Chapter 58: Buddha's Hand Traps Three Immortals
Without a word, Xisheng took out a yellow talisman and slapped it against the man's forehead. However, the talisman fell limply to the ground, contrary to its usual behavior. At the same time, Cangming asked doubtfully, "No Law?"
Wu Lu was slapped on his back by Xisheng, and the snow and ice on the ground made him howl loudly. He roared in frustration, "Yin Xisheng!"
Xisheng stood by and watched, expressionless, saying, "Why are you here?" Wu Lu looked like he deserved a beating: "I was playing drums and making music on Tongduo Mountain and recruiting disciples. I'm afraid you're jealous of my master's renewed glory, so you brought me here... Why is this outside the Great Wall?"
Cang Ming picked up the fallen talisman paper and looked at it. He stood up and said, "I understand." Wu Lu was originally whispering with Xi Sheng, asking about her family affairs. Hearing this, he looked up and asked, "What do you understand now?"
"This place is encircled by a barrier. Mana and talisman paper are useless." Cang Ming held the talisman paper between his fingers and shook it. Wu Lu stretched out his crutch to test it, and sure enough, there was no mana at all. He immediately screamed in fear.
Cang Ming continued, "What's even more bizarre is that this place uses the power of teleportation. I just thought of Xisheng, and Xisheng appeared; I thought of you, Wulu, and you appeared."
Wu Lu collapsed and said, "You said you want me to do something, can't you think about your brother Huo?"
Xisheng silently wrapped his clothes tightly and shivered in the cold wind. "I guess that person is also in this place. People who are in the same place can't find each other."
"That's right!" Cang Ming clapped his hands, agreeing with Xi Sheng's point of view. Wu Lu stood up straight and said loudly: "Excuse me, can someone come up with someone who is willing to give me money?"
Cang Ming was inspired and immediately asked, "Could you please have Old Ghost Lotus's master show up immediately?"
There was no movement in the Buddha's hand. Wu Lu had another plan in mind, and cleverly shouted, "Can we ask Xi Sheng's old mother to come over? Let the old lady go with Xi Sheng back to Fengyan City."
Cang Ming wanted to kick him: "Do you want the old lady to come to this damn place?"
Xisheng said, "Not everyone can be summoned to this place. Probably only those with supernatural powers can enter."
Wu Lu sighed regretfully. With nowhere else to go, he wandered in circles. Cang Ming recounted the events of the Old Ghost Lotus's fleeting bloom and his Grandmaster Wei Yang's descent into the mortal realm, until they gasped. Finally, Cang Ming glanced around, his brows knitted in annoyance. "This place is incredibly spooky! Do you hear the whispers around you?"
As the three of them fell silent, the surrounding voices surged up.
"I withheld the servants' monthly wages and hired a prostitute for the master. Please, sir, please keep this from being made public! May all the servants die a violent death, and may the master promote me to second steward..."
"God, I am your most loyal believer. Now I have intercepted the money for building a bridge or road. I beg you to come to me in a dream and tell me how to do it without anyone noticing..."
"My Lord, that old man in charge is bullying me. Please kill him without a complete body. The sooner the better. Ideally, tomorrow. No, tonight. I am willing to offer all my offerings..."
…
Xisheng opened his eyes and said, "This is a demon temple."
Cang Ming suddenly realized, "I see! I originally thought that the abandoned dojo was the site of such ghostly creatures. But now it seems that the real dojo... is in this hand!"
Xisheng continued, "Indeed. This Buddha's hand not only collects countless prayers, but can also summon subordinates to appear at will, such as Old Ghost Lotus."
Wu Lu leaned on his cane, tapping around and asking, "Are we really on a giant Buddha? Is this the Buddha's hand? Where are the fingers?"
As if hearing Wu Lu's question, the stone palms beneath their feet suddenly shook violently, shaking the three people unsteadily. A gurgling sound echoed overhead. Looking up, they saw the chaotic clouds rapidly dispersing, revealing several giant stone fingers slowly closing down, as if to crush them to death.
Xisheng was about to summon the Thousand Realms Pipa when he remembered his magic power had expired. Cangming had experienced similar dangers in the Snowy Forest, so he remained calm and composed. He swung his sword at the fingers, but the sword's wind was weak, and the fingers seemed unaware and continued to slowly fall from the sky.
Wu Lu swung his crutch with all his might. Although he couldn't even touch the edge of the stone hand, he still treated it with great care: "Don't break my magic weapon! Sister Cang, think of a way!"
Cang Ming said anxiously, "We still don't know where Wei Ci is. Is he in danger? Isn't he scared?"
“…”
"I think we should just destroy this place and rescue Wei Ci!" Cang Ming waved his hand, jumped into the air with his sword, and stabbed at the distant stone pillars with all his strength.
With a resounding bang, a finger snapped completely and fell to the ground, shattering the earth with a thunderous thud, sending up a cloud of snow. The remaining fingers froze in place, as if an eye in the air were gazing down at the palm of the hand. The Buddha assessed the situation and made no further rash moves.
When the earthquake subsided, Xisheng and Wulu lowered their arms from their heads and cast admiring glances at Cangming. Wulu gave him a thumbs-up and praised, "As expected of a martial immortal, you can handle a head-on confrontation, right?"
Cang Ming stood on the ground with his sword, and said in confusion: "It's not me."
