Chapter 1044: The Temple’s Main Treasure
Master Mingyu’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Fortunately, I’m now the one managing the secret domain, not the one taking the trial. Otherwise, Xinding’s words would have been enough to kick me out.
As Master Mingyu revealed himself, Xinding’s memory returned, and he realized that he was still undergoing the second trial.
He was befuddled. I was just helping someone cross the river. Why did the abbot appear again?
Is this such a big deal?
Perhaps the abbot’s action carries some profound meaning, but my comprehension is too poor to grasp it.
Nevertheless, there is no shame in not understanding; I can just ask for guidance.
“Abbot, may I ask if there is something wrong with me helping someone across?”
Master Mingyu had been about to speak, but froze at Xinding’s question.
Indeed, is there anything wrong with helping someone across?
“Nothing. You did well.” Master Mingyu looked at Xinding with a complicated expression. I can’t tell whether Xinding’s words are a mere coincidence or genuinely stem from comprehension. Either way, Xinding has a chance of passing the secret domain’s trials.
It seems Xinzhen isn’t the only promising talent this time.
With that, Master Mingyu turned and left, leaving a baffled Xinding behind.
Why did the abbot leave without giving me an answer?
The pass rate for the second trial was even lower than the first. Ninety-eight percent of the young monks failed to get through.
After two rounds of trials, only a handful of young monks remained. Apart from Xinding, the others were all known for their profound Buddha-nature.
The dense Buddhist aura enveloped them once again, and the third trial began.
Xinzhen fell into an illusion and recalled that he was a Chan master within it. Someone who found him an eyesore was hurling insults at him.
“You uncultured brute! You may have a mother who gave birth to you, but not a mother who raised you properly...”
The insults were extremely vile and unbearable to listen to.
Xinzhen pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state, as if he hadn’t heard the insults at all.
After the man was finally tired of yelling, he looked at Xinzhen in bewilderment. “I’ve been cursing you for so long. Why haven’t you reacted at all?”
Xinzhen opened his eyes, his gaze as calm as a pool. He smiled faintly. “If someone gives you a gift, but you refuse to accept it, then who does the gift belong to?”
The man answered, “It belongs to the person who originally gave the gift.”
Xinzhen smiled. “Exactly. If I don’t accept your abuse, then you are cursing yourself.”
Xinzhen passed.
This trial tested “abstinence from anger.” It required one to maintain inner calm in the face of insults.
“No anger or hatred. Not bad.” Master Mingyu secretly assessed Xinzhen. He is neither arrogant nor patient, standing out among the monks. In these three trials, his choices matched my own.
“I wonder how Xinding is faring.” After two rounds of trials, Master Mingyu had come to regard Xinding as being on the same level as Xinzhen.
The moment Master Mingyu entered Xinding’s illusion, he heard Xinding’s resolute rebuttal.
“You are the uncultured brute. You may have a mother who gave birth to you, but not a mother who raised you properly...”
It was an intense situation, with the two verbally abusing each other; even a passing dog would get cursed.
“Stop!”
Master Mingyu couldn’t help but reveal himself again. Why do this kid’s choices always defy my expectations?
Those who could move on to the third trial were all Buddhist cultivators with Buddha-nature. Even if they couldn’t hold back, at worst, they would get angry. They wouldn’t go so far as to exchange insults with the other party.
But Xinding went straight into a verbal spat.
“Abbot, why have you come again?” Xinding looked at Mingyu in surprise.
“Why can’t I come? Why are you exchanging insults with him?” Master Mingyu asked, exasperated.
“Because he was insulting me,” Xinding replied matter-of-factly.
“He insulted you, so you insulted him back?”
“Abbot, if someone gives you a gift, but you refuse to accept it, what would you do?”
“Give it back to them, of course.”
“Exactly. Isn’t that what I’m doing? However he insults me, I’ll insult him back the same way.”
