Chapter 16

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Chapter 16

When it was time to set off, they each packed their bags and prepared to report their journey to Master Ancestor.

As the siblings stepped out of Tianhua Palace, they saw several disciples carrying a seriously injured person on a bamboo stretcher, rushing towards the Xinglin Hall to seek help from the senior brothers and sisters there.

At first, Gong Wu didn’t see clearly and thought it was the Master who had returned to save them.

“Brother, could it be—”

“It’s not; Master isn’t bald.”

“Is he bald?” Gong Wu asked quickly, “Wait for me! I want to take a look.”

Could it be the monk who went to Night Poison Mountain a few days ago?

Upon visiting, it indeed turned out to be the monk Qing Zhen.

The monk had been lively, enjoying roasted rabbit legs, and appeared robust enough to catch a bear with his bare hands.

Unexpectedly, after just a few days, he was now lying on a bamboo stretcher, with senior brothers and sisters from Yuncang Palace urgently tending to his broken bones.

A disciple handed him a bamboo strip to bite on, and the big man was sweating profusely, groaning in pain.

“Three ribs are broken,” Senior Sister Du Ren frowned as she examined him, “Does this hurt?”

As soon as the monk reacted, she showed a knowing look.

“His left leg is also broken.”

“Let’s turn him over and check his right side.”

Several disciples worked together to flip him over and continued to assess his internal and external injuries.

When Gong Wu approached, the monk saw her and let out a pitiful groan.

He spat out the bamboo strip and forced himself to say, “Amitabha.”

“Your words of warning to me were absolutely true!”

Du Ren tightened the bandages around his wounds and scolded, “Look at you in this state; did you go to Night Poison Mountain?”

“Yes,” the monk cried out, “Please, be gentle!”

“If I’m gentle, your bones won’t heal properly!” Du Ren admonished, “A monk should focus on chanting scriptures, not seeking thrills in such places!”

“Not at all,” Qing Zhen said with a pained expression as she fussed over him, “I went to gather Immortal Herbs, but alas… I couldn’t make it up there.”

At this moment, Ji Yang arrived at the hall and casually handed over a splint for them to secure his leg. He then looked at him with his spiritual vision and pondered, “You seem to have entered the fifth level of the Jade Balance Realm; your power is considerable, yet you still couldn’t make it?”

“The Jade Balance Realm?” a young disciple exclaimed, “Doesn’t that mean if you break through one more level, you can cross the tribulations and ascend to immortality?”

“That’s still a long way off,” Du Ren said as she shoved the bamboo strip back into his mouth. “Bite down hard; I need to set this dislocated wrist back in place!”

“Mmm!!”

“No ‘mmm!’”

With swift and fluid movements, she manipulated his wrist, and a loud crack echoed, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.

The monk wanted to leap up like a fish, almost cracking the bamboo strip in his teeth.

“Night Poison Mountain is an extremely dangerous place; even our Master Ancestor is very cautious when he goes to gather the returning Immortal Herb every year,” she clapped her hands and gestured for the younger disciples to help clean and apply medicine. “Since you haven’t ascended to immortality, entering there would be a life and death situation—don’t even think about it!”

By the time everyone finished helping him, over half an hour had passed.

The monk confirmed that he could lie down, and only then did he weakly spit out the bamboo strip, thanking everyone.

He took out two silver ingots worth nine-tenths and handed them to Du Ren.

“Thank you all for saving my life.”

Du Ren signaled a junior disciple to take the silver to the treasury, then handed him a prepared medicine beside his uninjured hand.

“Drink this.”

The monk grimaced from the bitter taste, downing it in one go, then asked, “May I ask how much silver is needed to purchase the returning Immortal Herb picked by your valley’s Master?”

"That treasure is a rare find; various sects vie for it to refine elixirs and save lives, and its value can no longer be measured in silver," someone interjected. "Monk, who are you trying to save? Could it be that the abbot of Great Wuxiang Temple has contracted a terminal illness?"

