The tear from his right eye fell into the world of mortals, but his left eye was indifferent as if it was a projection of a cold moon.
The monk raised his hand and gently wiped away a trace of tears on his cheek. He stood up, lit a stick of incense in front of the Buddha, and bowed with his hands folded.
Then, he turned around, took off the hanging beads on his chest, and began to recite a scripture that no one could understand.
Although Jing Yue didn't know the meaning of the scriptures, his mood gradually calmed down, his emotions no longer fluctuated, and it seemed that his heartbeat almost stopped.
He saw the monk's hanging beads light up with golden light one after another before bursting open. The monk's robes swelled. Wisps of demonic energy poured in from outside the hall, gathered around the monk, and burrowed into his body frantically.
The monk's exposed skin turned dark, full of dead energy, and the whites of his eyes were completely swallowed by the black. His flesh and blood were sucked dry by an unknown force, turning him into a dried corpse.
The big hall vibrated, and the heads of Buddha statues in the hall were blown off one after another, accompanied by screams of pain from outside. Dust filled the air and blurred the figure of the monk.
After a long while, the monk became a skeleton with only skin hanging on it, the corners of his eyes and lips were bloodred. He said in a hoarse voice, “Shi Zhen has delivered a hundred thousand demons!”
With that said, the monk’s robe shattered, and a dazzling golden light radiated from him. The golden light contained endless Buddha power, which healed his withered body, and coated his whole body with a layer of gold.
Roof tiles collapsed, and the ground shook.
Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, the monk's movements became more and more rigid. In the end, he became solid like a golden Buddha.
Colorful light beams descended and enveloped the golden Buddha, and the majestic aura of merit and virtue overflowed.
As the brilliance flowed, the golden Buddha gradually faded away, and finally disappeared completely, leaving no trace behind.
After the strange scene disappeared completely, the few people slowly returned to their senses.
Still caught in a lingering fear, Jing Yue sighed, “Are the scriptures that Shi Zhen recited the inheritance of the true Buddha he received during his enlightenment?”
Qin Yanzhi, “Most likely, or it wouldn’t be possible to deliver a hundred thousand demons in one day.”
Xue Ming also nodded. “I’ve never heard of this scripture. If I was there at that time, I’d be affected too.”
In fact, just after listening to the scriptures, he couldn't help but want to worship Shi Zhen. Fortunately, the power of the scriptures could not be transmitted to the space where they were or he wouldn’t be able to calm his mind at all.
Wei Zhentu looked at the blue phoenix for a long time with disbelief and admiration. He sighed, “It’s a pity we still don’t know how they died.”
They saw what Shi Zhen did but they couldn't see what the demonic Buddhist disciples went through or how they died. But they could be sure of one thing. In the face of such power, all the demonic energy in Ten Thousand Buddha Temple would be purified.
The blue phoenix said unhappily, “As I said, those are trivial things. I just need to know the result.”
Jing Yue rubbed Ji-ji and said, “But I don't see the pool of merit water that Master Kong Miao mentioned either. And from what we saw just now, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple should have been half destroyed, but now…”
Wei Zhentu, “There are two possibilities. First, what we see is an afterimage left over from this place. Second, it’s an illusion just like those demonic Buddhist monks.”
Jing Yue, “Let's go to the big hall where Shi Zhen is. That should be the key.”
The others had no objections, and they began to look for the main hall.
When they came to the most majestic hall in Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, Jing Yue smelled a strong sandalwood fragrance before entering the door.
In fact, the scent of sandalwood was always present, but the closer to the main hall, the stronger the smell.
Although it was normal to have incense in Buddhist temples, Jing Yue still felt a little strange. “Do you think that the sandalwood fragrance here is too strong?”
Xue Ming was a little baffled. “Is it?”
Both Qin Yanzhi and Wei Zhentu nodded, and the latter said, “It is. Don’t little… Master Xue Ming realize it?”
Xue Ming took a quick glance at Wei Zhentu, hastily lowered his head, and whispered, “This little monk didn't smell it, and I'm not a master. Don't call me that.”
Seeing his shy appearance, Wei Zhentu felt his heart itching and teased, “What should I call you then? Little monk?”
