Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 247: A Bald Spy

Monk Huitong was an eminent monk, after all: although his cultivation methods were different, and his level of cultivation could not compare to many of the masters in this hall, at the very least, his spiritual platform was sturdy and discerning, and he knew that these masters would not joke about such things.

“However, Tianbao Country is flourishing in prosperity. Although this has caused demons to proliferate in certain places, without even counting the folk gods, there are hidden masters in the mountains, forests, and even among the common townsfolk of the country…”

Even though the monk knew that what they had just said was the truth, he still couldn’t help but say these few sentences. It wasn’t because he didn’t believe them, but rather because he hoped to get answers from the gathered masters.

“Indeed, although I have lived in Dazhen for quite some time, I have heard of Tianbao Kingdom: it can be considered the great dynasty of the Eastern Cloud Continent. It is no exaggeration to say that it can affect the mortal realm of the continent. However, when performing a divination for it, it seems disordered, its destiny uncertain. Either the country is in chaos, or someone is causing trouble!”

For some reason, the Old Dragon’s words inexplicably made Ji Yuan feel a little emotional.

To use a saying from his previous life, the practitioners of Dazhen were really quite the “homebodies,” or perhaps it could be argued that most of the practitioners in this world were homebodies, but this was particularly obvious in Dazhen.

The monk’s words caused others to speculate their own opinions; from the cultivators of Yuhuai Mountain, to some of the transformed dragons, all of them expressed certain opinions, and both sides even extended these remarks to previous situations in which some of their people had been attacked.

When the noise of discussion in the hall died down a bit, the City God of the Capital prefecture waved his sleeves and pushed the fog in the hall to one side, leaving more space in the center. He then looked at Monk Huitong, then around at the room.

“Based on what Master Huitong and the fellow Taoists have said, we can infer that the anomalies in Tianbao Country, and even in the Eastern Cloud Continent, have only begun occurring in the past ten years or so — or, at the very least, they were hidden for quite some time before now.”

Ju Yuanzi, the most accomplished cultivator of the Yuhuai Mountain contingent, frowned and spoke.

“Evil spirits naturally have evil intentions, and know no peace. It is difficult to determine whether they would have been able to be patient all this time, let alone been able to gather together in a group.”

“Master Ju Yuanzi is correct. Most demons have bad temperaments, and are prone to violence. However, although mindset and character are related, the two do not necessarily affect one another; a demon’s bad temperament will affect its path of Taoism, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be impatient. Moreover, this is no ordinary matter, and should not be taken lightly. For example, these evildoers who came to our Dazhen to participate in the Water and Land Assembly did not cause trouble right from the start.”

Ji Yuan agreed briefly before expressing his opinion.

The cultivators of Yuhuai Mountain still held the orthodox views of immortal sects. In layman’s terms, they naturally despised monsters. Most of them looked down on those land monsters. As a result, looking at people through tinted glasses made it easy to underestimate their opponents.

Take Ju Yuanzi, for example. Ji Yuan had a jade slip of the book written by him in his hand. In terms of his cultivation, he indeed was quite advanced and had a profound understanding of the Tao, only slightly inferior to that of the old beggar. But although he did not deny the cunning of monsters, he still couldn’t conceal his opinion that “evil monsters can hardly become powerful.” However, in truth, a vicious and tyrannical person would endure for a long time in pursuit of some higher purpose.

“Ah, that’s true! But…”

Ju Yuanzi looked at the City God of the Capital Prefecture as he spoke.

“Where are the gods protecting this region?”

Most people in the world of immortals would not concern themselves with worldly affairs. Sometimes, it was normal for an immortal sect not to have anyone leave the bounds of the sect for tens or even dozens of years, and when they did go out, they would often return quickly. However, the gods of all factions were more closely related to the people and creatures of the realm.

Then, another cultivator suggested flying directly to Tianbao Country to tour it, which was immediately opposed by Ju Yuanzi.

