The sudden change in the atmosphere made Lin Jin’s heart thump wildly.
Judging by the reaction he had stirred up, Buddha and Du Li might not just be old acquaintances, but there was probably a grudge between them.
Before Lin Jin knew it, Buddha was already staring straight into his eyes, the window to one’s soul. Just one glance at him was enough to make Lin Jin feel the weight of a mountain and turbulent waves crashing down on him.
An invisible force was invading his senses, and Lin Jin was aware that he couldn’t fend off this oppressive force.
If he tried to resist, only one outcome laid ahead, and that was death!
For the sake of self-preservation, Lin Jin didn’t think twice about opening Visitation Hall’s door. A huge door immediately opened up behind him, sending out a surge of energy to fight back Buddha’s aura.
Buddha was stunned by the door that materialized out of thin air behind Lin Jin. His aura abruptly dissolved as a peculiar twinkle appeared in his eyes, though that too quickly faded away amidst his muddled gaze.
The unusual atmosphere disappeared without a trace. Tranquility came back as quickly as it went away as if nothing had ever happened.
The door behind Lin Jin was still open and Xuan Jue’s bafflement was still apparent on his face.
Lin Jin was obviously startled too but he was wearing a mask.
The benefit of wearing a mask was perfectly demonstrated by this situation. No matter what outrageous expressions Lin Jin was wearing, to outsiders, he was still calm as a millpond.
“Xuan Jue, please leave us alone. There’s something I’d like to discuss with our Taoist friend here,” Buddha said weakly to Xuan Jue instead of pressing for information on Du Li.
Evidently respectful of Buddha, Xuan Jue heeded his instruction without an ounce of hesitation.
Xuan Jue bowed before leaving the lake.
Now, Lin Jin was left alone with Buddha.
Lin Jin didn’t know what Buddha wanted to say so he kept the door behind him open just in case this was another ambush.
“My good man, please relax. I have known Du Li for a very long time so hearing about him had made me lose control earlier.” Having said that, Buddha held his hands together and saluted Lin Jin.
It was obvious that such an action was difficult for the old man.
“My good man, would you be able to tell me when you met Du Li?” Buddha inquired.
Lin Jin didn’t feel the need to keep this a secret so he said it wasn’t long ago, less than a month to be precise.
Buddha was surprised to hear his response.
“Please tell me the details of your meeting.”
This matter was clearly important to him.
After giving it some thought, Lin Jin told him the gist of what happened. It went without saying that he excluded the part about the Unending Nature Landscape. He had to be cautious since it was a precious treasure and Buddha might take up an interest in it. Even if someone as highly cultivated as Buddha didn’t care for such treasures, it was possible that he might want to give it to his disciples and grand-disciples. Hence, it was always better to stay on the safe side.
Upon hearing Lin Jin’s account, Buddha’s expression changed slightly before coming to a realization.
It was because Lin Jin’s conclusion fell within his expectations.
Buddha sighed before saying, “Du Li is probably dead. A thousand years ago, he was already near his end and what you saw was probably just the remnants of his soul in one of his artifacts. However, Du Li’s sect holds impressive teachings. If you’ve managed to learn a few of them, know that you are very a lucky man.”
There was an underlying meaning to his words. Even after his attempt to read between the lines, Lin Jin still came up empty-handed.
Suddenly, Buddha smiled.
“My good man, you might be curious as to who I am and why would I know Du Li.”
Lin Jin quickly nodded.
Indeed, he had been curious the whole time but he had no idea how he would approach the topic. Now that Buddha seemed intent to share, Lin Jin was obviously happy to hear it.
“You see, there are some things that even Xuan Jue doesn’t know. Buddhist sect cultivators are very particular about fate and since our paths have crossed, allow me to tell you what I know.”
And thus, Buddha started telling a story.
Three thousand and seven hundred years ago was the pinnacle of the immortal era. Daluo Temple had already existed back then, but compared to the other Buddhist sects, they were tiny and inconspicuous.
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Small temples didn’t produce Buddhas and they only had about ten monks back then. Most of them would just go through the motions of daily life without paying much attention to cultivation or studying the teachings of their faith.
When criminals commit crimes, they were accepted into the temple where they shaved their heads and hunkered down for several years. Once news about their evil deeds died away, they would venture back outside to continue living their treacherous lives.
Instead of being a sacred ground for divine cultivation, Daluo Temple was just a hideout for fiends. One night, a murderer came and sought refuge in the temple. He threatened the temple’s monks and forced them to carry out tonsure for him so he could stay at Daluo Temple as a monk.
Half a year later, assuming that news of his deeds was blown over, this murderer secretly ventured down into the valley in search of his family only to find out that they had been massacred by his enemies. Enraged and devastated, he began gathering information on his enemies so as to avenge his family. However, he then realized how incompetent he was, and it would have been impossible to carry out his revenge with his own two hands.
