"Father!"

As Pei San let out a hearty, joyful laugh. Pei Xuelian, smiling sweetly, ascended the pavilion and approached. "What has made Father so happy? Tell your daughter so I may share in it."

The Beast King 'Wu Hou' beside him chuckled, "Junior Sister. Within the territory of Chu County, Yangzhou, on Wild Wolf Mountain, there is a mysterious person surrounded by mist, rumored by locals to be an 'immortal being.' This person sits beneath a laurel tree, which continuously sprouts new branches and even blossoms, only to rapidly wither away afterward."

This news startled Pei Xuelian immensely.

Wu Hou continued, laughing, "The Xingyi Sect has now sealed off the area. By our estimation, that mysterious person must be Teng Qingshan."

"Yes, it must be Teng Qingshan," Pei San laughed heartily nearby. "In this world, only Teng Qingshan and I can achieve 'life and death conversion in the blink of an eye!' I truly didn't expect Teng Qingshan to actually break through before the eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month. He hasn't disappointed me, not at all!" Saying "in the blink of an eye" was merely hyperbole, of course.

"Congratulations, Father," Pei Xuelian said sweetly.

Pei San offered a slight smile.

"By the way, Father, compared to Qin Shiqi before, who is stronger, this Teng Qingshan?" Pei Xuelian inquired.

"Undoubtedly Teng Qingshan."

Pei San smiled faintly. "Qin Shiqi achieved his breakthrough through a life-and-death battle, but the fusion level of his Yin-Yang power wasn't very high, and he didn't have much time to comprehend and consolidate it during that fight. Teng Qingshan is different... He achieved his insight through rigorous cultivation. Moreover, he is still continuing to comprehend and further refine his fusion level, and he will completely familiarize himself with this World Force. Teng Qingshan's fusion of the Way of Life and Death will surpass Qin Shiqi's! He is my... true opponent!"

Pei Xuelian gasped in shock. "Father, if Teng Qingshan is that powerful, are you confident?"

In their last confrontation, Qin Shiqi had severely wounded Pei San, forcing him to recuperate for several months. Yet, even then, Pei San had been confident.

But—

If Teng Qingshan was even stronger than Qin Shiqi, did Pei San still possess certainty?

"No confidence. Perhaps I am still slightly stronger now, but there are still three months until the eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month. Three months are enough for him to reach the realm of the Near-Supreme Expert, just like me!"

Pei San shook his head, walked to the railing of the pavilion, and looked out at the boundless world, a dazzling light flashing in his eyes. "An opponent! This is the true opponent! It's better not to have certainty. With no certainty, life or death unknown. Only in such a state can one push to their true limits, elevate their spirit to the extreme, and possibly step into the realm of the Supreme Expert!"

Watching the tall figure leaning on the railing, gazing afar at the heavens and earth.

Pei Xuelian couldn't help biting her lip.

In her heart...

For as long as she could remember, her father, Pei San, had been like a majestic mountain, capable of blocking all danger. There was nothing her father couldn't accomplish. And she had always admired him deeply. Even when her father intended to destroy the foremost sect in the world, 'Mani Temple,' she had absolute faith in him. Indeed—

Mani Temple was destroyed by her father.

When her father proposed a challenge against the three greatest experts in the world, in Pei Xuelian’s view, those so-called three experts were destined to be defeated by him. And her father, 'Pei San,' had always been full of self-assurance... Indeed, Huang Tianqin and Qin Shiqi had both fallen one after the other. And her father emerged as the final victor.

But... but...

Her father was now saying he had 'no confidence.' The always self-assured Father Pei San, who faced every danger with a smile and complete composure, was now admitting he lacked confidence for the battle against Teng Qingshan!

Pei Xuelian's mind conjured Teng Qingshan’s image—the legendary man who had taken away her favorite disciple from her side. Though Pei Xuelian disliked him, she had to admit that the legendary man 'Teng Qingshan' was truly an outstanding figure rarely seen in the history of the Nine Provinces.

However!!!

Her father was the strongest in the Nine Provinces!

"Father will be fine, he will definitely win, definitely!" Pei Xuelian repeated inwardly.

"Father!" Pei Xuelian suddenly called out.

Pei San, who was leaning on the railing, turned and smiled at his daughter.

