“A secret domain? It seems I’ll have to find a way to get inside,” Lu Yang murmured to himself. Second Senior Brother has been investigating the Buddhist Kingdom for so long. Surely he must have found at least one useful lead.

And Xinding happens to be eligible.

“You have a way?”

“The Qingfeng Sword contains a small world. No one will be able to find me if I hide inside it. I know a little monk from Xitian Temple. I can have him take me into the secret domain.”

“That works out perfectly.” Ye Zijin grinned. He had been troubled over how to enter the secret domain, considering whether he should attach himself to some little monk. I didn’t expect Little Junior Brother to be one step ahead of me.

In her letters, Big Senior Sister always praised Little Junior Brother effusively, with particular emphasis on his good fortune.

Big Senior Sister’s judgment of people remains as sharp as ever.

“When does the secret domain open?”

“In about two months.”

“It seems I’ll have to stay in the Buddhist Kingdom for a while longer.” Lu Yang had been ready to leave; otherwise, he wouldn’t have arranged for the Heavenly Dome Holy Lord to attach himself to Xinding later.

It wasn’t easy for the senior brother and the junior brother to meet. As the senior brother, Ye Zijin naturally felt obliged to host his junior brother properly.

“Come, come, come, you’ve been hiding in Xitian Temple and haven’t seen much of Xitian City, have you? Let your senior brother show you a good time.”

Not wanting to turn down Ye Zijin’s kindness, Lu Yang left Xitian Temple with him.

“No, no, absolutely not here.”

Lu Yang stood before a gaudy, brightly lit building, refusing to take another step forward.

Right after they left Xitian Temple, Ye Zijin had dragged Lu Yang straight toward a brothel, leaving Lu Yang frantically trying to decline the offer.

“Little Junior Brother, you have quite the self-discipline, eh?” Ye Zijin looked at Lu Yang with a knowing smile, making him quite embarrassed.

Lu Yang could only change the subject. “Senior Brother, why is there a brothel right at the foot of Xitian Temple?”

Ye Zijin laughed heartily. “What kind of question is that? It’s not like everyone in Xitian City is a monk. It may be a Buddhist city, with Buddha statues enshrined in every household, but in reality, how could there be that many devout Buddhist followers? It’s all just for show. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“Where there’s demand, there’s an industry.

“Why do outsiders go to such lengths to settle in Xitian City and live close to Xitian Temple? Is it because they are pious? Of course not. It’s because it gives them peace of mind and a spiritual anchor.

“How does that give them peace of mind, you may ask? Burn some incense, worship Buddha, donate some incense money, and the Buddha will take care of the rest.”

Ye Zijin shrugged. “At the very least, that’s what they believe.

“Actually, your senior brother is also a self-disciplined cultivator. But a brothel is the easiest place to gather intelligence. To obtain information, I’ve no choice but to sacrifice myself and come here.”

“Senior Brother, with your transformation techniques, why not just turn into a monk and enter Xitian Temple directly?” Lu Yang was baffled. Second Senior Brother’s transformations are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. He can certainly fool those elders. Wouldn’t that make gathering intelligence easier?

At the mention of this, Ye Zijin sighed. “You think I haven’t tried? I suppressed my cultivation realm and successfully blended in as a monk in the refectory, the place where they prepare meals. Aside from occasionally using my cultivation secretly to show off and slap a few faces, I kept a low profile and wasn’t discovered by the monks there.

“Then one day, the refectory head didn’t cook enough. When the food was served, it ran out right before the Martial Vihara Head’s turn. He was the only one in the entire temple who didn’t get a meal. The atmosphere was extremely awkward.

“To ease the tension, I stepped forward with an apologetic smile to smooth things over and said to him, ‘good thing it’s just the food that’s gone, not you.’ And that’s when I was discovered. I didn’t mean to say that, but when I opened my mouth, the words just came out differently.”

