Ji Rongxue performed very well this time, his expression remained unchanged.
Yun Xian transmitted a message: "Miss, I think..."
Ji Rongxue: "Write it down first, and we'll discuss it when we get back."
That's right. If it turned into a lion's head here, it would be hard to explain. Yun Xian didn't hesitate. He casually put the piece of paper into his arms and asked directly, "Liu Foyou, can you take this paper back with me?"
If looking at other people's toilet paper for no reason before was already offensive, then this behavior now was even more offensive. Someone with a bad temper would have hit someone. But Liu Jian paused, still smiling brightly, and said, "Of course! Are you leaving now, young man? Do you want to take two cucumbers with you?"
Ji Rongxue had no idea what was hidden behind the fake smiles on everyone's faces.
Yun Xian's behavior of cutting in line while washing up this morning was the smallest of temptations. Not only did no one stop him, but no one even expressed any dissatisfaction. Even Master Mingguang would get angry while teaching Qi Xingye. Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are human nature; how could they truly be completely eradicated?
"No thanks, thank you." Yun Xian stood up and said to the phantom, "You should keep the melon for yourself. We won't take it away."
She thought, "Practicing Buddhism is not about becoming a Buddha." To put it in a more distant perspective, even a Buddha would jump over a wall if he got anxious.
The two of them walked swiftly, quickly seizing the opportunity to visit all the nearby villagers. During their visit, Yun Xian's behavior was undeniably that of a bully, refusing to spare a single needle or thread for the people, snatching whatever she could find wherever she went. But without exception, or to put it bluntly, the villagers were the type to turn the other cheek. Far from being angry, they even worried about whether Yun Xian was tired.
Yun Xian forcibly collected a lot of miscellaneous items, and his pockets were almost full. He and Ji Rongxue sat on the edge of the field, questioning their lives.
"In other words, the people in the Lotus Seat are temporarily divided into four categories."
Yun Xian counted on his fingers and said, "The first possibility is that we, Zhang Heyan, and Jimo Shu are still relatively conscious and capable of independent action. We want to deal with the Laughing Buddha. The second possibility is that Liu Jian and the several villagers we just saw who once had high cultivation levels. They either strayed into the Lotus Seat or were guided here by the wind and flowers. They have been assimilated by the Lotus Seat and their cultivation has fallen to the Foundation Establishment stage. The third possibility is the illusion created by the Laughing Buddha. The fourth possibility is the old couple... These two have more responsibilities than the illusion, and their reflection of the Laughing Buddha's consciousness is much deeper."
Ji Rongxue nodded: "We are now transforming from the first to the second."
"I don't understand." Yun Xian said, "Even if one is innocent and kind, there must be a limit. It's good that everything is calm now. If anyone among them has bad intentions, it would be like a wolf among sheep."
"..." Ji Rongxue glanced at the child who was still jumping on the grid nearby, and suddenly frowned and said, "Yun Xian, have you ever thought about who would be the first one to be infected among us?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a figure slowly emerged in Yun Xian's mind.
No matter what, it’s Qi Zhiye.
There are originally various sects among those who practice Buddhism, and each of them has the true scriptures in their hearts. The deeper they study, the more likely they are to be misled by a few words and fall into endless self-doubt. The three tones of the Buddhist bell that only Qiao Lingshan and Qi Zhiye heard at night may have been used to distinguish the before and after, but more importantly.
Judging from the Four-Way War, Qi Zhiye was already quite dissatisfied with the current state of Buddhism. He practiced Buddhist techniques, but did not believe in the Buddha, and his murderous nature even required the magical instruments of Master Mingguang to suppress.
"But, this is completely different from his philosophy," Yun Xian said with a green face. "Although his fellow disciples are not very willing to fight, they at least know how to protect themselves. They practice the Golden Bell Cover to death, obviously they also know the dangers of the world of cultivation."
Expecting others to be kind is much harder than being kind yourself.
