It seemed like there was nothing left to be gained from Master Mingguang's fingers, but at least he could get some more information. Yun Xian, feeling uncomfortable sitting cross-legged, shifted his posture and asked, "Master, what did you say to Elder Liu just now? Was it about the wind flower and the paper lantern?"
"Yes." Mingguang nodded, twirling his Buddhist beads. "According to him, a mysterious person sold the wind flowers to him a few months ago at a low price. He simply assumed they were grown by people in a remote town just to make a living, so he bought them all. As for the paper lanterns, they were given to him by that person. He had received such a benefit, it was hard not to accept them. He simply forgot to throw that one away."
"For a living?" Ji Rongxue said coldly, "You think that man just has some serfs? If it's just for a living, growing potatoes is better than growing windflowers. Do you think he's stupid?"
"I think he looks like a potato," Qiao Lingshan said, making a slight personal attack. "He's a fool himself, and fools naturally see everyone as fools."
Feng Ye agreed repeatedly: "That's right!"
Xue Lingxiu couldn't help but ask, "How did that mysterious person get in touch with him? Can we still find him now?"
"Are you stupid? I already told you about the mysterious man." Qi Xingye looked at Xue Lingxiu with disdain and said coldly, "If I knew, I would have caught him by now."
"..." Xue Lingxiu chuckled twice: "You are so smart, why are you still here? Aren't you a Buddhist disciple? You don't even know where the lotus seat is. What's the point of practicing Buddhism?"
"More useful than you. Even Fang Fei can't compare to you."
"you!"
Yun Xian: "Can you two stop arguing? Grow up! You're so old and still acting like this."
They argued back and forth, each of them thinking they were right, making so much noise that it made people's ears bleed. The little novice monk next to them showed a look of pain.
Master Mingguang rarely felt he couldn't get a word in. He coughed and said, "Amitabha, my friends, please take your time."
There was a moment of silence, with everyone remaining silent. Huan Yunxian then asked, "Master, how can you be sure that Senior Mingren is the Smiling Buddha? What other traces did she leave behind before she caused this rebellion in Qiankun City?"
Mingguang shook his head and said, "No."
"As for the Smiling Buddha, this legend has been around since the Western Realm. Back then, her cultivation wasn't as advanced as it is now, but every few years, a few of them would mysteriously disappear and return, their personalities drastically changed." Mingguang's snow-white brows furrowed slightly, and he suddenly asked, "Xingye, do you remember?"
Qi Zhiye: “!”
Suddenly being called upon to recite the text, Qi Zhiye's handsome face froze for a moment. In that moment, he pondered a great deal, and finally, before his master raised the stick, he fluently said, "I remember."
Those who disappeared were all considered to be extremely evil people in the secular world, committing murder, arson, burning, looting, and even the cleanest one was addicted to stealing. Even after his legs were broken, he continued to steal while dying. Many of them were released from the government, and showed no signs of reforming themselves.
But even such a wicked person would return after disappearing for a while, as if he had become a different person. He would turn over a new leaf and never commit the same crime again. Not only that, he would even start to help others, believe in Buddhism, burn incense, and volunteer in the temple to accumulate merit whenever he had time, such as helping old ladies cross the road.
"Is it real?" Yun Xian asked in confusion, "Is he pretending?"
If it were so easy for evil people to change their ways, then what would be the point of having a government office?
"If they could keep pretending for more than a decade, judging by their actions rather than their hearts, they could indeed be considered reformed," Qi Zhiye said solemnly. "But because the time span was so long, the abbot of the temple only discovered years later that none of them had lived past thirty."
The man who lived the longest also committed suicide at the age of thirty. He hung his head from a beam and died with a smile on his face, as if he had gone to paradise.
In the chilly room, Ji Rongxue asked, "So, this is the origin of the Smiling Buddha?"
Qiao Lingshan: "What does that have to do with Senior Mingren?"
Qi Zhiye paused for a moment, glancing at his master from the corner of his eye before speaking gravely, "After Senior Mingren's parents disappeared, traces of their remains were found in their old house: a wax-made smiley face... Just a few days ago, they were jokingly telling the neighbors that their little daughter had returned home."
Everyone was silent for a moment.
Aren’t Mr. Akihito’s parents the same as Master Mingguang’s parents?
Regardless of whether they were missing or deceased, decades had passed, and no matter what, they had already turned to dust. As a person who had once practiced Buddhism, would he really harm his loved ones?
Even if the abbot hadn't predicted good or bad luck, Master Mingguang wouldn't have been able to go. For someone so closely connected by blood, no matter what the truth was, it would be incredibly painful. Furthermore, his status was awkward, and public opinion was rife. If anyone were to fabricate something, it would be a disaster for Buddhism.
