Chapter 652 - 260: Thousand-Year Dragon Turtle - Arriving at Cangran Island
Chapter 652: Chapter 260: Thousand-Year Dragon Turtle - Arriving at Cangran Island
She was said to have just turned sixteen this year and possessed the excellent aptitude of a Dual Spirit Root.
In two months, the Fan Family would be holding a public marriage proposal for her.
This event was limited to Loose Cultivators. The victor of the Magical Combat would not only receive extremely generous rewards but also win the hand of the Fan Family’s young miss and take the beauty home.
Xiao Chen noted that aside from limiting participation to Loose Cultivators, the notice made no other demands regarding age or Cultivation.
In other words, the Fan Family apparently wouldn’t mind a Golden Core Cultivator several hundred years old becoming their son-in-law.
’Tsk, tsk. I wonder if the young lady in the portrait is even willing.’
Perhaps thanks to the artist’s superb skill, the number of Cultivators gathered beneath the notice grew rapidly, and the air buzzed with endless discussion.
"Sigh... If only I had broken through to the Golden Core realm. I would have definitely given it a shot."
"A new Hidden Clan... Doesn’t that mean whoever marries her might also get their hands on an Ancient Secret Technique?"
"Of course! It says she’s from the Direct Lineage. I wonder which lucky fellow will get her in the end."
Xiao Chen, however, pulled away from the crowd. He had no interest in such affairs.
But before he could get clear of the crowd, he happened to overhear something else.
"What a shame. Why did it have to be scheduled for this time? I was all set to attend the World Crossing Festival."
Following the voice, he saw two Golden Core Cultivators passing by.
The taller Cultivator on the left, dressed in a red jacket, was shaking his head with a sigh. "This young lady is certainly to my liking. If it were any other time, I’d definitely go and contend for her hand."
The shorter Cultivator on the right, clad in an orange robe, asked, "Daoist Zhao, since you’ve taken a fancy to her, why not give it a try?"
"The World Crossing Festival is held every ten years. Worst case, you can just go to the next one."
The taller Cultivator shook his head. "There’s something you don’t know, Li."
"This year, the festival has been moved to two months from now."
"I’ve already made arrangements with a Golden Body Arhat I know from Lianhua Temple. We’re to transport a shipment of Spirit Wood there in advance to prepare the venue."
"I came to the Marketplace this time to meet with Wang for a discussion. How could I possibly have time to participate in the marriage contest?"
Hearing this, the shorter Cultivator couldn’t help but sigh. "That is a pity indeed."
"Otherwise, with your strength, Daoist Zhao, you’d have few rivals among the Loose Cultivators."
What followed was the two of them exchanging empty flattery and meaningless pleasantries.
So Xiao Chen turned to leave, but he doubled back toward the Spiritual Communication Pavilion instead.
He needed to find out more about this World Crossing Festival.
A regular event held once a decade was hardly a secret.
Thus, for the price of just ten Spirit Stones, Xiao Chen learned that it was a grand Dharma assembly jointly hosted by several major powers of the Buddhist Sect.
Its primary purpose was to select children and Loose Cultivators with an aptitude for enlightenment and induct them into the Buddhist Sect to cultivate.
The first part was similar to the Daoist School opening its gates to recruit disciples—nothing remarkable.
The key part was the latter: the conversion of Loose Cultivators.
If a Loose Cultivator had committed a crime—for instance, if they were a wanted Tribulation Cultivator who had yet to be captured...
...they could take this opportunity to flee and seek refuge in the Buddhist Sect.
As long as they completed the tonsure ceremony and received a Dharma Name from the Buddhist Sect to replace their original one...
...they could instantly transform into a disciple of the Buddhist Sect, no longer bound by their past karma.
Even if they were later identified, the Buddhist Sect would protect them.
’In my opinion,’ Xiao Chen thought, ’calling it protection is just a veiled way to recruit new disciples and expand their numbers.’
Although Golden Core Cultivators were becoming more numerous in the Eastern Domain and thus less critical...
...they were still a core force. Recruiting a few more was certainly a good thing.
’I didn’t expect something like this existed. The Compassion Sea region truly is dominated by the Buddhist Sect. Otherwise, how could they dare make such a bold claim about being unbound by karma?’
After all, from what Xiao Chen knew of the Daoist Sect, if they thought they could win a fight, they would have started swinging their fists long ago, completely ignoring anyone else’s rules.
The fact that this situation was allowed to exist meant that the Buddhist Sect had just as many Tier Four Cultivators as the Daoist School, if not more.
Of course, the Buddhist Sect wasn’t just blindly sheltering them. After converting, these Cultivators were required to abide by Buddhist precepts and were forbidden from committing any further crimes.
Otherwise, Buddhist Cultivators would be dispatched to purge the sect.
Nevertheless, according to the intelligence report in Xiao Chen’s hands, a good number of Cultivators always flocked to the World Crossing Festival to try and lie low.
Eventually, clever Cultivators started waiting nearby in advance to catch any fugitives.
Some of the more powerful Loose Cultivators would even hunt people down based on wanted posters to claim the high rewards.
Furthermore, to attract a large number of Loose Cultivators and to facilitate trade...
...the World Crossing Festival also functioned as a massive trade fair.
During the event, a vast array of Buddhist Artifacts, Buddha Water, Buddhist Incense, and other Spiritual Objects would be put up for public sale.
This aspect was quite appealing, as those items all had their own unique uses.
Whether one bought them for personal use or simply resold them elsewhere for a profit, it was a good way to make money.
Thus, what was originally a Dharma assembly had gradually evolved into a regular, large-scale festival.
’Buddhist Artifacts? Buddhist Incense?’
After finishing the report, Xiao Chen felt a flicker of interest. ’A little interesting. If the timing works out, I might go take a look.’
After all, these were things he had never seen before, so it was natural to be somewhat curious.
’However,’ he then thought, ’if I attend the World Crossing Festival, the matter of the Thousand-Year Dragon Turtle will have to be postponed again.’
’Hiss... Forget it. Why am I overthinking this?’
Shaking his head forcefully, Xiao Chen decided he would deal with everything after he emerged from the Secret Realm.
’If the Cangran Secret Realm ends quickly and there’s enough time, I’ll head over to the World Crossing Festival and join in on the excitement.’