Chapter 183 - 134: You Still Haven’t Taken the Initiative to Kiss Me

Chapter 183: Chapter 134: You Still Haven’t Taken the Initiative to Kiss Me

"Because whenever someone from the Buddhist Temple dies, a new monk arrives to take their place."

The number of monks at Shifo Temple is fixed because their Buddhist titles are fixed. A monk’s title is determined by which part of the Buddha Immortal they consumed. These titles are passed down, so only when one dies can a successor inherit it.

The Town Elder chuckled, assuming Zi Hua Master was joking.

Zi Hua Master continued, "The people of Shifo Temple feasted on the Buddha Immortal’s corpse and drank its remaining blood, thereby inheriting its will."

’What is this guy talking about? It makes no sense.’

So the Town Elder thought. But then, as if a sudden realization struck him, he stared at Zi Hua Master as if he were seeing a ghost.

’If the will is inherited through flesh and blood, doesn’t that mean whoever eats a monk with a Buddhist title will immediately become a new member of Shifo Temple?’

’How could Zi Hua Master possibly know the Buddha Immortal’s condition from all those years ago?’

The boat reached the shore.

Xue Nichang paid no mind to the conversation on the boat. She simply commanded, "Disembark. The selection for the Young Master began the moment we emerged from that eye in the sky." ℴ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A fine, ethereal snow drifted down.

On the long steps of a towering Snow Mountain, a figure in pale green and white appeared. Her long, snow-white hair cascaded down her back, more dazzling than the snow itself, making the pure-hearted, ascetic young woman seem like an incarnation of the mountain.

Su Youwan lifted her head and caught a snowflake, a biting chill spreading from her fingertip.

’So cold,’

she thought.

Compassionate Palace was situated deep atop a Snow Mountain. Even outside of winter, heavy snow fell here year-round.

From Su Youwan’s vantage point, the surrounding jagged mountains and ravines were a blanket of white. Buried beneath that snowy landscape were countless giant stone carvings of great Buddhas.

This landscape was not built by the people of Compassionate Palace; tracing back their origins, the carvings were about five thousand years old.

A great Sect must have once stood here. In time, that massive Sect faded into history, so completely that no record of it remains in any text. These Buddha Statues were only rediscovered when the previous Palace Master established Compassionate Palace on this very site.

Compassionate Palace does not worship Buddhas, so the statues were left untended. However, they were not destroyed either, and so they remained, buried in the snow.

Su Youwan shook her head and continued her ascent up the stone steps.

Every few dozen feet along both sides of the steps stood a small White Jade Compassionate Statue. Draped in veils of snow, they looked quite merciful. At the end of the steps was a Cloud Palace that seemed to float in the heavens, though a closer look revealed it was perched on the mountain’s summit.

Su Youwan arrived before the palace entrance. Strangely, the Cloud Palace had no gate. Its walls were covered in murals depicting countless statues of Ci Hang, as well as numerous Guanyin Holding Child Paintings.

A gentle wind whistled past, carrying a tune as if from an ancient, melodious flute.

Su Youwan drew a bamboo flute from her robes—the very one she had played outside Lu Changyuan’s door that day. The young woman brought the flute to her lips and began to play softly.

When she opened her eyes again, she was already inside the Immortal Palace.

Immortal Techniques were not used within Compassionate Palace to maintain a spring-like climate; instead, it freely embraced the environment of the Celestial Mountain. Thus, the palace was not warm, and the only plants that grew there were Ice Crystal Snow Trees, a species native to the Snow Mountains.

The young woman passed by ancient wooden pavilions and sparkling crystalline trees on her way to the main hall.

A woman with a shaved head, yet dressed in Daoist robes, bowed her head. "Little Ancestor has returned."

Su Youwan nodded. "And greetings to you."

"I wouldn’t dare."

"I am going to the Cold Cave."

"Now?" the woman asked.

"Is there a problem?"

"She and the Palace Master are receiving an important guest."

"She," of course, referred to Su Youwan’s master, and "Palace Master" was the current Master Compassionate.

An ethereal, immortal voice drifted out. "Since Youwan has arrived, she may come up."

In the blink of an eye, Su Youwan was standing before the mouth of a massive cave.

It was a massive, black chasm from which a bone-chilling cold emanated.

The frigid wind was sharp enough to turn weaker Cultivators into ice sculptures. Across from the cave stood a colossal statue of the Thousand-Handed Guanyin, hundreds of feet tall and carved into the mountainside.

The Guanyin’s brow was furrowed, as if gazing upon all the suffering in the world.

Two figures stood beneath the statue of the Thousand-Handed Guanyin, both radiating terrifyingly powerful auras.

One, a serene smile on her face, radiated an aura of peace and tranquility, like a nun who had attained the Dao. This was Master Compassionate.

Su Youwan had never seen the other person before, nor could she make out her face.

The stranger spoke to the cave entrance. "Are you certain the matter concerning my master, Chang’an Daoist, has nothing to do with you?"

A detached voice drifted from within the cave. "Chang’an Daoist is dead."

"In that case, I won’t trouble you further."

The woman glanced at Su Youwan, and then her form rippled and dissolved, vanishing without a trace.

Only then did the young woman step forward, saying respectfully, "Master. Palace Master."

Master Compassionate nodded. "The Daoist Sect Master’s Profound Dao is truly terrifying. She must be close to the realm beyond Yao Guang... or has she not even reached it yet? To think she possesses such power, charging into Beyond the Heavens recently without suffering a single scratch."

’So that was the Daoist Sect Master,’ Su Youwan realized. ’Chang’an Daoist’s personal disciple, the one currently considered the most powerful under the heavens.’

Master Compassionate looked toward the cave entrance. "If you were to fight her, what would be the chances of victory?"

This was her way of admitting she couldn’t defeat the Daoist Sect Master, and was seeking the opinion of the one in the cave.

But the voice from the cave did not answer directly. "Did you deliver the Dragon Bone?"

Master Compassionate gave a wry smile, knowing she wouldn’t get an answer to her own question. She could only reply to the voice, "It has been delivered, and my identity was not exposed. But why give the Dragon Bone to that young woman, Qiu Yuehan?"

’She was the great Master Compassionate, a Seventh Realm Yao Guang expert, easily among the top three—if not top two—in the world. How had she been reduced to running errands?’

Su Youwan was slightly taken aback.

’So Master Compassionate had descended upon the White Realm without anyone knowing.’

Master Compassionate raised her head toward the sky, as if her gaze could pierce the clouds. "There’s a disturbance on Blood Demon Island. The overwhelming aura of blood has already spread for a thousand miles."

The voice drifted languidly from the cave. "It’s just dogs fighting dogs. Let them make their own mess. Youwan, come inside."