Dong dong dong~ Dun dun dun~ The drum beat rhythmically.
"Mount the Heavenly Disc, and the sky will rotate. Mount the Earthly Disc, and the earth will rotate. A black fish carries the earth while the qi above supports the skies. The black fish supports the moving earth. The qi supports the revolving sky. This was how the stars were arranged."
Amidst Bai Lingmiao's drumming, the incense from the house's four corners slowly enveloped the dying baby.
White smoke entered the baby's orifices. Bai Lingmiao took out a pair of scissors and cut open a small hole in the baby's left palm.
Bai Lingmiao pressed hard on the baby's left palm. The white smoke and a dark yellow gelatinous goo were forced out from the small wound.
As she continued to squeeze out the goo, the baby's face became redder, and he soon started crying.
An old man also began crying when he heard the baby crying. "My son is alive! My family finally has an heir!"
The old man brought his entire family and kneeled on the ground before Bai Lingmiao, "Saintess! Thank you for saving our entire family! For the sake of the White Lotus Sect's prosperity, we will donate our belongings! From now on, we will devote our everything to the White Lotus Sect!"
Bai Lingmiao walked out of the courtyard. Meanwhile, devotees of the White Lotus Sect marked chests filled with gold and silver with tapes of the sect as they hauled them out from the estate.
"Are we doing the right thing?" Bai Lingmiao asked.
The Second Deity scoffed. "We're already this late into the game and you still have the time to think whether this is fine? Think about what he had done in the past! If I was the one who made the decision, I would've blackmailed him using his son and taken all of his belongings instead!"
Bai Lingmiao remained quiet as she stared at the beggars downing bowls of porridge near a stand.
The world was in chaos, so it wasn't a time to be considerate to others. This amount of money could be used to save so many more people. The old tycoon would've just kept the money in his vault to rot. Money was meant to be spent to maximize its value!
Now that they were at war, there were very few people working in the fields. The cost of food was rising rapidly.
Bai Lingmiao walked out of the city and looked at the devotees working hard in the fields. All of them ran towards her and kneeled the moment they saw her.
"I am Qian Chaoqing. I greet the Saintess."
"How's the field?"
Qian Chaoqing's face was covered in dirt when she frowned.
"Saintess, it's as you've said. It's very bad right now. We've lost so many divisions in a day that the calendar is worthless now. I don't even know the season now. More importantly, the weather for the past few years has been bad."
Bai Lingmiao looked up. The clouds were flowing in a weird pattern, condensing and dispersing occasionally, as if something was fighting inside them.
"It's either a drought or flood. Saintess, I've been working in the fields for over forty years, but this is the first time I've faced so much difficulty. We have a lot of laborers from the White Lotus Sect, but no matter how hard we worked, we only managed to get half the amount of food compared to the previous years. There are even places where they yielded less than me."
"Do not worry about this. We will work as hard as we can while we leave the rest to the Heavenly Mater."
The white lotus on Bai Lingmiao's forehead glowed faintly. Qian Chaoqing felt as if he had found the greatest treasure of his life, and he smiled before returning to his fields to work.
This was Bai Lingmiao's idea—delegate the task of planting food to those with weak comprehension skills. Since they couldn't learn any techniques from the White Lotus Sect, they were used as laborers.
For the sake of defeating the Dharma Sect, the devotees of the White Lotus Sect were willing to do anything.
The White Lotus Sect was rapidly expanding and providing background support for each country. She was maximizing every single resource in each one.
Producing food in every country was extremely helpful. Transporting the food from the Liang Kingdom to Si Qi would've wasted too much time and resources. Bai Lingmiao was certain that most of the food would've been eaten during the journey.
"I thought the Heavenly Mater was strong? How come she can't just produce food?" The Second Deity taunted.
Bai Lingmiao shook her head lightly. "Even the Immortal Families can't do so. I sent people to scour the lands, but none of them reported anything about a deity that could give us bountiful crops."
"Hmph! Many of them can't even help us. All they know is how to take from us."
"We have to think of a plan. We don't know how much longer we'll have to fight."
"Rather than thinking about how to produce more food, we should get rid of the Dharma Sect as soon as possible. We can then take over their granaries. That way, we won't have to worry about food anymore."[1]
Bai Lingmiao did not protest that idea. She continued to walk and reached the barracks. They were special because the banner was a white donkey following a white lotus.
She saw numerous shirtless young men around fifteen to sixteen years old. They were all standing there and observing the master on the stage turning impervious to all bladed weapons. They yearned to learn that technique.
The youths were specially selected for their excellent comprehension abilities and physical bodies.
They had a wide selection of candidates since they could recruit a lot of people, but they were expanding so fast that they didn't have enough masters to teach the disciples.
Rather than a barrack, the place was more like a mobile temple for the Heavenly Mater. There were altars and drawings of the Heavenly Mater everywhere.
The White Lotus Sect accepted both men and women. All they required was good comprehension. Bai Lingmiao soon saw a familiar face on another stage, Chun Xiaoman.
She was very strict in her teachings. The black hair covering her body scared everyone.
"You are all women! If you want to live you will follow my training! You will not stop until I tell you to stop! If you lose on the battlefield, you will face an ending worse than death! I chose all of you because your family was killed by the Dharma Sect! If you think you can't endure it anymore, think about how your family was killed by the Dharma Sect! Think about how you swore to kill them for revenge!" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
As she shouted, the women started stomping and chanting their sutras. All of them had a red dot on their forehead.
As they chanted, they began walking barefooted onto a large path of burning coal.
Many of them were unharmed when they walked out, but some were less proficient and got burned.
Thankfully, there were people on standby with buckets of sand. The moment any of them burned up, they threw the bucket of sand at them. Whoever had been burned would then be eliminated.
Bai Lingmiao couldn't stomach it, but she didn't call for them to stop. If the Dharma Sect won, there would be even more deaths.
Only after taking command did Bai Lingmiao realize there were no perfect plans, only the best ones possible given the circumstances. She could only choose plans that required the least sacrifice.
Bai Lingmiao had thought that her personality wouldn't allow her to do so, but every time she remembered how the Emperor of Si Qi talked about sacrificing 1,800,000 people for the sake of the world, she steeled herself to prepare for the worst.
She was doing this not only for herself—it was also for the sake of the other members of the White Lotus Sect.
She remembered what she had sworn to do, to prevent the others from losing their family. She didn't want them to suffer what she had gone through herself.
Bai Lingmiao had been working hard for that.
She was patrolling the area when she saw a paper crane flying down from the air.
She opened the paper crane and thought she had misread it. Xuan Pin was calling for her to discuss something.
Chapter 771 - Banquet
Bai Lingmiao slowly made her way towards the grand hall under the guidance of four eunuchs holding lanterns.
This was not the palace of Si Qi's Emperor. It was a smaller place he lived in to escape the summer heat.[1] Even so, the entire place was built based on the palace itself.
Bai Lingmiao grew closer and heard the sound of cheerful music.
She entered the hall and saw hundreds of people sitting in two rows, chatting happily and toasting each other.
There were civil officers, martial officers, monks, daoists, and several others who looked like they didn't belong there.
In the middle of the hall, several beautiful ladies with small feet were elegantly and gracefully dancing in the palm of a massive armored man.
