Chapter 65: The Stone Buddha Falls from the Altar
After a long time, the white snow that had been blown up from the ground finally fell back down. The stone Buddha lay motionless on the ground, and a strange cry of crying for one's parents came from the Buddha's hands.
As the Buddha statue fell backward, Cang Ming only had time to form a protective incantation, causing a hexagonal snowflake formation to descend upon it, firmly catching the people in the Buddha's grasp. Wei Ci grabbed her waist and pulled her into his arms, using his arms and back to shield himself from the oncoming onslaught. The two were swept far away by the surging tide of people, and they rolled around in each other's arms for several rounds before coming to a stop.
"Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?" Cang Ming scrambled to his feet, feeling dizzy. As soon as he shouted, he felt stars flash before his eyes. Wei Ci's arm was still draped over her, veins bulging and protruding, and the protruding bones of his hand were slightly white, still showing the traces of the force he had just exerted.
Countless believers, flung from the Buddha's hand, collapsed densely onto the stone Buddha's chest. The fallen Buddha Mountain resembled a hillside on a plain. A magic circle encircled the crowd, greatly cushioning the violent impact of the fall, preventing them from tumbling to their deaths on the solid stone. However, they still bumped into each other.
Some people fell like human figures, the lowest of them nearly vomiting blood. Others, having just recovered from their shock, were secretly congratulating themselves on not having lost any limbs, only to suddenly discover they were holding the empty shell of a body slain by the guardian deity, and they began to wail desperately.
"Xisheng! Where are you?" Cangming pulled Weici through the crowd and shouted, "Wulü! Wei Qiang!"
A muffled voice replied, "Not dead, just squinting."
Cang Ming immediately turned around and looked around: "Is that Wu Lu? Why can't I see you?" Wei Ci snorted, raised the hand that was holding Cang Ming, and pointed forward. Wu Lu came out from the Buddha statue's nostrils on a crutch, his face ashen, and said in a muffled voice: "If I hadn't done a pole vault the moment I landed, I would have been crippled and had to be paralyzed in bed from now on!"
"Hey, don't say such depressing things. Besides, if a paralyzed patient in bed heard what you said, wouldn't he be sad?" Cang Ming looked at the people on the ground, his eyes dazzled. "Where are the other two?"
Wu Lu walked for a long time before he reached Cang Ming and said, "I didn't see him along the way. Did Xi Sheng fall somewhere and fall asleep again?"
"Haha." A cold laugh floated over from the back of Wu Lu's neck, scaring him so much that he jumped and turned around on the spot, screaming.
Xi Sheng and Wei Qiang emerged from the Buddha statue's robes, standing before Cang Ming, fully intact. They settled down and simultaneously looked toward the snow. Tian Xinshu's army had vanished, leaving only the deputy commander, hidden beneath the stone sculpture's sleeves like a dry tree stump emerging from the snow.
Turning around again, Tian Xinshu looked at them coldly: "Don't even bother saying thank you. Come down quickly. How long are you going to dawdle?"
Wu Lu pointed his cane at her, his nose almost crooked with anger: "Who should thank you? You won unfairly, attacked me right away, and used your numbers to bully the weak..."
The deputy general behind Tian Xinshu immediately raised his swords and spears and began to boo and jeer. Seeing that Tian Xinshu did not stop him, the deputy general became even more arrogant and shouted, "Hurry up and kowtow to the king and apologize! If the king had not knocked down this stone statue, how could those mortals get down?"
"..." Cang Ming forced a smile, "Thank you very much for your brilliant plan, Your Majesty."
With the help of the red-robed disciples, the group of believers stumbled down the stone statue, their legs wobbling. Some frail elders, unable to walk after the ordeal, had to be carried down by the stronger disciples. Fortunately, the statue wasn't too far from the ground after being lowered. Soon, everyone finally reached flat ground, each one weeping with joy at having survived.
Someone asked, "Why do I hear a great king knocking down this statue? Where is the great king? Can I worship this great king instead?"
The person nearby replied: "I didn't see clearly how the stone statue fell. I just felt a strong force coming at me in an instant. It was really strange..." Someone else said that he seemed to see a white skull face flash by in the air, which caused everyone to laugh at him. In the end, even he himself suspected that he had seen it wrong.
The demonic legions came and went without a trace, unseen by any mortal, and the skeletons appeared in the blink of an eye. This grand ceremony of thanksgiving to the gods was so bizarre and strange that people's memories of it resembled a nightmare.
Tian Xinshu stood alone in a hidden place and ordered Cang Ming: "Hurry up and drive these mortals away. I don't want to be seen by them."
Cang Ming cleared his throat and said to the crowd, "As you can see, this is the northern part of Beiyuan, far away from the place where the grand ceremony of thanking the gods is being held. Please leave immediately and return to your hometowns. Do not trust this king who runs the temple anymore."
Wei Qiang said, "My disciples will escort you out of the pass. From then on, you will have to walk your own way."
The crowd was in a tumultuous clamor. Most people were clamoring for their companions on their way home, and scrambling to grab the red-robed disciples, desperate to tear one in half. However, a few people squeezed in front of Cang Ming and said, "Master Daoist, we would like to do our bit to repay your life-saving grace. Is there anything we can do?"
Wu Lu interrupted, "If you stay and help, we'll have to save your lives again."
