Chapter 1038: Ye Zijin

Within the ancient realm, momentous deeds had transpired: one anonymous soul had swallowed a primordial Foundation Establishment herb whole, forcing a breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment stage and subsequently stirring up clouds and rain, amassing followers into a temporary faction to plunder resources.

An obscure cultivator at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage had performed the miraculous feat of slaying a Foundation Establishment master, earning sudden and glittering renown.

A female cultivator had been drugged by a disciple of a Sacred Ground, only for a righteous male counterpart to intervene, defeat the assailant, and share a night of passion with her; afterwards, while the man was consumed by guilt, the woman merely deemed it an accident, though affection had secretly blossomed in her heart.

The disciples of the Sacred Ground had engaged in a series of clandestine intrigues, scheming ruthlessly against one another for the position of successor.

Yet, none of these turbulent affairs had anything to do with Xinding and Yu Youlan.

To avoid drawing unwanted attention by departing the ancient realm prematurely, the two remained within the inner palace for three days, venturing nowhere.

In truth, it was primarily Xinding who feared the spotlight; as a Holy Maiden, Yu Youlan had no need to fear the covetous eyes of others, and she tarried in the inner palace solely to keep him company.

When the Chixiao Ancient Realm finally closed, every soul within was automatically expelled from its depths.

"How fared your harvest?" Zhikong inquired curiously as he saw the crowd emerge, eager to learn of their fortunes.

"I found but a single primordial Foundation Establishment herb," Xinchen said, producing a stalk of the herb, which he had only managed to secure toward the twilight of the third day.

"To find a Foundation Establishment herb at all is already a fine grace; put it away safely," Zhikong comforted him with a few gentle words.

"I failed to find any herbs, but while liberating a wandering specter, it dropped a piece of specter marrow."

"The quality of this specter marrow is quite excellent; it should fetch enough to purchase two Foundation Establishment pills."

"I found one stalk."

"I found two stalks."

"I found six stalks," declared a warrior monk at the peak of Qi Condensation. Upon speaking, he cast a provocative glance at Xinding; he was the very same man who had previously asserted that old warrior monks disciplining novices was a time-honored tradition.

"To think he found six stalks!"

"Truly magnificent."

A chorus of gasps and exclamations arose from the ranks of the Warrior Monk Academy.

"Junior Brother Xinding, what of you?" the warrior monk asked with assumed casualness. Having never caught sight of Xinding within the realm, he was certain the boy had hidden away out of sheer terror, never daring to seek the herbs.

Xinding hesitated for a fleeting moment, sensing that his senior brother’s words carried a faint edge of provocation, yet seemed entirely benign on the surface.

Reaching into his robes, he drew forth a handful of primordial Foundation Establishment herbs and spoke in his characteristically slow cadence.

"I found ten stalks."

"Ten stalks?!"

"How can this be possible?"

Astoundment gripped the crowd, and even Zhikong looked on with a touch of disbelief; seeking the herbs required far more than mere luck, inevitably demanding fierce contention. Xinding was only at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation; how could he possibly wrest them from those at the ninth layer or the peak of Qi Condensation?

Just as astonishment and envy rippled through the onlookers, the crowd a short distance away grew restless, and it was none other than Yu Youlan who came trotting toward them.

"Little monk Xinding, I must take my leave now, but we shall surely meet again!" Yu Youlan gave Xinding a playful wink, a mischievous smile gracing her lips.

This time, it was not merely the Warrior Monk Academy that stood stupefied; every cultivator who had journeyed to the Chixiao Ancient Realm was struck with wonder, for Yu Youlan had never shown such intimate familiarity toward anyone before!

What on earth had transpired between these two within the Chixiao Ancient Realm?!

Chanting the name of Amitabha, Xinding remained utterly perplexed by the grand commotion; they were all cloistered ascetics, so should they not view feminine beauty as nothing more than a skeletal illusion of pink flesh and white bone?

...

The Western Heaven Temple, the Abbot’s Quarters.

Upon the chessboard, the black and white stones were starkly divided; a tall old man, draped half in a magnificent kashaya robe, held a black piece with an expressionless countenance, while an elder clad in coarse hemp garments held a white piece, a faint smile playing on his face.

As if frozen in time, the elder in the splendid kashaya hesitated to lower his black stone; at last, he let out a soft sigh and ceased his resistance: "Junior Brother, you have won."

