Fengde Temple

That's hard to say...

How can I be honest about it?

Li Qi also fell into deep thought.

Fortunately, just like his reaction earlier, the Trumpet Flower God didn't urge him.

It is still very important to think things through carefully.

Li Qi did need to consider this carefully, because he didn't want to tell the Trumpet Flower God that his main purpose was to use her momentum of returning to the Tang Kingdom to the Tang Kingdom's high-level social circle.

After all, the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom wasn't stupid. Everyone was using each other, and things on the scales had to be equal. Once Li Qi's main purpose was exposed, she didn't need to do any more favors to invite those monks.

Fengde Temple wasn't owned by her, so persuading the monks to welcome Li Qi and inspect the Buddha sculptures was a waste of her personal connections.

Therefore, if Li Qi didn't say anything, it would be like he was getting something for nothing by using the other party's influence to return to the social circle.

After a while, Li Qi raised his head and said, "It is indeed difficult to speak frankly about this matter, but I can say that I have encountered some trouble and I want to find Technique Method at least at the level of Heavenly Eye, so that it may be possible to help me get through this difficulty."

"My teacher got involved in this matter, but he only gave me some pointers and taught me a lesson. He didn't help me personally, but those pointers almost made my head explode. Just when I was struggling with this, I met a little monk."

"That little monk had the beginnings of the Heavenly Eye, so I came to take a look, just to find out clearly and see if I could use it to solve my problems."

"As for what this trouble is... please forgive me for not being able to tell you the truth. If I were to tell you, it would be unless the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom, like me, has a powerful teacher protecting him," Li Qi said.

"Is that so..." The Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom listened to Li Qi's words in their entirety.

Then, the two fell into a long silence once again.

This time, it lasted a full Chen.

Li Qi was not idle during this time either. He observed the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom's expression, speculated on her psychology, and then tried to persuade her with more persuasive language.

Li Qi really wanted to know what that thing was and whether he could use it for his own purposes.

It should be noted that, based on Li Qi's existing knowledge, to learn the Heavenly Eye, one must be at least a fifth-rank official to be qualified to undertake such Technique Method.

Otherwise, given the complexity of this Technique Method, a small world within a person that is not strong enough simply cannot withstand it.

The fact that the young monk was able to open the rudimentary form of the Heavenly Eye with only an eighth-grade cultivation level means that if Li Qi could obtain this secret, he might also be able to open a portion of the Heavenly Eye at the seventh grade, and then have a little bit of leverage to fight against the Heavenly Demon.

Therefore, if possible, Li Qi did not want to give up easily.

Based on Li Qi's observation of the Trumpet Flower God during this Chen, she... probably doesn't want to give up the opportunity that Li Qi brought.

Li Qi speculated that the Trumpet Flower God wanted to use the Lingxiao Kingdom to accumulate strength, and then make a comeback one day.

Of course, this "comeback" doesn't mean a counterattack.

Go back and fight back? Dream on. Who could she possibly beat? Even if she cultivated for another ten thousand years, she would still be crushed to death with a single finger by that famous scholar who wrote a poem criticizing her.

The other party was a man of equal renown to Liu Donghe, a great Confucian scholar. Li Qi was not clear about Liu Donghe's exact cultivation level, but Liu Donghe was a fourth-rank Confucian scholar, and one of the strongest among the fourth-rank scholars. If he wanted to, he could take over a high-ranking official position at any time.

To be on par with Liu Donghe shows that he's not much weaker.

Therefore, Li Qi believes that her comeback is probably to prove with practical actions that the Trumpet Flower is not a sycophant, and to make the person who wrote the poem realize that he misjudged her and apologize to her.

To be honest, this choice is a bit shameful. You get humiliated by the other party and then have to prove them wrong.

Given the personality of the Trumpet Flower God, she would probably find it quite difficult to accept.

Although it's not actually that hard to accept.

Because a Confucian scholar who reaches the third rank is considered an upright person, which is not something a pedantic or pedantic scholar could achieve. If the other party realizes that he is wrong, he will really apologize.

Only in this way can it be considered 'sincerity' in Confucianism.

If even this cannot be done, then it means that the other party's three grades are either fake or have severed their Dao Path and changed their mindset drastically, and they certainly cannot be considered a 'famous scholar'.

Cultivation, cultivation, ultimately comes down to practice. It's impossible for someone to go against one's own Dao Path. The fact that someone can go so far in the Confucian Human Path shows that they must be very compatible with Confucian thought and genuinely agree with it.

People choose the Dao Path, Dao Path also chooses people.

If you truly have unique ideas and cannot fit into these existing paths, then forge your own. In any case, you can't do anything that's two-faced.

