In regards to the deterioration of immortal cultivation and demise of immortals, there had been no reliable records of the happenings thus far. While there were many theories of what happened, most of them sounded nonsensical. None were the least bit related to historical facts.
The most plausible explanation was the exhaustion of spirit energy in the atmosphere, which caused the deterioration of immortal cultivation.
However, that just prevented the birth of more cultivators or immortals. During that period, immortals could be found in every corner of the world, and given their cultivation level, most of them should have been able to survive until today, just like Buddha himself, who was at least three thousand and seven hundred years old.
However, other than the remnant of the immortal, Du Li which was sealed in the Unending Nature Landscape, Lin Jin had not come across anything that was tied to the immortals from eons ago. Buddha was the second immortal he had come across who was technically still alive and breathing.
Both instances were evidence that immortals should have been alive today.
So why weren’t there more signs of these entities around?
One theory suggested that a transformation to the law of nature forced all immortals to display signs of decay. As no one could withstand the test of time, most of the immortals passed away. However, the fact that Buddha was still around proved the theory to be invalid.
Lin Jin figured that the phenomenon must have had something to do with that Rank 9 immortal devouring beast.
Was it possible that an immortal devouring beast that was stronger than immortals made its appearance thousands of years ago, thus causing the shift in the law of nature?
Instead of dying off, the immortals were hunted down by the immortal devouring beast. Otherwise, why else would the museum call it an ‘immortal devouring beast’?
Lin Jin chose to reveal his theory to Xuan Jue and the abbot, as well as his appraisal of the beast claw. Upon listening to his explanation, both Xuan Jue and the abbot’s eyes grew wide as saucers. Because they failed to locate any inconsistencies in his theory, they nodded along in agreement.
“That day, I sensed the aura of death from Buddha himself. He must have been near the end of his lifespan…” After Lin Jin said so, Xuan Jue nodded. “That’s right. You’re right about this fact, my friend. Buddha had personally told me that he had five days left at most.”
This further confirmed Lin Jin’s suspicion.
“I was also to blame. If Buddha hadn’t dissolved my Vulcan Edict, perhaps he wouldn’t have been located by that immortal devouring beast…” Lin Jin finally revealed one of his most important realizations.
Why did the beast claw only show up after Buddha performed the Thousand Leaf Hand of God?
The only plausible explanation that Lin Jin could think of was that Buddha had revealed his immortal’s aura, thus luring that immortal devouring beast over.
The abbot’s face drained of color while Xuan Jue was stunned after hearing this.
Both monks remained silent for the longest time before the abbot chanted a prayer under his breath.
Xuan Jue said, “You may have been involved in this but when Buddha decided to intervene, he must have been aware of the consequences too. That’s why he requested to meet you. I understand now. The blame is on me for not realizing it sooner.”
Xuan Jue was visibly agonized by the matter.
The abbot could tell too, but his mind was just as strong, and he knew that Curator wasn’t to blame for this incident. He knew this because Buddha had invited Curator inside to meet him in his final moment. This was his way of telling the temple that Curator was no enemy of theirs.
Being high monks, they could at least understand this.
What’s more, Buddha had another underlying meaning and all three of them present understood it well, especially Lin Jin. He remembered Buddha telling him that their meeting was thanks to their intertwining fate.
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Karma was a concept central to Buddhism. The consequence of Curator’s visit to their temple was the death of a Buddha. It reflected the entanglement of their fates and from now on, Lin Jin was to look after Daluo Temple to a certain extent.
“For this reason, I’d like to speak to you on the matter, Master Xuan Jue. At this moment, neither you nor I can defeat that Rank 9 beast. Simply put, we don’t have the means to do so. Forget knowing who the enemy is, even if we did, there is nothing we can do to them. Moreover, if my theory is correct, how could only a single immortal devouring beast be capable of wiping out every single immortal in the world?”
Both Xuan Jue and the abbot froze at Lin Jin’s words.
They agreed with Lin Jin’s suggestion. If there was not only one but hundreds and even thousands of immortal devouring beasts, forget Xuan Jue and Curator, even if all premium countries were to join forces, they would still perish against such an overwhelming enemy.
No premium country in this world had Rank 9 beasts.
Forget Rank 9, even Rank 8 beasts existed only in legends.
Silence engulfed the meditation room momentarily. Goldy couldn’t take this atmosphere anymore so he jumped out of the room to go grub-hunting outside.
“You’re right, Curator.” The abbot held his hands together and bowed.
Speaking of which, he was also a part of the karmic cycle. If he hadn’t fought with Curator in the first place…
Lin Jin rose to his feet and Shang’er followed him closely.
Xuan Jue asked, “Are you leaving already, my friend?”
Lin Jin nodded. “I’ve been staying here too long for my own good. There’s something I need to do so I won’t bother you any longer.”
It wasn’t an excuse that Lin Jin had something he needed to take care of. It was actually very important and that was to search for White Ape. Of course, besides thinking about the incident, Lin Jin was only willing to stay for another three days because he still had the suspicion that White Ape had fallen to Zhi Yin of Daluo Temple.
After getting acquainted with them, Lin Jin knew that Daluo Temple was filled with actual experts. Aside from Xuan Jue and the abbot who were both top-class individuals, even the rectors were not to be underestimated. Below the rectors were monks with the title ‘Zhi’. Zhi Nian was most the most intelligent among his peers, and he possessed great spiritual powers. Zhi Yin, on the other hand, was the strongest in terms of combat power.
Although White Ape was no weakling, he was inferior compared to Zhi Yin. Lin Jin thought that by staying here, Zhi Yin might return to the temple with a defeated White Ape.
But he didn’t.
According to the abbot, if he was just tasked to slay a monster, whether or not he succeeded, Zhi Yin would always return in a timely manner. Even if there was a delay, he would at least send back a homing pigeon to inform the temple of his late return.
But he didn’t do that either. It was as if Zhi Yin had suddenly gone missing and it made Daluo Temple worry too.
Lin Jin suspected that something must have happened to White Ape. Since he couldn’t do anything about Buddha and the immortal devouring beast, he could only leave the matter aside and focus on what he could do for now.
There was one thing Lin Jin didn’t tell Xuan Jue and the others.
Buddha may have been near his end, but he was still an immortal. He shouldn’t have been caught this easily so it was probably his wish to be taken away.
One reason for this was probably to protect Daluo Temple from guaranteed destruction. Another reason was probably that Buddha wanted to catch a glimpse of the world behind that beast claw’s door and fight the creature to death.
That was highly probable, thought Lin Jin.
However, he wasn’t very optimistic about the outcome because the description he got from the museum showed him how incredibly powerful the Rank 9 immortal devouring beast was. Buddha had likely perished under its might by now.