Hearing Li Yundong’s words, the guest monk chuckled, formed a half-bow with one hand, and said, “Benefactor Li, you will know once you follow me.”

Li Yundong brought his hands together in return, saying, “Please lead the way.”

The guest monk nodded, turned, and started leading the way.

Li Yundong observed that it was neither a weekend nor a holiday, yet quite a few visitors were still coming to Xiyuan Temple to admire the historical sites. Incense smoke curled delicately before the Hall of Great Heroes, and many guests who had traveled from Japan and Korea were taking photos in front of the temple.

Li Yundong saw this and reflected inwardly: Truly, an ancient temple spanning eight hundred years possesses deep roots, unmatched by other sects. Though the Zhengyi Sect, Longmen Sect, Gexu Sect, and others possess vast influence and deep foundations, most of their ancestral temples have fallen into severe decline. In terms of flourishing incense and visitors, they are far inferior to this ancient Buddhist monastery.

Li Yundong thought: If I return to Tianlong Mountain someday, I must properly manage my ancestral home; I cannot afford to lose the root.

But as this thought occurred, an idea suddenly popped into his mind: If I hadn't become the master of the Fox Zen Gate, which sect might I have joined? If I joined none, wouldn’t I just be a rootless, solitary spirit? Although my tenure as the master of Fox Zen Gate grants me abundant romantic fortune, it still feels like being beholden to others. Moreover, Liu Ye is not dead; I don't know when he will return. If he does, should I yield the position of master to him, or not?

Li Yundong’s thoughts wandered somewhat distractedly along the way until the guest monk beside him smiled and said, “Benefactor Li, we have arrived. The Abbot requests your presence.”

Li Yundong snapped back to reality, bowed to the guest monk, and stepped into Master Puren’s backyard meditation room.

Upon entering, Li Yundong saw Master Puren sitting cross-legged beneath the shrine statue of the Tathagata Buddha. He gestured toward the cushion before him, his eyelids lowered, and he chuckled, “True Man Li, your brow is deeply furrowed; it seems you carry many burdens on your mind?”

Li Yundong bowed respectfully and sat down cross-legged on the cushion, asking, “When living in this world, caught up in worldly affairs, who is free from worries?”

Master Puren laughed, “Benefactor Li, are you trying to engage this old monk in wordplay?”

Li Yundong also smiled, “I dare not show off my meager skills before the Master. However, I heard the guest monk say that Master Puren, you somehow knew I was coming?”

Puren nodded slightly, “Indeed!”

Li Yundong smiled with solemn respect, “The ‘Prophetic Destiny Sight’ skill of the Buddhist tradition is truly formidable; can you foresee everything?”

Puren burst into laughter. Instead of answering directly, he posed a question, “True Man Li, do you know why our cultivation world has declined?”

Li Yundong found Puren’s question oddly tangential, but he still answered, “As far as I know, it is because after the Qing army entered the passes, Tibetan Buddhism heavily suppressed Central Plains Buddhism, as did Daoism. Then, toward the late Qing era, the nation experienced turmoil, coinciding with the May Fourth Movement, followed by the Great Leap Forward, the destruction of the Four Olds, and the terrible Ten Years of Chaos. During this period, the cultivation world, both Buddhist and Daoist, suffered extremely severe trauma. Furthermore, the cultural soil for both traditions was nearly obliterated, and the cultivation culture rooted in that soil naturally found it difficult to survive. Is that correct, Master Puren?”

Puren smiled faintly, “You have only touched upon one aspect, but not the second.”

Li Yundong respectfully inquired, “Please enlighten this humble one, Master!”

Puren laughed, “Since ancient times, to transmit information, one either needed fast horses or carrier pigeons. But we cultivators, by reaching the realm of Spirit Wandering Out of the Body, can allow our souls to soar across vast distances, transmitting information instantly to another location, or we can use special magical artifacts for transmission.”

“But reaching the realm of Yin Spirit Out of Body is not something everyone can achieve; it requires strenuous effort, talent, and favorable destiny!” Saying this, Puren’s withered hand drew a mobile phone from his sleeve, shook it slightly, and continued, “But now, any ordinary person can achieve this through the power of technology!”

Puren placed the phone down before him and sighed faintly, “Current technology is extremely advanced, especially with the emergence of various weapons, which have made the magical artifacts that we cultivators were once most proud of seem inferior. Consider this: Daoist cultivators who painstakingly train for over a decade to reach the Sword-Flying realm—able to kill a man in ten steps and travel a thousand miles without a trace—that should be considered quite formidable, right? But people nowadays, holding a gun, can still kill a man in ten steps and travel a thousand miles. Some people merely press a remote control, and a distant place flows with blood, causing devastation! This is far more potent than our magical artifacts!”

Puren stared intently at Li Yundong and asked, “True Man Li, if the achievements we strive for our entire lives through strenuous cultivation can be accomplished by others without any training, then tell me, why should they bother cultivating?”

Li Yundong was stunned by the question, secretly agreeing that Master Puren spoke the truth. He sighed deeply, “Master Puren speaks correctly. Not only is the cultivation world like this, but so are Chinese martial arts and medicine! The path of cultivation is ultimately twofold: martial and medical. Medicine carries the Way, and the martial arts defend the Way. Sadly, both have been nearly lost!”