Ye Zijin wore a miserable expression, shaking his head and sighing as he explained to Lu Yang, “This is a side effect left from the Golden Core Stage. I didn’t expect it to persist even into the Fusion Stage. Sometimes I say things that aren’t quite appropriate.

“Little Junior Brother, you’re so understanding. You get me, right?”

“I can’t say for sure...”

Seeing that Lu Yang wouldn’t go to the brothel, Ye Zijin took him to a hotpot restaurant instead.

“This is a Buddhist Kingdom specialty. You definitely can’t get this anywhere else. This is the most authentic paste hotpot in the entire Buddhist Kingdom.”

Hotpot was introduced by the Great Xia. After it arrived in the Buddhist Kingdom, the industrious and wise locals made improvements to it.

Their efforts were so successful that the Great Xia refused to acknowledge that it had originated from them.

Lu Yang looked at the bubbling hotpot with a base so yellowish-brown that he couldn’t see the bottom. He had absolutely no appetite.

But if I don’t eat it, I’ll be disrespecting Senior Brother.

Lu Yang didn’t dare eat first. He surveyed his surroundings and was surprised to find that everyone here was a cultivator. “Senior Brother, does this place prepare meals specifically for cultivators...”

Before he could finish his question, he saw Ye Zijin reach into the scalding pot with his bare hand and fish up a slice of meat. He glanced at Lu Yang in puzzlement. “What did you ask?”

“Nothing.”

Lu Yang’s eyelids twitched. No wonder everyone here is a cultivator. Without cultivation, you can’t even eat the food.

With the Buddhist Kingdom’s vast deserts and sparse vegetation, the locals had developed the habit of eating with their hands.

Seeing that Ye Zijin had eaten, Lu Yang could only steel himself and imitate the former, fishing food out of the hotpot with his bare hands.

After overcoming the psychological hurdle, Lu Yang was surprised to find that he still had to overcome the problem of taste.

It tastes terrible.

“Let me try?” This piqued the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s curiosity. She took over Lu Yang’s body and also reached into the hotpot.

“Indeed, it tastes terrible.”

After barely finishing this unpleasant meal, Lu Yang was worried that Ye Zijin might take him to some other novel experience, so he left his contact information and made an excuse to leave.

“Senior Brother, when I return to the sect in two months, would you like to come with me?”

If the secret domain didn’t contain clues about the Epoch Immortal, Lu Yang saw little reason to stay in the Buddhist Kingdom. It was about time to return.

If I’m away for too long, Big Senior Sister will definitely be worried about me.

Ye Zijin thought for a moment. “That works. It’s been a long time since I’ve been back to the sect. By the way, Shifu still isn’t in the sect like before, right?”

“Yes, he isn’t around. I haven’t seen him in two years. I heard he’s been busy dealing with enemies and hasn’t had time to return.”

“That’s good then.” Ye Zijin exhaled a sigh of relief. “I accidentally provoked a few Transcendent Tribulation cultivators in the Buddhist Kingdom and shifted the blame to Shifu, redirecting all the trouble his way.

“No wonder Shifu’s list of enemies never seems to shrink...”

When Lu Yang returned to the Martial Vihara, Xinding was sleeping soundly.

During Ye Zijin’s battle with the elders above Xitian Temple earlier, Xinding had been roused by the noise. He had set up a Soundproofing Array and gone back to sleep.

For Xinding, the outcome of the battle wasn’t important. He saw no need to wake up just to spectate the fight.

Entering the Qingfeng Sword’s small world, Lu Yang discovered that a small wooden cabin had appeared. The craftsmanship looked quite exquisite, the result of tremendous effort.

The Cyan Smoke Venerable Lord rubbed his hands together and smiled ingratiatingly. “We noticed there was no place to live here and were worried you’d be uncomfortable, so we took the liberty of building this small wooden cabin. May I ask if you’re satisfied with it? If you’re not, just tell us the design you want, and the three of us will rebuild it.”