Night fell.

The abbot of Qingyang Temple was a man in his sixties, dressed in a blue Taoist robe, holding a horsetail whisk, with a kindly demeanor.

Perhaps it was because Li Shiwuwu had given him a piece of gold, he had prepared a vegetarian feast in a side hall, accompanied by several middle-aged Taoists.

During the meal, they conversed quite happily.

"Young friend Shiwuwu, are you passing through to find a temple called 'Seed Immortal Temple'?" The abbot's face showed a hint of curiosity.

"Yes," Li Shiwuwu nodded.

"If the abbot knows, please enlighten me. I would be most grateful."

Hearing this, the abbot's face showed a troubled expression.

He said, "Young friend, to be honest."

"I have been the abbot for over twenty years, and my predecessor was my master, so I am well aware of everything in the temple."

"But I have never heard of the Seed Immortal Temple you mentioned."

"Young friend, I am truly sorry."

Upon hearing this, Li Shiwuwu's hand holding the chopsticks froze in mid-air, his mind racing.

Was the abbot's statement true or false?

Seeing this, the abbot couldn't help but say, "Young friend, you look as if you've been seriously ill or have encountered something unclean."

"In any case, you should seek out a master to find a solution."

"Unfortunately, Qingyang Temple is full of ordinary people, and we are truly powerless."

Li Shiwuwu, hearing this, simply picked up the wine jug and poured a cup for the abbot.

He said calmly, "Senior, since you don't know about the Seed Immortal Temple, have you heard of someone named Huoyan Hermit?"

"Huoyan Hermit?" The abbot frowned, as if recalling something.

"Young friend Shiwuwu, there is no Huoyan Hermit in our temple, only a Huoyanzi."

"Qingyang Temple has over two hundred Taoists, and he is just someone who rings the bell daily, very low-key and rarely goes out."

"Young friend, is he the one you're looking for?"

Hearing this, Li Shiwuwu suddenly stood up, delighted, "Senior, where is Huoyanzi now?"

"Young friend, please follow me."

A moment later.

The group arrived at the temple's backyard, where they found an elderly, thin Taoist in his fifties, preparing to sleep.

"Abbot?"

"It's almost bedtime, why have you come to see me? Is there something you need to instruct?"

The old Taoist lit an oil lamp, carefully placing it on the windowsill. The weak flame spread, illuminating the group.

"Brother Huoyan, sorry to disturb you."

The abbot performed a Taoist salute and stepped aside, revealing Li Shiwuwu.

"It's not me who seeks you, but this young friend has something to discuss with you."

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Huoyanzi focused his gaze and was startled by Li Shiwuwu's current appearance.

"This... this fellow Taoist, I have never sought fame or fortune, nor do I interact with outsiders."

"What brings you here?"

Li Shiwuwu didn't hesitate, directly asking, "Senior, I'm inquiring about something. Do you know of the Seed Immortal Temple?"

"This matter is extremely important to me."

"Senior, I beg you."

Huoyanzi frowned, pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "Sorry, I have been at Qingyang Temple since childhood, never visited other temples, and have never heard of the Seed Immortal Temple."

Upon hearing this, Li Shiwuwu felt a wave of helplessness and fatigue surge uncontrollably through him.

He staggered a few steps, "Impossible, how could it be!"

"The sheepskin scroll clearly states Qingyang Temple, Huoyan Hermit."

"I've clearly found this place, everything matches, why do you say you don't know?"

"Could it be that I was searching in the wrong place from the start?"

He took out the sheepskin scroll from his pocket, muttering incessantly, deeply questioning himself.

At this moment, Huoyanzi suddenly spoke, "Young friend, may I take a look at that sheepskin scroll?"

Li Shiwuwu hesitated for a moment, then handed it over.

By the weak candlelight, Huoyanzi's hands trembled slightly as he stared at the sheepskin scroll in silence for a long time.

Then he said, "Young friend, I understand now."

"As for this item, where did you get it?"

Li Shiwuwu, as if grasping hope, quickly said, "This item was left by my master. The Seed Immortal Temple mentioned on it is something he pursued his entire life."

"Now that my master has passed, we, as his disciples, just want to try and fulfill his last wish."

Li Shiwuwu's words were half-truths, leaving no room for doubt.

Huoyanzi sighed deeply, showing a bitter smile, "Almost fifty years have passed, I never thought I'd see this item again. It's truly unpredictable how things turn out."

"Young friend, there's no need to search for the Seed Immortal Temple."

"Because such a temple doesn't exist in this world."

This answer made Li Shiwuwu feel like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he shrieked angrily, "Senior, how can it not exist? Are you deliberately deceiving me?"

Huoyanzi seemed to fall into memories, slowly speaking.

"Young friend, don't be anxious, listen to my story."

"About fifty years ago, a fierce man came to Qingyang Temple, extremely vicious, as if he would eat people."

"He forced us to tell him the way to immortality."

"Otherwise, he would kill us all."

Hua Erling, who was beside him, immediately asked, "Senior, the fierce man you mentioned, was he covered in black pockmarks, with a crooked mouth and mismatched eyes?"

Huoyanzi nodded, "Yes, that's him."

"Alas, Qingyang Temple is just an ordinary temple, how could we have a way to immortality?"

"But that fierce man was determined, refusing to let go unless he killed someone."

"And at that time, I was just a little Taoist boy, having just entered the temple."

Huoyanzi showed a nostalgic expression, looking at the sheepskin scroll in his hand, muttering, "Once there was a Seed Immortal Temple, it didn't plant flowers, it didn't plant grass, it only planted immortals."

"To be honest, and not afraid of being laughed at, this sheepskin scroll was just a toy from my childhood."

"Children like to write and draw, imagine things, so I made up the Seed Immortal Temple."

He sighed, "But at that time, the old abbot was forced by that fierce man, he had no choice but to give away my scribbled sheepskin scroll."

"Saying there was a Seed Immortal Temple in the world, capable of achieving immortality."

"And falsely claiming I was a born spiritual child, able to glimpse the heavenly secrets, that the opportunity of the Seed Immortal Temple was something I discovered through such glimpses."

Huoyanzi looked at Li Shiwuwu, continuing, "I remember that time, the fierce man still refused to give up."

"He said the world was so big, where could he find the Seed Immortal Temple?"

"And the old abbot, to quickly get rid of this scourge, deceived him again, saying barefoot connects with the earth, head touches the sky, feet on the ground, is to merge with heaven and earth."

"It's best to bring a group of barefoot children along."

"After that, as long as you keep thinking about the Seed Immortal Temple in your heart."

"It will automatically appear before your eyes."

"So there's no need to search far, just wander around the nearby mountains."

Huoyanzi's tone was filled with emotion, "Alas, time flies, decades have passed just like that."

"Days, they don't count."

"I have gone from a little Taoist boy to now, with white hair and no longer young."

The abbot, listening for a long time, also reacted.

"With this reminder, I remember now, there was indeed such a thing."

"Back then, that old abbot was my master."

"Young friend Shiwuwu, the Seed Immortal Temple you speak of, it simply doesn't exist."