“We are making blind guesses; it’s not a good idea to go rushing into Tianbao Country!”

“Hmph, even if we go there rashly, we wouldn’t get any results. Previously, this Old Dragon¹ went out and killed many villains, but aside from their large number, I failed to find anything in particular. Many evil beings seemed to have appeared out of thin air!”

The Old Dragon was still worried that he had not been able to find the person who had killed Flood Dragon Mo. Although he had said before Flood Dragon Mo died that he was unsure whether they had all been eradicated, the Old Dragon knew that was definitely the case. At the very least, Flood Dragon Mo’s dragon tendons could not be found; he could not give Mo Rong his complete body.

For a while, the ghosts, gods, immortals, and monsters in the hall discussed amongst each other, similar to what happened when a group of mortals encountered a problem, except less noisy.

Ji Yuan listened and thought about it for some time, and now was considering speaking again.

“We are here in Dazhen to clear out the evil spirits who have come to the Assembly. If we make any big moves right away, we will inevitably alert the enemy. Plus, as Mr. Ying said, using supernatural powers to suppress them may not necessarily produce the best results. However, we must be careful about the matters of Tingliang Country and Tianbao Country. Instead of having the Heavenly Officials patrol, it would be better to send someone to investigate carefully…”

“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha, I, humble Monk Huitong, am willing to take up this responsibility!”

Monk Huitong, whose presence had been lacking until now, suddenly spoke. Ji Yuan seemed to have been expecting this for some time. He looked at him calmly and asked:

“Master, although you have profound knowledge of Buddhism and often gather virtue from praying for blessings and warding of disasters, these demons have grown powerful, and cannot be influenced by Buddhist teachings alone. Even if you have mastered the techniques of the Great Mingwang Buddha, there is no guarantee that you will have the opportunity to use them.”

“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha…”

Monk Huitong chanted the Buddha’s name and bowed to the surrounding immortals and gods.

“I am a monk from Daliang Temple, not too far from the border of Tianbao Country, and I travel all year round. After having participated in Dazhen’s Assembly, I will return to Tingliang Country. Perhaps I will then travel north again and practice Buddhism in Dalun Temple in Tianbao Country. Haha… Even if the current circumstances had not occurred, I would still have planned this same course of action.”

But given everything that was happening, and his intentions, the outcome was indeed different.

Ji Yuan’s expression showed a hint of admiration.

“Master, you are quite righteous, you will surely become a wise Mingwang Buddha in the future!”²

“You are indeed not that bad. The matter between the two of us has concluded.”

The Old Dragon joined in with a smile. He had a new understanding of this monk. As for the others, they too looked at this “young” monk in a different light.

However, Monk Huitong’s proposal could only be regarded as a small portion of the preparations. They could not place all their hopes on it; they also had to explore other means.

Of course, they could not rule out the possibility that they were just overthinking it, and it was all just some kind of coincidence. After all, the rumors of Tianji Pavilion spread very widely, and it was not impossible that they had just happened to attract some powerful monsters from Tianbao Country.

. . .

On the afternoon of the second day, Monk Huitong had arrived in Jin Province, the northernmost part of Dazhen.

The monk did not know how to fly, so it was naturally impossible for him to have been in the Capital Prefecture just last night and have arrived in Dajin Prefecture today: he could only have been sent here.

At this moment, on the side of Tingqiu Mountain in the north of Jin Province, Monk Huiton, Ji Yuan, and the Old Dragon descended from the clouds.

“Master Huitong, beyond this mountain is Tingliang Country. Previously, we mostly discussed Tianbao Country or the northern part of Yun Province, but Tingliang might not be safe either. You must be careful after passing this mountain. Of course, the influence of the True Dragon still lingers here, so there shouldn’t be any problems in the southern part of Tingliang Country.”

Ji Yuan finished speaking, looked ahead, and continued.

“The person who is picking you up has arrived.”