Pei Xuelian took a deep breath. Staring at her father, she said solemnly, "Father, in the battle on the eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month, you must win

"And I, too, possess certain particularities."

"But Teng Qingshan, your rate of progress is simply astonishing; perhaps in a life-or-death battle, you could break through to the level of the Supreme Experts." Pei Sanxiao regarded Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan smiled faintly, "Pei San, you flatter me. Might I ask why you’ve come today?"

"I’ve come today to ask a few favors of you," Pei San stated.

"Favors?" Teng Qingshan was slightly surprised.

"Yes." Pei San nodded. "The outcome of this battle is uncertain. If I, Pei San, should perish, I hope that you, Teng Qingshan, can ensure the continuation of my Heavenly God Palace lineage. It matters little if the territory we control shrinks, but... I do not wish for the several branches I founded to vanish from the Nine Provinces."

Teng Qingshan nodded. If it were him, he naturally would not wish for the Internal Martial Arts lineage to be severed either.

"Pei San, should I die, I also ask that you help me preserve the Internal Martial Arts lineage," Teng Qingshan offered.

In truth, both men knew that the only ones who could extinguish their respective lineages were each other! Currently, across the entire expanse of the Nine Provinces, these two were the absolute strongest!

"Undoubtedly," Pei San smiled and nodded.

"Come, let us share a drink," Teng Qingshan said with a smile, raising his cup. The two downed their drinks in one go.

"And then, there is my daughter." Pei San suddenly added, "Should I die, given Xue Lian's temperament, she might come to despise you to the bone. If she does anything irrational, I hope you won't hold it against her."

Teng Qingshan smiled, "She is Xiaojun’s master; for that alone, I would never harm her."

"Mm."

Pei San nodded in affirmation.

After concluding these serious matters, the two most supreme figures in the Nine Provinces began to drink and converse casually, as if they were old, intimate friends. Meanwhile, Li Jun, Hong Wu, and others noticed a stranger in their pavilion—Pei San—and furthermore, he was happily sharing drinks with Teng Qingshan.

"Mother, what is going on?" Hong Lin looked over at the pavilion in confusion.

Li Jun glanced over. "Let's go back inside."

No one dared to interrupt Teng Qingshan and Pei San.

...

Late into the night, Teng Qingshan casually remarked, "Pei San, I have always been truly puzzled. I can tell you are keen on propagating the branches you founded, establishing a sect—that is not strange. However, you are not someone who seeks to dominate the world. Your pursuit of dominance must be aimed at destroying the Manjusri Temple. What deep-seated enmity do you hold against that temple that makes you expend so much effort to achieve this singular goal?"

"Moreover—Pei San, while under the banner of the Heavenly God Palace, you established the Chan Sect lineage to ensure the transmission of the Buddhist techniques of the Manjusri Temple. What is the reason for that as well?"

Pei San paused slightly.

He looked up at the endless night sky, falling into a profound silence. He drank three more cups of wine before finally speaking, "Teng Qingshan, I have held this worry in my heart for far too long."

"Since you wish to know, I shall tell you."

Pei San looked at Teng Qingshan and smiled faintly, "Teng Qingshan, you must know that in the last thousand years, regarding the speed of reaching the Innate Realm, you rank second."

"Yes, the first was the legendary demonic monk Xiang Fanchen," Teng Qingshan confirmed.

Pei San slowly revealed, "I am Xiang Fanchen."

"What!"

Teng Qingshan’s entire body jolted, as if lightning was roaring through his mind. The legendary demonic monk Xiang Fanchen of yesteryear... was actually Pei San?

"You, Xiang Fanchen?" Teng Qingshan still struggled to believe it.

"Surprised?" Pei San gazed towards the West. "Buddhist cultivation heavily emphasizes the Mud Worshipping Palace, cultivating a Sarira. This differs from the Daoist lineage, and also from your Internal Martial Arts lineage. Because of this focus on the Mud Worshipping Palace, within the Manjusri Temple, there exists a method of Reincarnation! It allows one to reincarnate while retaining memories."

Teng Qingshan was startled. He himself was a reincarnation who retained his memories, though he came from Earth.

"Those who succeed are called Reincarnated Living Buddhas!" Pei San sighed, "This Reincarnation technique is extremely perilous. When a Void Realm Buddhist master attempts reincarnation, perhaps only one in ten succeeds! However, for a master in the Cave Void Realm, there is about a fifty percent chance of success."

