“Names like 『dragon-elephant』, 『true body』, and 『prison-suppressing』 indeed carry a strong Buddhist style...”
Myriad thoughts swirled in Shen Xiuhan's mind, but now was not the time to ponder them. Reining in his thoughts, he decided not to beat around the bush.
“This junior is bold, but might I ask, Great Master... Great Master Shouchong, what brings you all the way from the State of Yan?”
Shouchong brought his hands together in prayer and smiled slightly, answering with a non sequitur:
“This poor monk came to Cloudwater Lake this time, and made the acquaintance of Fellow Daoist Wen Qingye deep within the lake. We sat and discussed the Dao, talking of martial arts and Buddhism, debating for three days and three nights. We got along exceptionally well.”
Wen Qingye...
Wasn't that the name of the Academy Head of the Tingquan Academy?
Shen Xiuhan's heart stirred. Before he could think further, the old monk Shouchong continued:
“This poor monk shared some past events with Fellow Daoist Wen, thereby gaining his consent to enter this temple, which was established in the State of Qi by our Ci'en Temple in ancient times, to use as a temporary shelter.”
Shen Xiuhan subconsciously turned back to look at the half-collapsed ruined temple.
The temple doors hung askew, spiderwebs ran rampant, and the Buddhist statue inside the hall was already so weathered and mottled that its facial features were indistinguishable.
Yet, upon closer inspection, the timber frame of the Buddhist hall was indeed different from that of a typical Daoist temple.
Between the upturned eaves and interlocking brackets, one could vaguely discern a lingering trace of the ancient temple's solemnity.
The temple established in Qi by the Ci'en Temple in ancient times was this ruined temple that had been abandoned for who knew how many years?
For what reason had this Arhat, from far-off Yan, traveled thousands of miles to stay in this ruined temple?
As if seeing the doubt in his eyes, Shouchong did not explain. He only smiled warmly and said:
“I did not expect that as soon as this poor monk arrived, I would be fated to witness the young benefactor display such divine might with my own eyes.”
“Decisive in slaughter, slaying demons with your sword—this sword technique of yours can truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the elegance of Fellow Daoist Wen!”
“Uh... Great Master, you flatter me.” Shen Xiuhan felt a bit embarrassed and waved his hands repeatedly.
Academy Head Wen Qingye of the Tingquan Academy was a master of both alchemy and the sword. With his Flying Waterfall Sword-Yuan, those in Nanxiang Prefecture who could match him could be counted on one hand.
Although Shen Xiuhan had comprehended sword-qi, he was still far from being able to hold a candle to such an existence.
Since this Great Master Shouchong could discuss the profound and debate the Dao with Academy Head Wen...
“Great Master, could it be that you are also a Gangjin Rank powerhouse?”
“Gangjin?” Shouchong raised his eyebrows, shook his head, and laughed. “Yes and no.”
“The path cultivated by our Buddhism is vastly different from the Martial Dao.”
“The realms of the Martial Dao are divided into Mingjin, Anjin, Huajin, Gangjin, Xiantian, and Yandao.”
“On the other hand, our Buddhist path has a completely different system of cultivation, namely: Buddhist Monk, Dharma Master, Compassionate One, Arhat, Mahasattva, and Dharma Aspect.”
“If we were to draw an analogy with your Martial Dao realms, this poor monk could roughly be counted among the Gangjin Rank. Saying so would not be incorrect.”
Buddhism and the Martial Dao... were actually two completely different systems of cultivation?
This was the first time Shen Xiuhan had ever heard of such a secret.
According to the Buddhist classification, this Great Master Shouchong was a genuine, high monk of the Arhat Rank.
I wonder what the difference is between an Arhat and the Gangjin Rank?
The old monk Shouchong did not explain in detail. He looked at him and suddenly said:
“This poor monk observes that the movement technique the young benefactor used just now shares a great karma and affinity with our Buddhist path. Do you have any desire to shave your head, leave the martial world, and cultivate Buddhism?”
“Uh...” The sudden turn of the conversation caught Shen Xiuhan somewhat off guard. He could only decline politely:
“Great Master must be joking. This junior has practiced martial arts since birth. How could I have any affinity with Buddhism?”
“Cultivating the techniques of our Buddhism is precisely your affinity.”
