The following few days.

Lin Heng was busy treating the Cyan Snake.

With the wondrous effects of the Ninth Grade Spirit Pill, the Cyan Snake's life was naturally no longer in danger.

However, the fatal blow she suffered that day, along with repeatedly breaking into Jinshan Temple over the years, inevitably damaged her Dao Foundation despite her formidable cultivation.

Fortunately, the Spirit Medicine Garden contained various rare treasure medicines.

Lin Heng, having comprehensively understood Jinshan Temple's millennia-old secret techniques and mastering numerous healing skills, found aiding the Cyan Snake in recovering from her Dao injuries to be quite manageable.

Of course, the treatment process inevitably involved some privacy issues.

Thus, for the following days, Lin Heng mostly handled the treatment alone.

The Black Bear Spirit obediently returned to guard the Spirit Medicine Garden.

As for the White Snake, she suppressed her worries and patiently waited outside the temple.

...

And through several days of spreading and fermenting,

The news of the White Snake bringing the Cyan Snake to Qingfeng Temple for help had spread throughout the entire Cultivation Realm.

This undoubtedly aroused widespread discussion.

"Who exactly is the master of this Qingfeng Temple? Why are there so many news about him recently?"

"Slaying five Tower Guard Monks of Jinshan Temple in a row, such strength is terrifying. Now he even produced the incredibly rare Ninth Grade Pill. It's unimaginable that a previously unheard-of small Daoist Temple would have such depth!"

"I thought with the closure of the Five Great Holy Lands, Daoism would completely decline. Who would have thought a dark horse would appear?"

"There's a rumor that the reason the White Snake was able to escape from Jinshan Temple was not just because of the Cyan Snake, but also due to another expert's help! Could that expert be affiliated with Qingfeng Temple as well?"

"Who can say? It's well known that the Cyan and White Snakes have various connections with Qingcheng Mountain, and the Observatory Master used Qingcheng Mountain's Celestial Spirit Sword Qi when killing the Tower Guard Monks!"

"I don't believe that the Observatory Master has no ties to Qingcheng Mountain!"

"Now, he even used a Ninth Grade Pill to save the Cyan Snake. Connecting all these events, him going to Jinshan Temple to rescue the White Snake makes perfect sense!"

"Sigh, I wonder what exactly happened inside Jinshan Temple that day? Those bald monks are so tight-lipped, not leaking any information. It really stokes one's curiosity..."

"There's no helping it. As one of the Three Great Saint Sects of Buddhism, Jinshan Temple's dignity is inviolable. Not revealing embarrassing situations internally to outsiders is understandable."

"However, the truly curious event recently has been Qingcheng Mountain!"

"According to cultivators and the Demon Race around Qingcheng Mountain, a chilling aura has permeated the area for the past few days, and many have felt the great disturbance in the void!"

"A Demon King claimed that an earth-shattering battle erupted in Qingcheng Mountain's Inner Heaven and Earth, affecting the outside world!"

"Hiss! Affecting the outside from Inner Heaven and Earth? What level of battle could that be?"

"Wait... could it be... a battle of foundational depths?"

Amidst the frenzy of news regarding the White Snake resurfacing, word of the disturbance at Qingcheng Mountain also gradually spread within the Cultivation Realm.

Some ordinary cultivators didn't feel anything amiss.

However, some reclusive entities were alarmed.

Later, rumors even claimed that Qingcheng Mountain had been destroyed!

...

...

Meanwhile, at Jinshan Temple.

Monks sent out in recent days to gather information had begun returning one after another.

Upon learning that the White Snake escaped to seek help at Qingfeng Temple,

The chief monks of Jinshan Temple were furious.

"Indeed, indeed!"

"I knew it, the one who toppled Leifeng Pagoda must be that Daoist from Qingfeng Temple."

"This time, we must completely uproot that damned Daoist Temple!"

The matter of the Scripture Pavilion, Pill Spirit Hall, and Divine Artifact Repository being entirely cleaned out,

Had become an immense humiliation for Jinshan Temple!

Every monk from top to bottom couldn't help but gnash their teeth at the thought of those two thieves.

Especially that person who toppled the Leifeng Pagoda!

Over the years, the Black Bear Spirit had snuck into the temple multiple times to steal treasures, despicable as it was, but at least he followed some rules, only stealing the best and not too much.

But the last time,

When the Black Bear Spirit came with that person,

Jinshan Temple's millennia-old treasures were emptied, not to mention even a few hundred prayer mats and oil lamps disappeared!

There's no way they'd believe this wasn't that person's idea.

"Such a shameless individual deserves to suffer the full torment of the Eighteen Layers of Hell!" the Elder of the Hall of Discipline said vehemently.

The other high monks also nodded in agreement.

But some expressed concern, "Destroying that Qingfeng Temple is simple, but how should we deal with the Empire?"

At these words, the atmosphere in the Buddhist Hall instantly froze.

Outsiders were unaware.

Just three days after the White Snake escaped, the Empire, known for not interfering in the Buddhist-Daoist disputes, sent people to visit Jinshan Temple.

To be precise, they sent people to visit the Three Great Saint Sects of Buddhism in succession!

Though the Empire didn't directly express a desire to halt the Buddhist-Daoist conflict, their words suggested an imminent threat from demons, with Fengdu Ghost City nearing revival, urging the two leading righteous factions to temporarily set aside grievances and stand united!

At this critical moment, it's clear the Empire spoke these words because of that person from Qingfeng Temple.

"Though our Buddhist Sect is profoundly rooted, the Empire has its fortune. If we truly fall out, it might not be favorable for us..." someone murmured.

Another shook their head, "No worries, precisely because chaos is imminent, the Empire is less likely to fall out with us now."

"According to the latest reports, Qingcheng Mountain is no more."

"The other Four Great Daoist Sacred Lands are likely to follow suit. At this juncture, the Empire cannot afford to offend our entire Buddhist Sect for a mere Qingfeng Temple!"

"Moreover, our cause is just this time, even if the Empire is displeased, they'll only stand by!"

"Exactly." All the monks in the hall nodded in agreement.

The Empire's policy of balance failed the moment the Five Great Daoist Sacred Lands successively closed their mountains.

Even for the past few decades, the Empire couldn't curb the rapid growth of the Buddhist Sect.

Let alone at this juncture.

"But speaking of which, with Fengdu Ghost City about to revive, could our Abbot's recent shift to the path of Ghost Buddha have been intended by the ancestors?"

"This..."

At these words, the high monks in the hall fell into deep thought.

Each showing a belated realization of astonishment.

And just then, the Celestial Pearl Monk, who had been silent, suddenly looked up sharply and said:

"The Abbot has returned!"

The monks in the hall were stunned, and in the next second, they sensed a terrifying gale rising from the direction of the ancestral land in the back mountain.

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