"Amitabha. Yun Yin requests an audience with Shan Daoyou."
"Master, what are they here for again? You already helped them last time…"
Jade sounded a bit upset. These people kept disturbing her master, and lately, Jian Dan hadn't had proper time to cultivate. When would she finally reach the Mahayana stage?
"That's enough, Jade. Go greet them. Helping them is helping ourselves. If the insect clan manages to seize this land, who's to say they won't try to find a path across Storm Sea to reach Lingyun Continent?"
"Yes, Master. Jade understands."
This time, Yun Yin came with more than courtesy. There was a clear sense of respect in his tone as he addressed Jian Dan.
"We are grateful for your intervention, which allowed us to eliminate a potential threat in time. However, the Buddhist Son fears there may still be stragglers we missed."
"So?"
"We humbly request that you share a method to identify those parasitized by the black-armored insect, or at least a technique to detect them."
Jian Dan had already prepared for this. She reached out and handed him a brocade box.
"Inside is a willow leaf. If you approach someone who has been parasitized, the leaf will heat up as a warning."
Yun Yin received it with great care, bowing his thanks. Jian Dan then produced a small fire cage the size of a palm and passed it to him as well.
"This holds the black-armored insect larva I captured at Fengyun Ridge. They are fast but fragile. Study it and find a method to detect them."
"Amitabha. You've thought of everything, Shan Daoyou."
"Do not misunderstand. Our paths of cultivation differ. My techniques may not work for you. And eventually, I will leave this land."
"Amitabha. You speak the truth. Relying on others is not sustainable. We were simply unprepared when this situation first broke out."
"It's fine. We do this for all living beings."
After Yun Yin departed, Jian Dan relocated her entire household, leaving Lotus Lake behind. She had no intention of getting further entangled. What followed was the responsibility of the Buddhist cultivators. She never planned to rebuild the cultivation system of this land on her own.
"Master, where are we going?"
"Mingfa Temple. I want to see the lotus flowers."
Her mobile mountain hovered over Mingfa Temple, ready to conceal itself within the clouds. This part, Cotton Candy handled with ease.
Cotton Candy initially tried to turn into a green cloud to wrap around the mountain, but Jian Dan quickly stopped her.
"Cotton Candy, we're trying to hide, not stand out. Think about the surrounding environment, not your personal preferences."
Eventually, Cotton Candy relented, transforming into a white cloud that enveloped the entire peak.
In the days that followed, Jian Dan split her time between cultivating and observing the young monk Fa Hua, occasionally checking in on Ampei's progress.
Ampei was clever. After leaving Mingfa Temple, he didn't return to the riverside tower ship. Instead, he donned a monk's robe and began his journey.
In the first year, he helped subdue several rampaging beasts and demons. As more monks entered the secular world, sightings of rogue monsters became rare.
He began venturing into more remote regions. Thanks to the guidance of the Yamata no Orochi, his efforts paid off.
He subdued several malevolent spirits, including the faceless woman, the white-haired golden howler, and the phoenix-tailed mountain fowl. With the serpent's help, they fell one by one.
Yamata no Orochi was especially obedient. Every time it emerged from the shikigami talisman, it could feel that familiar gaze upon it. At first, it thought it was a hallucination, but after the third time, it was certain. That terrifying woman had been watching all along.
Ampei wandered through the Empire of Ling for ten full years, never once stopping. He knew that unless he completed the punishment assigned by the deity, he would never be allowed to leave.
Fortunately, his efforts to subdue monsters earned the praise of the people. In return, they gave him mantou, baskets of eggs, and flatbread. With each offering, he overcame yet another hardship.
Once his mission was complete, Ampei returned to the capital's harbor and waited in silence.
This time, Jian Dan disguised herself as a wealthy young nobleman. Jade transformed into a young pageboy and accompanied her to the dock.
"Long time no see, High Priest Ampei."
That familiar voice made Ampei instantly bow.
"Greetings, My Lord."
"I've come to send you off."
Ampei stiffened. He didn't know what the deity meant by that.
"No need to be nervous. Your punishment is over. You may leave now."
"Thank you, My Lord. What about Matsushita and the others…"
"They feel this place suits their cultivation, so they chose to stay. Of course, you could stay too."
"My Lord, they will never return to their homeland again."
"That's right. They came with ill intent, and they must pay the price for their actions."
"I'm letting you return so you can deliver a message to your Saito. In this life, the next, and the one after that, until your Yingshu Country sinks beneath the sea, do not set foot on this land again."
Ampei looked up in shock, staring at the dashing nobleman before him.
"My Lord, is that… a prophecy, or a curse?"
Jian Dan smiled.
"In our path of cultivation, curses damage one's own foundation. I don't do things that harm my cultivation. Besides, you aren't worth it."
Ampei's heart plummeted. Her prophecy aligned perfectly with what the previous shinkan had calculated. That was why they had sailed across the sea in search of a new continent.
But they had chosen the stupidest approach and paid the steepest price. Ampei seemed to age several years in an instant.
Jian Dan casually waved her hand, and several shikigami talismans flew from Ampei's sleeve pouch into her hand.
"These don't belong to you. I'm taking them back. You may go now."
Ampei bowed deeply, then headed to the harbor, renting a small boat and quietly leaving the Empire of Ling.
"Master, will he make it back?"
"With the Yamata no Orochi he should."
"Master, I never encountered that serpent during my training. If I fought it, do I have a chance of winning?"
"I'd say your courage is commendable. As for your strength… well, you know."
"I understand. Jade will train harder. Next time, I'll be the one to serve you."
"Good. Now let's go see the lotus flowers, and while we're at it, pass along a little message."
Jade didn't quite understand what her master meant, but still followed her cheerfully to Mingfa Temple.
Fa Hua was sweeping the main hall of the temple when a richly dressed young nobleman stepped inside.
"Amitabha. Benefactor, the temple is not yet open to the public. Please wait outside for now."
"No need. I'm not here to worship. I just came to see you."
Fa Hua looked up, sensing a strange familiarity and warmth from this person.
"Amitabha. Does the benefactor know me?"
"Yes. I'm the one who brought you to Mingfa Temple."
Now eighteen years old, Fa Hua's eyes were still clear as water. He looked at Jian Dan and asked,
"Amitabha. May I ask where I came from?"
"Of course."
Jian Dan raised her hand, pressing a glowing orb between Fa Hua's brows. He immediately sat cross-legged on the mat and closed his eyes.
Following Jian Dan's command, Jade took the form of a little monk and headed toward the wooden house at the edge of the red maple forest.
Matsushita and the others were just about to step out when Jade, not far off, began chatting with another monk on purpose.
"Senior Brother, I have something to tell you."
"What is it?"
"I went to the harbor today to serve porridge, and I saw that High Priest Ampei again, the one who visited our temple years ago."
"Oh, it's been, what, ten years? Why was he there?"
"I overheard him saying his punishment is over and he can return home."
"Then why hasn't he come to take the ones behind the mountain with him?"
"I don't know. But my guess is that High Priest Ampei resents them. After all, they unsealed the Demon-Locking Pagoda and got him controlled by a monster, letting all those demons escape. If not for a great senior cultivator intervening, things could've gone horribly wrong."
"Your guess makes sense."
"As monks, we do not speak falsely. Let me tell you…"
The rest of the conversation never reached Matsushita's group. They dropped to their knees and remained there, motionless for a long time.