Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest-Chapter 564 - : Taking the Blame

Chapter 564: Chapter 564: Taking the Blame

It actually worked!

Seeing Zhitong flee in disarray, Xu Yingyi’s eyes held a complex meaning as he looked at Wang Chen.

He nominated Wang Chen as the chief representative not only because the status of the West Sea Sect was detached, but more importantly, he wanted to push the latter to the forefront to facilitate his own actions behind the scenes.

The position of the chief representative might seem desirable, but it wasn’t easy to assume.

One hundred and seventy-six Sect representatives were watching, each with their own agendas; Xu Yingyi didn’t believe he possessed the domineering presence to command such a group of elites to bow their heads and obey.

However, Xu Yingyi wanted to maintain the initiative, so he chose Wang Chen as his “public” spokesperson.

To his surprise, Wang Chen, despite his youthful appearance, acted with considerable shrewdness; with a simple tactic of retreating to advance, he managed to turn the situation around in an instant.

And he gained the support and trust of the other Cultivators!

Though he felt some regret, Xu Yingyi wasn’t foolhardy enough to jump out and disagree at this moment.

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He laughed, “You really don’t know how to appreciate a favor when you see one!”

The group of Cultivators deeply agreed.

Xu Yingyi’s words stirred up everyone’s pride.

After half a pot of tea’s time had passed, Zhitong returned.

He bowed to Wang Chen with a respectful demeanor and said, “Chief Wang, our Temple’s Abbot invites you to the monastery for a discussion…”

“Speak plainly.”

Wang Chen remained unmoved and said lightly, “There is nothing that cannot be said in front of everybody. We, the one hundred and seventy-six Taoist Sects, are branches of the same tree; I can’t possibly leave my Daoist fellows and have a private talk with your Abbot!”

If he went alone, no matter what was discussed with the Abbot of Mysterious Origin Temple, it could easily invite criticism.

“This…”

Zhitong showed a troubled look—surely he couldn’t ask all these Cultivators to stampede to the monastery?

This wasn’t a mass brawl!

Yet Wang Chen’s stance was incredibly firm.

“Or perhaps…”

Wang Chen continued, “I invite four fellow Daoists to accompany me, to hear what your Temple has to say. Surely the Abbot won’t mind, right?”

Zhitong immediately breathed a sigh of relief, “Not at all, not at all!”

It wasn’t a decision he made recklessly, but a specific instruction given by the Abbot earlier.

The best outcome would have been to have Wang Chen come alone, but if Wang Chen was unwilling, adding a few more people was also acceptable.

“Senior Brother Xu, Senior Brother Hu, Junior Sister Yan, Senior Brother Zhao…”

Wang Chen called out directly, “Please trouble yourselves to accompany us as witnesses.”

Senior Brother Xu was naturally Xu Yingyi, and Senior Brother Hu was the rugged Cultivator. With Yan Xixi and the highest Cultivation Level among them, Senior Brother Zhao, Wang Chen’s choices were very thoughtful.

The other Cultivators had no objections whatsoever.

Thus, the five of them left the side hall under the guidance of Monk Zhitong, bypassed the main hall, and arrived at the monastery in the rear.

Deep within the quiet and elegant Chan forest, they saw an elderly monk with long eyebrows seated within a stone pavilion.

Beside him stood a gaunt old monk in plain robes.

Zhitong respectfully bowed to the long-eyebrowed elder and said, “Abbot, they have arrived.”

The long-eyebrowed elder monk opened his eyes, and a barely discernible glimmer of sharpness flashed within his murky eyes.

“Amitabha~”

He looked up at Wang Chen and the others, chanting a Buddhist name, “This poor monk is Xu Ming of Mysterious Origin Temple; greetings to all the honorable Taoist friends.”

Wang Chen and the others did not dare to show any disrespect, and they unanimously responded, “Greetings to the senior!”

This long-eyebrowed elder monk, Xu Ming, seemed frail as if he could be toppled with a mere finger.

But not one among Wang Chen’s five was superficial and none would underestimate the Abbot of a major Buddhist Sect from the Western Region.