"Amitabha." Mingguang closed his eyes, his tone full of fatigue. "Perhaps I have never understood what she is thinking."
Before everyone left, Mingguang's old fingers moved. Yun Xian lowered his eyes and saw a rough wooden Buddha statue on his chest. It was lifeless and looked like an ornament. Looking again, he found that everyone had it.
"Mingren... has been on the wrong path for many years. This is the first time I've seen her resurrected." Mingguang sighed and said, "I'll leave it to you, my friends."
The group came out of the teahouse, touching the small wooden Buddha statue.
Although they were all wearing disguises, their demeanor was extraordinary, attracting many attention along the way, especially Ji Rongxue. Yun Xian noticed that she always walked to the front. Perhaps she was used to leading the herd, which was nothing, but the main thing was that Ji Rongxue clearly had no idea where she was going, but she was extremely confident and calm.
The tightly closed door of the knife-cut noodle shop was being punched and kicked by a group of workers, their anger rising to the sky:
"Fuck you, give me back my money!"
"The Black Hearted Sword Sect is squeezing out your hard-earned money. Open the door! I know you're home!"
"Fellow Daoist Qi, you've already torn up the task list, which means you've accepted the mission." Feng Ye said skillfully, "Remember to sign a captain transfer agreement at Xuanbao Pavilion when the time comes. We in Jian Pavilion really need a golden bell, and we only have one before."
Qiao Lingshan: "Feng Ye, you are from the Qinfang."
Feng Ye: “Ah!”
Yun Xian: "...What the hell are you shocked about?!"
Regardless, the call had been accepted. The most pressing matter now was finding the "Lotus Seat." If all else failed, they could search the area surrounding Qiankun City first. After all, the people currently experiencing symptoms were from Qiankun City, so it made sense that the Smiling Buddha himself would be nearby.
I just don’t understand why their previous base was clearly in the western border, but now they suddenly moved to the northern border?
Yun Xian said, "Then let's go to Xinglin Pavilion again and ask Miss Xiaofang."
Ji Rongxue turned and walked towards Xinglin Pavilion, and Yun Xian almost stepped on her heel.
“…”
At this time, there was chaos in the lobby of Xinglin Pavilion.
Fang Fei cut out the patients here individually and locked up the patients with symptoms. There were only five or six people here, but more than a dozen maids came. Each of them looked like they had lost all hope in life, but they were still very professional: "Don't cut yourself anymore, okay? Blood is so precious, please don't waste it!"
Miss Xiaofang has the mildest symptoms and doesn't look normal. The previous ones were really in a state of chaos. If they hadn't had any cultivation, they would be even more desperate now.
Fang Fei was treating a patient urgently. When he saw everyone coming in, he asked with dark circles under his eyes, "What's going on?"
"We've finalized some of the issues, and we'll be able to set off soon to resolve them." Yun Xian asked, "Can I ask Miss Xiaofang?"
"Sure. Ask ahead." Fang Fei wiped the blood off his face and said sadly, "The only good news now is that no matter how they cut, they will only cut themselves. At least they won't cut others..."
Amidst the chaos, Miss Xiaofang still sat on her bed, looking out the window longingly.
The window where she had taken the leap of faith was now boarded up and could not be opened.
Seeing Yun Xian coming over, she was still as polite as ever: "You're here? Have you decided to believe in Buddha?"
"...Miss Xiaofang." Yun Xian asked, "Exactly. For something this important, I need to compare prices and consider it carefully. What does the 'lotus seat' you mentioned look like? Is it good?"
"Of course it's wonderful!" Miss Xiaofang's face suddenly became enthusiastic. "There, everyone works from sunrise to sunset, leaves their doors unlocked at night, and helps each other. We are all brothers and sisters gifted by God. There's no need to worry about anyone harming us, and we never have to worry about hunger or cold. It's like this, generation after generation... That place is the Peach Blossom Spring!"
"Old and young are all happy together, right?" No, Yun Xian frowned and said, "But we are all brothers and sisters. If we can't marry, how will the next generation come?"
Miss Xiaofang: "Children will have it!"
Yun Xian said, "Close relatives cannot marry."
Miss Xiaofang: "There will definitely be a baby!"
Are they going to kidnap him too? Ji Rongxue said, "Children don't come out of stones."
Miss Xiaofang didn't understand and tilted her head and asked, "Where did that child come from?"
"..." Seeing that Xiaofang was only twelve or thirteen years old, Yun Xian decided to skip the topic: "It's a gift from the bank for depositing money. Xiaofang, can you tell me where the lotus seat is?"
