Breathing and Visualization Set Golden Statues Humming

As the Facial Mask came into focus in his mind, Chen Cuo froze for a moment, then relaxed.

"What's there to fear? At worst, I'll draw that evil ghost here. But I'm in a temple. If it comes, the great Buddha will suppress it. I'm afraid it won't come!"

With that thought, he made no attempt to stop himself. Instead, he recalled the Facial Mask in ever greater detail, afraid that if he missed anything, the evil ghost might not come.

But Chen Cuo had no detailed Incense cultivation Legalism. What he called visualization was more like sketching an image in his mind. His main practice remained breathing.

As long and short breaths passed through Chen Cuo's nose and mouth, his expression gradually grew serene, and his whole body fell still.

Chen Cuo had already completed all 108 cycles of this Breathing Technique once. Afterward, he had felt light as a swallow, his mind clear and pure.

Now he recalled the breathing rhythm, controlled each breath, and tried to sketch the Ghost-Faced Mask in his mind, doing three things at once. He was clumsy at first and nearly lost the rhythm when his attention strayed. But as his breathing steadied, he gradually found his stride.

The 108 breathing cycles were divided into the Thirty-Six Condensed Cycles and the Seventy-Two Scattered Cycles.

As time passed, he approached the thirty-sixth cycle. His cold sweat had vanished, and all pressure was gone. Every limb and bone felt comfortable. He sank into the practice, forgetting both himself and the world around him in Oblivion.

In a haze between dreaming and waking, a vast white expanse appeared before his eyes.

The Azure-purple mask he had sketched in his mind grew clearer, contracting and swelling in time with his breaths.

Gradually, faint Golden Light appeared around Chen Cuo. With each breath, it gathered toward his nose and mouth, strand by strand, fine as Monkey Hair. It entered him, then appeared again around the Facial Mask Zhou...

Outside the room, voices could still be heard.

The Guest-Master Monk already felt guilty. With Chen Hai blocking his way, he could hardly press the matter. In the end, he clasped his hands and took his leave, saying he would return to ask once the lord woke.

Once he was gone, Chen Hai said bitterly, "Guishan Temple bowed and scraped at first, then turned arrogant. They look down on the lord. Perhaps they don't know he's famous throughout Jiankang now. Not giving him a room in the upper courtyard is bad enough, but they've put him in the lower courtyard with ordinary guests!" He grew angrier as he spoke.

Ma Wu agreed. "Exactly. Those two scholars spoke with our lord just now and showed him great respect. If they find out he wasn't treated with proper courtesy, but was instead relegated to lodging beside them, how could we explain that?"

Hearing this only made Chen Hai angrier. "Even those scholars from out of town have more sense than the monks of Guishan Temple!"

In the spacious hall, a Buddha statue sat upon the Lotus Throne.

Before it, the old Presiding Monk sat with his head bowed and eyes lowered, silently visualizing.

Rings of Golden Light appeared behind his head, shining upon one another.

Suddenly, the old monk's eyes flew open. The halo behind his head dimmed. He turned sharply, astonishment in his eyes.

Hum! Hum! Hum!

The Buddha statue's Golden Body trembled faintly, giving off a soft ringing sound.

"This is..."

The old monk's expression turned grave. He sprang to his feet and studied the statue. A thin layer of Golden Light had appeared upon it, and some force seemed to be drawing that light toward the front courtyard!

"Buddha Light is manifesting..."

He looked in the direction the golden light was flowing, and his eyes widened.

High walls and buildings could not obstruct the old monk's sight. His gaze swept across the entire temple. In hall after hall, the golden statues of Buddhas, the clay figures of guardian vajras, and even the Divine Altars of Bodhisattvas were trembling faintly!

A thin Golden Light glow appeared on the statues and streamed toward a single place.

"All the golden statues are ringing together!"

The old monk drew a deep breath, shock surging through him.

"Could a Buddha have descended through reincarnation?"

His heart clenched, but he immediately shook his head.

"No, that's not right. If a Buddha had been reincarnated, it wouldn't be merely this thin layer of Buddha Light. All the Buddha Light Guishan Temple has accumulated over decades would be boiling in resonance and converging on the living Buddha! But even this much would require a mighty cultivator from Beyond the Mundane to stir the Buddha Light within the golden statues. Yet those from Beyond the Mundane can scarcely descend into this world now. It can only be someone of that realm reincarnated!"

A Reincarnated True Immortal!

The moment the thought surfaced, the old monk recalled a similar sight from not long ago. Unable to remain calm, he strode off in haste.

