The handso young man held a red fish the size of a palm in his hand. After removing the fishhook, he placed the little fish into a bucket of water beside him, where it darted around in shock.
Ci Hang’s eyes suddenly widened in disbelief as he called out, "Sect Hierarch!"
Zhunti turned his head to look, smiling as he said, "Ah, it’s Ci Hang!"
Ci Hang hurriedly bowed and said, "I greet the Sect Hierarch!"
Zhunti nodded slightly and said, "No need for such formalities!"
Ci Hang rose to his feet and after steadying his mind, he spoke with so confusion, "Not far ahead lies the Sealing God Battlefield. Does the Sect Hierarch still have the leisure to fish here?"
Zhunti smiled and said, "I am here waiting for soone with destiny."
"The Sect Hierarch is waiting for a person with destiny? Could it be ?"
Zhunti nodded and said with a smile, "You may find a spot to sit."
Ci Hang nodded, and a blue lotus flower sprouted at his feet. The lotus flower blossod over an area of a zhang, and he imdiately rose to sit cross-legged upon it.
Zhunti placed his fishing rod aside and spoke gently, "Ci Hang, do you think this place is tranquil?"
Ci Hang looked around and said, "Nightfall has co, so desolate and uninhabited, it is naturally tranquil."
Zhunti laughed and said, "With frogs croaking amidst the breeze, fish splashing reflecting the moon, when beasts pass there are tracks, and when birds perch there are signs, how can it be tranquil?"
"The Sect Hierarch’s philosophy is sothing that I cannot compare with."
"Ci Hang, you see this place as tranquil, because you seek tranquility. I see this place as bustling because I long for liveliness.
Yet, I see that your desire has gone unfulfilled, igniting a fire of irritation within you, burning away at your mind over ti."
Ci Hang let out a sigh and said in a low voice, "Since the Sealing God Battle, my fellow disciples and I have fought against the Yin Shang, but we have been repeatedly obstructed by the Jie Sect, facing crushing defeats and constant sealing, and even my Magic Treasure has been lost."
He said with a bitter smile, "During the day, I encountered the Law Enforcent Team’s Zhao Gongming. We had just started fighting when I suffered a terrible defeat, with several junior and senior brothers seriously injured. It was a complete loss of face, and my mind has been in turmoil since, which has made the Sect Hierarch laugh."
Zhunti spoke gently, "It seems it was because of the Jie Sect Disciples, Mile and the others, who are equally unsettled. It’s clear that the Jie Sect Law Enforcent Team has truly beco your Heart Demon.
But there’s no need to worry about Zhao Gongming; his destiny calls for death, and he is ant to fall here."
Ci Hang shook his head helplessly and said, "It is extrely difficult; we cannot kill him."
"Has Lu Ya’s Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book been utilized?"
"It has been discovered by Zhao Gongming; I fear it might not be effective."
"The Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book should have exposed Zhao Gongming to calamity, but because soone intervened to protect him with rit, he was spared from disaster."
Ci Hang frowned slightly and said, "rit, could it be Bai Jin?"
Zhunti nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, it is he."
A flash of insight crossed Ci Hang’s mind, and he quickly rose to bow and said, "Please, Sect Hierarch, teach the dharma gate so that Zhao Gongming may et his destiny."
Zhunti did not answer directly but changed the subject, saying, "Our encounter here is also predestined. Ci Hang, would you like to listen to my teachings?"
Ci Hang, feeling sowhat disappointed, still responded respectfully, "I respectfully await the Sect Hierarch’s instruction." He sat cross-legged on the pure lotus.
"Great Compassion brings joy to all beings, Great Sorrow removes suffering from all beings. Great Compassion engages with all beings through the cause and condition of joy, Great Sorrow engages with all beings through the cause and condition of separation from suffering..."
Zhunti slowly lectured, while Ci Hang listened quietly with full concentration. Gradually, her complex thoughts settled, and all worries disappeared. As if in a daze, she seed to be walking barefoot upon a lake, surrounded by Golden Lotuses wherever she stepped, with Buddha Light shimring overhead.
