Visitors from Snow Mountain

---- Xuanwei City, Fei Household

Fei Nanying, who was holding Jade Slip, immediately went to greet his wife upon hearing her enter. However, his good intentions were only met with a glare. Han Ningyue glanced at him and said coldly:

"It seems that my niece Shuhe, is from my Han Household. She rarely comes back to visit, but you, her own uncle, deliberately avoid seeing her. That's one thing, but you push me, an outsider, to deal with her. Do you really have no shame, you old scoundrel?"

Fei Nanying wasn't annoyed by his wife's retort. He simply smiled and replied, "My lady, please don't be offended. It's not that I don't want to see her, but I'm afraid that if I do, that girl's eyes will redden, and I'll just let her have her way. The gossip at home has only just subsided; it wouldn't be good to create more trouble now!"

"Fine, so you think I'm a bad person?" Han Ningyue scoffed again.

"No, no, I simply feel that my wife is intelligent and perceptive, and is more capable of handling things appropriately than I am."

"My girl is nothing like you make her out to be," Han Ningyue said, her eyebrows furrowing in displeasure. She then took out another Storage Bag and said, "Shuhe came back this time specifically to pay off her debts to her uncle."

"Pay back the debt? What debt?!"

"You old scoundrel, you're always pretending to be a good person! Didn't you ask Kang to exchange that Spirit Offspring Radiant Color Pill for Spirit Stone and return it to your home?" Han Ningyue slammed her hand on the desk in anger, and continued, "Brother Xi has been a Daoist for a year now, and you haven't cared about him at all! He's a descendant of the Fei Household, not some rotten bloodline that can't be brought to the table!"

Fei Nanying was slightly taken aback by his wife's drinking, then said, "I only wanted to remind Kang not to slack off. Who would be so focused on finding Spirit Stone? As for Brother Xi, didn't I already send someone to deliver provisions to him?!"

"Whether you genuinely asked for it or not, they've already given it to you this time, haven't they? Shuhe has already said that her family only has enough for 51 yuan right now, and they'll pay back the rest slowly. As for your meager resources, which are no different from those of ordinary direct descendants, how could Brother Xi's Triple Spirit Root possibly be enough?!"

At this point, Han Ningyue became even more dissatisfied, pointing at the Storage Bag again and saying resentfully, "Besides, it might all be returned to you, my great-uncle!"

"It's not as exaggerated as you say, Madam Chongming Sect has grown considerably over the years, even many False Core sects are envious."

Fei Nanying had only spoken halfway when he realized what was going on and said, "Madam, you've made such a big reaction this time, you must have promised that girl Shuhe something again, right? Just tell me, why bother putting on this show for your husband?"

Han Ningyue glanced at him and said, "Shuhe would like to ask you for a favor. Could you share a spot with Kang boy during the next Five Clans Martial Arts Competition?"

"Of course not!" Fei Nanying answered decisively, but Han Ningyue was quite displeased.

"Kang boy, with your current skills, can you find anyone below the False Core in the She Mountain Hall to match you? The Five Clans Martial Arts Competition has always included sons-in-law from other clans, so this isn't considered favoritism on your part, nor is it a disgrace to the She Mountain Hall!"

Fei Nanying avoided the topic, walked out of the study, and thought to himself, "That kid is in so much trouble right now, how could he have time to practice martial arts and compete for the Golden Core Formation Pill?! I just hope that the Abbot of the Snow Mountain Circuit Protector Temple comes and doesn't cause him any trouble. Otherwise, even if I want to save him this time, I'll have to get into a lot of karma."

---- Snow Mountain Circuit, Original Response Temple

At the end of the thousand-step staircase carved from millennia-old ice, stands a tall, gleaming golden temple gate.

The temple gate glowed with a faint blood-red halo, which even the continuous heavy snowfall could not conceal.

On the eight thick golden dragon pillars outside the gate, each dragon's claws and toes gripped not glass pearls, but countless infant skulls.

