Chapter 1042: The Xitian Secret Domain
The Cyan Smoke Venerable Lord hadn’t reached the Transcendent Tribulation Stage by simply relying on his terrifying talent, astonishing scheming, unwavering perseverance, and good fortune.
At critical moments, he knew when to back down.
“Not bad.” Lu Yang paced around with his hands behind his back as he inspected the cabin, exuding an air of refinement.
Truly the work of a Transcendent Tribulation expert. It looks extraordinary. The cabin is exquisitely built, without so much as a splinter.
Inside the cabin, tables, chairs, a bed, and a wardrobe were all provided.
“Wait, why is there only one bed?” Lu Yang frowned. If I sleep here, where would the Immortal Fairy sleep?
The Cyan Smoke Venerable Lord was taken aback. “Given your relationship with the Great Immortal, do you still need separate beds?”
“Hmm?”
“Hmm?”
The Cyan Smoke Venerable Lord realized his mistake. When there’s a disagreement with the boss, it must be my fault. He quickly corrected himself. “I wasn’t thorough with my considerations. I’ll make another bed right away.”
“What’s wrong with one bed?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy floated out. She found the cabin acceptable, though far inferior to Zhu Tian’s work. The Great Xia imperial palace had also been built by Transcendent Tribulation cultivators.
“Um...” The Cyan Smoke Venerable Lord’s gaze darted back and forth. He was unsure who he should listen to. Logically speaking, I should obey the Great Immortal, but offending the Great Immortal’s favorite doesn't seem like it would end well either.
“Immortal Fairy, if there’s only one bed, where would I sleep?”
“Isn’t this bed large enough for the two of us?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy gestured. The bed built by the Cyan Smoke Venerable Lord was even larger than the one in the mental space.
“As the emperor of the Great Dou Dynasty, Your Exalted Majesty is of supreme and exalted stature. Your humble minister is filled with awe and reverence. How could I be qualified to share a bed with Your Exalted Majesty? That is something only a male concubine would do.”
“Are you a male concubine?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy hadn’t heard this term before and asked curiously.
Lu Yang stated solemnly, “No.”
“Very well then. Let’s have two beds.”
After witnessing this exchange, the Cyan Smoke Venerable Lord decided that he had better follow Lu Yang’s lead in the future.
A night passed.
The elders of Xitian Temple were still tirelessly searching for traces of Ye Zijin, but even after turning the entire Xitian City upside down, they wound up empty-handed.
Xinding’s life became eventful. Due to Yu Youlan’s one-sided ambiguous feelings for him, quite a few cultivators came looking for trouble. The cultivators hostile toward Xinding were all at the Great Perfection Qi Training Stage. If they fought Xinding directly, they would be accused of bullying the weak. Thus, they sent underlings at the Level Seven Qi Training Stage, who were Xinding’s equal in cultivation.
However, with the Dragon Mandate Visualization Painting, Arhat Fist, and Lion Roar, Xinding was unbeatable among his peers at the same level.
After the Level Seven Qi Training cultivators were defeated, they sent Level Eight, then Level Nine cultivators, until finally, the Great Perfection Qi Training cultivators had to step in personally.
With the momentum of slicing through bamboo, Xinding grew stronger with each battle. Honing his skills through combat, his comprehension of combat techniques, Arhat Fist, and Lion Roar improved rapidly, astounding everyone.
“With such talent, he'll surely enter the Upper Martial Vihara and become a martial monk there.”
“That's hard to say. He has the lowest-grade Quintuple Spirit Root. He can fight at the Qi Training Stage simply because there are fewer methods available, and he happened to learn Lion Roar, which Qi Training cultivators shouldn't be able to master. Once he reaches the Foundation Establishment Stage, he'll struggle. This is just a fleeting moment of glory.”
“True. Do people really think a mere menial monk can throw his weight around?”
“So what if he has a grand-junior-uncle at the Divine Transfiguration Stage as his backer? He only has a Quintuple Spirit Root. How could his cultivation talent compare to ours? We have Quadruple Spirit Roots.”
Despite all the discussions surrounding him, Xinding paid no heed to them and focused on his cultivation.
