For a while, both sides were in a stalemate, and the peaceful situation I had tried to maintain was almost gone.
"Altogether, there were only three mortals. Two of them saw me as the Master of the Sight, and lacked the courage to strike. They resorted to self-mutilation to escape. Mr. Wu, you worry too much and it's unnecessary."
Liu Taixian perhaps found that the situation was too impasse, he initiated to let the tone of relaxation again.
"You have never been to that mountain, and you don't know the situation. You are certain that they only have three mortals? Perhaps there are eight or nine? Perhaps, there are even dead senior teachers who have not yet died? You don't know, and you don't even know that their current temple was once taken from someone else's Buddhist temple, and even carrying the living Buddha corpse to grow medicine in it. And yet, there are so many Buddhist temples in that region, and so many living Buddha statues, yet none of them dares to go up the mountain to seek a explanation." Wu Jinluan obtained extremely comprehensive information from me. His words were firm and powerful.
At this moment, Zhang Zhiyi spoke up, smiling faintly and said: "Mr. Wu is still too nervous. Who has told you that there are only two mortals in the Nine-peak Iron Cross Mountain? It's just because of the mountain gate rules that only positive and negative heads can be left."
"Lord Luo Xian... say something." Liang Yu walked beside me, looking slightly nervous as if she wanted to mediate between us.
"There are people outside of people, and mountains outside of mountains. Living Buddha is the living manifestation of the sun god. I have faced their strength many times. In this matter, we have taken the lead. Next time, we will certainly not let the Iron Cross Mountain suffer. Moreover, dealing with the eight residences is beneficial to the Iron Cross Mountain, as Liang Yu has mentioned earlier, we will first use this corpse seed on Zhang Xiaoguanzhu to cure his current illness." My words further emphasized that it is difficult to target the eight residences mountain gate.
The situation became even more tense.
Liang Yu stamped her foot, clearly very anxious.
Wu Jinluan suddenly said: "Then let's step back for a while. You can take the corpse seed first, but after finding the next one, we will go to the mountain in the eight residences. We are fine and can wait, but Zhang Xiaoguanzhu may not be able to wait on the way up. He has been having trouble with his spirit several times."
Wu Jinluan made a bow with his fists, his expression seemed much more relaxed.
He added, "The entrance of the eight residences is something that many temples will go to together; it won't be told to any one temple alone. This is for everyone's benefit; it's not about going to our deaths."
Wu Jinluan's retreat, however, did not really ease the atmosphere.
The Iron Cross Mountain is firm.
He entrusted the decision to Liu Taixuan.
The horse spirits and Daoists exchanged glances, none of them spoke up.
Liu Taixuan maintained a stern face, making him seem all the more unpredictable.
Zhang Zhiyi seemed to be thinking about something, but it was impossible to tell from his expression.
A few minutes later, Liu Taixuan took a deep breath, and his mood relaxed once again.
"This matter is merely a matter of priority. Mr. Wu, you were too firm in your stance, and my response was too aggressive. There was no real conflict between us to begin with; we are good friends with a good relationship."
"What if we take the corpse seed first?"
"Who comes first, who comes second, we can discuss this in detail again, there is no need to waste unnecessary time here." Liu Taixuan actively took the initiative.
The conflict between the two parties had been subtly planted, making the peace feel very delicate.
Friend?
Connection?
After being straightforward and saying things openly, this has become a matter of each party getting what they need.
The people left by the Iron Cross Mountain and the Daoist disciples at the ascension site all have different aims.
Talking about friendship here is the most unnecessary thing.
"All decisions will be made according to the Assistant Head of the Temple's wishes, and the things I mentioned earlier must be adhered to."
"If he has not fallen asleep in the coffin, we must immediately withdraw." Wu Jinluan added another sentence.
"Ahem, of course, that's natural." Liu Taixuan replied with a smile.
"Go and distribute some food to Mr. Wu and the others, rest for a bit, and then we will prepare to take action." Zhang Zhiyi instructed the people below.
Eating more food is not very tasty anymore, just to satisfy hunger.
The group discussed the action plan for entering the main gate, with the horse spirit Daoists leading the way, followed by the masters in the middle to ensure safety, and Wu Jinluan and others would judge the internal environment at all times to guide which direction we should go.
Liu Taixian and Zhang Zhiyi had no other opinions.
Liang Yu, however, appeared to be very angry. She followed closely behind Zhang Zhiyi.
It's likely that she's angry because I didn't pay attention to her persuasion just now?
The group walked to the ancient and rustic gate that was climbed with peach trees and plum trees. A horse spirit Daoist approached the door, pushed it slightly, making a faint clanging sound, then pulled the door again, but it didn't budge.
"That's the entrance gate," the man said in a deep voice.
"Break the door open," Liu Taixuan instructed.
"Wait a minute," a Yin-Yang master stopped and raised his hand. At the same time, he took out a thin copper wire from his pocket, with a few hooks at the end.
After approaching the door, he estimated its height and width, and used his hand to measure, then asked a horse spirit Daoist to push it.
Then, he pointed to a crack in the door with one hand, and with the other hand above it slightly, he threw a hook on the copper wire into the crack.
Wu Jinluan had an expression of confidence.
"Lord Luo, this is a Yin residence. Unlike the Yin residences, there are fewer mechanisms in the Yang residences. The disciple who pushed the door before could determine that it was a door valve. As we hear, it's about the same. We can use normal means to open it if it can't be opened with force. If it's locked inside and can't be opened, we can break it later." He Linan explained to me, meaning that although we were here to take the corpse seed, there is no need to destroy this place that has been around for so many years.
I fix my gaze on the Daoist who was about to act.
Sneaking in and picking locks, I was once well-versed in the art, but now it's no longer applicable.
The man initially furrowed his brow, but then his eyes brightened, and he raised his hand!
I could clearly see that his index finger's side and the back of his other fingers had been left with fine scratches by the copper wire, and he seemed to be exerting effort.
The horse spirit disciple who pushed the door was about to reach out to help, but the man shook his head, indicating that he didn't need assistance.
He roughly raised his hand about a foot high, and with the other hand, he took out a nail and inserted it into the crack in the door. Then he quickly wrapped the copper wire around the nail twice.
"The door is open now," the Yin-Yang master retreated two steps.
The horse spirit Daoist pushed the door down with both hands, first hearing a light click, the sound of the copper wire breaking.
Then, the door made a loud clang, not because something was broken, but because the wood hit the ground directly.
The door was fully open, and on the right door panel, a segment of the door valve could be seen. It protruded outward, wide and thick, with a thick bottom surface. However, it was hooked by copper hooks at the bottom and had broken copper wires.
The light of the setting sun was slanting, shining directly into the door. One could see that inside was very spacious, resembling a courtyard.
First, the horse spirit Daoists went in about seven or eight people, followed by those from the ascension site.
The column of light from the setting sun passed through the doorway, spanning nearly twenty meters, and fell on another door.
Yes, the courtyard is just an outer courtyard; there's another gate inside.
This door is higher than seven meters, with two floors and more.
The door is about three meters wide, with vertical mountain cliffs on both sides, not hollowed out but naturally formed by the mountain. The surface of the cliffs is uneven, covered with some moss and smooth due to the aging and erosion caused by the wind and weather.
"This is a naturally formed cave within a cave, rare indeed. Very rare," Wu Jinluan commented with a hint of admiration in his eyes. It seemed he had forgotten the earlier unpleasantness with the Iron Cross Mountain.
