Why did the Temple appear? The reason for its existence, regarding its past, present, and future, was precisely the target of Fan Xian's question. When the sound of Fan Xian's inquiry echoed within the Temple covered in a thin layer of white snow, the immortal transformed from the Qing bird fell into silence, while Haitang and Wang Shisanlang also noticed the change in Fan Xian's emotions, suppressing the tension in their hearts and raising their heads.

In such a mystical ice and snow temple, only Fan Xian could maintain his composure. Even the strong Haitang and Wang Shisanlang became like naked infants, unable to muster the slightest disrespect under the gaze of the immortal on the snow platform.

The immortal remained silent for a long time, before speaking to Fan Xian, who stood at his feet, "This is not a realm that mortals should attempt to touch or understand."

"I have never considered myself a mortal," Fan Xian said, narrowing his eyes at the light points in the air, his voice lowered. "Similarly, I don't think you are some immortal."

The Temple had subtly influenced the history of this continent for thousands of years, and coupled with the rule that the Temple could not interfere in worldly affairs, Fan Xian was very clear that in order to maintain its lofty, independent, and mysterious status, whether the Temple was a relic or some other strange thing, it would follow the stories and myths of the world and disguise itself as an ethereal existence.

"Since you are unwilling to speak, then please tell us, why did you invite us into the Temple?" Fan Xian said calmly, staring directly at the strange scene and person transformed from the light points in the air. "No mortal has ever been able to enter the Temple. You let us in, presumably with some request for us."

At this time, Haitang and Wang Shisanlang had gleaned some clues from the conversation between Fan Xian and the immortal. They slowly stood up from the snow, and they found that Fan Xian could still talk so calmly in the face of a supreme existence beyond the comprehension of the world, which they admired to the extreme.

However, Haitang Duoduo and Wang Shisanlang still didn't understand, was Fan Xian really preparing to negotiate a deal with the immortal in the Temple? Why wasn't he in a hurry to find the whereabouts of the blind master? Haitang gently stood behind Fan Xian, following his gaze to look into the air, but this one glance had already exhausted all her courage. With this one look, her heart was suddenly moved. Fan Xian stood upright before the immortal, why couldn't she?

"In the mortal world, I have held many professions, but what I am best at is actually business," Fan Xian said. "So I am a profit-seeking merchant. I don't like getting something for nothing, nor am I willing to do things that harm my own interests in order to be enveloped in the Temple's light. If you want us to do something for the Temple, you must pay some price."

From entering the Temple until now, Fan Xian's entire state of mind had become exceptionally clear and calm. Yes, he still didn't have a clear understanding of the Temple, but he had to force himself to calm down, not to regard the other party as a god, but only as a real existence. And he also vaguely guessed that this trip to the Temple was so smooth because this person in the Temple had some request for the three of them, and he had even guessed roughly what that request was.

…

…

"Divine Dao is waning, the Great Dao is not prosperous, lingering on divergent paths, together pointing to the mountains and rivers, angry at the winds and clouds, determined to secure the country, therefore..."

The human figure formed by the light points above the snow platform, after pausing for a moment, suddenly began to read a long article with ancient and beautiful diction. However, the central idea was actually very simple: the immortal in this Temple hoped that Fan Xian, Haitang, and Wang Shisanlang could become the Temple's envoys, secretly observing the world on behalf of the Temple, and returning to the Temple at appropriate times to report to the person in the Temple.

Haitang and Wang Shisanlang fell into contemplation, their eyes filled with extremely complex emotions. They probably never imagined that upon entering the Temple, the immortal inside wouldn't turn them into blue stones, but instead entrusted them with such an important yet absurd mission.

Checking on worldly affairs for the Temple? If the three of them left the Temple in the future, they probably wouldn't return for the rest of their lives. And the person in the Temple couldn't leave the Temple to interfere in worldly affairs, so how could they control them?

This was a very simple request. In the eyes of the disciples of Tianyi Tao, this might be a supreme and particularly noble mission. However, in Fan Xian's view, this was just a confirmation that his guess was correct.

