Chapter 335: Chapter 254: The Seal Acts Up, What Took You So Long?

They were Guang Xiang, Guang Jin, Guang’an, and Guang Shen...

When they learned the reason they had been brought here—that His Highness the Buddha Prince needed an Attendant Monk—all of them grew visibly excited.

Although they had already risen from the ranks of ordinary Monks to become Gami, their status within the Great Virtue Temple was only one step higher.

To become His Highness the Buddha Prince’s personal Attendant Monk would be an incredibly rare opportunity.

"You’re Guang’an?"

Upon hearing their names, Yang An’s gaze immediately fell upon one of them, a hint of pleasant surprise in his eyes.

"Replying to Your Highness the Buddha Prince, my lay name was Li An, so I was given the Dharma name Guang’an."

Hearing that name, Yang An didn’t hesitate for a moment.

"Then starting today, you will be my Attendant Monk. I’ll be in your care."

He looked at the Gami named Guang’an, then spoke to the escorting Monk standing to the side.

The others had never imagined he would choose an Attendant Monk based on a name alone.

They had been in the Zen Room for only a few moments. Was it already over?

The Buddha’s Son had given the order, so the escorting Monk had no choice but to lead the other Gami away.

"For now, you can stay in one of the side rooms. From this moment on, you will take your orders from me."

Yang An said to Guang’an.

’This person’s name has the character ’An’ in it. He’ll be a perfect body double.’

’Of course, if he’s disobedient, I can just replace him. No need to place any restrictions on him.’

’After all, if the Great Virtue Temple has one thing in abundance, it’s people.’

Every Zen Room in the Mingxin Zen Courtyard was a large courtyard with a pavilion, so there were plenty of rooms to spare.

After a brief conversation with Guang’an—from which he learned that Guang’an had just been promoted to Gami, belonged to the Gami Courtyard within the Disciple Temple, and a few other relevant details—Yang An dismissed him.

With the matter of a body double settled, Yang An could finally relax.

’He’ has now become His Highness the Buddha Prince’s Attendant Monk. ’But I can’t tell Zhuan Yu about this just yet. I need to find the right moment.’

The biggest problems troubling Yang An now were how to obtain the flesh and blood needed to revive the Earth Spirit Stele, and how to quickly reveal his true Cultivation Level.

As for his Cultivation Level, since he was a True Buddha Reincarnation, he figured no one would be suspicious if his "improvement" was a little fast—as long as it wasn’t too outrageous, like leaping from the Yuansi stage to Corpse Transformation in just half a year.

That would require careful planning.

But obtaining flesh and blood wouldn’t be so easy.

The only place to get flesh and blood within the Great Virtue Temple was the Eternal Prison, but he obviously had no way of entering it. The entire place was guarded by Elder Monk Hai Shu.

Since he couldn’t get it from inside the Great Virtue Temple, he would have to find a way to get it from outside.

So, how could he leave the Great Virtue Temple openly and legitimately to hunt for flesh and blood?

This question stumped Yang An.

Once you entered the Great Virtue Temple, you couldn’t leave as you pleased unless you were given an assignment.

And as the Buddha’s Son, his status had now become a restraint.

For some reason, an inexplicable sense of urgency gnawed at Yang An.

He’d heard from the Workshop Master that strange mutations had appeared beyond the continent, and that an entire state had even been devoured by some unknown, terrifying entity.

It gave him the feeling that the entire world was on the brink of collapse, and this crisis could spread to the Outer Continent at any moment.

Then there were the strange events on Sansong Mountain and in Dingzhou...

Lately, there had been no news from the Tree of Flesh and Blood either.

’That’s right! The Workshop Master!’

Yang An suddenly thought of the Workshop Master, but more importantly, he thought of the Tree of Flesh and Blood’s container-teleportation function.

He couldn’t leave the Great Virtue Temple, but he could use the container to teleport away for a short time.

But then he sighed and temporarily dismissed the idea, remembering that his current apparent Cultivation Level was only at the Yuansi stage, which contradicted what he’d told the Workshop Master before.

If he contacted the Workshop Master and used the container’s teleportation ability, the Workshop Master would very likely notice something was wrong.

This concerned his undercover mission, and under the restrictions of the Rule Seal, he couldn’t reveal this matter to anyone.

’In the end, it all comes back to raising my Cultivation Level first.’

But ever since Elder Zhuan Yu had placed the Concealment Seal on him, completely masking his cultivation aura, his Cultivation Level had been stuck at the Late Stage of Corpse Transformation, unable to advance even an inch.

This filled Yang An with a great sense of anxiety.

If he didn’t raise his true Cultivation Level soon, he would fall behind. Everyone else was improving, so for him to stand still was to regress.

If you fall behind, you get beaten—that was a universal truth.

But if he couldn’t remove the Concealment Seal first, he couldn’t truly cultivate.

Otherwise, the moment he began cultivating, his cultivation aura would break through the Concealment Seal and leak out, and he would be discovered.

Thinking about all this made Yang An’s head ache.

’Being an undercover agent is so damn hard.’

...

On the third day of the fourth month, a familiar guest arrived at Yang An’s Zen Room.

It was Zen Master Qing Nan.

The very same Zen Master Qing Nan who had brought Yang An from the Cyan Lotus State to the Great Virtue Temple.

Zen Master Qing Nan had not left the Great Virtue Temple to return to the Cyan Lotus State. He had come this time to invite Yang An to attend a Zen Master assembly with him.

Yang An received him with great enthusiasm.

One could say that every day in the Great Virtue Temple, there was some kind of Buddhist Assembly or dharma gathering being held, but Yang An had always kept to himself and had never participated in any of them.

His focus had always been on increasing his own strength. Even if he couldn’t cultivate for the time being, he could train in other ways; he had never considered wasting time by attending these Buddhist Assemblies. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Yang An had originally intended to decline Zen Master Qing Nan’s kind offer, but something the Zen Master said suddenly made him change his mind.

"Your Highness the Buddha Prince may not be aware, but many Zen Masters from our Great Virtue Temple will be participating in this assembly to preach the sutras. At that time, other Protectors and Abbots will also come to listen.

If one can attain enlightenment during the assembly, their Cultivation Level might advance by leaps and bounds. The benefits are profound."

Zen Master Qing Nan wasn’t boasting; such situations had indeed occurred quite often.

At these assemblies, numerous Zen Masters personally preached the sutras. Not only did the listeners benefit, but the preaching Zen Masters also received certain advantages and boons.

This was also why he had invited Yang An.

Those who could attend such an assembly were invariably the temple’s Protectors and Abbots, or disciples from the Sacred Heart Institute and Saint Buddha Institute within the Disciple Temple.

As the Buddha’s Son, Yang An’s Cultivation Level was still shallow; attending the assembly would surely lead to some enlightenment.

If the Buddha’s Son could gain benefits, the benefits they, the Zen Masters, would receive would naturally be substantial as well.

"Attain enlightenment at the assembly and have one’s Cultivation Level advance by leaps and bounds... Is that really true?"

Yang An’s interest was instantly piqued.

’If that’s the case, I can use the assembly as a pretext to openly and legitimately remove the Concealment Seal and ’raise’ my Cultivation Level quickly.’

Zen Master Qing Nan smiled and nodded, looking completely confident.

Receiving Zen Master Qing Nan’s confirmation, Yang An took a deep breath.

’Four months! It’s been almost four months since I arrived at the Great Virtue Temple!’

At that moment, he really wanted to say one thing to Qing Nan:

’Do you have any idea what I’ve been through these past four months?’

’What took you so long?!’