the inner hall,” Qingyin spoke.

Chen Mubai replied, “Senior Apprentice-Brother Chicheng is here? Perfect, I have something that I wanted to discuss with Apprentice-Brother.”

The Twelve Zhenrens of Guangqing Sect were all at the state of Powang. They could travel to somewhere that was a thousand miles away within half a day. Hence, most of them stayed far apart from each other instead of being closely clustered. Most of the time, they were not in Mount Taicang, but were at their respective residences outside of the mountain. They rarely appear at the same place together.

After entering the inner hall, a Daoist dressed in a red robe sat on the cloud couch. It was hard to estimate his age by his appearance, but his sideburns were greyish. It was clear that he did not have much time left in life. He looked normal, but his eyes seemed to be covered with a thin film of yellow light. They were clear and pure, and there seemed to be vitality within it. The details within were hard to observe.

He kept his mustache short and light yellow. His Daoist updo was held in place with a jade hairpin, and there was a pine sword hanging on his waist.

“I haven’t seen you in thirty years, and Mubai, you look even better than when I last saw you,” the Daoist in red spoke after noticing Chen Mubai’s arrival.

Chen Mubai saw the Daoist in red. The Daoist in red was his Uncle-Master, Daoist Dengfeng’s direct disciple, Chicheng. He cultivated the Taiyue Real Shape Incantation, and his attainment was comparable to that of Daoist Dengfeng back in his prime. His mana was forceful, and there were not many with the rank of immortal Zhenren who could rival him. He kowtowed and spoke, “Senior Apprentice-Brother Chicheng, please stop making fun of me. Since entering the state of Powang, I’m fraught with different emotions. I definitely do not look as good as I used to.”

Chicheng replied, “Mubai, for you to say something like that, shows that you finally have a taste of Dao, and you still have it better than people like me who cultivated in penance.” He smiled and gestured for Chen Mubai to take a seat.

Qingyin went to brew some tea for the two of them.

The Twelve Zhenrens of Guangqing did not have harmonious relationships. When the ranking was being sorted out, there was a competition going on. The reason Huanzhen was placed at the top was not due to the fact that he was more powerful than the rest, rather it was because Yuming the Honored Celestial had named him as the next chief. As the chief of the sect, his social status was naturally higher than the rest.

As for the rest, some had attained the state of Huandan earlier than others, and they were all at least Eight Transformations and above. In the earlier years, there was some dissatisfaction amongst them.

Initially, Chen Mubai thought after the surge in his supernatural powers in recent years, his Senior Apprentice-Brother would not be able to match his attainment in spite of his seniority. However, he was surprised at how his Senior Apprentice-Brother was not bothered by petty things as such anymore and had seen significant improvement in his cultivation. This confused Chen Mubai.

After all, they were from the same sect, and whatever competition that they had between them was beneficial and constructive. Chen Mubai was not bothered by it at all.

“Senior Apprentice-Brother, you have such a mature state of mind, I must say I am impressed. I wonder if you have any good countermeasures for the current development at Jimo Peak?” He replied in a serious tone.

Both of them stopped beating around the bush after the previous polite exchanges.

Chicheng smiled and spoke, “Zhenren Shen’s move was good in the sense that he had eliminated the petty individuals, and things are quieter now. However, it is clear that he is trying to make Zhao Xiaoyu the Daluo Saintess. Even if both of our sects were not on bad terms, to begin with, this is still something that we could never agree on. However, he has seen his nature now, and it is only a matter of time before he takes the final step. This is very worrying and scary indeed. Mubai, you have probably observed him in secret before, you must have something to say about this.”

Chen Mubai replied, “Senior Apprentice-Brother, you are right. Zhenren Shen is talented, and it was very careless of us to allow him to get to where he is now. Back in the mountains, Senior Apprentice-Brother Huanzhen talked about this remorsefully too. To be honest, I sneaked another peek at Zhenren Shen again. His mana is definitely something that we cannot rival. Though, this is a good opportunity.”

Chicheng glanced at Chen Mubai, as though he saw this coming, “Zhenren Shen’s whereabouts are either uncertain or he would be residing in Qing Xuan. This time around, he used harsh methods to frighten everyone and has challenged the experts in Luoism. However, this has exposed his whereabouts. Junior Apprentice-Brother, are you trying to take the edge off his spirit?”

“That is right, I intend to set up the Five Ultimate Formations and invite him over. Senior Apprentice-Brother, what do you think about it?”