280: Chapter 280 Entangled in Karmic Obstacles, Bodhi Zen Temple

Karmic Obstruction of this kind is not considered mysterious; it generally only appears on specific groups of people.

Master Xuandu himself specializes in Buddhist Dharma, and his perception of Karmic Obstruction is exceptionally acute.

An old butcher who slaughters pigs and sheep all year round has faint grayish-black Evil Qi lingering around his body, and there will also be a faint blood-red Karmic Obstruction.

This kind of Karmic Obstruction does not hinder Cultivate, nor does it interfere with life. On the contrary, a moderate amount of killing Karmic Obstruction can even deter some roadside wild ghosts.

But on Chen Ran, he faintly sensed a trace of extremely terrifying Karmic Obstruction aura.

Although ordinary Jailer will also be tainted with Karmic Obstruction, it has never been on such a large scale.

If he were not extremely familiar with Karmic Obstruction, he would probably have misjudged.

"With such deep Karmic Obstruction, an ordinary person would have long suffered from Qi Deviation, but the Noble Spirit on his body happens to suppress this point. Come to think of it, a Confucian Dao expert must have laid the foundation in advance."

Master Xuandu's gaze looked into the distance, his brow tightly furrowed:

"However, if this Noble Spirit dissipates and can no longer suppress the Karmic Obstruction, I am afraid a huge mess will break out."

The noble and righteous Qi cultivated by Confucian Cultivator essentially needs to rely on the imperial court's national fortune and Dragon veins to exert its effect.

This is also why officials or great Confucians residing in the imperial court can use the Dragon veins within the scope of the capital to unleash powerful noble and righteous Qi,

and after leaving the imperial court system, this power will be greatly discounted.

But if turmoil occurs in the Dragon vein Origin, the Noble Spirit will also be affected.

"The path ahead is not very easy to walk."

Master Xuandu let out a faint sigh and began chanting Buddhist scriptures once more. Bursts of golden light emerged from his body, shooting violently into the distance.

...

Deep within the heavenly prison, it was as quiet as a dry well.

Evil Qi layered upon layer, condensing without dispersing, resembling ink accumulated over years, pressing down so hard that people could barely breathe.

Chen Ran walked slowly along the long corridor, with endless cells on both sides, stretching as far as the eye could see.

This fifth layer of the heavenly prison covered a vast area, and the distance between cells was quite long.

However, many cells inside were vacant.

After Chen Ran had walked a distance of several dozen meters, he gradually perceived certain presences within his field of vision.

In the gloom behind the iron bars, pairs of eyes quietly lit up.

Some were turbid, some were sharp, and some were indifferent, resembling old lamps forgotten in a corner, occasionally emitting a faint gloomy light.

Chen Ran's expression remained as usual as he walked straight ahead.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, the heavenly book of prison suppression quietly flipped open. With a flash of golden light, various entries emerged.

[Prisoner: Shi Jun]

[Realm: Third Grade Return to Truth Realm Middle Stage]

[Crime: In the tenth year of Great Wei Xuanhe, gathering a mob for robbery, slaughtering a village to eliminate witnesses, resulting in over a hundred casualties]

...

[Prisoner: Qian Boyong]

[Realm: Third Grade Return to Truth Realm Peak]

[Crime: Cultivate Demonic Technique, using living people for Alchemy, accumulating a thousand corpses]

...

[Prisoner: Sun Kui]

[Realm: Third Grade Return to Truth Realm Early Stage]

[Crime: Once slaughtered...]

...

Lines of information appeared on the heavenly book of prison suppression.

Chen Ran merely glanced at them and casually recorded those prisoners into the catalog.

Third Grade, Third Grade, still Third Grade.

The tier of these deep cells was as stable as ever.

Looking out, every single prisoner possessed vigorous Qi and blood with a grim aura of Evil Qi. Pulling any random one out to the outside world would make them a figure capable of walking sideways in their region.

Yet at this moment, they were neatly curled up inside square-inch cages, extremely quiet.

Chen Ran calculated in his heart that those who could be locked into the fifth layer of the heavenly prison were at least in the Return to Truth Realm.

As for the Innate Realm... it was extremely rare.

"The heavenly prison doesn't take in many Innate Realm prisoners to begin with," Chen Ran muttered to himself silently,

"After all, once they reach this level of strength, as long as they don't recklessly violate the laws, most won't be arrested and brought in."

