Longevity by Grinding Skills-Chapter 62: The Crowd Gathers

The back courtyard, huh?

Xu Yunfan gazed at the tightly shut, vermilion-lacquered gate not far away.

He took a long, deep look. Just as he was about to turn and leave, his feet suddenly stopped.

A gray-robed monk of an incredibly imposing stature had appeared in the corner of the wall at some unknown time, standing no more than ten-odd meters away. Muscles rippled like burrowing earth dragons beneath his coarse kasaya, and with every breath, two distinct plumes of hot mist, like white silk, were clearly visible. And yet, his eyes and brows held a compassionate expression as he looked at him with a smile.

’What a tall monk. He must be at least two and a half meters tall!’

’Standing there, he was the very image of a Vajra Arhat.’

"This humble monk is Pu Wu. Patron, you have been wandering the temple all day. Might I ask what you are looking for?"

"I have long heard of the Thousand Buddha Temple’s fame. Now that I’m here today, I naturally wish to see every nook and cranny to be satisfied."

As he spoke, Xu Yunfan sized up the monk.

’Skin as tough as leather, tendons like coiled serpents, muscles like bulging mountains.’

’Great Mastery of Skin Cultivation. He’s at least a First-Level Martial Artist. Though his veins are visible, they don’t have that explosive, twitching quality. He’s still a ways off from Great Mastery of Muscle Training.’

’I don’t know how he grew to be like this, but to reach such a height and build is simply astonishing. With this gifted physique alone, he could probably fight a Second Level Martial Artist to a standstill.’

’A character like this wouldn’t normally come out and scare the pilgrims and tourists for no reason.’

Pu Wu seemed to have a moment of realization and said with a smile, "Patron, please don’t go any further. The area beyond is the living quarters for our temple’s monks."

Xu Yunfan nodded. "Thank you for informing me, Master."

He didn’t linger and turned to leave.

Pu Wu watched Xu Yunfan’s retreating back until it disappeared from sight. Only then did he slowly turn, step forward, push open the vermilion-lacquered gate, and walk inside.

After eating the special vegetarian meal of the Thousand Buddha Temple, Xu Yunfan wiped his mouth and quickly left the temple grounds.

Since his search of the front courtyards had yielded nothing, he would naturally have to wait for nightfall to act.

In a forest not far from the Thousand Buddha Temple, Xu Yunfan, with nothing else to do, repeatedly tugged at the Extreme Dao Relic Shell while constantly trying to conceal his figure.

’You continuously hid your tracks and presence, evading the notice of a rabbit and approaching it silently. Your Hunting Skill Level has increased.’

’CLICK.’

Xu Yunfan darted out from behind a tree and pinned a fleeing rabbit with his foot. Seeing the notification about his Hunting Skill Level increasing pop up in his vision, a smile couldn’t help but appear on his face.

Then, he relaxed his foot, and the rabbit darted out from under it again. Xu Yunfan repeated the process, moving his body once more into concealment behind a tree, approaching in absolute silence.

Ever since his Hunting Skill had reached the entry-level, he had used it often, but he still hadn’t reached Minor Achievement.

’My Skill Level is still short by at least a hundred-odd points.’

With time to kill and formidable Martial Monks inside the Thousand Buddha Temple, it was obviously not a good idea to practice the loud movements of the Cloak Hammer. Practicing his Hunting Skill was a decent alternative.

He continued until late into the night. Xu Yunfan looked up at the bright moon and sparse stars. Just as he was about to head back up the mountain, his gaze flickered and shifted to the top of a nearby tree.

He quickly strapped the Extreme Dao Relic Shell to his body. The fascia in the arches of his feet tightened like bowstrings, and he exerted force with his entire body as a single unit. This allowed him to glide as if skimming the ground, making no sound of crushed leaves or rustling clothes. Under the control of his qi and blood, his seven hundred and twenty bones transformed into a precise mechanism.

Fifteen zhang away, amidst the branches of an ancient cypress, three silhouettes bobbed with the movement of the treetop.

"That Divine Weapon... is it really nearby?"

A somewhat shrill voice spoke up, full of doubt.

"Who knows? There are so many rumors flying around Beiye City right now. Some say it’s on The Eight-Hundred-Mile Desolate River Ice-Plains, some say it’s inside the Thousand Buddha Temple, and others say it’s on some nameless cliff. The hell if I know."

