Chapter 800: Endless Lecturing Never Beats Seeing for Yourself

Central Continent, at the gate of Tianyan Sect.

The young novice monk from Daoxuan Temple rubbed his head as he stared at the magnificent and imposing gate of Tianyan Sect, shock written plain across his face.

People always said the Eighteen Immortal Sects stood head and shoulders above the rest of the world — but just looking at this gate, wreathed in immortal qi and surging spiritual energy, he was thoroughly convinced.

Most Buddhist temples in the world were descended from Central Continent’s Great Thunder Temple, and indirectly under its jurisdiction.

After all, when it came to the depth of Buddhist doctrine, Great Thunder Temple was home to a dense forest of Buddha Sons, where countless geniuses toiled in bitter cultivation.

Temples built later naturally could not escape Great Thunder Temple’s influence.

But not all Buddhist sects were like that.

Daoxuan Temple in Central Continent was not descended from Great Thunder Temple, nor did it fall directly under its jurisdiction.

For no other reason than that, if you traced Daoxuan Temple’s founding back far enough, its age was not much shorter than Great Thunder Temple’s.

Though both practiced Small Vehicle Buddhist Teachings, those teachings themselves contained fundamentally different philosophies. Combined with the temple’s early founding, it had broken free of Great Thunder Temple’s influence.

In Central Continent, it carved out a distinctive niche. It had gained freedom, but lost Great Thunder Temple’s direct protection.

Of course, if you really wanted to use that connection, it was still technically possible — after all, not everyone knew that Daoxuan Temple and Great Thunder Temple had no direct relationship.

Traveling abroad, you could still use Great Thunder Temple’s name to bluff people who didn’t know the details.

But precisely because it lacked Great Thunder Temple’s direct support, Daoxuan Temple — aside from having decent temple architecture and a passably rich spirit vein — was poor as a church mouse.

The current abbot of Daoxuan Temple was only at the Spirit Transformation realm. Perhaps that was because Daoxuan Temple was not truly large, and its influence not particularly great, so Great Thunder Temple had always taken a hands-off approach.

The young novice monk rubbed his head, staring at the grand gate, looking at the Tianyan Sect cultivators wearing sect robes with cultivation depths unfathomable, their expressions reserved and restrained. He gazed over cautiously.

After all, before such a colossus, one’s heart could not help but tremble with fear.

The young novice watched as Qianqing, who had been knocking at the gate for half a year looking for a monk named Yuankong, stepped forward to report to a cold-faced Tianyan Sect cultivator.

The abbot of Daoxuan Temple stood just slightly in front of Qianqing, a hint of ingratiating smile on his face.

After all, bluffing ordinary people might work, but trying to bluff Tianyan Sect — a fellow member of the Eighteen Immortal Sects — even dragging out Great Thunder Temple’s name to borrow authority would not be enough.

“Yuankong?” The Tianyan Sect disciple furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. “He does exist, and he came to Tianyan Sect of his own volition. But your name, Qianqing, has never been registered. If you have any proof, I might be able to pass along the report.”

Qianqing fumbled around her person for a while, and finally pulled out a plain, worn wooden fish from her travel bag.

“Yuankong made this himself. Would this count as proof?”

Forget the Tianyan Sect cultivator — even the young novice winced at the sight.

This battered wooden fish had no inner spiritual glow whatsoever, no trace of divine sense left in it. It was just a broken wooden fish.

Even if it truly was carved by Yuankong’s own hand, it could prove nothing now. After all, who knew if Qianqing hadn’t just carved it herself in her spare time for fun?

No one would accept such a thing.

The Tianyan Sect disciple looked down at the wooden fish for a moment, then raised his head to look at Qianqing. His tone was level:

“You are a mortal martial artist, not a cultivator. I will assume you simply do not know the rules and will not hold it against you. If this is all you have, please leave.”

Qianqing gripped the wooden fish tightly, took a deep breath, then carefully put it away again. She spoke:

“I know Chu Xingchen. He should be with Tianyan Sect as well. He can vouch for my identity. He’s also the one who told Yuankong to come to Tianyan Sect to find him.”

The young novice standing nearby could not maintain his composed expression upon hearing those words.

Chu Xingchen?! ℯℯ𝑙.