"Is this a celebratory banquet?" Bai Lingmiao wasn't sure what was happening. "Is this why Xuan Pin sent a message for me to come here?"
"Saintess, please sit here." The eunuchs guided her to a designated seat.
As soon as she sat, several rare dishes, such as bear paws and deer antlers, were served to her.
Bai Lingmiao ignored the food. She turned to look at the massive person in red robes sitting beside the main throne.
It was Xuan Pin. The dead Xuan Pin has somehow appeared again.
Bai Lingmiao wanted to take a closer look, but Xuan Pin noticed her. He shook his head gently and gestured to her to remain still.
She felt a familiar presence and frowned but still complied. She sat down without a word.
Bai Lingmiao then looked towards the main table and saw the emperors sitting on their thrones. The Liang Kingdom's Emperor, Qing Qiu's Khan, Si Qi's Emperor, and Hou Shu's Emperor were all present.
Gao Zhijian's status was the highest, so he sat in the middle. Qing Qiu's Khan sat at his side while the emperors from Si Qi and Hou Shu, who had just regained their kingdoms, sat on the edge.
Gao Zhijian held his cup, and the eunuchs gave the dancers a knowing look. The dancers swiftly finished the dance and retreated.
"Today." Gao Zhijian's low voice silenced the hall. "Today, I am thrilled to announce that the kingdom of Si Qi has been reclaimed from the evil Dharma Sect!"
Everyone in the hall smiled at the good news.
Gao Zhijian continued his speech. Bai Lingmiao had no formal education, but she still felt that his speech was meaningless.
The point was that the Dharma Sect had been defeated in Si Qi, and everyone was called to work towards its complete eradication diligently, with the goal of restoring normalcy by the end of the year.
The dancers made a comeback. This time, they didn't dance on the man's palm—they danced on top of some drums! Their tiny white feet moved rhythmically on the drums, synchronizing with the beat of the music. The crowd loved it.
Bai Lingmiao felt conflicted when she witnessed how wasteful the others were being, all while her followers had to make do with nearly spoiled vegetables.
She waited until the banquet ended late at night.
When almost everyone had left the hall, Bai Lingmiao approached Si Qi's Emperor. "Your Majesty, the war is not over. I don't believe spending so much on a feast is necessary."
"I was the one who told them to do it," Gao Zhijian said. He looked exhausted, as if the weight of his crown was too heavy. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
"Junior Bai, I understand what you are trying to say, but we cannot skimp on this. If we don't do this, the people beneath us will speculate a lot. The expenses for tonight are a minor cost to reassure everyone and make them believe everything is running smoothly."
Bai Lingmiao looked at Gao Zhijian and noticed that he was much different now.
Bai Lingmiao decided to let it go and asked another question. "And what about Xuan Pin? Isn't he dead?"
Gao Zhijian waved his hands and signaled the guards to surround the palace. The eunuchs became the second line of defense as they surrounded the place too. "Let's talk inside."
They entered the inner palace. Then, Bai Lingmiao saw that Li Sui and Li Huowang were hidden beneath Xuan Pin's robes. Li Sui slithered out of the robes with her tentacles, revealing Li Huowang's face beneath the robes.
The Xuan Pin that everyone had seen at the banquet was fake—it was actually Li Huowang and Li Sui in disguise. The real Xuan Pin was dead.
The red robes filled with weird runes were trailing on Li Huowang's body like a large bedsheet.
However, the red robes eventually became smaller until they became a good fit for Li Huowang's body.
Li Huowang hugged Bai Lingmiao lightly before letting her go.
"We cannot let news of Xuan Pin's death spread. It would affect the soldier's morale," Gao Zhijian said as a group of people walked into the inner palace.
Those who could enter the place were naturally the core nucleus of the allied army. Everyone in the room knew what had happened.
The banquet was just a smokescreen. The real fight began here.
As everyone took a seat on the chairs adorned with gold embroidery, the eunuchs served them a cup of tea before making their way out.
In contrast to the festive mood outside, the atmosphere within the inner palace was rather somber. A wisp of white steam escaped from the teacup, yet silence hung in the air, with no one daring to break it.
Li Huowang was the first one to talk. "Xuan Pin is dead and there's no need to hide anything from me. How's the situation?"
Li Huowang steeled himself for the battle to come, no matter how hard it would get.
But no one replied to him.
"What? Do you all think my rank is so low that I don't have the right to ask?"
He looked at Gao Zhijian, who gestured at the deputy chief of the Liang Kingdom's Surveillance Bureau to speak.
"The Dharma Sect is now hiding in Nan Ping. We've just sent the informants and we have no insight into their internal structure yet."
Li Huowang frowned. "That's it? I don't believe that you guys would still hide information from me when the situation is already this critical."
"Daoist Li, Chief Xuan Pin instructed not to divulge certain information to you."
"Stop trying to use him to suppress me! I don't have to listen to his orders! How did he die if he's really that strong? Don't try to push me to the side—I intend to fight in the war! Tell me everything, including what you expect me to do. I'll decide if I want to do it or not!"
Gao Zhijian waved lightly at Li Huowang to calm him down. "Senior Li, please don't be upset. They are not trying to hide anything from you. What specific questions do you have? They will talk."
"How did Xuan Pin die? What happened to them while I was fighting Ma Tuo?"
1. Essentially a summer home ☜
Chapter 772 - Plan
"How did Xuan Pin die? What happened to them while I was fighting Ma Tuo?"
Li Huowang wanted to know urgently. Did Xuan Pin and the others fight against the other Simings even though they were weak, or was it another ambush from the Dharma Sect?
Both scenarios were possible, but the former was less probable. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Xuan Pin was the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau. He clearly knew about the Simings' strength, and they were not idiots who would charge into the Baiyu Capital to fight the Simings.
Li Huowang was worried that the Dharma Sect had ambushed Xuan Pin. He never thought the Dharma Sect would have the power to both summon Ma Tuo to distract him and ambush Xuan Pin.
If that was the case, the Dharma Sect's strength had far exceeded everyone's expectations. They could swoop in and kill everyone if they wanted.
It would also mean that the Dharma Sect retreated not because they were defeated, but rather because they wanted to regroup and recover their strength. That way, they could destroy the Liang Kingdom in one fell swoop.
They really couldn't lose now. Si Qi, Qing Qiu, Hou Shu, and the Liang Kingdom were all allied now. If they lost, the Dharma Sect would dominate the entire land, and they would end up like the Qi Kingdom.
The deputy chief did not reply to Li Huowang's question. They whispered among each other while looking at Gao Zhijian from time to time to ask for permission.
"Let me tell you what happened. The deputy chiefs don't know what happened because there were certain things that even Xuan Pin did not tell them."
An unfamiliar voice came from the group of people. Li Huowang stood up and noticed a man sitting in the corner. The man was wearing an oversized Nuo opera mask.
Li Huowang recognized the massive Nuo opera mask depicting two distorted faces stacked on top of one another. It was the Chief of Hou Shu's Surveillance Bureau, Zhang Tan. He had survived since he hadn't gone with Xuan Pin.
"Xuan Pin observed earthly and celestial signs to predict that there would be chaos in the Baiyu Capital. He came up with a plan to use three Dragon Veins as the base of an array to help the Simings fight against god Yu'er. Don't ask me how—I don't know how he did it. Xuan Pin's techniques are very mysterious."
"Wait, which Simings did he try to help?"
