I am a living immortal.

Chapter 464 4 Buddhist Temple, Xuan Mo

While it felt a bit strange, it wasn't a major problem. The two nations had been fighting each other for years, and aside from some financial strain, they'd generally been able to live and work in peace. This oddity wasn't anything to worry about.

As the waiter brought the dishes one by one, Cao Chen casually asked, "Are there so many Buddhists here?"

Hearing this question, the waiter thought for a moment and replied, "Sir, you don't know. There are many believers, but not as many as you might imagine. Most people offer a Buddha statue just to find peace of mind."

"Feeling at peace?" several people were curious.

"Yes, this Four Buddhas Temple is the state religion, and the current emperor often goes there to worship Buddha. So gradually, the court officials also developed this habit, and then gradually spread. I heard that this Four Buddhas Temple is very effective. As long as you enshrine Buddha statues in your home, you don't need to have true faith to be blessed with peace and prosperity. So, whether you believe it or not, there is nothing wrong with offering a clay or wooden Buddha statue. Most of the time, it just makes you feel at peace with yourself."

Su Mu and the others finally nodded. Perhaps the emperor believed in this, so naturally, to curry his favor, the ministers would also "believe" it, and this became a trend. What the princes and nobles liked, naturally, the common people would imitate, and this led to the development of a kind of missionary work.

Although this development seems rapid, it is much more difficult than developing ordinary people. After all, the emperor is not a fool. Why should he trust you if you don't have real ability? From this point of view, this Four Buddhas Temple is really something.

After the waiter finished speaking, Cao Chen gave him some silver as a reward and left happily.

"This Buddha's light is rich and pure, and it doesn't seem to be evil." The old goat said this when he saw Cao Chen's strange expression.

"At least on the surface, this is orthodox." Cao Chen replied.

The mirage dragon took one look and fell silent. The term "surface" was a good use of the term, but a temple so deeply connected to a secular dynasty, no matter how extraordinary, couldn't be so pure. It must have some ulterior motive. Otherwise, it wouldn't have delved so deeply.

A state religion isn't that simple; it's deeply bound to a nation. It thrives when the nation prospers; it perishes when the nation fails, and all suffer together. Its current glory could vanish in a century. Therefore, ordinary immortal sects and spiritual abodes wouldn't be so deeply bound to a nation. Furthermore, according to the waiter, this Four Buddhas Temple only recently emerged and doesn't have much connection to this country, which is even more puzzling.

This was also the reason for Cao Chen's strange expression. However, he didn't dwell on it too much. These matters didn't matter to them. They were just a group of passers-by, a brief encounter. When Xuan Mo returned, they would leave. If this were Yan State, perhaps they would intervene or investigate. But this was not the case. It was just an unfamiliar dynasty, so they wouldn't meddle in other people's affairs.

Cao Chen's expression also eased a little. These were the choices of this country, and they had no need to interfere.

After a satisfying meal, the group quickly moved past this incident and began chatting about Xuan Mo. Xuan Mo had been merging with his water veins for nearly a year now, and the process was almost complete. Once fully integrated, his strength would surge, and he would truly become the "Dragon King" who ruled over the water veins and aquatic creatures of his region.

"Speaking of which, Xuan Mo is really lucky."

"Isn't that good luck? How many creatures in this world can have such an opportunity? He was born with authority and divinity, then had a painting tailored for him by Shen Qiu, and then he obtained the essence of a real dragon and became a dragon. Finally, the water veins in the painting gave birth to and merged with the water veins, making him the Dragon King who rules over all the water creatures. All this happened in just a hundred years."

The old goat sighed. Speaking of resources, even he couldn't help but marvel at Xuan Mo's incredible luck. In less than a hundred years, he'd already covered the same distance that other creatures would have covered in hundreds or even thousands of years. As someone who had watched him all along, the old goat sighed deeply.

Mirage Dragon sighed as well. He and Su Mu had first met in the desert, preparing Xuan Mo for his transformation. Although he and Xuan Mo didn't have many interactions, their connection was profound. Without Xuan Mo, he wouldn't have met Su Mu. Without Su Mu, he wouldn't have had the subsequent series of opportunities. He might still be huddled in a white jade palace in the desert, awaiting the resurgence of heaven and earth, continuing as he had in ancient times, aloof from the war between the innate gods and the creatures of this era.

It wasn't like the current situation, where he had restored his authority in the Ghost Market of the Netherworld and snatched a cave heaven from Di Jun. He had evaluated this cave heaven and found it to be of the highest quality among Di Jun's nine cave heavens. While all nine cave heavens were complete, there were still differences among them: some were larger, some had more complete systems. These differences were related to the quality of the cave heaven. Just like Shen Qiu, even if he restored the cave heaven, its quality and system would not be as good as the one in Mirage Dragon's hands; it would inevitably be lacking.

Thinking back, Shenlong suddenly felt that he should prepare a gift or something.

Cao Chen, the only one who had no previous experience with Xuan Mo, listened to the old goat's introduction as if he were listening to a divine scripture. Could such a being of great fortune really exist in this world? And yet, in fact, it did. This made Cao Chen eager to witness it.

Su Mu listened to the old goat's flattery and shook her head. Xuan Mo's luck was truly incredible. His predecessor was the Ink-Scaled Dragon Carp, a demon and water deity in his own right. Though he fell, he left behind an incomparably powerful foundation. And then, meeting Su Mu was perhaps a manifestation of great luck. If he hadn't met Su Mu, even his transformation would have been questionable, let alone the resources that would have followed.

If we really want to talk about great fortune, we have to look at Su Mu. As long as anyone around Su Mu, without exception, has received gifts.

Mirage Dragon quipped, "I've heard that Heaven and Earth choose specific beings in corresponding eras to guide and promote the development of the world, just like Li Shu. If I didn't know that Heaven and Earth couldn't do anything to you, and that you'd already reached a level of power beyond the Three Realms and the Five Elements, becoming a self-contained entity, I would have thought you were the 'protagonist' of this era."

Su Mu thought for a moment and said, "Maybe not. At least before I reached my current strength, I might have been the 'protagonist'. I wasn't born a god."

After hearing Su Mu's answer, Shenlong thought about it carefully. It was really possible. Although he didn't know how old Su Mu was now, it was at least within a thousand years. To reach such strength within a thousand years...