The towering city gate resembled the maw of a giant beast, swallowing and spitting out the currents of the world.

Linxi City, a crucial stronghold guarding the border, was a vital passage to various places. The daily flow of people was immense.

"Move faster, don't dawdle!"

"Open your packages, everyone out of the carriages, exotic beasts are not allowed in the city!"

"All foreigners entering the city must obtain a temporary residence permit from the 'Household Registration Office' every ten days. Those without a permit will have all their goods confiscated and be expelled from the city!"

"Pass through quickly, no whispering!"

.....

In front of the city gate, several tall soldiers roared like thunder, their voices carrying for miles, repeatedly warning the passing travelers.

"Hoo!"

Yan San took a breath, just about to see if his relief had arrived, when he suddenly heard a commotion in the distance. He frowned instantly:

"I said no whispering! Pass through quickly, are you deaf?! Or do you want to die..."

He gripped the long saber at his waist, about to draw it to intimidate, but his voice suddenly stopped.

He saw a figure drifting gracefully through the restless crowd. The man wore a wide white robe, was tall and slender, with exquisitely handsome features that seemed otherworldly.

Wherever he passed, everyone entering and leaving the city was drawn to him, either agitated or stunned.

"Good heavens..."

After a long while, Yan San gasped, his teeth aching: "Where did such a pretty little thing come from? If I could just sleep with her..."

*Smack!*

Before Yan San could finish, he felt a sharp pain on his face. He saw stars, and he spun into the air like a top, flying several yards and knocking over dozens of pedestrians.

"Damn!"

Yan San was furious, about to curse, when an icy black boot landed heavily on his face. It nearly crushed his head.

Glancing at the boot, Yan San's anger vanished along with the pain, replaced by immense fear:

"Master Qiao, Master Qiao Sheng!"

"Daring to speak disrespectfully of our young lady, go and take three hundred 'Flowing Dragon Whips'. If you're not dead, I'll spare you this time!"

The boot lifted. Qiao Sheng flicked his sleeve, his slender body already half-kneeling on the ground, and said respectfully, "Qiao Sheng failed to discipline properly, please forgive me, young lady!"

Yan San turned pale and knelt down, his forehead immediately covered in fine beads of sweat.

"Brother Sheng, why are you being so distant?"

Like flowing spring water, a melodious voice arrived with a white-clad girl, a smile on her delicate face.

Her smile was infectious. With just that smile, Yan San even forgot his fear. He was dazed for a moment before he came back to his senses and kowtowed repeatedly:

"Young, young lady, please forgive me, young lady please forgive me..."

The young lady of Zhenhai Wang (Pacifying the Seas Prince), whose given name was Ci, was said to be the orphaned child of Zhenhai Wang's comrade-in-arms, and was truly treasured beyond compare.

She had been sent to Qingjing Shan (Clear Serenity Mountain) to study Buddhism with the Great Zen Master Gu Yue (Lonely Moon) since she was a child. He never recognized her.

"What is there to forgive?"

Qiao Ci gently shook her head and reached out to help Yan San up: "It's just that you should be nicer in the future. It's not easy for anyone making a living away from home."

Her jade-like hand was warm to the touch. Yan San had no lustful thoughts, only deep shame as he lowered his head:

"This humble one, this humble one will remember the young lady's teachings."

"Get lost."

Qiao Sheng glanced at the surrounding pedestrians who were getting increasingly noisy, and said softly, "Young lady, let's go home. The Wang (Prince) is waiting for you. Zen Master Gu Yue has already arrived. Why are you only just returning?"

Qiao Sheng's tone was gentle, showing no trace of his previous sternness, his eyes full of affection.

"I was delayed by some things on the road. I also missed my parents."

Qiao Ci also noticed the strange looks around her. Although she didn't care, she didn't want to disrupt the order at the city gate, so she entered the city.

With Qiao Sheng accompanying her, although many people were drawn to Qiao Ci's beauty along the way, no one dared to look too closely.

Before long, they had walked through several long streets and arrived at the Zhenhai Wang residence.

"My little Ci'er is back? Daddy missed you so much!"

The pair had just reached the door when a group of people came out to greet them. Qiao Mo Ke, in the lead, grasped his daughter's hand, his face full of reproach:

"You haven't been home in so long, and you're still delayed on the road?"

The dignified Zhenhai Wang, who turned away gentry from all over the city, had come out to welcome his daughter home. This could not help but startle those who had never seen the young lady before.

"I'm back now, aren't I?"

Qiao Ci let her father pull her along, passing through the long front courtyard to the main hall.

As soon as she entered, she was drawn to the little one held by her mother.

The little one was newly born, but looked strong and healthy, curiously looking around.

"Mother, Master."

Qiao Ci first greeted the Wang Fei (Princess Consort) and the old nun sitting to the side, then carefully picked up the little one.

"Little brother's foundation is very good."

Qiao Ci teased the little one, touching him up and down, surprised. The newborn's body should have been soft, but her little brother felt rather 'firm'.

It wasn't that he was growing strong, but that he felt somewhat heavy.

"Perhaps in a few days, he will be able to walk on the ground," the Wang Fei said with a gentle smile.

She had carried him for nine years. Not to mention the tonic herbs, she had asked countless experts to bestow blessings, so the child's foundation would naturally be good.

"The little prince has very high Buddhist nature and affinity. His future achievements may surpass this humble monk."

At this time, the old nun, who had been quietly observing the infant, withdrew her gaze and said with some emotion, "No, they will definitely surpass this humble monk."

She was somewhat moved, but her face was dark, and others could not see it clearly.

