Zhong Shenxiu had just tried to activate the Carefree Wind Escape when he saw a burst of escaping light chasing after him.
"Law Enforcement Envoy, hold on!"
"It turns out to be a colleague." Seeing the man dressed as a Law Enforcement Envoy, Zhong Shenxiu couldn’t help but smile, "Su Daoshi has seen fellow Daoist."
"Lin Xunyi, Law Enforcement Envoy of Xuanyu City!"
The man, in his twenties and strikingly handsome, seemed to bear no malice.
"I was just passing by on official duty, is there anything that troubles you?" asked Zhong Shenxiu with a smile.
"No particular reason. Even if fellow Daoist bullied that Qingmu, so what? You just bullied him," Lin Xunyi laughed heartily, seeming to think it was trivial, for a government official to bully a Loose Cultivator—who wouldn’t dare to even fart in protest!
"I just wanted to make acquaintance since I saw fellow Daoist. Since you are here on official business, is there anything Lin Xunyi can help with?"
Lin Xunyi said with a light chuckle.
"Not much, it just that there’s a major silencing case at Fufeng Protectorate, seemingly related to the Black Lotus Sect," said Zhong Shenxiu, his eyes flashing.
"This sect acts mysteriously and seems to be backed by a master with great divine powers, you must be very cautious," Lin Xunyi said solemnly.
"Thanks for the warning, and now I must take my leave!"
Zhong Shenxiu bowed, controlled his escape technique, flew into the sky, and soon disappeared without a trace.
Left behind, Lin Xunyi stood there alone, seemingly lost in thought, "Black Lotus Sect..."
Luo State, Yixin Temple.
Zhong Shenxiu, while always appearing dedicated to his duties in front of the government officials, truly didn’t take the issue with the Black Lotus Sect to heart.
Even if they were brewing some conspiracy, it wasn’t his concern—it was the responsibility of the Sect Leader of the Cloud Mirror Sect and other tall figures in Luo State.
Entrusted by someone, he had inquired all the way and finally reached Yixin Temple.
Yixin Temple, located halfway up Luqiao Mountain, barely qualified as part of the Daoist lineage, with cultivators of not particularly high caliber.
He had only learned of the precise location of Yixin Temple from the Water Smoke Guest.
The mountain forest was quiet.
Zhong Shenxiu landed from mid-air on the green stone steps of the mountain path, and walked up step by step.
By this time, he had already assumed the appearance of Young Master Shen Xiu.
After all, the matter of saving Lu Huolong was carried out by Young Master Shen Xiu, and Zhong Shenxiu, who always acted with caution, did not want to involve Su Daoshi.
Yixin Temple was located at the midway up Luqiao Mountain, its signboard’s gold paint almost completely fallen off, teetering as if about to collapse; the temple itself wasn’t grand at all, looking utterly impoverished and in decline.
Even if someone came here, they wouldn’t recognize this as a genuine place of immortal cultivation.
It was early morning, with dew hanging on the leaves.
A young Daoist boy opened the door, holding a broom to sweep the fallen leaves, yawning from time to time.
"This young Daoist, please report, Loose Cultivator Shenxiu, representing Lu Huolong, requests an audience with the Temple Master."
Zhong Shenxiu stepped forward and said quietly.
The young Daoist boy’s eyes lit up, becoming much more spirited, and he hurried to bow, "Please come in for some tea, fellow Daoist, I’ll go call the master."
Saying this, he invited Zhong Shenxiu into the parlor and served tea and refreshments.
As Zhong Shenxiu slowly savored the tea, it wasn’t long before an old Daoist with slightly dark skin came out, his face blooming with a smile like a chrysanthemum: "Old Daoist Yixin here was delayed due to morning prayers, my apologies for keeping you waiting."
"It’s no trouble at all."
Zhong Shenxiu waved his hand and took out the iron sword given to him by Lu Huolong.
"This..." Master Yixin took the iron sword, his eyes reddening, "As long as the sword exists, so does its owner. If the owner perishes, the sword remains... Has my greatest disciple’s soul departed to the Great Beyond?"
Zhong Shenxiu briefly recounted the events involving Lu Huolong.
"It was his destiny... I’ve lost my composure. Fellow Daoist, your word is as good as gold, not greedy for treasures, a true cultivator of impeccable character." The Daoist first apologized and then sighed gently, brushing his hand over the iron sword.
