Chapter 337: Temple of Killings

Shen Lian had lived in the Temple of Killings for a while, which was why he was so familiar with it. Though, even if he had not been here before, it would not be difficult for him to familiarise himself with it through his divine thoughts.

Chen Jianmei was not an extravagant person. The decoration in Temple of Killings was minimalistic and simple. The center of the hall was empty. The statue of Daoist Master was not displayed, and there was only an incense burner, a futon, a set of calligraphy that had the words, heaven, and earth written on it.

The source of Chen Jianmei’s swordcraft was the heaven and earth, and this was why he could choose not to worship the deities, but never the heaven and earth.

However, Shen Lian could not help but sigh as he set eyes on the words, ‘heaven and earth’. This was so as he could detect the hint of murderous thoughts on the words; the murderous thoughts had seeped through unintendedly when Chen Jiamei was writing.

Chen Jianmei’s cultivation could only be considered as complete when he could write something without any detectable hint of murderous thoughts. Only then he could make his way into the ranks of the holy deities.

Unfortunately, before he even got there, he encountered a prodigy who was a lot better than him in swordcraft. To Chen Jianmei, the injuries he sustained this time were a huge setback, as they marked his defeat.

Though Shen Lian could understand why he would risk his life to research into his opponent’s swordcraft. It was only when he was faced with the pressure of being in a life-and-death situation that he could activate his spiritual wisdom. At the same time, this would help to eliminate the trauma in his heart too.

Despite understanding his reasonings, Shen Lian was still worried for Chen Jianmei. To Shen Lian, losing one’s life meant losing all possibilities. The focus should be placed on his recovery, everything else came after.

This was why he was Shen Lian, and not Chen Jianmei.

It was not as if he was brighter than Chen Jianmei, but it was merely a matter of one’s nature. Shen Lian too, could understand the great wisdom in a life-and-death situation; however, he would not be able to do it as natural as Chen Jianmei did.

Despite having attained the Dao of five elements, but Shen Lian’s nature was closer to that of water. He preferred to let things take its natural course.

All these while, he did not bother with manipulation and plans. He let things take its own course and acted in accordance with his nature. This was the reason why he could attain immortality in such a short period of time.

He sat comfortably on the futon and was faced with Chen Jianmei’s twelve disciples. Besides Fang Yanying, the rest of the disciples only had a shallow level of cultivation. They were just Chen Jianmei’s informal disciples. Seven of them were from Hanhai Kingdom, and the other four were from some other kingdoms in Xi Huang.

There were a significant number of kingdoms in Xi Huang; Shen Lian did not care about which kingdom they were from.

Together with Fang Yanying, the twelve of them stood in two rows and bowed respectfully to Shen Lian.

Back when Chen Jianmei took them as his disciples, they had seen Shen Lian. As Temple of Killings was considered as a branch of Qing Xuan, it was only natural that they remember who the chief of Qing Xuan was.

Moreover, they also heard about how the chief who was a lot younger than the Honored Master had attained immortality two years back. This was a shocking news that everyone in Xi Huang was privy of.

Despite their lack of experience in terms of cultivation and their inability to truly grasp the strength of an immortal Zhenren, but they still knew that Shen Lian was more powerful than their Honored Master.

In Xi Huang, their Honored Master was considered as one of the top ten experts within a ten thousand mile radius. Besides Baoyue the Venerable and Zen Master Fahai from Jinguang Temple, he was practically unrivaled here.

This was why they were so excited to meet Shen Lian, and this was the reason behind their curiosity too.

Shen Lian was not as stern as their Honored Master was, and he had a hint of gentleness on his face. Even though he was not smiling, one could still feel how gentle he was, and that it was different from the courteous gentleness of a mortal being.

It felt like the spring breeze and summer rain, drawing one nearer and inspiring respect.

