Chapter 28: Gathering of Immortals (Part 2)

  Hong Zhi laughed and said, "You ask me, I ask who? Anyway, it's not you, nor is it me. My stomach is also hungry, let's go quickly. Those guides earlier seemed to really take me for a member of the Fang Xin Sect. They didn't even ask any questions. Hopefully, we won't make fools of ourselves inside." As they were walking towards the grand hall, Hai Long suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked around cautiously, his body slightly trembling.

  "Hong Zhi suddenly spoke up, 'Big brother, what's wrong?' Hai Long didn't respond and remained standing there stiffly. Hong Zhi followed his gaze and saw a woman in white standing at the entrance of the grand hall, not far away. Her long hair fell straight down her back, making her look serene. A faint smile was on her pale face as she gazed into the distant sky. Hong Zhi clearly sensed that this woman had a Buddhist aura and her cultivation was much stronger than his own, seemingly having already entered the state of great perfection. Just as he was about to ask Hai Long something, a green light flashed beside him, and Hai Long appeared in front of the white-clad woman at incredible speed. His expression was somewhat agitated, but the white-clad woman didn't seem surprised by his sudden appearance, only giving him a slight smile."

  Wú jī Dào Zūn and others couldn't help but stop in their tracks. Yù Huá looked at Hǎi Lóng and the white-clothed woman, slightly furrowing her brow, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes. She asked in a low voice: "Wú Jī Zǔ Shī, who is that woman? Why does Hǎi Lóng Dà Gē recognize her?" Hóng Zhì had by now arrived at Wú Jī Dào Zūn's side, he too wanted to get an answer, and perked up his ears to listen carefully.

  Dao Zun said in a low voice, "That is Lian Shu, the master of the Lotus Sect. He is a Buddhist genius, although he is several hundred years younger than me, his cultivation is not inferior to mine at all. Although she is a Buddhist, when it comes to killing the evil heads of the three sects, she is even more ruthless than me! She's a dangerous person, you guys don't want to mess with her. However, she has a very close relationship with Master Piaoyou, as for why Haicheng knows her, I don't know either. Let's go in first." As he spoke, he pulled the somewhat dissatisfied Yuhua and floated into the grand hall.

  Hailong rushed to Lian Shu's side, and in his impression, the last time he came out of the mountain, Lian Shu was one of the few people who were good to him. Although it was because she borrowed the light of Piaomiao Daozun, suddenly seeing her, Hailong still felt very familiar. For beautiful women, he generally had no immunity. "Lian, Lian Shu, Sect Master. Do you still recognize me? We haven't seen each other for a long time."

  Lian Shu's eyes widened slightly, eight hundred years had passed, and the dragon's temperament had undergone great changes, his physique was even more majestic. Suddenly appearing in front of her, how could she recognize him? He calmly said: "Fellow Taoist, what sect are you from? Have we really met before?" The dragon nodded vigorously, saying: "Of course, we have met. Do you still remember? Eight hundred years ago, at the Fanxin Sect, I followed Piaomiao Zushi and Zhishui Zushi to attend the Seven Sects Gathering, but left early. I am the Dragon!"

  Lian Shuxin's mind slightly stirred, and she suddenly recalled the scene where Hailong had dared to mock Wuzhao Xianshu, the leader of the Songzong Sect, in front of everyone. She looked him up and down a few times, smiled and said: "So it's you. I haven't seen you for 800 years, your appearance has changed a lot. I almost didn't recognize you. Looking at you now, your cultivation should have improved significantly, right? Are you here to participate in the Newcomer Grand Tournament?"

  Hailong felt a sudden dryness in his throat, and the faint sandalwood scent on Lian Shu's body made him involuntarily excited. "Ah! I'm here to participate in the tournament this time. Sect Master, it's great to see you again."

  "Ah! Big brother, why don't you help me introduce myself. Finally got the chance to meet a high-ranking Buddhist master. Hello, hello, my name is Hongzhi." Hongzhi's appearance was not much different from Hailong's. The cultivation methods of the Chan school were quite different from those of the Mantra school, they pursued freedom and did not practice asceticism like the Mantra school, so naturally their concentration would be somewhat inferior.

  Hai Long now really wanted to kick Hong Zhi into the sky with one foot, but unfortunately, there was Lian Shu by his side. How could he be rude? He could only glare at Hong Zhi fiercely and say to Lian Shu: "Master, this is my younger brother Hong Zhi."

  Lian Shu couldn't help but reveal a hint of surprise when she saw Hong Zhi, "You are from the Fang Xin Sect, I don't think I've ever seen you before."

