"Was this Buddhist master from the Nether Buddha Sect?"
Chen Changming asked.
Meng Chuan looked shocked and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Senior Brother Chen. You've been traveling outside the sect—how did you know?"
"What's so hard about that?" Chen Changming said with a deliberate, bitter smile. "The Nether Buddha Sect is famous throughout West Desert Island. I could've guessed it with my little toe!"
Meng Chuan gave an awkward smile.
His nose wrinkling, he stared at Chen Changming with some reluctance and asked, "Senior Brother Chen, do you know what the relationship is between my Vajra Sect and the Nether Buddha Sect?"
Chen Changming shook his head.
There was no record of anything like that in Chen Xin's memories.
Meng Chuan immediately looked smug.
"Senior Brother Chen, I know how the two are connected. Want to hear?"
He glanced at Chen Changming.
"I'd be glad to hear it, Junior Brother Meng." Chen Changming cupped his hands, his expression solemn.
He could tell that Meng Chuan was eager to show off, so he decided to indulge him.
Meng Chuan straightened up, looking pleased with himself. "Lately, there's been a rumor going around the sect that our Vajra Sect actually descended from the Nether Buddha Sect. The founding patriarch came all the way from distant West Desert Island and established the Vajra Sect on Returning Star Island."
"So that's how it is."
Chen Changming raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "If we share the same Buddhist origins, why don't the people of our Vajra Sect shave their heads?"
"Oh, that's simple. The founding patriarch of our Vajra Sect probably left the monastic life too!"
Meng Chuan laughed dismissively. "Maybe he fell for some beautiful girl and didn't want to be a monk anymore, so he left the Nether Buddha Sect and