Young White Horse: I, Ye Dingzhi, offer sacrifice to the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Page 109

Baili Dongjun was taken aback. After arriving in this world, he had indeed overlooked the sky and only glanced around.

He quickly looked up, only to see a scene that shocked him greatly.

In mid-air, there was a black hole. Through the black hole, one could see clouds and surging waves. Clearly, this was his world.

The reason why people from that world could see Wanyang Temple and some scenes within the temple through the black hole was because the black hole reflected Wanyang Temple in mid-air.

However, what shocked Baili Dongjun was not the black hole, but the moon hanging high in the sky.

The moon was not a bright and clear moon, but a strange and terrifying blood moon, which looked extremely eerie at first glance.

The crimson moonlight spilled over the world, dyeing everything crimson.

However, the moonlight of the blood moon was blocked by the Buddhist light of Wanyang Temple, which is why Baili Dongjun did not notice it at the first moment.

"Why is the moon blood red?!"

Baili Dongjun unconsciously lowered his voice, but his tone was extremely shocking, and one could feel a chill seeping into one's back.

“Perhaps this is why this world is somewhat strange,” Su Baiyi analyzed. “The Buddha light in Wanyang Temple may not be because of us, but because of this blood moon.”

"Be careful not to get exposed to the blood moon. I have a feeling that if you do, there's a high chance something bad will happen to you."

Everyone nodded in agreement. However, it would be difficult to be illuminated by the blood moon at this moment, because a large area around them was already covered by the Buddhist light of Wanyang Temple. It would only be possible if they went far away and left the area.

"Let's go." Bai Jile, as always, took the lead and headed towards the temple.

This temple occupies a vast area, as can be seen from the projection in the black hole earlier.

The group crouched low and climbed over a section of the temple's red-painted wall.

"This wall is painted red with blood?" As Baili Dongjun climbed over the wall, he smelled a strong stench of blood, a stench that even the scent of incense couldn't mask.

"If all the red walls of such a large temple were painted with blood, I wonder how much blood would have been used."

Baili Dongjun was secretly alarmed.

A short while later, everyone had entered Wanyang Temple.

"It's so lively today! The temple hasn't been this lively in a long time." A voice came from the other end of the corner.

"Yes! It's said they found a Buddhist nun. I didn't expect those guys to be so lucky. They only went out of the border and made such a big gain, even directly bestowing the title of Buddha upon her." Another voice rang out.

"What incredible luck! I almost wanted to go out of bounds." The first voice was full of envy.

Baili Dongjun peeked out and saw a monk with bright red skin, no hair on his head, and a ferocious face like a demon, holding a monk's knife that was taller than a person and saying something with a face full of jealousy.

"The foolish monk listened to the wondrous sound, then chopped off his head as a form of spiritual practice; he followed a crooked path and twisted logic, the knife awakened him but the man remained oblivious!"

The yaksha monk took a big gulp of wine and mumbled a poem.

“Monk with the knife, Buddha once said that if you want to enter the Buddhist realm to cultivate, you need to cut off a hundred heads. If you can really cut off a thousand heads, you can even become an Arhat in the main hall. How many heads have you cut off?” a monk with his eyes covered asked.

"Sigh, don't mention it. I thought it would be an easy thing, just beheading. Before I was a Yaksha, I killed a few people every day. I never thought that the path to seeking the Dharma would become more and more difficult. I can't keep up with the nimble Frozen Hungry Ghost. I don't dare to mess with the tall and powerful Lamp-Holding Hell Envoy. And that capricious Red-Haired Ghost is getting more and more ruthless as he gets older. He has beheaded quite a few of his companions."

“Even you weakest Cloud Piercing Ghosts have gone mad since you started practicing the Closed-Eyes Zen, and you look rather frightening.”

Despite his fierce-looking appearance, the Yaksha monk was now displaying an expression of resentment. No one could tell that this seemingly menacing Yaksha monk was actually a paper tiger, a mere charlatan.

"Why did you gouge out your own eyes when you were perfectly fine?"

The blindfolded monk seemed perfectly normal, but the words he uttered were chilling.

"I can't stand the injustices in this world, but I'm not strong enough. With my master's guidance, I can see without worry. The greatest problem for a person is weakness. I can cultivate properly by closing my eyes."

“I thought that by covering my eyes with a cloth, I could devote myself to the Tao and ignore the world, but once the cloth was removed, I still couldn’t remain indifferent.”

“I asked Buddha for advice, and Buddha told me, why not try gouging out my eyes? So I gouged out my eyes.”

The Yaksha laughed, "With your eyes gouged out, is your heart at peace?"

The blindfolded monk remained silent for a while. He was blind and should have no more interest in the world, but the slightest breeze or rustling of the wind only made his restless heart itch even more.

