Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1532 Xiaoyun Retrieves the Secret Letter

After flying slowly into the interior of the island for a while, Chen Chuan saw a magnificent golden temple standing on the mountain ridge.

This is Donggui Temple, which belongs to the same lineage as Bawang Main Temple. It was built by Donglu merchants who raised funds and recruited people. Many of the people living around here today are still descendants of Donglu.

This is the place where Huo Zhuifeng and he had agreed to store and transmit messages.

Seeing that there were many large and small barriers around him, and that the Zen sect on the island had a great influence, he did not continue to fly forward. Instead, he landed from above, and Chaoming quickly changed and shrank, then landed on his shoulder.

The Chaoming bird, with its gorgeous plumage resembling both a bird and a lizard, would normally be quite eye-catching, but it doesn't stand out much here.

Because Luozhijia has long been an important trading hub connecting the East and West by sea, and has a pleasant climate, it has gathered all kinds of rare and exotic items from both the East and West. There is also a Wanzhen Expo Park on the island, which specializes in selling rare and mutated creatures to people.

More than 70% of the locals are Zen Buddhists. The men wear sleeveless Zen robes with intricate scriptures painted on their arms, while the women wear colorful tube robes, gold bracelets, and their long hair is tied into a spiral bun. This style has both the unique characteristics of Southeast Asia and some traces of the East China Sea.

Chen Chuan concealed his aura at this moment, reducing the perception of others towards him, so that even if someone saw him, they would overlook it and have no impression of him afterward.

It was his first time here, so he wasn't in a hurry to get to his destination. Instead, he walked along the mountain road, enjoying the scenery along the way.

He could sense that this was probably the last bit of leisure before the massive collision arrived.

This mountain is called Xiaoyun Mountain. There are large tea gardens on the mountain. It is now late February, just when the new shoots are sprouting. You can see many tea workers carrying bamboo baskets picking the spring shoots.

Here, a type of fruit called "crispy meat fruit" is sold by the roadside. The flesh inside is jelly-like and tastes very refreshing and thirst-quenching. When cut open, the two sides are shaped like a bowl, which can be held in your hands and scooped out with a spoon to eat.

He bought one as well, took a bite and thought it was okay, but not his favorite flavor, so he fed the rest to Chaoming.

Along the wide mountain road, there are many tourists and believers from Da Shun. When they see the exquisite stone carvings left over from the old era on both sides, many of them stop to look at them and take pictures.

The locals here seem very hospitable. When they see people dressed in Da Shun attire stopping to rest, they will take the initiative to bring over some earthenware pots filled with cool water and ask if they want to drink some water. Sometimes they will also offer some fruits such as pineapple and coconut.

It's clear that there are rules here. If tourists pay, they thank them and accept the money. If they don't pay, they are very happy as long as the temple is sung or a blessing is given.

He also saw that many descendants of the Da Shun people who had intermarried with locals were very hospitable to tourists from Da Shun, and would invite them to stay and eat at their homes.

Many of these Da Shun tourists readily agreed, not afraid of being scammed, because Da Shun had a diplomatic mission on Luozhijia Island in order to keep Chiluojiado in check.

The Da Shun Foreign Affairs Department has a weak presence domestically, but it possesses its own army and armed forces abroad.

In addition, various local businesses and contracted companies cooperate with the government. If citizens encounter problems, the contracted companies will immediately step in and use force to resolve the matter.

In the later period of the old era, many Da Shun immigrants overseas were targeted and expelled by local and foreign forces. Therefore, after the establishment of Da Shun, in order to win the hearts of the people and meet its own needs, it has long adhered to a tough policy towards foreign powers.

Therefore, many people from the lower classes in Da Shun cannot enjoy various benefits in China, and cannot even enter the central city. However, once they go to neighboring countries, they are superior to others everywhere, which has led many people from Da Shun to go abroad.

Even the surrounding countries didn't think anything was wrong, after all, the dominant position of the Eastern Continent had never changed for thousands of years.

When Chen Chuan was halfway there, he saw a money exchange shop where he could exchange Da Shun's Jian Yuan coins for local currency.

Considering that he might be staying here for more than a day or two, it would be more convenient to use the local currency, which he would need later, so he exchanged some money here and also prepared some loose coins.

As we approached the summit, there were even more tourists and locals. The most distinctive feature here was the leopards with snowflake-like spots that lazily lay around everywhere.

These creatures do not attack people as they walk by; there are even small leopards, as big as snowballs, following behind them, occasionally vying for food offered by guests.

This is a local snow leopard, which is said to have been one of the guardians of the Zen master of Bawang Temple. There is still a leopard god enshrined next to the temple, and the place he is going to is on the edge of that area.

Logically, these creatures should have ignored him too, but when he came, the leopards that were lazily lying by the roadside all got up and stood by the roadside, and those that were in the trees jumped down, just watching him walk up, as if seeing him off all the way.

