Temple

In Li Huowang's impression, the vast majority of temples were built in the mountains; temples built within cities were relatively rare.

But that was not what concerned him. What concerned him more was the name of the temple the pilgrim had just mentioned. "Zhengde Temple?"

Li Huowang immediately recalled what Zheng Kun had said to Danyangzi before dying. It seemed they had once been hunted down by the monks of Zhengde Temple.

His heart began to race. He had found the right place. After everything he had gone through on the road, he had finally arrived.

Just then, after turning a corner, the view before him suddenly opened up.

Clean, orderly Stone Slabs stretched all the way to the foot of a broad staircase. At the end of those hundreds of steps stood a solemn temple, its date-red walls wreathed in incense smoke.

On the black plaque above the towering temple gates, three large vermilion characters were written: Zhengde Temple.

The upper scroll read: Cultivate virtue, plant causes, the Dharma Body is perfect and wondrous. The lower scroll read: Clear waters reveal the moon, the jade canopy is majestic.

Amid its flourishing incense offerings, the whole temple was shrouded in white smoke, looking exceptionally otherworldly.

"Little Daoist Master, I won't accompany you inside. Please make yourself at home. Oh, right—West Capital City isn't like Jianye. There's a curfew at night. Remember to return before dark."

Li Huowang took a deep breath and walked toward the steps teeming with people.

Following the pilgrims, he entered the temple, where several Great Halls stood before him.

At that moment, Li Huowang stood there like a reef amid the tide of people, taking in everything around him.

He had found the temple, but the next question stumped him. How was he supposed to make contact with the monks here?

Tell them directly that he was Danyangzi's disciple? Wouldn't that get him slapped to death in one blow?

Before Li Huowang could devise a plan, a monk from Zhengde Temple approached him first. Even amid the crowded throng, Li Huowang's Daoist Robe was simply too conspicuous.

The moment the other man spoke, the pure Buddhist air about him was far beyond anything that old monk from before could compare with. "Amitabha. This humble monk is Jian Dun. Greetings."

Seeing the plump monk before him press his palms together, Li Huowang immediately returned the salute. "Master, pleased to meet you. I am Xuan Yang."

"As a disciple of the Mystic Gate, Benefactor, I presume you did not come to this temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. This way, please."

Li Huowang glanced at the bustling crowd around them, nodded, and followed him toward a side gate.

Looking at the ordination scars atop the monk's head, Li Huowang began considering what he should say next.

The two wound through the imposing temple buildings. The clamor of the crowd at the entrance gradually faded away. In the end, they stopped beneath a golden ginkgo tree, before a set of stone table and benches.

"Please, Benefactor." Monk Jian Dun sat down, slowly turning a string of prayer beads between his hands.

He did not ask Li Huowang which sect he belonged to, nor did he ask why Li Huowang had come, displaying the tranquil restraint and lack of worldly desire of a Buddhist Disciple to the fullest.

After pondering for a while, Li Huowang looked at the monk before him. "Danyangzi is dead."

With a clatter, the yellowish-brown prayer beads scattered in every direction.

Seeing the fat monk rise to his feet, Li Huowang quietly nodded to himself.

There was no mistake. The monks here had indeed dealt with Danyangzi.

"That old ox-nosed Daoist is truly dead? This matter is of grave importance. Benefactor, please tell me everything in detail."

Since he wanted answers, he naturally had to provide enough information.

Apart from concealing the fact that he had taken the so-called Heavenly Book, Li Huowang told the monk before him everything that had happened at Qingfeng Temple.

"Master, could Danyangzi in that state truly become an immortal?"

As he said this, Li Huowang leaned forward slightly and continued in a solemn voice, "Or perhaps... did he become something else?"

A breeze passed through, making the golden leaves of the nearby ginkgo tree rustle.

"Benefactor, did you truly hear Danyangzi speaking beside your ear?" Jian Dun, equally grave-faced, confirmed again.

"Yes, without a doubt. And it wasn't merely an illusion. There was also the God of Joy's abnormality."

Recalling that scene, a trace of irritation appeared in Li Huowang's eyes.

"The God of Joy, whom no one could look upon directly, was originally going to crawl out of the darkness and eat me. But his body hidden in the darkness seemed to be tugged by something."

"Though I have no basis for it, I have a suspicion. The thing pulling the God of Joy in that darkness was Danyangzi—Danyangzi after becoming an immortal."

After thinking with a grave expression, Jian Dun rose to his feet. "Benefactor, please wait a moment. This matter is of grave importance."

Having said that, Jian Dun pressed his palms together toward Li Huowang, turned, and hurried away.

Though the other man had said nothing, his attitude had already conveyed some information.

Li Huowang raised his head and looked at the clouds in the sky. "As expected, Danyangzi's matter won't end so easily."

Jian Dun returned even faster than Li Huowang had expected. In less than half the time it took to burn an incense stick, he hurried back with a new string of prayer beads in hand.

"Benefactor Xuan Yang, this way, please. The abbot wishes to see you personally."

Zhengde Temple was enormous. After winding through its buildings for quite a while, Li Huowang finally arrived before a magnificent Great Hall.

Through the hall's eight-panel doors, Li Huowang saw five gigantic, majestic golden Buddhas more than ten zhang tall, seated cross-legged in varying poses.

On a meditation cushion before the five golden Buddhas sat a figure in a Kasaya, wearing a Five Buddha Hat resembling the one worn by Tang Sanzang.

After Li Huowang entered, he heard the monk chanting sutras. Because the Great Hall was spacious enough, the chanting even produced an ethereal echo.

Under the gaze of those five enormous golden Buddhas, Li Huowang involuntarily slowed his steps.

The chanting stopped, and the monk seated cross-legged on the cushion slowly turned around.

The instant Li Huowang saw the monk's appearance, he was greatly surprised.

He was an Old Abbot with white eyebrows and beard. What surprised Li Huowang was not his exceptionally kind appearance, but his eyes.

They were a pair of pink eyes. Having spent so much time with Bai Lingmiao, Li Huowang recognized at a glance that, like her, he suffered from albinism.

"Amitabha. This old monk is Xin Hui. Greetings." Abbot Xin Hui pressed his palms together, his tone calm.

"I am Xuan Yang. Greetings, Abbot." After returning the salute, Li Huowang sat down opposite him.

"Abbot, regarding Danyangzi—"

Li Huowang had only gotten halfway through when the other man raised a hand to stop him.

"Benefactor Xuan Yang, do you recognize the five Buddhas in this hall?"

Seeing Li Huowang shake his head, Xin Hui stroked his long white beard and explained, "At the center is Vairocana of the Central Vajra Realm; in the east, Akshobhya Buddha of the Eastern Fragrant Accumulation Realm; in the south, Ratnasambhava Buddha of the Joyful World; in the west, Amitabha of the Western Pure Land Realm; and in the north, Amoghasiddhi of the Northern Lotus Realm. Together, they are known as the Five Wisdom Tathagatas."

Li Huowang could not help feeling anxious. What exactly did this monk mean by telling him such irrelevant things?

"Abbot, we can discuss those matters another time. May I ask, what exactly has Danyangzi become now?"

Xin Hui pressed his palms together and looked calmly at Li Huowang once more. "He became a Buddha."

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