"The Heavenly Mater, Ji Zai, Kui Lei, Doulao, Jiang Xiangshou, the Five Dhyani Buddhas, the Three Ancient Ones, Ba-Hui, and the Sacrificial God."
"Wait a minute. Even Doulao is helping the other Simings fight against god Yu'er?" Li Huowang remembered that Doulao had been fighting against Ji Zai and wondered why it was helping now.
If that was true, he couldn't imagine what was happening in the Baiyu Capital.
Zhang Tan didn't answer Li Huowang's question. "I didn't follow them that day since I was guarding the Dragon Veins to prevent an ambush from the Dharma Sect. I also don't know what happened there.
"However, there were corpses of Dharma Sect members on the ground. I believe that god Yu'er informed the Dharma Sect about their location, allowing them to send people to disrupt the ceremony."
"So," Li Huowang clenched his fists, "the Dharma Sect ambushed Xuan Pin and the others while they were in the array? Is that why they died? Because they failed?"
"No," Zhang Tan shook his head, "Xuan Pin and the others succeeded. They sacrificed themselves and now god Yu'er is dead."
"Wait, what?!" Everyone in the inner palace stood up from shock.
They all knew that the Dharma Sect worshiped god Yu'er. If god Yu'er was genuinely dead, it was only a matter of time before the Dharma Sect crumbled.
"Wait, that's not right!" Li Huowang's voice calmed the others down. "There's no reason for so many Simings to work together to defeat god Yu'er alone, especially since they also needed Xuan Pin and the others to help them!"
Zhang Tan nodded. "You are right. God Yu'er is dead, but the Dharma Sect has other patron gods too like Sir Arrogant Stone and the others still hiding in the darkness."
Everyone deflated and sat back down.
Li Huowang took a deep breath. At least Xuan Pin's sacrifice was not in vain. They killed god Yu'er in the process. While the situation is not looking good, at least there's still a chance of overturning it.
One of the Lamas from the Antrabhara Temple stood up and whispered to Gao Zhijian after Li Huowang finished asking his questions. Gao Zhijian was shocked. "Is that true? Then please do so!"
"Did the Lamas have a method to defeat the Dharma Sect?"
Li Huowang drank his cold tea as he looked at the Lamas heading out to find someone.
"Senior Li, why are you wearing Xuan Pin's robes?" Bai Lingmiao asked curiously.
Li Huowang felt the robes on his body and pondered before saying, "They're thick and don't burn up."
Li Huowang touched the flowing runes on the red robes gently. "Xuan Pin is already dead, so he does not need them anyway."
He wasn't superstitious, so he didn't mind wearing a dead person's clothes as long as they held value to him.
The robes could also shrink or enlarge freely, and there was the added benefit of fooling the Dharma Sect into thinking that Xuan Pin was still alive.
The Lama brought someone into the inner palace while Li Huowang placed his teacup down. The Lama had brought in an old man with white eyes. He held onto a white banner and trembled every time he walked forward.
Li Huowang stared without any reservation but found nothing special about the old man.
He was still thinking about what was happening when the blind old man kneeled on the ground and kowtowed to the direction Gao Zhijian was in with the help of a eunuch. The old man then took out an old tortoise shell scribbled with various runes from his bag.
The old man fished out several coins and threw them into the tortoise shell while he chanted mysteriously. He then shook the tortoise shell with the coins clinking inside.
Once he was done, he swung the tortoise shell downwards. Eight coins flew out, with six facing heads up and two facing tails up.
The blind man touched the coins with his wrinkled hands and revealed a joyous expression. He kneeled on the ground and started kowtowing in a random direction. "Your Highness! This is the divination of great fortune!"
"Oh my god!" Li Huowang pressed his temples with pain and stood up. "What the fuck are you guys doing? The situation is dire! Can you stop being superstitious? Can you really kill the Dharma Sect with your divination?!"
Chapter 773 - Solution
Everyone frowned upon hearing Li Huowang's words.
Qing Qiu's Khan wanted to say something but was stopped by Gao Zhijian.
"Senior Li, a divination before the battle has always been our tradition. The man standing before us is the famous Half-Immortal Fu Su. His divinations are known for always being accurate. While he may not be able to help us defeat the Dharma Sect, a divination of great fortune could greatly benefit us."
"Hoh." Li Huowang stared at the old man. "You can do divinations to see whether we're lucky or not? Which Siming do you follow? Which Siming's strength do you borrow?"
Half-Immortal Fu Su, who had been respectful towards Gao Zhijian, showed a prideful look on his face. "We fortune tellers do not borrow anything from other beings. Everything has its cause and effect, including the Simings. I calculate the fate of the heavens and find the cause and effect of the Simings!"
"So you're saying you can calculate the fates of the heavens when you yourself are already one foot into the grave? Are you saying that you can observe constantly changing fates? Are you stronger than a Siming?"
Li Huowang had seen too many things and was very skeptical.
Fu Su replied, "You're also a Daoist, so why don't you believe in fate? What is a Siming? As their name implies, while they control fate, they also have their own fate. Everything they do and will do is set in stone. Isn't that right, Li Huowang?"
Li Huowang felt surprised when the old man called out his name without ever hearing it before, but he soon calmed down.
"So you can tell my fortune? Well then, go ahead and enlighten me! I want to see what else you can dig up. Tell me where I come from."
Surprisingly, Fu Su shook his head. "I cannot calculate that."
"Haha! So just like that, you can't tell me my fortune? Why don't you join the Sitting Oblivion Dao and become a Shai Zi if you're so great at lying?"
"I cannot calculate because someone else has done it for you. It's up to you to believe me or not, but the sign of great fortune is real. Unless... You want me to calculate great misfortune instead?"
"I—" Li Huowang shut up. The old man was right. He wanted to win, not lose.
Gao Zhijian sat down on his throne and looked at Li Huowang with a complicated expression. "Senior Li, now is not the time to fight. Could you stop fighting for the sake of my honor right now?"
Li Huowang remained silent and sat back down.
Fine. Let them be superstitious. I suppose it's not bad for him to come up with a sign of fortune. Might as well consider it a good start.
Li Huowang believed in divination, but he didn't believe that the old man could predict the end just like that.
Fu Su left and Li Huowang remained silent. Gao Zhijian then took the chance to announce, "A sign of great fortune. The heavens are helping us!"
Gao Zhijian glanced at Li Huowang, who was drinking tea. "Let's put that aside for now. We have more important matters. A kingdom cannot lose its ruler for even a single day, and the same thing can be said for the Liang Kingdom's Surveillance Bureau. Now that Xuan Pin has passed away, we need a new chief. We cannot leave that position empty."
Everyone nodded in agreement. They were about to fight the Dharma Sect, so the position was critical.
"I thought you wanted me to masquerade as Xuan Pin to calm the hearts of others? Wouldn't we reveal that Xuan Pin is dead if we have a new chief now?"
"Senior Li, you will continue to masquerade as Xuan Pin. On the outside, you are still the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau, but on the inside we have someone else using Xuan Pin's name to operate everything."
Gao Zhijian had just answered when someone suggested, "Your Majesty, you have the highest status here. Whoever you nominate will become the Chief!"
