Dust Zen Master

"Master, where are you taking me?"

The surrounding scenery rushed by, and Tang Ruowei looked at Bai Qiuran, who was holding her arm in front of her, and asked a question.

After receiving the letter from the Sect Master, Bai Qiuran ran down the mountain with a gloomy face and returned a few days later. Then he went to the Qingming Sect Main Peak and talked to the Sect Master and several Elders. After that, he found me and pulled me down the mountain without saying a word.

Judging from the direction he went, Bai Qiuran's destination should be Qingzhou, which borders Guzhou.

Where to go?

Bai Qiuran walking, looking ahead.

"I'll take you to further your studies... aren't you interested in those miscellaneous subjects now?"

"Hmm... so you're going to take me to learn these things?"

Tang Ruowei asked, "Didn't you have something urgent to attend to these past two days?"

"There is indeed an urgent matter, but this is also your opportunity. This time, a true expert in these miscellaneous fields has come; go and learn from him, and help him out as well."

Bai Qiuran replied, "We've arrived."

His pace slowed. Tang Ruo and Tu Shuwei looked up and found themselves facing a tall and majestic mountain range. At the top of the mountain range was a huge inward-facing depression from which lava was constantly erupting, flowing down the foothills. The billowing smoke and dust spewing from the summit covered the entire sky in dark clouds.

The danger lies not only in the lava, but also in the smoke and ash from the volcanic eruption, which can affect the respiratory system of Mortals. Unless one is Cultivators, it is impossible for an ordinary person to even survive in this area.

However, in front of the volcano, there was still a man-made, winding mountain path. The steps of the path were made of some kind of black metal that could float on the lava without melting. Bai Qiuran led Tang Ruowei up the mountain path, passed through the Mountain Gate inscribed with the words "Heaven-Forging Stronghold", crossed several flying bridges made of black metal, and finally led her to a small house built on a lava lake.

Perhaps having received prior notice, an Old Man came out of the house to greet them. Bai Qiuran pointed to the man and introduced him to Tang Ruowei: "This is Elder Xu from the Profound Law Academy. He is proficient in Surveying and Mapping, Formation, celestial phenomena, earth veins, and various other miscellaneous studies. He is an expert in these fields."

Then he turned his head and pointed to Tang Ruowei, introducing her to Elder Xu: "Elder Xu, this is my silly disciple. Although her cultivation is low and her figure is not good, she is still quite clever. You can use her as a laborer these days. Just take care of her when you have time."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ruowei realized that Bai Qiuran was finding her a professional mentor, and she quickly greeted Elder Xu.

"My daughter, Tang Ruowei, greets Elder Xu."

"Okay, okay."

Elder Xu glanced at her casually, then said, "I didn't expect the Sword Ancestor to take on a disciple... But it's alright, the Sword Ancestor has done my Profound Law Academy a favor. I happen to need manpower to research and analyze the operating rules of that Ancient City, so you can come and assist me. Sword Ancestor, if there's nothing else, I'll go back to work now."

He looked like a lecherous man, constantly glancing back at Bai Qiuran and Tang Ruowei as if he were hiding a woman of Heavenly Immortal beauty in his room. Perhaps for these tech geeks at the Profound Law Academy, satisfying their Desire was even more important than that.

Seeing his expression, Bai Qiuran couldn't help but smile. Then she said to Tang Ruowei, "You stay here for now. This matter is of utmost importance. You are not allowed to wander around. You must follow Elder Xu's instructions, understand?"

"I see."

Seeing his expression, Tang Ruowei knew that the matter was of great importance and nodded obediently. This time, she did not argue Bai Qiuran.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Bai Qiuran said to Elder Xu, "I'm sorry to have disturbed your work, please make yourself at home."

After leaving Tang Ruowei in Heaven-Forging Stronghold to assist Elder Xu and others from the Profound Law Academy, Bai Qiuran left without stopping and headed to the territory of the Southern Ling Kingdom in Qingzhou.

Originally, there was only one country in Qingzhou, called Upper Ling Kingdom. However, when Bai Qiuran over two thousand years old, it split into four kingdoms with "Ling" in their names, which are now located in the east, west, south, and north. Southern Ling Kingdom is naturally located at the southernmost tip of Qingzhou. There, the representative of the Heavenly Saint Buddhist Sect, Dust Zen Master, is waiting for Bai Qiuran and his group to meet up.

After the discussions that day, the major sects reached a consensus. When each sect deployed its intelligence network, it also sent people to notify the Heavenly Saint Buddhist Sect. On their way, Dust Zen Master and others also began to pay attention to the traces of that Ancient City. As a result, they found clues near the Southern Ling Kingdom. So he sent a message that he was staying at the place where the traces were found in the Southern Ling Kingdom, waiting for the others to join him.

Following the message sent back by Dust Zen Master, Bai Qiuran traveled all the way to the place he had found.

It was a small mountain village by a river, some distance from nearby towns. Due to the wild animals in the surrounding forests, the villagers did not like to go out much, and had very little contact with the government of the Southern Ling Kingdom. The tax officials of Nanling would only come here once a year to collect taxes. Therefore, when the Ancient City appeared, the surrounding area did not receive the news immediately.

Bai Qiuran arrived outside the village and found it deserted. Only the disciples of the Heavenly Saint Buddhist Sect were walking around. These disciples, who had been in the sect for about a hundred years and whose cultivation was insufficient, had severed their afflictions and had not yet grown their wisdom roots. They wore monks' robes and had bald heads, making them quite easy to recognize.

Dust Zen Master of the Heavenly Saint Buddhist Sect, who was leading the group, was meditating near the village entrance. Sensing Bai Qiuran's arrival, he got up to greet him.

Although Dust Zen Master had the title of Zen master, he did not look like a monk who preached Zen at all. He had a flat head with only a thin layer of hair, a face full of fat, and looked like he had a very bad temper. His loose monk's robe was stretched taut by his muscles.

This Zen master once had the Buddhist scriptures he had learned and the Buddha idols he emulated tattooed on his body. Looking at him now, a wrathful image of a deity appears to be peeking out from his arm. Combined with the Dust Zen Master's fierce expression, he looks remarkably like a gangster boss who has been in the Jianghu for many years.

Greetings, Sword Ancestor.

Approaching Bai Qiuran, the gangster raised his hand and made a Buddhist gesture of respect to Bai Qiuran with one hand.

"Long time no see, Weichen."

Bai Qiuran smiled at him and said, "Just say hello, it's an emergency, no need to stand on ceremony... What's the situation here?"

"Yes."

Dust Zen Master nodded slightly to Bai Qiuran, as if bowing to his elder brother. Hearing Bai Qiuran's words, he led him towards the village, explaining, "This is what happened. On our way here, we followed the Buddhism precepts, cultivating our way through. We received your message midway, and then heard that strange things had occurred here, with a thick fog. So I brought my disciples to investigate. On the way, we met a hunter who said he saw a city appear on the river from the cliff. I brought my disciples here, only to find that the entire village was deserted."