Shouchong's smile did not fade as he spoke with a tone of gentle guidance:
“If the young benefactor is willing to accompany this poor monk to the State of Yan, where Buddhist cultivators are everywhere and Buddhism reigns supreme, with our Great Ci'en Temple dedicating all its resources to nurture you, with your talent, you could hope to reach the Mahasattva Rank within sixty years!”
Mahasattva? Which was the equivalent of Xiantian? Attaining the Xiantian Rank in sixty years?!
Shen Xiuhan had not expected the monk to hold him in such high regard.
Unfortunately, he had no intention of shaving his head.
He was not done with the mortal world, and a life of green lanterns and ancient buddhas simply did not align with his fate.
Shen Xiuhan could only decline politely once more.
The old monk Shouchong shook his head in regret and sighed, “Ah, well! Such is fate; it cannot be forced.”
He paused, and changing the subject, his gaze grew a bit more earnest:
“In that case, could the young benefactor write down a copy of that technique and allow this poor monk to bring it back to the Ci'en Temple?”
Shen Xiuhan was slightly startled. He asked hesitantly, “What Great Master refers to... is it the movement technique I used, 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』?”
“Indeed...” Great Master Shouchong sighed with deep emotion.
“Although this technique's grade is not particularly high, it is an authentic, core movement technique of our Mercy Dao.”
“In ancient times, only Golden Lotus Buddhist Disciples who had sworn great vows were qualified to practice it.”
“Unfortunately, with the fall of the Dayang Dynasty and the founding of Great Qi, this technique has been lost for hundreds of years...”
He raised his eyes to look at Shen Xiuhan, his gaze open and warm:
“This poor monk will not ask how the young benefactor obtained this technique. Since you were able to acquire it, it shows that this ancient technique was not meant to go extinct.”
“This poor monk only hopes to bring this technique back to the temple, fulfilling one of my deep wishes.”
Hearing this, a sudden realization dawned on Shen Xiuhan, and the doubts that had weighed on his mind for so long finally dissipated!
No wonder Zhao Zheng had failed to recognize this movement technique during the Longxiang Martial Feast.
As it turned out... the Longxiang Army did not possess the inheritance of this technique at all.
This movement technique had already been lost back in the Dayang Dynasty!
Had it not been for the system's deduction, it would likely never have seen the light of day again!
Just as he thought this, the old monk Shouchong flattened his palm, revealing a small celadon bottle.
“Of course, a monk does not speak falsehoods, and this poor monk will not ask the young benefactor for this technique for nothing.”
“What is contained within this bottle is the 『Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk』 that Fellow Daoist Wen and I collected from the lair of a Tier Four demon beast after slaying it in Cloudwater Lake. There are five drops in total.”
“This is a treasure born of the natural creation of heaven and earth. Its spiritual efficacy and medicinal power far exceed those of a century-old Precious Herb. For an acupoint-opening martial artist or a Dharma Master, swallowing a single drop can save months of hard work!”
“Furthermore...” The old monk Shouchong smiled slightly, offering a highly meaningful hint:
“Taking this milk will not only cleanse your marrow and refine your meridians, but it can also improve the 'constitution' of those who practice martial arts or cultivate Buddhism. Such a miraculous effect is truly rare...”
Improving one's constitution! Shen Xiuhan's heart leaped as he accepted the small celadon bottle.
Even through the ceramic wall, he could smell a faint fragrance that seeped into his lungs, causing every pore in his body to expand.
Although he had Deduction in hand and faced no bottlenecks in his cultivation,
and could naturally break through his barriers simply by practicing his stances step by step when the time was right,
his constitution still held great significance to him.
A Six-Form Constitution had a significantly faster cultivation speed than a Five-Form Constitution, and even the efficiency of refining pills was a notch higher.
More importantly... would consuming this 『Century-Old Earth Stalactite Milk』 increase his intelligence points like Precious Fish did?
If it could... natural treasures of heaven and earth would surely be worth far more than Precious Fish, wouldn't they?
With this thought, Shen Xiuhan did not hesitate and readily agreed.
Seeing him agree, Shouchong looked pleased. With a wave of his hand, he produced paper and a brush.
Without a moment's delay, Shen Xiuhan wrote down the formula, internal circulation route, and key details of the movement changes of 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』 onto the paper.
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