Gao Zhijian glanced at Li Huowang before looking at everyone else. "This isn't about just filling the position but about finding the most suitable person for the role. We are now at war. In addition to managing all the affairs within the Surveillance Bureau, the person also needs to help us defeat the Dharma Sect. If the new Chief makes a single mistake, it could cause irreversible damage."
Gao Zhijian looked at the Deputy Chiefs of the Surveillance Bureau. According to the law, the royal family couldn't partake in the matters of the Surveillance Bureaus.
However, the Liang Kingdom's Surveillance Bureau lacked a leader. Despite his lack of knowledge regarding the affairs of the Surveillance Bureau, he needed to appoint a new leader.
"I can give it a try, at least until everything blows over," said Zhang Tan, the Chief of Hou Shu's Surveillance Bureau.
Li Huowang said nothing as they continued their discussion. He wasn't someone perfect. While there were things Li Huowang excelled in, the things that Xuan Pin did were not something he could replicate.
In order to defeat the Dharma Sect, it was important for everyone to focus on their individual strengths and do what they do best.
Li Huowang was actually thinking about something more important. When he snapped back, he noticed that everyone was already paying their respects to the four emperors before leaving.
Gao Zhijian approached Li Huowang and bent down slightly. "Senior Li, you cannot go to Nanping or An Xi to fight alone. The Dharma Sect took over a long time ago. The only ones alive in those two kingdoms are undoubtedly the people from the Dharma Sect.
"Master Xuan Pin said that the Dharma Sect was aiming for you. The moment you go, they will do everything in their power to ensure your demise. The safest option is for you to go when we send our soldiers down to Nanping. You can follow them."
Li Huowang shook his head lightly. "No, the Dharma Sect is not the pressing matter here. It's the Simings that are supporting the Dharma Sect!"
"Senior Li, what are you talking about?"
Li Huowang looked at the familiar giant in front of him. "Do you remember what Xuan Pin did? He borrowed the strength of the other Simings to kill god Yu'er. This means that we can affect the heavens above with our meager strength. If we can kill the Simings supporting the Dharma Sect, we will naturally eradicate the Dharma Sect."
Gao Zhijian wanted to persuade Li Huowang against doing something so dangerous. "But Senior Li, have you forgotten that Master Xuan Pin died because of this? It's too dangerous!"
Li Huowang waved his arms in annoyance. "He died because he didn't prepare thoroughly and got ambushed by the Dharma Sect. It doesn't matter to me."
He stood up and headed outside. "Since we already found out that there are Simings supporting the Dharma Sect, it's only natural for us to try and destroy them, isn't that right?"
It was a chance to end the war. Xuan Pin's success had pointed him towards the direction that he should take, especially since they had managed to kill god Yu'er.
Chapter 774 - Chief
"Try? Of course we must try it! I never said we shouldn't." Gao Zhijian blocked Li Huowang. "I will send as many people as possible to try it!"
Li Huowang replied, "As if they have the strength to do so. I don't think any of them would know where the Baiyu Capital is located. I went there once, and I'm a Siming's Twisted One. I can do this, but we could do this together to increase our chances of winning."
Gao Zhijian held onto Li Huowang's robes. "Senior Li! It's very dangerous to partake in the matters of a Siming! You will die!"
"Idiot. You spent so much time with me after we left the Zephyr Temple. Have you ever seen me afraid of death?" Li Huowang turned his robes incorporeal and escaped Gao Zhijian's grasp.
Li Huowang's departure left Gao Zhijian feeling quite anxious. If he had known this would happen, he would've encouraged Li Huowang to go to Nan Ping to fight instead. It would've been much safer compared to going to Baiyu Capital.
Gao Zhijian asked Bai Lingmiao for help. "Junior Bai, please try to persuade him! It's too dangerous."
Bai Lingmiao pursed her lips and shook her head with sadness. "If you couldn't convince him, neither could I. Senior Li is also right. Handling the problem from the top would also destroy the Dharma Sect for good. We wouldn't have to go through so much suffering either."
"But Senior Li could die!"
Bai Lingmiao clenched her fists. "The White Lotus Sect and I will do everything in our power to keep him alive."
The two of them were still discussing when Li Huowang left the palace. Even though he knew what he needed to do, he still didn't know how.
Xuan Pin treated Li Huowang like a snitch and revealed absolutely nothing to him. He had no choice but to find the way to enter the Baiyu Capital by himself.
Li Huowang headed towards the Surveillance Bureau in hopes of finding the method that Xuan Pin had used.
He reached a small estate guarded by two lions. Li Huowang flashed his identity plate and entered the estate without a hitch.
There were many people inside, most of them here to exchange for treasures. The Surveillance Bureau could mobilize so many people because they quite literally had a trove of treasures to attract mercenaries.
After all, asking people to fight against the Dharma Sect with just ideals wasn't realistic.
"Master." Li Huowang thought he had misheard, but he turned around and saw Lu Xiucai. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Lu Xiucai had undergone a drastic transformation from his initial naive appearance. His entire scalp was gone, one of his eye sockets was empty, his trousers were dangling in the air, and his mouth was devoid of teeth.
Lu Xiucai had become what his father had initially told him last time: an evil entity that Li Huowang would fight against.
Lu Xiucai's shirt was in tatters, and he used his one remaining arm to hold onto his modao, using it as a crutch to stand.
He used his modao to jump forward when he saw Li Huowang approaching him.
"What are you doing here?" Li Huowang frowned as he looked at Lu Xiucai.
"I don't have any legs and can't walk quickly. I'm here to see if there's anything I could use." Lu Xiucai smiled.
"When did you join the Surveillance Bureau?"
"I didn't. The Surveillance Bureau opened up their vault to the outside. Those who fought against the Dharma Sect can exchange items. Don't you know about this?"
"Why would I know something like this?" Li Huowang looked at Lu Xiucai's missing legs and shouted angrily, "Why did you cut off your leg? How did you use the Profound Records? Don't you know that you should skin yourself first? You could even cut off your feet instead!"
"Master, I did. But it was a difficult battle. Skinning my leg and cutting off my feet didn't work. I had to cut off my legs."
Li Huowang sighed. He understood the agony of losing limbs in comparison with losing skin. Lu Xiucai must've faced a really strong opponent.
Li Huowang had thought Lu Xiucai had either died or returned to Cowheart Village. He never thought that Lu Xiucai was still on the front lines. "Why did you fight so hard? You should go back now."
Lu Xiucai shook his head and smiled. "No, Master. I won't return until the Dharma Sect has been completely crushed."
Li Huowang looked towards the Surveillance Bureau. "I have something to do, so you better be careful."
"Please go ahead."
Li Huowang had just taken a few steps when he turned around and took out his dagger. He cut open a small wound on Lu Xiucai's abdomen.
Li Huowang then took out a small human-skin doll from his own abdomen and stuffed it into Lu Xiucai's body.
Li Huowang pressed the wounds tightly and Lu Xiucai's abdomen was healed.[1]
"I am giving you one more life. Go back when it's gone. If you die, the Lu family will be gone forever." Li Huowang patted his shoulder and turned to leave.
"Thank you Master!"
Lu Xiucai turned and hobbled to a different direction than Li Huowang.
Lu Xiucai reached a wooden counter before giving them his collection of black cloths and left ears, which he had collected from the Dharma Sect members he had killed. He planned to exchange them for lifespan pills to get something from the vault.
