Chapter 448 -44: Don’t Let Her Release Gravity
Cultivators enjoy such high esteem within the country not unrelated to Lu Country’s relentless propaganda and efforts. Take, for instance, live battlefield broadcasts, the awarding of honors in Pingjing, and ubiquitous news coverage, which has led to a situation where even those who pay no attention to current affairs have likely heard of “Lu Country Cultivators” and “Divine General Dinghai.”
For cultivators, such treatment is more advantageous than not; who wouldn’t like to be revered in public and return home in glory?
But it must be admitted, having too many fans is ultimately a source of annoyance. Public places they once visited openly become inconvenient to frequent due to the rapid increase in fan numbers.
Fans tend to be fiercely local in nature because most people actually can’t distinguish who is stronger or weaker, and thus, subconsciously support the cultivators from their hometown.
Yan Yu’s strength is in a league of its own, hence his widespread popularity across the country. Apart from him, Su Yunjin is the most famous within Gusu Residence territory; even Lord Master Liu Longtao’s renown doesn’t carry weight here—the local uncles and aunties prefer to promote Yun Jin in their circles rather than mentioning this cultivator from Pingjing; even the presence of the Dingbei Army offers no solution.
Faced with the adoration of local fans, Yan Yu had no choice but to flee with Su Yunjin in tow, randomly opting for Sword Flight in any direction.
...
They hadn’t been flying for long before they saw the landscape below give way to the glimmering surface of a lake.
Another sea? No, it must be Tai Lake. Strange, why do I say “another”?
Suddenly, Yan Yu remembered. Yesterday, when dining at Ningning’s place, he had faced a similar pattern: overwhelmed by the pressure from relatives, they had fled mid-meal to a small island overseas, probably because they found it deserted, and Ningning had become earnest, piling on different kinds of pressure on him.
Remember the past to guide the future. Having learned from yesterday’s lesson, if Yan Yu allowed Yun Jin to unleash the Gravity Spell again, it would truly be ludicrous.
Spotting another island amidst the lake below, he descended with Su Yunjin—only to discover that she had been huddled in his arms all the while.
Her eyes were tightly shut, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and there was a faint scent of jasmine lingering in her smooth, jet-black hair. Although her shampoo was definitely not as luxurious as Ling Yun’s, the rich fragrance mixing with the female hormones was incredibly enchanting against his nose.
Sword Flight is a unity of body and blade, with the Swordmaster himself forming a resonance with the Flying Sword, naturally fearless; but for those swept into the sword light, being dragged through the air by some invisible force can be understandably frightening.
Yan Yu patted her shoulder gently and said,
“We’ve come down now; there’s nobody here.”
Su Yunjin slowly released him, a mix of embarrassment and inner turmoil on her face, trying to appear composed as she looked around.
They seemed to be on a mountain, surrounded by trees, with no sign of others.
“Let’s find a place to sit for a bit,” Su Yunjin suggested.
“But I want to climb the mountain,” Yan Yu instantly rejected the idea, wielding a tactic of diversion.
Right now, she’s undoubtedly preoccupied with the fact that I’ve just rescued her from encirclement. If we pause here for a moment, she’ll surely go on the offensive, pressuring me just like Ningning did yesterday.
She needs some time to cool off!
“Okay, then let’s go,” agreed Su Yunjin with a nod, “After all, we didn’t really do much at Lingering Garden just now.”
They ascended the mountain steps together. Yan Yu paused frequently to admire the scenery, while Su Yunjin kept beside him, silent, her expression serene.
Yan Yu felt as if his tactics were failing—he had prepared eighteen different strategies to counter the Gravity Spell, yet Secretary Su remained quiet, accompanying me up the mountain… Was I wrong to think so ill of her?
This thought brought an indescribable heaviness, not from Yun Jin’s words or actions, but from his own conscience and morals probing him.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be so guarded against her.
“It looks like there’s a temple ahead,” said Yan Yu, “Shall we take a look?”
