The younger monks were shocked but they showed no other reactions. Instead, it was only the abbot and rectors of their respective halls who appeared to be startled.
The boney old monk lifted his wrinkly eyelid to reveal seemingly muddled eyes. “You lot better stop showing our valuable guest such a foolish display.”
This made the abbot and rectors snap out of their reverie.
They hurriedly saluted the old monk and this shocked even Lin Jin who was watching from some distance away. The way they reacted was as if the abbot and the others hadn’t seen this old monk in a very long time.
But soon, Lin Jin realized one thing.
Moments earlier, the abbot had address this old monk as ‘Grandmaster Xuan Jue’.
To be called grandmaster must mean he was at least two generations above the abbot. Daluo Temple’s abbot was currently near a hundred years old so just how old would his grandmaster be?
Also, Lin Jin was sure that the expert who performed that phenomenal spell and spoke in that holy voice was definitely stronger than this ‘Xuan Jue’.
This was unexpected.
He did not expect Daluo Temple to house such hidden talents. Though, in hindsight, this made sense as well because if these people did not exist, the sect wouldn’t have been able to flourish for a thousand years.
Based on the current situation, Lin Jin was almost certain that Jue Zhen and the abbot weren’t lying to him. That monk, Zhi Yin didn’t return after all and White Ape was missing as well.
If Daluo Temple had no idea as well, there must be something else to the story.
If that were the case, there was no point in bothering Daluo Temple anymore. They might even need to work together in the future.
As Lin Jin was deep in thought, the old monk who, they addressed as “Grandmaster Xuan Jue” approached Jue Zhen. With a light pat of his hand, Jue Zhen felt a wave of spring breeze, and his veins that were damaged by Lin Jin’s sword intent healed quickly.
Then, Xuan Jue materialized before Lin Jin, and with his hands held together, he said, “Amitabha, young friend, I am very impressed by your mastery of Sword Intent. Now, please follow me inside to meet our Revered One.”
Lin Jin didn’t move.
He was still considering whether or not to go inside.
No doubt, if Lin Jin used his full power right now with every skill in his arsenal, he could surely pressure the abbot and Jue Zhen. However, instead of a full-frontal attack, he was actually using the destruction of their temple as leverage. If it were a head-on attack, Lin Jin didn’t think he could defeat the four Rank 5 guardian beasts.
In the world of beasts, Daluo Temple’s four guardian beasts were considered top-class entities and Lin Jin was still far from being comparable to their standard.
In other words, Lin Jin was taking a huge risk by coming here and there was this possibility of failing terribly.
Now, there were clearly more prominent experts aside from the abbot within Daluo Temple’s grounds. Judging from the abbot and Jue Zhen’s expressions, it seems like the higher monks didn’t know about it either.
And that was somewhat frightening.
If Lin Jin were to follow Xuan Jue, there was no guarantee he could come back out alive. After all, he did just try to destroy Daluo Temple.
Just then, the tiny fox in his arms shifted slightly. Lin Jin looked down to realize that Shang’er had woken up. She stared back at him with her big round eyes.
What’s more, when her tail wagged slightly, he noticed that the little fox now had three extra tails in addition to its three tails.
These six tails must have been from the change Shang’er underwent when the divine lightning modified her internal organs. This was a secret art that the Museum of Deadly Beasts described as an ‘evolution method’.
Lin Jin caressed the fox’s tiny head and Shang’er’s information was now ‘updated’ inside the museum.
After reading through it, Lin Jin smiled.
Alright, he couldn’t well reject an invitation. If push comes to shove, he would just have to react to the situation accordingly.
After all, he now had two Rank 5 beasts on his team. One being Goldy and the other being Shang’er.
Just a moment earlier, Shang’er had woken from her slumber, quietly entering Rank 5. With this, even if trouble decided to come their way, Lin Jin had some countermeasures. Particularly after Shang’er’s evolution and advancement to Rank 5, together with Goldy, they were practically invincible.
“You’re too kind, Master. Please lead the way.” After thinking it through, Lin Jin nodded at Master Xuan Jue.
“This way please!”
Xuan Jue walked ahead with Lin Jin following behind. The abbot and other monks exchanged glances before following after the two. Jue Zhen who had previously been slashed by Lin Jin’s Sword Intent, then treated by Master Xuan Jue, could only force himself to stand for now. His old wounds had yet to heal and he suffered new injuries on top of that. If the prominent Master Xuan Jue hadn’t helped him, he would have been dead by now.
Daluo Temple was still somewhat chaotic due to the Vulcan Edict from earlier. Monks were hurrying everywhere but since the temple had a mysterious figure to protect them, the damage wasn’t too extensive. Even places that caught fire due to the extreme heat were quickly put out by the monks.
Daluo Temple was enormous. There were five main halls and hundreds of side halls. Factoring in the monk’s residences and meditation rooms, this place looked like a small town in the mountains.
While Xuan Jue seemed to be treading slowly step by step, he was actually moving faster than your average human being. With just one step, he seemed to have traveled a distance of ten feet. Although his pace remained the same, the same couldn’t be said for his speed.
Lin Jin was the first to notice the change. Not only was Xuan Jue speeding up, but his being was also getting blurry.
Fortunately, Lin Jin had skills. Gathering clouds at his feet, he managed to keep up with Xuan Jue, leaving the monks behind him eating dust. Besides the competent high monks, the others didn’t realize the change. The instant they turned a corner, they realized that they had just been left behind.
“That was fast!”
Refusing to believe their eyes, some monks scaled the walls to look around, but to their surprise, there were no traces of the group.
“How strange!”
“Be quiet. That was Grandmaster Xuan Jue. An individual that even Master Abbot has to address as ‘grandmaster’, we must watch our words.”
“Senior, since before, our Daluo Temple’s monastic first names are in the order of, Shi, Xu, Kong, Xuan, Wu, Fa, Jue, and Zhi. This being said, Grandmaster Xuan Jue is two generations above Master Abbot and all the rectors. Why then haven’t I heard of him before?”
“Our Daluo Temple is a Buddhist sect with a legacy of a thousand years. We’ve had so many high monks before us so it’s probable that a high monk of that name to have been in seclusion all this while.”
“Then, what about that holy voice from before…”
“Let’s not talk about that anymore. That holy voice was mysterious and carried great wisdom so it might just be a reincarnation of the Buddha himself.”
“The Buddha?!”
The monks were startled. The Buddha was the central character in their religion. Like ancient immortals, such a figure should have ceased to exist in this world.
One could imagine how the monks felt right now. Although they had just lived through an existential threat, as the saying went ‘April showers bring May flowers’, great news was about to come.