He deliberately enunciated the words ‘little monk’, which sounded very ambiguous. Xue Ming flushed and said, “Y-You can just call this little monk’s given name.”
Wei Zhentu smothered a laugh. Xue Ming was finally willing to talk to him so he wanted to say more, but thinking of their current situation, he held back.
Several people walked to the front of the big hall together. Jing Yue took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
As the wooden door creaked open, a beam of light shone into the dark hall, reflecting the floating dust flying in the light like fireflies. The Buddha statues in the hall were cut into several pieces by the sunlight, and the outlines were softened in the shadows.
But the four of them stopped. They saw a monk sitting in front of the Buddha statue. The monk was dressed in white and had a handsome face, with a lotus flower on his lap.
“Shi Zhen?” Jing Yue was taken aback. The monk in front of him was exactly the same as the Shi Zhen they saw just now.
At this moment, the monk in white looked up and smiled faintly at him.
At that moment, Jing Yue heard the sound of scriptures coming from all directions, getting heavier and louder as if they were going to penetrate his eardrums, making him feel as if he wanted to get away from the world and fall asleep forever.
But at the next moment, a silver-white sword light flashed, and ‘Shi Zhen’ was cut in half from the head down.
As ‘Shi Zhen’ disappeared, Qin Yanzhi retrieved Taiqing.
Jing Yue returned to his senses. Seeing Qin Yanzhi's decisive move, he asked, “Did you hear the scriptures too?”
Qin Yanzhi nodded, and Wei Zhentu behind him rubbed the center of his brows with a scowl.
Wei Zhentu's cultivation level was far lower than that of Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi, so he was naturally the most affected, almost having the illusion that his soul-mind had left his body. Among them, Xue Ming was the weakest. Wei Zhentu wanted to ask if he was okay but suddenly froze.
“What are you laughing at?” He saw Xue Ming's lips curved slightly, revealing a weird smile.
But after he asked the question, Xue Ming withdrew his smile and said blankly, “I wasn’t laughing.”
Wei Zhentu, “…”
Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi glanced at each other before turning to Xue Ming, their eyes full of suspicious scrutiny.
Xue Ming felt uneasy, shrunk his shoulders, and said, “W-What’s wrong?”
Jing Yue didn't answer immediately. He looked at Xue Ming for a while before smiling reassuringly, “Nothing.”
He looked around and noticed a stick of incense burning in front of the Buddha statue. With a thought, he walked forward slowly.
Just when Jing Yue was about to get close to the stick of incense, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he felt a gust of wind from behind him.
Wei Zhentu yelled, “Xiaojiu!”
Jing Yue dodged to the side, and a big hole was blown out where he was standing. Out of the corner of his eye, Xue Ming stretched his hands forward, and Qin Yanzhi and Wei Zhentu rushed over.
“Are you okay?” Qin Yanzhi asked Jing Yue while trying to subdue Xue Ming.
Jing Yue, “I’m fine.”
He looked at Xue Ming, who was evenly matched with Qin Yanzhi, and was shocked. Obviously, Xue Ming was influenced by the scriptures, but the other party was only at the Golden Core level. How could he display such strength?
“How dare you sneak up on Jing-jing?!” The blue phoenix got out of Jing Yue's arms and flapped its wings. “Ji-ji will avenge you!”
Jing Yue hurriedly stopped the blue phoenix, worried that he would hurt Xue Ming because of his indiscriminate attack. “No, Yanzhi can do it.”
The blue phoenix observed the situation and said reluctantly, “Hooligan is only useful at this time! He's just Jing-jing's bodyguard!”
Jing Yue didn’t know what ‘bodyguard’ meant but it was okay as long as the blue phoenix was appeased.
He saw that Xue Ming was getting weaker while Qin Yanzhi was gaining the upper hand, so he felt relieved and focused his attention on the incense stick again.
Just now, he was about to move the stick of incense when Xue Ming attacked him.
Crack!
With a flick of his finger, Jing Yue cut the incense into two pieces, and at the same time, a scream resounded throughout the hall.
Xue Ming fell to the ground and rolled around, clutching his body tightly. His acupoints exploded all over his body, and his monk's robe was quickly soaked with blood.
