Chapter 210: Venerable One Miaofa
In fact, when Miaofa spoke, it wasn't just Qiao Wan who was shocked, but also the undercover disciples guarding both sides of the hall.
With their well-trained backgrounds, they were not easily shocked unless it was unavoidable.
This Venerable One, held in high regard in the Great Hall of Light, emanated a powerful and sharp presence. He rarely smiled, his eyes calm like still water, and his figure towering like a mountain. Even simple actions like closing his eyes in deep thought gave people a sense of unease in their hearts.
Although he was a guest, sitting with the elders, he gave off an imposing aura, as if he was the boss of the place.
This is not Ziwei Immortal Palace at all.
The members of the undercover disciple group were taken aback.
Is he sitting in a shrine or something?
But it's not unreasonable to say that Venerable One Miaofa's aura outshines the elders. The entire Zen sect belongs to Great Compassion Cliff, while the Great Hall of Light is an organization independent from Great Compassion Cliff but closely related to it.
The leader of Great Compassion Cliff has not been in charge for a long time, not appearing in front of people for eight hundred years. With Venerable One Miaofa's status, even the current leader of Great Compassion Cliff must show respect.
Therefore, in terms of status, no one present can compare to this great Buddha.
But the problem is that this great Buddha actually knows Qiao Wan.
Which young cultivator in the entire cultivation world can bear the honor of being called "little friend" by Venerable One Miaofa?
The undercover disciples standing by the hall were amazed.
Upon hearing these words, Zhou Yan's face slightly changed.
Even Qiao Wan seemed a bit stunned. To be honest, she never expected that Venerable One would acknowledge her as his disciple so openly in front of Kunshan, though it was all a pretense.
Zhou Yan slowly looked at the imposing figure in front of him, the spiritual master of the Buddhist sect. He set down his tea cup and his gaze turned cold. "When did my disciple become Venerable One's disciple? Why was I not informed?"
Naturally, Zhou Yan had heard of the title Venerable One Miaofa before, but he was surprised to learn that Qiao Wan had any connection to this esteemed figure from the Great Hall of Light.
Unfazed, Venerable One maintained his composure and said, "Right after I expelled Qiao Wan from the mountain as a spiritual master."
Upon hearing this, the disciples on duty on both sides were startled, a shiver running down their spines.
Damn it! The Venerable One wasted no time getting to the point, showing no compassion whatsoever.
This Venerable One from the Great Hall of Light was truly a worldly and down-to-earth presence.
Zhou Yan could clearly understand the meaning behind Miaofa's words and closed his eyes: "Venerable One, please forgive us for the misunderstanding between our master and disciple. However, we are grateful for your care for Wan'er while she was at the foot of the mountain."
With this sentence, it completely severed the relationship between Miaofa and Qiao Wan.
The spiritual master pondered for a moment and said, "I have a friendly relationship with Qiao, and even if I don't say it as a spiritual master, I would still take good care of her. However, as the spiritual master said, if it was just a misunderstanding between you and her before, then where was the spiritual master after she left the mountain?"
As soon as the words fell, everyone was shocked.
Qiao Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she tightly held onto her sword, feeling immense pressure. Cold sweat started to pour down.
Zhou Yan tightly gripped the tea cup in his hand and asked, "Venerable One, what do you mean by this?"
The spiritual master raised an eyebrow and said, "Naturally, I am asking where the spiritual master, who is Qiao Wan's mentor, is after she left the mountain."
This guy didn't give any face to Yuqing Spiritual Master at all!
After Qiao Wan left the mountain, Zhou Yan was troubled by inner demons and had been meditating on Yuqing Peak. But can he speak about this matter?
Zhou Yan remained silent for a long time before finally giving an answer: "At that time, I was meditating on Yuqing Peak and had no knowledge of what happened to Wan'er."
"Hmm?" The Buddhist closed his eyes in deep thought. "I thought most rumors in the world are mere hearsay and exaggerations."
Witnessing this scene, Spiritual Master Miaoxing looked at Zhou Yan and then at Miaofa, and timely inserted a question: "Who is the Venerable One referring to?"
"Of course, it's Yuqing Spiritual Master showing favoritism towards his two disciples who joined earlier, rarely paying attention to this little apprentice."
Zhou Yan clenched his fists, feeling extremely shocked and overwhelmed.
When did Qiao Wan meet Venerable One Miaofa?
Sensing the tense atmosphere in the hall, all the undercover disciples lowered their heads, afraid of the slightest misstep that could lead to trouble.
Ciji stood outside the hall with a big smile on his face.
He couldn't enter the Ziwei Immortal Palace, but that didn't stop him from waiting at the entrance.
He was shocked when he found out that Qiao Wan was the little girl he had seen in his dreams.
After thinking about it for a while, he realized that the Venerable One had given Qiao Wan many instructions, so she could be considered as his younger martial sister.
If his younger martial sister was being bullied, he had to stand up for her. What did his younger martial sister do?
The arrogant monk proudly flexed his muscles.
His younger martial sister was meant to be spoiled! She could act coquettishly and her master and martial brothers would help to teach the bad guys a lesson. They would protect her unconditionally. Even if she did something wrong, they would smile and forgive her.
Under this pressuring situation, Zhou Yan's voice became hoarse and he looked a bit tired. He wanted to deny it, but the Venerable One had spoken the truth. Before this, he hadn't developed any feelings for Qiao Wan. The weight of these words made it difficult for him to speak for a while.
"I feel guilty towards Wan'er..." Zhou Yan's face turned pale as he tightly clenched his fingers. "I do owe her something, and now I am trying to find a way to make it up to her."
