Monk Hushu, Crown Princess Shang and the others watched as Lin Mu's body hovered in the domed lotus flower.
A gentle and serene aura was flowing out from it, as if no harm could come to those that were within its grace.
This was the Serene Lotus Platform that many Buddhist cultivators failed to ever manifest. Where as Lin Mu who hadn't even learned a proper Buddhist cultivation technique had done it simply by taking advantage of Monk Hushu and Crown Princess Shang.
He himself didn't have a full idea about what he had done, as his mind was in a state of trance.
"Looks like you might have tough competition Monk Hushu," Crown Prince Feng Shun chuckled.
"Tough competition? I think I already lost." Monk Hushu said with a wry smile.
"What do you mean?" Crown Princess Shang asked.
"Daoist Mu Lin being able to manifest the Serene Lotus Platform is what a Buddhist cultivator would take thousands of years to do. Even a talented one might take a few hundred years at minimum.
And yet, he's done it almost instantly that too without being taught. This is already enough for most Buddhist Powers to consider him valid for a core disciple." Monk Hushu answered, letting out a sigh.
"Those prayer beads of yours have been insistent on running away too, aren't they?" Daoist Chu had a smirk on his face.
"Now that I think of it… they aren't in your hands anymore." Crown Princess Shang noticed.
"I uhh… stored them away." Monk Hushu replied.
He knew that they would be meeting Lin Mu and as such had stored the prayer beads. This was important as the prayer beads would change owners upon leaving his grasp.
They were willing to fly to Lin Mu, and would automatically come under his ownership. If this happened, even by a mistake, Monk Hushu would be unable to ever use the prayer beads again.
Plus since it was a treasure of his Buddhist Temple, letting others take it would be the same as violating their history. It would end up being his fault too, if he lost the prayer beads to an outsider.
'Though… If I do lose and Daoist Mu Lin joins the temple, it would still be fine. It would be the same as giving it to a member that way.' Monk Hushu thought of a contingency plan in case he ever lost the beads.
Though he didn't wish that to happen, as the Prayer beads were a strong treasure and he wished to keep it with him.
"Well, that's a thing you'll have to worry about later." Crown Prince Feng Shun stated. "For now, we just wait for him to recover I suppose?" he asked.
"Yes. Since the even the Serene Lotus platform has manifested along with the veil, Daoist Mu Lin should recover on his own in some time." Monk Hushu replied.
"Got it, guess we can resume talks about other matters." Crown Prince Feng Shun said before looking at Commander Dui. "Show it,"
"This is the letter we got from Qiao De," Commander Dui handed a scroll.
Crown Prince Feng Shun tapped on the wax seal on its top making it glow.
~SHUA~
A white light hovered for a second before returning to the Wax Seal and breaking it apart. This meant that the intended recipient of the letter had now taken it.
It was a common safety feature that most immortals used when it came to secure modes of conversation as well as bigger powers.
"What's he saying? Update on the 'thing'?" Crown Princess Shang asked.
"Hmm… he says he has found the 10th person for the 'thing' but they haven't confirmed yet." Crown Prince Feng Shun replied.
"Looks like he got a strong person if he was willing to offer them a spot. Also makes sense why they haven't confirmed, they might not care much about a Spatial Plane." Daoist Chu assumed.
"You are correct." Crown Princes Feng Shun nodded. "It says here, he gave a letter to that person and to contact him within a year's time if he was interested." He explained.
"Hmm… if it is Qiao De here, he does have a good eye for people." Crown Princess Shang nodded. "But that's not all, is it?
"No…. He wishes for us to have a candidate in mind for it too. Which we already know." Crown Prince Feng Shun said while Lin Mu hovered in the air soundlessly.
"You're gonna ask Daoist Mu Lin for it?" Monk Hushu inquired.
"Who else do you think could be a good option for this?" Crown Prince asked with a raised brow.
"Hmm… now that I think of it, there aren't many others. Daoist Mu Lin does seem suitable." Monk Hushu realized. "Though there is also the other top rankers as a choice." He suggested.
To this, Commander Dui had a few words to say.
"Absolutely not." Commander Dui said firmly. "We cannot trust those powers as easily. Especially if they are not aligned with the Dao Wind Empire."
"Then what about the others that Qiao De has picked. They are bound to be from other powers too." Monk Hushu inquired.
"Yes, but they won't be from any of the powers of the Rust Sky world. That still allows us to maintain a neutrality." Commander Dui explained.
"It also works since Daoist Mu Lin isn't of the Rust Sky world." Crown Princess Shang chimed in. "So he fits the requirement too." She added.
"Indeed." Commander Dui wasn't in opposition to that.
"Well… there is still the secondary party." Daoist Chu reminded them. "We have several candidates shortlisted for that already."
"That we do, but we still need to scrutinize them more." Crown Prince wasn't one to take things lightly. "We cannot make any mistakes in exploring a Celestial's Spatial Plane. If the requirements are not fulfilled, there will be issues." He explained.
"You're right. Who knows what kind of restrictions there are in that plane." Crown Princess Shang nodded her head.
"Though… considering this do we know who else is coming? I mean, we would have to have people fitting all the possibilities and skills right?" Monk Hushu questioned.
"Qiao De is still secretive and hasn't told us much." Crown Prince Feng Shun frowned. "All we know is that, it includes Me, Commander Dui, Monk Hushu, Daoist Chu and Crown Princess Shang from our side."
"So that's five, and if we add Daoist Mu Lin and Qiao De himself it's about seven people." Daoist Chu counted. "That leaves three more spots that we don't know about."
"If it is someone from the other empires we should not collaborate with the Black Candle Pavilion, My Prince." Commander Dui advised.
"I don't think they'll try to make that mistake. Plus considering the Black Candle Pavilion's reach, it is highly likely that they picked someone with a high status from the other worlds." Crown Prince Feng Shun guessed.
"The secondary party shall be under our command for later, so it should be fine for us to add the locals to it along with some other contestants right?" Crown Princess Shang asked.
"Yeah, that should be fine. We won't be conflicting with them later and it will also put them in a debt with us." Crown Prince said while looking into the distance.
While Crown Prince and his companions wondered who the remaining three people would be, they didn't know the one person they were going to invite for the exploration had already been invited beforehand!
Of course, even Lin Mu would have never thought that things would end up like this.
He had no idea right now either, as no conversation could be heard while he was inside the golden veil. His bodily injuries were healing at a rapid pace while his meridians and organs were being repaired.
Far from the mansion, there existed another group of noble mansions and courtyard. In one such mansion sat a mature yet elegant woman. Her long red nails clutched a smoke pipe while she lazily looked up at the formation screen that was floating.
"My Lady!" It was now that a sudden voice was heard.
"What is it?" the woman with the long red nails straightened her posture and looked at the servant that had just appeared.
"Lady Kang… I… I bring you news!" The servant said. "It's pertaining to that 'person'."
Hearing this, the mature woman's ears perked up and a certain masked figure appeared in her mind.
"Oh?" Lady Kang took a puff from her smoke pipe before speaking.
"You're suspicions were confirmed." The servant spoke. "The contestant and that masked man are the same."
"I knew it… That sword intent and that sword skill. I knew it the moment I saw him in semifinals." Lady Kang said as a slight smile appeared on her face.
"What do you wish for us to do my Lady?" the servant asked.
"For now, check up on the whereabouts of that person. If they are really good, we might as well take them along to the Spatial Plane. That Qiao De has been annoying having us to find a suitable teammate." Lady Kang stated.