  Hai Long smiled and said: "He doesn't belong to anyone's sect. My little brother, he comes from the Chan Sect. Have you heard of it, Master?"

  Lian Shu's face changed, and she looked at Hong Zhi in surprise, saying: "Zen, it turns out that Zen still exists. Eight thousand years ago, Zen was once the largest Buddhist sect in China, but later on, I don't know why it declined. I didn't expect that there would still be disciples in the world. Looking at your Buddha aura, it seems that you are about to enter the state of great perfection." As soon as she heard that Hong Zhi was not from the Mantra Heart Sect, she immediately changed her tone and addressed him as "older brother". Her heart was filled with shock, and she said seriously: "To be honest, whether it's the Mantra Heart Sect or the Lotus Sect, both can be considered to have evolved from Zen."

  Hong Zhi rubbed his bald head and said, "Master, don't be polite. Our Chan sect only has me as the last disciple now. It's a blessing to meet you today."

  Lian Shu had recovered from his surprise and let out a light sigh, saying: "We Buddhists are all one family. The master of the Mantra Sect, Wu Yun, is also here. I'll introduce you to him later. From now on, I hope we can often discuss Buddhist teachings together, brother."

  Hong Zhi's face turned red, and he said: "The Sect Master is joking, this monk's cultivation is shallow, how can I be compared with the two Sect Masters? It's right for me to ask for guidance from my betters."

  Lotus Comfort glanced at Sea Dragon and calmly said, "The two of you follow me into the hall." As she spoke, without seeing her feet move, she floated lightly into the grand hall.

  Hong Zhi stared blankly at Lian Shu's disappearing back, until Hai Long poked him a few times and he came to his senses. Hai Long transmitted: "Xiao Zhi, you wouldn't have taken a liking to Master Lian Shu, would you?"

  Hong Zhi's whole body shook, and he slightly angrily said: "Big brother, don't talk nonsense. I just feel a deep affinity for the immense Buddhist aura emanating from Lotus Master. As Buddhists, how can we think of those worldly things? From now on, you absolutely must not mention it again. That would be blasphemous to Lotus Master."

  Hailong was taken aback, as Hongzhi had never spoken to him in such a serious tone before. It was clear that Lianshu held a high position in his heart. He had indeed misjudged the situation. The reason why Hongzhi was attracted to Lianshu was not only because of her beauty but also due to the immense Buddhist aura surrounding her. That aura, which had reached the state of great perfection, bore some resemblance to that of Hongzhi's master. Seeing her, Hongzhi felt as if he were seeing his own master again, hence his absent-minded reaction. Noticing Hongzhi's somewhat melancholic gaze, Hailong patted him on the shoulder and said, "Alright, I won't say anything more. Don't think too much, let's go inside."

  Hongzhi rubbed his own bald head and said: "Big brother, I didn't intentionally want to get angry with you, you..."

  "Hai Long interrupted him, saying: 'Alright, let's not say more. As brothers, we shouldn't pry into each other's thoughts.' With that, he dragged Hong Zhi into the grand hall."

  The grand hall was extremely spacious, with a carefully arranged layout. The vaulted ceiling over ten meters high hung with palace lanterns, and twenty-one sturdy stone pillars stood proudly around the perimeter. The grand hall seemed a bit chaotic, with many cultivators gathered in clusters, chatting idly. Hai Long's gaze swept across the room, quickly finding Wuji Daozun and Yuhua's group, who were discussing something with over ten Lianyun Sect disciples. However, to Hai Long's disappointment, there was no sign of Piaoyu Daozun among these Lianyun Sect disciples. Lianshu had already walked to a corner, surrounded by over ten nuns wearing Bhikkhuni robes. Hai Long couldn't help but feel puzzled - why hadn't Lianshu shaved her head as the sect leader of Lianhua Sect?

  "Brother Hailong, come over quickly!" Yeping waved at Hailong and Hongzhi. The two of them finally walked over. After being introduced by Wuji Daozun, they learned that the more than a dozen Liyun Sect disciples here were all third-generation disciples with cultivation exceeding 1,000 years, among whom several had already reached the Xiaju boundary. Hailong didn't have a good impression of these people and just made some polite remarks before standing aside with Hongzhi to continue sizing up the other sects' disciples in the great hall. The area here was approximately 2,000 square meters, with over a thousand disciples from various sects gathered together. According to Hailong's estimate, at least more than half of their cultivation realms were lower than his own. He thought to himself, could it be that they all came to participate in the newcomer competition? If so, who knows how many matches there would be.

