Whether it was Jing Yue, Qin Yanzhi, or the leader of the Six Chasm Pavilion, they were all stunned at this moment.
Generally speaking, the human form of the sword soul would either take the appearance of the master or someone the master liked, which was the case for Taiqing and Daoyi.
Qin Yanzhi was frustrated, but the blue phoenix, who was so angry that he was about to explode, flicked his beany eyes around. He immediately turned into a human form and hugged Jing Yue's arm, blushing and saying, “Ji-ji knew it!”
After saying that, he glanced triumphantly at Qin Yanzhi, seemingly saying ‘I’m the main seat and everyone else can take the back seat!’
Jing Yue, “…”
He didn't want to ask what the blue phoenix knew.
Under Qin Yanzhi's resentful gaze, Jing Yue bit the bullet and summoned Mini Canglan Sword. “Why did you change into Ji-ji's appearance?”
The boy smiled. “Because Mini Canglan likes him, so smart and cute.”
“Oh…”
Everyone suddenly realized that they had forgotten another possibility for the initial form of the sword soul, which was the appearance that the sword preferred.
There were too few sword souls in existence and even fewer sword souls that chose this form. Moreover, Jing Yue never felt that Mini Canglan held any preference for Ji-ji.
But no matter what, Qin Yanzhi was happy, Jing Yue's crisis was resolved, only the blue phoenix was a little at a loss.
On the one hand, he was dissatisfied with Mini Canglan using his appearance, and on the other hand, he was happy that Mini Canglan praised him and liked him. He was still deciding if he should get angry or just put up with it.
The blue phoenix fell into a dilemma, and Jing Yue couldn’t be bothered about him. He turned around and saluted a middle-aged man, “Thank you, Mr. Shen.”
“You’re welcome.” The middle-aged man hurriedly waved his hand. “I should be thanking Jing-laozu instead.”
“Shen Qiu?” The eyes of the Six Chasm Pavilion leader who rushed over were bulging. “Y-Y-You… why are you…”
But he quickly figured it out. Shen Qiu's previous stagnation in cultivation was also due to his bottleneck in artifact Dao. Now that Shen Qiu had refined a top-quality celestial artifact, what bottleneck was there to speak of? He simply advanced directly.
So, the leader changed his words, “Are you Amethyst Abode already?”
Shen Qiu had become a hundred times more energetic and regained his former demeanor. He said happily, “Exactly, I never thought this could ever happen.”
Not to mention him, but everyone shared the same thought.
Although they knew a celestial artifact might appear, they didn't expect it to be a celestial artifact with a sword soul!
The leader smiled helplessly and said, “I'm afraid the entire World of Seven Continents has sensed the movement just now. Our Six Chasm Pavilion is going to be very busy again.”
As for Shen Qiu, the swordsmith whom everyone had given up on before, would become very popular again, because from now on, he would be hailed as the top swordsmith in the world!
That very afternoon, Jing Yue left with Qin Yanzhi and went to Three Realm Temple.
A young monk was waiting for them at the temple gate. Seeing someone coming, he bowed hurriedly. “Jing-laozu, Qin-laozu, Great Master Kong Miao have been waiting for you.”
However, the two guests were stunned and said in unison, “Xiaojiu?”
The monk was taken aback. “This monk is Xue Ming, not Xiaojiu.”
Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi looked at each other. This monk looked very similar to Ruan Jiu. Were they really mistaken?
But the next moment, Xue Ming said, “Who is Xiaojiu? Is he similar to this little monk? Why do you all mistake this little monk for him?”
Jing Yue, “You all? Who else?”
Xue Ming blushed as if he was a bit embarrassed to speak. After a while, he whispered, “There’s benefactor Wei…”
Jing Yue, “Wei Zhentu?”
Xue Ming said in surprise, “Jing-laozu also knows him?”
Jing Yue smiled. He no longer had any doubt that the young monk in front of him was Ruan Jiu.
Perhaps he and Qin Yanzhi might be mistaken, but not Wei Zhentu! They just wondered why Ruan Jiu was reincarnated as a monk.
When he met Kong Miao, he immediately asked this question.