Miss Xiaofang said straightforwardly: "Just keep going south and you will arrive."
"But the noodle shop wasn't in the south at that time." Qiao Lingshan said, "Miss, are you sure?"
Miss Xiaofang said confidently, "I'm hungry, so I have to find a place to eat."
It makes so much sense that I can't refute it.
“…”
Yun Xian thought he had found some clues about the lotus seat, but he went around asking around and got answers like "go north", "go east", "jump down", and "fly up". He felt that his confusion had reached its peak again.
There were no clues left in Xinglin Pavilion. Everyone needed to resolve the matter quickly, otherwise no matter how much they closed it, it would only be a temporary solution. Yun Xian pondered, "If it's really as I think, the Smiling Buddha cast a spell on Fenghua, then there must be traces left. If there's Buddha's aura, Qi Zhiye will be able to sense it. If there's any other demon or monster, the leader will be able to tell where it came from."
Taiping was annoyed: "Can you please stop assigning me work all the time?"
"Most of the wind flowers have been eaten now. The only remaining clue is the inventory in the kitchen." Ji Rongxue and Qi Zhiye exchanged glances and finally reached a consensus: "Are you going to smash it, or should I?"
Ji Rongxue should have been able to smash it down faster, but before she could do anything, the group watched helplessly as a puff of green smoke suddenly came out of the kitchen of the store, and the roof tiles were damaged, collapsing in an instant.
The unlucky Liu Liu's furious voice rang out again: "Who is this?! Are you sick?! Do you have any manners?!"
He was in the kitchen when he was hit, his head almost exploded, and he was even more sad and angry.
He was hit by raw eggs outside and a house inside. How could he be so unlucky?
Yun Xian looked at the familiar figure flying down from the sky on a sword and sighed, "Big Brother, even when he's smashing people's shops, his posture is so graceful."
Feng Ye agreed very much.
Originally, Su Chi told Yun Xian that he would return in three days, but now he has arrived a day earlier. There is some dust on his sleeves and hem, which shows that he has just returned from a journey.
He took a bunch of wind flowers into his hand with a cold expression, looked at Yun Xian on the ground, and said, "Let's go."
It seemed that Su Chi had something to say this time. Yun Xian and his companions followed him to a secluded corner. They saw him put the cluster of wind flowers in his palm without saying a word. The sword energy rustled, and the wind flowers suddenly shattered. Some black air instantly emerged from a few scattered flowers, and the seeds bounced away as if they had consciousness, trying to escape in disgust.
For some reason, the evil spirit seemed to hate Su Chi's aura.
"This matter is related to the devil." Su Chi wiped the pink flower juice from his fingertips and raised his eyes and said, "I met Master's wife during this trip."
"Is it related to demons?" Xue Lingxiu pondered. "The demons in the Northern Realm are already few and far between. They can almost be said to have disappeared. Why are there demons in Tangling Country recently, and also here..."
Yun Xian didn't dare to speak. In fact, she had known for a long time that there was one here too. Didn't Jimo Shu, such a big demon, come here too?
"How is mother?" Yun Xian asked, "Is she okay?"
"I just had some minor injuries, but I'm fine for now." Su Chi handed over a letter with Xiao Wu's large, flamboyant calligraphy on it. "Letter."
Yun Xian accepted it but didn't open it immediately. Instead, he asked, "Is it related to the devil...?"
She frowned in thought, and after a moment, she suddenly connected something and said, "When Miss Xiaofang vomited blood in the noodle shop, we saw that the piece of flesh she vomited was engulfed in a burst of golden light and quickly disappeared. Also, the flesh cut from the arms of the two people in Fang Fei's portrait disappeared without a trace. The last demon cultivator we saw who relied on absorbing human flesh and blood to cultivate was the great pendulum clock in Tang Lingguo. But according to Master Mingguang, the Smiling Buddha is definitely human. What is her relationship with this demon cultivator?"
"Either, she has gone astray and become a demon cultivator. Or, that Smiling Buddha is not Senior Mingren at all."
Ji Rongxue said, "There's one more thing. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but those who have been searching for the 'Lotus Seat' but haven't been able to enter are all ordinary people without any cultivation."
"That's right!" Qiao Lingshan said, "This is definitely not a coincidence! Is it possible that only those with cultivation can find the lotus seat?"
Feng Ye said weakly: "So where is it..."
Yun Xian seemed to recall something and suddenly looked at Su Chi: "Big Brother, have you checked to see if Senior Mingren was the son of destiny in the Western Realm?"
Su Chi said, "Yes."
