The misty clouds were icy, and the snow continued to fall.
The white ray on the young Buddhist nun’s hand gradually faded, and eventually, it was extinguished. Xiaoxun’s injuries were healed. It flapped its bloody wings and flew over to Shen Lian when it saw him.
Qianmo saw Xiaoxun approaching them and did not entertain Xiaoxun. She even flapped her wings as a gesture for it to stay away.
The young girl looked at Shen Lian, and excitement surfaced in her eyes. She looked pleasantly surprised.
Shen Lian was curious but he chose to hold his tongue.
The young girl walked over. She seemed to be really young; her brows were like willow and her eyes were like a river. Song Qingyi addressed her as “Qixiu”, and “xiu” described her perfectly.
“Qixiu Junior Apprentice-Sister, this is my good friend Shen Lian, and he is also a disciple of Qing Xuan Daoist sect,” Song Qingyi spoke as he pointed at Shen Lian.
Qixiu did not respond. She spaced out as she looked at Shen Lian.
Song Qingyi did not notice this, but Shen Lian saw all of it. However, he had not seen this young girl before. To be precise, why was this little Buddhist nun looking at him, to begin with?
Shen Lian knew that he had the physical appeal that could attract most women, but it was not to the point that a female cultivator would space out the moment she set eyes on him.
Moreover, this young girl Qixiu was a Buddhist nun, and she was supposed to be free of such emotions.
“Qingyi fellow Daoist, the Dao technique used by your Junior Apprentice-Sister Qixiu earlier was full of life and could save many from sufferings. May I know where did it come from?” Shen Lian queried.
He had a few guesses in his heart. The Dao formula gestured by the young girl seemed like that of “Seal of No Fear”. This was one of the five basic hand gestures in Buddhism. It was similar to the basic Talismans in Daoism. The basic hand gestures contained the fundamentals of Buddhism. Even though they were simple and easy to learn, but the same hand gesture would have differing effects as the different branches had different approaches.
Essentially, the Seal of No Fear was a manifestation of the Buddha’s intention to save the masses. Allegedly, it could calm the people and could remove their fear.
Most cultivators in the world prioritized themselves and they would help others out on the side. Even in Buddhism, most enlightened monks would prioritize themselves before others too.
This was why techniques such as the Seal of No Fear that provided for the masses were not cultivated by many.
Even though the cultivation between Buddhism and Daoism was different, but to focus merely on spiritual consciousness, the Buddhist nun was not a lot worse off than Song Qingyi. This was why Shen Lian wanted to know about her origin.
“Even if you didn’t ask, I would have told you anyway. Qixiu Junior Apprentice-Sister is from Zi Zai Hermitage. She is a disciple of Liu Qing Shitai, and is the immediate successor to her legacy,” Song Qingyi replied.
Shen Lian shifted slightly. He had heard of Liu Qing Shitai before. He read about an impressive magic talisman in her possession from the records of Taiwei Pavilion, the Bamboo of No Desire. Liu Qing Shitai was a formidable character that could rival the immortal Zhenrens of Daoist sects.
However, this was the first time he heard about the Zi Zai Hermitage. Now that he thought about it, if Zi Zai Hermitage had an impressive individual like Liu Qing Shitai, it would not be just any normal hermitage.
“Zi Zai Hermitage is between Daoism and Buddhism. The first abbess is a senior from my Daoist sect. She converted and chose to cultivate Buddhism. She had attained the Water-Moon Guanyin Body and founded the Zi Zai Hermitage branch. Liu Qing Shitai is close with my Honored Master. This is why my Honored Master told me to look out for Qixiu Junior Apprentice-Sister when she is out cultivating. Actually, with Qixiu Junior Apprentice-Sister’s level of cultivation, she would be fine if she doesn’t run into an anomaly like you, Shen Lian,” Song Qingyi elaborated when he saw how confused Shen Lian was.
Song Qingyi laughed.
Shen Lian had quite the reputation now. Even the Xingzou of Ming Wang Temple, Master Hui Ke had openly said that Shen Lian would definitely attain at least the Eight Transformations of Huandan.
This was an extremely high praise.
Back then, Song Qingyi rescued Shen Lian who seemed to have a low level of cultivation out of his goodwill. Little did he know that Shen Lian was an extremely powerful cultivator! When both of them found out about each other’s identity, they were not as casual and at ease around each other anymore.
Even though he had seen improvement in his cultivation, but he still could not rival Shen Lian. He was slightly disappointed. His last sentence was meant as a tease, but it was also a reflection of the helplessness he felt.
Shen Lian knew what was on Song Qingyi’s mind, but he could not console him. How could he play humble just because his level of cultivation was significantly higher than Song Qingyi and therefore console him for it?
He would not do something like that, and Song Qingyi did not need this sort of consolation too.
“I see. I have heard great things about Liu Qing Shitai. I would like to express my gratitude for saving my little thing,” Shen Lian said as he nodded at Qixiu.
Qixiu seemed excited when Shen Lian was talking to her. “Shen Senior Apprentice-Brother, you don’t have to thank me for it. This is what I should do, and don’t you remember me?” Qixiu replied.
Song Qingyi was surprised, and he did not understand how Qixiu could be related to Shen Lian. Shen Lian was still confused, he felt as though he had known Qixiu from before.
“Do you still remember the girl you saved seventeen years ago back at the Flying Celestials Island?” Qixiu elaborated as she saw the confusion on Shen Lian’s face.