I don't know how the Smiling Buddha will ensure the safety of these villagers. After all, there are outsiders in the lotus seat.
Ji Rongxue pondered in silence. At this moment, three long bell sounds rang out in the distance.
The sun sets and it is dusk. It is time to go back to have lunch and rest.
Judging by the time, it was the old lady's kind side's turn to take charge. But perhaps because Qi Zhiye had irritated her so much this morning, her expression was completely stiff, and her smile less friendly. She herded everyone back into the house like sheep, saying before leaving, "Tomorrow is Master Jide's funeral. You must follow the rules and avoid making any mistakes."
"Grandma." Yun Xian said, "Will you come to see us tonight?"
"Look at you?" The old lady's hollow eyes rolled around, and she said in confusion, "Rest at sunset. No one in Lotus Seat goes out at night."
Either she doesn't know, or she's lying.
Yun Xian was more inclined to the former. Because if she was lying, there would always be a feeling that she couldn't hide, "You arrested a vicious old lady, what does this have to do with me, a gentle old lady?" Judging from her expression, she really had no memory of that period.
Everyone returned to the familiar bunk beds and shared their experiences of the day.
Qiao Lingshan said, "Feng Ye and I tried to return the same way, but the entrance to that road turned into a bungalow. Seriously, a bungalow just appeared out of nowhere, and inside it were four generations of a family living together... I almost doubted my eyes."
"Yes." Feng Ye wondered, "This is too blatant, and a bit... misleading."
Xue Lingxiu said, "The room next door is locked and encircled by a barrier. It's possible to open the door, but the barrier has a strange aura. Forcing it open would probably alarm her."
"The outermost barrier is impenetrable," Qi Zhiye said, "but when I was about to leave, the lotus seat's illusion seemed to fail for a moment, and the ridge of the field turned into a desolate cemetery."
Ji Rongxue: “…”
Yun Xian: “…”
Why is it so scary every time you speak?
I don't know which grandma or uncle I sat on just now. I'm so sorry! I'll knock the wooden fish a few more times tomorrow to pray for you!
The result was also expected. After all, considering the cultivation level of Zhang Heyan's group, if there was a way to force their way out, they would have left long ago. Why would they stay here and voluntarily serve as wooden fish?
Dusk fell again.
It's time to go to bed again.
"Honestly." Yun Xian lay down skillfully, wondering, "Why do I feel like today has passed so quickly? It seems like I haven't been able to do anything yet, and it's already evening."
She seemed a little annoyed. Qiao Lingshan cleaned up the mess and comforted her, "At least we got the information..."
Yun Xian was optimistic: "Forget it! It's good that nothing happened!"
Qiao Lingshan: “…”
The weather changed suddenly. In the blink of an eye, dusk was swallowed up by the night. Through the paper window, one could vaguely see the dark outline outside the window and the sound of dripping water.
It was like the sound of a bamboo tube tapping against stone, click, click, click, becoming increasingly distinct in the quiet night. Yun Xian looked at the hazy full moon obscured by the paper, resting his head on his arm, and said, "Everyone, I've discovered two things."
Xue Lingxiu said, "If you can't sleep, just close your eyes. You'll fall asleep in no time."
"I'm serious!" Yun Xian pointed out the window and said, "Today's moon is exactly the same as yesterday's moon."
Ji Rongxue straightened up slightly, her cool and elegant face shimmering like a glowing moonlight. "This is the city built by the Smiling Buddha. She can turn clouds and rain with a flick of her hand. She can make it dark whenever she wants. According to the original time, it shouldn't be night yet."
Feng Ye: "What's the second thing?"
Yun Xian said, "After washing up this morning, I saw the old lady tying up the bamboo tubes. So where did the sound of dripping water come from?"
Everyone: “…………”
Qiao Lingshan said seriously: "I suddenly have a bold idea..."
"I know what you're thinking." Ji Rongxue said, "It's better not to say it out loud for now."
