Chapter 560: The Entire Northwest of Jin (33 Today 1w)

"The outside world doesn't seem very stable."

After distractedly investigating the outside world for a round, Ren Yidao sighed slightly.

He didn't know about other places, but Beigan had already sensed something was wrong after seeing no one return, and no longer allowed others to enter.

Although other Shenzhou might not have as keen a reaction or as much control over others as Beigan, everyone was no fool; others would eventually realize the problem, and soon there would be no new entrants in Zhongzhou, leaving only those currently present.

Regardless of what conspiracy the Butian Alliance had behind the scenes, if they lacked the personnel, they likely wouldn't be able to continue.

An Array that sealed the world consumed an absolute fortune every second; no matter what the Butian Alliance's goal was, it was absolutely impossible to persist forever. Such consumption was likely something no one in this world could afford.

"If I can hold on for a while longer, I might find a way to leave. Even if not, the Butian Alliance will have to make a move."

He did not believe the Butian Alliance had gone to such great lengths to lure people in just to use them as cannon fodder to revive Zhongzhou with their flesh and blood; there must be other schemes behind it.

"It's just that this doesn't have much to do with me."

"As long as I am not greedy, I won't fall into a trap."

Ren Yidao had actually always maintained a cautious attitude toward the techniques and treasures within Zhongzhou.

From the initial Xian Fa Lin to the later Dragon Transformation Pool, he had not actively accepted any of them.

Because he understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and greed would certainly come with a price.

Fate had already secretly marked the price, just waiting for you to reach out and take it.

But as for Huhu, I'll just look; I won't buy, and I won't touch.

I'll just look purely.

Hey, I'm just looking!

If Ren Yidao had stayed in the Dragon Transformation Pool earlier to find a way in, he likely would have run straight into Ao Zhun, and it would be hard to say how things would have developed then.

Perhaps he would have relied on his summoner master to beat this old dragon to death, but other accidents might have occurred, and he might even have faced the Azure Dragon Lord head-on.

Life is full of coincidences; sometimes, one wrong step makes a world of difference from how things are now.

Ren Yidao felt slightly more settled, thinking of taking this time to explore the surroundings further.

"Let's go to the west and take a look; I haven't had much contact with cultivators from the Western Desert."

Because he had discovered that headless Buddha statue, Ren Yidao had suddenly become interested in the traditions of the Western Desert.

He couldn't directly ask Western Desert cultivators about the Buddha statue; that would be waiting for someone to say, "This object has an affinity with my Buddha!" or "This is an object of my Buddha, you thief!" or something similar.

Ren Yidao intended to explore it himself, to investigate and understand in his own way.

"How about I see if I can find a young and beautiful nun to talk to, chat about scriptures, and discuss some Daoist yin/yang and Buddhist joy or something."

That's right, this was Ren Yidao's unique way...

The method and process didn't matter; what mattered was the result.

"The Spirit Mountain in the Western Desert of this world is too closed off, and they don't spread the Dharma everywhere, so I don't even know what the situation is like over in the Western Desert."

Unlike the situation in his past life where Buddhism spread everywhere, the Spirit Mountain in this world had not stepped out of the Western Desert Divine Continent. Although there were some Buddhist temples in other Shenzhou, most were just ordinary temples in the Earthly Realm, with no practitioners stationed there.

"Is it because the Daoist Fields of the Earthly Realm were already divided in the past?" Ren Yidao had actually speculated on this, but no one could give him an accurate answer.

"Perhaps, only when the Immortal Gods truly revive will there be a real answer..."

While thinking this, Ren Yidao controlled the white fox to head west, when suddenly his brow twitched.

He sensed a powerful aura approaching rapidly.

Hm!?

Ren Yidao did not hesitate to recall his Dao God, hide his aura, and quickly conceal himself, hiding his figure beneath a building.

The entire operation was done in one go, without wasting a single moment.

This was the benefit of traveling alone; he didn't have to worry about others dragging down his speed.

But just when Ren Yidao thought he had hidden himself very well, that aura suddenly stopped and spoke toward his hiding place.

"This benefactor, could you come out and meet? This poor monk has no malice; I only wish to ask you about a matter."

He had been discovered.

Ren Yidao's brow furrowed slightly; this feeling of powerlessness was not pleasant.

However, the monk's aura was peaceful, and there was no killing intent or evil thoughts on him.

"... What does the Master wish to ask?" Ren Yidao walked out from the shadows, nodded to the monk, and his brow twitched slightly.

This monk, what a hunk.

These big pectoral muscles, whoa!

These thick arms, whoa!

He really is a muscle man...

Moreover, this robust monk gave him a very subtle feeling.

He was an expert.

He should be a great expert.

Furthermore, there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity about him; it seemed he had met him somewhere before...

Ren Yidao was quite confident in his memory; he shouldn't have no impression of a hunk with this appearance.

Was he disguised when they met before?

"Why is it this kid?"

The Chijiao monk was also stunned after seeing Ren Yidao, and he quickly recalled his encounter with him at Death Valley before.

At that time, he was a Fire-Eyed Mist Chijiao, and seeing a kid force the demon ape he kept outside into the depths and even wanting to make a move on that very strange little white fox, he couldn't help but speak up to dissuade him.

"Last time, he had only just entered Spirit Transformation, right?"

"And now? How much time has passed? He is already at Void Refining Peak, and just now, if I hadn't been searching intentionally, he would have truly hidden from me."

The Chijiao monk's brow twitched, subconsciously categorizing Ren Yidao among those people, concluding that he, like himself, was an Immortal God who had survived through special means.

"Master? What would you like to ask?" Seeing this bald, burly man remain silent after spotting him, Ren Yidao calmly reached for the Bell on his wrist.

