Chapter 37: Treasure Theft

golden eagle demon""That's right," Yun Youzi nodded. "During the surprise attack by Zui Yuan, things were too chaotic, and Brother Qin wasn't there, so he definitely didn't notice. When Zui Yuan left..."The thief dares to speak eloquently and deceive the prince! This general was sent by the King to exterminate you rebels! Do you dare say you don't recognize this man"

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Zhou Mingguang, holding the imperial edict that Qin Sang had given him, waved his hand fiercely. His attendant pulled a well-preserved human head from his pack and threw it over.

Master Yuanzhen's face changed drastically, he hurriedly caught the head, his hands trembling violently.

The monks behind him knelt down all of a sudden, crying loudly. Some called out “Master,” and others “Grandmaster.”

Zhou Mingguang acted as if he hadn't seen anything, unfolding a silk scroll.

“Xuànjì Temple, Luóhàn Hall’s chief abbot, Dharma name Yuánjué! Humph! This person sits in the highest position but willingly becomes a pawn of the false emperor, almost ruining Wangye's important affairs and was killed on the spot. There is both human and material evidence, the evidence is solid, what else does this bald donkey have to say!”

"Nonsense!"

There was a great monk with bloodshot eyes, gritting his teeth. “My master is a congenital expert! You rebels are absolutely no match for him! What poisonous scheme did you use to harm my master!”

>

Upon hearing the master's words, Zhou Mingguang glanced at Qin Sang nonchalantly.

"Traitor"

>

Zhou Mingguang was almost laughing out loud, he said in a sinister tone: "It seems that the fake emperor's lackeys at Xuance Temple are not just limited to Yuanjue Monk. Everyone listen up, I order you to search the temple. Anyone who dares disobey will be killed without mercy!"

At that instant, drums and cymbals roared, and armor clanged.

The monks of Xiánjì Temple have formed a battle line, ready to fight to the end.

The atmosphere suddenly solidified, heavy with tension.

At that moment, Master Yuanzhen suddenly closed his eyes, let out a long sigh, and solemnly handed the skull in his hand to the monk beside him.

"Amitabha Buddha."

Zen Master Yuánzhēn took a step forward, "General Zhōu, Master Yuánjué and his junior brother left the Great Sui Dynasty to travel the world ten years ago. He should have just returned to the Great Sui. He didn't know the truth and was momentarily misled by the false emperor. The monks of Xiànjì Temple are absolutely incapable of being the false emperor's minions. Please, General Zhōu, see clearly."

"Master!"

Seeing that Master Yuanzhen of the Zhengfang Monastery was willing to confess and accept punishment, the monks at Xuance Temple were filled with astonishment.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Qin Sang was relieved that Yuanzhen Fangzhang could see reason and wouldn't make a big fuss.

Zhou Mingguang’s voice softened slightly, “Master Fang is a monk of high moral character and great respect, he surely wouldn’t lie. However, Xuanji Temple has many monks, it’s inevitable that there are both good and bad among them. What if there are Imperial pretender's spies hiding among them and cause trouble If something were to happen, it would implicate Xuanji Temple, wouldn’t that be undesirable Master Fang needn’t worry, this general will surely restrain his soldiers and only capture the Imperial pretender’s spies, never harming innocent people.”

Library of Scriptures.

Qin Sang looked up at the seven-story pagoda in front of him. He had long admired this place. It was said that Shaolin Temple housed all the martial arts secrets, and all the secrets of Shaolin were kept in the Scripture Pavilion. It could be said to be a holy land in the heart of every reader of wuxia novels.

However, Qin Sang knew that the Tibetan Scripture Pavilion of Xuanji Temple was just a facade. There were no superior martial arts inside, only Buddhist scriptures.

The real treasure is not here.

Qin Sang turned his head and glanced at Yuanzhen, the abbot who was seated on the ground in the distance, silently reciting scriptures.

>

All the monks at Xuance Temple were confined by Abbot Yuanzhen in the Great Hero Hall, surrounded by crossbowmen.

While Yuanzhen, the Abbot, watched soldiers empty Xiezhi Temple's treasury, box after box of gold and silver treasures flowed downhill, he remained impassive. Truly, what a composed mind!

Zhou Mingguang strode forward, his eyes swept across the scene, pointing to a inconspicuous path behind the Sutra Repository, and shouted loudly: "There's another way here! Come here, take a squad of soldiers over there, and search carefully for me. Let one traitor go, and chop off your heads!"

