"Are you an expert invited by Kasyapa Temple? Impossible. I know every expert Kasyapa Temple is acquainted with—none is called Xiang Yang. A man from Yongzhou... could this be for Yuanbao?"
As Kasyapa Venerable's junior brother, Eight Leaves had also been one of Kasyapa Temple's only two fighting forces in the past. His status was anything but ordinary.
None of Kasyapa Temple's connections or secrets could be hidden from him. Naturally, he knew the temple had never known an expert named Xiang Yang.
This was also why he had joined the Ku Hai lineage.
Because Dao Lord Qingsong was a great mountain barring his path, one that would never allow him to act recklessly.
Borrowing the influence of Shi Fayuan of Ku Hai to withstand Dao Lord Qingsong's pressure had also been a decision reached after careful consideration.
Eight Leaves reacted swiftly as well. From Xiang Yang's Yongzhou origins, he connected him to the fact that the monk Yuanbao came from White Jade Temple in Yongzhou, and thus asked the question.
"Indeed, Master Eight Leaves. Your mind is keen and your discerning eye has not erred. I am Yuanbao's friend, and so I ask that you turn back from the brink and do not keep making mistake after mistake."
Xiang Yang was likewise surprised by the man's wisdom. He admitted it openly and frankly, and while admiring him inwardly, tried to persuade him.
Eight Leaves had once been a great monk of Kasyapa Temple. Both his Zen cultivation and martial arts had reached profound heights. Had momentary anger and delusion not clouded his heart, he would never have fallen into the demonic path of Ku Hai and become one of its fiends.
His earlier strike to block the road had, in truth, carried the intention to kill, sparing himself future