Eight days later, at the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
In a lavishly decorated three-story pavilion, Chen Heng sat across a table from a stout, simple-faced Daoist.
Several cups of pure jade stood on the table. Steam curled faintly from the tea, and coils of incense still hung thick above the burner. Though no soft music of pipes and flutes enlivened the occasion, the atmosphere was serene and elegant.
After hearing what Chen Heng had to say,
Cui Jingzhong smacked his lips. A trace of emotion crossed his round face, and he could not help sighing:
"So that Zhou Shiyuan of the Xiantian Demon Sect really was formidable. He actually destroyed all of Yin Quan's Twenty-Four Luo-Jing Mountains in one go?
"If he hadn't taken a thief for his father and provoked you, junior fellow disciple, whether Yin Quan could have held firmly onto second place would still be uncertain.
"But that monk Hongji from beyond the heavens actually defeated Zhang Yuxuan of Rou Xuan Prefecture, and the number of Talisman Edicts he obtained was second only to Yin Quan's. Now that's strange..."
At this point,
Cui Jingzhong unconsciously shook his head slightly.
Ever since the Eight Sects and Six Schools had begun governing the world, the Immortal Dao had manifested its might in Xudu Heaven, its splendor boundless!
There had been campaigns in all directions beyond the heavens, the expansion of territory, and the suppression of rebels.
Victorious in every battle, successful in every assault, they had seldom suffered defeat!
This single Dao had pressed all other paths into retreat, leaving them unable to contend!
Apart from the Immortal Dao, all else was considered heterodox teachings and foreign methods, far from any prominent school of learning. Thus, few formidable figures could emerge from them.
Yet the monk Hongji,
a Buddhist