Where on earth had Qianqing heard that name to dare throw it around so casually — and she had the nerve to pick the biggest one possible? Then again, it was only natural. A mortal martial artist who wanted to name-drop could only name the most famous person around.

As for whether Qianqing actually knew him, the young novice could tell with his toes that it was fake.

If Qianqing actually knew Chu Xingchen, why would she have needed Daoxuan Temple’s help?

Moreover, a figure of that stature — forget whether they would come out to verify, it would be fine if they didn’t. But if they did come out and got angry at someone throwing their name around, that truly would be more than she could handle.

Chu Xingchen was on what level?

Even the Honored Buddha Runan of Great Thunder Temple had to treat him as an equal. Back in Western Niu Continent, he had gone head-to-head with the entire Buddhist establishment.

A figure of that magnitude could sneeze and demolish Daoxuan Temple until not a single plank remained.

The abbot’s expression was no longer quite as calm. He hurriedly tugged at the bundle on Qianqing’s back, his voice gentle:

“If you don’t know him, you don’t know him. Some people simply cannot be claimed as acquaintances at random. Why not let this Tianyan Sect fellow Daoist leave your name, and when Yuankong arrives, we can relay the message?”

The Tianyan Sect disciple withdrew his gaze and offered a slight bow.

The Daoxuan Temple abbot relaxed slightly upon seeing this and hurriedly returned the bow.

Qianqing pressed her lips together lightly, turning her gaze to the abbot:

“Thank you, Abbot, for bringing me here. The rest of this matter is my own. You may return now.”

“Do not do anything foolish!” The abbot’s brows knit together, his voice earnest. “All things require a balance of firmness and looseness. Pushing too hard will only cost you more than you gain. If today does not work out, wait for another day — lest you lose the chance entirely.”

The young novice nodded vigorously as well: “Exactly, exactly! Even if this Tianyan Sect senior is magnanimous enough not to hold today against us—”

Qianqing’s lips pressed tight. She had seen the truth of this journey clearly.

The gate of Tianyan Sect was protected by a series of interconnected maze formations. According to the young novice, without at least Foundation Establishment cultivation, you could walk for a lifetime and never reach the gate — you would only circle near the exit and eventually leave.

She was a martial artist. Even if she converted her entire cultivation, she could never reach Foundation Establishment.

But if she left now, she would truly lose all initiative.

Yuankong had left without hesitation. He naturally would not come back to see her again.

Before the gate of Tianyan Sect, streaks of rainbow light occasionally flew past and vanished into the sect, like meteors urging her on.

Qianqing bowed once more: “Senior, I truly do know Chu Xingchen. He is handsome, wears white, and speaks with wit. If you have a moment, could you please pass along a message? If my words prove false, I alone will bear all the consequences.”

Her words fell.

Two streaks of rainbow light that had been flying into Tianyan Sect turned around and flew back out.

Then two figures descended.

The Tianyan Sect disciple looked over and immediately bowed:

“Senior Sister Chen, Senior Sister Lin.”

Qianqing looked up to see two women arriving. One had a strikingly beautiful face and wore a white dress; the other had a face full of righteous bearing, radiating an aura of vast, noble qi.

Chen Baiqing nodded slightly, then raised her gaze to look at Qianqing and asked softly:

“You know Chu Xingchen?”

“I truly do. I’ve drunk wine with him.”

“You’re here to find Chu Xingchen?”

“I’m here to find Yuankong.”

Chen Baiqing studied Qianqing for a moment:

“A pure martial artist?”

“Yes…” Qianqing pressed her lips together.

Of course. This strikingly beautiful cultivator would probably say the gap between immortals and mortals was like a chasm, and what was the point of meeting, and so on.

But some things needed to be asked clearly, needed an answer — how could one rest easy without them?

Chen Baiqing recalled for a moment, then spoke:

“Yuankong is not at Tianyan Sect for the time being. But if you insist on coming in, you may follow me.”

Qianqing was momentarily stunned, her expression one of disbelief.

Chen Baiqing calmly withdrew her gaze.

With this situation, one glance was enough for Chen Baiqing to understand.

It was simply a martial artist who did not understand what kind of world cultivators inhabited.

Some things, no matter how many times you explained them in circles, were always useless.

You had to see it for yourself to understand the truth.

It would also serve to smooth over the trouble her master had caused.