Qing Zhen shook his head, saying he wished to save a little girl by the roadside, though he didn’t know her name.

Senior Sister sighed and turned to tidy up the array of tools spread out on the table.

"If you keep encountering such pitiful souls, you might as well give your own life to save them."

Gong Wu had been assisting throughout, and as she was about to leave, the monk called her back.

"Little benefactor, where are you heading?"

"To Rebirth Temple."

The monk expressed his regret: "I still have a freshly caught wild hare in my bag; it would be best to gift it to someone in the valley."

Ji Yang stated lightly, "It’s better to abstain from such indulgences."

Gong Wu casually pulled out the plump hare and handed it to a junior brother to take to the kitchen. Before leaving, she remembered something and took out the heavy iron piece from her bag.

"Take a look; what is this?"

The monk paused, covering his nose, "Where did you get this—why does it smell a bit?"

Gong Wu didn’t mention the judgments of the Taoists, only explaining that the poisonous salamander had overeaten and was throwing up.

"No wonder," Qing Zhen tapped the pockmarked surface of the iron piece with his finger, "This is a meteorite."

"Really a star?"

"Yes, when a star falls to the earth, the splintered fragments look like this," Qing Zhen affirmed. "Great Wuxiang Temple also has a larger piece; it is sculpted into a Bodhisattva and displayed in the hall for the worshippers to see."

They didn’t mind the presence of others, and Du Ren also took a glance, thinking that Junior Sister had indeed found a treasure.

"Then it is a spiritual item for refining swords and crafting tools."

"You could say that," Qing Zhen, half-paralyzed on his sickbed, gestured lightly, "but you can also use it in medicine."

"Just scraping off a bit, the size of a fingernail, can cure illusions."

"For those afflicted by miasma, who mistakenly eat mushrooms, or those trapped in arrays like the Heavenly Gang Confusion Formation; using this spiritual medicine can yield immediate results."

Gong Wu weighed the heavy object in her hands, thinking she really had touched a star.

She had been worried about her senior brother not having a suitable magical tool, and now acquiring the meteorite fragment felt fateful.

Thus, the monk stayed in the valley to recover, even prepaying for his meals and lodging.

The masters agreed on the schedule to infiltrate Jin Yan Tuo in ten days to rescue the three trapped individuals.

After reporting and bidding farewell, Gong Wu handed the fragment to Ji Yang, sharing her thoughts.

Ji Yang focused on the fragment for a moment and didn’t object.

"Wu Wu always thinks of me," he said softly. "Today I accept the gift, and I will definitely repay you doubly in the future."

"Such talk makes it feel distant," Gong Wu laughed. "Let’s go together to Silu County."

One rode a carriage, and the other took sword flight, departing the valley together. They flew past many villages, heading towards the more expansive and prosperous Silu County.

Strangely enough, even though it was a time of peace and prosperity, both felt a subtle disquiet when looking down at the world.

It was as if they sensed the winds of change approaching, and war was not far away.

Could the calamities of Jin Yan Tuo in the future sweep across the great Immortal Sects, unleashing even greater disasters?

The more likely it seemed, the more imperative it became to visit Rebirth Temple.

In this era where cultivation flourished, divination methods of all kinds emerged endlessly.

Within the royal palace, eunuchs practiced sand divination, their eyes rolling back as they allowed spirits to possess them.

Among the common folk, there were those who could divine fortunes by observing shadows, each region boasting its own unique skills.

Yet, the only place where divination never failed was Rebirth Temple.

Silu County, nestled in the southeast, was renowned far and wide for its white tea and blue porcelain.

Just beyond the outskirts of Silu County stood a grand temple with rounded walls, its origins tracing back to a humble straw hut. It bore the name Rebirth Temple.

What made this place extraordinary was its exclusivity—it accepted only nuns, refusing entry to male monks.