Feng Ye said with a stiff upper lip: "It's okay, not that scary!"
Yun Xian got up on tiptoe and walked towards the wall. There was only a dim spark in the room, trembling in vain. She quietly pressed her ear to the wall, but there was no sound from the other end.
"I told you, it's impossible." She stood up and said, "Yes, it started yesterday. It's impossible that now..."
Before he finished speaking, two knocks were heard from the other side of the wall.
Someone is knocking on the wall opposite.
The room was silent for a moment, and Feng Ye screamed louder than anyone else: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
"Don't make noise." A faint voice came from the other end: "I am Jimo Shu."
"..." Yun Xian's heart, which had nearly jumped out of his throat, finally settled down a bit. He spoke with a trembling voice, "Saint Lady, could you please transmit your voice before you speak next time? If you do this a few more times, I might have to go see the pendulum clock early."
"Who is the big pendulum clock?" Jimo Shu said inexplicably: "Stop talking nonsense, I have something to say."
"Just through the wall?" Wait, there's one more thing. Yun Xian squatted down, "Didn't the old lady forbid people from opening the door at night? How did you get here, Saint?"
She was answered by a dull sound.
A hole of medium size was punched through the wall, and Jimo Shu's dusty head appeared from it. The two looked at each other.
Yun Xian said silently: "Did you dig the hole all the way here?"
"Of course." Jimo Shu still found her baffling. "You said you didn't allow the door to be opened, but you didn't say you couldn't allow the wall to be opened. Why?"
Yun Xian: "...It's okay."
The room they were in was the last one in the corridor, and there were at least ten rooms between the entrance and here. When she thought of Jimo Shu finishing her meal, rolling up her sleeves and digging room by room, she had a vision of the mining boy she had played with as a child...
To be honest, it was a bit like visiting a prisoner through the wall. Jimo Shu struggled to get through the hole and almost got stuck. The kind-hearted Ji Rongxue stretched out his round hand and pulled her in.
From the cave, Xue Lingxiu finally vaguely saw the scene inside the next door house.
In the small house, there were several corpses hanging from the beams. Judging from their clothes, they were all missing people from Qiankun City, just as everyone had thought before.
Xue Lingxiu frowned and said, "These people committed suicide together."
"How many days ago?"
"At most half a month."
Yun Xian whispered, "Only half a month, and already..."
Everyone felt a little uncomfortable. Xue Lingxiu went over to lay the body flat, covered it with a cloth, and said solemnly, "Perhaps there is really nothing we can do."
Jimo Shu brushed off the dust on her head, without any regret on her face. Instead, she said, "You guys look down on these people too much, don't you?"
Ji Rongxue: "What do you mean?"
"If you want to live, you can. Just go with the flow. Even if you become like Liu Jian, a walking corpse, you'll at least wake up eventually. Maybe someone will come to rescue you one day." Jimo Shu looked at the corpses on the ground and said bluntly, "These people didn't commit suicide out of desperation. They just didn't want to provide nutrients to this barrier anymore and were willing to end their lives."
"This place is gradually beginning to show signs of chaos. If it were the original Smiling Buddha, you wouldn't be able to see any flaws at all. Collapse is imminent, and she's about to burst forth, unable to suppress it. I imagine her situation isn't much better either."
Jimo Shu pulled out an object from her bosom. It was a deep, jet-black object, gleaming with a dim, star-like glow. She frowned and said, "When I first arrived, the demonic energy was still inferior to the Buddha's energy. Now, the demonic energy has overwhelmed the Buddha's energy. Tomorrow's funeral will be a turning point."
Qiao Lingshan asked, "Those whose cultivation levels were downgraded, had all their spiritual energy drained away and turned into nutrients to maintain the lotus seat?"
"Yes." Jimo Shu said with a hint of sarcasm in her tone, "In this place, cultivation is useless. It's better to dedicate it to the Buddha. Buddhism has always been hypocritical, so it's natural to think so."