“…”
Cang Ming looked at Wei Ci hesitantly. Wei Ci raised an eyebrow at her and said in a voice transmission: "If you don't want it, just refuse it." Cang Ming also sent a voice in his mind: "But if we give up their idea of doing good, what if they no longer want to do good things..."
Wei Ci smiled, revealing a dimple on one side of her face: "Then let them do something simple?"
Cang Ming nodded, thought for a moment, then clapped his hands and said to those people, "Oh, I really need your help with something!"
Those people were overjoyed, but before they said goodbye, they lowered their heads and tried to suppress their laughter. Cang Ming said, "Could you please tell everyone you meet about this conspiracy of the Taoist temple after you leave, so that no more people will be deceived."
"What's the big deal? We were going to tell him anyway! He almost died!"
"God damn it, if I run into something like this, I'll be talking about it for the rest of my life..."
Xisheng said, "I heard that there are teleportation arrays of this temple in various places. Please burn them."
The few people readily agreed. So the believers carried the empty skin corpse and followed the disciples of the Old Can Sect to trek out of the pass. It was unknown how long it would take to get out of the snowy plains, and they would be exposed to wind, frost, swords and knives along the way.
Silence returned to the snowy landscape, with only Cang Ming and the other three guarding the fallen stone statue. Tian Xinshu emerged from his hiding place and said to Cang Ming, "Let's make it clear that you can't fall in love with me."
"?" Several people looked puzzled.
Wei Ci cast a gloomy glance at Tian Xinshu, his voice as heavy as a shield: "Don't make any mistake, sir. She's only interested in me."
Tian Xin snorted and said, "Who the hell wants to compete with you?" She stared at Cang Ming and said firmly, "I can go with you to kill the guardian deity, but you, a Taoist priest, can't be tempted to follow in my footsteps and become my general just because I'm brave and skilled in battle and have extraordinary strategies... I hate it most when people pester me."
Cang Ming laughed awkwardly and said, "Of course not."
Tian Xinshu suddenly said angrily, "So, you think I'm not worthy of following you? If you look down on me, why do you still ask me to help you?"
"..." Cang Ming interrupted her tantrum and said seriously, "The snowy forest outside Xianzhen Island has a strange barrier that can reduce the magic power of immortals. It is exactly the same as the work of the guardian deity."
Tian Xinshu turned away and said stiffly, "That forest is... the land my father gave me. Perhaps it was indeed planted by that guardian deity."
She said in a desolate voice, "It turns out that your father was once kind to you." She looked towards the southeast, lost in thought, with only the white snow and the blue sky in sight.
Tian Xinshu said bitterly, "How could I not know that he was good to me?"
Cang Ming sighed, took out the gem leaf, and handed it over with both hands: "Sir Tian Xinshu, I took this leaf without permission. It should have been returned to its original owner long ago."
Tian Xinshu took the leaf, tossed it casually, and returned it to Cang Ming: "I have plenty of money, it's better to leave this thing in the hands of an ignorant person like you."
Wei Ci lowered his head and said to Cang Ming, "General, there are many good things in our ancient building. That is Cang Ming Antique Shop." Cang Ming smiled, and his eyes and eyebrows were coated with a bright luster.
Wu Lu immediately took the gem leaf and said, "If no one wants it, I will."
Tian Xin rolled her eyes at him and said impatiently, "What's the battle plan? Where are we going to find that filthy thing? Hurry up."
Cang Ming said, "We will search the statue, and you can search the surrounding area. How about we meet at the statue tomorrow at dawn? The guardian deity is a man in black, with a golden aura around him, so he's very easy to spot."
Tian Xinshu waved his hand, and the demon army reappeared. Their hideous appearance, the thousand-year-old floating corpses, and the myriad evil spirits and demons made the men's scalps tingle. Deputy General Panmu gave orders, and the group quickly dispersed. Tian Xinshu personally led the team, searching the vast snow for traces of golden light.
It was already dark when Cang Ming and the others lit a fire stick, climbed into the Tongduo Sect's golden chariot, and flew into the air, circling the stone Buddha to examine it inch by inch. Wei Qiang's spiritual power was like that of a beginner Taoist, and he could barely contribute to the movement of the golden chariot.
Cang Ming talked about the crow spirit's words that day, pinching his brows and saying, "Since the emperor, countless officials have colluded with gods and demons." Xi Sheng said, "This has been the case throughout the dynasties. We can only investigate."
Wu Lu puffed out his chest and said, "I will mobilize the connections of the demons and ghosts, list the officials, both big and small, and have them investigate every household. I think they must be communicating with the demons and gods, so there might be some clues."
Cang Ming nodded and said, "That's great. Unfortunately, we can't interfere in the affairs of the court."
Wei Ci smiled and said, "Although the Jianghu is far away, the wind can still blow to the court. As for turmoil and changes of dynasties, let the people in the court solve them themselves."
Cang Ming hummed and smiled sweetly at him. Wu Lu, who was driving, curled his lips and said, "Oh, I'll concentrate on the search."
Wei Qiang analyzed: "Now that Old Ghost Lotus has fallen and the biggest demon leader is gone, the Guardian God may look for new helpers in the ghost world."
"Looks like we need to keep an eye on the demon world. Can I trouble Brother Huo to keep an eye on this?" Wu Lu said, suddenly pulling back the reins. "Um... why is there a door on the stone statue?"
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