Here are a few ways to translate this phrase depending on the context:**Formal:** * "

" could simply be left as is since it's already in English.**Informal (assuming it was originally in Chinese):*** "

" could be translated as "empty paragraph"Please provide more context if you have a specific translation goal!

Master Yuanzhen's face changed slightly, and he flashed forward to block Zhou General's way. "General Zhou, you can't! This is where the temple's ancestral masters meditate in seclusion. You must not disturb them!"

Zhou Mingguang let out a cold snort. "What a load of bull! Without a thorough search, who knows who that person really is Master Fangzheng's nervousness suggests he's hiding something. Is there someone inside he doesn't want us to see"

"You!"

Master Yuanzhen's hand, clutching the rosary beads, had prominent veins bulging. Wood splinters could be seen between his fingers.

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Please General Zhou, investigate carefully and clear the temple's name! However, there is one thing I ask of you. The cliff face does indeed hold the meditation chamber of our temple’s ancestors. Please be accommodating, General, and allow me to first invite the ancestor out. This will prevent disturbing their cultivation and causing a great mishap."

Zhou Mingguang secretly let out a breath, he had almost pushed Yuan Zhen Fangzhang to anger just now. He was sweating profusely and waved his hands repeatedly: "Master Fangzhang, please."

Yu Zhen Fangzhang led the way, Zhou Mingguang and his soldiers following behind. After a short while, they turned around a grove of stones and saw a sheer cliff.

There are countless stone carvings on the cliff face, with inscriptions from former dignitaries, eminent monks, martial arts masters, and literary scholars. At the foot of the mountain is a row of stone steps leading up to a stone path that traverses the cliff face. Along the path there are rows of exquisite Buddhist sculptures.

The cliff inscription faces southeast, with the east side perfectly aligned with the rising sun, embodying the Buddhist concept of welcoming dawn. It was the place where the founder of Xuanji Temple, Master Jingxiu, practiced in seclusion.

Zhou Mingguang was waiting with his soldiers beneath the stone steps. The old monk went up and invited down each of the ancestors. Most of them were withered old monks, some were top-tier martial artists, while others were great monks who didn't know martial arts.

Master Yuanzhen soothed each one personally, it was truly hard work. Zhou Mingguang had the soldiers pretend to inspect them, while he silently counted the time in his heart.

As agreed, he had to at least delay for Qin Sang for a quarter of an hour.

At this time, Qin Sang had already changed into civilian clothes and quietly climbed to the top of the cliff. He leaned on the edge, watching until he finally saw the Patriarch of Xianji Temple being invited down the mountain. Immediately, he silently descended along the cliff face.

He had originally prepared a rope as well, but the stone carvings on the cliff were uneven and rough. Even with his light skills, he could climb them easily, so he didn't need it.

>

At the end of the stone path, there was a staircase leading downward. Qin Sang lightly stepped onto the stone path, her footsteps silent, and walked down the stairs.

The stone steps descend deep and are eerily quiet.

There are some caves on both sides, where the ancestor of Xuanji Temple used to retreat in seclusion. Now they have been invited out.

If Zhou Mingguang hadn't been so reckless and driven them out, Qin Sang would have had no way to sneak in without being discovered.

At last, walking to the end of the stone steps, there was an inconspicuous narrow slit in the corner, with a deep darkness at its end.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

The crack outside was narrow and wide inside, with dangerous mechanisms inside. However, Qin Sang already knew this, carefully stepping forward, avoiding all the mechanisms. The crack split into several branches, these were where Xanzhi Temple placed rare treasures.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Qin Sang went straight to the place where the bell was hung. There were also priceless treasures on other paths, but in Qin Sang's eyes, they were no different from dust, and time didn't allow it.

Let me know if you'd like to translate anything else!

The small grotto, artificially shaped into a square, had a night pearl embedded at the top, radiating brilliant light.

In the center of the grotto was a stone platform, upon which rested a purple bell, a jade tablet, and a talisman paper, all covered by a glazed case.

On the stone platform, there was one last mechanism. Qin Sang fumbled for the poison arrow, broke the trigger mechanism, and lifted the glass cover.

With time pressing, Qin Sang suppressed the excitement in his heart and quickly put away the three things. He quietly retreated from the cave.

>o I haven't heard of anyone finding the ancient Immortal Sect yet. If we are truly fortunate enough to find it, then at that time, we will each rely on our own abilities."Leng Qi was quite confident a...