A silver-white figure gently landed on the severed finger, as if standing on a ridge, looking around anxiously.
Cang Ming shouted, "Brother Weici!"
Xisheng and Wulu immediately showed puzzled expressions.
Cang Ming no longer cared about anything else, and threw herself at Wei Ci with her arms outstretched, her whole body filled with a mixture of joy and sorrow. However, Wei Ci was faster than her, running at full speed, his body swift and powerful, rushing to Cang Ming in the blink of an eye and pulling her into his arms.
"I thought..." Wei Ci's face was even more pale than usual. "I almost hated myself..." Cang Ming pulled his head out of his arms, looked up at him and comforted him, "I'm fine this time, really."
Without saying goodbye, he hugged Cang's thin body tightly, as if he was afraid of losing the most precious thing in the world. Wu Lu smacked his lips from behind and said, "Brother Huo, how did you find yourself here? Isn't this a ghost town?"
Xi Sheng added coldly: "No magic power either."
Wei Ci, however, acted as if he didn't see the two people, and just used his body temperature to keep Cang Ming warm. Cang Ming asked quietly, "How did you find me? I've been looking for you for a long time!"
"I've been looking for you for a long time, and finally I broke a finger of the Buddha statue." Wei Ci replied casually, "Come back with me while the barrier is open."
Cang Ming hesitated for a moment, then bravely objected, "But we finally found some clues..."
Wei Ci's gaze was so oppressive that even without saying anything, Cang Ming looked away guiltily. Wu Lu interrupted, "I think it's better to go back first. You'll be out of mana soon and you won't be able to cry properly."
Xisheng also said, "Indeed."
Cang Ming was also worried about getting a few people into trouble, so he compromised and said, "Okay, then let's go back to Wang Xianyuan first!"
Xisheng produced a yellow teleportation talisman, and Wulu hurried to her side, fearing he'd be left behind. Weici, as usual, embraced Cangming and led her through the tunnel back to the Forgotten Immortal Source. In the split second before disappearing, Cangming saw the great Buddha reach out from behind and slowly pick up the severed finger from its palm. In the dim sunlight, the Buddha emanated a strange golden glow.
The four of them met up at the Forgetful Immortal Platform, all breathing a sigh of relief. Xisheng immediately sat down cross-legged. Wulu tactfully pinched her shoulders and asked flatteringly, "Activating the teleportation talisman consumes a lot of mana, doesn't it?"
Xisheng said, "Oh."
That night, the four sat around the fire on Wangxian Terrace, sharing their recent experiences. After the massacre of the Buwen Sect, the sect leader passed away soon after, leaving Xisheng as the only remaining disciple. Cang Ming urged Xisheng to reunite with the Buwen Sect, but Xisheng replied, "Our sect's melody, Zao Chao Hua Sheng, was originally a tune played by fishermen in the East China Sea. Its meaning requires a seasoned observer to grasp."
Wu Lu said, "Well, why don't you try recruiting more apprentices? There will always be one or two smart ones."
Xisheng said calmly, "When I go out to play music, I've actually taught the key techniques to some street kids. Whether they can master it depends on their luck."
"You're such a great guy, Zou Chaoxian! It turns out you've been quietly planning something big for a long time!" Wu Lu slapped his thigh. "Why didn't you tell me such a brilliant plan?"
Xisheng retorted, "You weren't the Master of the Tongduo Sect before."
Wei Ci just quietly added fuel to the fire, his eyes following Cang Ming, and occasionally smiling faintly when their eyes met.
Cang Ming turned to look at Xi Sheng: "I'm really sorry for teleporting you here this time. Your aunt is still home alone. You can take a rest and then draw another talisman and go back!"
Xi Sheng said, "It's okay. I had already settled her down. I was on my way back to Fengyan City when the message came."
Wu Lu waved his hand and said cheerfully, "Take her to Xiyuan Sanfang as soon as possible. It's just an extra pair of chopsticks. As for me, I'll be traveling between the southwest and the central plains from now on. I'll rely on you to take care of the inn. The room fee is waived."
Xisheng said, "She can still farm and weave in her hometown. If she comes to the Central Plains, where will she get food and clothing? I need to think about it."
The three poor fellows fell silent. Wei Ci, the only wealthy one, was also absent-minded, his chin resting on his slender hand, wondering what he was thinking.
Cang Ming said gloomily, "If there was a temple in Fengyan City that performed songs and dances to honor the gods on the first and fifteenth days of every month... that would be great! Wouldn't Xisheng then have a permanent place to stay?"
Wu Lu said, "Isn't that a brothel?"
Cang Ming was furious and started arguing with Wu Lu across the stove. Wei Ci came to his senses and whispered to Cang Ming, "General, the spies I sent out just brought back information."
Wu Lu asked hurriedly: "Brother Huo, please tell me quickly."
Wei Ci ignored him and just looked at Cang Ming and said, "Tomorrow is the fifteenth day of the lunar month. There will be a... grand ceremony to thank the gods here."
The three immortals were stunned when these words came out. Wu Lu asked Cang Ming, "You arranged it so quickly? Just to let Xisheng play music to make money?"
Cang Ming said, "It's not me! There's not even a bird in this place, how could anyone hold a temple fair?"
Xisheng said coldly, "Go and see tomorrow and you'll know."
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