"Dear Sir, what do you need?" An eunuch with coins sewn into his eye sockets smiled.
"I don't have legs anymore. Are there any treasures that make me walk again so I can chase down people?"
"Is that so? Please go and wait behind the screen. I will check for you."
"Alright." Lu Xiucai hopped on his modao towards the screen.
He initially struggled to hop around on his modao. But now, he was surprisingly skilled at doing so.
He sat behind the screen while touching the place where Li Huowang had cut him on the abdomen previously.
What did Master give me? A life? Could that thing really give me another life? Lu Xiucai was still intrigued when several people approached him from the other side of the screen.
It wasn't the eunuch with coins for eyes, but instead several people wearing large robes and tall hats. Lu Xiucai caught the stench of blood the moment they entered.
"What do you want?" Lu Xiucai wasn't worried because this was the Surveillance Bureau's territory. He was certain that no one would stir up trouble here.
"You and I were fated to meet." The elder in front revealed a bloody Profound Records and pointed at Lu Xiucai's Profound Records, which was barely peeking out of his bag.
1. He could've just regrown Lu Xiucai's limbs with his "Truth" cultivation... ☜
Chapter 775 - Underground
Lu Xiucai wasn't quite sure about what they wanted. However, he recognized the Profound Records in the man's hands, so he had a good guess about who they were. He was no longer a youngster who knew nothing about the world. "You guys are... from the Ao Jing sect?"
"Pleased to meet you. I am Zu Yi." Zu Yi shook Lu Xiucai's hands.
"I am Lu Xiucai. Is there a reason you were looking for me? And what did you mean by 'fated'?"
Zu Yi smiled and sat down next to Lu Xiucai with the other Ao Jing Sect members. He looked at Lu Xiucai's battle-worn body and said, "That's not the proper way of using the Profound Records, but your talent is undeniable. Did someone teach you how to use the Profound Records?"
"My Master."
"I don't think your Master is from the Ao Jing Sect, is he?" Zu Yi probed.
Lu Xiucai didn't answer. He was unsure what they were trying to do, so he didn't want to reveal too much.
"You've used the Profound Records and show no signs of stopping despite your body already being like this," Zu Yi explained. "That means your potential is very high. I am here to invite you to join us. That's what I meant by fate."
Lu Xiucai thought they were bluffing since they were very direct. "I am happy you wish to recruit me, but I must respectfully decline. I am currently a disciple of the White Lotus Sect."
"So what? You can keep praying to your white lotus. The Sacrificial God and Ba-Hui don't need prayers. Only pain connects us to them."
Lu Xiucai remained silent. Only then did Zu Yi reveal some benefits to him.
"You're already like this. Are you afraid of someone taking advantage of you? Have you ever wondered why I still have all of my limbs while you only have a single arm left? As I said before, you're not using the Profound Records correctly. We have methods to regenerate your limbs in our sect. Have you ever seen any of us missing a limb?"
Lu Xiucai's eyes widened in realization. He still remembered how his Master regenerated his wounds and severed limbs. It must've been a technique of the Ao Jing Sect!
"Will you teach me?" Lu Xiucai wanted that power. If he could use it just like his Master did, he could regenerate his wounds and kill more members of the Dharma Sect. His power would increase too.
Zu Yi chuckled when he heard Lu Xiucai's sincere plea. "You need to ascend. The Profound Records is the martial technique of Immortals. If you retain your mortality and do not ascend, you can only use the methods listed in it for a limited amount of time."
"Ascend? Do you mean the Cang-Qiang Ascension?" Lu Xiucai recalled seeing it in the Profound Records before, but the conditions were too harsh.
Zu Yi shook his head. "It's not limited to that. While the Cang-Qiang Ascension is useful, you might not be able to do it. There are different levels of ascension. The Profound Records is a versatile technique, but it's not the only one we have in the sect."
"Oh, then what other techniques do you have, if I dare ask?" Lu Xiucai was intrigued. He knew too little about the Ao Jing Sect. The only thing he knew about the Ao Jing Sect was that it was unlike other sects—its members didn't need to read or have good comprehension skills. This was very helpful for him.
Zu Yi didn't tell him. "As long as you join us, we will naturally tell you."
Lu Xiucai frowned. He looked down, noting his own battered appearance. He decided to join the Ao Jing Sect.
He was already so broken that there was nothing the others could want from his body. The only thing he could do now was kill more Dharma Sect members, and he was ready to pay any price to do so. "Fine, I will join the Ao Jing Sect!"
"Talking here isn't convenient. Let's go back to the Cross Temple and discuss more."
Lu Xiucai grabbed his modao and was about to stand up when Zu Yi stopped him. "Since you want to join us, you cannot move around like that anymore. You've used the Profound Records before, so you should know how we do things, right?"
"But senior... I don't have legs. How should I walk?"
Lu Xiucai screamed when a sharpened wooden stick was stabbed into him to act as his amputated left leg.
After that was the right leg.
Lu Xiucai, who had lost both legs, stood up once more with wooden sticks as legs instead. The pain was unbearable, causing him to tremble and his face to turn pale.
They were looking at Lu Xiucai when he gritted his teeth. "You go first. I will follow you!"
Lu Xiucai had just taken a step with his right leg when the wooden stick sank deeper. Blood flowed down the stick.
However, Lu Xiucai did not hesitate. He saw it as a trial.
"Alright, we will wait for you in the temple." Zu Yi had no intention of waiting for Lu Xiucai. He brought the others and exited the screen before leaving the Surveillance Bureau.
Just then, one of the individuals behind Zu Yi asked, "Elder, are you sure about this? He may be Li Huowang's disciple, but it's possible that Li Huowang doesn't favor him."
Zu Yi glared at him. "Just do your job. You have no right to question the grand elders."
The man lowered his face and remained silent.
Unbeknownst to them, Li Huowang was walking through a narrow corridor just fifteen meters below them.
Even with no one around, Li Huowang could still clearly feel the gazes of others. This was the core of the Surveillance Bureau's temporary base. Their sentries and traps were merely invisible, not absent.
As Li Huowang reached a bamboo door, it opened by itself. On the other side of the door was a spacious underground hall with torches on the side.
Li Huowang found the person he was looking for in the middle of the hall. It was Zhang Tan, the Chief who temporarily took on Xuan Pin's mantle.
Several burly men were holding up four bamboo poles wrapped in red cloth. They held it in a way that made the poles cross each other in the middle.
Zhang Tan was jumping on the poles as he performed a Nuo Opera with music.
Li Huowang had seen a lot of operas and performances thanks to the Lu family, but he couldn't bring himself to think that the one Zhang Tan was performing was a show.
Zhang Tan was still wearing a large wooden mask, which covered his body. He twisted his body in a way that no normal person could do. He effortlessly hopped onto an elastic bamboo pole.
Sometimes, Zhang Tan brought both arms together behind him. Sometimes, he hooked his right foot on the bamboo pole and twirled.
Just then, the drum sounds became faster. Two figures, one black and one white, hopped onto the bamboo pole.
Li Huowang was surprised since he recognized them. They were the Lion Dances that he had fought before!
Chapter 776 - Search
Li Huowang thought his eyes were playing tricks on him when he saw the Lion Dances, but he became certain when he saw the numerous feet beneath the white cloth. It was the same Lion Dances he had fought against underneath Qing Qiu.