Some of the skulls even had remnants of skin and flesh still attached to them, and the small eye sockets showed no signs of pain, only a faint pink light of Blissful Chan still swirling within them.

The temple's protective formation, "The Inverted Mortal World Domain," is shrouded in a crimson mist year-round. Anyone whose cultivation level is below the Nascent Soul Realm who accidentally enters this realm will experience extreme pleasurable hallucinations, until they laugh as they dissect their own bellies.

The prayer wheels made of human skin hanging from the eaves of the main hall swayed in the cold wind. The scriptures were written with the tender spinal marrow of Golden Core mixed with Geng Metal powder, and contained a faint, almost imperceptible sweet fragrance.

Inside the hall stood a golden Buddha of Joy, about a hundred feet tall, with smiling eyes and a slightly bowed head, exuding kindness and compassion. In the Buddha's palms rested none other than a petite, naked concubine. Though her appearance was dignified, it was difficult for onlookers not to feel lustful thoughts.

Those with weak will find it difficult to look directly at it; perhaps just a few glances are enough to make their blood boil and cause them to die from heat.

Mingfei's curvaceous and alluring body was adorned with Buddhist relics, their Golden Light intertwining to form a formless, close-fitting garment that was dazzlingly beautiful.

Legend has it that whenever the chanting of ten thousand monks at Original Response Temple occurs once every two hundred years, the Joyful Buddha will also chant along with a gentle smile, and the consort in his palm will twirl and dance to the sound of the chanting. The spectacle is enough to leave any cultivator in the world who has never seen such a scene speechless with astonishment.

Deep within the main hall lies the entrance to an underground palace, hidden beneath the lotus throne of the Three Buddhas in the innermost room. The winding downward passageway walls are inlaid with countless Hehuan lamps.

The lamp oil is made from "Red Lotus Fat," refined from eighty-one kinds of aphrodisiacs, and is Higher Vehicle Buddhist aphrodisiac. The aroma of ghee emanating from the lamp is extremely cloying, and the flickering flames occasionally reveal glimpses of intercourse.

Bubbles rose intermittently from the blood pool at the innermost part of the underground palace, their gurgling sounds never ceasing. Inside the blood pool were stone lotus platforms, upon which sat rows of ruddy-faced monks.

The source of this blood pool is the countless mortals and common people of this Snow Mountain Circuit. All the billions of living beings in this path are the flesh and blood of the Buddha in the temple.

The serfs on countless snow-capped mountains were all emaciated and hunched over like shrimp, with conch shells of Buddhist light growing on their foreheads from their daily chanting. The slight warmth emanating from the Buddhist light could bring these poor people covered in filth a little warmth that their thin robes could hardly provide, and could make them endure their days like walking corpses.

Every year when the Qing wine is brewed, these devout believers would seek out the novice monks residing in the villages, slit their wrists, and let their blood fall freely into the alms bowls held by the monks. It seemed that only at such times could they enjoy a moment of peace.

In this vast snowy land, the serfs would indeed find it difficult to survive without these compassionate Buddhas. It is not unreasonable for them to voluntarily offer a little blood as a tribute, and no one in the world could find fault with it.

"Clang clang clang"

The red bell hanging high atop the pagoda rang again after a hundred and twenty years.

This temple bell was cast entirely from Fourth Tier spiritual material called Treasure Light Red Iron. The bell body was densely engraved with scriptures from the sexual intercourse of successive abbots. When the bell hammer struck the bell, it produced a dull sound, not crisp, but rather like someone striking white bones together.

The crimson bell rang twelve times in succession, and eighteen more flying female corpses awoke from the ice tower forest.

These cauldrons, their souls extracted, ascended into the sky atop crimson lotus flames, their bare skin beneath gauze robes covered in golden mantras, dancing gracefully in the snow.

Suddenly, the hoarse laughter of Chan Master Gelie of Original Response Temple echoed through the wind and snow, causing the ice within a hundred miles to crack with spiderweb-like patterns. From the cracks in the ice, a continuous stream of Blissful Chan energy seeped out, as viscous as honey.