Puren immediately pressed further, “Then, True Man Li, since ordinary people can achieve what we achieve without cultivation, what do you say we cultivators should continue to do? Shouldn't we simply stop cultivating altogether?”

Li Yundong retorted without thinking, “Absolutely not! I disagree with that statement!”

A hint of amusement flickered in Puren’s eyes. He asked, “Why?”

Li Yundong stated, “Buddhism speaks of cultivation, emphasizing the process of cultivation, not just the final result—the emphasis is on the character ‘Xing’ (), which means walking, experiencing. Buddhist cultivation achieves self-breakthrough and transcendence through continuous practice, leading to supernatural attainment, returning to simplicity, and ultimately achieving Buddhahood in this very spot! Likewise, Daoist cultivation is called ‘Cultivating Truth’ (), emphasizing the character ‘Zhen’ ()—seeking the true self, discarding the false to retain the real. What is the true self? What is false, and what is true? My experience from cultivating these past few days is this: The Yang Spirit is the true self; everything else is false!”

Facing the highly respected Master Puren, Li Yundong spoke fluently, “Ordinary people can do what we cultivators do without training, but that refers only to the means of killing. We cultivators choose cultivation or the pursuit of truth not to learn methods of killing, but to transcend the shackles of this world, to leap beyond the bondage of birth, old age, sickness, and death. Ordinary people are trapped by glory and disgrace, aging and dying; we have already surpassed that. As long as our Yang Spirits exist for one day, we are equal to the cosmos, shining alongside the sun and moon!”

“Transcending birth, old age, sickness, and death, transcending the struggles of the mortal world—that is the purpose of us cultivators!” By the time Li Yundong finished, his voice was resonant and strong, his demeanor spirited and inspired, truly commanding attention with magnificent presence.

Master Puren listened and burst into continuous praise, clapping his hands, “Good, good, well said!”

With that clap, another person emerged from the rear chamber of the meditation room—also an aged monk robed in a golden kasaya. This monk’s face was lined, his eyebrows extremely long, their white tips nearly drooping to his cheekbones.

Master Puren smiled at this old monk and said, “Are you relieved now? Can this magical artifact be entrusted to him safely?”

The old monk smiled but did not answer. He brought his hands together in a bow to Li Yundong and asked, “Benefactor Li, tell me, if it were you, how would you help our cultivation world regain its former glory in the future?”

Li Yundong dared not delay, quickly rising to return the bow. He smiled faintly and said, “By widely establishing good affinities and widely sowing beneficial causes, the shade will naturally grow strong in due time, and the fruits of goodness will form a forest.”

Seeing Li Yundong’s ambiguous, evasive answer, the old monk chuckled and asked again, “Then, True Man Li, if in the future you encounter heretical evil forces attempting to ruin our cultivation world, what will you do?”

Li Yundong answered without hesitation, “Naturally, I will exterminate demons and defend the Way!”

The old monk narrowed his eyes and asked, “But what if that person is an acquaintance of yours?”

This question instantly made Li Yundong highly vigilant. He turned to look at Master Puren, retorting, “Who is this Master?”

The old monk smiled slightly and said, “This is Abbot Xincheng of Jinshan Temple.”

Li Yundong bowed, “Abbot Xincheng, may I ask who this acquaintance you speak of is?”

Xincheng smiled, “Is who it is important?”

Li Yundong grew increasingly wary. He thought: Is this fellow trying to corner me, to set a trap? If it were against some other person, fine, but if this pressure is meant to target that girl in the end, I’ll slap you silly!

Li Yundong frowned, “Of course it is important. If it were someone deeply loved by me, I certainly could not bring myself to strike. Moreover, I believe my dearest loved one would never do such a thing. Even if she were to, I would stop her.”

Xincheng chuckled lightly, “It’s not that serious. Benefactor Li, you worry too much. Who doesn't know True Man Li is a romantic infatuated with beauty over earthly power? This humble monk is merely asking what you would do if the person is someone you know? Would you show favoritism and shield them?”

Li Yundong considered, then said, “I would first investigate the truth of the matter. If such a thing truly occurred, I would handle it impartially according to the law!”

Xincheng smiled with satisfaction and turned to nod at Puren.

Puren chuckled, retrieving a purple-gold crystal alms bowl from his sleeve. He said, “Benefactor Li, Du Fei called this old monk earlier, informing me of your intentions. Although this old monk does not know what you need the crystal alms bowl for, I trust in your valuable character and kind heart, believing you will not use this magical artifact to commit atrocities. And since you are in such a hurry to use it, perhaps there is something important. Therefore, I will transfer this artifact to you for temporary use.”

Li Yundong was overjoyed, respectfully accepting the Buddhist artifact with both hands. After taking it, he paused and then said, “But, Master Puren, I have another favor to ask.”

Puren smiled gently, “Benefactor Li, please speak frankly.”

Li Yundong said, “I also wish to seek Master Puren’s guidance on how to set up the Eight Directions Demon Subduing Array!”

Puren was slightly startled, “The Eight Directions Demon Subduing Array? Benefactor Li, do you know this is the protective array of our Xiyuan Temple, never taught to outsiders for eight hundred years! However…”

Li Yundong’s heart sank, thinking: Damn it, I got the artifact, but now there’s a problem with the array! What should I do now…

But when he heard Puren utter that last word, “however,” it suggested a possible turning point, and he quickly asked, “However what?”