In the halls, the golden statues and clay figures were still trembling too faintly for visitors burning incense to notice. Even those who sensed something amiss assumed their eyes were playing tricks on them.

Ordinary worshippers could not see the wonder, but some could discern the signs—

In a corner outside the temple, a Little White Pig hid in the shadow of a field. It stared at the distant temple, smacking its lips and drooling.

On its head, a small green turtle chittered reminders to it.

"Snort! I know my limits. This temple is baldy territory. I won't steal their incense offerings. I came here following the scent of those unclaimed offerings from before. I missed them last time, but I won't this time..."

The Little White Pig was still speaking when its eyes bulged. Numerous phantom golden statues appeared over the temple, giving it a fright!

"Have all the gods descended? Good grief, has some mighty god come to this monk temple? No, snort! We have to move fast, or someone might snatch those unclaimed offerings!"

With that, it tensed, ready to spring!

Not far away, two figures stood in a tree, watching the temple from afar.

They were two Daoists, one tall and one short—the same pair who had spoken with Chen Cuo outside the temple.

After parting from Chen Cuo, they had not gone far. Instead, they had concealed themselves here to watch carefully.

Before the strange signs appeared at the temple, the two fellow disciples had been talking, their words betraying some uncertainty.

"If the Marquis of Linru County really is a Reincarnated True Immortal, then fine. But if he isn't, Senior Brother, won't you have broken a taboo by telling him about the Incense Offering Method?" The young Daoist looked worried.

The Young Daoist sneered. "So what if I have? Our Great Hua Mountain lineage is orthodox too, but after several calamities, no one paid us any heed. How many of us are left now? If not for the legacy of our ancestors, how would we even know about the Reincarnated True Immortal? This is also Cloudsky Sect's chance to rise again. We can't afford to fret over every rule!"

"But..." The young Daoist shook his head. "A Reincarnated True Immortal should belong to the Cultivation Way, yet you told him about the Incense Way. If he truly is an immortal reincarnated, his talent must be extraordinary. He could infer ten things from one, and if he comprehends the Incense Method, won't he stray onto the wrong path? This..."

"Pedantic!" The Young Daoist looked utterly unconcerned. "Great Hua Mountain has an orthodox lineage too, with a long history behind it. You've heard the stories of our patriarchs from the three generations of Primordial Antiquity. You should know the Cultivation Way grew out of the Primordial Beginning Way. Strictly speaking, the Qi Refiners of the Primordial Beginning Way followed the proper path. So why does everyone practice the Way of True Cultivation now? Don't place too much weight on these distinctions. In cultivation, what matters is the person, not Legalism!"

The young Daoist was about to speak again, but the Young Daoist waved him off. "Compared with other Immortal Sects, what advantage does our Cloudsky Sect of Great Hua Mountain have? The Marquis of Linru County hasn't been confirmed as a Reincarnated Immortal. Why are we here? To get ahead of the others! Otherwise, if several sects arrived together, would you choose ours? Master tricked me into joining back then!"

"I heard it was with a few strings of..." the young Daoist began.

"Shut up!" The Young Daoist's face darkened. He was about to scold him further when his expression abruptly changed. Both men turned their heads at once.

Phantom golden statues appeared in their pupils, golden light and rosy clouds shining together!

The young Daoist cried out, "Buddha Light shines everywhere! It's like what we saw that day. That lord really is a Reincarnated True Immortal!" He could barely contain himself now; all his earlier misgivings had been thrown to the winds.

The Young Daoist took a deep breath, steadied himself, and held his junior brother back.

"If we go over now, do you want to challenge Guishan Temple or announce this to the whole world?"

That brought the young Daoist to his senses. He knew they still had to remain hidden, though he could not help feeling frustrated.

The two fellow disciples stared intently at the sprawling temple.

Suddenly, a Little White Pig burst from the field and shot toward the temple like an arrow loosed from a bow. It had barely reached halfway when a farmer carrying a sickle spotted it. At his shout, several others rushed over and caught the pig.

The Little White Pig wriggled and struggled, but in the end, they dragged it away.

"..."

The young Daoist shook his head and sighed. "Such is Buddha Light. Even an ordinary beast has been converted, its wits lost as it takes refuge!"

Inside the guest room, Chen Cuo's expression remained unchanged. Unaware of what was happening outside, he had completed thirty-six breathing cycles—the full number of the Thirty-Six Condensed Cycles.

Outside.

The golden Buddha statues in the halls were trembling more visibly. Candles on the offering tables swayed, and some toppled over. Even the fruit and other offerings fell to the floor!

At last, visitors worshipping and touring the temple noticed something was wrong!