Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 545 You can call me Daotong at Wuzhuang Temple, but try calling me that outside?
Fang Yu knelt in front of the Wuzhuang Temple gate, his forehead pressed against the cold blue stone steps, his hands covered with wounds from the long journey.

He raised his head and looked at the tightly closed vermilion gate, the golden flame in his eyes still burning.

On the left, [The Immortal's Abode of Immortality].

On the right side, [The Taoist Family Who Lives as Long as Heaven].

Horizontal scroll: [May Heaven and Earth Live as Long as We Are]

Such a high-class plaque is something only Zhenyuan Daxian could handle.

"I request an audience with the Great Immortal Zhenyuan!" Fang Yu's voice was hoarse but firm, echoing before the silent mountain gate.

The door creaked open a crack, and the head of a Taoist boy with his hair in two buns peeked out.

Qingfeng glanced sideways at the ragged beggar at the bottom of the steps and snorted a sneer.

"Oh, another one?" Qingfeng leaned against the door frame, twirling a foxtail grass between his fingers. "If you could become a disciple of the founder just by kowtowing and begging, I, Qingfeng, would have tens of thousands of junior brothers and sisters by now!"

Fang Yu's knuckles clenched white on the stone slab, yet he remained kneeling: "Please, Great Immortal Qingfeng, convey my message."

"What are you saying!" Qingfeng interrupted impatiently. "Every day, there are at least eighty or a hundred people coming to seek immortality and enlightenment. How could the Patriarch have time to see you mortals?" He made a move to close the door. "Get out of here and don't dirty the Wuzhuang Temple grounds!"

"you!"

Fang Yu had considered what would happen after he traveled all the way to Wuzhuang Temple, but he never expected to be driven away before he could even enter the mountain gate.

"What do you mean, 'you'? You're still not convinced?"

Qingfeng stood with his hands on his hips, looking like a Daoist boy, but Fang Yu knew that both Qingfeng and Mingyue were rogue immortals who had cultivated for over a thousand years.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they are just Daoist disciples sitting under Zhen Yuanzi.
At Wuzhuang Temple, you can call me a young Taoist.
If you really leave Wuzhuang Temple, and you call me a Taoist disciple? I'll kill you in an instant!

That damn thing is Qingfeng Ancestor! Mingyue Ancestor!

They might not be able to beat the monkey, but that doesn't mean they can't beat others!
With over a thousand years of cultivation, even just sweeping the floor under the ginseng fruit every day fills his belly with spiritual energy. If he were to actually fight, who knows what would happen!

"Oh well! Never mind!"

Fang Yu sighed, turned and prepared to leave.

"and many more!"

Qingfeng suddenly called out to Fang Yu, "You smell so strongly of blood on you, you must have killed someone, right? I can't let you go so easily!"

Fang Yu slowly turned around and looked directly at Qingfeng Daotong.

"The people I killed?" A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips. "The old cat demon in the deep mountains, the leopard demon in the brothel, the king, concubines and eunuchs of the Kingdom of Bhikkhu."

With each word he spoke, his voice grew colder, until the last sentence was practically squeezed out between clenched teeth: "But I feel I haven't killed enough!"

Qingfeng's playful expression gradually froze. He looked Fang Yu up and down, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Oh ho, you've got it all figured out, you've confessed without being asked!" Qingfeng suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, but there was a hint of meaning in his laughter. "Then I'll save myself the trouble of interrogating you."

Fang Yu straightened his back, his eyes blazing with golden flames: "That cat demon lured and killed passersby with poisoned porridge, then ripped out their eyes; the leopard demon tortured and killed infants in brothels, eating their flesh raw; and the King of Bhikshu, in his pursuit of immortality, dug out the hearts and livers of a thousand boys!"

"Shouldn't these people be killed?"

Seeing that Qingfeng remained silent, Fang Yu pressed on, "Huh!? I'm asking you, shouldn't I have killed him?"

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng frowned slightly, gently swayed the foxtail grass in his hand, and his tone suddenly became profound and distant: "Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs. The evil in your eyes may not be a link in the cycle of heaven."

With a flick of his sleeve, the clouds and mist in the mountains surged, as if echoing his words: "The cat demon eats people, the leopard demon devours infants, and the king is tyrannical—all these are the result of past causes, and the sins are borne by the sins. You forcibly sever the cause and effect, seemingly eliminating evil, but in reality, you are disrupting the cycle of yin and yang."