In the six months, he had spent in Daluo Temple, as a pastime, the murderer read quite a few mantras and sutras. One of them talked about the ‘Achala Visage’, or the ability to summon the clone of Buddha himself. After spending one night deliberating, the murderer decided to head back to Daluo Temple to cultivate. If he could at least cultivate the ‘Achala Visage’, revenge would be so much easier.
However, cultivation wasn’t going to be that easy. After training hard for several months without results, it was next to impossible for him to ever avenge his family, so he fell into despair. Unable to sit with the truth, one night, he decided to hang himself. Thankfully, the abbot stumbled across the scene and managed to stop him in time.
Of the ten monks in the temple, nine of them were fiends who regularly sought refuge here whenever they got into trouble. The only virtuous man in the temple was the abbot himself.
The benevolent abbot rescued the murderer and proceeded to enlighten him with wise Buddhist teachings. However, the murderer was so consumed by the thirst for vengeance that he failed to heed the abbot’s teaching. He threatened the abbot with suicide and demanded the old man to guide him on his cultivation. And so, the abbot complied. He taught the murderer everything he knew about the technique.
Ten years later, the monks who sought refuge here gradually started leaving, leaving only the murderer who insisted on staying. He was somewhat accomplished now so he left the mountains to exact revenge on the people who had murdered his family.
Perhaps it was the teachings he had received at the temple, but although he wanted revenge, he was no longer as obsessed with it compared to ten years ago. After searching combing through the area at the foot of the mountain, he was told that his enemies had already died in action.
After this incident, the murderer pondered for the longest time before he came to a realization. The abbot was aware of why the murderer had decided to head down the mountain, and yet he did not stop him from doing so. The abbot must’ve known that his enemies were dead. At the same time, the murderer was aware that even if he had cultivated for another ten years, he would probably still fail to defeat his enemies.
In other words, the abbot allowed him to descend the mountain because he wanted the murderer to let go of his vengeance and to follow the path of Buddhism going forward.
“Later on, the murderer managed to reach the Buddha’s level in his cultivation and was able to expand the influence of Daluo Temple. He even made friends with many immortal cultivators around the world.”
Up until this point, there were traces of reminiscence in Buddha’s eyes.
Lin Jin could tell that Buddha was just recounting his life story, but if that were the case, this was too much. For it to have happened three thousand and seven hundred years ago, wouldn’t that make this Buddha at least three thousand and seven hundred years old?
The old jade dragon had only lived for three to five hundred years, and he was already near the end of his lifespan. How could that dragon possibly compare to Buddha?
Buddha continued, “The abbot was a capable man. When he passed away, he mentioned that one thousand years later, an earth-shattering tragedy would occur and he even taught me how to avoid it. Because of that, I was able to live this long, but that will all end today…”
At this point, as if Buddha sensed something, he peered upwards. His expression grew grave and he picked up his pace. “My good man, Du Li and I were good friends, and that was the reason for my agitation when falsely assumed that he was still alive. If he was, perhaps we could have a fight to the death but it now looks like that was only my wishful thinking. I noticed that you’ve found the pathway to immortal cultivation but I am now advising you to give up. Do not cultivate any further…”
Out of a sudden, a horrifying pressure came crashing down from above.
Lin Jin looked up with a mortified expression.
In the sky above Daluo Temple, a door had appeared out of nowhere and a beast claw emerged.
The beast claw moved with such speed that it caught the people here off-guard. The monks who were cleaning up the mess were scared out of their wits. Before they could even react, it dived into the lake, and following a loud explosion, the lake was sent skywards and the halls around it disintegrated into ashes.
Even those below Daluo Peak could see it happening clearly. The massive claw was a harrowing sight to behold, and its pressure extended to a radius of about a hundred miles, silencing all creatures within said proximity.
The beast claw came and went quickly, grabbing onto a handful of mud before retracting back into the door in the sky. Then, the door vanished as if it was never there in the first place.
The entire Daluo Temple fell into chaos.
The abbot and higher monks rushed over to see what’s left of the lake. Immediately, they were greeted by the sight of a deep pit at the bottom of the crater.
A bottomless pit.
Only one monk had the courage to make his way down, and it was Xuan Jue.
The lake’s bottom was covered in mud, and muddy water, gravel, and stones rained back down into the crater. For a moment there, it seemed almost as if Armageddon had decided to come early.
Amidst all the chaos, one man stood firmly in the pit and there was not even a single drop of muddy water within a ten-foot-wide circle around him. Even with the water raining down on him, he remained bone dry.
A six-tailed fox stood on this man’s shoulder, swaying its tails. At the sight of Xuan Jue, she started growling.
The man standing there was none other than Lin Jin.
Xuan Jue floated over to Lin Jin, and his eyes darted around anxiously.
“My good man, where is the Revered One?”
From his voice, it was obvious how flustered Xuan Jue was.
Lin Jin was snapped out of his reverie by Xuan Jue’s voice. His fingers that held his needle were still trembling uncontrollably.