Chapter 1614: Dragon Subjugating Zen Master

Chapter 1614: Dragon Subjugating Zen Master

Strangely, it was as if the people had turned into streams as well, transparent and formless. They sensed nothing even though Mister Stream Stepping was passing right through their bodies.

It wasn’t until Mister Stream Stepping had walked all the way to the Chief Libationist that the people noticed him like they had just woken up from a daydream.

Mister Stream Stepping was a man in his fifties. His face was thin, and his presence was refined and scholarly.

He looked ordinary, but he was the sect master of the Sea Horizon Pavilion, one of the Five Profound Sects, and a famous Sage on the Heavenly Champions Ranking as well.

“Greetings, Chief Libationist.”

Mister Sea Stepping saluted the Chief Libationist.

“Well met, Mister Sea Stepping. Please, take a seat.” The Chief Libationist smiled and held out his hand politely.

After that, the Auspicious Deer continued to report everyone’s arrival.

“‘Inferior Celestial’ Ning Taiyi has arrived...”

“‘Amazing Heroine’ Feng Huixue has arrived...”

“Without Embroiling Living Buddha of Great Snow Mountain has arrived...”

“‘Golden Needle’ Elder Shen Taijun has arrived...”

......

For the next few moments, famous

wulin

warriors and

jianghu

elites that nearly everyone was aware about appeared one after another.

There were sect masters, faction lords,

wulin

heroes, hidden elites of the

jianghu

and more. However, they were all powerful and famous in their own right. Even the weakest among them was a famous Half-Sage on the Earth Champions Ranking.

“Tsk tsk... a lot of people are showing up!” Outside the Altar of Heavens, Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou were standing shoulder to shoulder with each other. No matter how the blob that was the crowd morphed around them, not a single person managed to touch them in the slightest. It was like they were wave breaking rocks that could not be unseated by the ocean no matter what.

At their level, they were qualified to enter the Pray to Heavens Altar and sit together with those famous

wulin

seniors and

jianghu

elites as a matter of course. They didn’t simply because they didn’t care for the fame or glory.

“The Chief Libationist is the one calling out to them after all,” Feng Qingyou said smilingly.

Ye Qing knew this, of course. These famous warriors of the Earth Champions Ranking and Heaven Champions Ranking had shown up today not because the new Pacification Emperor’s face was that big or valuable. Forget him, not even Emperor Jing Run’s coronation during Chu’s strongest year had garnered this much attention.

They were all here because of the Chief Libationist.

Today, only a handful of people, specifically the living true celestials of the Three Temples of Dao or the living true Buddhas of the Two Temples of Buddha, shared the same level of renown and fame as the Chief Libationist was currently enjoying.

Ye Qing could not help but ask when he thought until this point, “I wonder if the Sages of the Two Temples of Buddha and the Three Temples of Dao will show up?”

The Five Profound Sects, Million Plum Mountain Villa, Eastern Sea Celestial Sect, Golden Needle Shen Clan and more were fine and dandy, but the true masters of the

jianghu

were the Three Temples of Dao and the Two Temples of Buddha. He really wondered if these major sects who had thrived for thousands of years would send someone over.

“They probably will, but who they will send is difficult to say!” Feng Qingyou answered.

“Long-browed Divine Monk of Lanke Temple has arrived...” It was at this moment the Auspicious Deer announced a name that was quite familiar to them.

“Oh? An old acquaintance!”

Ye Qing raised his eyebrows when he heard the familiar name.

Long-browed Divine Monk was one of the two divine monks of Lanke Temple. While Sky Suspending Divine Monk spent most of his time guarding Lanke Temple, practicing in seclusion, and performing Zazen[1], and he rarely got involved with the mortal coil at all. Long-browed Divine Monk often walked the

jianghu

, saved the people, delivered the people from suffering, and generally made the world a better place. Because of this, he was quite famous.

Therefore, if Lanke Temple had sent someone to attend this ceremony, then it could only be the Long-browed Divine Monk. In fact, that was the case.

A monk riding a golden lotus descended from the sky. He was wearing a patchwork monk’s robe and a five-colored monk’s crown. His face looked smooth and young despite his age.