"Zen Master is too kind," the Wang Fei said with a smile.

Zhenhai Wang laughed loudly, "Zen Master has a good eye, but unfortunately, this family only has this one little one, and he cannot enter your sect!"

He had spent his life on horseback, fighting too many wars and killing too much, with too much blood debt entangling him, making it difficult to have children. That was why he cultivated Buddhism to resolve it. Now that he had a legitimate son, he didn't want him to enter Buddhism at birth.

The influence of Buddhism was enormous west of Linxi City, but this Eastern Victory Continent belonged to the Daoists.

"Such is fate, who can say for sure? However, the Wang (Prince) is right about one thing, this humble monk cannot take the little prince."

The old nun Gu Yue shook her head, not without regret.

"If there comes such a day, it will be up to him. However, the inheritance of offspring is not something the Buddhist sect can interfere with."

Saying that, Zhenhai Wang's smile faded:

"This time, I have invited the Zen Master here because there is a great difficulty..."

Without him needing to speak, Qiao Sheng had already retreated a few steps outside the main hall, his cold gaze sweeping over the surroundings, extremely vigilant.

"The world is ignorant, with much killing. Why not be peaceful and free, quietly cultivating oneself?"

Zen Master Gu Yue put her hands together and shook her head slightly:

"When accepting disciples in the past, this humble monk made three promises. If the Wang (Prince) wants this humble monk to act, then all three promises will be fulfilled, and the karma will be cleared."

"That is natural."

Zhenhai Wang sat up straight, his arms resting on the armrests. There was a hint of coldness on his round face: "I have been extremely tired of the assassinations over the years."

"On the way here, this humble monk passed through seven kingdoms, and could still see the corpses left behind that had not been buried. The Qi Tang Dynasty has only been at peace for a dozen years, Wang (Prince), you must think carefully."

Zen Master Gu Yue shook her head slightly.

"It is not my decision to do so, but I have retreated again and again, and now there is no way to retreat..."

Zhenhai Wang glanced at the small infant, a gentle light flashing in his eyes: "I don't want to retreat anymore either."

"Forget it. Cultivation is for oneself; worldly affairs are up to the Wang (Prince)."

Zen Master Gu Yue no longer tried to persuade him and said:

"The Wang (Prince) has achieved the Da Long Xiang (Great Dragon Elephant) Golden Core, with the strength to uproot mountains. It will be difficult to find an opponent in the mortal world of the various kingdoms. The enemy who can make this old nun come out of the mountain must not be an ordinary person."

"That's right."

Zhenhai Wang nodded slightly, a rare look of solemnity on his face: "The Daoists are the leaders in the Eastern Continent, and there are many Supreme Perfected Ones in the mountains. My royal brother doesn't know where he hired an 'evil Daoist' expert. Some time ago, he used a secret technique to spy on me, intending to curse me..."

Saying that, Zhenhai Wang raised his palm, and a dark pattern swirled on his hand, forming a strange mark.

"This is..."

Zen Master Gu Yue's heart trembled, and her eyes immediately became serious: "This is the 'Wu Chang Yin Ji (Impermanence Mark)'?"

"Zen Master knows the origin of this mark? I read through the classics and saw something about it in an ancient book, but I don't understand it well. If Zen Master knows, please tell me."

Zhenhai Wang put down his arm and said seriously, "I cultivate the 'Da Long Xiang (Great Dragon Elephant) Golden Core' and also cultivate the Buddhist Golden Body. My cultivation may not be very high, but my physique is fairly masculine, but this mark cannot be dispelled."

"Master, what is this? What is the origin of the Impermanence Mark?"

Seeing that her master and her father were acting like this, Qiao Ci couldn't help but frown, but after looking at it a few times, she couldn't see anything.

"It's actually the Impermanence Mark..."

Zen Master Gu Yue couldn't sit still. She got up and went forward, rolled up Zhenhai Wang's sleeve, and carefully examined it.

"This Impermanence Mark is said to have originated from two experts eight thousand years ago. The origins of those two experts were unpredictable. They called themselves Wu Chang (Impermanence), neither Daoist nor Buddhist, neither dragon nor demon, but their strength was extremely high. They once passed down their techniques to the world. I don't know how many people learned their techniques. The Impermanence Mark on the Wang (Prince) should have originated from their descendants..."

Zen Master Gu Yue was also somewhat uncertain:

"It is said that they stirred up a great storm in 'South Jambudvipa', even alarming the legendary Imperial Heavenly Court's heavenly soldiers. There were even divine generals who descended to suppress them in the 'Heavenly Prison'. Later, those who learned their techniques were also brutally and bloodily suppressed. How could it appear in the Eastern Victory Continent..."

One reason was that it had been a long time, and the other was that they were separated by the ocean. The legends of South Jambudvipa were somewhat distorted.

The Emperor of Heaven's Imperial Court was the place where immortals and gods lived in legends. She wasn't even sure if it existed.

The reason she knew was because her Qingjing Shan (Clear Serenity Mountain)'s predecessors had traveled to South Jambudvipa and left records.

"South Jambudvipa?"

Qiao Ci looked at Zen Master Gu Yue: "Master, is there any danger in this mark?"

"The mark itself is not harmful, but it will lock onto those who are marked. In other words, that evil Daoist expert has set his sights on the Wang (Prince)."

Zen Master Gu Yue turned the Buddhist beads in her hand, her brow furrowed. It was clear that she could not dispel the mark:

"The judge calls souls, Impermanence claims lives! That person, or those two people, may be coming soon..."