"No, there are living people!"

The blindfolded monk's ears twitched slightly, and he suddenly shouted in a low voice.

Baili Dongjun was startled; he could actually hear such light footsteps.

"Shh!"

A sharp gust of wind came as the blindfolded monk threw a punch at Baili Dongjun.

"Pfft!" Su Baiyi shot out a flying sword, which pierced the blindfolded monk's heart.

But the next moment, another giant blade came slashing down.

"Bagua!" Mo Yi unleashed a Bagua symbol, which entered the Yaksha monk's body. The Yaksha monk's body stiffened, and he fell straight to the ground.

"Even a junior monk in this temple possesses the strength of the Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm." Although he killed the Yaksha monk in one move, Mo Yi's expression was somewhat shocked.

“Perhaps there are other cultivation treasures in this world, but I suspect more the reason is the blood moon in the sky.” Baili Dongjun looked up at the blood moon in the sky and said in a deep voice.

Having just overheard the monk's words, he gained a rough understanding of Wanyang Temple. The temple had many monks, including some who were primarily focused on killing. However, all of these monks seemed rather strange.

There's even a monk who gouged out his own eyes; it's utterly bizarre.

"Which way do we go next?" Baili Dongjun asked in a low voice.

“Let’s head towards the center of the temple,” Bai Wuji said.

The group quietly made their way toward the center of the temple, encountering many different monks along the way.

There was a blind monk carrying a large stone, a skinny monk carrying an incense burner, and even a monk who looked like an old monkey...

After walking for a long time, Baili Dongjun and his party finally approached the center of the temple.

Chapter 102 The Demonic Cult Rises Again, Target: Enter the Northern Li!

As they drew closer to the center of the temple, Baili Dongjun grew increasingly nervous.

He didn't know how his junior sister was doing now, whether she was alive or dead, or where she was.

"This journey has been too easy. We've only encountered a few monks along the way, and we haven't even seen the Thousand-Armed Buddha of Flesh and Blood that we saw before," Mo Yi said in a deep voice. "It seems that something has happened to this temple."

"No, they're just somewhere else," Bai Wuji, who was walking at the front, suddenly spoke up: "...There might be trouble."

Upon hearing this, Baili Dongjun and the others were stunned and quickly stepped forward. Then, a shocking scene appeared before their eyes.

There, in a vast and spacious temple ground, sat many monks.

These monks were numerous, numbering in the tens of thousands, and they were all of different shapes and sizes, each with a bizarre and unsightly appearance.

Among them, Baili Dongjun saw the flesh-and-blood Asura Buddha he had seen before, as well as the golden giant hand. To his surprise, the owner of the golden giant hand was not the giant he had imagined.

Instead, it was an enormous worm, and the worm's tail was the golden giant hand.

Besides these, there are many more bizarre monsters.

A Buddhist temple filled with monsters—this scene was truly bizarre. If the plaque at the temple entrance didn't bear the inscription "Wanyang Temple," no one would guess it was a temple.

At the very center of the temple stands a colossal Bodhisattva statue that soars into the clouds.

This is a stone sculpture, and the face of the Bodhisattva is so lifelike that it looks as if a real person has been petrified.

This is a male bodhisattva, whose face is not as kind and benevolent as that of a normal bodhisattva. Instead, he looks somewhat sharp and sinister. His right hand is raised and pointing to the sky, and the feet exposed under his robes are four sharp claws.

Beneath this Bodhisattva statue, a stunningly beautiful woman with a cold and aloof demeanor sits cross-legged on a prayer mat, her eyes closed.

"That's my junior sister!" Baili Dongjun exclaimed, finally relieved.

As long as people are alive, there is still hope.

"When one sees emptiness, form arises and calamities arise; when one sees compassion, desires arise and are as vast as the sea."

"Past pleasures are now regretted; cleanse your heart and let go of all thoughts, awaiting the coming of the wind."

A magnificent voice rang out from the temple. It belonged to a large-bodied monk, who was probably the abbot of the temple. He was wearing a kasaya and sat not far from Li Hanyi.

"The Buddha is lonely in heaven. Although we are just lowly monks in the mortal world, we also want to help the Buddha relieve his worries and troubles. Fortunately, we have a Buddhist nun who can accompany the Buddha."

The abbot continued, "Today's gathering is for the investiture of this Buddhist nun, to bestow upon her the title of Buddhist nun."

“We should recite scriptures and chant Buddha’s name with sincere hearts, and Buddha will naturally send down a verse.”

As soon as he finished speaking, all the monks in the entire temple clasped their hands together, closed their eyes, and silently chanted scriptures.