At Zhang Tan's guidance, the two Lion Dances jumped, leaped, climbed, and prayed on the bamboo poles.
Li Huowang could understand if Zhang Tan was just performing the Nuo Opera, but he never thought the Lion Dances could be incorporated into it.
When taking a closer look, Li Huowang could see similarities between the masks of Zhang Tan and the Lion Dances.
As he watched, Zhang Tan ended the Nuo Opera. In the past, the person performing would sing a bit, but this time, Zhang Tan remained silent until the music ended.
As the Lion Dances left and the men carried away the bamboo poles, Li Huowang approached Zhang Tan. "What were you doing just now?"
"Welcoming an old guest."
"Why?"
Zhang Tan turned and faced Li Huowang, looking at him from beneath his large wooden mask. "Do you need something?"
Li Huowang decided not to pursue meaningless questions and instead said what he needed.
"I need to know the method Xuan Pin used to assist the other Simings to kill god Yu'er."
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Yes, I don't know." Zhan Tan turned to leave before being stopped by Li Huowang.
"Do you really not know, or are you just pretending you don't? The people who know are dead, and you're currently the highest-ranking person here. If you don't know, no one else in the Surveillance Bureau would. Don't forget that I am also your ally in trying to eradicate the Dharma Sect."
Zhang Tan stared at Li Huowang through his mask. "If Xuan Pin didn't trust you, why would you think he would trust me? Do you think he would tell me everything?"
Zhang Tan left without looking back. Li Huowang frowned. "You don't know? I don't trust you."
Li Sui's tentacles helped Li Huowang put on Xuan Pin's red robes. Li Huowang disappeared into the darkness of the robes and became Xuan Pin.
When he extended his arms out of the robes, they had already turned into Xuan Ping's long, skeletal arms.
He then waved lightly before Shangguan Yuting appeared beside him. She smiled and waved at Li Huowang.
Now that his cultivation of the "Truth" had reached a considerable level, he could manifest any illusions that Xuan Pin used. And instead of manifesting fakes, Li Huowang could manifest the real illusions.
Li Huowang was certain that Xuan Pin wouldn't leave zero traces of such an important ritual, especially after he succeeded in doing it. There must be some traces in the Surveillance Bureau.
Since he doesn't want to tell me, I will have to find it myself. I am also using his identity as the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau right now.
For now, Li Huowang was indeed the highest authority of the Surveillance Bureau. No one could stop him.
"Let's go to his study." Li Huowang floated up with Shangguan Yuting and phased through the ceiling.
They soon reached Xuan Pin's room. Since Li Huowang was masquerading as Xuan Pin, no one stopped him.
He was surprised to find Xuan Pin's room wasn't large compared to his massive body. It was actually narrow.
There was nothing except for books lining up all four walls and a table with an inkwell, brush, and papers. The room was so bare that there wasn't even a bed.
It was also very messy, either by design or because Xuan Pin had been too busy to tidy up the place.
"Didn't he need to sleep?" Li Huowang inspected the table and the documents.
He was disappointed to find that it was just a map of constellations.
"Or maybe it's in the book?" Li Huowang looked at the books stacked all the way up to the ceiling. "I thought his techniques all came from Ji Zai. Does he even need to read?"
Li Huowang flipped a random book and noticed that the ink was slowly moving.
"Amitabha, amitabha." Li Huowang turned around and saw the old monk was praying to the books.
"Xuan Pin most likely died in the Baiyu Capital. I don't think he can reincarnate, so there's no reason to pray for him."
"Daoist, I'm not praying for him. I'm praying to the Buddha."
"Buddha? Here?" Li Huowang approached the old monk and saw a small Buddha statue on the book shelf.
He picked it up and inspected it. He frowned because he had seen it before in the Righteous Monastery.
"Help me find out if there's anything else." The other illusions scattered in the room to search for any noteworthy objects.
They soon found a lot of things.
"Daoist, I found the prayer wheel of a Lama."
"There's also a talisman depicting a cow's nose," Peng Longteng said.
They found more and more things. Li Huowang caught on to key information when they found a mahjong tile of the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
It appeared that everything here was connected to different sects, all of which worshiped the Simings who worked with Xuan Pin!
"I should've known!"
Xuan Pin didn't go to the Baiyu Capital directly when he said that he was helping the Simings.
He first contacted the various sects so that they would allow him to seek their Simings. Then, he went to the Baiyu Capital after they finalized and approved the plan! They must've been sitting on the sidelines when Xuan Pin was contacting the Simings.
Li Huowang placed the items down and walked out.
He looked at the Shimmer Mirror and contemplated which sect he should visit first. The closest one in Si Qi was the Righteous Monastery. The other sects had either been destroyed or were too far away.
"Let's go!" Peng Longteng appeared and threw Li Huowang towards the direction of the Righteous Monastery.
He flew high and fell down numerous times before he reached the Righteous Monastery.
He had come here once before, but now it was different.
The monk at the entrance immediately noticed him. "Amitabha. Benefactor Li, please follow me."
Li Huowang followed him and walked past the crowd to enter from the side door. It wasn't the path that Li Huowang took last time, but he still ended up in front of the Abbot of the Righteous Monastery, in the hall with the five massive Buddha Statues.
Chapter 777 - Abbot
Underneath the five Buddha statues, two abbots wearing red robes were chanting while fiddling with their prayer beads.
One of them was the Abbot of the Liang Kingdom, whom Li Huowang had met before. His appearance was still as conspicuous as ever, with his distinct pink pupils. He had albinism, just like Bai Lingmiao.
The other abbot was ordinary, but he looked like the old monk's illusion that was following Li Huowang around. He was none other than the Abbot of the Qi Kingdom's Righteous Monastery. The last time Li Huowang had seen him was back in Cowheart Village, and he had visibly gained weight since then.
"Amitabha."
"Amitabha."
The two of them greeted and gestured to Li Huowang to sit down at the same time.
"Benefactor Li, it would be a little impolite not to burn some incense for Buddha since we're at the temple," the Abbot from the Qi Kingdom said.
Li Huowang looked at the five Buddhas when he raised his hands. Three lit incense sticks materialized as he prayed simply and stabbed the incense sticks into the hard stone floor, causing it to crack from the impact.
"It's been a while, Abbot. I suppose you didn't think that we would meet again after last time, did you?" Li Huowang asked the Abbot who tried to kill him previously.
He still remembered how the Abbot had tried to trick him into staying in the temple after coming out from the Zephyr Temple. When that failed, he even sent people to kill him.
It was only thanks to Dan Yangzi parasitizing his body that Li Huowang managed to survive.
"Amitabha. Those who become monks must put kindness and compassion first. I was trying to save more people that time."
"Bullshit! You are a fake! I know what you were thinking. You wanted to kill me because I'm a Strayed One!"
"I am saving people. You are indeed a Strayed One, a being capable of harming many others. Benefactor Li, am I wrong? Did you not cause the death of many after you escaped?"
"Bullshit!"
Just as they were about to fight, the Abbot from the Qi Kingdom intervened. "Alright, that's enough. There's no need to bring up the past. Benefactor Li, why are you here today?"
Li Huowang really wanted to kill that baldy, but he needed to let the abbot live if he wanted to defeat the Dharma Sect. He couldn't ignore the big picture and help the Dharma Sect by killing him.