Teng Qingshan nodded slightly; so reincarnation was not a guaranteed success. That made sense; if it were easily achieved, the Manjusri Temple would be too terrifying.

"Furthermore, no matter who it is, they can only reincarnate once. A second attempt results in certain death," Pei San lamented, "Perhaps this is the limitation set by Heaven and Earth."

"Teng Qingshan, do you know... among the Void Realm cultivators who were alive when I destroyed the Manjusri Temple, the only one remaining was named Fan Kong," Pei San turned to him. "He is also a Reincarnated Living Buddha. When I was at the Manjusri Temple, Fan Kong was my junior apprentice brother. We were very close. You should understand now... why Fan Kong was spared at that time."

Teng Qingshan suddenly understood. Junior brother? Fan Kong, Fan Chen? It all made sense now.

"As for the yellow-robed monk I killed, named 'Liao Yuan,' he was my martial uncle back then," Pei San slowly continued. "In my previous life, I was Xiang Fanchen. You should know why I was called the demonic monk."

Teng Qingshan nodded. Xiang Fanchen, unlike monks who rarely tasted blood, had instead stirred up a torrent of bloodshed, killing many within the Manjusri Temple.

"I hate the people of the Manjusri Temple; I hated Liao Yuan the most," Pei San’s eyes flashed with icy light. "Suppressing true human nature, extinguishing humanity—a Buddhism like that is not worth keeping. When the Ancestor Shakyamuni founded the Manjusri Temple, many of the precepts were absent; they were all added by later generations. A Manjusri Temple like this... deserves to be wiped out!"

"It's a pity—"

"What I cultivated back then was the Golden Body Buddha," Pei San shook his head, sighing. "Although this is a Divine Grade Secret Tome, it was the path the Ancestor Shakyamuni took to achieve Supreme Expert status. I am not the Ancestor Shakyamuni; what suits oneself is best. Forcing myself to cultivate the Golden Body Buddha, even if I managed to barely break through to the Cave Void Realm, I could not advance further."

Teng Qingshan nodded slightly; having reached his level of cultivation, he understood. No matter how thoroughly you read a book, you could never surpass the person who wrote it. Therefore, the best approach was to write your own book! To walk your own path!

"This is also why I warned you back then, never to study Divine Grade Secret Tomes, never to follow someone else's old path—it only harms you," Pei San shook his head. "Unfortunately, my cultivation in Buddhist methods was too deep; I couldn't switch to the Daoist path... so I tried every means necessary to carve out my own way."

"And so... the Esoteric Sect was born."

Pei San chuckled lightly. "The Esoteric Sect is something I created based on Buddhist methods, infused with my own insights. I refer to the cultivation of the Manjusri Temple as the Chan Sect. Mine is the Esoteric Sect; both are branches of Buddhism."

Teng Qingshan secretly nodded.

"Alas, having studied the Golden Body Buddha, even after creating the Esoteric Sect methods, due to the immense influence of the Buddhist path, I could never fully realize my own way to completion." Pei San sighed, shaking his head. "At that time, I was simply no match for Liao Yuan. So, I decided to take a gamble and reincarnate."

Teng Qingshan nodded slightly. Even for a Buddhist master of the Cave Void Realm, reincarnation offered only a fifty percent chance of success.

"Heaven did not destroy me, and my reincarnation succeeded. I became the third son of the Pei family," Pei San said with a faint smile. "At that time, my Mud Worshipping Palace, Dantian, and everything else were those of an ordinary infant. I could have entirely chosen to cultivate the Buddhist path or the Daoist path."

"So, I chose the Daoist path."

"I referenced ordinary Daoist secret manuals, and Innate Daoist secret manuals. As for the Void Realm and Cave Void Realm, I disregarded any established secret manuals. I traveled across the land, observing fish, birds, flowers, insects, and beasts, deriving everything based on my own comprehension, forging my own path," Pei San stated with a light smile. "Although I created several distinct paths, they can all be collectively termed as one—the Myriad Beasts Dao!"

"This is also the 'Dao' by which I killed that 'Liao Yuan' and annihilated the Manjusri Temple," Pei San’s eyes burned with dazzling light.