Chapter 768

Lu Yang could tell that the Four Ancient Immortals were trying their best to beautify the Decayed Fairy, and the beautification effect was remarkable; even Old Meng felt she was a virtuous, true Buddha after hearing the story, and he admired her greatly.

"Forget it, better not say anything." Lu Yang was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to trick his good brother. "It's better if I'm the only one who knows the truth about the ancient times. Old Meng just needs to accompany me when I face my tribulation."

After touring the Mahavira Hall, Master Duanchen took the two of them to the guest rooms.

On the walls of the guest rooms were scriptures written in wild cursive by Master Duanchen himself, infused with his spirit and essence. Lu Yang couldn't understand them at all, but he could feel that even without understanding them, just staying in the room had the effect of calming the mind and spirit, which could help a cultivator enter deep meditation quickly.

Writing scriptures all over the walls was a significant drain on Master Duanchen; it was impossible for him to do it in every guest room.

"This should be the best guest room in the Kaihuang Temple, though it's not of much use to me."

Lu Yang sat on the bed and entered a meditative state within a few breaths.

Having long suffered from the Decayed Fairy's interference, he could enter meditation at any time as long as he didn't listen to her.

He cultivated for the whole night.

Lu Yang broke out of his meditative state, pushed open the door, and stretched comfortably, feeling refreshed.

The door next to his opened, and Meng Jingzhou also woke up.

"Hey—ha—"

The two heard rhythmic shouting not far away. Following the sound, they saw the monks of Kaihuang Temple practicing boxing in unison, their movements synchronized and their voices shaking the heavens.

"Do you recognize what boxing style this is?" Lu Yang asked, as he didn't know much about boxing.

"It should be the Long-Arm Fist," Meng Jingzhou said after watching carefully. "It's a folk martial art used to stretch the muscles and bones and strengthen the body."

Kaihuang Temple had many lay monks who couldn't learn cultivation techniques and could only practice folk martial arts.

Although it was a folk martial art, its effects were no worse than low-level cultivation techniques. There were many records in the martial arts world of martial artists defeating Qi Condensation stage cultivators.

Take the Long-Arm Fist for example: at first, it was just a very ordinary style with nothing special about it, but after the founder of the Long-Arm Fist kindly saved an old beggar who was being beaten by thugs and treated him to a meal, everything changed.

Upon waking up the next day, the founder found a brand-new Long-Arm Fist manual by his pillow, which had improved upon the original, making it easy to enter, fast to practice, and high in potential.

The 36th successor of the Long-Arm Fist had a similar experience, forming a good bond with a cultivation grandmaster, which allowed the style to be reborn once again.

It is said that there were even Tribulation Transcendence grandmasters who played in the mortal world, learning and improving the Long-Arm Fist while disguised as mortal children.

With all these stories, even though it was still in the category of folk martial arts, the power of the Long-Arm Fist had long since surpassed its original form.

Other folk martial arts had more or less similar histories; they all had some connection to immortal fate.

"The rumor that the Long-Arm Fist was revised by a Tribulation Transcendence grandmaster must be true," Meng Jingzhou said. Even with his keen eye, he couldn't see any part of the fist style that could be improved; changing any part would destroy the integrity of the style, which meant the cultivator who revised it had a cultivation level far beyond his own.

"Good morning, two benefactors." Master Duanchen appeared behind them with a smile, holding a string of prayer beads.

"Master."

"I wonder what arrangements you have for today, so I can make the necessary preparations."

Lu Yang laughed: "We are newcomers here and know very little about the Buddha Kingdom. We have no plans; we leave it all to you, Master."

"Today is the day I receive pilgrims; it can be considered a major feature of our temple. If you two benefactors have nothing to do, why not come and observe?"

As the abbot, Master Duanchen had many affairs to attend to and couldn't receive pilgrims every day, or he wouldn't be able to get anything else done.

So he set a rule: he would receive pilgrims on a random day each month, depending entirely on fate.

"Then we shall trouble you, Master."

Kaihuang Temple's incense was more prosperous than it had been under any previous abbot; many pilgrims were waiting at the entrance before it even opened, and some even came from other cities to pay their respects.

When the pilgrims learned that Master Duanchen was receiving them today, they were overjoyed.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had special identities; although they hadn't reached the point where everyone knew their faces, their names were known to all. If word got out that they were here, the pilgrims would likely swarm into Kaihuang Temple.

So the two hid their forms and auras, standing to the left and right of Master Duanchen.

Receiving pilgrims meant guiding them and helping them resolve their worries and troubles.

The first pilgrim was a delicate woman who looked pitiful and frail, crying and sobbing.

"Master, many years ago, on our wedding night, my fiancé eloped with my maid. I wanted to let go, but after all these years, I still can't."

Master Duanchen smiled slightly, took out a jade bottle, and filled it with water.

"Female benefactor, please look. This jade bottle is you. If you want to let go of someone, you must fill yourself with something new to replace that person."

"Master, I have realized."

"The water in the bottle will eventually dry up, but you keep thinking of him, making the water in the bottle increase. If you stop thinking of him..."

The second pilgrim was a rather forthright woman, though she couldn't help but show sadness when mentioning the past.

"Master, I had a childhood sweetheart. We grew up together. That year, times were hard, and to survive, my father sold me to the Yuan family to be the young lady's maid. One day, I saw the young lady's fiancé, who was my childhood sweetheart. On the young lady's wedding night, he took me away, saying he wanted to roam the world with me. But not long after we married, he said he wanted to leave the red dust and join the Buddha gate. After all these years, I still can't let him go."

Master Duanchen smiled slightly, took out a jade bottle filled with water, and poured the water out.

"Female benefactor, have you realized?"

The second pilgrim thought for a moment: "Spilled water cannot be gathered. My husband leaving is an unchangeable fact. I need to accept this fact and continue to look forward. Master, I have realized."

The third pilgrim was a wandering monk with a dark face, not knowing how long he had been wandering.

"Master, my cultivation has hit a bottleneck."

"I had a fiancée and a childhood sweetheart. Both were good girls, and I chose my childhood sweetheart. After we married, one day, looking at her, I suddenly had an epiphany. Affection and love were all shackles on me, and I felt everything was meaningless. Perhaps the Buddha gate was calling me. I left my childhood sweetheart and became a wandering monk. But after all these years, I feel more and more that I am not suited for the empty gate. Please, Master, enlighten me."

Master Duanchen smiled slightly and used a spell to put the water on the ground back into the jade bottle.

The third pilgrim suddenly realized: "Master, do you mean there is still a chance for redemption, that I can return to secular life?"

Master Duanchen hit the pilgrim on the head with the bottle, knocking him unconscious instantly.

"I just felt like hitting someone."

Before losing consciousness, the pilgrim vaguely saw Master Duanchen jump over the table, quickly open the door, and call out to the first two pilgrims who were about to leave: "Two female benefactors, don't let go just yet!"