Chapter 298 The scheme involving rice cakes backfired, leading to a cat bumping into the cat.

298

This constructed secret realm is almost entirely white, with only the enormous Bodhi tree in the center displaying an undeniable touch of emerald green.

The tree canopy reaches to the top, its roots and leaves extend downwards, quietly supporting this tranquil secret place.

There were ten people standing or sitting under the tree. Although it wasn't a large number, they were already well-known figures on the main road.

A female cultivator sat beneath the tree, her black hair piled up, adorned with three silver hairpins, dressed in a light purple gauze dress with bound sleeves, and a purple-gold gourd shimmering at her waist.

It was Mu Chun'e, the sect leader of the Taiji Immortal Sect, who was also the one who was first inspired by the sage to announce to the world that the Pilgrimage Valley would be opened.

She knelt with her eyes closed, a long sword lying across her knees. Her face no longer held the usual smile, but instead bore a solemn expression.

Not far away, a male cultivator was carefully observing under the tree. He was wearing a crane robe, his hair was loose, and his face was pale, with a sickly look. He was stroking a bodhi leaf with one hand, and occasionally coughed lightly, but his expression had eased up a lot.

This is Zhou Shushu, the well-known sickly leader of the Langhuan Sect.

In the open space beside him, several scrolls of scriptures were laid out, with neatly arranged ink characters. A long-bearded male cultivator was checking the scrolls. He was wearing a blue and white Taoist robe and holding an old plum branch in his hand. The branch was covered with soft hairs. It was an old brush with black tips, but the writing was tinged with light gold.

He bent down in front of the scriptures, occasionally writing or drawing something.

Without needing to inquire about his identity, just by seeing this golden pen, one knows that he is Master Xun, whom everyone in the Imperial Academy reveres.

On the other side of the Bodhi tree, a man and a woman were talking in hushed tones, their conversation revolving around the Bodhi tree and the Clear Platform.

The female cultivator was dressed in a goddess-like gauze robe, with solemn features and a cinnabar mole on her forehead. The male cultivator had long white eyebrows, wore a kasaya, was slightly shorter, but had an exceptionally kind expression.

The female priest is Myo-on, the sect leader of the Goddess Sect who left Kitahara a few months ago, and the other is Myo-sho, a monk of the Saigo Zen sect.

In another place, several people gathered together. Although they were close by, no one spoke to each other, and they seemed to be relatives but not close friends.

These people were none other than Zhang Siwo, who remained silent and only focused on playing with the cat; Xie Kanhua, who was concentrating on restoring the strings of the zither; Murong Qiudi, whose face bore an inexplicable scar; Hanshan Jun, who was silently reading a book; and Ping An, who should not have been there at all.

They have gathered here today because their master invited them in a dream, which is why they have entered this secret realm.

Having cultivated themselves for so long, these people were naturally peaceful and calm. Even after waiting here all night, they did not show any anxiety, for they knew the purpose of their actions.

Just as they were waiting, a surge of spiritual energy suddenly emanated from the boundary gate. Everyone then straightened their appearance, stood up, and looked towards the boundary gate.

A mysterious figure pushed open the door and entered. Her figure was as slender as a snow pine, and everyone present knew who she was.

Behind her, her grandmaster followed closely behind. With gentle eyes, he looked at everyone, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then bowed slightly in a Daoist salute before speaking.

"I am truly grateful that you have all accepted my invitation to come here today to discuss important matters."

The Taiji Immortal Sect originated from the Daohe Palace. As far as the Taiji Immortal Sect is concerned, the Grandmaster is also considered the founder. Mu Chun'e immediately stepped forward and said, "Grandmaster, you flatter me."

Lin Feiran stood beside him, looking at the ten people in front of him. He had already expected it. These ten people were now half of the main force in the region, so it was not surprising that they had gathered here.

But when her gaze fell on Ping An, she couldn't help but pause slightly.

Ping An met her gaze and couldn't help but smile: "Are you surprised? We've met before, in the secret room where we asked you to fetch the fire."

Lin Feiran recalled for a moment, then suddenly realized: "So there was another one, it was you!"

Zhang Siwo let the cat sit on his head, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and scoffed, "It's normal that you can't recognize her; she hid the best."

Zhang Siwo and the others were quite familiar with Lin Feiran, so it was not surprising that they exchanged a few words. Among the others, only Mu Chun'e and Miaoyin were somewhat acquainted with her.

