Checking in for 100,000 Years

Chapter 320: Chapter 320: Great Saint in the Great Saint Temple

”Brother Lei, why is there a temple in this Heavenly Moon Secret Region?” Jun Moxiao asked with a bewildered look as he walked along.

”I don’t know either. According to legend, there’s supposed to be a temple here. Some lucky people find it, while others who aren’t so lucky don’t. Let’s quickly go in and offer some incense,” Lei Qinian said enthusiastically.

The two conversed as they walked and soon entered the temple’s gate, stepping into the main hall.

This temple had only one main hall.

Inside, the main hall was very tall and extremely spacious.

In the very center stood a colossal statue, nearly a thousand feet high, emanating an imposing and majestic aura that inspired awe in all who beheld it.

Upon seeing this massive statue, Jun Moxiao’s expression suddenly froze.

It was a monkey. No, it was more like a Black Devil Monkey.

This Black Devil Monkey stood in the main hall, radiating a domineering aura. It held a black staff in its hand, its gaze sharp and its formidable presence palpable, as it stared into the distance.

Many Cultivators took out incense sticks, lit three each, and placed them into an incense burner in front of the statue.

The incense smoke curled upwards, gradually filling the main hall.

Many Cultivators clasped their hands together, praying devoutly to the statue in the Great Saint Temple.

Jun Moxiao listened intently and gathered that they were mostly praying to obtain more Tianyue Osmanthus Fruits within the Heavenly Moon Secret Region.

Lei Qinian took out six incense sticks, lit them, and handed three to Jun Moxiao. Then, he chuckled and said, ”This Great Saint in the Great Saint Temple is likely the guardian Spirit of the Heavenly Moon Secret Region. They say prayers here are very efficacious. Offering some incense and a prayer certainly won’t hurt.”

After speaking, Lei Qinian walked over to the incense burner, bowed, placed his incense into the burner, clasped his hands together, and began murmuring prayers.

Jun Moxiao, seeing no other option, followed suit and copied his actions.

In Jun Moxiao’s mind, Ye Yun’s gaze flickered slightly upon seeing this divine statue.

This divine statue was just that—a statue; he found nothing particularly special about it.

Although there was nothing extraordinary, the sudden appearance of this temple was somewhat surprising to Ye Yun. It seemed a great secret was hidden within this Secret Realm.

Since he was concealed in Jun Moxiao’s mind, it wasn’t convenient for Ye Yun to use his Divine Sense to investigate. He wasn’t in a hurry anyway, so he settled down for the moment and focused on his Cultivation.

After Jun Moxiao and Lei Qinian had offered their incense and prayed, they walked out of the Great Saint Temple.

”Brother Jun, we should have a great harvest this time,” Lei Qinian said with a laugh.

”Let’s hope so,” Jun Moxiao echoed.

The two of them then set off, flying towards the mountain range in the distance.

The closer they drew to the mountain range, the more vast swathes of Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Trees they could see growing upon it.

Seeing so many Osmanthus trees, Jun Moxiao’s expression turned grim.

His ancestor had instructed him to hang a Jade Tablet on a Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Tree after entering the Heavenly Moon Secret Region. But with Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Trees blanketing the mountains everywhere, which specific tree should he hang it on?

Jun Moxiao took out the Jade Tablet and clutched it in his hand.

The two of them approached a Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Tree. Lei Qinian scanned it up and down but found no Tianyue Osmanthus Fruits.

He couldn’t help but shake his head.

”Brother Lei, why are there so many Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Trees here?” Jun Moxiao asked, furrowing his brows.

Lei Qinian chuckled and said, ”The Osmanthus trees in the Heavenly Moon Secret Region are also classified by age. Generally, only Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Trees over a hundred years old bear fruit that is beneficial to us. This particular one is only a little over ten years old and hasn’t reached fruiting age yet.”

”What’s the age of the oldest Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Tree in the Secret Realm?” A thought struck Jun Moxiao, and he quickly asked.