Xu Ming’s Cultivation Level was unfathomable, at least at the level of a Zen Master.

Xu Ming pointed to the plain-robed old monk standing beside him and said, “This is Xu Wen, the superintendent of our Temple.”

Xu Wen spoke emotionlessly, “As the monk overseeing Mysterious Origin’s affairs, I didn’t expect to improperly arrange matters, disturbing all the esteemed cultivators from the Taoist Sect, affecting the harmony between Buddhism and Taoism, for which the sin is most grievous!”

He bowed his head, “This monk voluntarily offers himself to atone for the sin.”

Wang Chen’s expression tightened, and he suddenly had an ominous feeling.

“Namo Amitabha Buddha!”

But before Wang Chen could speak out to stop him, he saw Xu Wen sit on the ground with palms together, close his eyes, and remain immovably focused.

The next moment, two streams of bloody tears ran down from the corners of his eyes.

This supervisor, who was of the same generation as Abbot Xu Ming, rapidly declined in vitality, and in the blink of an eye, he was completely lifeless.

He had indeed passed away on the spot!

Xu Yingyi and the others were dumbfounded, never having expected the other party to actually sacrifice his life to atone for his wrongdoings.

Xu Ming asked, “With such a resolution, are you all satisfied?”

The cultivators looked at each other, unsure how to respond, feeling it was quite terrible.

This outcome was not what anyone wanted to see.

Wang Chen chuckled, “Abbot, this is an internal matter of the Mysterious Origin Temple. We disciples of the Taoist Sect have no right to interfere, nor is there any question of satisfaction or dissatisfaction.”

He had not anticipated the other side would use such a tactic to respond to his challenging position.

This Xu Wen was clearly made a scapegoat, and he probably was already close to the end of his natural lifespan.

Wang Chen felt utterly uncomfortable inside, but he had no intention to entangle the situation further.

He didn’t want to wear the hat of having forced the death of a great monastery’s supervisor, “Right now, we just want to hurry to Spirit Mountain, lest we miss the observation ceremony and get punished by our Sect, so I ask the Abbot to expedite matters, and have the Flying Shuttle arrive as soon as possible.”

Xu Ming suddenly looked at Wang Chen, his eyes flashing with a strange light.

But the light was fleeting, and he nodded in agreement, “Alright.”

“Thank you, Abbot.”

Wang Chen bowed with fists clasped, “Then we juniors will wait at the side hall.”

He led Xu Yingyi and the four others away.

Xu Ming did not stop them and watched as Wang Chen and the others disappeared at the corner of the Zen forest path.

Then his gaze returned to Xu Wen, who had passed away, and his expression turned cold and indifferent, “West Sea Sect…”

The few words were too faint to discern.

After returning to the side hall, Wang Chen and the others related the recent events exactly as they had happened to the other cultivators.

If it had just been Wang Chen alone, such an account would inevitably cause suspicion.

Because the idea of a great supervisor committing suicide to apologize sounded incredibly unbelievable.

Doubts would naturally arise!

But now with Xu Yingyi and the other four as witnesses, the group of cultivators wouldn’t think they were in collusion to deceive everyone.

Everyone felt relieved, as if a great weight had been lifted.

Pressuring Mysterious Origin Temple to offer a head as an account allowed them to save face and gave them peace of mind for their return to the Sect.

Following that, the Mysterious Origin Temple side did not cause any more trouble, and the Spirit Jia Flying Boat that was to ferry them to Spirit Mountain landed in the large square in front of the hall after half “si chen” (two hours).

And the thousands of believers had by then all vanished without a trace.

The Spirit Jia Flying Boat was over fifty “zhang” long, shaped like a Flying Shuttle with a surface shimmering with gilded Sanskrit mantras.

As soon as Wang Chen and the others boarded the ship, the luxurious and majestic Spirit Jia Flying Boat immediately soared into the sky and set sail.

It flew towards the heart of the Western Celestial Buddha Domain.

A day later, the Spirit Jia Flying Boat landed in front of a vast temple.

Spirit Mountain Temple!

———

The first release is sent.