It was a chilly autumn morning. Of course, for warriors, they wouldn't feel cold even if it was snowing heavily.
The City of Buddha was bustling in the early morning.
Today was the day of the auction. The auction would be held at Mount Buddha. They had just been informed that due to the large number of people — the Great Buddhist Temple had decided to hold the auction at the open-air plaza of Mount Buddha.
Warriors of the Eternal Realm and with no problem with their identities could go up and watch the auction freely.
The news had ignited the entire City of Buddha. Many people didn't plan on bidding this time because they weren't qualified to do so. Now that they could watch the auction for free, the entire city was boiling with excitement.
Many people went to the Kong Family, the representative of the Great Buddhist Temple, to apply to go up to Mount Buddha. As long as they had no problem with their identities and were at the Eternal Realm, the Kong Family would arrange someone to send them up.
It was late in the morning. The autumn sun was warm. The wind was not strong. It was a nice day.
Lu Li and the others were not in a hurry. They could pay a deposit to participate in the auction. The more they paid, the better seats they could get.
Lu Li was not in need of Xuan Crystals so it was easy for him to get a seat.
He sent a patriarch to negotiate with the Kong Family. An hour before the auction, a patriarch came in and said, "It's done. Get me a private room that can seat three people."
"Let's go!"
They could go up to Mount Buddha in an hour.
Lu Li looked at Gu Min and the patriarch of the Gu Family. The three of them walked out.
They found the Kong Family and were led to Mount Buddha on foot.
Lu Li was not qualified to fly up to Mount Buddha yet. He would be killed in midair if he were to act recklessly.
At the foot of Mount Buddha was a stone staircase. Similar to the winding mountain road in the Tomb of Dragon King, the stone staircase spiraled up to the sky.
There were two monks guarding at the entrance of the staircase. They were in brown frock and looked serious. Both of them were at the peak of the Noble Lord Realm. It was evident how strict the Great Buddhist Temple was with this auction.
A steward of the Kong Family led Lu Li, Gu Min and the other two up.
There were many stairs but they were quite powerful. In the time for one incense stick to burn, they had reached the peak.
The peak was spacious. What they saw was a towering temple with nine floors.
The temple was at the north of Mount Buddha with a radius of at least two miles. It was the largest temple Lu Li had ever seen.
Apart from the temple at the north, there were other temples everywhere. There were no other buildings here.
"So many people!"
Lu Li glanced over. There were at least 10,000 people sitting in the plaza. It was noisy, like a market.
Lu Li looked at the private rooms in a semicircle. They were called private rooms, but in fact, they were just some casually built wooden huts. The front was blocked off by a veil. Lu Li could sense the people inside with psychic power.
Of course …
Those who could enter the private rooms were all people of noble status. Perhaps there were Human Renhuangs sitting in some of the private rooms. Who would dare to use their divine consciousness to probe around?
On both sides of the square stood rows of brown-robed monks holding black wooden sticks. All of them had bronze-colored skin and cold expressions.
Needless to say, they were existences similar to Arhats from the Great Buddhist Temple. These were all monks, and their task was to maintain the order of the auction.
"They are all at the peak of the Noble Lord Realm!"
Lu Li nodded to himself. There were at least hundreds of monks outside and all of them were at the peak of the Noble Lord Realm. The Great Buddhist Temple was powerful and the 12 Royal Families lived up to their name.
"Royal family?"
Lu Li suddenly thought of something. He murmured to Gu Min, "Monks don't have descendants or families, right?
Who is the royal family of the Great Buddhist Temple? "
"It is the Kong Family!"
Gu Min looked around and said in a low voice, "Monks of the Great Buddhist Temple can return to secular life at will. They are not restricted whether they want to leave the mortal world or not.
The last 10 generations of abbot were all from the Kong Family. Therefore, the Royal Family is the Kong Family. "
"So that is it!"
Lu Li understood now. Leaving the mortal world was easy. There was no difference between becoming a monk or not.