Fang Yu sneered, his golden flames burning even brighter: "What a fine 'cycle of heaven'! If it's the way of heaven if gods and Buddhas stand idly by while demons devour humans, then I'll defy heaven today!"

Qingfeng shook his head and sighed, condensing a wisp of pure energy from his fingertips, which transformed into a black and white Tai Chi diagram: "Do you know that tigers eat deer, deer nibble on grass, and grass sucks up rotting corpses? All things are mutually generating and restraining, which is the nature of things. If you use human power to replace divine punishment, you will only bring karmic burdens upon yourself."

"So what?!" Fang Yu suddenly took a step forward, the bluestone beneath his feet cracking. "If justice allows the innocent to die tragically, then I will become the thunder that cleaves through chaos! May I be burdened with karmic retribution? I would rather be condemned to eternal damnation than let all the evil in this world be slaughtered!"

Qingfeng remained silent for a moment, the Tai Chi diagram slowly dissipating in his palm. A complex emotion flickered in his gaze as he looked at Fang Yu.
"What a fine 'rather be eternal damnation' statement. Unfortunately, obsession is like a fire that will eventually consume the torchbearer."

A mountain wind suddenly rose, causing their clothes to flutter.

Fang Yu's maniacal laughter echoed between the pine trees and the cliffs:
"If this fire can illuminate even an inch of darkness."

"I'd rather turn to ashes!"

"Hmph." Qingfeng snorted, turned around and returned to Wuzhuang Temple. His wide sleeves swept across the threshold, stirring up a breeze.

Fang Yu keenly noticed that the vermilion gate was not completely closed, but left a crack, as if silently inviting him to enter.

A thought struck him, and he slowly stepped forward, gently pushing open the door.

With a soft creak, a refreshing spiritual mist wafted over him, instantly dispelling the fatigue of his days of travel.

The moment he stepped into the temple, a clear, cool voice, like a gentle stream, entered his mind:

"Master has gone to catch up with the Four Emperors and we don't know when he will return to the temple. You should find a place to stay in the side room for now."

The voice was clearly that of a gentle breeze, yet no one could be seen; it was obviously some kind of profound sound transmission technique.

Fang Yu was slightly taken aback, then realized that Qingfeng was secretly guiding him.

He took a deep breath, bowed deeply to the magnificent hall in front of him, and felt an indescribable sense of gratitude welling up in his heart.

"Thank you for your help, Great Immortal," he said softly, his voice low but full of sincerity.

Straightening up, Fang Yu finally had the chance to take a closer look at the scene inside Wuzhuang Temple.

Amidst the swirling clouds and mist, pavilions and towers appeared and disappeared, exotic flowers and rare herbs filled the courtyard, and mythical birds and beasts roamed leisurely.

In the distance, the sound of flowing water could be heard, as if a clear spring was cascading down from the mountains and flowing into a green pond.

Beside the pond, several towering ancient trees rise from the ground, and a few fruits emitting a faint golden light can be vaguely seen among their branches and leaves.

Could it be the legendary "ginseng fruit"?
Fang Yu dared not look too long, for fear of offending the rules of this place.

He walked along the bluestone path toward the side room.

Along the way, he could feel the abundant spiritual energy around him, and every breath seemed to cleanse the impurities in his body.

This stands in stark contrast to the rampant demons and hellish landscapes he had encountered along his journey.

Arriving at the side room, Fang Yu gently pushed open the door and found that although the room was simple, it was spotless.

A wooden bed, a tea table, an oil lamp—that's all there is.

A pot of tea sits on the coffee table, its aroma wafting through the air, clearly freshly brewed.

He felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that this must have been prepared for him by Qingfeng.

"Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it," Fang Yu muttered to himself, sitting cross-legged in front of the coffee table and pouring himself a cup of tea.

The tea soup is clear, slightly bitter at first, but with an incredibly sweet aftertaste, as if it can cleanse the soul.

He closed his eyes, feeling the aroma of tea lingering on his lips and teeth, and the fatigue and anger of the past few days seemed to be soothed.

However, when he opened his eyes again, the golden flames in them were still burning!

He knew that his mission was far from over.

Although Zhenyuan Daxian was not in the temple, since Qingfeng allowed him to stay, it meant that he had the opportunity to receive guidance from this ancestor of earth immortals.

Fang Yu clenched his fist, his gaze resolute. "If even an existence like Zhenyuan Daxian cannot change the status quo, then I will find the answer myself!"

(End of this chapter)