At this moment, Chen Chuan could feel a spiritual force being transmitted down from the mountain. It cautiously touched his spirit and asked a question.

Judging from this perception, this is undoubtedly a fighter at the Dongxuan Temple level.

If nothing unexpected happens, this should be the abbot of Donggui Temple. It's normal for someone to be at this level. Although this is not the main temple of Bawang, it is one of the three major temples of Luozhijia, so it is necessary to have such a Zen master in charge.

He responded mentally, conveying his identity and some other messages. Upon learning his origins, the other party immediately became friendly and even sent a mental message asking if he needed help, which he politely declined.

The other party also knew that someone of his status coming here, especially secretly, must involve important national matters. Not to mention him, even the upper echelons of the country probably didn't have the authority to inquire about it, so it was best to pretend they didn't know anything.

After reaching the mountaintop, Chen Chuan turned west and entered a bamboo forest, where he saw a leopard god statue lying half-reclined on the ground, looking lazy yet dignified.

Next to the statue is an empty lotus meditation seat. It is said that there was originally a meditation statue sitting on it for five hundred years, but it got up and left on its own and its whereabouts are unknown. This was regarded as a miracle by the locals, but this happened three hundred years ago.

He glanced at the lotus throne, which still retained a trace of spirit, though it was slightly inferior to the statue of Master Hongfa from back then. However, the leopard god statue next to it was quite extraordinary.

As he looked over, a pure spiritual snowflake leopard emerged from inside. Its eyes shone with a human-like light as it looked at him with great curiosity. However, upon seeing the Snow Lord Blade in his hand, it suddenly lay down on the spot, rolled over, and turned its snow-white belly up.

Chen Chuan could tell that although his spiritual body had existed for a long time, it must have been lost in the past ten years or so, and it was likely that it had gradually solidified in the last ten years or so. Therefore, his intelligence was still like that of a teenager.

This is likely because as the two worlds drew closer, the power of these Zen followers who had been granted titles gradually recovered, partly due to their proximity to the source.

Just as he was thinking about it, his pocket vibrated, and Tanuki Ghost Story jumped out, only to dart towards a plant next to him, which was covered with many egg-shaped fruits.

It rushed halfway but seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, its body flipping backward. Then it saw a phantom of a leopard standing in front of it, curiously approaching and poking at it with a paw, before it couldn't help but roll twice on the spot.

It couldn't help but roar twice, but in the blink of an eye it was flipped over again. After a few times, it stopped roaring and just stared longingly at Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan glanced at it but ignored it. Anyway, the leopard god meant no harm and was just playing around, so he let them be.

He continued northwest, bypassing the outer buildings of the temple, and came to an open area where there were individual shrines of worship, each of different heights.

The large, exquisite, and magnificent structure is seven or eight stories high. It is made entirely of ironwood, which is abundant in this area. It is as solid as stone, emits a unique fragrance, and is resistant to wind, fire, and earthquakes after it is built.

The smaller ones are simply made of brick and wood, and are no more than two meters high. These types of shrines are the most numerous, and are usually worshipped by the island's local people.

The white niche tower in the very center was built by the temple and served as a place to store and safeguard important letters and items.

Chen Chuan glanced at the towering pagoda, which was over fifty meters tall. It was indeed a good idea to put important information here. With the Zen masters of Dongxuan Temple overseeing things, there was no need to worry about any problems arising.

Upon arriving at the tower, a young Zen master, about twelve or thirteen years old, with delicate features, greeted him. As he approached, the young Zen master bowed and said in fluent Da Shun dialect, "May the Lord be well."

Chen Chuan said, "I've come to retrieve what I'm keeping safe."

As he spoke, he took out a key that Huo Zhuifeng had asked someone to give him beforehand, gestured to the other party, and then threw some coins he had just exchanged into a red and white ceramic jar next to him, making a clinking sound.

Upon seeing this, the young Zen master bowed deeply and earnestly said, "Thank you, believer. Please come this way."

He led Chen Chuan into the White Pagoda, where the temple guards on both sides opened the thick doors for them.

The actual process of obtaining the item was far more complicated than this; he had received prior instructions from the Dharma Master, who had deliberately simplified all the procedures.

Chen Chuan followed him into the tower. As they passed through a corridor, they saw that the niches inside the tower were covered with numbers, which turned out to be arranged combination safes.

Although these things feel out of place here, they also seem strangely reasonable.

The young Zen master led him to a VIP room where items were stored separately, bowed, and left.

He walked to the wall, entered the password, inserted the key, turned it around, and opened it. Inside, he found a thick stack of documents with dates marked on paper labels in the pages.

His eyes flickered slightly. It seemed that Huo Zhuifeng had indeed found quite a few clues. So he took the items over, walked to the sofa, sat down, and began to look through them.

……

……

(End of this chapter)