Chapter 12 - Nonexistent.

Night fell.

The temple master of Qingyang Temple was a kind-faced man of sixty, dressed in a green Daoist robe, holding a whisk.

Perhaps because Li Shiwu had given him a piece of gold, he prepared a vegetarian banquet in a side hall, accompanied by several middle-aged Daoist priests.

During the banquet, the group chatted happily.

"Little friend Shiwu, are you passing through this time on your way to a Daoist temple called 'Seed Immortal Temple'?" The temple master's face showed a surprised expression.

"Yes," Li Shiwu nodded.

"If the temple master knows, please enlighten me. Shiwu will be eternally grateful."

Upon hearing this, the temple master's face showed a troubled expression.

He said, "Little friend, to be honest."

"I have been the temple master for over twenty years, and the previous temple master was my master, so I am clear about everything in the temple."

"But I have never heard of the Seed Immortal Temple you speak of."

"Little friend, I am truly sorry."

As soon as he said this, Li Shiwu's hand, holding his chopsticks, froze in mid-air, his thoughts racing.

Were the other party's words true or false?

The temple master, seeing this, couldn't help but say, "Little friend, your current appearance, I don't know if you are seriously ill or have attracted something unclean."

"In any case, you should seek a highly skilled person to find a solution."

"It's a pity that our Qingyang Temple is full of ordinary people; we are truly powerless."

Li Shiwu heard this, merely picked up the wine pot, and poured a cup of wine for the temple master in front of him.

He said calmly, "Senior, since you don't know about Seed Immortal Temple, have you heard of a name like Huoyan Shanren?"

"Huoyan Shanren?" The temple master couldn't help but frown, as if he had thought of something.

"Little friend Shiwu, there is no Huoyan Shanren in our temple, only a Huoyanzi."

"Qingyang Temple has over two hundred Daoist priests. He is just someone who rings the bell daily, is very low-key, and rarely goes out."

"Little friend, is he the one you are looking for?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shiwu suddenly stood up, overjoyed, "Senior, where is Huoyanzi at this moment?"

"Little friend, please follow me."

A moment later.

The group arrived at the back courtyard of the Daoist temple, where they found a thin old Daoist priest, over fifty years old, who was about to go to bed, in one of the houses.

"Temple Master?"

"It's late at night, almost bedtime. Are you looking for me to give some instructions?"

The old Daoist lit an oil lamp, carefully placed it on the windowsill, and the faint light spread, illuminating the group. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"Junior brother Huoyan, I apologize for disturbing you."

The temple master bowed and moved a step aside, revealing Li Shiwu.

"It's not me who is looking for you, it's this little friend who has something to discuss with you."

Huoyanzi looked intently, and at a glance, was startled by Li Shiwu's current appearance.

"This... this Daoist friend, I, an old Daoist, have never sought fame or fortune in my life, and I do not interact with outsiders."

"May I ask, what is the matter?"

Li Shiwu didn't hesitate, going straight to the point, "Senior, I'm asking about something. Do you know about Seed Immortal Temple?"

"This matter is extremely important to me."

"Senior, please."

Huoyanzi frowned, thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Sorry, this humble Daoist has lived in Qingyang Temple since childhood, has never been to other Daoist temples, and does not know of any Seed Immortal Temple."

Upon hearing this, Li Shiwu felt an uncontrollable sense of powerlessness and exhaustion wash over him.

He staggered a few steps, "Impossible, how could this be!"

"The sheepskin scroll clearly states Qingyang Temple, Huoyan Shanren."

"I have clearly found this place, everything matches, why do you say you don't know?"

"Could it be that I was looking in the wrong place from the start?"

He took out the sheepskin scroll from his embrace, muttering incessantly, deeply questioning himself.

Just then, Huoyanzi suddenly spoke, "Little Daoist friend, may I see this sheepskin scroll?"

Li Shiwu came back to his senses, hesitated for a moment, but still handed it to him.

Under the faint candlelight, Huoyanzi's hands trembled slightly as he stared at the sheepskin scroll for a long time.

Then he said, "Little Daoist friend, I understand."

"As for this item, where did you get it?"

Li Shiwu seemed to grasp hope, and quickly said, "This item was left by my master. The Seed Immortal Temple mentioned on it was what he strived for his entire life."

"Now that my master has passed away, we, as his disciples, just want to try to fulfill his last wish."

Li Shiwu's words were half-true, half-false, and seamless.

Huoyanzi, however, sighed deeply, revealing a bitter smile, "Almost fifty years have passed, and I never expected to see this item again. Life is truly unpredictable and unfathomable."

"Little Daoist friend, you don't need to look for that Seed Immortal Temple."

"Because there is no such Daoist temple in this world."

This answer, however, made Li Shiwu like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and he angrily shrieked, "Senior, how can it be nonexistent? Are you deliberately deceiving me?"

Huoyanzi, seeing this, seemed to fall into memory, and slowly began to speak.

"Little friend, don't rush, just listen to my story." Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"About fifty years ago, a fierce man came to Qingyang Temple. He was extremely vicious, as if he would eat people."

"He forced us to tell him the method of becoming immortal."

"Otherwise, he would kill all of us."

Hua Erling, beside him, immediately asked, "Senior, was the fierce man you mentioned covered in black pockmarks, with a crooked mouth, and eyes of different sizes?"

Huoyanzi nodded, "Yes, that was him."

"Alas, our Qingyang Temple is just an ordinary Daoist temple; how could we have any method for becoming immortal?"

"But that fierce man seemed determined, insisting on pestering us, or he would kill."

"And at that time, I was just a small Daoist boy, having just entered the temple not long ago."

Huoyanzi showed a nostalgic expression, looking at the sheepskin scroll in his hand, and murmured, "Once upon a time, there was a Seed Immortal Temple, which planted neither flowers nor grass, but only immortals."

"To be honest with everyone, and without fear of ridicule, this sheepskin scroll was merely a plaything from my childhood."

"Children, you know, they love to draw and scribble, and let their imaginations run wild, so I made up a Seed Immortal Temple."

He sighed, "It just so happened that at that time, the Old Temple Master was truly cornered by that fierce man, so he simply gave him my scribbled sheepskin scroll."

"He said there was a Seed Immortal Temple in the world that could lead to immortality."

"He also falsely claimed that I was a born spiritual child who could glimpse heavenly secrets, and that this opportunity for Seed Immortal Temple came from my glimpse into heavenly secrets."

Huoyanzi stared at Li Shiwu and continued, "I remember at that time, that fierce man still refused to give up."

"He said the world was so vast, where would he find Seed Immortal Temple?"

"And the Old Temple Master, in order to quickly get rid of this menace, further deceived him, saying that walking barefoot connects one to the earth's energy, with head touching the sky and feet on the ground, one becomes one with heaven and earth."

"It would be best to bring a group of barefoot children with him."

"After that, as long as he constantly thought of Seed Immortal Temple."

"It would automatically appear before his eyes."

"So there's no need to travel far to find it, just wander around the nearby mountains."

Huoyanzi's tone carried a sense of melancholy, "Alas, who would have thought that time would fly by, and decades would pass just like that."

"Days are not counted."

"I have also gone from a small Daoist boy to having white hair and no longer being young."

The temple master, who had been listening for a long time, also reacted.

"With that reminder, I also remember, there was indeed such a thing."

"That Old Temple Master was indeed my master."

"Little friend Shiwu, the Seed Immortal Temple you speak of simply does not exist."