"But when it comes to the spiritual master's words and actions, I can't see any remorse." Miaofa's tone shifted as his sharp gaze softened slightly. "I may be ignorant, but I do understand that for disciples of our Zen sect, achieving Nirvana requires more than just wishful thinking. It requires practice on the Eightfold Path. I wonder, has the spiritual master ever put his intentions into action to compensate this disciple?"
At this moment, the other hidden disciples who were watching finally understood. Venerable One Miaofa was standing up for Qiao Wan!
It has to be said that the aura of Venerable One Miaofa is truly amazing, worthy of someone who can defeat countless demons and monsters with a single slap.
Even more astonished than the young friend's voice was the fact that Venerable One in the Great Hall of Light, with such a high status, was willing to stoop down and support Qiao Wan!
Miaofa closed his eyes slightly, deep in thought.
Reaching this point is enough.
After all, it's on someone else's territory, so we should show some respect.
Actually, before Qiao Wan arrived at the Great Hall of Light, Miaofa never imagined that this younger progeny in his dreams would turn out to be the latest disciple of Yuqing's Spiritual Master. His idea to find a substitute in his place seemed foolish and naive to Miaofa. As for favoring other disciples, this master was not doing his job well.
Although they didn't interact much with Qiao Wan, he found her to be strong-willed and level-headed, which was rare. While she may have been slower in her cultivation compared to others, she had persevered through the years, facing all kinds of obstacles, and had developed a solid foundation stronger than her peers.
Though he often scolded her loudly, deep down, he secretly admired her.
The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
Finally, Spiritual Master Zhou Yan couldn't bear seeing his own reputation being tarnished, even by someone as powerful as the Venerable One of the Great Hall of Light.
Even though Venerable One Miaofa held a high position, Spiritual Master Miaoxing furrowed his brow and said, "In my opinion, there must be something more to this Qiao Wan's actions..."
As the story unfolded, the fierce gaze of the Spiritual Master Miaoxing swept across the stage and landed firmly on Qiao Wan. He suddenly shouted loudly, "What are you doing here?! Is this where you belong? Get down from here immediately!"
Qiao Wan was at a loss for words.
"Didn't you ask me to come here, Master?" she finally spoke up.
The remaining words that Spiritual Master Miaoxing didn't get a chance to say got stuck in his throat, unable to come out.
Qiao Wan could clearly sense the protection beneath the stern reprimand. She nodded slightly, conceding to the authority. Before Spiritual Master Miaoxing could say anything else, she turned and walked away.
As for Spiritual Master Miaoxing, his face turned pale with anger and frustration.
It was mainly because he was holding his breath.
Once they stepped out of the hall, Qiao Wan immediately noticed Ciji standing by the door.
"How did it go?" the kind-hearted Ciji patted her bald head with a comforting hand. "Did the master give you a hard time?"
Qiao Wan shook her head thoughtfully. "No, the master didn't give me a hard time."
Qiao Wan scratched her head, thinking that Venerable One Miaofa would be angry because she didn't inform him. But now it seems...
It looks like she was thinking too negatively of him.
Although the senior had a bit of a temper, he was only angry at things and demons, not people. He didn't really care about trivial matters like this.
"Not talking about that," Ciji laughed. "If me and my master didn't show up just now, what would you have done?"
Qiao Wan pondered for a moment. "I always feel like there's someone behind Xiao Sui guiding him."
Although Ciji was big in stature, he was quick-witted. He then showed a thoughtful expression. "Little Qiao means..."
Xiao Huan.
Qiao Wan continued, "I want to use this opportunity to lure him out."
She didn't expect Xiao Huan to hide himself so perfectly. She couldn't help but feel that these two brothers weren't as harmonious as the rumors said, at least they weren't completely without conflict.
After Qiao Wan left, there was silence in the Ziwei Immortal Palace.
On the other side, in the big class in Kunshan, the disciples sitting in the classroom couldn't help but feel a little shocked as they looked at the girl standing at the door and the red wedding dress behind her... the female corpse.
Although there were many different kinds of disciples in Kunshan, including bat spirits, wolf demons, and even cultivators who used sticks as their weapons, having a lively and moving corpse controlled by a corpse cultivator was really pushing the limits for the disciples of Kunshan.
Mu Xiaoxiao was panting, her eyes curving in an apologetic smile as she said, "Elder, I'm sorry. Xiaoxiao was caught up in something and arrived a little late."
Ever since Mu Xiaoxiao was poisoned back in middle school, she still hadn't fully recovered. Zhou Yan specifically excused Mu Xiaoxiao from her classes during this time and allowed her to rest. As for these big classes, they weren't really necessary for Mu Xiaoxiao given her status. With Zhou Yan and Lu Pihan helping to teach her sword techniques and combat skills, she had more than enough guidance.
In Kunshan, the big class didn't pay much attention to classroom discipline. Those who wanted to listen would sit and listen, while those who didn't want to listen would leave.
Whether you arrived late or arrived early, the elder teacher didn't mind. The main focus of cultivation was on the individual. Those who didn't want to learn would die earlier in the future.
Mu Xiaoxiao, who often came late, was well aware of this as a disciple of Kunshan. After all, as students, who hasn't been late before?
But unfortunately, the female corpse behind the young girl had a simple mind. Jiaojiao tugged at Mu Xiaoxiao's sleeve and timidly whispered, "Hey, Taoist Friend Mu, how could you deceive people? I just saw you sitting in front of the mirror getting ready."
In front of the disciples of Kunshan, Mu Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, her face instantly becoming slightly stiff.
Having roamed Kunshan for over fifty years, this was the first time Mu Xiaoxiao had encountered an opponent.
And the opponent happened to be a foolish one.
