"Daoist Li, let us part ways here!"
Just then, a cold voice came from the side. Hong Yin pressed her palms together. Although she did not chant a Buddhist mantra, she already intended to return first.
Hong Yin had also gained something from this trip.
Previously, she had received a voice transmission from the Grand Elder. The Tianli Clan was already trying to find a physical body for her through other means, and there should be a reply within five years.
If this method failed, then in twenty years at the latest, Gong Shanhe and the Third Elder would make a trip to the chaotic flow of space to find a physical body for Hong Yin.
And within these twenty years, the Tianli Clan truly had many urgent matters to deal with, so they asked Hong Yin to be patient. This was considered the Tianli Clan's final answer to Hong Yin.
To this, Hong Yin also agreed. The maximum time she had judged for the Fifth-rank beast to break the seal was twenty years, but the safe period was only ten years.
Twenty years was not enough for the Tianli Clan to use for themselves. In fact, even another hundred years would be urgent for the Tianli Clan, but for Hong Yin, it might only be the time for one closed-door session to nourish her soul.
"Fellow Daoist Hong Yin, I have a few more things I'd like to ask you about. I wonder if it's convenient?"
Li Yan's mind was immediately pulled back. He suddenly remembered something and bowed slightly to Hong Yin.
Hong Yin, who was about to fly away immediately, paused in mid-air and turned to look at Li Yan.
"What else do you want?"
"Oh? It's not very convenient to talk about it here. Fellow Daoist, you see..."
Li Yan glanced around, his face showing a hint of hesitation.
"Then let's go to your place. Chenying is still there comprehending her cultivation. It's not convenient to disturb her right now."
Hong Yin said directly. As the Grand Elder of the "Red Whisk Temple" and a former Spirit Transformation cultivator, her style of doing things was very decisive.
At the same time, Hong Yin felt a little impatient in her heart. When she was the Grand Elder of the "Red Whisk Temple," she almost never asked about the temple's affairs. They were all handled by the disciples and the abbot below.
Moreover, those people below did not dare to disturb her easily, so it was very quiet.
But now that she had become a guest elder of the Tianli Clan, there were quite a few trivial matters, one after another.
But whether it was the Grand Elder or Li Yan, they were both Nascent Soul cultivators. Although she would not have bothered with such people in the past and could have slapped them all to death if they annoyed her, now that the two sides were in a cooperative relationship, she could only face them.
In addition, Li Yan was Gong Chenying's future Dao Companion. Since he had something to ask, Hong Yin could only be patient.
...
In Li Yan's residential pavilion, Hong Yin stood in the main hall without any intention of sitting down, looking at Li Yan with a calm gaze.
"Speak quickly!"
Li Yan glanced at the somewhat illusory figure. He had some good tea here, but with Hong Yin's current appearance, without a physical body, he couldn't offer it to her to taste.
Li Yan waved his hand, and a sound-insulating restriction enveloped the pavilion. Hong Yin watched Li Yan finish all this, standing there without moving.
Li Yan stood opposite her and no longer wasted time, getting straight to the point.
"Fellow Daoist Hong Yin, the matter I wish to consult you on is also about the 'Yin Mountain Beast'..."
This time, before Li Yan could finish, Hong Yin immediately frowned. She had already said basically everything she could about the "Yin Mountain Beast," and more than once.
She had explained it all in the "Heavenly Dawn Hall" before. Had Li Yan not been listening at all? Why was he bringing it up again now? Did he think she was still hiding something?
She was hiding a lot, but none of it would be of any help to the Tianli Clan at present. Did he want her to recount the information of the "Yin Mountain Beast's" eighteen generations of ancestors?
"Daoist Li, I have already said everything that can be said about the 'Yin Mountain Beast.' What do you mean by this? Do you think I am still holding back important information? Although Hong Yin is a woman, since I have agreed to cooperate with you, I am sincere!"
Hong Yin's tone was already tinged with dissatisfaction.
"Hehehe, Fellow Daoist Hong Yin has misunderstood. Although it concerns the 'Yin Mountain Beast,' I am asking about other questions. The technique you used to help us escape that day should be a Buddhist cultivation method, right?"
Li Yan chuckled and asked the question that was on his mind.
"Yes!"
Hong Yin answered without any hesitation.
A cultivator may not necessarily practice only the cultivation methods of their own sect. This was the case for almost all cultivators. Therefore, Hong Yin did not find anything wrong with Li Yan's seemingly foolish question.