The Cultivation Method doesn't dictate how people behave, but the Dao Lineage does, and it doesn't need supervision. As long as you violate the principles you follow and believe in, you will naturally pay the price.

Li Qi's ability to profile is enough to make him a constable, or detective, in the mortal realm, and a top-notch one at that.

However, now that he has reached the seventh rank, such skills are naturally no longer impressive.

According to Li Qi's calculations, finding someone to fight that famous scholar in a contest and then completely defeating him best suits the personality of the Trumpet Flower God, and is also the best outcome under the constraint of 'possibility'.

The Trumpet Flower God might refuse, but the reason for her refusal would certainly not be 'dislike' or 'inability to accept'.

Therefore, the chances of success are very high.

Sure enough, a little over a Chen later, the Trumpet Flower God finally reacted.

She looked at Li Qi intently, her lips first pursed tightly, then relaxed.

Despite being the one with the advantage as a fifth-rank official, she was actually less relaxed than Li Qi, and it was clear that she was getting more and more nervous.

The reason, according to the Trumpet Flower God, is quite simple.

Li Qi is not in any danger.

He is the Prince of Wushen Mountain. In the Baiyue region, no one dares to do anything to him. He only needs to call out his teacher's name, and a terrifying power will descend from the sky, instantly destroying all enemies.

Even without a teacher, there will always be a protector hidden in the shadows by his side, safeguarding them and preventing these geniuses from dying halfway through their journey.

Even in the Tang Kingdom, no one dared to take his life. He could do whatever he wanted without restraint. Even if he did something bad, he would only get a scolding and a chance to repent.

His bottom line is the bottom line of Shaman Path, and Shaman Path has no requirements regarding good and evil.

Therefore, at worst, Li Qi's attempts to do these things would be unsuccessful and waste some time, but there would be absolutely no other additional losses.

But the Trumpet Flower God is different.

If she fails, she will lose miserably.

She was already in a terrible situation, having been driven from the Tang Kingdom to Baiyue. But if she loses this time, she will be in an even worse situation, and she may never have another chance to turn things around.

At the gambling table, the mindset of someone who places a large bet is different from that of someone who doesn't bet at all.

Li Qi could calmly analyze the pros and cons and read intelligence, but even though she was much more skilled, she was still affected by her emotions.

She stared at Li Qi with jealousy and heavy breathing.

Li Qi was also looking at her.

Li Qi knew what she was thinking, because he had been trying to understand the Trumpet Flower God, even though he had only had a few Chen.

Of course, she didn't actually know...

Li Qi bet more than her and faced something far more terrifying.

She was facing a mere scholar, while Li Qi was facing the Mara of Self-Transformation.

Moreover, calling Zhu Fengdan's name not only elicits no response, but he can't even summon his protectors, since Li Qi doesn't have any protectors at all.

However, Li Qi noticed that her cultivation was somewhat scattered, emanating a strong sense of oppression that almost suffocated Li Qi.

Physical asphyxiation.

As for the psychological suffocation... to be honest, the fifth rank is not enough. Although a fifth-rank person could crush Li Qi with a single finger, Li Qi has seen too many big shots, so he has already established a sufficient psychological advantage.

Having realized this, Li Qi forced himself to let out a long sigh of relief.

This was difficult to do, because in the opponent's scattered aura, Li Qi felt as if something was choking him, and he had to exert his cultivation to even manage a sigh.

So, facing the taut-faced, silent Trumpet Flower God, Li Qi continued to rouse his cultivation, straining his vocal cords as he said, "Don't treat me like a death warrant, Your Majesty. I'm here to help you. You can treat me as a friend."

"Our relationship doesn't necessarily have to be a transaction; it's about helping each other. You help me solve my problems, and I help you solve yours. This way, we can avoid a lot of trouble without losing anything."

Li Qi advised.

If possible, he wants to resolve issues using language as much as possible.

After all, the secret of the Heavenly Eye was very important to him, and returning to the Tang Kingdom was also very important to the Trumpet Flower God.

"Alright then." The Trumpet Flower God seemed to finally realize her loss of composure. She suppressed the aura she had unintentionally released, stabilized her cultivation, and regained her composure.

After she regained her composure, she said, "I will take you to see the Zunfo Mountain monks of Fengde Temple and introduce you to them, but whether you can find out the reason depends on you."

"Similarly, whether you can successfully deliver a message to me is not up to me; it's up to fate. What do you think, young master?"

"Excellent, let's do it that way. It's just a small favor for everyone, and no one will be in any trouble." Li Qi nodded immediately.

