Despite not revealing a trace of his Cultivation Qi Mechanism, as long as he stood there, he seemed like a bright, flawless moon, resembling a spirit mirror, attracting everyone to reflect and gaze upon him.
Whether they were righteous or evil, Buddha or Demon.
The more one observed the Great Abyss Zen Master, the impurities and flaws upon their spirit would gradually diminish.
Although the effect was slow and it provided no direct aid to one's mana in cultivation, this indiscriminate gift to all was still incredible.
What Tao Qian had not anticipated was that Yuan Gong, who had previously praised the Great Abyss Zen Master once, spoke again:
"Good monk, this scope is remarkable, and quite generous."
"He follows the Path of Salvation, has not cultivated any Buddhist Divine Skills, and doesn't even possess a single volume of the Great Lifebook Scripture, akin to abandoning the path of cultivation, unable to advance step by step to the realm of Arhat Bodhisattva Buddha."
"Unless something unexpected happens, this monk will likely pass away within a hundred years—this is an unavoidable price unless he achieves the Buddha Status in this lifetime directly."
"Young man, the forces of Great Freedom Temple and Vajra Temple will not allow you to borrow and utilize them easily, but this monk can."
"You can be honest and open with him, your paths are actually quite similar, you just need to meet him, lift the protection of the Divine Light of the Haotian Divine Mirror, let him have a good look at you, and he will naturally choose to assist you."
While Yuan Gong was advising Tao Qian and undermining the Free Temple,
There had already been a round of verbal confrontation at the scene.
Originally, Cheng Arhat, along with several fierce warlords, thought that the Great Freedom Temple was planning to help the Devil Concubine Yuan Mingzhen escape Qiantang.
Otherwise, why would they have disrupted the array at Han Mountain Temple?
However, after the group entered the city, before the Great Abyss Zen Master could explain, Yuan Mingzhen spoke first:
"You scum, be assured, I, Yuan Mingzhen, whose words hold great weight, have promised to stay at Han Mountain Temple, and so I shall."
"This visit is merely to attend the ceremony."
"If the Three Arhats do not welcome my presence, I shall return to the temple."
The Devil Concubine still stood aloft on the Spring and Autumn Chariot, looking down at everyone with extreme disdain and disgust.
Yes, almost everyone.
Even including Kongchan, Shipi, and Lian Sha, these three Arhats, all were despised.
No one would have thought that this now troubled phoenix would still carry such arrogance, truly audacious.
Indeed, there was an "exception"—Tao Qian and his wife received a subtle glance from Yuan Mingzhen.
Clearly, Yuan Mingzhen had lied.
She came under the guise of attending the ceremony, but her real purpose was to meet with Tao Qian.
Behind her imperial chariot, many followers were staunchly devoted, among whom stood a young monk general in a simple white robe, holding a crescent shovel, who was none other than Li Ren of the Han Mountain Army.
As the two sides covertly assessed each other, an odd scene unfolded in the arena:
Those warlords, who had been despised by the Devil Concubine, astonishingly did not get angry.
On the contrary, most displayed an awkward joy, as if being despised by Yuan Mingzhen was a satisfying and delightful matter, truly baffling.
The most shameless was undoubtedly Cheng Arhat, the unscrupulous fat monk, who laid back and, with a giggle, loudly replied:
"Miss Yuann, don't be annoyed, no need to return."
"This King merely spoke a bit too much, which should not be taken seriously, if Miss Yuann feels displeased, feel free to use your white jade-like phoenix feet to trample me thoroughly."
"Do not be polite, step on my face, the harder, the better, come on dear sister..."
As Cheng Arhat spoke, everyone looked at him with a gaze as if viewing excrement.
Could there indeed be such shameless people in the world?
Even those warlords who had thoughts of seizing the Devil Concubine now wished they could strike Cheng Arhat first.
But since this scoundrel was also powerful and a local authority, they had to abstain.
Tao Qian at this moment also felt the urge to take out the Toad God Tile and smash this fat monk's head.
Even Yuan Gong couldn't help but transmit a message:
"If I were not dead and happened to pass by here, I would definitely have to give him a sword blow."
"Truly disgusting, boy when you get the chance in a few days, do not spare him."
Shipi Arhat couldn't stand it anymore, inadvertently sliced off a piece of his own flesh, and threw it into Cheng Arhat's mouth.