"Oh? The situation that day was just as you said, Fellow Daoist. The 'Yin Mountain Beast' is countered by Buddhist or Confucian cultivation methods. You broke through its defense with a single spear..."
When Li Yan said this, he seemed to be muttering to himself, as if recalling the battle that day. This made Hong Yin a little puzzled. Then, a thought suddenly struck her.
"Could it be that Daoist Li also knows Buddhist divine abilities?"
She vaguely had a guess.
"I do not. But there are Buddhist magical treasures in this world. Fellow Daoist Hong Yin, could you help me take a look at the power of this magical treasure?"
As Li Yan spoke, he waved his hand. Amidst a golden light, a string of prayer beads appeared between the two of them, suspended in the air.
It was precisely the "Secret Traces Vajra Suppresses the Sacred Mountain" that Li Yan had obtained from Chan Master Dajing. As soon as the prayer beads appeared, the entire pavilion was immediately filled with a golden light, and a grand, majestic power emanated from them.
Hong Yin glanced at it. Although there was surprise in her eyes, it was only for a fleeting moment. She said to Li Yan.
"This is an orthodox Buddhist magical treasure. Can you activate it for me to see!"
Hearing this, Li Yan said no more. He formed a hand seal and immediately shot a golden light at it.
As the golden light of the hand seal landed on the prayer beads, the eighteen beads trembled slightly in the air, and a dharma image of a Vajra Hand Bodhisattva appeared.
Li Yan poured his magical power into it fiercely. First, the interior of the pavilion was filled with a brilliant, dense golden light, and then, the entire pavilion began to shake violently.
And at this moment, a brilliant golden light also erupted from Li Yan's body. Another layer of golden light pressed down on the surroundings, and the pavilion immediately stabilized.
At the same time, Li Yan had already quickly withdrawn the hand seal. The light on the dharma image of the Vajra Hand Bodhisattva began to dim, and the golden light in the room also began to dissipate rapidly.
The moment Li Yan had just activated the hand seal, a look of surprise appeared on Hong Yin's face again.
That day at the bottom of the swamp, she had seen Li Yan fight with the avatar of that "Yin Mountain Beast." He had used water-attribute spiritual power. She had not expected that his metal-attribute spiritual power would also be so pure.
'This Dao Companion that Chenying has found is not simple. To have cultivated two types of spiritual power to such a pure degree at the same time, could he also have a Three Talents Spirit Root?'
Hong Yin thought to herself, but this thought was only fleeting. Even if Li Yan's spirit root attribute was good, what did it have to do with her?
First, the "Red Whisk Temple" only accepted female disciples; second, Li Yan was a Nascent Soul cultivator, not much different from her current realm.
"How is it?"
At this time, Li Yan's voice came over. Although neither of them had said it explicitly, they both knew what the other meant.
Hong Yin guessed that Li Yan might want to borrow this magical treasure to suppress that Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast."
"How much of the magical treasure's power did you just use?"
Just now, Li Yan had only activated and deactivated the hand seal in a flash. Hong Yin could already sense the magnitude of the power unleashed, but she didn't know how much of the magical treasure's power had been released.
"Nearly ten percent!"
Li Yan answered quickly. If he hadn't suppressed it quickly just now, a hundred-li radius would have been turned into ruins.
"Can you only use this one Vajra Hand Bodhisattva dharma image?"
"Yes, only this one!"
Li Yan nodded.
"Nearly ten percent, and only one dharma image... Not enough, far from enough!
This magical treasure of yours should be an incompletely refined item. If I'm not mistaken, if this magical treasure were to reach great mastery, eighteen Vajra Hand Bodhisattva dharma images should appear.
One dharma image might be of some use in suppressing an initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. To deal with that beast, the difference is not just a little bit. It's completely impossible.
However, I do sense that there is still a lot of votive power in the magical treasure. But even with the blessing of this votive power, it is still far from enough!"
After a moment of thought, Hong Yin immediately gave her answer, and it was specifically aimed at that Fifth-rank beast. Li Yan's idea of using this magical treasure to suppress the other party was just a thought.
After hearing this, Li Yan nodded. He had already guessed as much. After all, this was refined by the initial-stage Nascent Soul Chan Master Dajing. The power of a magical treasure he produced would be good if it could reach the level of suppressing a Mid-stage Nascent Soul.
However, after hearing Hong Yin's words, a thought stirred in Li Yan's mind, so he asked another question.
"You can sense the votive power inside? I wonder if you can tell me the method to activate the votive power. I can exchange it for treasures like spirit stones or medicinal pills. What do you think?"