How difficult it is to capture an Innate Realm expert alive and lock them into the heavenly prison.

As long as an expert of this level put up a desperate fight, it would cause extremely heavy damage to the surroundings.

Chen Ran walked leisurely, neither fast nor slow, as if he were just strolling around casually.

But in reality, every time he passed a cell, the heavenly book of prison suppression would quietly record a piece of information without a single error.

Walking all the way to the latter half of the corridor.

Chen Ran's footsteps suddenly paused.

His gaze swept toward the cell on his right-hand side.

That cell was no different from the neighboring ones, equally dim and equally cramped.

But the entries given by the heavenly book of prison suppression caused his heart to stir slightly.

[Prisoner: Liu Chongyuan]

[Realm: Second Grade Innate Realm Middle Stage]

[Crime: Blood Transformation Old Fiend, Cultivate taboo Demonic Technique, became a regional overlord demon, wreaking havoc in the region, later locked into the heavenly prison...]

Chen Ran stared at those last few words for a full breath of time.

He sensed a familiar aura from that cell.

Blood Transformation Great Art.

The Cultivation Technique he practiced himself was also this one.

If one were to speak of fate, even if enough people were gathered to form a table, it might not be as coincidental as this.

Chen Ran slowly withdrew his gaze, with no expression whatsoever on his face.

That prisoner also noticed his stopping, and a hoarse, deep voice sounded from the inner side of the cell.

"Little brat, what are you staring at this seat for?"

"Nothing much, just seeing that you still have plenty of spirit." Chen Ran replied calmly.

That voice paused for a moment, as if not expecting to receive such an answer.

"Hehehehe, little brat, it's been a long time since anyone dared to speak to this seat like this!"

Accompanied by the ferocious wild laughter from the opposite side, a ball of blood-red Evil Qi violently condensed at the other end of the cell, twisting forward like a netherworld fierce ghost, shooting straight toward Chen Ran.

However, just as that Evil Qi was about to form, a sound of Buddhist Dharma exploded in the prison like a giant bell.

The newly condensed Evil Qi was instantly scattered, and the entire cell calmed down once more.

"Consider yourself lucky."

That person let out a cold snort first, and then there was no further follow-up.

Chen Ran did not linger any longer and continued forward, but he had already quietly remembered this person in his heart.

Blood Transformation Great Art, Innate Realm Middle Stage—just these few words alone were enough to arouse his interest...

Blood Transformation Great Art could be considered an extremely powerful Demonic Technique in the Jianghu.

No one knew how it was born, but from time to time, corresponding inheritors would appear within the Jianghu.

Chen Ran had already cultivated Blood Transformation Great Art to Perfection, so he naturally understood how wondrous this Cultivation Technique was.

It could devour blood to enhance one's cultivation power, and even manipulate blood and condense Blood Seeds later on...

Solely in terms of quality, this Cultivation Technique was sufficient to stand among top-tier martial arts.

Moreover, Chen Ran also felt that this Cultivation Technique was more important than imagined. If he could figure out who created it, he might get unexpected gains.

...

Chen Ran inspected the cells for a while, then turned a corner, stopped his footsteps, and looked at the first cell not far ahead.

Master Xuandu.

That monk sat upright on a cattail mat, his wide monk robes draped down, as still as a wooden sculpture.

The string of prayer beads in his hand was slowly flicked one by one, making an extremely faint sound that was exceptionally clear in the empty corridor.

Chen Ran took a close look at his wrist.

Clean and clear, with nothing at all.

Ordinary prisoners above the Innate Realm, after being locked into the deep layers of the heavenly prison, would have shackles and array seals attached to their hands and feet to suppress Qi and blood and block Meridians.

The light ones would suffer scattered Qi and blood, while the heavy ones would experience regression in cultivation.

Yet on Master Xuandu's wrist, not even a single rune could be seen.

Chen Ran had specifically investigated beforehand and learned that aside from his identity as a prisoner, Master Xuandu also helped the Demon Suppression Division suppress the heavenly prison.

The sound of Buddhist Dharma just now was executed by Master Xuandu.

Chen Ran slowly placed a chess piece in his heart. Combining this with those few lines in the archives made it all the more interesting.

"Great Master, are you still accustomed to being here?" Chen Ran walked a few steps closer, his tone casual.

Master Xuandu opened his eyes, his gaze landing calmly on him with a slight nod.

