Li Daoyi drifted like mist and wind, untouched by the dust of the mortal world, passing through towering groves of pagodas and densely packed Buddhist halls and meditation chambers until he reached the heart of the Nine Tribulations Chan Monastery.
Riding the wind into the air, Li Daoyi looked down from above upon this sacred seat of the world's Buddhist Sect.
Incense curled around his nose, yet there was little noise anywhere around him. Compared with the raging warfare outside, the place was extraordinarily peaceful.
The pilgrims and faithful who had once come like rain, the monks and disciples who had stood thick as a forest, had almost all disappeared.
Clearly, the monastery's eminent monks had foreseen the impending calamity and dismissed most of their brethren in advance.
At the sight, Li Daoyi sighed softly. "Does even an undying legacy of eight hundred years have its moment of curtain fall?"
With that sigh, he descended, touching down lightly on his toes. Before him stood the imposing Mahavira Hall, with Buddhist chants flowing from within.
An old monk stood on the white marble steps before the hall, his cloudy, hollow eyes fixed on Li Daoyi, his expression utterly still.
Li Daoyi formed the midnight-noon hand seal and bowed slightly. "Master Yanxin, this humble Daoist offers his respects."
Yanxin studied Li Daoyi for a while before slowly saying, "Layman Li, Buddhism and Daoism are one family. The True One Abbey and the Nine Tribulations Chan Monastery sprang from the same teaching. Why must brothers boil one another so eagerly?"
Li Daoyi chuckled. "I came uninvited to play the unwelcome guest, and I did feel some guilt. But since you say we are family, then I am merely returning to my own home. Naturally, I need not restrain myself. I may do as