  At this time, Wuji Daozun said: "Yu Hua, Yu Ping, this time our Liuyun Sect's hope is all placed on you two. Originally, the sect master had intended to let you participate in the Seven Sects Newcomer Competition 100 years ago, but Shi Yunnv said that your foundation was not stable enough, so it wasn't agreed upon. Today, after 100 years, you have indeed lived up to expectations, using the 100-year period to raise your cultivation by three levels, from Late-stage Unparalleled to Late-stage Burdened Realm, and among disciples who have cultivated for less than a thousand years, you can be considered top-notch. Those who can rival you are only the elite of the Central Plains Six Sects. As long as you are careful, getting one of the top three places shouldn't be a problem. If you can get a good ranking, the sect master will naturally have additional rewards. Understand?" He also winked at the two girls while speaking. Although Wuji Daozun's voice wasn't loud, with the many cultivators present, it was naturally heard clearly by all, and not a few people looked over this way. The Yu Hua sisters naturally became the focus of attention.

  Hailong saw Wuji Daozun not even giving himself a glance, and his heart couldn't help but stir. Earlier, Wuji Daozun had clearly already known about his own cultivation realm, yet now he was pushing the Yu sisters to the forefront. What did this mean? Was he looking down on him? Unlikely. Ah, understood - this old fellow was truly cunning! From now on, he'd have to be more careful around him.

  Yu Hua furrowed her brow and said, "Uncle Wuji, can't you keep your voice down?" Wuji smiled respectfully and said, "A necessary intimidation is still needed. As long as you have the ability, everything will be easy to handle."

  Yu Ping smiled and said, "Master Uncle, don't have too high expectations for us. If we don't get a good ranking later on, you can't blame us." She then added, "Oh, right! You just mentioned that Master is here, but I haven't seen her yet! It's been over a decade since I last saw Master, and I really miss her!" Before Wuji Daozun could respond, a gentle voice rang out, "I knew my two disciples would be the most well-behaved. Master has missed you both too!" Hai Long looked carefully and saw several people walking out of the back hall. The first one was Zhìyún Dàozūn, followed by two women - one was Zhi Shui Daozun, whom Hai Long dreaded seeing the most, and the other was Piaomiao Daozun, whom he had been longing to see. Eight hundred years had passed, but time had left no mark on their faces. As soon as Piaomiao Daozun appeared, her stunning beauty instantly captured everyone's attention. However, they seemed to know that the three Daozuns were highly cultivated, and the chaotic hall suddenly fell silent.

  "Master." "Master." Two emotional cries rang out, and Yu Hua and Yu Ping sisters flew swiftly to the front of Zhi Yun Dao Zun like swallows returning to their nest. Each grabbed one of Zhi Yun Dao Zun's hands, and the girls' eyes turned red. Zhi Yun Dao Zun was highly cultivated and had entered the initial stage of Dou Zhuan, but despite this, the two girls' genuine emotions still caused his heart to fluctuate. He said softly, "Good children. If it weren't for the evil path being too rampant, Master would have returned to see you earlier." At this time, Dao Yan and others also came forward to pay their respects to the three Dao Zuns. Hai Long followed at the end, trying to be inconspicuous, hoping that Zhi Shui Dao Zun wouldn't notice him. However, his green long gown made him stand out from the others, and Hong Zhi's bald head made him even more conspicuous among the Zhong Lian Yun Sect disciples. Piao Xiao Dao Zun was the first to notice Hai Long's presence, and she said lightly, "You... you're Hai Long? You've come out of seclusion."

  Hailong's whole body shook, knowing that he could no longer hide it. He had to walk forward, bow his head and respectfully say: "Disciple Dao Yu greets the three ancestors. I have just left my retreat for a short time."

  Zhi Shui Dao Zun snorted coldly and said, "Good! You've finally crawled out of that tortoise shell. Later, you'll come looking for me."

  Piaoyu Daozun glanced at Zhishui Daozun with a hint of blame, "Sister, it's been eight hundred years already. Can't you just let go of that small mistake from back then? Haven't you seen how much he's changed?"

  Hearing the ethereal Dao Zun speak for himself, the Sea Dragon couldn't help but raise his head. At such a close distance, he felt the empty mountain spirit rain-like aura of Dao Zun, and his heart involuntarily beat violently. He was shocked to discover that under his gaze, a hint of shyness actually flashed in the depths of Dao Zun's eyes, although it was only for an instant, but still caused the Sea Dragon to feel dry-mouthed and tongue-tied.

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