"By the way, there’s something I want to consult with you." Lin Heng suddenly said.
"Please feel free to ask, Observatory Master. I will speak all that I know." Yan Tong replied without hesitation.
Seeing this, Lin Heng did not beat around the bush and directly asked, "That night, when I fought with Du’e, he mentioned that the reason our Daoist Holy Land sealed the mountains seemed to be due to some unspoken troubles. Does your Spirit Suppression Bureau have any knowledge about this?"
Lin Heng looked at Yan Tong, his eyes filled with confusion.
Although he was indifferent when dealing with Du’e, as a Daoist, it’s impossible not to be interested in matters concerning the Daoist Holy Land.
"You possess so many Great Divine Techniques, and you don’t even know?" Yan Tong was surprised.
The Spirit Suppression Bureau had not investigated the background of the Observatory Master, but in everyone’s mind, it was assumed that he came from the Holy Land.
But now he was asking this question, leaving Yan Tong puzzled.
She hesitated for a moment and then said uncertainly:
"Regarding the Daoist Holy Land sealing the mountains, I have heard some rumors, but I don’t know if they are reliable."
"Oh? What rumors?" Lin Heng asked curiously.
Yan Tong frowned and said, "I’ve heard that within each of the major Holy Lands, many demons are suppressed. Decades ago, when the Divine Land sank, as Daoist disciples descended the mountains, there were forces secretly at work, causing the seals suppressing demons in the Holy Lands to loosen, forcing the Daoist Holy Lands to seal the mountains."
"Of course, these are just rumors. Whether they are true or not, I don’t know..."
Though Yan Tong belonged to the Empire’s organization, she was just a member of a branch of the Spirit Suppression Bureau, so she couldn’t access certain confidential information at her current level.
So she couldn’t be sure.
However, Lin Heng felt that this explanation was quite likely.
After all, it has been a long-standing tradition for the Daoist Holy Land to suppress demons.
As far as he knew, the Shushan Sword Sect, now relegated to the second tier of Daoism, had a Demon-locking Tower that suppressed countless Great Demons!
The reason Shushan fell out of the ranks of the Holy Land was also because the Demon-locking Tower drained too much of Shushan’s foundation!
Furthermore, the Demon Suppression Hall at Dragon and Tiger Mountain suppressing hordes of demons is known to everyone.
It is recorded in ancient texts.
It is said that during the Song Dynasty,
Grand Commandant Hong, under the imperial edict of Emperor Renzong, went to Dragon and Tiger Mountain to invite the Heir of Han Celestial Master Master Zhang to the court to exorcise a plague.
Later, accompanied by a Master from the Upper Qing Palace on Dragon and Tiger Mountain, he toured the entire Holy Land and came to the Demon Suppression Hall of the Upper Qing Palace!
Because this Demon Hall had countless demons suppressed, Master Zhang never opened it, but Grand Commandant Hong, relying on his authority, disregarded the Daoists’ advice, smashed the lock, tore off the seal, and forcibly opened the Demon Hall.
As a result, it released the demons of the Thirty-Six Celestial Spirits and the Seventy-two Earthly Fiend Stars that were suppressed inside.
And these one hundred and eight ominous stars are the ones the world knows as the one hundred and eight heroes of Water Margin!
The subsequent events don’t need to be detailed.
In short, the emergence of these one hundred and eight ominous stars nearly overturned the Great Song Dynasty, which shows how fearsome the demons suppressed in the Daoist Holy Land are!
Lin Heng thought carefully; Dragon and Tiger Wudang, Maoshan, Lao Mountain, and Qingcheng Mountain all sealed their mountains during the decline of Daoism.
To truly explain the reason, there might indeed be massive internal problems!
"Observatory Master, recently the Spirit Suppression Bureau is being rebuilt, and there are many things to handle. I’ll be heading back first."
At this moment, Yan Tong took her leave; her main purpose for coming this time was to deliver the elixir.
Now that the task was complete, it was time to return to deal with other matters.
"Go ahead."
Lin Heng nodded.
Yan Tong left Qingfeng Temple.
As the sun set and the crowd of incense burners gradually receded like the tides,
White Cliff Mountain was finally peaceful, and Lin Heng immediately returned to the Quiet Chamber, where he swallowed the radiant Seventh Grade Elixir.
...
On the other side.
Zen Spirit Temple.
In the Buddhist Hall.
Kong Wen and the other three elders looked at the abbot mournfully.
The abbot sat cross-legged on the meditation mat under the Buddha statue, turning the prayer beads in his hands, fully immersed in Zen thought and scriptures.
Kong Xuan finally couldn’t help but speak with a mournful expression: "Master, this time the higher-ups questioned Zen Spirit Temple. Not only you are required to go to the Upper Sect to confess, but even the three of us cannot escape. What should we do?"
"Yes, Master, judging by the large-scale actions of the Upper Sect this time, if we go to take responsibility, is there any chance we can return?"
"Master, please think of a way..."
The usually composed Kong Wen couldn’t help but speak with a sob.
In recent days, announcements from the Great Brightness Temple have spread across the entire internet.
The Great Brightness Temple not only ordered all temples across the country to conduct self-inspections but also specifically issued instructions to Zen Spirit Temple, requiring senior monks to go to the Upper Sect to confess.
Honestly, Kong Wen and others didn’t foresee this.
According to their initial thinking, even if the Upper Sect were to hold someone accountable, at most they would target the abbot and wouldn’t involve small fry like them.
But now, this situation had them all confused.
Today was already the third day since the Upper Sect’s order was issued. Tomorrow morning, regardless of the circumstances, they would have to accompany the abbot to the Great Brightness Temple.
This filled the trio with fear and resentment towards that idiot Du’e.
If it were just a straightforward challenge, it wouldn’t have escalated to this level, perhaps merely making netizens think of the monks of the Buddhist Sect as petty.
But who could have expected that Du’e would secretly resort to a Demon Skill, directly exposing Kong Xing’s heart and liver.
What’s more infuriating is that this scene was stealthily filmed!
This resulted in the situation reaching an unprecedented level of exposure.
Even the current abbot of the Great Brightness Temple was forced by public opinion to resign.
Who knows what fate awaits them when they go to Guangming Temple?
"Master, should we run away?"
The trio suggested with a grave tone.
This wasn’t a spontaneous decision; they’ve had this thought for days.
But Fa Ling shook his head and said:
"Run?"
"With Buddhist power spread throughout the Dragon Country, as soon as the Upper Sect gives an order, even if you run to the ends of the earth, you’ll be dragged back!"
Upon hearing this, the trio frowned and said, "Do we really have to go to the Upper Sect? I’m afraid it’s a one-way trip..."
The trio was filled with worry.
Fa Ling was also helpless, but he understood that running away wasn’t an option.
The only way to save them now was to atone with merit!
In recent days, he used all his connections to investigate everything about that Daoist, all to respond to the Upper Sect’s orders.
Gather dirt on the Daoist and wage a public opinion battle!
This was his only chance of saving himself.
If he failed to tarnish the Daoist’s reputation, Fa Ling would have no choice but to await the Upper Sect’s punishment.
Just as he was worried, a monk suddenly burst into the Buddhist Hall in a hurry.
"There’s news! There’s news!!"
The monk shouted, visibly agitated.
Kong Wen and the others raised their eyebrows, and Fa Ling stood up with a tense expression, asking, "What news?"
The monk handed over a USB drive.
"The Daoist... dirt on that Daoist."
"Recently, he went to the Red Light District in Chang City, and he... engaged with prostitutes!!"
"What?"
The people in the Buddhist Hall looked at each other in disbelief.