I Have A Dual World Seal-Chapter 704: Guangyue’s Invitation

"Have you heard?"

"Heard it!"

"Did you see it?"

"Saw it!"

"A lot of people were startled!"

"Too lifelike!"

As Lu Zheng left home in the morning, he overheard the townsfolk whispering among themselves on the street.

"What's going on?" He weighed two pounds of roasted chestnuts from Old Liu's stall and couldn't help but ask.

Old Liu leaned in, cautiously whispering, "Young Master Lu, you just got up, so you might not know. It's said that last night, the Fox Immortal and Dragon God manifested!"

Lu Zheng: (°ー°〃)

"Outside the east city gate, at dusk yesterday, two sculptures suddenly appeared on either side of the official road, one of a fox made of snow, and the other of a divine dragon made of snow!

The sky was dark at the time, and the passing merchants were terrified. They entered the city and reported to the authorities. Chief Liu went out with his men to have a look, but in the end, they didn't dare to remove them."

The old man heard that the fox and dragon were just like real ones. Many brave souls in the city even went out especially to have a look, not afraid of offending the Fox Immortal and Dragon God to teach them a lesson."

"Hehe..."

Lu Zheng grinned and took a short trip to the County Government Office, and on the way, happened to run into Chief Liu heading towards Tongyi Lane.

"Young Master Lu!"

"Chief Liu." Lu Zheng cupped his hands and said directly, "Those two snow sculptures outside the east gate, I carved them yesterday to amuse two little girls."

Chief Liu: ╭(°A°`)╮

Chief Liu was left speechless, and all the constables behind him were likewise at a loss for words. They had spent a worried night for this?

Chief Liu forced out a smile, "I see, so it was Young Master who crafted them. No wonder they looked so realistic."

"It was my oversight. If they caused any trouble for the passing merchants, feel free to remove them, Chief Liu."

"No need, no need." Chief Liu waved his hand, "Since they're not related to supernatural entities, it's alright. They can even be a sight in our county. Besides, a few more days and a snowfall might just cover them up."

Lu Zheng chuckled, "That works too."

After bidding farewell to Chief Liu and the group, Lu Zheng was about to leave when a young monk emerged from the crowd, hurriedly calling out, "Donor Lu! The host asked me to deliver a letter to you!"

"Hmm? Zongyi?"

The visitor was Zongyi, a monk from Jiming Temple, around thirteen or fourteen years old, regarded as one of the more gifted novice monks taken in by Guangyue. Though he had now entered the path of cultivation, his skills were still low, probably only enough to handle a lone ghost or spirit.

Lu Zheng's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Zongyi, before cautiously channeling True Qi into his hand to accept the letter Zongyi handed over. "Guangyue wants to see me, why didn't he come personally?"

"The host is in retreat to calm his heart and is preparing for a philosophical debate, he cannot leave the temple. Guang Yi Shibo is busy setting up the venue for the debate and couldn't get away, so they sent me to invite you to observe, Young Master Lu."

Zongyi naturally didn't notice Lu Zheng's suspicion and spoke on his own accord.

"A debate? A Dharma Assembly?"

Lu Zheng was puzzled, "Guangyue is only a disciple from Rizhao Temple; Jiming Temple is just a small temple in the county. How come it's all officially set up for debates and assemblies?"

There are many types of assemblies; however, those linked to debates are of course the Buddhist Sect's debate assemblies.

And debates, to put it bluntly, are about peers engaging to exchange experiences, which can be amicable, neutral, or hostile, entirely depending on the intentions of the other party.

Judging by Guangyue's retreat preparation, it's likely the visitor is not coming with good intent!

"Who are they? Which faction?" Lu Zheng immediately asked.

Though Yizhou is primarily dominated by Daoist temples, that doesn't mean there aren't Buddhist temples. Could it be that some temple has a grudge with Rizhao Temple, recently found out that Guangyue is a disciple there, and has come to stir trouble?

Zongyi shook his head, "It's not the Great Jing Buddhism, but the Western Buddha Country!"

Lu Zheng's eyes narrowed, "The Great Glazed Temple?"

Zongyi nodded, "And the Great Dragon Temple and Rashamon Temple!"

"Huh?" Lu Zheng was directly confounded.

The numerous Western Buddha Countries each have one or several top Buddhist forces as their support.

The Great Glazed Temple is Glazed Buddha Country's pillar, with extremely strong power.

While the Great Dragon Temple and Rashamon Temple are pillars of another Buddha Country; although their overall strength is slightly inferior to the Great Glazed Temple, the gap isn't qualitative.

"What's the situation?" Lu Zheng asked.

Rizhao Temple is naturally a top Buddhist sect, but in a one-on-one situation, dealing with one Great Glazed Temple would be barely manageable. How come they're facing three at once?

"Young monks from the new generation of the Great Glazed Temple, Great Dragon Temple, and Rashamon Temple are coming to the Great Jing for academic and cultural exchange." Zongyi explained to Lu Zheng, "Traveling east, they engage in philosophical debates with disciples of Central Plains Buddhism."

Lu Zheng blinked, somewhat understanding.

It's akin to a modern university taking students abroad for a round of exchange… right?

Then another question arose…

Lu Zheng asked, "Why would they seek out Jiming Temple? Shouldn't they be going to the major sects for debates? If they visit every small temple, they'll never finish touring Central Plains in this lifetime, right?"

But as soon as he asked this, Lu Zheng realized.

"Because of the Light Relics!"

Zongyi said, "The invitation says they want to witness the high monk of Rizhao Temple who conquered the Glazed Relics."

Lu Zheng nodded, thinking to himself that only this reason made sense.

"When is the assembly scheduled?"

"Tomorrow at the hour of Chen."

"I'll be there on time. By the way, who else has your host invited?"

"He also invited Master Mingzhang from White Cloud Temple and Daoist Yuan Jing, as well as Abbot Hai Cheng from Lanshan Temple in Dingshan County." Zongyi said.

"Alright, understood." Lu Zheng said.

"I still need to deliver a letter to White Cloud Temple, so I won't disturb Young Master Lu anymore," Zongyi put his hands together, performed a salutation, and hurried off.

Lu Zheng rubbed his chin.

According to what Guangyue mentioned, last time when Ben An failed, the seniors from the Great Glazed Temple wouldn't make a move again. Now that his Light Relics have been further refined by a Rizhao Temple expert, ordinary monks from the Great Glazed Temple can't possibly take the Light Relics from him.

What Guangyue could think of, the Great Glazed Temple couldn't possibly overlook, and from Zongyi's words, it didn't seem that the visit of the Three Great Buddhist Temples' disciples to Central Plains was solely to trouble Guangyue.

It's more likely that they couldn't bear to see their things taken by others and at least wanted to give Guangyue a lesson to assert their stance.

So…

"I wonder if those monks from the Western Buddha Country came alone or with elders?"

But…

"Regardless, Guangyue doesn't have seniors in Jiming Temple, and it's always better to be safe than sorry; I should still go to support him."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but shake his head, then paused, shifted his stance, and headed towards Peach Blossom Plain south of the city.