Li Huowang shamelessly accepted Chan Du's offer to step down and let the matter rest. He was here to talk with them.
He looked at them and said, "Then I'll get to the point. Did Xuan Pin speak to the Five Dhyani Buddhas through the Righteous Monastery?"
Li Huowang briefly explained why he was there. After explaining, he noticed a slight change in the faces of the two abbots. Li Huowang looked up and realized that the facial expressions of the five Buddha statues had also changed slightly.
Li Huowang stared at the Abbot from the Liang Kingdom while frowning. "Did Xuan Pin really not come here to talk with the Five Dhyani Buddhas? Or are you guys just as clueless as Zhang Tan?"
"No, the Chief did come here before, but he didn't find him. He found me." Li Huowang turned and looked at Chan Du, the Abbot from the Qi Kingdom.
"Xuan Pin did come to find me, and I helped him meet Buddha." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
"What did he say? How did Xuan Pin help the Five Dhyani Buddhas?" Li Huowang's heart was pounding rapidly.
"I apologize, but I am unable to assist you with that. The secrets of the Buddha cannot be spilled. I naturally do not know what the Buddha has chosen to keep secret."
Li Huowang gnashed his teeth. "You don't know either?! Fine, let me meet the Five Dhyani Buddhas myself! Since Xuan Pin could meet them, I can too! Let me meet them!"
Li Huowang had just shouted when the Abbot from the Liang Kingdom admonished him, saying, "Preposterous! Do you think the Buddha is someone you can meet just because you want to?"
"I can't meet them even if it's to defeat the Dharma Sect? Weren't you the one who said that those following the teachings of the Buddha should prioritize kindness and compassion? How many people can we save if we defeat the Dharma Sect? Won't the Five Dhyani Buddhas meet me to help the people? Or did you bring up doing kind deeds just to justify killing me? Why aren't you doing anything when there's suddenly an opportunity to do an incredibly good deed?"
The Abbot from the Liang Kingdom replied, "No! I do not trust you. Buddha's true form cannot be seen by just anyone. Who can take on the wrath of Buddha if we disturb them?"
"Senior, I am willing to shoulder their wrath should it come our way." Chan Du's words extinguished Li Huowang's anger.
Li Huowang had anticipated they wouldn't cooperate, but he never thought they would agree so quickly.
"Are you sure? You're not fooling me, right?"
"Amitabha. Those following the teachings of the Buddha don't lie."
Li Huowang liked the Abbot of the Qi Kingdom much better than the one from the Liang Kingdom. Their personalities were very different.
"Great, when should we start?"
"The ceremony requires a lot of preparation. Benefactor Li can rest for the night here. Both my senior and I will send you to Buddha tomorrow afternoon."
"Alright! Let's do this tomorrow!" Li Huowang stood up.
He was about to leave when he turned around. "Abbot, I hope that this won't be like last time, right? Haha."
Li Huowang opened his stomach and took out the spindle Zhuge Yuan had given him, which had been stuck to his intestines. He pulled it out along with a portion of his intestines.
He threw it onto the ground, and his identity as a Strayed One became as plain as day to the two abbots.
"I trust that you wouldn't ignore the big picture while the Dharma Sect is still around. Also, I'm no longer a weakling who has to run away from every single enemy."
Li Huowang left as the two abbots stared at the spindle in silence.
"Benefactor Li is paranoid."
"I agree."
"Tomorrow afternoon," Li Huowang mumbled as he paced around the temple. This was the first time he would meet a Siming other than Ji Zai of his own accord, so he was nervous.
He recalled what he had seen in the Baiyu Capital and snarled. His body started trembling uncontrollably and his surroundings began to warp.
Chapter 778 - Buddha
Li Huowang sensed something was wrong and started rapidly punching his own head.
He realized that it wasn't working. He stabbed his head with a long needle instead. The intense pain stopped his thoughts in time.
"Hah!" Cold sweat drenched his blood-red robes as he panted and gritted his teeth. No matter what the Siming was, since he had to defeat the Dharma Sect, he had no choice but to meet them.
Just then, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him.
"Who's there?!" he shouted. Three tentacles sprouted out, with Li Sui gripping a sword in each of them.
He then saw Chan Du, the Abbot of the Qi Kingdom, shuffling out from a small alley.
"Benefactor Li, I require a bit of assistance. Would you be kind enough to help?"
I knew that there would be a price to pay. No wonder he agreed so fast just now. He wanted me to help him with something...
Li Huowang pondered before asking, "What do you need? I can't do many things, and I don't have the time to travel anywhere far away."
Li Huowang hated doing other people favors to get what he needed, especially when they were allies. Nevertheless, he couldn't be bothered to argue.
He only needed to find out the method that Xuan Pin had used. Everything else was insignificant at the moment.
"Benefactor Li does not have to fight. Please follow me."
Li Huowang sheathed his three swords and followed Chan Du.
Even though Chan Du wanted Li Huowang to help him, he never explained what he needed. He just brought Li Huowang deep into the temple.
The monastery still looked beautiful, though the Righteous Monastery was not as clean as before.
Li Huowang walked slowly through the monastery as the sun set and the bell tolled. He stared at the majestic temples, emanating an aura of reverence.
They walked for fifteen minutes before they approached a large hall.
The hall looked new. There was no sign on it, and a few monks were still busy painting the wood.
Several old ginkgo trees surrounded the large hall, which was solemn and majestic from the front. Since it was new, there were very few devotees there.
Li Huowang followed Chan Du into the hall before realizing it was empty inside. There was an altar with a lotus seat, but there was nothing there. The hall was completely empty.
For some reason, there was a lot of lit incense in the incense burner, even though there wasn't a deity or statue in it.
"What's going on? Did your Buddha run away? You want me to track it down?"
Chan Du shook his head and lit three incense sticks before praying earnestly towards the empty altar.
"Benefactor Li, I've sent some of my disciples outside to scour for information. They told me it wasn't a coincidence that we survived—we were saved by someone else. We were supposed to die, but someone saved us by connecting the Dragon Vein of the Qi Kingdom to the Liang Kingdom."
Li Huowang gradually let his guard down when he heard Chan Du. He somehow knew what Chan Du wanted him to do. "You are right. Someone saved you."
Chan Du perked up attentively. "May I know our savior's name? I've also heard that this matter concerns you?"
"He's already dead. Why are you asking for this now?"
"No, every survivor of the Qi Kingdom is indebted to our savior. We, who follow the teachings of Buddha, do not allow ourselves to be indebted to another person without repaying their kindness. I wish to erect a statue of our savior so that the others can pray and give their thanks."
Li Huowang stared at the empty altar and chuckled. "So that's how you become a Buddha? Would he actually become one? He doesn't even believe in Buddha, so that's quite a joke."
"Benefactor Li, what is a Buddha? Is a Buddha a cultivator who has undergone all three major tribulations? Or is it one who has obtained sufficient merits and wisdom? Or is this a Buddha?" Chan Du pointed at the empty altar.
Li Huowang sat on the ground and wrote "Buddha" on the marble. He stared at the writing before sighing.
"Those capable of saving hundreds of thousands of people should become a Buddha. I've even asked my disciples to spread the word of the savior who rescued us from the Qi Kingdom. I wish for the remaining survivors to come and pray to the savior."
"He's already dead. What good will it do?"