Yun Xian had a lot to say, and his mouth and brain froze at the same time: "I, well, the Eastern Realm..."
"That's right." Su Chi lowered his eyes and said, "It's just as you think."
Although the power of cultivation is not gender-specific, outsiders always assume that the abbot and successor of the Buddhist sect are all male. Mingren, a Buddhist nun, was the abbot who bypassed Mingguang to pass on the mantle to her, proving she was an absolute prodigy at the time. No one in the Buddhist sect could even compare to her, a person blessed with exceptional luck, like the princess of Tangling Kingdom, or, to expand on this a little,
Zhong Changyao of the Eastern Realm.
"..." Xue Lingxiu murmured, "If the Demon Cult had attacked us decades ago, what would have happened next would have been terrifying."
Qiao Lingshan understood what the two meant: "But during the four-way war, the Demon Cult didn't seem to have any intention of attacking Zhong Changyao?"
"No." Yun Xian said dryly, "Originally there should have been."
Isn't it in the storybook? Jimo Shu's obedience to Zhong Changyao, her hard work and dedication, reached a pathological level. And then there's the sudden disappearance at the end. Did Zhong Changyao truly ascend successfully? Or did he, possessing the Eastern Realm's luck, finally...
Yun Xian seemed to have touched the tip of the iceberg.
Although it was terrifying, she had not yet met Senior Akihito, so she could not make any rash judgments.
"..." Ji Rongxue and Qi Zhiye were the only ones present who had never been to Tangling Country. They had no idea what everyone was talking about. Ji Rongxue had a cold expression and gently tugged at Yun Xian's clothes. "Can you tell me what you are talking about?"
Yun Xian patted her paws and said, "I'll tell you slowly later."
Ji Rongxue: "Yeah."
"I just found the approximate location of the 'Lotus Seat'." Su Chi threw out another thunderbolt, and as Yun Xian's vision suddenly brightened, he said helplessly: "But I can't get in."
"Huh?" The eldest brother was too hardworking. Yun Xian asked, "Why can't I get in again?"
Could it be that the eldest brother is being targeted by the four realms because he is too beautiful?
"I can't get in by walking. I can't get in by forcing myself in either." Su Chi said with a sluggish face, "The evil spirit in that place is repelling. I'll slip away as soon as I get a chance."
Qi Zhiye finally found a chance to interrupt: "What do you mean by running away?"
Su Chi: "Door."
Qi Zhiye closed his eyes and said nothing: "..."
If someone else had said it, he would have thought that person was crazy.
"But I observe the demonic energy, and it feels strange." Su Chi didn't know how to describe it, and finally said, "There is no intention to attack."
It is very rare to see demonic energy without any intention of attacking. Everyone looked unconvinced, but when they thought of Jimo Shu facing Yun Xian, they felt that it was not impossible.
Just as he was thinking, Su Chi suddenly said to Yun Xian, "Come here with your head."
Yun Xian leaned over and saw the wooden Buddha statue that Master Mingguang had given him just now dangling in the air. Su Chi lowered his eyes, gently pinched it with his fingertips, and injected a stream of Qi into it, saying, "It will guide the way."
"I understand. Thank you, Senior Brother." Without further ado, they had to leave. Yun Xian suddenly stood up and said with great confidence, "Alright, everyone, grab your weapons!"
Su Chi said: "Not well."
Next, everyone watched as Su Chi pulled out a thick stack of Spirit Severing Stage sword talismans, a pair of Earth-level defensive socks, a small flower hairpin that could transform into a sword in times of crisis, and a number of other daily necessities. "Put it away. Remember not to take your Nascent Soul out to play with it."
"I know." Yun Xian hugged the sword talisman to his arms and promised, "Big Brother, after completing the task, I will give you the Tribulation Grass immediately."
"No, you keep it." Su Chi said without any expression, "I have already advanced to the Spiritual Severing Stage."
"...I hate you." Yun Xian's expression changed instantly, but then he remembered something and said, "Oh, by the way, Senior Brother. I have 60,000 spirit stones and a house deed. I'll keep them with you for now. Please give the deed to the old lady who repairs shoe soles at the street corner. It would be a shame if something happened to her and the storage ring was lost."
"Yes." Su Chi took her spirit stone and after a while, he said lightly: "According to the interest rate of the bank, I will pay you an extra 2% every month."
Everyone: “…”
Yun Xian: “…”
What nonsense are you talking about! What kind of crappy bank is offering such interest?! Are you afraid of bankruptcy?!
"Big Brother." Yun Xian held his cold fingertips with tears in his eyes, and said sincerely, "Why didn't I meet you earlier?"
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