417: Chapter 417 Never Picked Up

Eastern Territory.

Thirty li south of East Sea City, Tianyin Mountain.

A towering Thousand Buddha Pagoda was particularly eye-catching in the morning mist.

This ancient pagoda, which has been passed down for thousands of years and survived seven dynasties, is not only the tallest building near East Sea City but also the symbol of the Buddhist Sect, one of the Five Great Sects.

Behind the pagoda, the suspended building built against the mountain is the Scripture Pavilion of the Buddhist Sect.

Although there are no prohibitions here, few monks ever come here.

After all, meeting the Sweeping Monk, one of the five Great Grandmasters, is not an easy task.

At this time, during morning lessons, a young monk was silently moving prayer beads and chanting Buddhist scriptures in front of a Buddha statue in the Scripture Pavilion.

Unbeknownst to him, an old monk with white eyebrows and a thin but energetic frame slowly walked over from behind, holding a broom.

"Ruoyu."

The young monk quickly stood up, looked at the sky outside the window, and said ashamed, "Master, this disciple will go fetch water right away."

He had unknowingly chanted scriptures all night and forgotten the important task of scrubbing the floor tiles.

"No need."

The Sweeping Monk stopped him and said softly, "The dust on this ground will be cleaned by someone, but the weeds in your heart still need to be cleared by yourself."

Ruoyu's face froze, and he quickly shook his head, "Master, this disciple has determined to let go of his obsessions and will never fail your teachings."

"Hehe..."

The Sweeping Monk said with a smile, "When did this old monk ever have expectations of you? How can you speak of 'failing' me?"

"This..." Ruoyu frowned. Indeed, the Sweeping Monk had never asked for anything in return from him.

It was only the Buddhist Sect's Abbot and others who hoped he would achieve a good ranking in the Tianwu Grand Tournament.

"Although this old monk does not know what you encountered at the Tianwu Grand Tournament, you have been restless since your return. If this continues, heart demons will only grow."

"Go. Buddha only ferries those with whom he has a predestined bond. Your bond has not yet arrived, so do not force it..."

The Sweeping Monk waved his hand, signaling the disciple that he could leave.

Ruoyu's eyes turned red, and he knelt down directly, "Master, this disciple is grateful for the shelter provided by you and the Buddhist Sect. Since I have already become a monk, how can I go and commit acts of revenge and slaughter?"

"Foolish child..."

The Sweeping Monk sighed, "Whether the Bodhisattva lowers her eyes or the Vajra glares with rage, both are acts of our Buddha's compassion."

"Moreover, Ruoyu... if you have never truly picked it up, how can you speak of letting go?"

Ruoyu's body trembled as he stared blankly at the Sweeping Monk, unable to speak for a moment.

If you have never picked it up, how can you speak of letting go?

Ruoyu took a deep breath and kowtowed heavily three times.

"Master, once this disciple has cleared away the karmic obstacles of the red dust, please accept me into your tutelage again. Let me accompany you, with the green lamp and the ancient Buddha, for the rest of my life!"

The Sweeping Monk laughed softly and didn't answer, simply picking up the broom and beginning to sweep the floor.

"Sweep away the dust before the steps,

When the dust vanishes, all phenomena become void.

Originally there is no state of purity,

Where then can a cage be found..."

...

Several days later.

Moon Worship Cult Headquarters.

After executing Crown Prince Xiao Shian, Lin Xiao and the others led General Leng Duo's Black Dragon Cavalry to station directly in this secret location.

The Moon Worship Cult's massive stockpile of supplies was enough for the Black Dragon Cavalry to rest and recuperate here for a while.

Inside an elegant bamboo building, Lin Xiao was fiddling with a green jade imperial seal in his hand, feeling a bit depressed.

[Heirloom Seal of the Realm (Sealed): An insignia passed down by the founding emperor of the Great Zheng Dynasty. It is said to hide a shocking secret. Grade: Heaven Grade (Sealed)]

"Damn... it's this same trick again, just like the guardian of the state."

