Chapter 88: Illusion

toad and Zi Lan were on a raised rock wall. Mu Yuan and Chu Yunfei stood on it, feeling a bit like they were looking down from above. With toad were three Taoists with different appearances. Though they had Buddhist spiritual light on them, they couldn’t hide the vigorous demonic aura. Clearly, their own cultivation was profound, and just relying on Konghuan’s guidance wasn’t enough to dissolve the thick demonic aura on them.

There wasn’t much to talk about with these people. Apart from their own demonic arts, what the four knew were only shallow Buddhist insights, which couldn’t satisfy Mu Yuan and Chu Yunfei’s curiosity at all. After talking with them for a while, they gave up and quickly parted ways. The two seemed casual but actually quietly avoided all the lookout posts on Xuan Fo Island and slipped into the center.

“The Huayan Sect is really grand. It’s just a place for a elder to preach, yet there are so many young novice monks. Although their cultivation isn’t very high, they’re all at the first or second layer of Qi Refinement, with all their meridians open, and some have even started to refine their acupoints. From this, we can infer the situation inside the Huayan Sect’s main school.”

Besides many spirits, the two also saw quite a few humans, dressed in what seemed to be Central Plains style. They guessed they were traveling merchants who had anchored their ships here. Mu Yuan thought to himself, people often say there are immortal mountains overseas and enlightenment is found in Penglai. Many in the mortal world aspire to go overseas, eager to seek the Dao. Compared to the great Daoist sects in the Central Plains, they yearn more for overseas. It’s really a strange mentality.

Xuan Fo Island wasn’t very big, not much different from Chongming Island from a few days ago. The two slowly made their way up and soon reached the meditation room where Master Konghuan stayed. It was just a house built from some unknown wood, ordinary and unremarkable. Although the two were only at the stage of Condensing Evil Energy, they had secret techniques and rare treasures, so hiding from those young novice monks wasn’t difficult at all!

The two saw that on this wooden house, there was a faint, invisible mist of rosy clouds, like blue smoke, ethereal and illusory. The sea wind blew, something that should scatter easily, yet it gathered like a solid substance, not moving with the wind but instead converging towards the center, as if something inside the house was inhaling and exhaling.

“This is the Power of Faith!” Chu Yunfei watched for a moment and said with a serious expression. Hearing his words, Mu Yuan was also somewhat surprised. He had seen Yuan Neng and Yuan Jue’s Infinite Void Great Hand Seal. When he fought with Yuan Neng and Shang, it was one thing, but later when he subdued the Saber-Toothed Drake, combined with the profound seal techniques, its power became evident. The Infinite Void Great Hand Seal was cultivated by gathering the power of faith and incense. He didn’t expect to see it here too.

Mu Yuan quietly focused his mind, but the inside of the house felt empty, as if there was no one there. He only faintly sensed a presence that resonated with his Longevity True Qi. Surprised, he transformed the Ice Soul Divine Light outside his body to conceal his original aura.

Seeing this, Chu Yunfei chuckled darkly. His originally sinister and eerie Xuan Yin Qi suddenly took on an overbearing quality, becoming even darker and thicker. Within his protective Zhenqi, it vaguely seemed to burn like flames, pitch black. Noticing Mu Yuan’s slight surprise, he transmitted his voice, “This is the skill of Nine Revolutions of the Heavenly Demon. Remember I told you about it.”

Mu Yuan understood. Chu Yunfei had mentioned that beside that Demon Banner, he also obtained the mental method for Nine Revolutions of the Heavenly Demon. It seemed like it was also an incredible mental technique.

The two changed their appearances, but their auras didn’t expand. Just with this transformation, the person in the house sensed them. A hollow voice came out, “Guests from afar, why not come in for a chat!”

Mu Yuan and Chu Yunfei glanced at each other; it was within their expectations. The other party’s cultivation was clearly deeper than theirs, and the Buddhist Sect had divine abilities like heavenly eyes and ears, so it wasn’t strange that they were discovered.

The two openly entered the house and saw a somewhat gray-haired elder monk. It was unclear what he had been doing before, but when the two entered, he had already stopped and placed a purple glowing alms bowl on the table. The bowl was crystal clear and quite dazzling. It wasn’t the bowl itself that surprised him, but rather that on this bowl, he sensed the presence that made his Longevity Qi stir.

Mu Yuan remained calm, and so did Chu Yunfei. Both were polite to the elder monk, “We heard that master’s Buddhist teachings are exquisite and specially came to listen to your instruction. We apologize for any offense, please forgive us!”

Konghuan beamed, looking extremely kind, “You flatter me. The Daoist and Buddhist teachings have common points. Let’s just exchange ideas together!”

The three chatted for a while. The Buddhist Sect was known for eloquent speech, and it was indeed true. If Mu Yuan hadn’t already been wary of this monk and had some ulterior motives, he might really have been persuaded to change to Buddhism, shave his head, and start practicing!

“Master is supposed to give a sermon tomorrow. We are first-time visitors to the island, full of admiration, so we were a bit impatient and rude. Please don’t mind. We will leave now and wait quietly for master to start the sermon tomorrow!”

Konghuan nodded with a smile. Mu Yuan and Chu Yunfei retreated. Only after leaving there and returning to their quarters did Mu Yuan let out a slight sigh of relief.

Chu Yunfei also wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead, “That old monk is really powerful. His words can sway hearts, no less than any spell or divine ability. I felt all floaty and confused. If you hadn’t finally said we should leave, I might really have been brainwashed, thinking I had a sudden enlightenment!”

Mu Yuan felt the same, “I only started to feel that there was something in the old monk’s alms bowl that could cause my Longevity True Qi to stir, so I remained cautious all along. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been any better than you. This thing has nothing to do with the depth of Magical Power or the strength of Divine Abilities; it directly points to the Dao Heart. It’s because we are usually too careless that we fell for it.”

“But what exactly is in that alms bowl? Ethereal yet seemingly alive. This monk might not be a good person either!” Mu Yuan thought to himself.

Although he wanted to see for himself, Mu Yuan also knew that the monk was not someone to be trifled with. His Buddhist teachings were unfathomable, and they absolutely couldn’t act rashly. After all, he heard from toad Zi Lan that once Konghuan started preaching, it could last three to five days, or even ten to fifteen days. Fortunately, the time wasn’t short, so they could plan carefully.

With nothing else to do, when midnight came and Mu Yuan was still breathing and refining Qi, he sensed many auras of varying strengths entering the island. They all kept to themselves peacefully. Among these auras, there was one that felt very familiar to Mu Yuan, though he couldn’t remember it at the moment. Feeling somewhat surprised and unable to calm his mind for meditation, he simply rested, quietly waiting for Konghuan to start the sermon the next day!

The night passed peacefully. When Mu Yuan pushed open the window to look into the distance, he saw the rising sun turning the sea golden, everywhere bright and clear. Crowds of people were bustling towards the center of the island, a dark mass of figures, with spirits making up the vast majority. Though there were humans, they were very few. Next door, Chu Yunfei was also watching. The two smiled and, together with Qi Wei, the three headed to the place where Konghuan would preach!