Two months later, Master Mingyu gathered all monks at the Qi Training Stage to enter the Xitian Secret Domain. The monks hailed from the servant's courtyard, the Martial Vihara, the refectory, the Disciplinary Precepts Courtyard... Every year, Master Mingyu would hold such a gathering, though no one in Xitian Temple knew what lay inside the secret domain. Even questioning these Qi Training monks afterward was useless; they all forgot everything.
The Qi Training monks entered the secret domain, leaving Xitian Temple empty. Two administrators from the Martial Vihara began chatting.
“Does the Xitian Secret Domain have some kind of restriction on cultivation realms? Otherwise, why let only Qi Training cultivators enter and not us?”
“Is it possible that we entered when we were at the Qi Training Stage?”
“Hmm, you have a point.”
~~~
For many monks, it was their first time seeing Master Mingyu. They could hardly hide the excitement in their eyes, though they had no idea where he was taking them.
It was also Lu Yang's first time seeing the ruler of the Buddhist Kingdom.
Master Mingyu was tall and stood out among the crowd like a crane among chickens. He wore a splendid kasaya that reflected his status.
As Xinding had been in the spotlight lately, he drew much attention as well, attracting gazes of envy and jealousy.
Master Mingyu led the group to an area behind the Abbot Courtyard. It was a forbidden zone shrouded in a mist of chaotic energy, preventing probing through spiritual consciousness. Only Master Mingyu was qualified to enter. The Xitian Secret Domain was hidden somewhere within the mist, so no one had ever known its true location.
“The secret domain has opened. It's right inside the mouth of a stone lion,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy said. In the entire forbidden zone of chaotic energy, apart from Master Mingyu, only the Everlasting Immortal Fairy could see what was happening.
Master Mingyu tugged at one of the stone lion's teeth. The Xitian Secret Domain opened, and the monks entered one by one.
The moment they entered, Lu Yang could feel the Buddhist aura even from inside the Qingfeng Sword's small world. “What a dense Buddhist aura.”
This was the Buddhist aura used for purification and deliverance, but Lu Yang had never seen it so concentrated.
All the monks’ eyes went vacant, and they stood rooted to their spots.
“They’ve entered an illusion under the influence of the Buddhist aura?” Lu Yang's cultivation technique was highly sensitive to illusions. This must be the Xitian Secret Domain’s trial.
“I wonder if any from this batch will pass the trial.” Master Mingyu was uncertain. It had been a long time since any monk had passed the secret domain's trial. Even he had not. The last successful case could be traced back to twelve thousand years ago, when his shifu was still at the Qi Training Stage.
“Perhaps Xinzhen from the Disciplinary Precepts Courtyard has a chance.” Master Mingyu looked at a monk with large ears and a face like Buddha’s. According to the head of the Disciplinary Precepts Courtyard, Xinzhen was a rare, promising talent, born with Buddha-like features. He was well-versed in Buddhist principles and was an honest person. Everyone who knew him was full of praise for him.
As for Xinding, he had also heard of him, but Xinding was renowned for his combat prowess, not Buddhist teachings.
To pass the secret domain's trial, cultivation is not important. What matters is one’s proficiency in Buddhist teachings.
“Let’s see what choices they make in the illusion.” Master Mingyu recited a Buddhist name, merged into the Buddhist aura, and entered the illusions.
Within the illusion, Xinzhen was stripped to the waist under the blazing sun. He carried massive rocks on his back to build a deity's statue. A rock slipped and fell, chipping a corner.
The foreman was furious and lashed him with a whip. Xinzhen pressed his palms together and chanted scriptures, entering a state of forgetting both the self and all things, forgetting his physical suffering.
“To endure such suffering without a change in expression—not bad.” Master Mingyu marveled.
“I’ve heard from the Martial Vihara that Xinding is also a promising talent.” Recalling Xinding, Master Mingyu entered his illusory domain.
The moment he entered, he heard agonized screams.
Master Mingyu frowned. Why is Xinding’s temperament so weak that he can't bear even a little pain?
Then he saw Xinding lashing the foreman with a whip.