Of course, his most defining feature was his long black eyebrow and white eyebrow. They were both over three meters long, and they waved here and there like they had a mind of their own.

He was of course Long-browed Divine Monk, one of the two divine monks of the Lanke Temple.

Long-browed Divine Monk’s appearance was neither particularly impressive nor unfathomably mysterious. However, a loud cheer that only grew stronger over time still broke out among the

jianghu

people and common folk.

Long-browed Divine Monk was that famous. He was a Sage of the Heaven Champions Ranking to the

jianghu

warriors, and a benevolent savior to the ordinary people. They all praised him as the reincarnated Buddha. Of course they were cheering for him.

“Dragon Subjugating Zen Master, abbot of the White Horse Temple, has arrived...”

It was at this moment the Auspicious Deer spoke up again, and the noisy crowd fell so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Then, a tsunami of cheers several times louder than the one that had welcomed Long-browed divine Monk broke out.

The reason was very simple. The Dragon Subjugating Zen Master was even more famous than Long-browed Divine Monk.

Although Long-browed Divine Monk was famous, he was just one of the two divine monks of Lanke Temple, not the abbot. Moreover, Lanke Temple as a faction generally distanced themselves from the mortal coil and did not involve themselves in worldly matters. Naturally, their influence and reputation paled in comparison to the White Horse Temple.

White Horse Temple was situated in Chu. It was Chu’s national temple and sanctuary of Buddhism and

wulin

. It was open to the public, so countless people traveled to White Horse Temple to study the Dao, practice the Zazen, burn the incense sticks and pray to the Buddha every day. Naturally, they enjoyed a great amount of worship. On top of that, the disciples of White Horse Temple saw it as their duty to slay the evils and monsters and deliver the people from the suffering. That was why they often left the mountain to slay Strangers, uproot evil, rescue the poor, and promote Buddhism. They were very well respected among the populace because of this.

The Dragon Subjugating Zen Master was the abbot of White Horse Temple. Status wise, he was higher than even Long-browed Divine Monk. His fame and strength was greater as well.

Besides that, the Dragon Subjugating Zen Master was no less of a bleeding heart compared to Long-browed Divine Monk. He was as compassionate as he loathed villains and monsters. He spent most of his time saving the people and slaying the evils. His stories and legends were so numerous that it was literally impossible to finish telling them all even if the storyteller had three days and nights to do so. “Binding the Dragon in the Sinful Sea”, “Slaying the Strange with a Broken Branch”, “Climbing a Mountain to Suppress a Demon”, “Plucking the Sun to Stop The Flood” were just a couple of examples.

Unfortunately, the Dragon Subjugating Zen Master met his match nine years ago. While roaming the lands of Beirong, he ran into the sect master of the Corpse King Sect, Three Corpse Old Man. The Corpse King Sect was one of the Nine Dark Ways. The Dragon Subjugating Zen Master did not hesitate to engage the man in battle and fought him for nine days and nights straight. Their battlefield spanned over thousands and thousands of kilometers.

The Dragon Subjugating Zen Master was ultimately successful in slaying the villain, but the Three Corpse Old Man was a famous champion of the Heaven Champions Ranking. Therefore, the Dragon Subjugating Zen Master took serious injuries from the battle. After returning to the White Horse Temple, he went into seclusion and never showed his face again for nine years straight. That was why a lot of people thought that the Dragon Subjugating Zen Master had succumbed to his injuries and passed away.

Of course, this rumor had now been disproven. Not only that, the high monk and living legend who had disappeared for nine years straight was finally going to show his face once more. How could they not be excited? As soon as the announcement was made, a thin, short, old, dark-skinned monk wearing linen clothes and straw sandals slowly walked out into the open.

The monk looked perfectly ordinary. Every time he passed by someone, he would carefully move out of the way so as not to disturb them. If someone stepped out of the way for him, then he would thank them and give them a kind smile.

If this was any other occasion, no one would think that this thin, old, and ordinary-looking monk was the world famous abbot of White Horse Temple, theDragon Subjugating Zen Master. They would only think that he was an ascetic monk from some rundown temple.

When the monk finally made his way to the Altar of Heavens, nearly every

jianghu

warrior had gotten to their feet and nodded to him in acknowledgement.

1. Zazen is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. ☜