Women who faced misfortune, those with no one to turn to, the abandoned and the divorced, all found sanctuary here.

Yet, the life of a nun was one of austerity, and the temple was shrouded in persistent rumors. It was common for women, in moments of anger or despair, to swear, “If I lie to you, may I shave my head and become a nun at Rebirth Temple!”

To the north stood the Great Wuxiang Temple, embodying pure yang, while to the south, Rebirth Temple represented pure yin, the two echoing each other across vast distances.

Both places welcomed visitors without regard to gender or wealth, embracing all who came.

Yet, while Great Wuxiang Temple had spawned countless smaller temples across the Central Plains, each claiming to be a lesser Wuxiang Temple, Rebirth Temple remained singular, unmatched anywhere in the world.

As they journeyed onward, they soon caught sight of the peculiar cylindrical temple and the long stream of people and carriages gathered just beyond the walls of Zhuojing.

Many devotees knelt before the wall, paying homage to the Maternal Buddha, perhaps adhering to some sacred ritual.

Couples entered the temple, cradling large fragrant flowers as offerings, their faces radiant with joy.

The throngs of worshippers had worn a muddy path through the grassy fields, and at the entrance, two nuns stood, their expressions warm and welcoming as they greeted arrivals.

Gong Wu and Ji Yang descended from the heavens, and though the crowd in the queue took little notice of their arrival, they watched intently to see if the two would abide by the rules and wait in line.

Ji Yang glanced toward the end of the line, where a worshipper was diligently maintaining order.

“Those here to offer incense need not wait in line; proceed directly inside, straight inside!”

“Those with questions, come this way; no need to enter the temple!”

A bearded man approached them with a no-nonsense air and inquired, “Are you two here to offer incense or to ask questions?”

“To ask questions.”

“Go to the back of the line,” the man said, waving them off. He added, “Just so you know, Rebirth Temple closes its gates at the first quarter of the hour of the rooster. If you don’t get your questions answered today, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Ji Yang surveyed the length of the line and knew they wouldn’t have their turn today.

“But!” the man emphasized, his tone firm as he laid down the rules for the two young visitors, “Even if you return tomorrow, the line won’t reset. You’ll have to keep your place in this order!”

It was then that Gong Wu understood why so many carriages were parked outside the temple.

“So, they sleep here overnight?”

“Exactly,” the man replied, crossing his arms. “I see you haven’t even brought a straw mat. If you stay here tonight, it’ll be a rough experience.”

Ji Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly, a plan already forming in his mind.

“Not a problem.”

He led her to the end of the line and retrieved a neatly folded outer robe from his bag, shaking it out in the breeze.

The hour of the rooster had arrived, and the line would no longer move.

People in the queue took turns sending young attendants to replace them while they returned to their carriages to rest for a while.

Some stood with their arms crossed, watching the young man to see if he intended to use the outer robe as a blanket.

A west wind blew, causing the robe’s sleeves to flutter, and Ji Yang released his grip.

As the robe gracefully descended, it transformed into a grand tent with separate rooms.

The tea-brown fabric with buttons became deep-fitted at all corners, and the crane patterns on the front turned into door curtains.

Even the silver patterns on the robe’s edges evenly adorned the drapes, giving them a neat and dignified appearance.

Inside the tent, there was a hall and two separate rooms, each with soft beds and excellent light-blocking.

Among the crowd were high-ranking officials, as well as many ordinary folks.

But anyone who saw such a spacious and tidy living space would be astonished, their eyes wide open.

— Cultivating immortality, cultivating immortality actually comes with such benefits?!

— Why haven’t I started cultivating immortality?!!

There were also naive little children tugging at their mothers’ clothing, shouting.

“Mom, I want to sleep in the big tent too!!”

Ji Yang looked at Gong Wu with youthful innocence.

“You’ll just have to use my robe to sleep for one night.”