Great Forest Temple, Interesting
This is the Domain of Chaos.
Take it easy.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
You chose to sit down at a quiet tea stall on the street corner.
The tea stall owner, an ordinary old man in his fifties, deftly carried over a bundle of coarse tea.
"Are you a monk from out of town, sir?"
The old man wiped the edge of the table with a rag, his tone lacking the timidity of an ordinary person, more like that of someone receiving a regular guest.
[You followed up on the conversation and asked,]
"The old man has a good eye. I'm new here and have heard there's a Great Forest Temple in these mountains, very popular with worshippers. I've come to pay my respects, but I don't know how to get there."
[The old man casually replied as he poured tea.]
"There is a temple in the mountains, where monks live. But as for the number of people who worship there, sir, you must have misunderstood."
"Those senior monks never go down the mountain to beg for alms, nor do they preach. I've lived in this town for most of my life, and apart from seeing white-robed monks a few times from afar, I don't even know which way the temple gate faces."
[You seem a little surprised.]
[Great Forest Temple is, after all, a top-tier sect capable of establishing itself in the Domain of Chaos; its name is known to the outside world. Wuming, as the current leader of Great Forest Temple, is even known to the Si Clan of the Azure Dragon Upper Domain. Why are the local natives unaware of this?]
Seeing you looking stunned, the old man added,
"However, with this temple there, the town is peaceful. A few years ago, some evil people from outside came to the town to steal people and extract their souls. A vajra shadow fell from the sky and crushed the evil people into mud on the spot."
[You nodded to yourself. The Wisdom King Fire does indeed match the temperament of the Wuming.]
[You sat at the tea stall for another half an hour, listening to the idle chatter around you.]
[Although everyone here knows there's a temple on the mountain, if you ask them about the specifics of Great Forest Temple, none of them can give you any detailed information.]
All they knew was that the senior monk on the mountain possessed a fierce and wrathful nature.
[If anyone commits murder and robbery in town without cause, they will surely be suppressed with swift and decisive action.]
Therefore, the atmosphere in East Forest Town is actually more peaceful than in other places.
[You carefully sensed the Spiritual Qi around you.]
[Luxuan Mountain, as a top-tier gathering place of Spirit Veins in the Domain of Chaos, actually has an extremely high concentration of Spiritual Qi.]
[You might even think that the Spiritual Qi energy here is no less than that of Baodi City in the Azure Dragon Upper Domain.]
[But this Spiritual Qi had a strange quality to it.]
[Like the tides of the ocean, coming in waves. Sometimes so thick they make your pores open, sometimes so thin they're almost as vast as Eight Hundred Borderlands.]
[You secretly did some deduction.]
[If an ordinary cultivator were to meditate and practice breathing exercises here, they would barely reach the threshold of circulating their spiritual energy before their Spiritual Qi suddenly plummets, making them extremely susceptible to Qi Deviation. In terms of the stability of cultivation, it is far inferior to Doushu City.]
But there's also a huge advantage here.
[The space here is stable; unlike other places, there aren't ruins or secret realms that pop up from time to time.]
[No wonder this place attracts mortals and low-level cultivators; the word "stability" alone is more valuable than anything else in the Domain of Chaos.]
[Precisely because the Spiritual Qi fluctuates, the entire East Forest Town stretches for only a few hundred miles, barely larger than the market town at the foot of the Greenwood Sect Mountain.]
[You leave the tea stall.]
[You wandered around the town and discovered that there was practically no legitimate business here.]
[There was no Pills shop, no Law Artifact shop, not even a decent inn in sight.]
[The low-level cultivators here live like ordinary people, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, relying on cultivating a few acres of barren land to grow some spiritual rice and vegetables, completely self-sufficient.]
The outskirts of the town are completely undeveloped.
[You witness a newly arrived Foundation Establishment Rogue Cultivator casually find an open space, draw his flying sword, cut down a few trees, and build a makeshift wooden hut to live in.]
[Throughout the entire process, no guards came to question him, and no one bothered him about collecting any land fees.]