"Could it be... these are the legendary Tianmai Zhe (天脉者, roughly translated as 'Heavenly Vein Bearers')?" Haitang Duoduo's heart trembled slightly, thinking of a term. In legends, Tianmai Zhe were called the bloodline of Heaven, awakening once every few hundred years. Tianmai Zhe might represent combat power so strong that it was irresistible, or they might represent great talent in wisdom. However, these legendary figures would eventually disappear without a trace.

After Haitang Duoduo left Qingshan, she was also promoted by the Northern Qi court as the Tianmai Zhe of this generation, known as a genius. However, she herself knew that she was not those legendary figures at all. In comparison, Fan Xian, who could remain so calm in the face of the immortal, Fan Xian, the little monster who could spit out three hundred poems in one night, was more like a Tianmai Zhe.

…

…

"Not Tianmai Zhe, this identity is just envoys of the Temple." Fan Xian suddenly broke the silence and explained to his two friends beside him, "This Temple is already desolate. Apart from this immortal, it is impossible to find envoys who can observe the movements of the human world... More precisely, those envoys have already died in the human world. If the Temple doesn't want to be forgotten by the world, doesn't want to forget this world, it must find new envoys."

"Coincidentally, the three of us came to the Temple, giving this immortal an opportunity. Of course, for him, this is not a gamble, because he believes that those strong people in the world are very willing to watch over the world for the lofty Temple."

"Even your master never forgot the Temple before his death, let alone others." Fan Xian glanced at Wang Shisanlang, lowered his head slightly and said, "You can be envoys if you want. Presumably this is the first batch of outsiders to serve as envoys of the Temple. They themselves don't have any rules or regulations."

Strangely, Fan Xian's words were said in front of the immortal on the snow platform, as if he wasn't worried about offending the immortal at all. Indeed, the immortal's old face, purely condensed from light points, did not have the slightest change in emotion. He was just waiting indifferently and woodenly for the answer from the three people below.

"The envoys in the Temple are all dead. Of course, there were not many envoys in the Temple to begin with. That's why you thought of using the three of us to act as your eyes. However, the problem is that you can't control our actions after we leave the Temple. You just made the only possible choice in the absence of any other options." Fan Xian raised his head, looked at the light points, and said with a slight curl of his lips, "However, I still want some benefits. According to my analysis, the so-called Tianmai Zhe are just people in the long river of history to whom you have passed on some knowledge that is not equal to the times through those envoys walking in the world."

"In that case, Grandmaster Ku He is a Tianmai Zhe, and my emperor father is also a Tianmai Zhe. It is said that Tianmai Zhe only appear once every few hundred years, but it is clear that this continent has been too lively in recent decades."

The immortal's face did not tremble at all. He just leaned down slightly, looking down at Fan Xian, who was speaking calmly. After a moment, he said, "Those are accidental situations, not Tianmai Zhe."

Fan Xian nodded, not refuting this sentence, because whether it was the kung fu practiced by Grandmaster Ku He or the overbearing true qi practiced by the emperor, to be precise, they were all things that his mother, Ye Qingmei, had stolen from this dilapidated temple back then. The inheritance had no legitimacy, so the old man in the Temple naturally refused to admit it.

"Child, you know a lot," the immortal on the snow platform said, looking at Fan Xian gently.

"Don't call me child. I don't like being called that. As for the fact that I know a lot, it's because I have independent thinking, unlike the envoys you have sent into the world for countless years, who have no emotions or thoughts of their own." Fan Xian looked back at the immortal's deep eyes without flinching and said calmly, "I can even know that the long article you said earlier was all copied sentences. From this, it can be seen that you can only do some simple collection and compilation work, but you cannot have your own creative ability."

Ever since standing up from the snow, Fan Xian had been calmly, even coldly, talking to the person in the Temple on an equal footing. He didn't seem to worry that this mysterious Temple would easily kill him. However, this calmness was just a disguise. These emotions were only based on his analysis of the Temple and his knowledge from two lifetimes.