If they wanted to get married and have children, they could return to secular life. When they had children, they could become monks again …
Lu Li saw many nuns walking around. He winked at Gu Min who explained in a low voice, "Actually, the Great Buddhist Temple is made up of more than a dozen families. Young masters and young ladies of those families will join the Great Buddhist Temple.
Both men and women can become monks. When they are old enough to get married, they can return to secular life and get married.
Of course, there are warriors from the outside who become monks. The Great Buddhist Temple does not restrict men and women. As long as you have Buddha in your heart, you don't even have to abstain from eating and drinking … "
"Oh, I see."
Lu Li understood now. But he didn't like the Great Buddhist Temple anymore.
If the Great Buddhist Temple were truly devoted to Buddha, they wouldn't be reluctant to leave the mortal world, nor would they strive to become one of the 12 top forces of the continent.
The Cyan Phoenix Race and the Mammoth Race were once besieged by six forces, including the Great Buddhist Temple.
The monks and nuns were no different from regular families and forces. They just wore the disguise of Buddhists.
Since there were so many people at the auction house today, the arrangement was simple. There were more than 10,000 cattail hassocks placed at the south with average warriors sitting on them. More than half of the seats were occupied.
In the other three directions, there were simple cabins and pavilions. There were five or six hundred of them. How were they going to fit all of them?
After all, there were many families here this time.
Lu Li was taken to a small pavilion in the corner by someone from the Kong Family. Given the status of the Gu Family, it was only because the patriarch of the Gu Family paid 10 billion Xuan Crystals as a deposit to the Kong Family. Otherwise, Lu Li and the other two would have to sit on the cattail hassocks in the crowd.
The pavilion was small. There was only one table and three chairs. On the table was a pot of tea and some fruits. There wasn't even a maid to serve tea.
Time moved on. After a while, a white-robed monk walked over. The ring on his hand was glowing. Then many white lotus-like lotus seats flew up and floated above the pavilion.
"What are those?"
Lu Li had never seen such things before. He didn't know what they were for.
Gu Min explained in a low voice, "Those are lotus seats, a kind of flying artifact. They can activate Inhibition Formations. I think they are for distinguished guests."
"No wonder!"
Lu Li finally understood. He had been wondering why so many young masters and young ladies could sit in those pavilions.
He finally understood when he saw the hundreds of lotus seats floating in the air.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh ~"
From some temples on the east and west sides, many people flew up and landed on the lotus seats in a blur.
Then the lotus seats glowed and a white shield came out, enveloping the people inside.
Lu Li used psychic power to check but realized he could not use psychic power to see inside.
He curled his lips and thought to himself that these young masters and young ladies were too arrogant. Would they lose a few pieces of flesh for a few glances?
"Ji Mengtian, Yang Xuan, Lu Suan, Lu Ni, Die Feiyu, Ye Luo …"
A group of young masters and young ladies flew up from the west. Lu Li's pupils contracted in fear. He saw many familiar faces as well as strangers.
Among this group of people, he saw a few very handsome young masters with extraordinary bearings, as well as seven or eight young ladies who were as beautiful as goddesses.
"All the young masters and young ladies of the 12 Royal Families are here."
Lu Li pursed his lips. A beautiful lady in a red dress with a pair of foxy eyes and a tilted head came to his mind.
The Jiang Family was one of the Royal Families. But Jiang Qiling wasn't here. She must still be cultivating in the Demon-slaying Hall.
"Qiling, how are you?"
Lu Li sighed. He felt a sense of loneliness and longing. It was like the wind in autumn. Even under the warm sun, there was still a hint of coldness that lingered …
…
PS: Monday.
PS: Send me some recommendation votes on Monday.
Recently, he had been writing until four in the morning every night. He was trying his best to save manuscripts. Miserable!
On the 31st, there were more than a dozen days left. He wondered how many chapters he could save …
Of course, there would be 20!