Chen Ran leaned against the opposite wall and spoke unhurriedly, "This place has heavy Evil Qi. If ordinary people stay here for too long, they always develop some problems."

"This poor monk has undergone harsh cultivation for a long time; this bit of Evil Qi is still within endurance." Master Xuandu's tone was plain, and his speech speed was neither fast nor slow.

"That's good," Chen Ran nodded, his words turning casually, "Speaking of which, Great Master entered prison voluntarily, right? This point..." He deliberately paused,

"In the several hundred years of history of the heavenly prison, this is truly the first."

"Tied to Karma, naturally willing."

Hearing these words, Chen Ran sighed inwardly. Master Xuandu's mouth was sealed like an iron box, impossible to pry open.

"Then what about Great Master assisting in suppressing prisoners?" Chen Ran changed his angle, "I am newly arrived and still unclear about this matter, so I hope Great Master can enlighten me a bit."

Master Xuandu's fingers flicking the prayer beads stopped for a split second.

"It is merely repaying Karma and acting along the current trend."

"Oh."

Chen Ran acknowledged with a calm expression, though several thoughts had already spun through the depths of his eyes.

Repaying Karma.

It sounds nice, but nothing substantive was given.

He did not pursue the questioning further, merely taking a distant look deep into the corridor before turning back and cupping his hands in salute toward Master Xuandu.

"Disturbed Great Master's quiet cultivation, I will come to visit another day."

"Patron, please make yourself at home."

Chen Ran turned around and walked out unhurriedly along the path he came.

Walking out of the corridor and passing through that heavy stone door, Chen Ran raised his head to glance at the grayish-white daylight above his head.

He had already sorted out several clear veins of thought in his heart.

First, Master Xuandu entered prison voluntarily, without shackles or locks. Not only was his Qi and blood not suppressed by the heavenly prison, but he was even assisting in suppression, indicating that he had some sort of formal agreement with the imperial court.

Second, Master Xuandu's unwillingness to speak was an intentional evasion rather than true ignorance.

Third, a monk above the Innate Realm willingly staying in the deepest part of the heavenly prison in the identity of a prisoner—this matter itself could not possibly be dismissed simply with the two words "Karma."

Chen Ran walked up the stairs, his footsteps steady and heavy.

"There is a huge secret inside here."

He murmured softly, a hint of deep thought in his eyes.

When the timing is appropriate, this mystery will sooner or later be personally unveiled to him.

...

The evening in the capital was always livelier than elsewhere.

The setting sun still hung in the western sky, and the orange-red light paved half the street. The peddlers' shouts rang out one after another, mixed with the clamor of children chasing and playing, instantly dispersing the stuffiness of the daytime.

Chen Ran changed into ordinary cloth garments, paced through the crowd, and walked into a narrow alley.

At the end of the alley, there was a teahouse hanging a gray cloth curtain.

Chen Ran entered the door, casually pushed aside the curtain, and familiarly walked to the table by the window, pulling out a chair to sit down.

Inside the hall, tea patrons were sparse, three or two tables each occupying a corner. The atmosphere was lazy, as if they had agreed to come together to while away this evening time.

"Master Chen, the usual routine?"

A lean young waiter poked his head out from behind the counter and asked loudly.

"The usual routine."

"Alright then!"

The young waiter briskly brought over a pot and poured a cup for Chen Ran, his movements smooth as flowing water. Before the tea leaves had fully unfurled, he had already turned around to attend to another table.

Chen Ran picked up the teacup and took a light sip.

The entrance was slightly bitter, and the sweet aftertaste slowly spread at the root of his tongue, diluting the gloomy aura accumulated in the heavenly prison by quite a bit.

He leaned against the back of the chair, watching the passing pedestrians in the alley outside the window, his entire body relaxing.

He had been coming to this teahouse for nearly half a year. It could not be considered any luxurious or noble place, and the tea leaves were just ordinary goods. Its advantage was that the shopkeeper didn't talk much, and the tea patrons were all of decent quality, coming in to sit and chat idly without much guard, making it rather comfortable instead.

"Hey, Brother Chen, finishing work so early today?"

At the diagonally opposite table, a slightly plump middle-aged man greeted him. That man surnamed Zhou served as the shopkeeper in a nearby fabric store. Chen Ran had been acquainted with him for two or three months, and they could both be considered old acquaintances.

"There are fewer matters today." Chen Ran casually responded, turning his head to ask, "Shopkeeper Zhou, how is business these past few days?"

