Chapter Thirty-Seven: Peach Blossom Valley

  For the You Ren, including Yun Qing Shan, some of the righteous sects do not intentionally treat them as enemies. The nature of the demon beasts is ferocious, but the demon people must be carefully distinguished, just like humans also have a distinction between good and evil. The demon people are also due to their beastly nature, so they rarely leave the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. During the great war of the evil sects, they quietly stayed within the mountains and did not join the evil sects or attack them.

  However, there are still some orthodox schools that take it upon themselves to subdue demons and eliminate evil. The "demons" referred to here are not the demonic teachings, but rather people who have lost their minds after being possessed by evil spirits. Apart from this, Buddhist schools that practice Hinayana Buddhism also show no quarter to demons and monsters.

  There is a great place on the edge of Mount Wumeng, where peach blossoms fill the valley, green land and small lakes, and waterfalls flow down from the mountain stream. The central part of Peach Blossom Valley is a lake, with several tile-roofed houses built on the lake surface, connected by corridors above the lake, forming a unique and beautiful residential area.

  A fine horse grazes leisurely by the lakeside lawn, a wild rabbit darts in and out, fish leap from the lake, waterfowl rest, with a beauty that is at one with nature.

  A long-haired woman sits on a stone step outside the corridor, with her feet in the lake water, quietly gazing at the lake.

  Lin Fan and Ximen Chu slowly descended, Ximen Chu landed and bowed: "The Demon Sect Master Ximen Chu pays respects to the Clear Water True Person."

  Lin Fan asked in surprise: "What have you become a sect leader?"

  "My Demon Sect is the orthodox one. With my master's passing, am I not the Demon Lord?" Ximen Shuai replied in a low voice.

  The woman didn't even turn her head and said: "Too many guests, annoying!"

  "Here!" Lin Fan replied.

  Ximen's expression changed slightly as he was taken aback.

  Lin was annoyed and embarrassed: "Not calling me!"

  "What kind of evil person are you, disturbing the quiet cultivation of Qing Shui Zhen Ren?" A bald-headed man wearing a white monk's robe walked out of the tile house and pointed at the two, questioning them.

  "... Lin was speechless, looking at this place and the woman's back, unexpectedly a monk. Looking again at that monk... this taste is too bad? A pair of bat ears are particularly eye-catching, his face is round and smooth, with a shiny complexion, eyes are cunning and bright, one look and you can tell he's not a good thing."

  "It's strange, how did this bald donkey end up here?" Ximen Shuai said in a low voice, introducing: "Shengyin Temple, one of the eight young masters ranked seventh. When he first entered Shengyin Temple, his name was Yuanwu, later it was Jiesu, and then it became Juesu. Because he broke the rules and peeked at women bathing, he was punished to do hard labor for five years. He was only thirteen that year."

  Shengyin Temple is a traditional Theravada Buddhist temple. To put it simply, the Theravada school of Buddhism views the Buddha as a teacher and guide, while Mahayana Buddhism believes that the Buddha's power is boundless, governing all things in heaven and earth, and is an omniscient and omnipotent Buddha. The biggest difference between them is that Mahayana Buddhists can practice at home, while Theravada Buddhists are required to renounce worldly life. Because of this requirement, Theravada temples have become rare in secular society.

  Shōon-ji means the temple that surpasses the largest temple in the twelve heavens, Ten'on-ji. Shōon-ji does not consider Mahayana Buddhism to be correct, but rather considers it a reformed Buddhism created by the rulers of the twelve heavens out of necessity. Shōon-ji is located in the cold and frozen northern heaven, with no interaction with Mahayana Buddhist temples, and has little contact with the Orthodox Demon Sect as well.

  Ximen said, "This absolute beauty is a scoundrel. During his ascetic practice, he snuck into the main hall of Tianyin Temple and left a pile of feces in front of the Buddha statue, even leaving a note that read: 'You were originally a virtuous person, but you've been blown up by flatterers to become an all-powerful deity. Temples everywhere use your name to get rich, monks are as oily as can be, and believers are still ignorant. I'm sad for you - you're not even as good as a pile of feces, which would at least spare you the suffering of being deceived by false names.'"

