Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 796 Buddhist Dharma

Exchange

The next morning, Jiang Baimian sat beside the nuclear bomb and looked at Shang Jianyao, who had just woken up. She asked in concern, “How was it? Any progress?”

Shang Jianyao yawned. “Nothing- I went to Room 506 every two hours and didn’t encounter a dream. She didn’t sleep at all!” Without waiting for Jiang Baimian and the others to respond, he eagerly added, “I’ll continue during the day. I don’t believe she won’t sleep the entire time!”

Jiang Baimian thoughtfully said, “She might be thinking of another solution.”

Tarnan, Serene Dream Hotel.

The lady boss, Aynor, watched the Old World entertainment on her computer with a haggard expression. Her mind was filled with her comfortable and clean bed.

She drank a mouthful of coffee produced in the northern area of the Linhai Alliance and a mouthful of bitter tea before muttering, “Every day counts…”

She would avoid it for as long as possible!

The Old Task Force’s jeep drove out of the courtyard surrounded by a few houses and headed for South Street according to the plan. This time, Genava was in charge of driving.

Shang Jianyao sat in the passenger seat. One hand hung limply, and the other held the Life Angel necklace. His eyes were half-closed as he sensed the possible New World nodes around him.

From left to right were Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Jiang Baimian. They didn’t say a word, afraid that Shang Jianyao’s attention would be diverted and that something would go wrong with his perception.

Just like that, the jeep seemed to wander around South Street, East Street, and West Street aimlessly. It entered every alley it could enter.

In places where cars couldn’t pass through, Shang Jianyao also completed the ‘measurement’ with his feet.

When it was almost noon, he sat back in the passenger seat, stretched his right hand that was holding the Life Angel necklace, and said in disappointment, “I didn’t discover any New World nodes.”

“Yes.” Jiang Baimian nodded, her expression normal. “Only North Street remains.”

North Street was Castellan Manor, and it was also where the nobles lived. Ordinary people had no way of entering, but this didn’t stump the Old Task Force. Even though they had a large bounty on their heads and had no intention of using the help of the servantswho were out shopping for Castellan Manorthey still easily arrived at their destination with Thought Guidance. They then revealed their identities and met Xu Liyan.

ore

Xu Liyan had clearly gained some weight. He no longer wore old clothes or donned an old-fashioned hairstyle. He wore a casual outfit and had short, refreshing hair, making him look a few years younger. Or rather, his appearance and age finally matched his actual age.

After firmly grasping power, he no longer needed to rely on his appearance to enhance his authority.

Jingnian sat not far from Xu Liyan. His hooded robe revealed a tall body made of black metal bones and various mechanical components. He wore an old yellow monk robe and a tattered red kasaya. The red glow in his eyes was intense.

Xu Liyan looked at Genava–who was wearing a black military uniform-and secretly compared his and Jingnian’s steel bodies. He then retracted his gaze and was in no rush to ask why Shang Jianyao and the others had come. He smiled and said, “You guys did something huge in First City. You actually have a high bounty placed on you by the Hand of Order. This makes me wonder if you played a role in that coup.”

“A role that simply took advantage of the situation.” The honest Shang Jianyao would never lie.

Xu Liyan smiled as if he had expected this. “You guys really interfered.”

Jiang Baimian ‘helped’ Shang Jianyao respond. “That uprising involved many factions and many religious organizations. We suspect that the deities’ will was at work.”

In the Ashlands, when it came to deities, they mostly referred to the Kalendarium.

“Deities’ will.” Xu Liyan frowned slightly.

As a member of this faction and a member of a vassal state, he had sent someone to get a detailed understanding of First City’s uprising. He knew the general sequence of events and wasn’t surprised that religious organizations had participated. However, he didn’t think that it had anything to do with the will of deities.

Although his business partner, the Monks Conclave, sincerely believed in the two Kalendarium-Subhuti and Master Zhuangand always promoted the Pure Lands’ existence, he still didn’t believe that there were any deities.

Of course, he would rather believe it than not when it came to such matters. He wouldn’t lose anything by kneeling. Instead, he might obtain unexpected benefits.

Due to this, he didn’t comment and changed the topic. “Compared to what you did in that chaos, I admire you more for killing the real Father.”