Wei Zhentu, who was anxiously waiting aside and couldn’t do anything, quickly rushed over to hug Xue Ming, but Xue Ming bit his arm. Wei Zhentu groaned but refused to let go.
“Xiaojiu, what's wrong with you?” Wei Zhentu shouted. “Xiaojiu! Wake up!”
Xue Ming turned a deaf ear, his eyes were full of violence, and he actually bit off a piece of Wei Zhentu's flesh.
His lips were stained with blood, and black energy gathered between his brows, making him look like an evil spirit from hell. His throat moved and he swallowed the piece of flesh.
When Jing Yue thought he was about to go berserk, Xue Ming suddenly twitched, his eyes rolled back uncontrollably, and he passed out.
“Xiaojiu?” Wei Zhentu hurriedly lowered his head to check and saw that Xue Ming's breathing was calm, so he exhaled heavily.
Wei Zhentu didn't know that Xue Ming hadn't lost consciousness at the moment. He could hear the words of the people around him and perceive everyone's movements, but he couldn’t speak or open his eyes.
Xue Ming felt that his soul had left his body, floating around without a place to land.
He drifted aimlessly for a long time before a golden Buddha statue appeared in front of him.
The appearance of the Buddha statue looked familiar. Xue Ming hesitated and said, “Shi Zhen?”
Immediately, he saw a tear flow from the right eye of the golden statue.
A drop of tear contained the world of mortals.
Xue Ming's mind exploded with a loud bang and countless fragmented images rushed toward him.
He saw a handsome young man sitting in a golden hall dressed in a dragon robe, obviously the emperor of the mortal world.
The emperor's eyebrows and eyes were quite similar to his, and he looked eagerly toward the outside of the big hall.
The sunlight outside the hall was just right, and a figure walked slowly against the light. Although Xue Ming couldn't see the other person's face clearly, Xue Ming's heartbeat grew faster. Seeing the emperor standing up suddenly, the corners of his eyes and brows were full of joy, and he said softly, “Preceptor, you’re here.”
The figure got closer and closer, and the outline became clearer and clearer, finally revealing a face that Xue Ming was very familiar with.
The tear from his right eye fell into the world of mortals, but his left eye was indifferent as if it was a projection of a cold moon.
The monk raised his hand and gently wiped away a trace of tears on his cheek. He stood up, lit a stick of incense in front of the Buddha, and bowed with his hands folded.
Then, he turned around, took off the hanging beads on his chest, and began to recite a scripture that no one could understand.
Although Jing Yue didn't know the meaning of the scriptures, his mood gradually calmed down, his emotions no longer fluctuated, and it seemed that his heartbeat almost stopped.
He saw the monk's hanging beads light up with golden light one after another before bursting open. The monk's robes swelled. Wisps of demonic energy poured in from outside the hall, gathered around the monk, and burrowed into his body frantically.
The monk's exposed skin turned dark, full of dead energy, and the whites of his eyes were completely swallowed by the black. His flesh and blood were sucked dry by an unknown force, turning him into a dried corpse.
The big hall vibrated, and the heads of Buddha statues in the hall were blown off one after another, accompanied by screams of pain from outside. Dust filled the air and blurred the figure of the monk.
After a long while, the monk became a skeleton with only skin hanging on it, the corners of his eyes and lips were bloodred. He said in a hoarse voice, “Shi Zhen has delivered a hundred thousand demons!”
With that said, the monk’s robe shattered, and a dazzling golden light radiated from him. The golden light contained endless Buddha power, which healed his withered body, and coated his whole body with a layer of gold.
Roof tiles collapsed, and the ground shook.
Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, the monk's movements became more and more rigid. In the end, he became solid like a golden Buddha.
Colorful light beams descended and enveloped the golden Buddha, and the majestic aura of merit and virtue overflowed.
As the brilliance flowed, the golden Buddha gradually faded away, and finally disappeared completely, leaving no trace behind.
After the strange scene disappeared completely, the few people slowly returned to their senses.
Still caught in a lingering fear, Jing Yue sighed, “Are the scriptures that Shi Zhen recited the inheritance of the true Buddha he received during his enlightenment?”
Qin Yanzhi, “Most likely, or it wouldn’t be possible to deliver a hundred thousand demons in one day.”