After hearing Li Yan's words, Hong Yin's beautiful eyes fixed on Li Yan's face, while Li Yan's expression was calm.
Li Yan's words clearly meant that this magical treasure was not his. Then there were only a few possible origins: it was either bought, found, or obtained through killing and plunder.
Obviously, the chances of the first two were very small. For a magical treasure that was bought, the seller or auction house would usually engrave the cultivation method and incantation in a jade slip and give it to the buyer together.
Unless it was an unknown ancient or primordial magical treasure, then it would be up to the cultivator to decide whether to risk buying it. Whether it could be used or not, the risk would be borne by oneself.
The chances of finding a Nascent Soul-level magical treasure were also extremely small.
This string of prayer beads was obviously not some ancient artifact. It was highly likely that Li Yan had killed someone for it, and the person killed was a Buddhist.
Hong Yin, also being a Buddhist, might feel a sense of resistance in her heart. But after only a few breaths, Hong Yin lowered her eyes and rarely recited a Buddhist mantra.
"Amitabha. There is no need to exchange it for spirit stones or the like. I can teach you the method to activate the votive power, but you need to agree to one condition.
As for what the condition is, I haven't thought of it yet. I will tell you when I need it. What do you think?"
After hearing this, Li Yan also frowned slightly.
'An unknown condition?'
Li Yan pondered for a moment, then looked into Hong Yin's eyes.
"Is there a scope for this condition?"
"Don't worry, it won't make you go against your conscience to do something heinous, nor will it affect your loved ones, and it certainly won't make you commit suicide!"
Hong Yin said faintly.
Li Yan thought very quickly this time. After only a breath, he immediately nodded in agreement.
"Alright. Do I need to swear an oath on my inner demon to abide by this condition?"
"No need. Although I have not spent much time with Chenying, I still trust my own judgment. The person she has taken a fancy to should at least not be a treacherous person."
Only then did Li Yan feel completely at ease. The other party didn't even need him to swear an oath. Then everything would be up to his own thoughts.
However, he, Li Yan, had never been a treacherous person.
And Hong Yin also had her own considerations. The cultivation and activation of Buddhist votive power had always been a secret that was not passed on. But the "Red Whisk Temple" had already perished, and Hong Yin had already planned to find an opportunity to ascend in the future.
With Li Yan's current cultivation, she felt that there might be a time when she would need to use him. At that time, it might be of some help to her. So after thinking about it, she still decided to teach this method to Li Yan.
Since the matter had come to this, Hong Yin immediately took out a jade slip. After immersing her Divine Sense into it for a moment, she raised her head again and threw the jade slip to Li Yan.
Li Yan caught the jade slip and, without being polite, immersed his Divine Sense into it in front of Hong Yin.
There was not much content in the jade slip, only a few hundred words. Although Li Yan only skimmed through it briefly, he felt that there was no problem.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Hong Yin. If you have any matter in the future, you only need to ask, and I will do my best to handle it."
"Mm, just remember the promise you made, Daoist Li. If there's nothing else, this humble nun will take her leave..."
"Fellow Daoist, wait a moment! Hehehe... I really do have other matters. I've troubled you a lot!"
Seeing that the matter was settled, Hong Yin wanted to take her leave again, but Li Yan held her back once more. This time, Hong Yin did not press further, but just waited quietly for Li Yan to speak.
"You said before that one Vajra Hand Bodhisattva is not enough. What about four? I wonder if that would be enough to suppress that Fifth-rank 'Yin Mountain Beast'?"
Hong Yin was stunned. Li Yan had actually returned to the previous question.
After hearing Hong Yin's answer, Li Yan remembered that after he had obtained this magical treasure, he had also gone to look up information about the "Mingtuo Temple."
It seemed that the founding patriarch of the "Mingtuo Temple," "Venerable Mingtuo," had refined four Vajra Hand Bodhisattvas before his final ascension, which was said to have made "Venerable Mingtuo's" combat power extremely formidable.
At that time, among the Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators on the Desolate Moon Continent, he was also a top-tier expert. And that Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast" was still suppressed in the seal that Hong Yin had set up back then.
Even if he awakened, he should not be in his peak state. While he had not broken through the seal and was still relying on external forces to fully recover, there might still be a chance to continue suppressing him.
As Li Yan thought, at least it should be able to buy the Tianli Clan some more time. Even if it was just three to five more years, for the Tianli Clan, that would also be extremely precious.