Only Yuanjue and Shining looked at each other and saw a look of solemnity in each other's eyes.
Yuanjue shook his head, turned to the Buddhist disciples behind him, and called out, "Disciples, listen up! Spread out and search for the treasure's whereabouts. If you find it, send out a signal to gather everyone! Also, you must travel in groups and be careful of the demons!"
"Yes!" The disciples, including Shi Chan, responded in unison, and flew off in twos and threes to various places along the lake.
Liang Yihan smiled and lowered his head, then turned to the Daoist disciples, cupped his hands in greeting, and said loudly, "Fellow senior brothers and sisters, please be careful!"
The leaders of various Taoist sects exchanged a few words with their disciples, and then the group dispersed and flew off in different directions.
Liang Yihan walked over to Yan Huayin and Yu Xing. Yan Huayin leaned close to Liang Yihan's ear and whispered, "Senior brother said that after we see the treasure, we should lure the demons over. I have already told my fellow disciples about this."
"What about the other sects?" Liang Yihan asked in a low voice.
"That seems to be the case," Yan Huayin replied in a low voice.
Liang Yihan nodded in satisfaction and said, "Okay."
The once tranquil Prajna Lake suddenly became bustling. Within a radius of ten miles around the lake, people from the Buddhist, Taoist, and demonic factions could be seen searching everywhere, with the most people in the Bodhi Forest and on the five small islands in the lake.
As soon as the Buddhist and Taoist groups arrived, Liuli ran out of the lake. After a moment of thought, she transformed into a small white fox about a foot long.
"Sister." Ahua ran up to Liuli and asked in confusion, "Why did you become like this?"
Liuli raised her little face and searched carefully in the crowd for a while, then her eyes lit up. She pretended to run forward and said to Ahua, "Ahua, you should go to Li Molin's place quickly. There are so many little monks and Taoist priests here, it's dangerous for you... I'm going to go play with the little monks!"
"Okay," Ahua replied obediently, then added after thinking for a moment, "Sister, please be careful."
"Okay." Liuli hurriedly said, then skipped and hopped after Shichan.
Liuli encountered many righteous people along the way, including some who had seen her on the cloud platform. Some people wondered, "Why is this little fox everywhere?"
Ignoring the people along the way, Liuli ran quickly forward. When she reached the lake, she secretly transformed into a white light and flew to the other side when no one was paying attention to her. Then she revealed herself, ran to the Bodhi Forest, and jumped onto Shichan's shoulder before he entered the forest.
"Little monk," Liuli called out happily in a low voice.
Shi Chan smiled gently, and considering the fellow disciples traveling with him, he lowered his voice and called out, "Miss Liuli."
"Huh?" A monk walking ahead of Shi Chan noticed the glass ornament on Shi Chan's shoulder and asked in surprise, "This little fox looks familiar."
Another monk carefully examined Liuli for a few moments and exclaimed, "This little fox is incredibly intelligent. It must be because it has lived in this sacred Buddhist land for a long time and has been nurtured by the power of Buddha all year round."
The monk who had spoken earlier frowned and pondered for a moment, but he really didn't know where he had seen this little fox before. He shook his head and agreed with what the little monk behind him had said.
Shi Chan turned to look at Liuli on his shoulder, where she was comfortably perched, pouting with disdain.
Shi Chan couldn't help but shake his head and smile.
Liuli, perched on Shichan's shoulder, looked around the forest before her. This Bodhi forest seemed to have stood for countless years; the Bodhi trees had thick trunks, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, through which the intertwined roots could be vaguely seen. Looking up at the sky, the lush foliage blocked out the sky, and the sunlight that shone through was broken into scattered specks.
As Shi Chan walked, his pace slowed down, and he gradually fell far behind the other monks. Only then did Liu Li ask, "Little monk, what kind of trees are in this forest? The forest where I grew up is this big, but there isn't a single tree like this."
Master Shi Chan smiled gently and replied, "This is a Bodhi tree."
"Oh," Liuli nodded in response.
As we ventured deeper into the Bodhi Forest, the view gradually opened up. In the center of the forest, there was a clearing covering about an acre. In the middle of the clearing grew the thickest Bodhi tree, which would require seven or eight people to barely encircle. Its lush canopy stretched out in all directions, casting a shadow that almost completely covered the entire clearing.
From afar, faint golden rays of light could be seen drifting across the Bodhi tree, giving the entire tree a faint golden glow and a solemn and dignified appearance.
"Wow!" Liuli couldn't help but exclaim, "What a beautiful tree!"
A number of monks gradually gathered in the open space. All the monks came to the tree and put their hands together in prayer, bowed deeply with respect, and chanted Buddhist mantras incessantly.
Shi Chan was no exception. He came to the tree, put his hands together, chanted a Buddhist mantra, and then bowed respectfully in a Buddhist salute.
After doing all this, he whispered to Liuli, "This Bodhi tree is the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha Shakyamuni attained enlightenment. It is also the place where Shakyamuni Buddha entered Nirvana and became a saint."
"Is that so?" Liuli looked up at the golden Buddha light that was moving erratically in the crown of the Bodhi tree. The Buddha light shone into her wide-open eyes, making her crystal clear eyes sparkle with a faint light.
From sunrise to sunset, more than two hundred people from three sides searched the area around Prajna Lake, but to no avail. Although there were occasional minor disputes and fights among these two hundred people, no major conflict occurred.
As the sun set, the three groups gathered together and lit three bonfires on the south bank of the lake, forming three circles.
In the far west, the demons gathered around a blazing bonfire, its flames illuminating their faces—some rugged, some handsome. The demons laughed and chattered, their boisterous laughter waking the night.
Li Molin sat cross-legged beside the campfire, whispering something to several young people around him.
Liuli was still in the form of a little white fox, half-lying beside Li Molin, listening intently to their conversation. Ahua was curled up next to Liuli, fast asleep, making purring noises.
Not only the demons, but also the Taoists and Buddhists were discussing in hushed tones. The three groups talked until late at night without feeling sleepy, and were very energetic.
A crescent moon slowly moved across the sky, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the hour of Hai (9-11 PM).
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