The Trumpet Flower God then said, "Then let's do it this way. You go to Zunfo Mountain first, and then we'll go to Chang'an together. We won't ask about each other's situation, and we'll just do what we agreed on."

"Okay, but..." Li Qi reached out his hand.

"Here's the proof. Go to Zunfo Mountain, and they'll recognize it." The Trumpet Flower God plucked a hairpin from her own hair and handed it to Li Qi.

The hairpin is made of wood, and appears to be made from the stem of a flower or tree.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will return in seven days at most, and then I will take you to find Liu Shenzhi." Li Qi nodded and walked out the door without delay.

However, just as he stepped out the door, Li Qi's eyes sharpened.

Without lingering, he quickly went to the stable boy to retrieve the Old Ma that was feasting, and swiftly left Ezhou, heading towards Zunfo Mountain.

Li Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief after leaving Ezhou.

"Something's fishy. The Trumpet Flower God already knew I was coming..." Li Qi muttered to himself as he rode his Old Ma.

The Trumpet Flower God Creeper has been agonizing and struggling for far too long.

This is very abnormal.

Because this matter isn't worth her putting on a show of risking her life and fortune.

If this fails, she will simply be driven back to Baiyue. Can that famous scholar who wrote the poem criticizing her still hunt her down?

There must be another reason why she acted that way.

Li Qi had two guesses.

The first one, that conjecture that lasted for more than Chen, was nothing but a pretense.

The fact that she pretends to be thinking while doing this shows that she has already made up her mind and is just delaying it. This in itself implies that there must be something else behind it, and she is just doing it for her own benefit.

Secondly, her hesitation and deliberation were genuine; she was truly afraid and felt she had staked a lot on the situation.

That means she has placed bets she doesn't know about, bets far more than Li Qi has seen, bets so great that even she, a fifth-rank official, is terrified.

In any case, in Li Qi's opinion, the amount of money on the table right now is far from enough to make him show this side of himself.

Old Ma didn't understand those intricacies; he simply went wherever Li Qi told him to go, Xia Li Qi alone on horseback deep in thought.

However, with limited clues, no matter how much thought was put in, few conclusions could be drawn.

Based on the current information, the conclusion we can draw is that the matter of "Heavenly Eye" is not a coincidence, but rather something deliberately arranged for him by someone.

Sure enough, such coincidental encounters only happen to ordinary people who are ignored by everyone.

As the young master of Wushen Mountain, I cannot encounter coincidences.

Good adventures are arranged by elders.

Bad serendipity is arranged by the opponent.

How could I possibly let some unknown and dubious "miracle" happen to me...?

However, no matter what, we still have to go and see this Heavenly Eye.

Since we don't know whether this is 'good' or 'bad', let's just do what we need to do until things are revealed.

With that thought in mind, Li Qi soon arrived at Zunfo Mountain.

It wasn't far; it took less than a day to walk there.

At Old Ma's current speed of traveling thousands of miles a day, he could travel to all the prefectures and cities of the Lingxiao Kingdom in just a few days. Back then, it only took him two thousand miles to walk out of a prefecture, which was very fast.

Zunfo Mountain is some distance from Ezhou, but it only takes less than a day and a night to get there.

From the outside, Zunfo Mountain looks nothing special; it's just an ordinary mountain peak, about a thousand meters high, covering an area of forty or fifty miles in circumference. It's not secluded at all; instead, it's full of people.

This area is entirely comprised of villages and towns, spanning forty to fifty miles, yet it has attracted millions of people, forming a metropolitan area.

When Li Qi arrived, he was also curious, so he went down and asked the local residents.

The reason is simple.

There's no other reason than that living elsewhere is far more dangerous. You might encounter some mountain spirit, water monster, demon, or hungry ghost and get eaten alive. Even if there are witches and shamans in the village, there are bound to be times when things go wrong.

But with those great monks around Zunfo Mountain, no demons dare to cause trouble in the vicinity. Even if there are some bold and brainless ones, they will most likely not have a good ending.

The monks do not kill living beings, so if they catch such demons, they will not kill them, but will keep them in the mountains, bind their heads with tight bands, and make them do hard labor in the temple, such as greeting guests and doing farm work. They will do their homework and study Buddhism day and night, in order to encourage them to reform their evil ways.

This really worked, so the temple's protectors, including demons, monsters, ghosts, and other strange beings, all devoutly turned to the Buddha.

As a result, the residents at the foot of the mountain also deeply revered Buddhism, burning incense day and night, and often pooling their money to erect golden statues and repair temples, which could be considered a reciprocal gesture.

Having figured all this out, I prepared to climb the mountain.