Master Mingyu was speechless. For the first time, he wondered whether his understanding of Buddhist teachings was still lacking.
Looking at Xinding’s calm visage, he recalled that Xinding had maintained a placid expression while exchanging insults earlier. He didn’t look like he was quarreling at all!
Xinding genuinely believes he is just “returning the gift!”
The third trial concluded. Only Xinzhen and Xinding passed. This had never happened before in any previous trial.
In the past, either no one passed all three trials, or only a single person did.
“Both of you are not bad.” Master Mingyu nodded approvingly, though his expression turned complicated when he looked toward Xinding.
“The three trials were meant to test your Buddha-nature. Only those who pass all three trials are considered to be deeply endowed with Buddha-nature, unaffected by the Buddhist aura, and worthy of attempting to form a bond with the temple’s main treasure."
Master Mingyu led the two into a deeper space within the Xitian Secret Domain.
Upon entering this deeper space, the Buddhist aura was so thick it seemed like a mist of chaotic energy, obscuring the path ahead.
Master Mingyu gently exhaled, blowing away the Buddhist aura to reveal a path. At its end stood an altar displaying śarīra relics, an incense burner, scriptures, and other offerings for the temple’s main treasure.
Lu Yang finally got a clear look at the treasure—an axe. Its blade was chipped, and its surface bore a delicate handprint indentation.
“Heaven-Splitting Axe?!”
This was the immortal artifact that the Heaven Mandate Immortal had been proud of. It could be called a supreme immortal artifact of the ancient era.
The Heaven Mandate Immortal had forged the axe through countless hammerings, melting down countless immortal metals and precious treasures. The axe handle was part of the Epoch Immortal’s main branch, imbued with the power of time. It was capable of cleaving the firmament and splitting open heaven.
The Heaven Mandate Immortal had mentioned that Hui Doudou had ambushed him in the Great Qian era. After that battle, the Heaven-Splitting Axe had gone missing. So, the Xitian Temple had obtained it?
Lu Yang pieced things together. When the Heaven Mandate Immortal and Hui Doudou fought, it must have been a life-and-death struggle. During their battle, the Heaven-Splitting Axe had simultaneously borne the force of the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s Tribulation Mandate power and Hui Doudou’s Silent Annihilation power.
The handprint on the axe was probably left by Hui Doudou.
Master Mingyu introduced the axe. “This item is very likely the legendary Heaven-Splitting Axe. Our temple obtained it by chance during the early Great Qian era. When we first acquired it, the axe contained a power that could destroy everything. No one could approach it. Releasing even the slightest amount of its power would have plunged the world into abject misery.
“To purify that power, generations of eminent monks worked day and night. At last, they completed the purification, and in the process, the axe attained its Buddhist aura.
“However, an immortal item is extraordinary. Not just anyone is qualified to receive it. To gain the axe’s recognition, one must first pass the three Buddhist aura trials, demonstrating sufficient ability to withstand the Buddhist aura within the axe. After that, the immortal axe will choose someone. Only those it selects will be worthy to wield it.”
Master Mingyu had passed the three trials when he was at the Qi Training Stage, but he had failed to gain the Heaven-Splitting Axe’s acknowledgement. He wondered whether Xinzhen and Xinding would succeed where he had not.
“So your Xitian Temple’s main treasure is the Heaven-Splitting Axe.” A smug voice came from Xinzhen.
A cultivator whose robes were embroidered with hourglasses, sundials, and other time-related patterns flew out of Xinzhen’s storage ring, stretching his limbs.
“After lurking so many times, I’ve finally latched onto a little monk who could pass the three Buddhist aura trials.”
“Who are you?!” Master Mingyu’s expression shifted dramatically. To think this person has entered the Xitian Secret Domain multiple times without my detection.
For him to dare show himself so brazenly, he must have come prepared!
“Timekeeper Divine Lord of the Great Qian. I wonder if you’ve heard of me, Great Master?”
