151: Chapter 110 News from the Wooden Pavilion

Liu Lili walked over and took Chen Xuan's hand.

"Junior Brother, how do you think Xiao Muting spent these past five years?"

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"I don't know."

"But it must have been very bitter."

"Deep within the volcano, miasma spreads, and True Spirits and Strange Fires run rampant."

"For a person to stay in such a place for five years is not something an ordinary person could do."

Liu Lili was silent for a moment.

"He is an extraordinary person."

Chen Xuan nodded.

"Yes."

He paused.

"That is why we are going to bring him back."

Liu Lili leaned on his shoulder and did not speak again.

Chen Xuan closed his eyes and looked inward.

The five-colored light in the Purple Mansion within his Dantian flowed, and the four manifestations of City Wall Earth slowly rotated.

He was only two manifestations away from fishing for the Gold Attribute.

If he could find the Heavenly Fire Gold Attribute on this trip to the Southern Border, his path to the Golden Core would take a great step forward.

But he did not hold much hope.

Gold Attributes are hard to come by, and so are manifestations.

To obtain even one is already a heaven-sent Opportunity.

He could not be greedy.

Chen Xuan opened his eyes, took a Medicinal Pill from his Storage Pouch, and swallowed it.

The medicinal power dissolved in his abdomen and flowed to his limbs and bones.

He closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.

Three days later.

Chen Xuan stood at the edge of the airport, with Liu Lili, Senior Sister Wen Yao, and Xiao Ye standing behind him.

There was one more person.

Zhao Si.

At the seventh level of Qi Refining, in his forties, with an ordinary face and a thin build.

He wore gray Daoist robes, kept his head down, and dared not look at anyone.

Chen Xuan looked at him.

"Are you Zhao Si?"

"Yes... yes, Immortal Master Yun."

Zhao Si's voice was trembling.

"You don't need to be afraid."

Chen Xuan's tone was very calm.

"Lead the way well, and I will ensure your safety."

Zhao Si nodded frantically.

The five of them boarded the flying boat. The flying boat rose, changed direction, and flew toward the south.

Chen Xuan stood at the ship's railing, watching Wanyao Immortal City grow smaller and smaller until it gradually disappeared into the horizon.

In the direction of the Southern Border, there was a patch of dark red clouds on the horizon.

That was volcanic ash; even after five years, it had not fully dissipated.

Chen Xuan withdrew his gaze and turned to walk into the cabin.

Liu Lili was making soup in the cabin, and the clay pot on the small stove was bubbling with steam.

Senior Sister Wen Yao was wiping her sword; her twin swords rested across her knees, her movements slow and meticulous.

Xiao Ye was resting his eyes in the corner, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

Zhao Si huddled in the deepest part of the cabin, hugging his knees, not daring to move.

Chen Xuan sat down opposite him.

"Zhao Si, how many years have you stayed at White Lotus Temple?"

"Five... five years."

Zhao Si's voice was still trembling.

"I went there the year White Lotus Temple was built."

Chen Xuan nodded.

"Have you seen Immortal Master Kumu?"

Zhao Si swallowed his saliva.

"I... I have seen him a few times."

"He would lecture on the Dao in the temple on the first and fifteenth of every month."

"Everyone in the temple had to go and listen."

"I sat at the very back and watched from afar."

Chen Xuan looked at him.

"What does Immortal Master Kumu look like?"

Zhao Si thought for a moment.

"White... white hair and white eyebrows, a kind face, like a Bodhisattva in a temple."

"But... but his eyes are not right."

"What is wrong with his eyes?"

Zhao Si's body trembled.

"When his eyes look at people, it is like he is looking at an object."

"He is not looking at a person."

Chen Xuan was silent for a moment.

"Anything else?"

"Also..."

Zhao Si gritted his teeth.

"There is something underneath White Lotus Temple."

Chen Xuan frowned.

"What kind of thing?"

Zhao Si shook his head.

"I do not know."

"But every time I go to the cellar to move things, I can hear sounds from below."

"It is not a human sound."

"It sounds like something is breathing."

Chen Xuan's heart sank.

There is something underneath White Lotus Temple.

Something that could make Immortal Master Kumu personally guard it.

What could it be?

