Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme - Chapter 559

Chapter 559: 340

There’s no such thing as a good banquet, no such thing as a pleasant gathering, it’s like sitting on pins and needles.

That was exactly how Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat felt at that moment.

Even so, they still could not stand up and leave in decay.

After all, Buddhism is one of the two great Tao Lineages in the Earth Immortal Realm, a great influence, with a reputation to uphold. Engaging in such pettiness was absolutely unacceptable. Despite their intense discomfort, both had to force themselves to sit it out.

Fortunately, Xu Yang harbored no intention of making things difficult for them; after introducing the effects of the “Grass Return Elixir,” he raised his cup to start the banquet: “At the Pill Origin Gathering, we shall all share the Grass Return. My fellow cultivators, please enjoy!”

“Fellow cultivator, please!”

“Senior, please!”

“Great Immortal, please!”

Seeing this, everyone else also lifted their cups in response, ready to ride this meeting to its climax.

But unexpectedly…

“Hold on a moment!”

An unexpected voice brought the atmosphere to an abrupt halt.

“Hmm!?”

The crowd was startled, turning in surprise to where the voice had come from, at the high seat, it was that…

“Elder brother!”

Peony Fairy stood up gracefully, looking towards Xu Yang and then to the cultivators seated below, and gently said with a smile, “Before the banquet commences, Peony believes there is one more matter that needs to be clarified.”

“This…”

The crowd was taken aback, not understanding the implications, with only a few shifting their gazes toward Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat with knowing eyes.

At this, both the Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat’s expressions darkened, a bad premonition rising in their hearts.

Could it be that Peony Fairy intends to…

“Today’s Pill Origin Gathering, where elder brother hosts the cultivators from South Observance to study the Way of Pill Origin, is truly a deed of immeasurable merit!”

Before their thoughts could settle, they were interrupted. Peony Fairy shifted her gaze directly toward the two guests from Buddhism: “Arhat Venerables, having come from the distant West, you surely weren’t invited. I wonder, what exactly brings you here?”

“…”

“…”

Upon these words, both fell completely silent.

Indeed, this woman had targeted them, aiming to roast them on the fire!

However, this was not unexpected. The issue with the Golden-Furred Lion was something others might not understand, but how could these Mahayana cultivators from the State of South Observance not know it?

Peony Fairy was well aware of their intentions, so she took this opportunity to expose the matter before all the cultivators of South Observance, compelling the two of them to represent Great Mercy Bodhisattva and even the entire Buddhism, to set the tone for this matter, thereby protecting the interests of Wuzhuang Temple, and to prevent them from using this issue to provoke and threaten any further.

At this, the two were internally furious, yet they were helpless.

Peony Fairy’s strategy was an overt conspiracy executed in broad daylight, one they could not refuse or ignore.

But how to respond, and what response to give?

Could they, two individuals deeply indebted to the Wuzhuang Temple’s Pill Origin Charity, having been won over by the magnanimity of the “Great Immortal Zhen Yuan,” dare to bring up the issue of the Golden-Furred Lion and demand the Purple-Gold Bell before the cultivators of South Observance?

Not to mention the matter of the Golden-Furred Lion, they were in the wrong fundamentally. Even if they were in the right, given the current stance of the cultivators from South Observance, they would likely side with the Wuzhuang Temple.

If this were the case, Buddhism’s face and reputation in the State of South Observance, as well as their connections, could be tarnished if not completely ruined. This would make the spread of “Buddhist Law to the South” all the more difficult and problematic.

They simply couldn’t bring it up, high heavens forbid!

But if they didn’t bring it up, how could they make their exit? Could they say they had come merely to tour the mountains and enjoy the waters?

Hiding one’s head like an ostrich was surely not this blatant!

Caught between a rock and a hard place, they struggled for a decision.

The crowd, witnessing this, also underwent a shift in expression, sensing themselves in the midst of a whirlpool, with undercurrents roiling all around.

The Earth Immortal Realm is vast and boundless, with the State of South Observance being one of the Four States, also vast in its own right.

Many of the cultivators from South Observance present had come from afar, and thus were not privy to the issue of the Golden-Furred Lion.

They might not know the full story, but from the reaction of the two from Buddhism, they could glimpse a thing or two.

Is there a dispute between Wuzhuang Temple and Buddhism?

Are these two Arhat Venerables unwelcome guests?

Peony Fairy’s move…

The crowd’s minds were a mess, adding an indescribable tension to the atmosphere.

Peony Fairy, however, showed no concern, gazing at the two from Buddhism, and revealed, “I’ve heard that a hundred years ago, before elder brother opened the Tao Lineage of Wuzhuang Temple, Mount Longevity wasn’t known as Mount Longevity but was called Mount Qilin. On that mountain lived a demon, calling itself Sai Taisui, originally a Golden-Furred Lion. It overpowered the original master of Mount Qilin and turned Spirit Mountain into a treacherous place to practice demonic arts, bringing disaster to the surrounding living beings!”

“…”

“…”

Such words were like opening Pandora’s box, a clear challenge thrown. Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat’s faces were as dark as water, yet they still said nothing.

Peony Fairy did not wait for a response and continued, “That Golden-Furred Lion brought calamity to this region for five hundred years, killing countless beings. The surrounding cultivators were helpless against it until my elder brother came by chance and eradicated this plague. Yet no sooner had one wave settled than another arose. The Golden-Furred Lion turned out to be a runaway mount of the Western Great Mercy Bodhisattva, who, for some unknown reason, escaped to the Lower Realm to become a demon and wreak havoc!”

“This…”

Upon this revelation, those cultivators who were unaware of the backstory suddenly showed faces of shock and disbelief.

They then shifted their gaze to Cloth Sack Arhat and Pagoda-carrying Arhat, looks of strangeness and indescribability in their eyes.

Such glances, akin to adding fuel to fire, practically broiled the two on a spit.

Still, Peony Fairy did not relent. Pointedly, she asked, “Have the two Arhat Venerables come here today carrying the will of Great Mercy Bodhisattva, seeking to hold my elder brother accountable for the affair of the Golden-Furred Lion?”

“This…!”

“Outrageous!”

“Preposterous!”

With these words, the hall erupted in commotion, with stares of shock and anger aimed directly at the two from Buddhism.

It is said that dragons do not dwell with snakes, tigers do not walk with dogs, and men of virtue do not associate with the despicable!