Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi

"That group of old monks from Mani Temple sending this young monk to approach me, truly has a deeper meaning..."

Zhang Yao had such thoughts, and it was not unfounded.

His identity was unique; although strong and well-known, he was not an experienced Golden Core powerhouse of the older generation. Therefore, the person sent to contact him was of great significance.

The Mani Temple was not lacking late-stage, perfected Golden Body Arhats. Yet, at least in the matter of receiving Elder Qingxu, a guest from afar, none were more suitable than this young monk.

"I haven’t asked Master for his name yet?"

Zhang Yao spoke courteously.

"My monastic name is Zhenhui."

The young monk clasped his hands together and performed a Buddhist salute.

Zhang Yao bowed in return and then said:

"So it’s Master Zhenhui."

"I heard Master mention that he came by his teacher’s command to observe my words and actions. I wonder who your esteemed teacher might be?"

Upon hearing this, Zhenhui’s face immediately showed a trace of reverence, speaking respectfully:

"My teacher is the Hall Guardian Arhat of Mani Temple’s Great Awakening Hall, known by the name ’Master of Passage’."

Zhang Yao was startled upon hearing this:

"It’s indeed Master of Passage? A true master produces outstanding disciples!"

He had previously conversed at length with Three Evils Daoist, inquired about many matters of Mani Kingdom, and heard the names of several great monks and virtuous sages.

Among them, Passing Arhat was definitely the foremost figure among many Arhats.

This individual had, in his youth, wandered the Central Plains, earning the heralded reputation of ’Eight direction Pass, Unobstructed in the Central Plains,’ including a legendary feat of defeating five Golden Core Perfection experts single-handedly. He was acclaimed as the foremost in Buddhist Technique and Divine Techniques in Mani Temple over five hundred years!

The previous holder of such a title had long achieved Nascent Soul Realm and attained the rank of ’Great Arhat.’

Nowadays, Passing Arhat is recognized in Mani Kingdom as the most likely candidate to become the next Great Arhat. He also oversees the Great Awakening Hall, famously known as the ’Foremost Hall of Enlightenment,’ showcasing his high status within the temple.

"Zhenhui’s background is solid; it’s worth engaging with him more..."

Zhang Yao initially probed about his master casually. Upon receiving a definitive answer, he couldn’t help but devise other plans.

Properly accumulating merit to exchange for ’The Precious Luminous Golden Nectar,’ who knows how many years it might take? This thing depends on luck and can’t be solved merely by strength.

If he could leverage internal connections at Mani Temple, a shortcut or some convenience would make it much easier, and although challenging to execute, it wouldn’t be an impossible path.

"Hermit Qingxu."

At this moment, Monk Zhenhui proactively spoke:

"It’s not very convenient to talk here; how about we move to another place?"

"Not convenient? Isn’t it quite convenient here?"

Zhang Yao laughed heartily, waving his hand to call out:

"Waiter, prepare a booth for me on the third floor; I’m going to treat a guest."

"Sure, please wait a moment!"

The waiter promptly responded loudly and hurriedly ran up to the third floor.

The invisible Monk Zhenhui, witnessed by other restaurant patrons, slightly frowned but said nothing more.

Soon, the waiter prepared the booth and invited Zhang Yao to the third floor.

Inside the booth:

The round table and wide chairs were empty and spacious. The decorations were filled with Buddhist flair, with only a pot of light, elegant Yuhua tea and several white porcelain cups on the table.

"Master, please."

Zhang Yao invited Zhenhui to sit down, personally pouring him a cup of tea.

Zhenhui noticed his familiar movements, feeling a hint of curiosity, then asked:

"You seem so familiar with worldly matters. Have you lived among mortals?"

He secretly observed Zhang Yao not just from the beginning, but already for three days.

He found that this renowned Elder Qingxu, once in Mani Kingdom, surprisingly wandered among mortals, visited several cities, drank tea and wine, savored delicacies, appreciated the humanities and landscapes, meanwhile observing the daily lives in Mani Kingdom.

Had he not grown slightly impatient over three days, drawing nearer proactively, this Elder Qingxu might not have directly revealed his presence.

This behavior, completely opposed to other Golden Core Ancestors, intrigued him.

"Indeed."

Zhang Yao did not conceal it, taking a sip of tea with sentiment:

"I’ve indeed lived among mortals for quite some years."

"The world speaks of immortals as desirable, yet I find the mortal realm equally splendid and carefree. If there were no Immortal Dao, I might live even better than today..."

Monk Zhenhui chuckled at this and said:

"If there were truly no Immortal Dao, with your lifespan, you might already be a pile of bones."

"Haha... Master speaks truly."

Zhang Yao laughed heartily, raising his cup:

"Let me use tea instead of wine to toast to Master."

Upon hearing this, Monk Zhenhui raised his tea cup, indicating, then took a small sip, placing the cup back down.

"Hermit Qingxu, let’s discuss some business."

"Alright, go ahead."

Zhang Yao also put down his tea cup, signaling to proceed.

"It’s like this..."

Monk Zhenhui gazed directly at Zhang Yao, speaking earnestly:

"In Mani Kingdom, we’ve always adhered to inclusivity, welcoming outside cultivators warmly—the premise being to follow the Merit System."

"If you violate the Merit System, such as committing arson, murder, looting, slaughtering living beings, practicing evil techniques and demonic skills, or undermining the foundations of Buddhist practices... all such acts are considered enemies of the Buddhist Sect and will be hunted down by all Buddhist cultivators."

"Conversely, as long as you follow the Merit System, you can receive merit rewards. This is something I believe a novice monk like myself doesn’t need to explain further."