“All of you are Senior Apprentice-Brother Chen’s disciples. Despite that, all of you are not Qing Xuan’s disciples in the strictest sense, but you have received Qing Xuan’s Dharma. In terms of conducting lectures on Daoism, there will not be much difference in what I say and what Senior Apprentice-Brother Chen has said. However, it is common for all of you to be involved in battles and fights in Xi Huang. Merely listening to Dao would not get you anywhere nearer to immortality. Since all of you have attained the state of Qiaodong and have mana of your own now, I will teach each of you a set of Dao techniques. Of course, there is no point for me to teach you about swordcraft. If you work on it, Senior Apprentice-Brother Chen’s swordcraft will benefit you immensely for the rest of your life,” Shen Lian said as his gaze fell on each and every one of them.

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All of them were pleased. Despite Chen Jianmei’s strong supernatural powers, he was not well-versed in Dao techniques. Even though he could summon the wind and the rain, could inhale clouds and exhale mists, it was merely because he had attained the prerequisite state of cultivation.

As Chen Jianmei’s disciples, they were exposed to his impeccable swordcraft. However, swordcraft was not something that was easy to learn. It would take ten or twenty years to just understand the fundamentals.

At their current state of cultivation, unlike Chen Jianmei, they could not dispel all sort of spells with their sword.

Hence, Dao techniques would come in handy when they were out and about in Xi Huang.

“Thank you, Uncle-Master,” they replied with gratitude.

“With the exception of Fang Yanying, all of you, please tell me your name.”

And so, they volunteered their names, which include Li Yuanliang,Yuan Xuefeng, Ni Hongyi, Pi Yushan, He Gangjie, Jin Jianzhang, Liu Weiyi, Yu Yingfa, Xiao Kaiding, Song Xiuwei, and Wang Gaochang.

Shen Lian passed the Fiery Flame Spell on to Li Yuanliang, Taiyi Jia to Yuan Xuefeng, Steps of the God of Wind to Ni Hongyi…

The disciples realized that what Shen Lian taught them was deep, and each of them belonged to one of the five elements. Moreover, it was tailored to their current capabilities and was extremely useful. They could not help but be in awe.

Fang Yanying was the last. Before Shen Lian taught her anything, she blushed and stammered, “Uncle-Master, I think I am not going to learn.”

The rest of the disciples looked at Fang Yanying; they were surprised at how brave she was. To think that she rejected the Uncle-Master’s offer!

They started offering her words of advice.

Chen Jianmei did not take these people in as his disciples because of their potential, but their character. Those who had evil thoughts would definitely not be one of his.

He was straightforward. As long as he had taken a liking to someone, he would take the person in as a disciple. Those who had evil thoughts would not be able to mask themselves in front of him. If they pestered him, Chen Jianmei would make sure that they regret it for the rest of their lives.

Hence, when they were advising Fang Yanying against it, they did it out of their sincere concern for her and meant no harm.

Even if Chen Jianmei chose only Fang Yanying as his direct disciple, the rest of the disciples were not jealous of her at all.

Shen Lian waved his hand and spoke, “All of you may leave now.”

Li Yuanliang and the rest were worried. Even though the Uncle-Master seemed kind, but they were not familiar with him as they had not been spending much time together. Could it be that he was angered by Fang Yanying and decided to teach her a lesson?

Though, Shen Lian was great with his supernatural powers. With a wave of his arm, they could no longer stay.

“Do you not want to learn because you thought lowly of my Dao techniques?” Shen Lian queried.

Fang Yanying replied hurriedly, “No, I would not dare to think that! It is just that the Honored Master told me not to learn any other techniques other than the Shapeless Sword Incantation that he taught me.”

“Why didn’t you say this earlier?”

“I am worried that they will be upset if they found out that the Honored Master has taught me the sword incantation,” Fang Yanying murmured timidly as she looked at Shen Lian carefully.

Shapeless Sword Incantation was the fundamental Dao formula of Chen Jianmei’s branch. The rest of the disciples only learned the foundation construction Qi cultivation technique that Chen Jianmei had created himself, which was nothing in comparison to the Shapeless Sword Incantation that would lead one to immortality.