Kong Miao glanced at the door that Ruan Jiu closed for them and said with a smile, “He is indeed Ruan Jiu. In the past thousand years, Ruan has reincarnated three times. Xue Ming is his fourth reincarnation.”
Jing Yue, “Did he not form any spiritual roots in his previous three lives?”
If there was, Wei Zhentu would definitely lead Ruan Jiu onto the great path, and the fourth reincarnation wouldn’t have happened.
Kong Miao nodded. “But this time, he has wisdom roots.”
Not long after Ruan Jiu was born, Kong Miao realized that he had a destiny with the Buddha in this life, and specially asked Ruan Jiu's master to go down the mountain to pick him up and bring him back to the temple. It had been 200 years now.
Jing Yue, “Has Wei-daoyou never been to the temple to ask for him?”
Kong Miao smiled mysteriously. “Of course, but their fate is over, so I didn't let Xue Ming see him.”
Hearing this, Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi felt nothing but sympathy for Wei Zhentu.
The blue phoenix in his arms sighed and said, “I liked you back then, but you didn't cherish me. Now that I’m emotionless and have no fate with you, yet you pursue me so relentlessly. What a tragedy.”
Although sympathetic, Jing Yue was here for official business, so he changed the subject and said, “The clue you mentioned in your letter…”
Kong Miao, “Do you know what are the things Three Realm Temple is most famous for?”
Jing Yue, “Who in the cultivation world doesn’t know? The Bodhi Illuminating Wall, Yao Tower, and Tower Forest.”
Kong Miao smiled, “The clue lies in one of them.”
After saying that, Kong Miao waved his sleeves, and they moved into the Tower Forest.
At this time, the sun was just setting. The warm red rays reflected on the stone towers and presented a unique beauty.
“Have you heard of Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?” Kong Miao asked calmly, standing among several stone towers.
Jing Yue, “Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?”
He thought the name rang a bell but couldn’t recall it.
Jing Yue glanced at Qin Yanzhi, who also shook his head.
But they had the omniscient and omnipotent blue phoenix with them. He stuck his head out of Jing Yue's arms and said loudly, “I know! Ji-ji knows!”
The blue phoenix transformed back into his human form and said with his hands behind his back, “Ten Thousand Buddha Temple is a large temple in ancient times. Although they studied Buddhism, they were more inclined to tantric Buddhism and should be considered demonic cultivators. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple suddenly sensed the will of the true Buddha and was thus enlightened. He converted 100,000 demonic Buddhist monks in the temple in one day, thus obtaining great merit, and also converted himself and became Buddha immediately.”
Kong Miao knew about the blue phoenix’s true form and was not surprised by his extensive knowledge. “That’s right, that person’s name is Shi Zhen. After he ascended, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple disappeared without leaving a heritage.”
Jing Yue exclaimed in surprise, “All of them? He has the ability to do that?”
It should be known that Buddhism emphasized fate and destiny between people. To save 100,000 people in one day could only be done if a true Buddha preached the scriptures.
Kong Miao, “The conversion was done through killing.”
With that said, a gust of wind suddenly blew from Tower Forest.
As the fallen leaves swept around, Jing Yue couldn't help shivering, feeling a chill just hearing that remark.
To kill 100,000 people in one day, not to mention how strong Shi Zhen was, but his ruthlessness was even more shocking. Why would Heavenly Dao acknowledge his merits?
Even though Jing Yue had also killed 100,000 Yao, that was Yao, not his own kind!
Sensing what Jing Yue was thinking, the blue phoenix explained, “At that time, Ten Thousand Buddha Temple was the top Buddhist temple. After the temple fell, other orthodox Buddhist schools developed one after another. In other words, Shi Zhen can be regarded as a key figure in the rise of Buddhism, and killing 100,000 demonic Buddhists is also the mission entrusted to him by Heavenly Dao.”
Jing Yue still felt apprehensive, but on second thought, even such figures had disappeared in legends. This world had stretched for hundreds of millions of years, and no one knew how many shocking stories had been buried in the long river of time.
Although they faced the crisis of extinction with the birth of the demon spawn today, to Heavenly Dao, it was nothing but a moment of ups and downs among the boundless waves, so insignificant that it was not worth mentioning.
Jing Yue suddenly felt helpless, but a hand fell on his shoulder, and the warmth from the hand made him feel at peace.