Then he turned his head, facing both Great Abyss Zen Master and Master Shenxiu, and said,
"Enough talk. If we're to fight, let's fight."
"After you lose, leave quickly. A moment's delay and I will have you killed. Don't think I'm really afraid of that fool Long Meng or that old rabbit Auspicious. Together, they're hardly a match for me."
Whether Shipi's words were just bravado was unclear, but neither Great Abyss nor Shenxiu was inclined to argue.
Both nodded their heads amidst numerous warlords and strong people.
Following their prior agreement, the two major temples of the Buddhist Sect then commenced their first contest.
One of the initially planned events was the demonstration of scripture by various eminent monks from the Demon Buddha Temple.
However, if things had gone as originally planned, few Demon Cultivators or individuals from heresy and heterodoxy would dare to attend.
After all, who doesn't know that within the Buddhist Sect, whether True Buddha or not, they are extremely skilled at converting people.
The "Sublime Dharma Powers" offered freely by the Buddhist Sect are enticing, but what's the cost?
Listening might be fine, but if you understand and learn immediately, it's tantamount to surrendering yourself.
Now that it had turned from a demonstration to a debate, everyone was satisfied.
Loving to watch the excitement and fights is a natural inclination of the Human Clan, even for Demon Cultivators.
Especially the next moment, when everyone saw who the debaters representing each side were.
Inside Little Leiyin Temple, excitement surged once again.
Restlessness broke out.
"It's starting, who do you think will win this first round? Demon Buddha Temple or Free Temple?"
"If you ask me, I naturally support Beautiful Corpse Daoist. She masters three arts and even perfected the rare Divine Skill 'Heavenly Demon Buddha Mother Dharma Form,' no doubt debating won't be an issue for her."
"What does having powerful Divine Skills have to do with debating prowess? When it comes to eloquence, who can compare to the bald monks from Free Temple?"
"That's true, the monks from Free Temple have unmatched debating skills, able to confuse and cripple one's thought."
"Eh? Look quickly, the one chosen from Free Temple isn't a monk, it's a female cultivator."
"There's something exciting to watch now, being a female cultivator and coming from behind the Devil Concubine, no need to guess, she must be the Female Bodhisattva from Guanyin Temple."
Amidst these discussions, the two debaters appeared.
From Demon Buddha Temple, naturally, was the beloved disciple of Lian Sha Arhat and a talent who cultivated Demon, Buddha, and Devil Three Skills, Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva.
On the Free Temple's side was also a woman who, when introducing herself, said she was a daughter of the millennium-old Xie Family, also a cultivator from Guanyin Temple, named Xie Lingzhu.
This woman was also exceptionally beautiful, slightly inferior to Yuan Mingzhen, but still one of the top beauties in the world.
Tao Qian, looking at Xie Lingzhu through the void, couldn't help thinking:
"Previously, I thought that Lingji's sister was assisting Devil Concubine Yuan Mingzhen because of the arrangements between the Xie Family and Guanyin Temple."
"It seems I was mistaken."
"She probably doesn't care about the wishes of Xie Family or Guanyin Temple at all. The real reason must be that she sees Yuan Mingzhen as a 'doppelganger' of her sister Lingji."
"I didn't expect that Xie Lingzhu is such a devoted sister."
"But it makes sense. If I had a sister like Lingji, I'd probably be overly protective too."
As Tao Qian muttered to himself, the scripture debate officially began.
Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva clearly didn't expect that she would be debating Xie Lingzhu.
The latter stepped forward slowly.
Her gaze, slightly dazed, fell on Beautiful Corpse, looking at her newly matured "Goddess Guanyin" visage, and a touch of reminiscence appeared on her pale, moon-like face.
But the first words she uttered were not the profound scriptures of the Buddhist Sect but a nostalgic greeting.
"Sister Yang, we haven't seen each other for a long time. How have you been?"
"You have reincarnated to cultivate once again, yet still don the guise of Guanyin, showing your lingering thoughts for our master and Guanyin Temple."
"If that's the case, why don't you come back? Master has been waiting for you."
"You were always the cleverest among us. Can't you see that although Lian Sha Arhat treats you like a daughter, he also uses you as a shield? Why do you deceive yourself?"
These words, once spoken, instantly stunned the entire audience.
What happened to the scripture debate? Why start with such a trump card?