”The oldest are likely the Ten Thousand Year Osmanthus Trees. It’s said there are two or three of them, but they’ve all gained sentience and no one knows where they hide. Finding them is extremely difficult,” Lei Qinian said with a sigh.

The Tianyue Osmanthus Fruits his Lei Family ancestors had hidden in the Secret Realm were, at most, a thousand years old. They could be considered of high to superior quality. As for ten-thousand-year-old Tianyue Osmanthus Fruits, it was said that only those blessed with immense destiny ever had the chance to encounter them.

After hearing Lei Qinian’s words, Jun Moxiao seemed to understand something.

He now had a bold speculation: perhaps hanging the Jade Tablet on a Ten Thousand Year Osmanthus Tree was the only way to complete the task his ancestor had given him. However, he still wanted to try it on ordinary Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Trees first.

With this thought, Jun Moxiao hung the Jade Tablet he was holding onto a branch of the Osmanthus tree in front of him.

”What are you doing?” Lei Qinian asked curiously.

”I don’t know either. This is what my ancestor asked me to do,” Jun Moxiao said with a wry smile.

Hearing it was an instruction from Jun Moxiao’s ancestor, Lei Qinian’s expression turned serious. After all, that white-robed senior had shown him immense kindness.

”Don’t worry, Brother Jun. I’ll help you find old Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Trees,” Lei Qinian said, patting his chest reassuringly.

His ancestors had hidden thousand-year-old Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Trees in a certain location; he wondered if they could find any Ten Thousand Year Osmanthus Trees nearby.

”Then thank you very much, Brother Lei,” Jun Moxiao said gratefully.

The Jade Tablet hung on the branch of the Osmanthus tree, swaying gently in the breeze, but nothing happened.

Jun Moxiao took the Jade Tablet down, walked a few steps forward, and hung it on the branch of another Osmanthus tree.

Still, there was no reaction.

After testing more than ten trees, Jun Moxiao finally reached a conclusion.

These Osmanthus trees, all less than a hundred years old and showing no unusual phenomena, were definitely not the kind his ancestor required.

So, he followed Lei Qinian, leaving that area and venturing deeper into the mountain range.

Although it was Lei Qinian’s first time here, he was surprisingly familiar with the terrain. Despite occasionally getting lost, he would always find the correct path after walking for a while.

Along the way, they encountered some hundred-year-old Osmanthus trees. Jun Moxiao tried his experiment again, but still, there was no reaction.

Observing this, Ye Yun nodded to himself.

These ordinary Osmanthus trees lacked spiritual nature and thus wouldn’t react to the Jade Tablet.

Presumably, if they found the Ten Thousand Year Osmanthus Trees, those sentient trees would be able to recognize the Jade Tablet and then bestow rewards.

These rewards were naturally intended for the Shen Heng Sect. It was just that now, Jun Moxiao was the recipient.

”If, as Lei Qinian said, there are Ten Thousand Year Osmanthus Trees here, then the one capable of recognizing the Jade Tablet must be at least a twenty-thousand-year-old Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Tree,” Ye Yun mused.

The first-generation patriarch of the Shen Heng Sect had accepted that task ten thousand years ago.

If the hidden manipulator had set things up in the Heavenly Moon Secret Region back then, it meant that at least ten thousand years ago, there was already a ten-thousand-year-old Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Tree in the Secret Realm.

That would make it twenty thousand years old by now.

Ye Yun guessed that in the entire Tianyuan Secret Realm, there was probably only one such twenty-thousand-year-old Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Tree. As for the other Heavenly Moon Osmanthus Trees, their ages were likely just over ten thousand years.

「...」

After Lei Qinian and Jun Moxiao had journeyed deeper into the mountain range for two to three Time Units, they suddenly heard the sounds of fighting up ahead.

They crossed a valley and looked ahead.

There, they saw more than a dozen black Monkeys attacking a young man from all sides.

This young man was no stranger to them.

It was the same fair-faced young man who had been repeatedly inviting Lei Qinian to join his group.

Currently under siege by these dozen or so black Monkeys, he was already in grave danger.