  "What's next?" In fact, there are such situations in the twelve continents. Many monks in temples have no shadow of being a monk at all, but this is unfair to Tianyin Temple, which still has a good reputation.

  "Tianyin Temple didn't intervene, the martial monk seized the beauty, but Tianyin Temple's abbot said, 'All things return to their origin, let him go.' This matter spread and he became famous. I think he ranks seventh among the eight young masters, which is a bit of an understatement - this guy is more formidable than Zhang Tongyuan."

  "Master Buddha is asking you something? Which mountain cave?" asked Jue Se slowly walking over.

  "Shut up." Qing Shui said.

  "...". The stunning beauty ignored him, but ultimately didn't say another word.

  Qingshui Zhenren said: "The Wuxin Teng takes twenty years to mature, and Taohua Valley only got two roots."

  "Extremely beautiful smile: 'Brother on the opposite side, there are two of them, one for each of us.'"

  Lin Fan asked in a low voice: "What is called Wuxin Teng?"

  Ximen Shuai replied: "The Heartless Vine can bind the demonic beast, seep into its blood vessels, and prevent it from self-destructing its inner dan. It is a top-grade, one-of-a-kind treasure."

  "Only once?"

  "Ah, it can only be used once, and within the twelve continents, only Peach Blossom Valley has the Heartless Vine." What Ximen Commander didn't say was that he had originally planned to obtain two vines, one to capture the thousand-year-old fox spirit, and the other to give to Lin Fan, as a fulfillment of his promise to help find the skin of the thousand-year-old beast. However, looking at Qing Shui True Person, although he was a friend of his own master, he seemed not too welcoming towards himself.

  Qingshui Zhenren said, "I have a use for this heartless vine. Your master and I have some friendship, so it's not good to let you juniors return empty-handed. Last month, a demon took advantage of my absence and snuck into my Peach Blossom Valley, stealing my Ling'er."

  "Ling?" The three of them asked in unison.

  "A rabbit, with red fur, its bones are top-grade medicine for refining elixirs and cultivating energy." Qing Shui said: "I have a vow, I won't enter the Ten Million Great Mountain, whoever can avenge my Ling'er, that remaining One-Hearted Vine will belong to them."

  Jade-like laughter: "True Master Qing Shui, when will we settle our grievances? Why must..."

  "Get out!"

  Jue Se immediately asked: "Who is this demon? I will eliminate it right away."

  His name is Sun Mi Hou, about a hundred miles south, the master of the valley in the valley, the monkeys respect him as the king, and they also learned some internal alchemy techniques.

  "Amitabha Buddha, I'll go deliver it now." He tossed out a Zen staff, stepped on it and quickly departed.

  "Shimizu Makoto asked: 'Why haven't you left yet?'"

  Ximen smiled: "Qingshui Zhenren is a master of his generation, and when he leaves this place, he must have set up a powerful seal. If Sun Xing can break the seal, it's better to go later rather than earlier."

  Shimizu Makoto said: "This monk also thinks so. He is sleeping soundly not far away. Three monks have no water to drink, and smart people are not always smart."

  Spicy chicken strips... Lin Fan and Ximen Shuai looked at each other, what's going on? Lin Fan and Ximen Shuai thought the same way. Since this Sun You has the ability to enter Peach Blossom Valley without his master's permission, it shows that he is quite accomplished. Let's let Xuexing Monk test the situation first. If he can beat him, then we'll join in; if not, we'll retreat. And if both Xuexing and Sun You are injured, we'll take advantage of the situation.

  Qingshui Zhenren said: "A great wise man is like a fool, Mo Jun has a disciple like you, I'm a bit disappointed. How's your Tianmo Cry Blood Formation?"

  "Sectarian trivialities, I dare not trouble Qing Shui Zhen Ren with inquiries." Ximen Shuai evaded the question.