Xue Ming also nodded. “I’ve never heard of this scripture. If I was there at that time, I’d be affected too.”
In fact, just after listening to the scriptures, he couldn't help but want to worship Shi Zhen. Fortunately, the power of the scriptures could not be transmitted to the space where they were or he wouldn’t be able to calm his mind at all.
Wei Zhentu looked at the blue phoenix for a long time with disbelief and admiration. He sighed, “It’s a pity we still don’t know how they died.”
They saw what Shi Zhen did but they couldn't see what the demonic Buddhist disciples went through or how they died. But they could be sure of one thing. In the face of such power, all the demonic energy in Ten Thousand Buddha Temple would be purified.
The blue phoenix said unhappily, “As I said, those are trivial things. I just need to know the result.”
Jing Yue rubbed Ji-ji and said, “But I don't see the pool of merit water that Master Kong Miao mentioned either. And from what we saw just now, the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple should have been half destroyed, but now…”
Wei Zhentu, “There are two possibilities. First, what we see is an afterimage left over from this place. Second, it’s an illusion just like those demonic Buddhist monks.”
Jing Yue, “Let's go to the big hall where Shi Zhen is. That should be the key.”
The others had no objections, and they began to look for the main hall.
When they came to the most majestic hall in Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, Jing Yue smelled a strong sandalwood fragrance before entering the door.
In fact, the scent of sandalwood was always present, but the closer to the main hall, the stronger the smell.
Although it was normal to have incense in Buddhist temples, Jing Yue still felt a little strange. “Do you think that the sandalwood fragrance here is too strong?”
Xue Ming was a little baffled. “Is it?”
Both Qin Yanzhi and Wei Zhentu nodded, and the latter said, “It is. Don’t little… Master Xue Ming realize it?”
Xue Ming took a quick glance at Wei Zhentu, hastily lowered his head, and whispered, “This little monk didn't smell it, and I'm not a master. Don't call me that.”
Seeing his shy appearance, Wei Zhentu felt his heart itching and teased, “What should I call you then? Little monk?”
He deliberately enunciated the words ‘little monk’, which sounded very ambiguous. Xue Ming flushed and said, “Y-You can just call this little monk’s given name.”
Wei Zhentu smothered a laugh. Xue Ming was finally willing to talk to him so he wanted to say more, but thinking of their current situation, he held back.
Several people walked to the front of the big hall together. Jing Yue took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
As the wooden door creaked open, a beam of light shone into the dark hall, reflecting the floating dust flying in the light like fireflies. The Buddha statues in the hall were cut into several pieces by the sunlight, and the outlines were softened in the shadows.
But the four of them stopped. They saw a monk sitting in front of the Buddha statue. The monk was dressed in white and had a handsome face, with a lotus flower on his lap.
“Shi Zhen?” Jing Yue was taken aback. The monk in front of him was exactly the same as the Shi Zhen they saw just now.
At this moment, the monk in white looked up and smiled faintly at him.
At that moment, Jing Yue heard the sound of scriptures coming from all directions, getting heavier and louder as if they were going to penetrate his eardrums, making him feel as if he wanted to get away from the world and fall asleep forever.
But at the next moment, a silver-white sword light flashed, and ‘Shi Zhen’ was cut in half from the head down.
As ‘Shi Zhen’ disappeared, Qin Yanzhi retrieved Taiqing.
Jing Yue returned to his senses. Seeing Qin Yanzhi's decisive move, he asked, “Did you hear the scriptures too?”
Qin Yanzhi nodded, and Wei Zhentu behind him rubbed the center of his brows with a scowl.
Wei Zhentu's cultivation level was far lower than that of Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi, so he was naturally the most affected, almost having the illusion that his soul-mind had left his body. Among them, Xue Ming was the weakest. Wei Zhentu wanted to ask if he was okay but suddenly froze.
“What are you laughing at?” He saw Xue Ming's lips curved slightly, revealing a weird smile.
But after he asked the question, Xue Ming withdrew his smile and said blankly, “I wasn’t laughing.”
Wei Zhentu, “…”
Jing Yue and Qin Yanzhi glanced at each other before turning to Xue Ming, their eyes full of suspicious scrutiny.