He did not ask again.

Zhao Si had already said everything he knew.

The rest would have to be seen for himself.

The flying boat continued south.

Three days later, in the Southern Border.

The clouds turned gray-black, and the air was filled with the smell of sulfur.

Miasma rose from the ground like gray fog, obscuring the distant mountain peaks.

Chen Xuan took Miasma-Repelling Pills from his Storage Pouch, one for each person.

"Swallow them."

All five swallowed the Medicinal Pill.

The medicinal power dissolved in their bodies, protecting their internal organs.

Chen Xuan walked to the railing, looking at the Southern Border land below.

The volcanic eruption had subsided for five years, but the ground was still scorched black.

Not a blade of grass grew, and there was no trace of any life.

But in the distance, a mountain was still smoking.

White smoke rose from the crater.

That was an active volcano.

Zhao Si pointed at that mountain, his voice trembling.

"Immortal Master Yun, White Lotus Temple is at the foot of that mountain."

Chen Xuan nodded.

"Descend."

The flying boat landed on an open space at the foot of the volcano.

The five jumped off the flying boat and stepped onto the scorched black ground.

The soil under their feet was soft, like stepping into ashes.

In the distance, a Daoist temple stood at the foot of the mountain.

White walls and black tiles, with two stone pillars standing in front of the gate, carved with lotus flowers.

White Lotus Temple.

Chen Xuan rested his hand on his sword hilt, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings.

No ambush.

No traps.

There were not even any guards.

The door of White Lotus Temple was open, and it was empty inside.

Did Immortal Master Kumu leave?

Or did he leave the door open on purpose?

Chen Xuan turned to look at Senior Sister Wen Yao.

"Senior Sister, you take Xiao Ye and Zhao Si and wait outside."

"Senior Sister and I will go in."

Senior Sister Wen Yao frowned.

"It is too dangerous."

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"Having too many people makes it easier to be exposed."

"Senior Sister and I will go in and come out in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"If we haven't come out after that time, you leave."

"Go back and tell Revered Master that there is something underneath White Lotus Temple."

Senior Sister Wen Yao looked at him for a long time.

Then she nodded.

"Be careful."

Chen Xuan took Liu Lili and walked toward White Lotus Temple.

Inside the gate was a long corridor, with side rooms on both sides, all with their doors open.

There was no one inside.

Chen Xuan's Divine Sense spread forward.

There was no breath of any living person.

But there was something underground.

It was breathing.

Chen Xuan quickened his pace, passed through the corridor, and arrived at the main hall.

A Buddha statue was enshrined in the main hall.

Maitreya.

The Buddha statue only had an upper body; the lower body was nowhere to be found.

The face was compassionate, with a smile on its lips.

But the eyes were closed.

Chen Xuan looked at the Buddha statue, his hand resting on his sword hilt.

"Immortal Master Kumu, I know you are here."

"Come out."

The hall was quiet for a moment.

Then the Buddha statue's eyes opened.

A blood-colored light poured out from the eye sockets.

The Buddha statue's mouth split open, smiling even wider.

A voice came from the Buddha statue, low and hoarse.

"Yun Qi, you are smarter than I thought."

"And also dumber than I wanted."

"The smart thing is that you found this place."

"The dumb thing is that you came alone."

The Buddha statue was the Clone of Immortal Master Kumu.

It was the same as the Maitreya Buddha statue at Bihai Lake.

But it was stronger.

The aura was overwhelming, pressing down on Chen Xuan until he could barely breathe.

Liu Lili's face was pale; her hand was on her sword hilt, her knuckles white.

Chen Xuan stood in front of her and took out the Jade Talisman given by Revered Master from his Storage Pouch.

The Jade Talisman was burning hot in his palm.

Immortal Master Kumu's voice rang out again.

"Master Chonghe's Sword Intent?"

"Not bad, it can block one blow from me."

"But what about after one blow?"

"Yun Qi, what will you use to block the second blow?"

Chen Xuan did not answer.

His other hand reached into the Storage Pouch and gripped the black Jade Slip.

Zhao Si was right.

There is something underneath White Lotus Temple.

It is not the true body of Immortal Master Kumu.

It is the remnant body of Maitreya.