Xueling stepped forward towards the crowd. Although he had been a bit impolite when speaking to the True Lord Honghua just now, he still performed all the necessary courtesies.
He put his hands together in a respectful gesture and bowed devoutly to the True Lord Honghua. "Junior pays respects to the True Lord Honghua."
The True Lord Honghua's eyebrows twitched. He felt both love and hatred for this master - disciple pair. But in front of everyone, as the sect master, he couldn't show his emotions. So he pretended to be magnanimous and helped Xueling up.
"Rise. There's no need for so much formality."
"What brings you here...?"
Xueling looked at the dark clouds covering the sky in the distance and said seriously, "Actually, a long time ago, my master received a letter from Yu Xuzi of the Five - Element Dao Sect, inviting me to help his disciple. But unfortunately, every time I reached a place, I learned that Li Xian had already left. So I had to follow his trail everywhere."
"My master said I didn't need to be in a hurry. When the time was right, I would naturally meet Li Xian. So I took a short vacation by the South Sea, tasted all kinds of seafood, and then came here."
Hearing this, Hong Chaoyang's eyes widened in surprise. "Wh... what... Can a monk eat seafood?"
Don't monks abstain from meat?
Hong Chaoyang's words seemed to hit Xueling's sore spot. He frowned angrily, stared fixedly at Hong Chaoyang, and walked quickly towards her with swift steps.
"Madam, I wonder where you heard such a rumor. Why can't a monk eat meat?
"Wine and meat pass through the intestines, while the Buddha remains in the heart. This is the true saying left by the great predecessor. For us Buddhist cultivators, the most important thing is to have the Buddha in our hearts. Our Buddha is compassionate and truly cannot bear to see killing. I just eat meat, and I don't kill. Why not?"
As Xueling spoke, his emotions became more and more agitated. He gritted his teeth, leaned forward, and seemed to be scolding with his handsome face.
Hong Chaoyang didn't expect that her words would arouse such a strong reaction from the monk. She quickly waved her hands and apologized. "Master Xueling... no... Great Master, I was wrong. I'm just ignorant. Please don't be like this. I'm scared!"
Only then did Xueling realize that he was too close to Hong Chaoyang. A blush appeared on his snow - white face. He quickly stepped back and clumsily straightened his cassock.
"Amitabha, Amitabha. I, a humble monk, was so controlled by my emotions. It's really inappropriate. Madam, I'm truly sorry."
"Since I offended you, I'll offer you a gift as an apology."
Saying this, Xueling took out a magical tool from his storage bag. This magical tool was a clear bead. Sometimes mist coiled around it, and sometimes it emitted a bright light.
"This is the Mysterious Dust Bead. I'll give it to you as an apology."
The Mysterious Dust Bead could detoxify all poisons and ward off demonic obstacles. It was a very rare and precious magical tool.
Seeing this, the True Lord Honghua was about to help Hong Chaoyang decline. But unexpectedly, when Hong Chaoyang saw the Mysterious Dust Bead, her eyes widened, and her eyes shone with golden light.
"The Mysterious Dust Bead! Is it the one I'm thinking of? Such a precious magical tool, and you're giving it to me just like that... This... It's so embarrassing!"
Although she said so, Hong Chaoyang quickly grabbed the Mysterious Dust Bead and then quickly put it into her storage bag, fearing that Xueling would take it back.
The True Lord Honghua slapped his forehead. He couldn't bear to look at his own disciple. How unpromising!
Could anyone just accept the magical tools given by these two bald donkeys?
Many years ago, when he was just a young man on an adventure outside, he met Xueling's master, Buyan.
Also because of a quarrel, Buyan gave him a magical tool as an apology. That magical tool was as precious as the Mysterious Dust Bead. He thought he had found a treasure.
But unexpectedly, during a life - and - death mission, when he opened this magical tool, Buyan's nagging chanting came out, which made him laughed at by his fellow disciples.
The spiritual beasts that had been led away by other disciples also turned back to attack them after hearing Buyan's chanting.
He thought it was a life - saving magical tool, but unexpectedly, it almost caused the whole team to be wiped out.
After he returned to the sect, his master told him that Master Buyan was always generous, but in each magical tool he gave, he had recorded a section of the Great Compassion Mantra.
Thinking of this, the True Lord Honghua looked at Hong Chaoyang with a bit of sympathy.
He wondered how she would use the Mysterious Dust Bead and what expression she would have when she heard the Great Compassion Mantra inside.
"Alright, alright. So what do you want to do here?"
Xueling said calmly, "That Li Xian is trapped in the Soul - Locking Banner, right? Are you thinking about how to dispel that black mist?
"Leave it to me."
The True Lord Honghua thought that the black mist was composed of thousands of vengeful spirits. Xueling was a Buddhist cultivator who could超度 the vengeful spirits. This was quite suitable.
He thought for a while and felt that Xueling was a junior, so he should give some advice. He then said, "You'll be sucked out of your soul if you get too close to this black mist. I'm an old acquaintance of your master, so I should take care of you. Be careful in everything. If something goes wrong... Hey hey... At least listen to me finish my words!"
Xueling didn't wait for the True Lord Honghua to finish his nagging and walked straight towards the black mist.
Hearing the True Lord Honghua's dissatisfied nagging, he replied, "Time is of the essence. You're being too wordy. Please forgive my rudeness, senior."
He was a bit polite, but not much. What Xueling meant was that he didn't want to listen to the True Lord Honghua's nagging.
The True Lord Honghua rolled his eyes speechlessly and cursed Buyan in his heart again.
Look at this nice young man. What has that bald donkey turned him into?
Xueling stopped when he was about ten steps away from the black mist.
He put down the alms bowl in his hand, put his hands together, held the Buddhist beads, and murmured something.
Then, the Buddhist beads in his hand emitted a great light. The originally nail - sized Buddhist beads quickly grew larger until they were as big as boulders. They floated in the air and surrounded the black mist.
After that, a loud chanting sound came from the Buddhist beads. It was Buyan's voice, and this chant was the Great Compassion Mantra.
The True Lord Honghua's temple twitched violently. He originally thought that these two master - disciple pairs were deliberately trying to make fun of others, but unexpectedly, they didn't spare themselves either.
The sound of the Great Compassion Mantra was so loud that even the disciples guarding the mountain gate in the front mountain could hear the commotion.
The True Lord Honghua suddenly felt balanced. This sound was much louder than the sound from the magical tool he got before.
But for some reason, Buyan's chanting of the Great Compassion Mantra made people feel calm, but the black mist seemed to be enraged and rushed around.
Xueling remained calm. He closed his eyes, opened and closed his mouth, and began to chant the scriptures in a low voice.
At the same time, the alms bowl he had placed on the ground also became huge and quickly rose. The mouth of the bowl shone a dazzling light towards the black mist.
The black mist seemed to be burned, and wisps of white smoke rose.
Then, something shocking happened to everyone.
It seemed that different human faces grew out of the black mist. Their expressions looked like they had suffered great pain. They opened their mouths ferociously and roared, emitting painful cries.
When the people standing in the distance heard these painful roars, their emotions seemed to be instantly infected by sadness, and their hearts were filled with only despair and pain.