Two rows of monks in red robes opened the temple gates to the sound of chanting and ascended the steps. As their bare feet trod across the ice, crimson lotuses of karmic fire rose from their soles.

Passing through the corridor covered with murals depicting dual cultivation, the smell of sandalwood mixed with corpse oil stung one's throat.

The golden Buddha statues each had a sinister appearance, and each face was inlaid with the eyes of various living beings, which rolled around endlessly with the continuous chanting of sutras.

On the incense tables along both sides of the corridor, there were rows of skinned child corpses.

The delicate, pink flesh was sculpted into lotus pedestals by the skilled masters of Original Response Temple. They also cleverly used slender, pale spines to create beautiful lamp stands for hanging golden lamps. The resentment emanating from them was not without purpose; it continuously flowed into the golden lamps as fuel.

The red-robed monks took turns picking up the golden lanterns from the corridor, their footsteps growing increasingly orderly and loud.

The sound caused the Rakshasa illusion on the black iron gate at the end of the corridor to suddenly open its eyes, then open its mouth wide and stick out its bright red tongue to swallow all the golden lamps into its belly.

Suddenly, the black iron gate burst open, and the naked image of Chan Master Gelie was suspended above a pool of viscous blood.

The three-zhang-tall fleshy body was bluish-gray, with eight arms each gripping a dying Golden Core. Milky white mist was continuously being drawn from the point of union. Hundreds of skeletons floated in the blood pool, each with a small hole in its skull, and each head looked like a walnut whose marrow had been drained.

The moment the red-robed monks stepped through the Xuan Gate, countless copper bells on the eaves of the temple suddenly began to vibrate violently, and the sound of bones grinding together echoed throughout the entire temple.

The True Person form of Chan Master Gelie opened his vertical eye on his forehead and swept his crimson pupils over the monks. No one dared to look at him, and they all collapsed like ripe barley in the frost season.

When Chan Master Gelie spoke, his voice was louder than a crimson bell:

"After more than three hundred years of seclusion, I have attained the 'Three Bodies United in Illumination Aspect,' and have mastered the cultivation method to reach the 'Vairocana Illusory Body Vidyadhara Mahasattva Aspect,' advancing to the level of Spirit Transformation. In accordance with the agreement between Kuang Cheyun and my late master, our temple can now travel east of the Snow Mountains to spread the Dharma, and the Kuang Household clan can no longer stop us!"

The golden Dharma sound caused countless icicles to fall from the eaves, smashing into the stone slabs covered with Thangka paintings and creating splashes of blood.

The red-robed monks chanted the Joyful Mantra in unison to celebrate the Chan Master Gelie, each verse sounding like a cold wind, piercing to the bone.

A mysterious black mist rose from the snow-capped mountain peak, enveloping countless struggling, transparent human figures, and finally merged into the wide-open mouth of the True Person Chan Master Gelie. The lotus pedestal of the child corpse on the altar suddenly blossomed with new buds, and large amounts of viscous golden liquid seeped from between the flesh and blood.

Having accomplished what previous abbots had failed to achieve—to contend for supremacy in the Central Plains— Chan Master Gelie was in high spirits and asked in a cheerful voice, "Are there any disciples in this generation who practice the methods I have cultivated?"

The red-robed monks reacted with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow upon hearing the sound.

An old monk with no eyebrows concealed the joy in his eyes, prostrated himself before Chan Master Gelie, and said, "Your disciple, Funeng, a disciple of Master Ma Mangqin, the head of the temple, has been appointed as the current abbot of the temple. I have already attained the 'Pure Lotus First Ground Aspect' and am only waiting for the right time to select a consort to practice the Dharma, so that I can advance to the 'Vajra Wisdom Sea Aspect' and hear the abbot's teachings."

"Good," Chan Master Gelie withdrew his dharma form, returning to his original height of ten feet, and then laughed, "Summon him to bow to me."