"It's a declaration to punish Wu. It seems you really surprised me, making me think of some things... However, if you are willing to become envoys of the Temple, I can ignore your rudeness in your words." The immortal said coldly, "The Temple never trades with mortals. Please remember this."

"Since you remembered some things from back then, you naturally know that not everyone in this world will be frightened by you and then listen to whatever you say," Fan Xian said. "You are just a lonely old man. The people under you have died one by one. Apart from us, who else in the world do you think can find this dilapidated temple? Whether you let us leave or kill us, you will only be trapped in this snow mountain forever, and you will never be able to know what is happening in the human world that you are calmly watching."

"Even if it is possible to make an exception for a transaction, the fact is that you have already obtained the Temple's selfless gift. You, as children of the Temple, should contribute your strength to the sustainable development of the entire world."

"I don't know what the Temple has given me."

The immortal's gaze swept over the three people in front of the snow platform and said, "Choosing you to enter the Temple and entrusting this great mission to you is because you all have the aura of the Temple... Especially you."

The immortal's gaze finally fell on Fan Xian. Haitang Duoduo inherited the art of Qingshan. Grandmaster Ku He was able to become a generation of grandmasters because of the kung fu that Ye Qingmei had stolen from the Temple back then. And the supreme swordsmanship of Dongyi City also had some style of the Temple's envoys. The aura was the most concentrated on Fan Xian. He had lived with Uncle Wuzhu since he was a child. He was Ye Qingmei's son. The major kung fu techniques that the Temple had scattered into the world were all in his body. This immortal, who had been guarding the Temple for tens of thousands of years, could naturally see this very easily.

"So what you mean is that it is impossible to give the three of us any more benefits," Fan Xian said with a slight curl of his lips and a smile. "In that case, of course we can't enter the treasure temple and return empty-handed. If you don't give it, we will have to search for it ourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the immortal in the light smiled slightly, seemingly feeling a trace of absurdity that ordinary mortals, like ants, would dare to forcibly rob treasures in the Temple under the gaze of his god.

However, even more absurd things were to come. After Fan Xian finished speaking, he stopped talking to the light points, but instead directly bypassed the stone platform and walked towards the most complete building preserved in the Temple under the thin snow.

Haitang and Wang Shisanlang were startled, not knowing whether such an impolite act would anger the immortal in the Temple, and whether heavenly lightning would descend later and blast Fan Xian into ashes.

…

…

The face of the immortal condensed from light points on the snow platform stiffened slightly, as if Fan Xian's actions were beyond all his calculations. Immediately afterwards, the immortal's body immediately disintegrated and instantly appeared in front of Fan Xian's path, blocking the door of that complete building.

Disappearing and reappearing, such speed was indeed a scene that could not appear in the human world. However, Haitang Duoduo and Wang Shisanlang forcibly suppressed the shock in their hearts, transformed into two wisps of light smoke, and swept over, trying to protect Fan Xian's little life from the immortal's furious blow.

However, nothing happened. Fan Xian's footsteps did not stop at all. He walked straight into the human figure condensed from light points. Those light points were not scattered by his body, nor did they fly away in all directions, nor did they turn into countless heavenly thunders to blast him into powder. Instead, they suddenly swelled up, seeming to stick to Fan Xian's snow coat.

In this way, under the shocked gaze of Haitang and Wang Shisanlang, Fan Xian walked directly into the immortal's light, but walked out and approached the door of the building.

A gust of breeze blew past, and the immortal's light flared up again, appearing again in front of the building's door, blocking Fan Xian's path. However, in those unfathomable eyes, like the sky, there was a trace of woodenness.

Fan Xian looked calmly at the immortal's eyes floating in the air, and after a moment of silence, he said in a low voice, "I see through you."

…

…

(Indeed, it's written mediocrely. I'll write more tomorrow, write better, and turn the state around. I prostrate myself on the ground and bow my head. Everyone, don't give me any votes. I'm ashamed.)