This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 176 The Predicament of Jinshan Temple, Upon Succession as Abbot

The dragon and tiger are leaping and bounding, and the momentum is already there. Abbot Huian's judgment on Zhong Bai was very accurate.

Just as Huian was expressing his feelings, Master Huikong arrived with hurried steps.

As soon as he arrived in front of Abbot Huian, Master Huikong exclaimed, "Abbot, just as you predicted, that Maoshan Daoist has really broken through to the Golden Core True Monarch realm. It's unbelievable, it's too fast!"

Nodding, Abbot Huian knew about this news before Huikong, so naturally there was no change in his expression.

"How's the congratulatory gift I asked you to prepare coming along?"
This time, I, your senior brother, must personally make the trip to Maoshan!

A glint of light flashed in his eyes, and Master Huikong immediately stood up straight upon hearing that.

"Everything is arranged. Junior brother guessed that you, senior brother in charge, would be going in person, so the gifts are generous."

Hui'an smiled gently.

"When you ask for help, you have to have the right attitude. Maoshan doesn't owe Jinshan Temple a single thing. If we want Maoshan to help Jinshan Temple overcome its difficulties, we can't be too stingy."

"Sigh, senior brother, if all else fails, we can also awaken the ancestors from the secret realm, even though we will be punished by them."

"We Buddhist sect can't just bear everything ourselves when something happens, while the Taoist sect can rely on the patriarchs of the underworld, can we?"

Hearing this, Hui'an shook his head.

“Junior brother, our Jinshan Temple is different from the Taoist sect. After the physical body perishes, the soul will go to the Buddhist kingdom, instead of returning to the underworld to serve as a servant like the Taoist sect. The advantage of this is that we can condense a physical body and continue on our path. But the Taoist patriarch is no less capable, as he can intervene in the mortal world from the underworld!”
As for secret realms... the spiritual energy in the blessed lands and grotto-heavens of Daoist sects is even more concentrated. The patriarchs within these secret realms barely survive on that limited spiritual energy. To rashly awaken them would be foolish!

"In the end, the Buddhist sect is inherently inferior to the Taoist sect..."

Huikong muttered a complaint to himself, but what he said wasn't wrong.

"Junior brother, be careful with your words!"

Hearing Abbot Huian's somewhat serious tone, Master Huikong calmed down a bit and said quietly, "Abbot, that's how it is. The troubles these ancestors caused in the past, under the guise of compassion, were actually because they were worried about getting injured and being unable to continue entering the secret realm, so they just clung to life. That flying zombie in Tengteng Town was like that, and the Green Scale Snake King under Leifeng Pagoda is the same. It's really... the predecessors dug the pit, and the successors jumped in."

Even though he was a Golden Core expert, Abbot Hui'an still sighed at his junior brother's complaints.

Indeed, Jinshan Temple is not as peaceful as it appears on the surface.

Five hundred years ago, one of the patriarchs of Jinshan Temple was the abbot at the time, and his strength reached the terrifying realm of half-step Nascent Soul.

Unfortunately, they encountered the Azure Scale Serpent King, who was also a peak demon king. The two fought fiercely, and in the end, the patriarch of Jinshan Temple suppressed the Azure Scale Serpent King with Leifeng Pagoda.

If it were merely suppression, that would be one thing. The abbot of Jinshan Temple at the time clearly had the ability to kill it, but he was worried that if the Azure Scale Serpent King fought to the death, he would be injured and unable to enter the secret realm. Therefore, he simply sealed and suppressed it.

Each generation of abbots of Jinshan Temple basically just sealed it away. Now, the original seal has completely failed. It is only through the divine power of Leifeng Pagoda that the Azure Scale Serpent King can be suppressed and prevented from escaping.

But this is not a solution. Once the Azure Scale Serpent King leaves Leifeng Pagoda, he will surely vent all the anger he has been suppressing for five hundred years on the current Jinshan Temple.