"Promise!"

Ma Mangqin was overjoyed and responded repeatedly. Just as he was about to turn around, he saw two Zen masters dressed in purple-red robes carrying a handsome young monk into the room. Before he could even feel happy, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground and bowed to greet him.

After the two Zen masters, smiling broadly, touched foreheads with Chan Master Gelie in turn, the larger of them spoke first, "Hearing the abbot's laughter, we know that the 'Three Bodies United in Illumination Aspect' must have manifested. Therefore, we have brought this Khenpo here to pay our respects."

The thin Zen master smiled faintly but remained silent, watching the young monk grovel without any dignity as he crawled from the gate until he passed Ma Mangqin before finally prostrating himself and saying, "The 126th abbot of the temple, Fu Funeng, pays his respects to the abbot, to the head Sangchun, and to the head Gebalun."

"Not bad, he has already cultivated to the 'Pure Lotus First Ground Aspect,' which is quite good." After seeing this, Chan Master Gelie did not say a few more words to Funeng. He simply calculated with his fingers for a while, and then smiled as he squeezed out a clear tear from between his vertical eyes, which turned into mist and rain, sprinkling on the latter.

After doing all this, Chan Master Gelie smiled and said, "Why wait for the opportune moment, or for the preciousness of the Dharma? I now use these tears to absolve you of your karma and spare you from wasting time. There's no need to wait any longer; your destiny will unfold on this Shannan Circuit. Once you have found your consort and attained enlightenment, come back to see me."

"Promise!"

Where are the Buddhist disciples of today?

A young monk emerged from among the red-robed monks. Like Funeng Neng, he was handsome and dignified, with bright eyes and sparse eyebrows.

"Buddhist disciple Gada pays respects to the abbot!"

"Oh, not even a hundred years old, and already having Core Formation, that's quite impressive." Chan Master Gelie's face was full of fine wrinkles, but then he added, "However, once Fu Funeng attains the 'Vajra Wisdom Sea Aspect,' you, the Buddha's disciple, will be replaced by him."

"."

"Um?"

A pair of bloodshot eyes looked over, Gada finally dared not disobey. He bowed his head to the ground, not daring to rise again, and loudly replied, "Yes."

"Funeng,"

A soft cry pulled the abbot from the dreamlike scene before him. He disregarded his elation and pressed his head back to the ground, unwilling to rise again.

"Disciple is here."

"If you cannot attain enlightenment, ha, then diligently cultivate the Dharma." Chan Master Gelie chuckled halfway through his sentence, then turned to the two Zen masters beside him and said, "My two fellow disciples, how about we go to the capital tomorrow to meet with the Lord of Wei?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the stout Abbot Sangchun looked troubled. "Abbot, this matter may require further consideration."

The smile on Chan Master Gelie's face gradually faded, and all the joy in his tone was gone. "Has the Kuang Household produced Upper-Grade Golden Core?"

Gebalun, who had remained silent until now, responded, "News has come from King Yu Circuit that there seems to be unusual activity in the outer seas as well."

This matter doesn't need to be explained too clearly; the secrets of heaven are clearly shrouded in mystery, yet Chan Master Gelie simply chose a word, casually pinched it, and then his expression turned solemn. "I understand."

When he spoke to Funeng again, his tone had lost its initial composure. "After you have chosen a consort on this trip to Shannan Circuit, return immediately. Do not cause any trouble."

After Funeng bowed and agreed, Chan Master Gelie took out another item and said softly, "This 'Bliss and Emptiness Nondual Vidyadhara Incantation' is something I have come up with in the past hundred years, and I now pass it on to you."

This method can transform the consort from one into nine, laying the foundation for her Dharma form. After you achieve the 'Vajra Wisdom Sea Aspect,' there are many other wondrous uses you can employ. Diligently cultivate Buddhism."

"Promise!"

"Go, once you reach Shannan Circuit, do not pay any attention to the Kuang Household clan. Be patient."

"Promise!"