Xiao Ru looked intently at Ding Ling and said solemnly:
"I was frozen in ice here for five hundred years. During that time, my thoughts were almost completely frozen as well, but they could still move slowly. I spent several hundred years thinking, and have finally understood the meaning of being alive."
He pressed his palms together, Buddha's Light rippling around him and giving him an air of solemn dignity:
"My Buddha is merciful. I have no more attachments to the mortal world. I only wish to repay the debt I owe to the Jade Pool Immortal Fortress and you, Ding Ling. Please grant me this."
"Looks like you really have seen through everything, Master Xiao Ru."
Calling him Daoist Master was no longer appropriate, so Ding Ling said at the right moment:
"Then join the Jade Pool Immortal Fortress and become an elder. Help me protect the disciples in the fortress. When something major happens in the future, I'll let you know."
"I shall obey the Fortress Lord's command."
Xiao Ru replied solemnly:
"From today onward, there will be no more Xiao Ru Zen Master of the Kunlun Sect in this world. There will only be Elder Xiao Ru of the Jade Pool Immortal Fortress."
Ding Ling gave him a deep look, then turned and flashed into the place where the retreat portal was located.
Did Master Xiao Ru truly no longer care about the affairs of the Kunlun Sect, as he had said?
Ding Ling did not ask further.
His People Observation Technique was maxed out.
He had already seen through it.
Master Xiao Ru might have learned long ago of the deaths of Yi Zhen, Ding Yin, and the others. His heart had already turned to ashes, but at the same time, a trace of Buddha-nature had