Shi Chan felt deeply touched as he took in the overall atmosphere of the Dao Seeking Sect. He could sense that the spirit of the entire sect was positive, proactive, and brimming with vitality—vastly different from the Hanging Temple.
He felt that their Hanging Temple lacked precisely this lively ambiance.
"No wonder rumors on the street say the Dao Seeking Sect is the foremost immortal sect; it really isn't groundless after all."
The so-called rumors on the street were simply the pingshu storytelling performance, Legend of the Dao Seeking Sect.
He stood by the arena platforms for a while and watched the Dao Seeking Sect disciples trading blows back and forth. Their clashes of magical arts were magnificent, drawing roars of applause and praise.
The Dao Seeking Sect disciples all knew each other, so with an outsider standing in the crowd, it didn't take long for people to guess his identity.
"Could the newcomer be Junior Brother Shi Chan of the Hanging Temple? Would you be willing to step into the ring and spar a bit?"
Shi Chan smiled and shook his head, declining candidly. He stated that he had come to the Dao Seeking Sect in search of the Buddhist Dharma, not to display bravado and fight aggressively, which ran counter to his original intention.
Are you kidding me? You're all starting at the Nascent Soul stage! There's no way on earth I could win against any of you. Going up there wouldn't be sparring; it'd be taking a beating.
"Master often says Daoist Buyu possesses the natures of both Buddha and demon. If left unrestrained, he will surely bring calamity to the mortal realm. Daoist Buyu's cultivation progressed too fast; only Master can subdue him. I wonder what kind of temperaments Daoist Buyu's disciples have."
He inquired among the surrounding crowd for information about Lu Yang.
Lu Yang was truly a figure of renown in the Dao Seeking Sect. His two months and three days as Acting Sect Master had thrust him into the limelight; mention his name, and any disciple could chatter on and on.
"To think that this Lu Yang actually used his Acting Sect Master authority to force a victory for himself. That is truly contemptible. Yet looking at his general reputation, he's well-regarded in the Dao Seeking Sect. No wonder he could master the Arhat Fist. It seems Fellow Daoist Lu possesses profound Buddha-nature and has a bright future ahead. Presumably, his abuse of the Acting Sect Master authority was due to possession by a great demon, leading him astray. Sadhu, sadhu..."
Compared to Daoist Buyu, Lu Yang acted in an open and honorable manner and enjoyed an excellent reputation in the Dao Seeking Sect.
"According to the senior martial brothers and sisters, Daoist Buyu has four disciples. Lu Yang is the fourth. The second and third disciples aren't in the Central Continent, leaving only the eldest disciple holding the fort at Tianmen Peak."
"Master often exhorted me before, telling me never to provoke Daoist Buyu's eldest disciple. But as the saying goes, practice yields true knowledge. The words of scriptures are merely the experiences of those who came before; how could one simply copy them blindly? Let me go test it for myself."
Following the directions, Shi Chan arrived at Tianmen Peak and found Yun Zhi in the midst of cultivating.
Yun Zhi finished her cultivation routine and looked at Shi Chan with slight puzzlement, not understanding why a disciple from the Hanging Temple had sought her out.
"This humble monk is a disciple of the Hanging Temple, Dharma name Shi Chan. May I ask if Senior is the eldest disciple of Daoist Buyu?"
"I am. For what reason does Junior Brother Shi Chan seek me?"
"This humble monk has heard that Senior Yun Zhi's cultivation is peerless, invincible among peers of the same rank. I wonder if Senior could suppress your cultivation to the late Golden Core stage and spar a round with me?"
"Very well."
"To tell the truth, this humble monk has never tasted defeat since embarking on my path. I am rather confident in my cultivation. Senior Yun Zhi may strike at will without worrying whether I can withstand it."
Before long, Shi Chan limped down Tianmen Peak, black-and-blue and swollen all over his face.
"It seems Master was right. Senior Yun Zhi is indeed not someone to be provoked."
Shi Chan then made his way to the commercial street. He could clearly feel that from the shop owners to the assistants, crouching tigers and hidden dragons lurked throughout, truly extraordinary.
"Looking at it this way, over a third of the commercial street consists of experts."
In truth, everyone on the commercial street was an expert; it was simply that the other two-thirds had returned to simplicity and reached natural transcendence, which he failed to see through.
Suddenly, his steps paused, and a vigilant expression crossed his face.
Ahead of him was a cultivator emanating a very obvious fiendish aura—who knew how many human lives this person had claimed!