"Hey, don't mention it." Shopkeeper Zhou put the teacup down on the table with a distressed look,

"There have been a lot of people coming and going in the capital these past few months, and quite a lot of fabrics have been sold. However, those incoming big figures all bring people with them, and their running-around attendants want to purchase fabrics while specifically liking to drive down prices, claiming that our local goods are not as good as the ones they brought."

Chen Ran was slightly stunned and asked casually: "Big figures from where?"

"Where else could they be from," Shopkeeper Zhou lowered his voice, leaning forward half his body, "that bunch of people from the previous Martial Arts Tournament of the World..."

Chen Ran raised his eyes slightly.

"The tournament ended some time ago, right."

"Ended, it ended long ago!" Shopkeeper Zhou waved his hand, "Some time ago when the rankings were announced, I even went specially to join the excitement and watch."

He took a sip of tea, and once the conversation opened up, he could no longer hold it back:

"Speaking of which, it's also quite rare. Those external forces usually pack up and leave within three to five days. But this year, after the rankings were announced, the people from various sects and Schools stubbornly stayed in the capital without moving, and I heard there are still some matters unfinished."

"Oh?" Chen Ran lightly tapped his fingers on the table, "Which specific forces?"

"Plenty of them!"

Shopkeeper Zhou ticked off his fingers like counting family treasures, "I've seen the people from the Tiangang Sect; their banners were planted very high at the entrance, and they echoed each other when walking on the street, quite a grand display.

There are also Disciples from Ciyin Medical Valley, said to be taking advantage of being in the capital to purchase medicinal herbs, which is a proper matter."

"And there are also those from the Zhengyang Sword Sect. They are somewhat more low-profile, keeping quiet and staying in an inn not far from the imperial city, rarely showing their faces."

"In addition..." Shopkeeper Zhou suddenly narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice, "Do you know that the people from the Bodhi Zen Monastery are also here?"

The teacup in Chen Ran's hand paused for a moment.

"Bodhi Zen Monastery?"

"That major Buddhist School," Shopkeeper Zhou nodded, "once those monks put on their kasayas, walking on the street makes them recognizable from afar. However, their actions are much steadier than those Jianghu Schools; they don't cause trouble or show off, just walking around everywhere in the capital."

After finishing, Shopkeeper Zhou didn't delve deeper himself and turned to greet the adjacent table, so that topic drifted away amidst the tea fragrance.

Yet Chen Ran kept these words in his heart.

Bodhi Zen Monastery.

He slowly picked up his teacup with a calm expression, but in his mind, he had already quietly connected several matters together.

Master Xuandu, the Core Disciple of Bodhi Zen Monastery.

During the Martial Arts Tournament of the World, Bodhi Zen Monastery came to the capital with the team, and after it ended, none of these forces left the capital.

"Are the imperial court's rewards not yet fully distributed?"

Chen Ran took a sip of tea, his fingertips gently rubbing the rim of the teacup, his gaze falling on the semi-bright and semi-dark alley outside the window.

Although the rewards of the Martial Arts Tournament were very good, it shouldn't be enough to make these Jianghu forces stay in the capital for so long. Is the imperial court trying to win them over?

Recently, the situation in Great Wei has been turbulent and unstable, with rumors flying everywhere. It was inevitable that this would attract the attention of these Jianghu forces.

If a batch of Jianghu forces could be won over to stand for the imperial court, the entire Jianghu would certainly become much more stable.

"After all, Master Xuandu was once a Disciple of Bodhi Zen Monastery; they might know something..."

The tea fragrance inside the hall gradually grew stronger, and the light in the alley outside the window grew dim bit by bit. In the distance, smoke curled up from kitchen chimneys as households began to make fire for cooking.

The period of time before nightfall in the capital was always so leisurely and carefree, as if the affairs of the world had nothing to do with here.

Chen Ran drank another major half pot of tea before slowly standing up, pulling out a few copper coins to place on the table, and waving his hand at the young waiter.

"Leaving now, coming again tomorrow."

"Alright, take care, Master Chen!"

He walked out of the teahouse, and the cloth curtain gently fell behind him, isolating the voices and tea fragrance of that room to the other side.

(The last day of the end of the month, a two-in-one chapter of 4,500 characters, asking for good reviews and urging updates. Please, everyone reading up to here can click a five-star praise to boost the rating for our book. The rating hasn't moved in a long time~)