The Buddhist aura of the Secret Treasure Prayer Beads flashed by like a startled swan, then quickly vanished.
But Master Sangjie still managed to catch its lingering trace.
The Buddhist aura, though concealed, seed entangled with the spiritual power of the Witchcraft Sect’s worm arts.
By Master Sangjie’s estimation, it might have been that this Southern Wilderness Worm Master attempted to probe and refine the Buddha Treasure, thus causing the Buddhist aura to leak out.
Afterwards, the other party did their utmost to suppress and conceal it, making it fade into obscurity.
Though the Buddhist aura was hard to find, Master Sangjie seized upon the traces of witchcraft and continued the pursuit.
Upon stepping into the area surrounding Chaotic River Valley, the aura of witchcraft worms also began to fade.
Master Sangjie betrayed no surprise or worry, his expression serene, as both hands rose before him to form a Dharma seal.
As he ford the seal, Buddhist light seed to surge from head to toe.
Vajra Temple belonged to the Vajra Division, true inheritors of the Buddhist Hand Seal Lineage—a re tip of the iceberg even now.
Master Sangjie hailed from Sumi, a direct passing of the Vajra Division, his Buddhist mastery profound.
The defining trait of monks of the Buddhist Handprint Lineage lay in rooting themselves in the hand seals, forging their chakra points, giving equal weight to flesh and spirit—his inner and outer worlds unified.
Thus, as Master Sangjie now ford the seal, he further stimulated and magnified the power of his own mind, gaining sharpened spiritual perception and insight.
In this way, he managed to sense a hidden force of witchcraft worms probing deeper into Chaotic River Valley.
More importantly, the Buddhist aura flickered—present, then gone.
Master Sangjie dropped the hand seal at once and gave chase.
In a place unfamiliar, trespassing on the Southern Witch Sect’s domain, Master Sangjie would not normally have ventured further into unknown territory with such haste.
However, he had already caught wind of rumors about Yutian Ravine.
The Worm Master Tian Linlong who appeared there, as far as Master Sangjie knew, now held an awkward position in the Southern Wilderness.
Through Vajra Temple, Master Sangjie acquired a general picture of the many factions inside and outside the Great Tang.
Tian Linlong was indeed an Elder of the Witchcraft Gu Techniques lineage’s Sacred Land—Yin Mountain, but his nurous dealings with outsiders made his own Yintuo Mountain view him with suspicion.
Therefore, the likelihood that Tian Linlong acted on behalf of Yintuo Mountain was slim.
As for those in league with him, such as Yang Yuqi, they were surviving royal scions of the Forr Sui, now indisputable Imperial Convicts of the Great Tang Dynasty.
With Shangguan Yunbo and other Divine Strategy Army experts currently operating in the Southern Wilderness, people like Yang Yuqi would not dare show themselves lightly.
Since leaving Yutian Ravine, Tian Linlong, too, constantly hid and masked his tracks, never daring to act openly.
Now that Master Sangjie trailed him in secret, it might prove the perfect chance to reap so benefit.
"The key is that Avici Treasure—there is no need to convert this man to the Buddha," he judged as he tracked.
Tian Linlong was no longer young and tangled up with the likes of Yang Yuqi.
The Southern Wilderness grew ever more complicated with the return of Jiuli, while the Western Region Buddhists had no intent to step foot here for now.
If advance preparations were needed, there was no need to approach a man like Tian Linlong.
It was better to focus his efforts inside the Great Tang Dynasty itself...*Master Sangjie mused.*
The royal clan needed no further ntion.
The Daoist Sect and Confucian Sect were also crucial targets.
Especially the Great Tang Dao Sect, which had brought forth one prodigy after another in recent years, even drawing Master Sangjie’s notice.
Naly, Tang Xiaotang of Celestial Master Mansion and Jiang Yu of Pure Yang Palace.
If he could convert them to the Buddhist Sect, nothing would be finer.
The difficulty, of course, was imnse; it must be done slowly and thodically.
If the Daoist Sect declined, much else might unfold with greater ease.
From that vantage, the present rise of Interdiary Path Country in the Mortal World was not necessarily a bad thing.
*May they co into conflict soon enough,* Master Sangjie thought quietly.
Before then, the Western Region Buddhist Sect had best avoid entanglents, lest they end up at odds with either the Central Plains Daoist Sect or Interdiary Path Country.
Seen from this angle, Yuan Mobai and Master Longjia lingering far from Youning Lake might actually be for the best.
*Let nature take its course; perhaps that’s best of all.*
With that thought, Master Sangjie sent another ssage to Master Longjia.
He kept moving, following the traces of the worm into the depths of Chaotic River Valley.
............
Lei Jun, by this ti, had reached the edge of Chaotic River Valley.
He did not look back.
So long as the Western Region Buddhist Sect’s great monk had entered, it was good enough.
As for the ultimate outco, Lei Jun did not ddle, nor even cared to inquire for the mont.
He simply sorted through so of the magic artifacts of the Witchcraft Sect’s worm arts lineage left behind by Tian Linlong, put them to use, and sent them into Chaotic River Valley.
Because of ti constraints, Lei Jun was not certain whether Chaotic River Valley still remained that sure-death hellscape as before.
In any case, so long as the great monk from the Western Region went in, it was fine.
The Fifth Grade Opportunity Secret Treasure Prayer Beads ntioned in the perfectly neutral lot were certainly no longer inside Chaotic River Valley.
*May that other Fifth Grade Opportunity ntioned in the worst lot remain, so at least the monks would not have co all this way for nothing.*
Thus, Master Lei could be said to offer a "gifted flower to the Buddha," presenting a welcoming token.
Bestowing fortune upon others, after all, always left a bit of fragrance on the hand.
*It had been so ti since he’d done this sort of good deed—had he grown rusty?* Lei Jun looked down at his palm and shook his head slightly.
He paid the valley no further mind, heading off to rejoin his master, Yuan Mobai.
Yuan Mobai still lingered, walking idly with Master Longjia.
Lei Jun was in no rush to reveal himself, hiding in the shadows as he watched for any other Western Region Buddhists nearby.
Master Longjia, newly in receipt of Master Sangjie’s news, felt no more urgency and set his mind at ease, chasing off distractions.
Yet, the world was unpredictable: as the two kept away from Youning Lake, others began closing in on them instead.
In the distance, petal after petal of white lotus rose and fell, blooming and fading, seeming gentle but in truth swift, soaring above the clouds.
Clusters of human figures flashed around the white lotuses one after another.
One among them—wielding a long spear—plunged repeatedly into the sea of flowers, forcing his way toward the very center, toward a massive Ninth-grade Lotus Platform.
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