Both Monk Huitong and the Old Dragon saw, at the foot of the mountain not too far away, a flash of yellow light that turned into smoke, and a man with a face as pale as a rock appeared there, walking towards the three individuals.

“Mountain God Hong Shengting, the Mountain God of Tingqiu Mountain, greets Mr. Ji, the Dragon Lord, and the Master!”

“Hello, Mountain God Hong!”

“No need to be polite, Mountain God.”

“This humble monk greets the Lord Mountain God!”

Ji Yuan, the Old Dragon, and Master Huitong returned the Mountain God’s greetings, each of their responses different.

Although the Mountain God did not know Monk Huitong, the fact that this monk could stand beside the two people next to him meant that he was someone who could not be overlooked.

“Master, Yuhuai Mountain’s Greatest Void³ Jade Talisman is extraordinary, the best among talismans, but it will cost you too much spiritual energy, so please use it with caution. Although the Hidden Earth Escape Talisman can help you escape, it does not draw from your own spiritual energy. With this, if your spiritual energy is exhausted, you may be trapped underground and suffocate. If someone who is skilled in earth-movement techniques can freeze your Qi and lock you in the ground, it would also be very dangerous for you…”

The more Monk Huitong listened to Ji Yuan, the more he felt sweat begin to break out on his bald head. From what Mr. Ji was saying, no matter what he did it would be dangerous.

“Haha, in short, Master, you should try to listen and observe as much as possible, and don’t rely too much on external aids. Sometimes they may not be useful.”

It was no wonder that Ji Yuan was so long-winded; even in the world of immortality, there were few means of instant communication. Those that did exist were rare divine artifacts. Things like sending messages via flying swords required both spiritual energy and time, and were not foolproof. It was too extravagant for Ji Yuan to use his Immortal Sword to send a series of letters.

Apart from Monk Huitong, no one else would be able to investigate. It would be inconvenient for the Old Dragon to look into things. The cultivators of Yuhuai Mountain had the same relationship with Ji Yuan as the old beggar, and were just chatting with one other. They had an air of “nobility,” or immortality, that was difficult to conceal, which also made them unsuitable. Essentially, Ji Yuan didn’t think that any of those who had come to the Capital Prefecture were suitable for this investigation. They were all people who had been practicing hard in their immortal sects for many years, and probably could not handle worldly affairs.

However, if Ji Yuan wanted to go by himself… well, to be honest, he was not absolutely confident in his own abilities. Secondly, his reasoning was similar to that of the Old Dragon’s.

Therefore, he inevitably chose to give Monk Huitong some advice and warnings.

Meanwhile, listening to Mr. Ji’s words, Monk Huitong felt a strong sense of déjà vu, similar to when he had been a child at Daliang Temple and was constantly lectured by his master. This made Monk Huitong feel an inexplicable sense of pressure, as if something bad could happen no matter what he did — he could even drown just by carrying water.

When the meeting was finally over, he quickly bowed and chanted Buddhist scriptures to bid them farewell.

“Praise be to the Great Mingwang Buddha, this humble monk understands. Please rest assured, Mr. Ji, Dragon Lord!”

Ji Yuan nodded and bowed to the Mountain God.

“Thank you, Mountain God. Please do not disturb the earth, and may you deliver him smoothly.”

The Mountain God nodded, bowed again to the Old Dragon and Ji Yuan, and put his hand on the monk’s shoulder.

In the next moment, the Mountain God and Monk Huitong “sank” into the ground and disappeared.

“I wonder if this bald spy will really work…”

Seeing them leave, the Old Dragon sighed.

1. referring to himself
2. Clarification: the term “明王” (Míng Wáng) can be translated as “Wisdom King” or “Vidyarāja.” It does not refer to a single historical “Mingwang Buddha”, but rather to a class of fierce protective deities in Esoteric (Tantric) Buddhism.
3. 太 (tài): highest/greatest/too much, 虚 (xū): emptiness/void/false — some kind of insanely powerful concealment talisman