When the moon rose above the willow tips, the square gradually emptied, its daytime bustle gone.
Four merit boxes, each half a person's height, stood side by side before the hall doors, their lids open and their interiors filled to the brim with copper coins and broken silver.
Mixed among them were several beast hides, a few unusual ores, several peculiar flowers and herbs, a few Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and other things-the mortals did not understand that these were all spiritual materials used in cultivation.
Lin Changsheng and Duan Tianya dispersed with the crowd. Once the lanterns began going out one after another, they formed magic seals and silently doubled back.
The two concealed their auras and moved along the wall, their footsteps as light as cats treading snow. In an instant, they vanished into the shadows.
They saw the Śrāmaṇera in the crimson kasaya lead eighteen blue-robed monks through the temple gates. Most walked with steady steps, their waists bulging slightly, clearly having trained in internal strength;
Faint light flowed within the remaining monks. Though their cultivation was shallow, they were nevertheless junior Śrāmaṇeras whose spiritual roots had awakened, the fluctuations of their Qi Refining Stage spiritual energy barely perceptible.
Among Buddhist cultivators, Śrāmaṇera generally referred to Qi Refining cultivators. Those only in the early or middle stages were called junior Śrāmaṇeras.
A Bhikkhu was equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, while Dharma Master was the title for a Golden Core Buddhist Cultivator, and Chan Master was equivalent to the title of a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
A Buddhist Sect Venerable was equivalent to a Spirit Transformation Venerable.
"Creeeak-"
The instant the temple gates closed, the candle flames inside the hall flared to life with a soft puff.
The two edged along the foot of the wall to the