Fortunately, these people had lived for quite some time and were quite adept at concealing their emotions, so none of them showed anything unusual.
Only Liu Ying was so shocked she almost cried out, but luckily Bai Jiuxiao was quick-witted and pinched her in time, making her swallow back the words she was about to say.
Zhao Feiyang quickly replied, "I've never seen it before."
Yin Shanjun also said, "Yes, we came together and have never seen this female benefactor before. Speaking of which, did this female benefactor take the things you lost?" He was very puzzled: What could this woman have taken that would cause the entire Ling Mountain to mobilize?
The Arhat Subduing Dragon laughed and said, "Heh, perhaps this female benefactor is simply destined to be with Buddha. Since none of you have seen this female benefactor, then this humble monk will not detain you any longer. Please!"
The Arhat Subduing Tiger behind him couldn't help but whisper, "Senior Brother!"
The Arhat Subduing Dragon gave him and the other sixteen Arhats a wink, and they finally stopped stopping them, opening the mountain gate wide as if they were really going to let Zhao Feiyang and the others leave.
The stone statue stood there, untouched by anyone, and remained motionless.
The Arhat Subduing Dragon kept a close eye on it, and even though Zhao Feiyang and the others were about to walk out of the Ling Mountain gate, the stone statue still didn't move.
Suddenly, the Arhat Subduing Tiger said, "Senior Brother, this stone statue looks a little different from before."
Upon hearing this, the Arhat Subduing Dragon was immediately startled and quickly called out, "Please wait, esteemed benefactors!"
As they were speaking, the wide-open mountain gate slammed shut again, and thick fog rose once more, completely obscuring the gate.
Everyone sighed inwardly, "What a pity!" They were just one step away from walking out of that door.
Just then, the stone statue suddenly turned into a small paper figure with a few lines of text written on it.
Then you see those few lines of small characters that read: "The door is not a door, the fog is not fog, Bodhi has no tree; things are not empty, emptiness is not emptiness, when people leave, all things are empty!"
"Ah..." Upon seeing this, the Dragon-Subduing Venerable was instantly enraged and screamed as he crumpled the small paper figure into pieces.
Liu Ying asked Bai Jiuxiao, puzzled, "Mother, what do these two sentences mean?"
Bai Jiuxiao: "Uh, how could we ordinary people understand such profound Buddhist mysteries?" He then winked at her.
Liu Ying immediately understood and stopped asking questions.
Master Nanhua asked, "Venerable One, what is the meaning of detaining us here?"
Arhat Subduing Dragon quickly bowed and repeatedly said, "I'm sorry," and said, "Mount Ling will be temporarily closed until we capture that female thief, so that she can blend in with you all and escape. I hope you all will not take offense."
Liu Ying was very indignant. Not only did the Golden-Winged Roc fail to kill Liu Nian, but it also allowed Liu Nian to steal the treasures of Mount Ling. Moreover, judging from the attitude of the monks of Mount Ling, the lost treasures were quite extraordinary, which led to their detention.
However, with many senior monks present, especially in front of them, she dared not say or ask too many questions. What if these monks found out they were with the female thief and used them to blackmail her?
Given her relationship with Liu Nian, it's no wonder Liu Nian would come back to save her.
Yin Shanjun sneered, "I say, Venerable Jianglong, we guests also feel sorry that your Mount Ling has lost something, but if you detain us innocent people here because of this, it would be a breach of hospitality."
The Arhat Subduing Dragon said, "Please forgive me, benefactor, but this female thief is truly despicable. If she were to escape from Mount Ling, she might wreak havoc on the world..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ying chuckled and almost said, "Isn't it all because you monks were so nosy in sending her to reincarnation that she's in this mess today?" But before she could finish speaking, her mother noticed her mood was off and quickly pinched her.
She swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
Just then, a young monk hurried over from the depths of Mount Ling and bowed to the eighteen Arhats, saying, "Venerable ones, the Buddha Pond has returned, but the water and lotus inside are gone."
The Arhat who subdued the dragon was greatly surprised and asked in disbelief, "What?"
The water and lotus in the Buddha Pond are both manifestations of Buddhist teachings. Only a powerful Dharma vessel left by the Buddha, such as the Buddha Pond, can contain them. Otherwise, no matter what kind of container it is, it will be dissolved by the water and lotus.
However, the entire Mount Ling was shaken because of the loss of the Buddha Pool. To be honest, the monks didn't care about the water and lotuses transformed from Buddhist teachings. Since they were stored in the Buddha Pool, they were useless to the cultivators of Mount Ling because they couldn't absorb the Dharma energy there.
However, the Buddha Pool is an important Buddhist artifact left behind by the Buddha when he left. If it is lost, and the Buddha returns to question it in the future, the disciples will probably not be able to explain it. That's why they mobilized all the monks of all the temples in Ling Mountain to hunt it down.
While the eighteen Arhats, including Jianglong, were still in shock, Nanhua and the others were also astonished by the young monk's words: "At this moment, the monk reported that the Buddha Pool has returned. Could it be that Liu Nian stole the Buddha Pool? How is that possible?"
However, judging from the way the monks of Lingshan were collectively pursuing the suspect, it seems that only an important Dharma artifact personally passed down by the Buddha, such as the Buddha Pool, could cause such a sensation.
Nan Hua Zhenren and Yin Shanjun exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
Then the young monk reported, "There is one more thing. Bodhisattva Kasyapa instructed his disciple to tell the Venerable One that the Golden-Winged Garuda seems to have left Mount Ling."
The Arhat Subduing Dragon was even more shocked and asked, "He left Mount Ling? Where did he go?"
The young monk said, "I don't know. However, Bodhisattva Kasyapa activated the Demon-Revealing Mirror for a long time to catch the female thief, but he couldn't find the Golden-Winged Garuda. That's when he learned that the Garuda had disappeared along with the female thief."
The Arhat Subduing Tiger said, "This demon is causing trouble everywhere. If it weren't for his connection with the Buddha, would we have allowed him to stay on Mount Ling? It's better that he left on his own now."
The Arhat Subduing Dragon said, "If he had simply left, that would have been fine, but the timing of his departure..." He then exchanged a meaningful glance with the Arhat Subduing Tiger.
Jianglong waved his hand, signaling the other Arhats to open the gates of Mount Ling. He then put his palms together and said with a faint smile, "Esteemed benefactors, I am truly sorry that you have lingered here because of the matter concerning Mount Ling. Now, this humble monk can no longer keep you here."
Now that the Buddha Pool has been returned, there is no need for them to detain everyone any longer.
Nan Hua, Yin Shanjun, and the others nodded to him and quickly flew away, fearing that something might happen in Ling Mountain that would cause the gate to close again and they would be unable to leave.
They ran for several thousand miles before stopping.
Despite not losing speed thanks to the magic Lin Jingting cast on him, Zhao Feiyang's frantic running eventually left him exhausted. Once he stopped, he was unable to maintain his composure and collapsed onto a large rock, panting heavily.
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