Golden Mountain Temple

Biodata

Territory & Organization

The temple’s internal institutions included:

• Martial Hall — Led by Holy Monk Wutian; Liaoyu lived in one of its side halls after becoming his disciple 13.
• Arhat Hall — Its guardian elder was an early-stage Martial Emperor 15.
• Sutra Lecture Hall — Its chief monk attended the abbot after the Profound Division’s infiltration 14.
• Gold Lecture Hall — Its head monk rallied the defenders after Wuwo’s death 16.
• Servants’ courtyard — Liaoyu worked there before being accepted as Wutian’s disciple 13.

Notable Members

Cultivation Arts & Techniques

Ten Thousand Buddhas Scripture

• The temple possessed the Ten Thousand Buddhas Scripture, one of only four Martial God-level cultivation arts remaining on the continent after the War of the Gods 6.
• The other surviving arts belonged to the Demon Sect, the Great Yu Dynasty, and the Demon King 6.

Ten Thousand Buddhas Pay Homage

• A closely guarded Divine-grade technique, restricted to successive abbots 16.
• Its requirements were so demanding that almost no one had been able to unleash it for over a thousand years 16.
• Wuwo used a secret art to activate it while mortally exhausted, manifesting a golden Buddha for a final attack 16.
• The activation was fatal to Wuwo regardless of whether the attack succeeded 16.

Wuwo’s Martial Techniques

• Flower-Picking Finger — Nearly immobilized the eight fleeing Profound Division infiltrators. Xuan Yi broke its blockade with Heaven and Earth One Saber Slash 13 14.
• Great Vajra Demon-Subduing Palm — Used alongside Flower-Picking Finger against Liansheng and Bai Haotian 16.

Other Monastic Arts

• Wrathful Vajra Art — Wufa’s cultivation art; during the invasion, his body took on the aspect of a wrathful vajra 14 15.
• Vajra Fist — Used by a defending monk against the Profound Division 13.
• Ten Thousand Flowers and a Thousand Buddhas Palm — Another technique used during the nighttime infiltration 13.

Resources & Defenses

• Mountain-protecting formation — Guarded the grounds and activated automatically during the clash between Wuwo and Xuan Yi. The Profound Division bypassed it using formation-breaking stones supplied by Zhou Qiong 13 14.
• Patrol monks — Conducted nighttime rounds, but failed to detect the infiltrators before they reached the temple’s interior 13.
• Great Rejuvenation Pill — The temple’s last remaining pill of this kind helped save the critically wounded Wutian 13.
• Lesser Restoration Pills — Wufa gave three to two visiting disciples seeking treatment for their injured master 15.
• Nine-ring monk’s staff — Wuwo’s weapon; transformed into a golden dragon that emitted golden light during his final battle. It shattered before his last attack 15 16.

History

Growing Conflict with the Demon Sect

The temple monitored the Demon Sect’s rising strength, receiving an early report that its chief steward, Liansheng, might have reached the Martial Emperor Realm. Later, a monk chanting at the temple sensed Luna’s Martial God-level presence in the east and stopped to observe it 5 11.

After Wutian returned gravely wounded and spent half a month unconscious, Wuwo helped preserve his life with the temple’s final Great Rejuvenation Pill. On awakening, Wutian warned the abbot about Zhou Qiong’s strength. Wuwo believed Zhou Qiong might be approaching a realm beyond Martial Sovereign and privately resolved to move against the Demon Sect 13.

Zhou Qiong had already selected the temple as a target. Unable to heal the injuries to his Gods and Devils Eye through cultivation, he sought the reward from a system mission requiring the destruction of Golden Mountain Temple and Hanging Void Hall. He ordered the Profound Division to investigate the temple’s foundations, confirm the abbot’s presence, and search for hidden experts 12.

Profound Division Infiltration

Xuan Yi led eight infiltrators into the temple at midnight. Formation-breaking stones allowed them to pass through its defenses undetected, and they separated to investigate the grounds. One reached Wutian’s room without alerting him, but another was discovered near the main hall by Wuwo 13.

The resulting clash alerted the monks. Wuwo nearly stopped the retreat with Flower-Picking Finger, but Xuan Yi broke the blockade and escaped with the entire team. The chief suffered internal injuries, while Wuwo sustained a cross-shaped cut on his finger 13 14.

Unaware of the formation-breaking stones, the temple’s leaders suspected internal assistance. Wuwo ordered Wufa to investigate the patrol monks. Meanwhile, the infiltrators’ report confirmed the temple’s strength and the abbot’s presence to Zhou Qiong 14.

Destruction

Zhou Qiong ordered Liansheng to destroy the temple within one day without his personal intervention. The attacking force included White Tiger Hall, Vermilion Bird Hall, Black Tortoise Hall, the Seven Great Protectors, and the Twelve Demon Kings; Azure Dragon Hall remained behind to guard headquarters 14.

Liansheng assembled the troops in small groups on a mountain a hundred li away and launched a surprise attack during morning chanting. The temple’s defenders were rapidly overwhelmed: the Demon Tiger King killed Arhat Hall’s guardian elder in fewer than three moves, while Wufa was eventually surrounded by four senior enemies 15 16.

Wuwo drew Liansheng and Bai Haotian high above the temple to prevent their battle’s aftershocks from destroying the grounds. His final use of Ten Thousand Buddhas Pay Homage failed to save the sect. Bai Haotian intercepted the attack intended for Liansheng, allowing Liansheng to kill the abbot 16.

The remaining monks charged in grief after Wuwo’s death, briefly gaining ground before the Demon Sect’s stronger fighters crushed their resistance. The entire assault lasted less than four hours. A soundproofing formation concealed the fighting from people below the mountain until the attackers withdrew 16.

Discovery & Survivors

Visitors drawn by the smell of blood found the temple covered in corpses. Wuwo’s body had been pinned to a stele bearing Liansheng’s declaration that the massacre had been carried out on the Sect Leader’s command. Visiting Martial Emperors immediately departed to spread the news 17.

Liaoyu and a visiting woman emerged from beneath a collapsed side hall after the crowds had left. Her senior brother had died in the attack. She returned toward the Great Yu Dynasty to seek her master, while Liaoyu stayed to bury the temple’s dead before pursuing cultivation and revenge against the Demon Sect 17.

Although the Demon Sect’s subsequent report claimed that no monks had survived, Liaoyu’s escape is directly shown. The report placed the attackers’ casualties below one-tenth of their force 17 18.

Legacy

• Righteous-path response — The destruction outraged Hanging Void Hall and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Hanging Void Hall discussed organizing retaliation, but the Demon Sect attacked before those plans could develop 18.
• Continental alarm — Officials of the Great Wilderness Dynasty debated military action after learning of the massacre 21.
• Demon Sect prestige — Successive victories over Golden Mountain Temple and Hanging Void Hall strengthened the Demon Sect’s confidence and public standing 23.
• Sword God’s tomb — A tomb containing the Sword God’s inheritance lay beneath the temple. After the massacre removed the obstacle of its guards, Zhao Li used a bead to enter through a spatial vortex 17.
• Zhao Li’s disappearance — Golden Mountain Temple remained his last known location in the Demon Sect’s later investigation 25.