Miao Yin goes without saying. Mu Chun'e became acquainted with her because of the disciples' sword-testing competition, where Lin Feiran was the only disciple who could enter the top ten based solely on her sword skills.

However, at that time, her spiritual veins were abnormal, which limited her talent. Although she refused to admit defeat, she could only reach tenth place. Many people expressed their regret, but they did not pay much attention to her.

Who could have imagined that the stubborn disciple would get to where he is today?

Among the younger generation, she is the only one of her age who has reached the Divine Realm.

When they met again after a long time, although her level of skill had changed, her eyes still carried the spirit she had displayed when she stood on the sword-testing field, subtle yet sharp, making her unforgettable.

All eyes were drawn to Lin Feiran. Zhou Shushu coughed lightly and slowly looked her over, finding her both familiar and unfamiliar.

He recognized Lin Feiran, but not because of those rumors that were hard to distinguish between true and false, but because of Ru Xian.

Ru Xian once joined the Langhuan Sect. Although he later went down the mountain to travel and then returned to the Demon Capital to become the Demon Lord, in their eyes, he was still the arrogant and intelligent disciple who caused headaches for many elders.

Ru Xian and Lin Feiran had an extraordinary relationship, and this matter had already spread along with her deeds. They had long wanted to meet, and now that their wish had come true, they felt it was inappropriate.

Lin Feiran's eyes were clear and bright, and he was too similar to the disciples under his tutelage. He was really a junior. Although his demeanor was more composed, his age still made it difficult for people to feel at ease.

He stepped forward, bowed, and said gently, "Grandmaster, since we are here to discuss important matters, why have a junior like myself present, only to increase his anxiety?"

"Fearful?" The grandmaster did not speak, but Zhang Siwo sneered, "I have known her for a long time, but I have never seen her look fearful."

Zhou Shushu glanced at it: "Just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We can worry about things ourselves, why bother the younger generation?"

His words were not meant to blame or belittle Lin Feiran, but rather to genuinely regard Lin Feiran as a disciple. The Langhuan Sect was skilled in wisdom and medicine, but not in combat, and usually stayed in the rear when they went out.

His words also contained a protective intent, as he feared she was just being stubborn by coming here.

But that's not all. He couldn't help but wonder to himself, is this all the person who could take Ru Xian away?

Unfortunately, no one understood the hidden meaning behind his words.

Lin Feiran neither refuted nor acted arrogantly, but simply said in a gentle voice.

"Senior, there is no need to worry. I came here voluntarily. I have dealt with the esoteric sects many times. If we need to discuss strategies, I might be able to offer some assistance."

The grandmaster, who was standing to the side, spoke with a kind expression. After she finished speaking, he continued, "Although Feiran is not very old, her experience in fighting against the Nine Swords and the Dao Lord, whether it was stealing the fire seed or the battle in the canyon, is greater than yours or mine."

Heroes are not defined by their origins, so why should their age matter?

Zhou Shushu glanced at Lin Feiran and smiled, her eyes filled with curiosity, but ultimately said nothing more.

After exchanging a few words, the master stopped talking and walked to the Bodhi tree, getting straight to the point: "Since you are all gathered here, you naturally know why we are here."

What I say today is also what the saints in the valley think.

Now that eternal night has arrived, esoteric Buddhism is flourishing, and a severe cold disease is rampant. The world is in chaos. Do any of you have a way to break this deadlock?

Master Xun stroked the pages of the book in his hand and said, "My master told me everything last night. Breaking the deadlock is not difficult. The key is the secret sect."

However, nowadays the common people are turning to Tantric Buddhism, and many monks have also joined in, so it is not an easy task to take it directly.

He glanced at the others before meeting his gaze with his master and said in a deep voice, "Fighting against overwhelming odds is a poor strategy. It would be better to lure the enemy in and defeat them one by one."

Mu Chun'e nodded: "Now that both realms are in chaos, even if we gather cultivators from all sects to launch a strong attack, it will only increase casualties. Since the target is the Secret Sect, we only need to target the leaders."

The grandmaster listened quietly without saying a word.

Miaoyin arrived this morning and was unaware of the matters discussed by the group yesterday, so she asked, "What will be used as bait?"

Master Xun put the plum blossom brush back at his waist and pulled out a scroll from in front of him, on which were densely covered with many characters.