Zhang Yao heard this and responded in a joking tone:

"Master Zhenhui, I think there probably isn’t any evil cultivator or demon cultivator who’s like an old man on the brink of death, coming into the Mani Kingdom’s territory to seek death, right?"

"Especially for us Golden Core cultivators, we’ve come all this way for the sake of merit."

Upon hearing this, Monk Zhenhui smiled slightly and said:

"The Daoist’s words are reasonable, so let’s get straight to the point."

As he spoke, he took out a round command token from his bosom, handed it to Zhang Yao, and signaled:

"Hermit Qingxu, this is your merit token, which will take effect once refined."

"Every Golden Core cultivator receives the highest-level merit token, which corresponds directly to the Merit List of Mani Temple and records all merits you earn."

"If you wish to exchange merits, you’ll need to carry this token and go to Mani Temple."

"Hmm."

Zhang Yao nodded, refined the merit token on the spot, and hung it at his waist.

"Uh..."

Seeing Zhang Yao’s straightforward action actually startled Monk Zhenhui for a moment before he couldn’t hold back asking:

"Daoist, don’t you want to ask me anything?"

Zhang Yao countered:

"What should I ask?"

Monk Zhenhui touched his head and hesitated:

"Before I set off, I heard from several elder Arhats... Many newly arrived Golden Core cultivators find the existence of this merit token quite unsettling."

"Some even have such extreme personalities that they almost turned hostile on the spot, thinking Mani Temple is spying on them, claiming our merit system is deceptive and so on..."

In fact, he had similar worries before coming here.

After all, in his expectations, Elder Qingxu was a domineering and powerful Golden Core cultivator who ruled over the southwest.

However, after actual contact, he realized Elder Qingxu was entirely different from what he imagined.

"Hahaha..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao laughed heartily and said:

"They care, I do not."

"Since I am the one seeking help from others, this merit token is just that—a token. Why should I act coy and pretentious?"

Regarding the merit system within Mani Kingdom, Zhang Yao had actually pondered deeply over it.

The premise of the merit system is the pervasive monitoring methods throughout Mani Kingdom, as well as a very powerful and intelligent judgement logic.

It must be understood:

Across Mani Kingdom, those performing good deeds and earning merits aren’t just one or two individuals but tens or hundreds of thousands of Buddhist cultivators and novice monks. This scale simply cannot be overseen by manpower.

Mani Temple certainly possesses some means to simultaneously monitor the conduct of cultivators within the entire Mani Kingdom.

And such means must be capable of making specific and timely assessments of each cultivator’s every action, matching their standards one by one, checking if they align with good deeds, if they can earn merits, and how much... and so forth.

Zhang Yao does not know what Mani Temple relies on to achieve all this, but without a doubt, it is a large-scale, extremely complex, and very high-level system that Golden Core cultivators are destined to be unable to resist.

If you want benefits from them, you certainly have to follow their rules of the game.

It was precisely because Zhang Yao understood all this that he deftly accepted and refined the merit token on the spot, without any unnecessary worries.

Taking a step back, even if this item really has issues, his divine soul has the protection of the "Array of Ten Thousand Souls’ Thoughts," making it impossible to be monitored for mental movements or covertly influenced, thus rendering it harmless.

"Indeed, the Daoist is exceptional!"

Monk Zhenhui genuinely praised and, after pausing for a moment, continued:

"Since the Daoist is aware of the Merit List, you should also know about the demon caves."

"Currently, there are sixteen external Golden Core cultivators within Mani Kingdom, and eight demon caves remain. I wonder which one Hermit Qingxu wishes to choose to suppress?"

Demon caves are a special feature within Mani Kingdom.

Beneath the vast lands of Mani Kingdom, countless earthly miasma lurks, which easily breeds yin demons, generates demonic thoughts, tempts cultivators to fall into ruin... It’s truly a disaster-prone area.

In the Middle Ages, this place was once a paradise for demon cultivators, harboring countless demon cultivators, known as the infamous demon caves in the Central Plains.

Due to environmental issues fostered by nature, no one could resolve it, leading to the Celestial Continent Nine Mansions showing disinterest—until the end of the Middle Ages, when the founding ancestor of Mani Temple arrived.

Regarding this ancestor of Mani Temple, due to some difficult historical reasons, his origins and detailed life cannot be traced.

But it is confirmed:

Mani Temple’s ancestor used unknown methods to suppress and mitigate the disaster here, ultimately forming twenty-four demon caves that regularly release earthly miasma, significantly reducing the impact of the disaster.

To suppress these demon caves and continuously mitigate earthly miasma, he established the Merit System and founded Mani Temple, which continues to this day.

To this day:

Mani Temple has become one of the prominent forces in the Central Plains, long able to independently suppress the twenty-four demon caves without outside help.

But continuously allocating twenty-four Golden Body Arhats, despite Mani Temple’s great strength, is still quite a burden. Alongside the continuity of the Merit System, they continue to welcome external Golden Core cultivators.

Regular tasks like punishing evildoers, hunting demons, etc., only yield scant merits for Golden Core cultivators, which is hardly worth it.

Therefore, suppressing demon caves is the primary source of merit for external Golden Core cultivators. A year can earn 10,000 points, and if a Golden Core-level yin demon arises needing suppression, it becomes a bonus opportunity—one action can yield several years’ worth.

"Suppressing demon caves counts as basic salary; clearing Golden Core-level demons is considered earning bonuses."

"The Precious Luminous Golden Nectar I require is ranked seventh on the total list and requires 1.5 million merits in total; without special opportunities, it might take many years..."

With this in mind, Zhang Yao pondered briefly before speaking:

"Among these eight demon caves, does Master Zhenhui have any recommendations?"