Li Huowang raised his hand, and the marble tiles of the hall slowly began to stick together. Eventually, they formed a marble statue of Zhuge Yuan on the altar.
Chan Du's eyes widened with shock upon seeing this. "It's him?!"
Li Huowang sighed and left the newly opened hall.
Chan Du did not move. He stood still and stared at the statue. "So this is what a Buddha looks like."
Once news spread out of the new hall, every surviving monk who came from the Qi Kingdom put down their work and started making their way to pray to their savior.
Soon, several groups of survivors from the Qi Kingdom somehow caught wind of the newly opened hall. They made their way towards the new hall, carrying offerings and taking their children along. They prayed earnestly to Zhuge Yuan's statue, and their prayers didn't stop, even late into the night.
Li Huowang stared at the crowd from a corner in the dark. He looked at the statue enveloped in incense smoke and heard the prayers coming from the devotees with his sharp hearing.
Their prayers were so earnest that even Li Huowang thought the statue would come to life and reply their prayers. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Li Huowang stared at them and realized that Zhuge Yuan had indeed saved a lot of people.
The old monk illusion beside him jumped excitedly. "Daoist, please materialize me! I want to do good deeds and become a Buddha!"
Li Huowang ignored him and turned to leave. Just then, Li Huowang saw the other Abbot leading a group of serious-looking monks into the hall.
They were conducting a ceremony, but Li Huowang didn't know the details about it.
The Abbot held a roll of yellow fabric and carefully wrapped it around the statue. He then took out a brush dipped in cinnabar before drawing a single red dot on Zhuge Yuan's forehead.
Li Huowang laughed when he saw Zhuge Yuan with a red dot on his forehead. "HAHAHA!"
His laughter spread out far. Several monks and devotees were looking at where the laughter came from.
"Pfft! Hahaha! It's alright, just continue doing your things! Hahaha!" Li Huowang laughed as he left the hall.
Chapter 779 - Ceremony
"Benefactor Li, I will explain what will happen later since you don't practice the teachings of the Buddha. My disciples, you, and I will conduct the Samgharama Ceremony in the Thousand Buddha Hall. At the same time, my senior, Abbot Xin Hui, will lead the Great Equal Assembly in the other four halls."
Chan Du, wearing his robes, walked in front of Li Huowang. As he did, he held a purple alms bowl that seemed to be an artifact.
"Great Equal Assembly?" Li Huowang felt disgusted. "Birds of a feather really do flock together. Never thought one needed to do one to gain the attention of the Buddhas."[1]
"Benefactor Li, the Great Equal Assembly is a ceremony that allows everyone to participate. It doesn't matter if someone is a noble, criminal, monk, civilian, kind, evil, smart, or stupid—everyone is treated equally during the assembly."
"Oh? It looks like I was overthinking. No need to explain it to me. I just need your help to meet the Five Dhyani Buddhas." Li Huowang suddenly felt that he was seeing the RIghteous Monastery in a very negative light. He had thought it was another kind of ceremony.
But when he passed by the halls, he saw rows upon rows of monks praying with their hands clasped together. They had their back against the wall, and they were completely naked except for the prayer beads on their neck. They were hitting the wooden fish rhythmically. Li Huowang realized that Chan Du hadn't explicitly denied what he had implied just now.
He got closer and heard them chanting. "Deeply practicing the perfection of wisdom, for a long time he saw clearly that the five aggregates are all empty. Bodhisattva, relying on the perfection of wisdom, thus proclaimed the mantra of great knowledge: Gone, gone, gone beyond. Hail to the Bodhisattva!"
Under Chan Du and the other monk's guidance, Li Huowang changed into a clean robe as he entered the Thousand Buddha Hall.
The hall was filled with lit incense, obscuring Li Huowang's view of the Buddha's head while still revealing the rest of their body.
In addition to the Buddha statue in the middle, the surroundings were adorned with many other Buddha statues, each depicting different gestures. Some were lying down, while others were seated.
Li Huowang wasn't sure if there were really a thousand Buddhas in the hall, but he was certain that the hall was much more important than the others because all of the statues here were coated in gold.
Li Huowang sat on the cushion and closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. The Buddha statues around him had completely changed. The sound of drums, bells, and gongs from outside filled the hall.
The Buddhas, both large and small, had turned into the disgusting form that Li Huowang had once seen before.
Despite being coated in gold, they still seemed perverse and disgusting.
The giant heap of flesh sat on the altar like a mound of clay. Its bumpy back was covered in thick blood vessels and goo.
Several strange and twisted reproductive organs rhythmically extended and retracted, moving in sync with the pumping of blood. They also swayed in the air as the body pulsated.
The disgusting being was covered in naked monks and large incense sticks roughly a meter long.
The monks eagerly inhaled the white smoke as they excitedly used their own bodies to plug in every hole they could find in the "Buddha's" fleshy body. They pulsated and moved in sync with the rhythm.
Li Huowang took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Leaving Li Sui outside was the right call.
As the loud tolling of the bell spread throughout the Righteous Monastery, Chan Du led his disciples and sat around Li Huowang.
"Benefactor Li, if you wish to see Buddha, you must be virtuous. Only then will Buddha notice you. If not, you will fail to meet Buddha."
"I understand. You can start now."
Chan Du took a long incense stick and hit it lightly on his alms bowl. Dang~
The monks surrounding Li Huowang started doing each other while the "Buddhas" sitting around the hall looked at them with merciful eyes through the openings in their bodies.
Simultaneously, the monks fervently prayed, their prayers blending with the vile sounds of bodies colliding and perverse utterances.
The sounds of the wooden fish, chants, and flesh on flesh entered Li Huowang's ears. His body started trembling uncontrollably as he felt his senses melding together.
Li Huowang focused on himself and attempted to discard all stray thoughts. He kept praying earnestly to Buddha.
It might be difficult for the others to pray earnestly without any stray thoughts, but it was easy for Li Huowang. Cultivating the "Truth" required the same requisite. If he had stray thoughts while he cultivated, he would've accidentally materialized them too.
Li Huowang wasn't sure how long he had been praying for, but he realized that everything was quiet around him. So quiet that he could hear a pin dropping.
He opened his eyes warily and saw an astonishingly bizarre entity floating just in front of him. He saw it! The five Dhyani Buddhas from the five worlds had merged.
They were half-male and half-female, with their reproductive organs inserted into each other. They pleasured each other and themselves at the same time.
But the scene didn't last long. Li Huowang barely made out any other details when his eyes exploded. A mortal body couldn't view the Five Dhyani Buddhas directly.
Despite that, he could still perceive the Five Dhyani Buddhas with other senses—touch, smell, and hearing.
A Siming was a special being. Li Huowang could feel their existence even without his eyes.
However, Li Huowang couldn't last long. His organs were quickly dissolving as his brain started expanding rapidly.
Li Huowang shouted with all his breath, "I'm here to help you! No matter who you are facing! If Xuan Pin could do it, so can I! Tell me what to do! Tell me what I should do to help you!" His voice spread far and wide, but there was no reply.
Li Huowang endured the pain of his organs dissolving and moved closer.
But he sensed something was wrong when he got close. His body was being assimilated by the Heavenly Dao of the Five Dhyani Buddhas!
His body shifted wildly like a child playing clay. There was not much he could do other than relying on his cultivation of "Truth" to maintain his body.