He turned back and smiled at Qin Yanzhi before he asked Kong Miao, “The clue that the great master mentioned is the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?”
Kong Miao, “Exactly. I’ve read the secret records. After converting the 100,000 demonic Buddhists, a pool of water suddenly appeared in the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, which was transformed by merit. I think maybe you can purify the merit stone and find the heart of the stone there.”
Jing Yue, “How confident are you?”
Kong Miao, “It’s just my guess, but you said that the opportunity to find the merit stone should be in the Three Realm Temple. I’ve searched through the classics, and the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple is the most likely to be related to the Three Realm Temple.”
Both Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi were surprised. “Three Realm Temple is related to Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?”
Kong Miao pointed to a stone tower in front of him. “The Tower Forest in my temple is a map that points to the remains of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple.”
At this time, the setting sun sank into the distant mountains, leaving only the last afterglow.
The shadows of the stone towers stretched long and gradually intertwined like a big net.
Kong Miao, “The lines pieced together by these shadows will form a map of the ruins of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, but I can't figure out where it leads to.”
Jing Yue was studying the shadows on the ground, but the blue phoenix jumped out again. “I know! Ji-ji knows!”
He stepped on the shadows on the ground, raised his head, and said, “These shadows need to correspond to the stars in the sky. With the stars as guides, Ji-ji can deduce the location of the ruins!”
In this way, when the moon rose and stars shone, the blue phoenix compared the star positions and concluded that the ruins of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple were located in Miniwest Lu Region.
Due to time constraints, Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi planned to leave immediately without further delay.
Before leaving, Kong Miao stopped them. “I’ve deduced that you won’t face any danger in this journey, and a disciple in my temple has a chance encounter with Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, so I’ll ask him to join you.”
Since Kong Miao made the request, Jing Yue wouldn’t refuse, but he didn’t expect Ruan Jiu to turn up.
The little monk was obviously in a state of bewilderment and followed Jing and Qin out of the temple gate in a daze. Before they had gone a mile, they were stopped by a Daoist.
“A-Jing, where are you going? Since I’m free, can I join you?”
Whether it was Jing Yue, Qin Yanzhi, or the leader of the Six Chasm Pavilion, they were all stunned at this moment.
Generally speaking, the human form of the sword soul would either take the appearance of the master or someone the master liked, which was the case for Taiqing and Daoyi.
Qin Yanzhi was frustrated, but the blue phoenix, who was so angry that he was about to explode, flicked his beany eyes around. He immediately turned into a human form and hugged Jing Yue's arm, blushing and saying, “Ji-ji knew it!”
After saying that, he glanced triumphantly at Qin Yanzhi, seemingly saying ‘I’m the main seat and everyone else can take the back seat!’
Jing Yue, “…”
He didn't want to ask what the blue phoenix knew.
Under Qin Yanzhi's resentful gaze, Jing Yue bit the bullet and summoned Mini Canglan Sword. “Why did you change into Ji-ji's appearance?”
The boy smiled. “Because Mini Canglan likes him, so smart and cute.”
“Oh…”
Everyone suddenly realized that they had forgotten another possibility for the initial form of the sword soul, which was the appearance that the sword preferred.
There were too few sword souls in existence and even fewer sword souls that chose this form. Moreover, Jing Yue never felt that Mini Canglan held any preference for Ji-ji.
But no matter what, Qin Yanzhi was happy, Jing Yue's crisis was resolved, only the blue phoenix was a little at a loss.
On the one hand, he was dissatisfied with Mini Canglan using his appearance, and on the other hand, he was happy that Mini Canglan praised him and liked him. He was still deciding if he should get angry or just put up with it.
The blue phoenix fell into a dilemma, and Jing Yue couldn’t be bothered about him. He turned around and saluted a middle-aged man, “Thank you, Mr. Shen.”
“You’re welcome.” The middle-aged man hurriedly waved his hand. “I should be thanking Jing-laozu instead.”
“Shen Qiu?” The eyes of the Six Chasm Pavilion leader who rushed over were bulging. “Y-Y-You… why are you…”
But he quickly figured it out. Shen Qiu's previous stagnation in cultivation was also due to his bottleneck in artifact Dao. Now that Shen Qiu had refined a top-quality celestial artifact, what bottleneck was there to speak of? He simply advanced directly.
