At this moment, I saw John Chou smiling smugly, as if he had figured something out.
"You knew from the moment you arrived, didn't you? Why didn't you just say it outright?"
I asked, and John Chou immediately made a shushing gesture. Isabelle Frost added:
"The Heart Mantra of Hidden Speech is something only the Lama Order would know. But given the Renegade Monks' ties to the Lama Order, haven't you noticed? What's the root of the Renegade Monks?"
I swallowed in surprise. Indeed, the sect's techniques seemed strange, nothing like the Zen Order. But thinking back to the basement of the Golden Temple, many of the Renegade Monks' spells looked more like those of the Lama Order, yet retained a hint of Zen Order flavor.
"Are you saying that the Renegade Monks were founded by Lucian after he visited the Lama Order, combining their teachings with those of the local Zen Order?"
"Correct."
John Chou smiled coldly and began to explain.
When the Renegade Monks first emerged in the world of the living, many in the supernatural community considered such a bizarre sect a disgrace. The Zen Order never had any dealings with them. They called themselves monks, but did things no monk would ever do—breaking doctrines and rules was their norm.
Normally, if one devoted themselves to Zen, facing the darkness within would mean confronting their karmic obstacles. Many monks could never overcome this step and would spend their lives in mediocrity. But the Renegade Monks were different. Many of their monks were originally from the Zen Order, but after Lucian returned, he blended elements of the Lama Order and Zen Order, reforming and creating the Renegade Monks. The sect quickly rose to prominence in the supernatural community, with their eccentric ways—sometimes eliminating evil spirits, other times clashing violently with orthodox sects.
And so, the Renegade Monks steadily grew. Many monks who had broken their vows and could not return to the Zen Order flocked to them, swelling their ranks. They did not need to confront karmic obstacles, for both good and evil coexisted within them.
Yet Lucian, the sect leader of the Renegade Monks, was not content with their status. At that time, the most powerful sect in the supernatural world was the Nether Syndicate. All of their techniques were developed purely to combat ghosts, unlike the diversity found in other sects. Their methods evolved specifically to destroy ghosts, incorporating elements from various sects, but they also developed their own unique techniques and style.
Lucian had long been interested in the Nether Syndicate. He partnered with Mona Ouyang and managed to capture several generations of Nether Syndicate grandmasters. This provoked Old Tom, who returned to take charge and, alone, stormed the Renegade Monks.
In the end, Old Tom single-handedly massacred the powerful Renegade Monks and killed their sect leader, Lucian. From then on, the Renegade Monks declined, though many fallen monks still sought refuge with them.
The top disciple of the Renegade Monks, Lucian's proudest student, Vincent Swallow, disappeared. Since then, the sect survived only by relying on the Three Poisons and Vincent Swallow's junior, but neither had Lucian's abilities. Naturally, they were suppressed everywhere, and life became very difficult over the years.
I swallowed hard, surprised at how deep these connections ran.
"So you deliberately led Master Swallow on, knowing exactly what would happen. That's pretty twisted, John Chou."
"He did it of his own free will. It has nothing to do with me. I just told him how."
Looking at John Chou's smirk, I sighed helplessly. It was like being sold off and still having to count the money for him—John Chou was always up to tricks like this.
Around 2 p.m., Vincent Swallow and Old Eccentric finally returned, but Vincent Swallow looked extremely serious.
"How did it go?"
Even without John Chou asking, I already knew—the distant three peaks glowed faintly red, white, and blue. The view wasn't very clear from here, but you could still make them out.
"I've only confirmed three manifestations so far, and it's proving difficult. I used Green Tara and White Tara to verify, then marked them with the Lama Order's symbols and the corresponding Sanskrit. It matches exactly what you said, Brother Chou."
"Why don't you just tell us about the offices and secret mantras for Tara's 21 Manifestations? We could try handling it ourselves."
John Chou spoke, but Vincent Swallow just shook his head.
"Sorry, Brother Chou. I once promised Master Muru that I'd never tell anyone about these things—not even my own teacher."
I stared in shock as John Chou smiled.
"Is that so? Back then, your teacher did what he did just to coax you into revealing the offices and secret mantras of Tara's 21 Manifestations. Too bad you vanished without saying a word."
Vincent Swallow nodded gloomily, unscrewed his wine gourd, and took a long drink.