A demonic cult?!
I'll tail him and see.
He carefully shadowed the cultivator, following him halfway down the street before finally coming to a stop.
The cultivator stopped in front of a barbecue shop. Shi Chan's nose twitched as he caught the aroma—the reaction between cumin and mutton, fully unlocked by open flames. It stimulated one's appetite immensely, making him swallow his saliva involuntarily.
"Mutton skewers! Fresh and authentic mutton skewers!"
"Old Gao, Old Liu, I brought you the meat."
Hearing this, Master Liu cheerfully handed the meat skewers in his hand to Master Gao to roast, then took the Cult Master's storage ring.
Inside the storage ring was beef and mutton from freshly slaughtered cattle and sheep, exceptionally fresh, the muscle tissues still twitching as if dancing.
"Little Master, you've followed me all the way here. Do you want some grilled skewers?" The Cult Master turned around, having noticed Shi Chan tailing him long ago.
"Care for two skewers, Little Master?" Master Gao kindly offered them to Shi Chan.
Shi Chan shook his head slowly yet firmly. "This humble monk brought no money."
Dining at a regular restaurant wasn't expensive; if dining and dashing failed, one could always resolve it by washing dishes. But the skewers before him fetched a steep price, settled in spirit stones, which clearly couldn't be offset by just a few days of washing dishes.
"It's fine. Looking at you, you must be from the Hanging Temple, right? A guest is a guest. These two skewers are free of charge—consider it our treat."
Shi Chan continued to shake his head. "One must not accept things for free. How about this: I see that you seem to run a livestock farm. As it happens, this humble monk has worked at a livestock farm for a time. I can go help out at your farm."
In truth, Shi Chan had been working at a slaughterhouse all along. Had his martial uncle not told him he needed to go study at the Dao Seeking Sect, he would still be at the slaughterhouse right now.
Since the Dao Seeking Sect offered such an opportunity, he might as well use it to continue his cultivation.
"This..." The Cult Master hesitated. This young monk was clearly an eminent monk of the Hanging Temple. If he put him to work on the farm, he feared the Dao Seeking Sect wouldn't let him off lightly if they found out.
Shi Chan produced the token given by Dai Bufan. "Senior Brother Dai told me that with this token, this humble monk may go anywhere in the Dao Seeking Sect."
Seeing Shi Chan's resolute attitude, the Cult Master objected no further. Shi Chan ate the grilled skewers to his heart's content.
The Cult Master led Shi Chan across the core area to a vast grassland. This was the livestock farm he operated—cattle and sheep dotting the land, with lush, succulent pastures.
"Boss, you're back."
Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, and Xiao Qi—the three seductive ghosts—were astonished to see the Cult Master return with a monk.
A demonic cult master running a livestock farm was already strange enough, but why had a monk come to a livestock farm as well?
Shi Chan was also surprised upon seeing the three seductive ghosts. Who would have thought the Dao Seeking Sect would take in three seductive ghosts? Were they practicing the Sage's way of educating all without distinction?
"Shi Chan greets the three female benefactors."
Xiao Wu and the other two hurried to return the courtesy.
Shi Chan quickly settled into the groove. With a raise and drop of his hand, the butcher's knife glided smoothly along the cow's muscle fibers. In the blink of an eye, the beef was carved into over a dozen cuts by section.
"Sadhu, sadhu. Namo amitābhāya tathāgatāya..."
Shi Chan set down the butcher's knife and chanted the Rebirth Mantra to dispel the cow's lingering resentment.
This was why, despite having slaughtered countless cattle, he remained completely clean, without a shred of resentment clinging to him.
He had always been dedicated to having all butchers learn the Rebirth Mantra, though unfortunately there had been little progress so far.
If all butchers could do as he did, there wouldn't have been foolish incidents where Great Yu cultivators refined Soul-Summoning Banners using the resentment of cattle and sheep.
"Little Master, please, rein in your divine power!" Xiao Wu and the two other ghosts pleaded. The three of them were only at the Foundation Establishment stage; how could they possibly endure a Rebirth Mantra recited by someone of Shi Chan's level?
Hearing their pleas, Shi Chan hastily stopped chanting.
He had forgotten there were three ghosts here.
Shi Chan felt guilty and said with earnest goodwill, "If any of you ever tire of living, just tell this humble monk. I will perform the rites to deliver your souls to the beyond free of charge."
The three seductive ghosts hurriedly repeated that there was no need.
Chapter 546