So, the leader changed his words, “Are you Amethyst Abode already?”
Shen Qiu had become a hundred times more energetic and regained his former demeanor. He said happily, “Exactly, I never thought this could ever happen.”
Not to mention him, but everyone shared the same thought.
Although they knew a celestial artifact might appear, they didn't expect it to be a celestial artifact with a sword soul!
The leader smiled helplessly and said, “I'm afraid the entire World of Seven Continents has sensed the movement just now. Our Six Chasm Pavilion is going to be very busy again.”
As for Shen Qiu, the swordsmith whom everyone had given up on before, would become very popular again, because from now on, he would be hailed as the top swordsmith in the world!
That very afternoon, Jing Yue left with Qin Yanzhi and went to Three Realm Temple.
A young monk was waiting for them at the temple gate. Seeing someone coming, he bowed hurriedly. “Jing-laozu, Qin-laozu, Great Master Kong Miao have been waiting for you.”
However, the two guests were stunned and said in unison, “Xiaojiu?”
The monk was taken aback. “This monk is Xue Ming, not Xiaojiu.”
Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi looked at each other. This monk looked very similar to Ruan Jiu. Were they really mistaken?
But the next moment, Xue Ming said, “Who is Xiaojiu? Is he similar to this little monk? Why do you all mistake this little monk for him?”
Jing Yue, “You all? Who else?”
Xue Ming blushed as if he was a bit embarrassed to speak. After a while, he whispered, “There’s benefactor Wei…”
Jing Yue, “Wei Zhentu?”
Xue Ming said in surprise, “Jing-laozu also knows him?”
Jing Yue smiled. He no longer had any doubt that the young monk in front of him was Ruan Jiu.
Perhaps he and Qin Yanzhi might be mistaken, but not Wei Zhentu! They just wondered why Ruan Jiu was reincarnated as a monk.
When he met Kong Miao, he immediately asked this question.
Kong Miao glanced at the door that Ruan Jiu closed for them and said with a smile, “He is indeed Ruan Jiu. In the past thousand years, Ruan has reincarnated three times. Xue Ming is his fourth reincarnation.”
Jing Yue, “Did he not form any spiritual roots in his previous three lives?”
If there was, Wei Zhentu would definitely lead Ruan Jiu onto the great path, and the fourth reincarnation wouldn’t have happened.
Kong Miao nodded. “But this time, he has wisdom roots.”
Not long after Ruan Jiu was born, Kong Miao realized that he had a destiny with the Buddha in this life, and specially asked Ruan Jiu's master to go down the mountain to pick him up and bring him back to the temple. It had been 200 years now.
Jing Yue, “Has Wei-daoyou never been to the temple to ask for him?”
Kong Miao smiled mysteriously. “Of course, but their fate is over, so I didn't let Xue Ming see him.”
Hearing this, Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi felt nothing but sympathy for Wei Zhentu.
The blue phoenix in his arms sighed and said, “I liked you back then, but you didn't cherish me. Now that I’m emotionless and have no fate with you, yet you pursue me so relentlessly. What a tragedy.”
Although sympathetic, Jing Yue was here for official business, so he changed the subject and said, “The clue you mentioned in your letter…”
Kong Miao, “Do you know what are the things Three Realm Temple is most famous for?”
Jing Yue, “Who in the cultivation world doesn’t know? The Bodhi Illuminating Wall, Yao Tower, and Tower Forest.”
Kong Miao smiled, “The clue lies in one of them.”
After saying that, Kong Miao waved his sleeves, and they moved into the Tower Forest.
At this time, the sun was just setting. The warm red rays reflected on the stone towers and presented a unique beauty.
“Have you heard of Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?” Kong Miao asked calmly, standing among several stone towers.
Jing Yue, “Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?”
He thought the name rang a bell but couldn’t recall it.
Jing Yue glanced at Qin Yanzhi, who also shook his head.
But they had the omniscient and omnipotent blue phoenix with them. He stuck his head out of Jing Yue's arms and said loudly, “I know! Ji-ji knows!”