"Ghostworm still wants to know, but the truth is, even the three great living lamas only know ten offices and a few secret mantras at most. None of them know as much as I do."
John Chou glanced sideways at Vincent Swallow. I looked at him in confusion. Later, Vincent Swallow and Old Eccentric took a nap in the car, but as the sun began to set, they got out and flew straight toward the peaks.
"Why do you want to know so badly, John Chou? Master Swallow has already made it clear, and yet you still..."
"It's just a simple transaction—with Ghostworm, the monk. Sis, did you tamper with anything?"
Isabelle Frost nodded, and I immediately pointed at him.
"You! That's too much, how could you..."
John Chou turned to look at me.
"Let me ask you one last time—if you want Ethan Zhang resurrected, do as I say. If not, forget it. This is your only chance. If you can't get the offices and secret mantras of Tara's 21 Manifestations, you can't make the deal with Ghostworm. He'll tell me the structure of the reincarnation ritual, and that's essential for bringing Ethan Zhang back to life."
I blinked, frustrated, but still pointed toward the distant Sky Burial Valley.
"Didn't you say the secret of reincarnation and eternal life is hidden here? So..."
"Oh, that? Pretend I never said it. You only know for sure once you see it with your own eyes."
At this point, I noticed five more peaks had lit up. Judging by the way John Chou and Isabelle Frost interacted, it was clear they were working together—like actors putting on a play. I'd been completely fooled; they definitely had an agenda.
Just thinking about Lord Wraith makes my teeth itch. I never had a direct grudge with him, but during the Lord Wraith incident, he suddenly intervened and nearly got us all in serious trouble. Later, Ethan Zhang told me he once fought Ghostworm during Ghostworm's reincarnation, and almost died; Ghostworm managed to reincarnate successfully.
"But doing things this way, really..."
"If you can find another way, I wouldn't need to use this method to get information out of Vincent Swallow."
I lowered my head and sighed, inwardly refusing to accept John Chou's way of doing things. Besides, Ethan had said that reincarnation required a massive amount of purified power—one had to cleanse the soul and offer it as a sacrifice to gain such immense power. Neither Ethan nor I could ever do such a thing.
"Don't dwell on things too far in the past. Rachel Lan, in the worst case, if you die, Ethan Zhang might never escape the Illusory Realm."
I made a noise of surprise and, looking at John Chou, remembered how Vincent Swallow had mentioned Felix Fan to me.
"So Felix Fan really did visit the Illusory Realm?"
John Chou looked at me in confusion.
"How did you know that?"
But John Chou quickly understood and smiled.
"Felix Fan did visit the Illusory Realm. After being eaten by the Spirit Snake and dying, he managed to claw his way back out. He can't tell the details—worldly laws restrict him—but he said it was a nightmare. It took him a full century to find a way back to the Living World. So, as I've said, you'd better be prepared."
I swallowed hard. In a hundred years, I'd be long dead and just an old lady. The thought made me panic.
"You don't need to worry about that for now. Martin Lane and I have already made preparations. You've seen it yourself—Ethan Zhang's Spectral Remnant."
I made a sound of acknowledgment.
"Don't think too much about it for now, Sis. How many have you recorded so far?"
I watched as seven peaks lit up before me. Isabelle Frost spoke coldly.
"Three."
"That slow?"
John Chou raised his hand and laughed, but was instantly subdued by Isabelle Frost's intense glare.
"It really is slow, but only you can do it. I can't—my powers are a bit too conspicuous."
I sighed, feeling tired, and returned to the car. The whole night passed, and I saw colored lights on eleven peaks—meaning ten remained. Vincent Swallow and Old Eccentric had returned to the back seat to rest, planning to head into the mountains again at noon.
I woke up several times that night and always saw Isabelle Frost standing motionless, like she'd turned to stone, staring at the distant peaks. Vincent Swallow and Old Eccentric seemed to notice John Chou's strange behavior, too, and their looks grew less friendly. Stuck in the middle, I had no idea what to do.
"Miss Roxie."
Vincent Swallow called out to me.
"What is it?"
"Is your memory any good?"
I blinked, unsure what was going on. Vincent Swallow spoke in a low voice. At that moment, Isabelle Frost and John Chou were both outside, staring blankly at the distant peaks.
"I want to tell you something for you to remember. You have at most one hour."