"I am already aware of your situation. Rest assured, as long as you come to our Nanshan Temple, there will be no evil spirits to bother you! You must all be from the Xuanmen sect!"

Master Hongshi made a gesture of invitation. Although he spoke in a humble yet assertive manner, for some reason, his expression and attitude were utterly irritating.

In particular, the sentence he said was clearly sarcastic, as if to say that although you are all from the Xuanmen sect, if you encounter any evil spirits, it is still necessary for us Buddhists to deal with them!

Luo Tianhe has a fiery temper, and he was about to explode after hearing this. Luckily, we stopped him, otherwise, Luo Tianhe would have already rushed up and started a fight with them.

"Old Luo, don't be impulsive! We really need their help right now. Without them, we really can't win!"

I pulled Luo Tianhe aside and whispered a reminder to him: "This old Luo has too much pride."

As the saying goes, when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head. We are currently unable to deal with the evil forces behind us, so we have no choice but to live under someone else's roof.

Seeing that we were sensible enough, Abbot Hongshi smiled, first saying "Amitabha," and then began to explain some principles and Zen riddles that we couldn't understand.

I was a bit agitated, but the thought that this old monk would have to help us in the future made me hold back.

Upon entering the temple, we found it even more magnificent and resplendent, demonstrating just how popular and prosperous it was.

"Old Chen, this place is thriving! No wonder there are no Taoist sects around here; it seems they've reaped all the benefits!"

"A glimpse of the whole picture can reveal a lot." Luo Tianhe continued to observe, then muttered a complaint under his breath. I nodded, agreeing with Luo Tianhe's words. Indeed, the incense smoke here was a bit too strong.

I'm very curious about what kind of power this Red Stone Master possesses that allows him to transform a temple to this level.

"Master Hongshi, how many monks are there in the temple in total?"

I looked at the old monk, and when I asked the question, Master Hongshi's smile became even brighter, and it was full of pride.

"Hehe, I am not very talented. I have only been the abbot for fifteen or sixteen years. At the beginning, there were only forty monks and just a few temples. Now, you can see the scale of the temples. As for the number of monks, there are already more than five hundred!"

The old monk started bragging to us, and he was quite proud when he talked about these numbers.

From this point of view, I felt that the old monk in front of me was definitely not well-trained and was not a qualified monk. I found that he was guilty of most of the monastic rules and precepts, except for lust.

"so much!"

After hearing this, Ji Xinglan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Ji Xinglan whispered to me that in the version she had heard before, the temple had been prosperous in the past, but at its peak, it only had one or two hundred monks.

There were far fewer than the five hundred people that Master Hongshi had mentioned.

Either the record is incorrect, or this Redstone Mage is just bragging.

"Of course! Our Nanshan Temple is constantly growing and expanding. This number of people is just the beginning!"

Hongshi's words became increasingly rambling.

Luo Tianhe couldn't take it anymore and was just about to retort when he noticed that a number of monks had appeared around him.

They were all young monks, and I observed them with my divine eye. I realized that these monks didn't actually have much energy in their bodies, but at least I could tell that they were real people.

As I observed these monks, I was surprised to find that there was red energy in their lower abdomens.

There was even a hint of evil about it.

This is not to say that they are evil or heretical, but rather that these young monks' cultivation is inadequate.

Commonly known as "the six senses are not pure".

I started sending a telepathic message to Ji Xinglan.

"Xinglan, wait a moment and come behind me. Don't expose yourself to these monks!"

Ji Xinglan received my telepathic message and also showed a surprised expression.

"Uncle Chen, what do you mean?"

Ji Xinglan was a little confused.

I told Ji Xinglan that the monks' expressions towards her were strange. These monks seemed to be people with impure desires, and their desires seemed a bit too strong.

"That can't be! Uncle Chen, I remember I went to Nanshan Temple before. The masters there are all quite good, and the young monks are also quite skilled. At least they wouldn't have such thoughts!"

Ji Xinglan asked me in confusion, and I told her that this was why their scale had shrunk.

After hearing my telepathic message, Ji Xinglan broke out in a cold sweat and quickly retreated behind me.

"Female benefactor, do not be afraid. Our monks are all Buddhist disciples who have attained purity of mind and body and will not harm you!"

When Master Hongshi saw Ji Xinglan step back, he smiled and spoke.

After hearing that, I snorted coldly. What a load of bullshit about Buddhist disciples who are supposed to be free from worldly desires. It's all nonsense.

I saw that evil fire clearly through my divine eye. Never test human nature, because human nature cannot withstand the test!

No wonder I felt uncomfortable at this temple earlier. So that's why. Don't be fooled by Abbot Hongshi's seemingly decent energy; his cultivation is far from up to par.

At this point, I began to have doubts: was he here to save me, or was I the one who needed to guide him?

Your cultivation level is far from up to par; at least in this aspect, you are far inferior to me.

"Master Hongshi, that's just her personality, and she doesn't see many people usually, so please bear with her!"

I pulled Ji Xinglan behind me and then smiled as I spoke to Master Hongshi.

Seeing my insistence, Hongshi stopped talking and just nodded, telling us that coming to this temple meant absolute safety and that there would definitely be no evil spirits around.

After that, he had his young monks arrange rooms for us.

I observed these monks. Apart from a few who were rather fat, the rest of them were of average build. At least in an era when people couldn't even get enough to eat, the fact that they could eat like this showed that they were living a really good life.

"Gentlemen, these are your rooms. As for the lady, your room is even larger!"

We were brought here directly by the young monk. As for Abbot Hongshi, after making the arrangements, he didn't pay any attention to us and went to do his own thing. It seems that Abbot Hongshi trusts his young monks quite a bit.

I used my divine eye to look at him. The young monk in front of me looked handsome, but his body still had the same evil aura as the other monks. Clearly, these monks were not pure in their six senses.

You can't tell the difference with monks normally, but they can easily cause problems when it comes to a critical moment. I've seen quite a few of them.