The blue phoenix transformed back into his human form and said with his hands behind his back, “Ten Thousand Buddha Temple is a large temple in ancient times. Although they studied Buddhism, they were more inclined to tantric Buddhism and should be considered demonic cultivators. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple suddenly sensed the will of the true Buddha and was thus enlightened. He converted 100,000 demonic Buddhist monks in the temple in one day, thus obtaining great merit, and also converted himself and became Buddha immediately.”
Kong Miao knew about the blue phoenix’s true form and was not surprised by his extensive knowledge. “That’s right, that person’s name is Shi Zhen. After he ascended, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple disappeared without leaving a heritage.”
Jing Yue exclaimed in surprise, “All of them? He has the ability to do that?”
It should be known that Buddhism emphasized fate and destiny between people. To save 100,000 people in one day could only be done if a true Buddha preached the scriptures.
Kong Miao, “The conversion was done through killing.”
With that said, a gust of wind suddenly blew from Tower Forest.
As the fallen leaves swept around, Jing Yue couldn't help shivering, feeling a chill just hearing that remark.
To kill 100,000 people in one day, not to mention how strong Shi Zhen was, but his ruthlessness was even more shocking. Why would Heavenly Dao acknowledge his merits?
Even though Jing Yue had also killed 100,000 Yao, that was Yao, not his own kind!
Sensing what Jing Yue was thinking, the blue phoenix explained, “At that time, Ten Thousand Buddha Temple was the top Buddhist temple. After the temple fell, other orthodox Buddhist schools developed one after another. In other words, Shi Zhen can be regarded as a key figure in the rise of Buddhism, and killing 100,000 demonic Buddhists is also the mission entrusted to him by Heavenly Dao.”
Jing Yue still felt apprehensive, but on second thought, even such figures had disappeared in legends. This world had stretched for hundreds of millions of years, and no one knew how many shocking stories had been buried in the long river of time.
Although they faced the crisis of extinction with the birth of the demon spawn today, to Heavenly Dao, it was nothing but a moment of ups and downs among the boundless waves, so insignificant that it was not worth mentioning.
Jing Yue suddenly felt helpless, but a hand fell on his shoulder, and the warmth from the hand made him feel at peace.
He turned back and smiled at Qin Yanzhi before he asked Kong Miao, “The clue that the great master mentioned is the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?”
Kong Miao, “Exactly. I’ve read the secret records. After converting the 100,000 demonic Buddhists, a pool of water suddenly appeared in the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, which was transformed by merit. I think maybe you can purify the merit stone and find the heart of the stone there.”
Jing Yue, “How confident are you?”
Kong Miao, “It’s just my guess, but you said that the opportunity to find the merit stone should be in the Three Realm Temple. I’ve searched through the classics, and the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple is the most likely to be related to the Three Realm Temple.”
Both Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi were surprised. “Three Realm Temple is related to Ten Thousand Buddha Temple?”
Kong Miao pointed to a stone tower in front of him. “The Tower Forest in my temple is a map that points to the remains of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple.”
At this time, the setting sun sank into the distant mountains, leaving only the last afterglow.
The shadows of the stone towers stretched long and gradually intertwined like a big net.
Kong Miao, “The lines pieced together by these shadows will form a map of the ruins of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, but I can't figure out where it leads to.”
Jing Yue was studying the shadows on the ground, but the blue phoenix jumped out again. “I know! Ji-ji knows!”
He stepped on the shadows on the ground, raised his head, and said, “These shadows need to correspond to the stars in the sky. With the stars as guides, Ji-ji can deduce the location of the ruins!”
In this way, when the moon rose and stars shone, the blue phoenix compared the star positions and concluded that the ruins of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple were located in Miniwest Lu Region.
Due to time constraints, Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi planned to leave immediately without further delay.
Before leaving, Kong Miao stopped them. “I’ve deduced that you won’t face any danger in this journey, and a disciple in my temple has a chance encounter with Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, so I’ll ask him to join you.”
Since Kong Miao made the request, Jing Yue wouldn’t refuse, but he didn’t expect Ruan Jiu to turn up.
The little monk was obviously in a state of bewilderment and followed Jing and Qin out of the temple gate in a daze. Before they had gone a mile, they were stopped by a Daoist.
“A-Jing, where are you going? Since I’m free, can I join you?”