He hated the real Father, who had almost blown him up.

“I’m very satisfied too.” Shang Jianyao revealed a pleased expression.

The honest him then added, “However, the Anti-intellectualism Church still has Shepherd Bouillon, eight Elders—including him-and the Pope above them.”

Xu Liyan’s face twitched.

He forced a smile and said, “Father is already dead. The Anti-intellectualism Church won’t keep eyeing me. I don’t have a deep grudge with them.”

“You do now,” Shang Jianyao reminded. “Huh?” Xu Liyan was clearly confused. Shang Jianyao said sincerely, “We killed the real Father and destroyed the Anti-intellectualism Church’s plot, and you are my good friend and brother.”

I’m not… Xu Liyan subconsciously glanced at the mechanical monk-Jingnian-not far away. He finally rationally realized that compared to the Anti-intellectualism Churchwhich was far away—the ‘good brother’ in front of him was a more realistic threat.

“What are you talking about? The Anti-intellectualism Church doesn’t know that we killed the real Father and that we wrecked many of their plans.” Jiang Baimian interrupted in time and consoled Xu Liyan by reprimanding Shang Jianyao.

Xu Liyan heaved a sigh of relief. “The fact that nothing happened to you after you killed the real Father and resisted the Anti-intellectualism Church up to today means that you are already sufficiently powerful.”

Shang Jianyao was just about to admit it frankly and expose his strength when Jiang Baimian glared at him.

Xu Liyan didn’t continue the topic and asked, “Why are you here?”

“Two things.” Shang Jianyao didn’t stand on ceremony at all. “The first is that we’re investigating if there are any New World nodes in Weed City. We want you to give us a warrant so that we can wander around North Street…”

Without waiting for Shang Jianyao to finish speaking, Xu Liyan asked in confusion, “New World nodes?”

There were all kinds of rumors regarding the New World in the Ashlands. Most people had their own thoughts and hopes for the New World, and Xu Liyan was no exception. However, he had never heard of a New World node.

Jiang Baimian replied before Shang Jianyao could. “I can only say that the New World does exist, but they might not be a good place. The source of the Heartless disease seems to be there. In the Ashlands, there are many nodes of various sizes that don’t allow passage but are connected to the New World. One of our jobs is to eliminate them.”

That’s not the job you guys previously mentioned… Xu Liyan realized that the group in front of him was becoming increasingly mysterious and that the matters involved were becoming increasingly advanced.

The red glow in Jingnian’s eyes flickered a few times as if he wanted to retort, but he held back.

In the Monks Conclave, the New World was equivalent to the Pure Lands.

After spending a while digesting the New World information he had obtained, Xu Liyan asked solemnly, “How do you plan on investigating? Will there be any accidents from removing the New World’s nodes?”

“In theory, no.” Jiang Baimian was experienced and relatively certain about this. “As for the investigation, it’s very simple. We can discover it from a distance with the corresponding equipment and use an Awakened’s perception.”

“We won’t barge into someone else’s house.” Shang Jianyao patted his chest and promised.

Xu Liyan nodded. “Alright, I’ll give you a warrant to freely pass through North Street later.”

He was naturally happy that someone could help eliminate any possible New World nodes that sounded rather dangerous.

Without waiting for the Old Task Force’s response, he asked, “What’s the second matter?”

Shang Jianyao looked at Jingnian—who was sitting by the side-and smiled. “We want to discuss the Buddhist Dharma with Zen Master Jingnian.”

“What do you want to discuss?” Jingnian asked in a synthetic voice.

He didn’t refuse. First, he didn’t sense any danger. Second, he wanted to see what these people wanted to ask.

Zen Master Redemption Shang Jianyao pressed his palms together and chanted a Buddhist proclamation. “Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti. Zen Master, I want to know when Awakened first appeared in your parish?”

“This includes when you weren’t monks yet and hadn’t formed a parish,” Jiang Baimian added. “I know that such questions involve some of your parish’s secrets, but please tell us if it’s not too important. We will exchange that with corresponding information that you might be interested in.”

Jingnian fell silent for a moment before saying, “When the Old World was destroyed, a few people Awakened. In the subsequent year, people Awakened one after another, but there were very few of them. The difficulty of Awakening decreased when Star Cluster Hall appeared.”