“Sure,” responded Su Yunjin with a bright smile.
They arrived at the temple gate and saw four golden characters embossed on the plaque above.
“Zen Amidst the Colors of the Mountain,” Yan Yu read the inscription aloud.
Pfft. Su Yunjin covered her mouth to laugh.
“What’s wrong?” Yan Yu turned his head and asked.
“The temple plaques, they have ancient and modern writing styles,” Su Yunjin said with a smile, “Ancient writing goes from right to left, and modern writing from left to right. This plaque was originally written by the high monk Shan Xiao during the Ming Dynasty, then later renovated to look the same, so it should be read from right to left, pronounced ‘Baoshan Zen Temple’.”
“Of course, I know that,” Yan Yu said calmly, “I was just testing your knowledge.”
“So did I pass the test?” Su Yunjin blinked.
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“Barely adequate, I’ll let you pass,” Yan Yu nodded slightly.
They passed through the mountain gate hall and entered the temple square.
The temple didn’t have many visitors, the environment was quiet, simple, and rustic. Although it could not be said to be completely without commercial traces of coppery odor, at least it didn’t display several dozens of eighteen-seed prayer beads with a three-digit price tag. On the left was the Treasure Basin, on the right the Fortune Bell, and of course there was also the corresponding Merit Box. Whether the worshippers wanted to pray or ring the bell, it was self-operated, donations were voluntary.
Both of them were now cultivators, devoid of the very secular desires of getting promoted or becoming rich, so after a casual glance, they continued to walk forward.
“Why is there nobody in this temple?” Su Yunjin said curiously, “I used to come here with my dad, and the townspeople down the mountain really liked coming up here to worship.”
“Anyway, we definitely haven’t stumbled into some mysterious realm,” Yan Yu said.
“Huh?” Su Yunjin paused, “Why not?”
“Because there wouldn’t be any airplanes in the sky of a mysterious realm,” Yan Yu pointed upwards as he spoke.
Su Yunjin looked up and indeed saw a passenger plane crossing the firmament; she breathed a sigh of relief and laughed,
“It’s rare for the captain to come out and play with me for a day, I wouldn’t want to deal with any mysterious realm.”
The two of them arrived at the Great Hero Treasure Hall. Strangely, there were no monks at all inside.
After passing through the Great Hero Treasure Hall and climbing up about a hundred steps, they finally reached the Scripture Pavilion behind the temple, where they saw an elderly monk hurriedly coming down from the second floor with a scroll in his arms.
Hmm?
Yan Yu recognized the face of this monk; wasn’t this the Compassion Chan Master?
The Compassion Chan Master, in his previous life, was also a very famous lay cultivator. Although he embarked on the path of cultivation, he did not study any combat techniques and spent his life exploring the Buddhist teachings, striving only for the realization of Arhathood, without any other intention.
Yan Yu remembered him because, among the Eye Perception skills that the cultivator envoys had to learn in the previous life, only eight people in the whole country could teach it, and Compassion Chan Master was one of them—at that time, before the resurgence of spiritual energy, the old master already had an official position.
With scriptures in hand, the old master glanced at Yan Yu and Su Yunjin, nodded to greet them, and then stepped past them, heading towards the mountain stairs.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned back around and asked in surprise,
“Zhenhai Team? Yan Yu, Su Yunjin?”
“Sorry for the intrusion,” Yan Yu was quite respectful towards this master and nodded slightly.
“Good, good,” the old master immediately revealed a smile, “I have a matter for which I’d like to ask for your assistance.”
If it were any other lay cultivator saying this, Yan Yu would have drawn his sword already, but since the Compassion Chan Master truly was a good man in his past life, he didn’t harbor too much suspicion and merely asked,
“What exactly are you referring to?”
“Within this mountain, there is another Buddha hall,” the old master said seriously, “There are some mechanisms inside the hall, and I lack the ability to solve them, so I can only ask for your help.”