Yun Xian tried to take the magic weapon from her hand. Jimo Shu's grip subconsciously tightened, but she still let her take it. It felt smooth and glowed, and looked very beautiful. Yun Xian enviously asked, "What is this?"
"If you like it, I'll give it to you." Jimo Shu said, "It was made from the skull of that demon cultivator in the Spiritual Severing Stage. It was blown to pieces by the princess, and this is the only piece left from her body."
"..." Yun Xian put it back obediently, "I'll give it back to you."
Everyone stood there, their faces blurred in the candlelight. Qi Zhiye sneered and said, "Buddha? Not only is a demon being allowed in, but he's also being eliminated by the demon. What a joke!"
"Who do you think you are, the devil who opens his mouth or closes his mouth?" Jimo Shu's eyes turned cold and she said, "Bald donkey, if you want to die, I don't mind giving you a ride."
The atmosphere tensed, and Yun Xian sighed, "Qi Zhiye, could you please shut up?"
"?" Qi Zhiye was furious: "Didn't she scold me first???"
Jimo Shu had been known to beat anyone she caught in the Four Directions Secret Realm, but now, after spending only a short while with everyone else, she was already looking ready to attack. Yun Xian quickly changed the subject, "Saintess, do you know where Zhong Changyao went?"
"I don't know." Jimo Shu said angrily, "He was taken away by the spirit of that dead old man. Baldy has so much free time begging everywhere, why doesn't he save these two pieces of shit first?"
Qi Zhiye stood up and said, "If you want to fight, go out and fight."
Ji Rongxue: "Are you serious? You want to plant sweet potatoes tomorrow?"
"I like a sandier texture... No, let's not talk about that." Yun Xian continued, "Saintess, what kind of demon is the leader of the Demon Cult? Is he usually nice to you? Does he deduct his monthly allowance if he pays for the five social insurances and one housing fund?"
"I don't know. I've only seen the incarnation." Jimo Shu and Qi Zhiye were glaring at each other but had to answer Yun Xian in the midst of their busy schedule. After answering, their tone suddenly changed and they said something like "I'll skin you alive" and "I can kill you without lifting a finger" and so on. Yun Xian and Qiao Lingshan smiled knowingly when they heard it.
The entire cultivation world knows that Jimo Shu is always shouting that she wants to peel off people's skin, but her latest record is still zero.
Everyone was discussing heatedly for a long time. At this moment, they heard the sound of fierce footsteps outside the corridor again. They quickly lay down with their clothes on as trained. Jimo Shu frowned and was about to crawl into the hole in the wall. Unexpectedly, she stumbled and got stuck in the middle. She kicked with her calves but couldn't push herself in. In the end, Ji Rongxue heard the footsteps so close and pulled Jimo Shu into the bunk bed.
The next moment, the door was pushed open again.
The fierce old lady raised her eyebrows and said in a strong voice, "Are you asleep?"
Yun Xianyouyou: "Grandma, we have fallen asleep."
"Yeah. That's good." The old lady's hollow eyes scanned the room, as if she could really see. She always felt that something was strange for no reason. Everyone's breathing was up and down. She really couldn't find a point to make an issue of this, so she could only close the door with a "bang".
Jimo Shu was pressed tightly by Ji Rongxue, and she broke free angrily, saying, "I hate you!"
"Saint, I don't like you that much either." Ji Rongxue coldly pushed her down again, "But you have to be quiet now."
Sure enough, the next moment, someone came back and the door opened again!
A cold wind blew in, and Yun Xian secretly opened his eyes. In an instant, his heart was shaken, and he said in a voice transmission: "Miss, please don't look."
The last few times the visitor was an old lady without eyes, but this time the visitor was even more important——
Only a pair of bloodshot eyes appeared, staring into the observation room silently.
It seems that the lotus seat chaos that Jimo Shu mentioned is becoming more and more serious.
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