A burly, bearded man sat cross-legged on a branch as thick as a bowl. The muscles of his thighs were so tight they created a ring-shaped indentation in the wood. His voice was rough and gruff, tinged with frustration.

"Those sons of bitches selling information in Beiye City are black-hearted. I bet they’d even mix Mind Enchanting Powder into the incense ashes from the Thousand Buddha Temple."

"We’ve been searching for days and haven’t found jack squat. A complete waste of time."

The scar-faced man hanging upside down below the other two suddenly opened his eyes, his steady voice ringing out.

"Alright, enough. There may be many Martial Monks in the Thousand Buddha Temple, but we’re not the only three here tonight. I’m afraid plenty of others have the same idea as us."

After a moment of silence, the shrill voice spoke again, a note of worry in it.

"The Warriors of the Thousand Buddha Temple are famous throughout Qingzhou. I fear they won’t be easy to deal with."

"What’s there to be afraid of? We don’t have to be the ones to stick our necks out. We can just fish in troubled waters. Besides..."

The bearded man casually grabbed a nearby branch. As he flexed his knuckles, the wood crumbled like flour, showering down in a cascade of dust.

"I, for one, would love to meet those bald donkeys and see just how tough these Warriors, brewed up with the Thousand Buddha Temple’s Secret Medicines, really are."

After some discussion, the group quickly came to a decision. They activated their Body Techniques and sped toward the Thousand Buddha Temple.

The scar-faced man suddenly launched himself forward, the tips of his toes leaving a spiderweb of cracks on the tree trunk.

The three of them transformed into gray blurs, racing toward the temple. The friction of their coarse cloth against the air actually produced a hiss like a viper flicking its tongue.

’The Divine Weapon again.’

Watching the three figures retreat into the distance, Xu Yunfan emerged, feeling somewhat speechless. Three Martial Masters, at First Level Great Mastery at least, had just shown up...

’No matter how you look at it, the Divine Weapon couldn’t possibly be in the Thousand Buddha Temple. These Mortal Martial People are driving themselves crazy over it.’

In the past, if three First-Level Martial Artists were to appear together in Beiye City, even the city’s Governor would have to take notice. But now, with news of the Divine Weapon spreading, numerous experts were converging from all directions.

However... with these hot-headed people leading the charge, it would be much easier for him to find those Powerful Awakening Bodhisattva statues. If Qin Bo wasn’t lying, there was a high probability they were in the back courtyard.

Late at night, Xu Yunfan made his way unhurriedly to the temple’s western wall. The buildings here were a continuous, rolling series of structures, making it extremely easy to climb over and slip inside.

Along the way, he had seen at least five other groups with the same idea.

Everyone basically maintained a safe distance from one another, not getting too close.

From time to time, the sound of curses could be heard as people recognized one another.

"Song Qing, you killed my junior sister! I will make you pay for it with your blood this time!"

"Diao Yunjiang, you treacherous bastard! Now that I’ve run into you today, I’ll be sure to teach you a lesson you won’t forget!"

"..."

Despite the fierce cursing, everyone had a tacit understanding not to actually fight, afraid of alerting the monks inside the temple.

The western wall of the Thousand Buddha Temple.

Xu Yunfan, his face masked and his figure concealed, looked at the base of the temple’s western wall. At least six or seven people dressed in black stood pressed up against it.

The group of people looked at each other, and an agreement was quickly reached.

Immediately, someone spoke up in a deliberately raspy voice.

"Since it’s like this, let’s all just go our separate ways."

Everyone readily agreed.

Xu Yunfan found the deliberately coarse and raspy voice somewhat familiar. After a closer look, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

’Su Shiyu?!’

’This woman... I don’t know where she learned her shoddy kung fu, but she threw out a grappling hook with practiced ease and scrambled up the high temple wall with both her hands and feet.’

’Though the way she exerted her strength was extremely crude, her movements were nimble. It was obvious she had practiced this specific sequence countless times to achieve such an effect.’

The others didn’t hesitate either. Each displayed their own unique skills, swiftly scaling the wall and dispersing in all directions.

Xu Yunfan looked up and couldn’t help but sigh. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

’I’m afraid there are more people who have snuck into the Thousand Buddha Temple than there are monks.’

’On the eaves, in the corners, under the roofs... there’s almost no room left for anyone to stand.’

’Where did all these people come from?!!’

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