"System, is there no other way to unseal this thing? I must restore the Great Zheng Dynasty?"

Ever since he got the jade seal from the cellar that day, Lin Xiao had been studying it. He even put the guardian of the state and the jade seal together in various ways, but there was absolutely no reaction.

[System: Yes, restoring the Zheng Dynasty is the only way to break the seal.]

Lin Xiao frowned: "Then what counts as restoration? Having my wife become the Empress?"

[System: Having a person with the Xiao clan bloodline effectively control the territories once owned by the Zheng Dynasty counts as restoration.]

"Oh?"

Lin Xiao thought for a moment: "In other words... it doesn't necessarily have to be my wife as Empress. As long as she holds power, or even our descendants could do it?"

"And it doesn't really matter what the dynasty is called?"

[System: Theoretically, yes.]

Lin Xiao sighed. Even so, he would have to wait until the world was unified. He couldn't count on it for now.

However, the gains from this trip to wipe out the Moon Worship Cult were still enormous.

Not to mention anything else, over fifty years of plundering, plus a large portion of Western Shu's original wealth, was actually all here.

Lin Xiao obtained dozens of high-grade equipment and materials in one go, exchanging them for over 70,000 prestige.

Now his prestige reached over 83,000, bringing him a big step closer to the goal of 200,000.

"I still have to fight the imperial clan. If I take down the Prince of Nanling, Prince of East Sea, and the Prince of Baiyue all at once..."

Lin Xiao couldn't help but give a wicked laugh. His complete version of the Zhu Xian Sword Formation depended on them!

Another pleasant surprise for Lin Xiao was that in the past few days, his Comprehension Ability points had actually skyrocketed.

He directly gained over a hundred thousand!

He wasn't sure if it was because of the Blade Mountain reforms or the situation in the Northern Territory.

He now had over 1.1 million Comprehension Ability points, not far from the 1.3 million needed for the 'Heavenly Immortal' realm.

He estimated that by the time he returned to the Northern Territory, he would be able to advance.

Having gained so much from this trip, Lin Xiao was in a great mood. He leisurely poured himself a cup of ancient tree tea and drank it with a smile.

"Hehe, Your Highness is in high spirits, drinking alone and enjoying yourself."

General Leng Duo's voice came over. Returning with him were Leng Bingyan and Xiao Qingxuan.

Following behind them was a haggard An Ya.

"Father-in-law also looks to be in a good mood. Have the accounts all been tallied?" Lin Xiao asked with a smile.

Besides the vast amount of treasures unearthed from the Moon Worship Cult's headquarters, the most 'precious' things were a pile of secret ledgers!

These accounts were ironclad evidence of how the Moon Worship Cult had exchanged interests with local officials and gentry in Nanling and Baiyue, as well as martial arts sects, over the decades.

Among them were names like Hua Zhengyang and Chu Xianfeng from Blade Mountain, as well as officials from various provinces, and even high-ranking court officials from the Capital Region!!

"Haha, if it weren't for the help of Her Majesty and Yaner, it would have taken us men of the Black Dragon Cavalry one or two months to finish reading them."

Leng Bingyan said awkwardly, "I didn't actually help that much. It was An Ya; she's very familiar with all of this, and most of the organization was done with her help."

"Oh? Then I must thank An Ya. After all, the future intelligence network will also rely on her for coordination."

Lin Xiao said with a smile, "An Ya, I am very gratified that you can distinguish right from wrong and abandon the darkness for the light."

An Ya gave a forced smile and said sadly, "Your Highness, I know my father did too many wrong things and there was no turning back."

"In fact, when he learned the Blade Emperor had been killed, he was already panicked, knowing the Moon Worship Cult's momentum was likely gone. Everything he did afterward was nothing more than a deathbed struggle."

"Now that my father has died at the hands of the Black Dragon Cavalry, it is also karmic retribution. As his daughter, I am content to have been able to bury him."

"An Ya now has only one wish, which is to rescue my suffering mother from the palace. Please remember your promise to me; when the army enters the capital in the future, do not make things difficult for my mother."