In other words, the pitfalls left by our predecessors need to be filled by Hui'an, Huikong, and their fellow disciples...

Although Abbot Huian is currently a powerful Golden Core cultivator, he would still find it difficult to defeat a peak Demon King on his own.

Therefore, getting on Maoshan's fast track is extremely important. "Junior brother, that may be true, but we have no way to back down from this matter. If we don't resolve it, not only will the seal on Leifeng Pagoda not last long, but even if it could, do you want to leave the problem to our disciples?"
"We can still have Golden Core experts now, but who knows if we'll even have any left in a few decades or centuries."

Upon hearing this, Master Huikong fell silent. Indeed, if they continued to drag this out, their future disciples would be facing a peak demon king, and then how would they be any different from those patriarchs?
"Alas! What is meant to be will be, and what is meant to be will be. We can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Both of them sighed.

......................................................

Maoshan.

In the Hall of Law Enforcement, Zhong Bai was also caught off guard by the fact that he was about to succeed as the leader of Maoshan Sect. He really did not expect that he would have to succeed as the leader after just breaking through to the Golden Core True Monarch stage.

“Disciple, your sect leader has already explained this matter clearly enough. If you don’t accept the position of sect leader, and the ancestors of the underworld send you to the new world ahead of schedule, then…”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai looked at Qian Yuan Zhenren with surprise.

"Master, you know about this too?"

Master Qian Yuan naturally understood what Zhong Bai was referring to, and nodded with a smile, saying, "Logically speaking, I shouldn't have had the opportunity to know about such a major event, but I am your master. After your headmaster consulted with the ancestor of the underworld, he allowed me to learn about this secret."

Speaking of this, Master Qian Yuan felt somewhat melancholy. It was a good thing that his disciple had the opportunity to step into a wider world, but Master Qian Yuan did not know when Zhong Bai would leave. The feeling of possibly losing a disciple at any time was so complicated.

Seeing his master's complicated state of mind, Zhong Bai's original intention to refuse to succeed as the sect leader suddenly stopped.

I am not a child, but a disciple of Maoshan, the future leader of Maoshan. There are things that need to be taken seriously, things that need to be taken seriously, and things that cannot be avoided.

“Master, going to the new world is actually a good thing for me. I know you are worried about me, but I have confidence in myself. As for the position of the leader of Maoshan, I understand the considerations of my senior master, and I am willing to take over the position!”

Seeing that Zhong Bai had given his reply, Master Qian Yuan was overjoyed. Well, the task assigned by his senior brother, the sect leader, was now complete.

"Haha, very good, my disciple. Now that you have agreed, we can start preparing with peace of mind. By the way, the invitations to other Taoist and Buddhist sects have been sent out. My disciple, you just need to wait for the time to come."

After saying that, the complex expression on Master Qian Yuan's face vanished in an instant, and he strode away from the Hall of Law Enforcement, leaving Zhong Bai alone with a sense of helplessness.

Time passed quickly. The relationship between Buddhism and Taoism had become somewhat delicate because of the incident in Tengteng Town. Now, with Zhong Bai succeeding as the leader of Maoshan, Buddhism and Taoism planned to discuss matters concerning the capital.

Therefore, the Buddhist sect, which originally only needed to send elders to Maoshan to observe the ceremony, sent abbots this time, and even the two most active Golden Core abbots in the Buddhist sect planned to come in person.

The day has come for the successor to the position of headmaster.

The disciples of Maoshan had all returned ten days ago, and they had been busy with preparations these past few days. At the mountain gate, Xuanmingzi and a group of Maoshan elders were waiting for the arrival of other Buddhist and Taoist sects, and the formalities had been completed.

A golden light streaked from the void and landed in front of Xuanmingzi, at which point a hearty laugh rang out.

"Congratulations, Brother Xuanming!"

"Hahaha, Brother Lingxiao!"

(End of this chapter)