If there were any trouble, he was prepared to summon his hired muscle directly.

"Ahem, this poor monk has been rude." The Chijiao monk collected his thoughts and bowed to Ren Yidao, "Benefactor reminded me of some old friends, and I was momentarily dazed."

Regardless of which old friend the other party might be, the two were strangers at this moment; there was no need to probe, as the other party might not admit it, and it would easily increase ill will for no reason.

The Chijiao monk carefully observed Ren Yidao and, finding that the Bodhi seed in his robes had no reaction, confirmed that the other party was not the Fozi of this generation, so he asked: "May I ask, Benefactor, have you seen any monks pass by? If so, could you help point the way?"

Monks?

Ren Yidao recalled that although he had encountered a few cultivators along the way, he truly hadn't met any monks.

"Master is the first monk Ren has encountered in Zhongzhou." After thinking about it, Ren Yidao did not point the way randomly and said frankly: "I actually wanted to find some monks to discuss Buddhism, but I haven't come across any."

"Benefactor wishes to study Buddhism? Do you wish to become a monk?" The Chijiao monk frowned slightly, thinking again of those fallen Buddhism disciples he had encountered earlier.

"No, I just want to exchange ideas and see if I can draw parallels." Ren Yidao shook his head.

Become a monk?

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Becoming a monk is impossible.

What?

You say joining the Daoist sect actually counts as becoming a monk?

It doesn't matter, our Divine Path Sect has its own flexible rules and regulations.

When needed, we can be Daoist disciples.

When not needed, we can also be Divine Path Sect disciples.

There is always one that suits us.

"Since that is the case, this poor monk offers Benefactor a piece of advice." The Chijiao monk looked at Ren Yidao, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "The Western Desert Buddhism has gone astray; if Benefactor wishes to contemplate it, you must be careful and cautious, and remember not to indulge in it."

After saying this, the Chijiao monk did not explain further; he nodded to Ren Yidao and left directly, continuing his journey toward the east.

"Buddhism has gone astray?" Ren Yidao blinked, looking thoughtfully at the back of the departing Chijiao monk, when suddenly his eyes went wide, and he nearly bit his own tongue.

"Holy shit!"

"Great Might Heavenly Dragon!"

"No, Fire-Eyed Mist Chijiao!"

Upon seeing the exposed Chijiao tattoo on the back of the Chijiao monk, Ren Yidao finally realized where that sense of familiarity came from.

Those eyes, and the aura on his body, were actually the Fire-Eyed Mist Chijiao from the depths of Death Valley back then.

Fire-Eyed Mist Chijiao, second on the Great Demon Ranking!

After realizing this, Ren Yidao gasped, then continued to speed toward the west without hesitation.

Run!

He wasn't sure if the other party had recognized him, but his appearance hadn't changed, so the other party likely knew, just hadn't pointed it out.

Since you didn't point it out, I'll just pretend I didn't notice.

Although he didn't know what the other party was doing here disguised as a monk, in such troubled times, it was best to stay as far away from such dangerous fellows as possible.

Ren Yidao didn't want to be affected by the other party and get dragged into some strange danger.

But just when Ren Yidao felt that escaping the other party was avoiding danger, an accident soon occurred.

Not long after he continued forward, he suddenly felt that he was being watched.

And this time, unlike the peaceful feeling from the monk earlier, the other party was clearly harboring malice.

A greedy desire for possession.

Upon noticing this, Ren Yidao's expression changed instantly, and he looked toward the source of the malice—the north!

Then, his complexion changed completely.

"What kind of thing is that!?"

A bizarre, stitched-together creature appeared in his field of vision.

The two Barbarians he had seen earlier in Xian Fa Lin had changed their appearance; the burly man had a dazed look in his eyes, and beside his head was an extra, aged head, as if the entire person had been embedded into the other's body.

At this moment, it was that ugly old man who was flashing a sinister smile at Ren Yidao.

"Finally found you!!!"

"Barbarian God!!!"

"Come!"

"Merge into one with us!"

Ren Yidao: "???"

Watching the chimera charging toward him, he felt his whole being was not okay.

You!

Stop!

Stop quickly!

Don't come over here!!!

Ren Yidao had originally wanted to teach the other party a painful lesson, but at this moment, he turned around and ran toward the south without hesitation.

Because from the other party's body, Ren Yidao saw a strange, evil spiritual light.

The other party had been possessed by something!

Although he didn't know what this thing wanted to do to him, in any case, run first!

"Barbarian God! Wait for us!" the Barbarian priest roared, controlling Mangu to chase after Ren Yidao with large strides.

But just after Ren Yidao had run for a short while toward the south, a huge boom erupted from the south.

"Xianglou!!? What exactly are you trying to do!?" A mysterious person wearing a Butian Alliance mask roared in fury at the other: "Why did you ambush me? Are you not afraid of punishment from the Alliance Leader!?"

"Heh! You're still acting!" The other person let out a cold snort, not feeling the slightest bit at fault, and sneered: "I will take down a traitor like you first; the Alliance Leader will only reward me, so why would he punish me? Enough nonsense, surrender immediately!"

"You! Idiot!"

Boom!!!

???

What is going on now?

Ren Yidao was just feeling bewildered when he suddenly sensed an aura approaching from the east as well...

The Fire-Eyed Mist Flood Dragon that had already left had actually chased back!?

At this moment, Ren Yidao laughed.

Laughed out of anger.

Damn it, there are so many people!

This is the Central Divine Continent, and everyone has their own things to do.

"Chasing me, are you?"

"Fine!"

Ren Yidao laughed in extreme anger, no longer hiding, and summoned his Dao God...

Running at full speed toward the west!

"Then you all can chase!"