"These are all the bait we came up with last night. The leaders of the secret sect have few entanglements, and the Daoist Master's purpose is unclear, so we can only speculate. After some discussion, we could only sift out these."

The scroll was filled with various words: believers, spiritual energy, relatives, spiritual treasures, breakthrough, sainthood, and so on.

Since they did not yet know the Dao Master's true purpose, the group could only speculate based on the wishes of most cultivators, which also included many unique speculations.

Lin Feiran's gaze swept across the top, almost skimming through the text, before pausing and stopping at a word in the corner.

This coincided with her thoughts.

The group each had their own ideas about the bait they were considering, and neither side was willing to back down during their conversation. Zhou Shushu paused for a moment, then spoke up.

"Lin Feiran, what do you think? I heard you once met the Dao Master alone. Who do you think would be the best bait?"

The grandmaster glanced sideways, and everyone's gaze fell upon her, but Lin Feiran did not panic. She raised her hand and pointed to one of the words: "This one."

The place she pointed to had only two words written hastily: Qi (vital energy).

Zhang Siwo coughed lightly: "This is what I suggested."

Master Xun pondered for a moment: "They are indeed searching for energy in a grand manner, and there are many who can offer it up. In fact, many cultivators have even volunteered to do so. Compared with other things, this is not scarce, so how can it be used as bait?"

"Since we're going to use them as bait, one thing certainly won't be enough."

Lin Feiran looked up at everyone, a smile playing on her lips. With a flick of her right hand, a calligraphy brush appeared between her fingers.

"Since we are here today, I will humbly offer something."

Several people peered over and saw that among the densely packed scrolls, there were still a few narrow blank spaces. Lin Feiran picked up his brush and wrote words crisply and neatly, clearly having thought about it beforehand.

"To be honest with you all, I have also thought about how to break the deadlock, but after thinking it over, I feel that those methods are too complicated. The more chaotic the situation, the simpler the way should be, so as not to create unnecessary complications and make the situation even more chaotic."

Therefore, my thoughts coincide with yours.

"Besides the energy, they have also been coveting this spiritual vein in my body for a long time."

Although the spiritual veins have already merged into her body, it doesn't mean they can't be separated.

The grandmaster looked at those three words, and his expression finally changed. Monk Mingzhao looked at them for a long time, then put his palms together and said, "Are you sure they're willing to use this as bait?"

Lin Feiran lowered his eyes and looked down, his expression unchanged: "Senior, you may not know this, but I have made three bets with the Dao Master. If he hadn't bet with me, I might not be sure, but since we have, I can be certain."

This is also a question that Lin Feiran has been pondering.

The first bet was wagered on the spiritual vein within her.

The second bet was about the Revolving Bead inside Shen Qi's body.

The third bet, which seems to involve the lives of all people, can actually be seen as the sacrifice of the common people if we look closely.

Of the three bets, she won one and lost one, gaining the spiritual vein but losing the Revolving Pearl. Now all that's left is this uncontrollable energy. How can you say this isn't the perfect bait?

Miaoyin frowned and asked, "The stakes?"

The way everyone looked at Lin Feiran became strange. No one could have imagined that the first person to walk in front of everyone would be this junior.

Mu Chun'e said in a deep voice, "Let's not even talk about whether we can let you risk your life as bait. Just this energy is something that everyone in the world has, but it doesn't exist in reality. Using it as bait is no different from using air as bait."

"But qi is ultimately not air."

Lin Feiran clenched his right hand, and the brush transformed into a radiant light that dissipated, the scattering points of light appearing before everyone's eyes.

She looked up and said, "The vital energy resides in a person. If a person controls it, will the vital energy still run away?"

Zhang Si took a breath. When he first mentioned the word "qi," he hadn't expected this: "There are so many cultivators and mortals in the world, how many can you stop?"

Lin Feiran raised her eyebrows, a smile playing on her lips: "Originally, we shouldn't have been able to stop any of them, but didn't the Secret Sect help us out themselves?"

With their help, I can stop one if they come; what about millions?

What kind of unexpected move is this?

At this moment, Zhou Shushu's gaze towards her became somewhat subtle. Recalling Ru Xian's past at Langhuan Gate, he couldn't help but think, no wonder she was able to take Ru Xian away.

Didn't this just mean that rice cake bumped into a cat on its own?

Author's Note: [Heart emoji]