Xia Xin carefully checked and confirmed the identities of these people and Zhu Ming, secretly clicking his tongue in astonishment.
However, there’s no reason to turn down free advertising.
After all, it doesn’t hurt them any.
Even though the suppression of feudal superstitions is still ongoing, it’s not as strict as it was in the past, and there are still quite a few people who harbor such beliefs privately.
As an official and the largest related forum, the Xuanmen Association forum has many believers and generates a lot of traffic.
Several popular personal forums and official websites are all helping Jiaoyang Temple with their promotion.
Naturally, Jiaoyang Temple became very popular.
Moreover, with Jiangli promoting Jiaoyang Temple online for a long time, the temple’s reputation has now spread far and wide.
The fans of Yun Xizi and others also learned about Jiaoyang Temple through them.
With all these factors combined, pilgrims flocked to the temple all at once.
Many of today’s pilgrims were praising how elegantly ancient and grand Jiaoyang Temple looked, how it felt both noble and spiritually vibrant, and that it was a great place.
Standing next to Fu’er, Xia Xin could also hear people nearby chattering and blowing smoke up each other’s asses in hushed tones.
Xia Xin listened with quite a bit of pleasure, explained the situation to Fu’er, and told him not to worry.
Fu’er replied with a wry smile, "I’m not worried; I’m just too tired! You and the old ancestor have been running around all day; of course, you don’t know what it’s like to stand here all day! My legs, as flimsy as paper mache, can hardly hold up anymore."
Xia Xin patted his shoulder and chuckled, "You can’t say that. Aren’t you the elder here, after all? The capable should labor more. Besides, the old ancestor and I weren’t idle when we went out. We’ve been running around all day, and the old ancestor still hasn’t had the chance to have lunch."
Upon hearing this, Fu’er snorted, "The old ancestor has a Vajra-Indestructible Body; she’ll be fine without food or drink."
Xia Xin paused at this remark, pulled Fu’er aside, and asked curiously, "Fu’er, do you think the old ancestor really used to have a Vajra-Indestructible Body?"
Fu’er nodded affirmatively, "Yeah, I’ve been with the old ancestor for over ten years before and after I joined Jiaoyang Temple. She never aged or got injured. No matter the situation, she always resolved it quickly. Moreover, several King of Hells and great emperors from Fengdu were very courteous to the old ancestor, and even our ancestral master was very polite to her—not like a master and disciple, but more like peers."
Xia Xin recalled Jiangli’s attitude towards the ancestral master’s statue—indeed, it was clear that the old ancestor wasn’t at all afraid of the ancestral master, showing no sign of the respect and reverence that should be directed toward one’s teacher.
But that wasn’t the point.
Xia Xin narrowed his eyes and grabbed Fu’er by the hand, "Did you just say the old ancestor hasn’t aged in over a decade?"
"That’s right, her appearance never changed. We always say that the old ancestor is forever eighteen, but no one in Jiaoyang Temple really knows how old she is, probably not even the ancestral master," said Fu’er, pursing his lips and speaking as if it were a matter of fact.
Xia Xin blinked in surprise—is the old ancestor really that old?
He had thought that when the old ancestor mentioned the past during their conversations, she really was 18 years old during her seclusion.
So it was...always 18, year after year?
That’s just too strange.
If she didn’t die in eight hundred years of seclusion and her appearance never changed even before that...
What exactly is the old ancestor...?
Questioning his life, Xia Xin asked, "Fu’er, is all this true?"
Without a second thought, Fu’er replied, "Yes."
Xia Xin gasped, "Then... do you think the old ancestor is human?"
Amused, Fu’er shot back, "Do you think the old ancestor is human?"
If he knew the answer, he wouldn’t have asked someone else.