This wildly thriving yet strangely peaceful ecosystem is nothing short of a miracle in the Domain of Chaos.
[You walked along the Main Street of the town to its end and finally saw the properties of Great Forest Temple.]
[A courtyard with gray tiles and white walls, with three characters written on the plaque above the gate: Reception Hall.]
The courtyard gate was wide open, and the inside was completely empty; there wasn't even an incense burner.
[Only a young monk dressed in white robes sat cross-legged on the threshold.]
You step forward.
[You didn't deliberately try to lighten your footsteps, but the monk didn't even lift an eyelid.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: A polite inquiry.]
[B: He kicked open the threshold and shouted, "Hey! Bald monk, you're here to entertain guests!"]
[C: Takes a wooden fish from his Storage Ring, sits opposite the monk, and starts striking it wildly while chanting: "DJ version of the Great Compassion Mantra, shake to the rhythm!"]
Little B, we've come here to ask you for a favor.
Let's play it safe.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
[You approach the monk and speak politely.]
"Master, I have come to Great Forest Temple to pay my respects at the invitation of your esteemed temple's Wuming, Wuming."
The white-robed monk finally opened his eyes.
He glanced at you, his gaze calm and devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
[Then, he shook his head, pointed to the door, and closed his eyes again.]
You were stunned.
What kind of attitude is this?
[You, a dignified Nascent Soul True Lord —no, Golden Core True Person— took the initiative to ask a question, and this monk didn't even utter a sound, just pointed to the door and chased people away?]
[You're wondering if you should reveal a little of your presence to this young monk and teach him a lesson about the rules of the cultivation world.]
[Another monk walked out of the courtyard.]
[This monk appeared to be older, with Foundation Establishment Late Stage level, and was holding a broom.]
Seeing you standing at the door, he quickly walked over and bowed.
"Please forgive me, senior. Junior Brother Wuyan is currently practicing Closed-Mouth Zen and hasn't spoken a word for six years."
"He's not telling you to leave; he's just pointing outside and telling you to make yourself at home."
After hearing this, you were speechless.
[What the hell is this "Closed-Mouth Zen"?]
[Your Great Forest Temple really knows how to assign jobs!]
[To have someone who practices Closed-Mouth Zen serve as the face of the Reception Hall?]
[You looked at the monk with the broom, but didn't react.]
[You flipped your wrist, pulled out the string of Buddhist beads Wuming had given you, handed it over, and repeated your purpose.]
The monk's expression became more solemn upon seeing the prayer beads.
He accepted the prayer beads with both hands, and after confirming their authenticity, respectfully returned them with both hands.
"So it's Brother Wuming's guest."
[The monk clasped his hands together, his Dharma name Wujue.]
"Brother Wuming has returned to the temple. Since you have the token, you are naturally a person destined for this temple."
You nodded and waited for him to lead the way.
[According to the usual practice in the cultivation world, since you presented the token of a core disciple, the other party should at least invite you into the inner hall, offer you Spirit Tea, and then quickly send someone to inform you.]
[As a result, Wujue pointed to a mountain path north of the town.]
"Senior, follow this path upwards. After crossing Stone Gate Ravine, you will reach the territory of Great Forest Temple. Please make your own way."
After saying this, Wujue picked up his broom, turned around, and went back to the courtyard to continue sweeping.
[You stand at the entrance of the Reception Hall, holding prayer beads in your hand, which appear slightly disheveled in the wind.]
[Options pop up.]
[A: If you're going to walk, then walk on your own, following the mountain path to Stone Gate Ravine.]
[B: Two ants, both have been scattered...]
[C: Patted Wujue on Wujue shoulder meaningfully and said earnestly, "Young comrade, your thinking is dangerous. You don't even offer pre-sales guidance when customers come to your door—that's a classic sign of a lack of ownership! You'll have a hard time getting promoted in the workplace if you act like this. Come on, I'll give you a free training session; the materials only cost 3.2 million..."]