Lu Yang could tell that the Four Ancient Immortals had gone to great lengths to beautify the Everlasting Immortal Fairy and that their efforts had been remarkably effective. After hearing the stories, even Old Meng thinks that the Immortal Fairy was a true Buddha with great merit and is filled with admiration for her.

Forget it. I shall not say anything. Lu Yang was kind-hearted and couldn’t bear to sabotage his good brother. When it comes to matters related to the truth of ancient times, it’s best to keep them to myself. I just need him to accompany me during tribulations.

After touring the Mahavira Hall, Master Duanchen led them to the guest quarters.

The walls of the room were covered in scriptures personally written by Master Duanchen. The wild, cursive scripts were infused with his essence, qi, and mind. Lu Yang couldn’t decipher them at all. However, he sensed that even without understanding them, simply staying in the room had a calming, focusing effect that helped cultivators enter a meditative state swiftly.

Filling an entire wall with such scriptures was no small effort for Master Duanchen; it could not be done for every guest room.

“This should be Kaihuang Temple’s finest guest room. Unfortunately, it’s of little use to me.”

Lu Yang sat on the bed. Within a few breaths, he had entered a meditative state.

Having endured the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s distractions for so long, he had learned to enter a meditative state at any time as long as he ignored her chatter.

After a night of cultivation, Lu Yang emerged from his meditative state. He pushed open the door and stretched lazily, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

The door to the adjacent room opened; Meng Jingzhou was awake as well.

“Heh... ha...”

The two heard a series of synchronized shouts not far off. Following the sound, they saw the monks of Kaihuang Temple performing their morning drills, their punches precise and their voices shaking the air.

“Do you recognize what fist technique this is?” Lu Yang asked. His knowledge of fist techniques was limited.

“It should be the Long Arm Fist.” Meng Jingzhou watched closely for a while before replying. “It’s a folk martial art good for stretching the limbs and strengthening the body.”

Kaihuang Temple had many mortal monks who could not practice cultivation techniques; they could only turn to folk martial arts.

Nevertheless, folk martial arts were not inferior to low-level cultivation techniques. There were many records of martial artists in the jianghu defeating Qi Training cultivators.

For example, the earliest form of the Long Arm Fist was an ordinary and unremarkable fist technique. But everything changed after its founder rescued an old beggar from a gang of thugs and treated him to a meal.

When he woke the next morning, he found a manual with a new version of the Long Arm Fist by his pillow. It had been refined from the original, making it easier to learn, faster to master, and capable of reaching greater heights.

The thirty-sixth-generation successor of the Long Arm Fist had a similar experience. A chance encounter with a cultivation expert led to the technique being transformed once again.

It was even said that a Transcendent Tribulation cultivator playing around in the mortal realm was disguised as a mortal child when he learned and enhanced the Long Arm Fist.

Due to all these various reasons, though the Long Arm Fist remained classified as a folk martial art, its power had long surpassed its humble origins. Other folk martial arts had similar stories. Each had an affinity with immortals in some way or another.

“Rumors have it that the Long Arm Fist was revised by a Transcendent Tribulation expert. They must be true,” Meng Jingzhou commented. Even with my discerning eyes, I can’t find any flaw to improve upon; any alteration would compromise the fist technique’s integrity. This implies that the cultivator who had revised the Long Arm Fist far surpasses me in cultivation.

“Good morning, benefactors.” Master Duanchen appeared behind them with a beaming smile, holding a string of prayer beads.

“Great Master,” the two greeted.

“May I know if you have any plans for today? That would help this humble monk make arrangements.”

Lu Yang smiled. “We are new here and know little about the Buddhist Kingdom. How could we have any plans? We’ll follow your lead, Great Master.”

“Today is the day I receive pilgrims. I suppose it can be considered one of our temple’s special features. If you have no other matters, why don't you come over for a look?”

As the abbot, Master Duanchen had many responsibilities. He couldn’t receive pilgrims every day, or he would accomplish nothing else. Hence, he had established a rule to receive pilgrims on a randomly chosen day each month, leaving it completely up to fate.

“Then we’ll have to impose on you, Great Master.”

The incense offerings at Kaihuang Temple were more abundant than under the previous few abbots. Even before the gates opened, many pilgrims waited outside, with some having traveled from other cities to visit.

When the pilgrims learned that Master Duanchen would be receiving them today, they were over the moon.

Lu Yang’s and Meng Jingzhou’s identities were special. Although not everyone knew their faces, their names were widely known. Should anyone recognize them, word would spread, and the pilgrims would likely flock to Kaihuang Temple in droves.

Thus, the two concealed their forms and auras, standing quietly to Master Duanchen’s left and right.

To receive pilgrims was to counsel them and help them resolve their troubles.

The first pilgrim was a delicate, frail young woman, evoking pity in people’s hearts, and her cheeks were streaked with tears.

“Great Master, on my wedding night many years ago, my fiancé eloped with my maidservant. I’ve tried to let go, but even after all these years, I still cannot let go of him.”

Master Duanchen smiled faintly as he produced a jade vial and filled it with water. “Benefactress, please think of this jade vial as yourself. If you wish to let go of someone, you must fill yourself with new things to take their place.”

“Master, I’ve attained comprehension. Originally, the water in the jade vial would slowly dry up, but by constantly thinking of him, you caused the water to keep rising.”

The second pilgrim was a forthright, heroic woman, though sorrow crept onto her visage when she spoke of the past.

“Great Master, I had a childhood sweetheart. That year, times were tough. To make ends meet, my dad sold me to the Yuan Family, and I became the young miss’s personal maidservant.

“Then one day, I saw the Eldest Young Miss’ fiancé—it was my childhood sweetheart. On the Young Miss’s wedding night, he intended to take me away, saying that he wanted to wander the world together. But soon after we married, he said he wanted to leave the mundane realm behind and enter Buddhism. Even after all these years, I still cannot let go of him.”

Master Duanchen smiled faintly as he produced a jade vial filled with water and poured it out.

“Benefactress, have you attained comprehension?”

The second pilgrim fell into deep contemplation. “Spilled water is difficult to retrieve; what’s done is done. My husband’s departure is an unchangeable fact. I must accept it and move forward. Great Master, I’ve attained comprehension.”

The third pilgrim was a wandering monk. His face was tanned, a clear sign of his long travels.

“Great Master, I have hit a bottleneck in my cultivation.

“I have a fiancée and a childhood sweetheart, both wonderful girls. I ended up choosing to marry my childhood sweetheart. Then one day, I looked at her and comprehension dawned upon me—familial love and romantic love are all emotions that bind me. I found it all meaningless. Perhaps it was the call of Buddhism that led me to leave my childhood sweetheart and become a wandering monk. But after so many years, I increasingly feel that I’m not suited for the monastic life. Please give me guidance, Great Master.”

Master Duanchen smiled faintly as he used a spell to transfer the water on the ground back into the jade vial.

The third pilgrim’s eyes lit up with sudden realization. “Great Master, do you mean that everything can be salvaged and that I can still return to mundane life?”

Master Duanchen simply brought the vial down on the pilgrim’s head, knocking him out cold.

“This humble monk thinks that hitting people like this feels good.”

Before losing consciousness, the pilgrim vaguely saw Master Duanchen leap over the table. The latter rushed to open the door and called out to the first two pilgrims, who were preparing to leave.

“Benefactresses, do not let go just yet!”