The elder in the coarse hemp robe showed no surprise at the outcome of the match: "Senior Brother Mingyu, you play with far too much haste."

The elder in the magnificent kashaya was none other than Master Mingyu, the Abbot of the Western Heaven Temple, while the other was Master Minghuai, a hidden master of the temple who quietly swept the sutra library.

"You speak truly; of late, my spirit has been strangely restless, as though some momentous event is about to unfold," Master Mingyu sighed, a confession he could only entrust to his junior brother, Minghuai.

"A momentous event?" Master Minghuai asked, bewildered as to what grand tribulation could possibly descend upon their Western Heaven Temple.

"I cannot give it a name, yet the premonition lingers," Master Mingyu replied, shaking his head. Having meditated on Chan Buddhism his entire life, he possessed a certain clairvoyance regarding the unseen, particularly concerning the fate of the Western Heaven Temple.

"Though it is also quite possible that my recent cultivation has been overly hasty, leaving my state of mind somewhat unstable," Master Mingyu added with a self-mocking smile.

"Speaking of disturbances in the state of mind, I am not the only one afflicted. Tell me, are you familiar with a man named Ye Zijin?" Master Mingyu recalled another matter.

"I have heard some rumors; they say he is causing chaos across the Buddhist kingdoms, erecting temples, forging Buddhist statues, and preaching a false Dharma?" Master Minghuai rarely paid heed to the affairs of the mundane world.

"More or less, but the most crucial point is that his speech is extraordinarily exasperating. The elders harbor many grievances against him and have been desperate to apprehend him."

Master Minghuai smiled serenely, deeming it a trivial affair: "How exasperating can mere words be? It seems our juniors have not yet perfected their spiritual cultivation."

Master Mingyu nodded in agreement: "I thought so as well, which is why I have left Ye Zijin to his own devices, hoping the elders might realize their own deficiencies through this ordeal and refine their inner composure."

Master Minghuai picked up his broom and rose to take his leave: "I shall gossip no further; an intruder has entered the sutra library, and I must return."

...

On the first floor of the sutra library, a stealthy silhouette was casting about, searching for something in the shadows.

"Heheh, you possess a bold heart for a youngster, stealing all the way into this sutra library."

The figure gave a violent start, never expecting to be discovered so easily.

Turning around, he beheld an old sweeping monk standing at the far end of the corridor, having manifested there without a sound.

"Farewell!"

The silhouette twisted around and bolted.

"Young man, why the haste to depart? Why not tarry and play a game of chess with this old bones?"

The figure’s consciousness flickered for a brief instant, and suddenly he found a chessboard laid out before him, with the old sweeping monk seated directly opposite.

"Are you Ye Zijin?" The old monk's eyes were cloudy, yet they pierced through the figure's identity in a single glance.

"I am," Ye Zijin replied. Knowing escape was impossible, he could only resignedly accompany the elder in the game.

The two moved their pieces, conversing as they played.

"To reach the mid-stage of the Body Integration realm at such a tender age, while evading the grasp of so many, speaks of a remarkably gifted youth."

"Do you know that a game of chess is much like a man's life? Whether one holds the black pieces or the white, every move requires profound deliberation, so that one may place the stone without regret."

"This old man is advanced in years and grows fond of lecturing."

"Senior, you are too kind; to receive the guidance of a senior is this junior's distinct fortune."

"Young men who are willing to listen to an old man's rambling are few and far between these days. In the game of Go, the opening layout determines the grand scope; in life, planning dictates the future. You have strayed from the righteous path by joining the Ask the Dao Sect, yet the sea of suffering is boundless, and a turn of the head brings the shore. It is not too late to turn back..."

Seeing that Ye Zijin was exceedingly polite and bore no resemblance to the vexatious creature of the rumors, the sweeping monk wished to proffer a few more words of counsel.

Ye Zijin lowered his final white stone, looking somewhat sheepish: "Uh, venerable senior... I have won."

The old sweeping monk froze in astonishment; he loved chess passionately and had never known defeat, yet today he had actually lost to a mere youth.

But it was naught but a single game of chess, and the old sweeping monk did not take it to heart. Stroking his beard, he let out a hearty laugh: "Old, indeed, I have grown old and useless."

Ye Zijin hastily offered a placating smile: "Why, you are still quite tender, senior."