A layer of sealing magic disappeared, and dense text emerged.
Clearly, this iron sword was a legacy artifact of Yixin Temple.
Unfortunately, Zhong Shenxiu didn’t know the password; forcing it open would likely destroy it.
"I owe you a great debt, fellow Daoist. I have nothing with which to repay you. Here are some minor Daoist skills that you might find useful... However, to breakthrough divine power requires the unity of Yin Sha and Yang Gang, gathering of Yin and Yang. Choosing a spell must be done carefully. These techniques I offer are not fundamental Daoist techniques but are quite convenient for daily life..."
Master Yixin, holding back his sadness, took out a scripture as a token of gratitude.
Zhong Shenxiu took it, glanced through it casually, and indeed found it contained various minor methods such as cleaning technique, Light Bright Method, horse taming technique, fruit preserving skill, insect repellent secret technique, rat repellent secret technique, and others.
For cultivators, these minor techniques were extremely convenient.
And for ordinary people, they were indeed magical, learning just one could be enough to settle and establish a family legacy.
This scripture recorded hundreds of such methods!
Zhong Shenxiu flipped to the back and saw the Tiger Driving Skill, he couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise and asked, "May I know what this scripture has to do with the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect’s outer eight hundred techniques?"
"Do you not know, fellow Daoist? My Yixin Temple could also be considered a branch of the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect... However, later the ancestral master of Yixin realized the harm in coveting too many Daoist skills, so he set the rule that cultivation must be singular in focus, thus from then on the cultivation and skill refinement at our Yixin Temple must be focused solely. And this external scripture that had eight hundred methods was reduced by a major part, leaving only one hundred eight techniques for use in daily life, meant for shallow exploration, not to distracted oneself."
Master Yixin explained.
"I see, fellow Daoist, it turns out you are a legacy of the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect, my apologies for my rudeness," Zhong Shenxiu said, bowing in respect.
He was indeed interested in that faction known for collecting all manner of techniques.
And this Yixin Temple was fascinating too.
Looking at what Lu Huolong had done as a Sword Cultivator, it seemed he had moved from one extreme to another.
"Our inheritance has mostly dissipated, its glory faded, it amounts to nothing much..." Master Yixin gave a wry smile, "Although accessing all kinds of sacred texts will inevitably yield some knowledge, human effort is finite. Trying every path is not as good as mastering one."
"I heard that originally, the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect had an exclusive divine power called — ’Thousand Transformations.’ It could mimic any Divine Power in the world."
With Zhang Taiyi’s knowledge, Zhong Shenxiu treasured such confidential information like family jewels.
Master Yixin paused, chuckled bitterly, and said, "That’s an overstatement, indeed... This Thousand Transformations Divine Power, although created by the old ancestor of the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect, who was a unique individual with many ingenious thoughts and wide knowledge, aimed to forge a technique that could mimic all divine powers but until he passed away it remained only a semi-finished product. That Thousand Transformations Divine Power was just a third-grade power... and while it might roughly mimic lower-grade divine powers, its effectiveness greatly diminished at the third and fourth grade, resembling nothing more than a mere imitation. As for high-grade divine powers, it couldn’t mimic them at all, not even superficially..."
This was the stark truth, or else a technique capable of mimicking all divine powers in the world would have long been seized by the three Daoist Sects and the six paths of the Demon Sect.
’Speaking so clearly, as if I’m about to seize the inheritance... Wait, this Thousand Transformations Divine Power technique seems to have been collected by some opportunists during the past turmoil of the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect, and can be found in the scripture pavilions of major forces... Perhaps this was an intentional act by the ancestors of the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect for self-preservation.’
A mediocre divine power that was widely known ensured the remaining branches of the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect were safe.
Master Yixin seemed to become more talkative suddenly, "Speaking of our ancestor from the Ten Thousand Techniques Sect, his intention was good. Originating from a Loose Cultivator, he deeply understood the hardships of lacking heritage. Once the Yin Sha and Yang Gang Skills did not match, unable to combine into divine power, one would encounter a dead end..."
This seemed like a deliberate hint, but seeing Zhong Shenxiu’s indifferent face, Master Yixin felt like he was offering a flirtatious look to the blind.