It was clearly a bizarre and terrifying monster, yet it sat calmly with a peaceful expression, muttering strange Buddhist scriptures. The scene was as bizarre as it could be.

Upon seeing this scene, Baili Dongjun finally understood why he hadn't encountered any powerful or strange monks along the way. It turned out that they had all gathered at this Taoist temple to hold this investiture ceremony.

This investiture ceremony was held to make Li Hanyi a so-called Buddhist nun.

Baili Dongjun didn't know what the term "Buddha's Daughter" meant, but he knew very well that it was definitely not a good thing.

Moreover, the words spoken by the Buddha just now secretly alarmed Baili Dongjun.

The Buddha resides in the heavens, while this is merely the lower realm. Could it be that this world has a celestial realm?

Or perhaps this celestial realm, and even the Buddha, are merely figments of these monks' imaginations, and not truly exist, just like their own world?

However, the strange blood moon in the sky made Baili Dongjun uneasy, as no one knew what the world was really like.

"Seniors, what should we do next?" Mo Yi asked in a low voice.

Su Baiyi's expression was somewhat serious, and he said in a deep voice, "I haven't thought of any good solutions yet. There are too many monks in this temple, and the Buddha's strength should also be above the Divine Travel Realm."

"What about the others?" Baili Dongjun asked.

"The rest are at most in the Divine Realm, and most are in the Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm. However, these monks' methods are very strange and cannot be judged by common sense," Su Baiyi reminded.

Baili Dongjun's expression became much more somber. He had already deeply felt the strangeness of these monks.

Although their strength was the same as his, both being at the Divine Realm, he was beaten without any chance to fight back because he did not understand the methods of these monks.

Take, for example, the Thousand-Armed Buddha of flesh and blood. His body is impervious to swords and fists; only Mo Yi's Bagua can have some effect on him.

“The situation here is too dangerous, and I’m afraid we can’t save anyone,” Bai Wuji said calmly. “The best course of action now is to leave the temple, reseal the black hole, and pretend that this whole thing never happened.”

"No!" Baili Dongjun said anxiously, "If we seal that passage, won't my junior sister never be able to go back?"

“She was already beyond saving. If we force her to be saved, we might not be able to defeat her and end up getting ourselves killed. In that case, no one will be there to guard the seals of the four realms in our original world, and the whole world will fall into chaos,” Bai Wuji said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Baili Dongjun was speechless.

Bai Wuji looked at Su Baiyi and said, "You should know the importance of the Four Realms Seal. We cannot afford to lose any of our lives."

"Of course I know."

Su Baiyi put down the sword box on his back and said, "Lord Bai, you have been guarding the Southern Border for many years and cannot afford to make any mistakes. I handed over my responsibilities to my disciple a few years ago, so I don't have so many concerns."

"Over the years, I have lived in seclusion in the Kunlun Mountains, and after a long time, I inevitably feel a bit lonely."

"Here's what we'll do: go set up the seal over the black hole passage and wait for me. If anything goes wrong with me, just seal the black hole passage and don't worry about me."

"Grandmaster!" Baili Dongjun stared blankly at Su Baiyi.

Su Baiyi smiled and said, "Of the four borders, the guardian of the western border is not here, and the guardians of the northern, southern, and eastern borders still need to be guarded. So I can only leave one person with me. Who will come?"

"I come!"

"I come!"

Baili Dongjun and Mo Yi spoke at the same time.

The two exchanged a glance, and Baili Dongjun said, "Over the years, I have spent every day in a drunken stupor. I went to Penglai Immortal Island to find that ingredient for wine, in order to brew Meng Po soup and try to forget everything."

"But even the Meng Po soup won't work, so we might as well stay here."

Mo Yi shook his head: "You have wine, but I don't. This matter arose because of me, so naturally I should resolve it."

"However, I would like to ask you for a favor. I hope that you will be in charge of guarding this Penglai Immortal Island from now on."

Baili Dongjun, however, remained somewhat adamant in his stance.

Mo Yi smiled and said, "That Meng Po soup is indeed the best wine in the world. After drinking it, I realized many things and felt a little tired."

"At that time, I just wanted to get a good night's sleep, but unfortunately, there were still many things that I had to deal with myself."

“I don’t want to continue guarding Penglai Immortal Island. This is a deal between us. If I can get out of here, you will continue to guard Penglai Immortal Island, and I will find a place to sleep soundly for ten or twenty years.”

"After waking up from this dream, I want to go back to the world and see it for myself."

Seeing that Mo Yi had already said this much, Baili Dongjun remained silent for a while before nodding slightly.

"Then, before you go to sleep, we'll have a little cup of the Meng Po soup."

Mo Yi nodded, then looked at Su Baiyi: "Senior, I'll go with you."