Shen Lian heard the clue and started searching through his memory. Within moments, he recalled everything. He did not expect to have such strong fate with the Xiao family of the Flying Celestials Island. After killing Xiao Shiyi earlier, he ran into the little girl rescued by his founding master Ziling after the tragedy at the Flying Celestials Island.
As Ziling Fairy did not plan to keep her, she had sent her to Liu Qing Shitai at Zi Zai Hermitage.
Given the status of his founding master, it would not be strange for her to know Liu Qing Shitai.
His was thinking quickly and had sorted everything out in his head.
“So it was you. Look at how you have grown! The chief had mentioned briefly about you to me. He said that you were rescued by my founding master, but I did not expect you to be under Liu Qing Shitai now,” Shen Lian smiled.
Qixiu was overjoyed when she found out that Shen Lian remembered about her. Though, she forgot how cultivators like Shen Lian could recall anything as long as they wanted to. Moreover, Shen Lian’s spirit was a lot stronger than the normal Huandan cultivator.
After all, it was Shen Lian who saved her life. She was young and hence had remembered it till today. This was why when she was cultivating one of the thirty-three techniques of Zi Zai Hermitage, Du Ren Codex of Medicine King Guan Yin, she had to return to the secular world despite her pure mind and massive improvements.
Liu Qing Shitai knew about this, which was why she sent her to cultivate in the secular world.
Liu Qing Shitai predicted that without external influences, Shen Lian would encounter Qixiu sooner or later.
Shen Lian did not know that he was part of Liu Qing Shitai’s calculation. He was still unaware of the mystics of holy deities who had passed through the nine states of cultivation.
He found it intriguing how the little girl he rescued was standing in front of him in this vast and populated world.
“So Aunt Ziling is Shen Senior Apprentice-Brother’s founding master; three years ago, she came to borrow the Bamboo of No Desire from my Master. However, my Master refused to lend it to her as she had killed too many. Both of them almost got into a fight. Before Aunt Ziling left, she took away one of the bamboo plants my Master had been growing for three hundred years. My Master was in a bad mood for a few days,” Qi Xiu spoke.
“You refer to Ziling Zhenren as Aunt, and Ziling Zhenren is Shen Lian’s founding master. So how does the hierarchy between you both work?” Song Qingyi laughed.
“Of course I would address him as Shen Senior Apprentice-Brother,” Qixiu blushed and replied.
“No, no, at this rate, wouldn’t your Master need to address Ziling Zhenren as Uncle-Master?” Song Qingyi said.
“Hierarchy is not important to us. We can just address each other however we want to,” Shen Lian spoke casually.
Qianmo yawned lazily as she hinted at how they were boring her to sleep.
“You thief of a bird, I would have roasted you if not for your Master,” Song Qingyi stared at Qianmo.
Qianmo flapped its wings and clawed at Song Qingyi.
The distance was short and Qianmo was quick. Song Qingyi could not react at all. It was Shen Lian who caught Qianmo’s calves with two of his fingers, and Qianmo was just inches away from pecking Song Qingyi.
“I didn’t realize it earlier, but what is the background of your demonic beast? At this distance and with its speed, myself aside, most Huandan cultivators would not be able to react at all,” Song Qingyi remarked.
Shen Lian laughed and tossed Qianmo into the air. He wanted to let Qianmo extend its feathers and to have fun on its own. It was better that way, so that there would not be a conflict with Song Qingyi. Xiaoxun followed Qianmo into the sky. Qianmo circled the air but did not descend. It flapped its wings in the snow as it played with the snowflakes.
“I found it somewhere. Please do not be offended by it. This bird is proud, and it would not bother dealing with normal people,” Shen Lian spoke slowly.
Song Qingyi was surprised at how Shen Lian could find a spiritual bird so casually. He still had not experienced Qianmo’s strange Qi before; otherwise, he would be in for more shocking moments.
Shen Lian did not elaborate further. The three of them conversed casually, and Shen Lian found out that Song Qingyi and Qixiu too, had come for the debate between Hui Ke and Baoyue the Venerable.
Hui Ke was getting more and more reputable, and it was not just for the fact that he was the Xingzou of Ming Wang Temple.
For the past few months, he had been traveling in the nearby nations to propagate new Buddhist teachings. At a few thousand mile radius, there were plenty of Buddhist orthodoxies. Some of the temples even had hundreds and thousands of years of history. Most of their doctrines were old. Hui Ke had been going around propagating Buddhist teachings. He went to liquor shops, butcher houses, markets, and the likes of it. A lot of the monks from the older branches frowned upon this, as they thought that he was degrading Buddhism by dealing with these lower beings.
Moreover, Hui Ke spoke of cultivation and having a clear heart. He did not place his focus on meditation and building grand temples. The monks were offended by this.
Even though Hui Ke was the Xingzou of Ming Wang Temple, but his actions were affecting the monks’ livelihood and shaking the very root of these temples.
To these monks, the stupid masses just needed to believe and worship blindly at Buddha. It was sufficient so long as they contributed their beliefs. If all of them were to cultivate, where would the expenses for incense come from? It would not be conducive to the stability of the nation as well.
Moreover, there was a huge inequality in these Buddhist nations. If poor people got wiser and realized why they were poor, they would not slave away willingly anymore. They would definitely harbor other plans.