The Great Sun rose, and the voice of Zhunti lecturing ca to a halt.
Ci Hang slowly opened her eyes, bowed respectfully, and said, "Thank you for your teachings, Sect Hierarch."
Zhunti chuckled and replied, "Ci Hang, among the nurous disciples of Chan Sect, you are the one I have the highest hopes for. Your Tao lies not in Chan or Jie, but in compassion. Should you wish to accompany to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, I can impart to you the Ten Directions and Ten Realms Purifying World and General Salvation thod, endowed with the power of Calling Saints, to help you step into the Quasi-Saint Realm."
Ci Hang was imdiately moved and hesitantly bowed with all due respect, saying, "Thank you for your generous love, Sect Hierarch. At this mont, all I wish for is to quietly pass through the Calamity without any other desires."
Zhunti nodded slightly, then changed the subject, saying, "I heard you like to take care of fish. I will give you this Golden Fish as a gift."
"Thank you, Sect Hierarch, I will take good care of it," Ci Hang promised.
Zhunti’s silhouette disappeared with a smile, leaving a straw effigy in its place.
Ci Hang hurriedly leaped down from the lotus, looked at the effigy, and a succession of thoughts flashed through her mind. She respectfully bowed deeply with excitent and said, "Thank you, Sect Hierarch!" She waved her hand and collected the straw effigy.
Then, Ci Hang returned to the military camp and found Jiang Ziya to replace the straw effigy before proceeding to worship it once more.
More than a dozen days passed, and Zhao Gongming had beco groggy and irritable, prone to thunderous rage, even venting his anger on Wen Zhong, Shen Gongbao, and others.
The entire Yin Shang Camp was enshrouded in Zhao Gongming’s tyranny, and all soldiers were as on edge as if frightened grasshoppers.
Wen Zhong, Shen Gongbao, and the others also felt that the situation had grown beyond their control and advised Yang Jiao to return to the East Sea to seek help.
Above the East Sea’s Three Lights Immortal Island, Yang Jiao descended from the clouds and hurried to the entrance of the Bird Nest Dao Palace, bowing respectfully and said, "Disciple seeks an audience with Master!"
"Co in!" A deep voice resonated.
Yang Jiao got up and entered the Bird’s Nest, quickly following the path by the poolside to reach the pavilion in the garden.
In the pavilion, Bai Jin and Yun Xiao were sitting, their expressions solemn and grave.
Yang Jiao imdiately said, "Master, things are not looking good! Uncle Gongming has been affected by Chan Sect’s sches, and now his behavior is quite peculiar, irritable, and befuddled."
Bai Jin mused and replied, "I’m already aware of the situation. You may return now. Your Master will make arrangents."
So Master knew about it already? Yang Jiao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes!" He then turned and left.
With a wave of her hand, Bai Jin released the Haotian Mirror, which floated in mid-air. In the mirror, Zhao Gongming was shown lying unconscious in the Yin Shang Camp, his complexion ashen.
Yun Xiao suddenly stood up, cried out in shock, "Big brother!" and hurriedly bowed deeply to Bai Jin, nervously saying, "Elder brother, please help save my big brother."
Bai Jin promptly stood up, and with a raise of her hand, said, "Junior sister, please get up. Gongming is as much my concern as yours, and I will do my utmost to help."
Yun Xiao stood up, worry evident as she looked at her big brother within the Haotian Mirror, her fists clenched.
Bai Jin said, "Gongming is forthright. When he went out to sea, I was worried that he would fall into the calculations of the Western Sect. So, I crafted the rit Money using the Treasure Money as the foundation and gave it to him for protection, which should withstand all spells. The previous scheming by Chan Sect has already been thwarted by the rit Money, but now Gongming has fallen into another sche. There must be other reasons, and I am unable to pinpoint the exact source, hence I dare not act rashly."
In a panic, Yun Xiao exclaid, "Elder brother, I will imdiately seek an audience with Master."
"Master has already entered seclusion."
Yun Xiao, frantic, said, "What should we do then?"
With a fierce glare, she said, "Elder brother, I will go out to sea and exterminate the disciples of Chan Sect."
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