Xue Ming felt uneasy, shrunk his shoulders, and said, “W-What’s wrong?”
Jing Yue didn't answer immediately. He looked at Xue Ming for a while before smiling reassuringly, “Nothing.”
He looked around and noticed a stick of incense burning in front of the Buddha statue. With a thought, he walked forward slowly.
Just when Jing Yue was about to get close to the stick of incense, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he felt a gust of wind from behind him.
Wei Zhentu yelled, “Xiaojiu!”
Jing Yue dodged to the side, and a big hole was blown out where he was standing. Out of the corner of his eye, Xue Ming stretched his hands forward, and Qin Yanzhi and Wei Zhentu rushed over.
“Are you okay?” Qin Yanzhi asked Jing Yue while trying to subdue Xue Ming.
Jing Yue, “I’m fine.”
He looked at Xue Ming, who was evenly matched with Qin Yanzhi, and was shocked. Obviously, Xue Ming was influenced by the scriptures, but the other party was only at the Golden Core level. How could he display such strength?
“How dare you sneak up on Jing-jing?!” The blue phoenix got out of Jing Yue's arms and flapped its wings. “Ji-ji will avenge you!”
Jing Yue hurriedly stopped the blue phoenix, worried that he would hurt Xue Ming because of his indiscriminate attack. “No, Yanzhi can do it.”
The blue phoenix observed the situation and said reluctantly, “Hooligan is only useful at this time! He's just Jing-jing's bodyguard!”
Jing Yue didn’t know what ‘bodyguard’ meant but it was okay as long as the blue phoenix was appeased.
He saw that Xue Ming was getting weaker while Qin Yanzhi was gaining the upper hand, so he felt relieved and focused his attention on the incense stick again.
Just now, he was about to move the stick of incense when Xue Ming attacked him.
Crack!
With a flick of his finger, Jing Yue cut the incense into two pieces, and at the same time, a scream resounded throughout the hall.
Xue Ming fell to the ground and rolled around, clutching his body tightly. His acupoints exploded all over his body, and his monk's robe was quickly soaked with blood.
Wei Zhentu, who was anxiously waiting aside and couldn’t do anything, quickly rushed over to hug Xue Ming, but Xue Ming bit his arm. Wei Zhentu groaned but refused to let go.
“Xiaojiu, what's wrong with you?” Wei Zhentu shouted. “Xiaojiu! Wake up!”
Xue Ming turned a deaf ear, his eyes were full of violence, and he actually bit off a piece of Wei Zhentu's flesh.
His lips were stained with blood, and black energy gathered between his brows, making him look like an evil spirit from hell. His throat moved and he swallowed the piece of flesh.
When Jing Yue thought he was about to go berserk, Xue Ming suddenly twitched, his eyes rolled back uncontrollably, and he passed out.
“Xiaojiu?” Wei Zhentu hurriedly lowered his head to check and saw that Xue Ming's breathing was calm, so he exhaled heavily.
Wei Zhentu didn't know that Xue Ming hadn't lost consciousness at the moment. He could hear the words of the people around him and perceive everyone's movements, but he couldn’t speak or open his eyes.
Xue Ming felt that his soul had left his body, floating around without a place to land.
He drifted aimlessly for a long time before a golden Buddha statue appeared in front of him.
The appearance of the Buddha statue looked familiar. Xue Ming hesitated and said, “Shi Zhen?”
Immediately, he saw a tear flow from the right eye of the golden statue.
A drop of tear contained the world of mortals.
Xue Ming's mind exploded with a loud bang and countless fragmented images rushed toward him.
He saw a handsome young man sitting in a golden hall dressed in a dragon robe, obviously the emperor of the mortal world.
The emperor's eyebrows and eyes were quite similar to his, and he looked eagerly toward the outside of the big hall.
The sunlight outside the hall was just right, and a figure walked slowly against the light. Although Xue Ming couldn't see the other person's face clearly, Xue Ming's heartbeat grew faster. Seeing the emperor standing up suddenly, the corners of his eyes and brows were full of joy, and he said softly, “Preceptor, you’re here.”
The figure got closer and closer, and the outline became clearer and clearer, finally revealing a face that Xue Ming was very familiar with.
