Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 356 - 310 Hourglass

"Hahaha—"

The laughter was neither loud nor soft, tinged with a hint of desolation, sounding like thunder in the deathly silent Buddhist temple.

SWISH.

The others instantly drew their weapons, looking around warily.

Li Ang also slapped the ground and retreated to the group to observe the situation.

"Who?"

Xia Jun, leaning on his Longsword, shouted sternly, "Who’s playing tricks?"

"All of you are going to die."

The voice echoed back and forth in the Grand Hall.

Sui Yi squinted, releasing what little Spiritual Power she had left. It enveloped a large area as she tried to pinpoint the source of the sound, but she found nothing—the voice seemed to appear out of thin air.

CRACK. CRACK.

The sound of breaking came from the Buddha statues.

In front of Shakyamuni stood three bizarre Buddha statues. They were originally damaged beyond recognition—some headless, others missing half their bodies, and some reduced to mere bases. Now, however, they were rapidly growing and repairing. Knees, bodies, limbs, the gold paint on their surfaces, the Magic Artifacts in their hands, and the halos behind them—all were being reborn.

During this restoration process, the statues’ once merciful and gentle smiles acquired a trace of fierce and ruthless bloodlust.

"What is this thing?!"

Sui Yi felt a chill run down her spine. The three towering statues, seeming both Buddha and Demon, exuded an unprecedented sense of oppression. Their displayed Buddha-nature made one want to kneel in devotion, while their Demon-nature sparked fear and despair.

SWOOSH—

Unable to bear the pressure, Xia Jun threw an ancient Electric Light Talisman at the Buddha statues on the platform. It was a rare treasure from the Nanzhou Imperial Palace, inscribed by the previous generation’s Divine Talisman Master, even more powerful than the Level 5 Bell Bead he carried.

BOOM!

As the talisman shattered and a bright light burst forth, countless bolts of lightning jumped and weaved among the Buddha statues, blasting their surfaces, sending debris flying and leaving them pockmarked.

Several massive wooden beams, also struck by the electrical aftershock, collapsed and buried the northern half of the Grand Hall.

But when the electric light faded, the three incomplete Buddha statues still sat solemnly on their high platform.

Where their bodies were broken, the exposed cross-sections constantly surged and roiled, like a mixture of flesh and mud.

The Buddha Bodies trembled slightly, as if stirring to life from their Sealing, and their six eyes silently stared at Li Ang and the others.

"Let’s go!"

Sui Yi didn’t hesitate, grabbing Li Ang as they both ran toward the temple’s main gate.

They had taken only a few steps when the three enormous Buddha statues broke their invisible bonds and slowly rose from their lotus pedestals.

Under the moonlight, the Buddha statues stood towering like small mountains.

The entire Grand Hall seemed to be enveloped in a mirage, generating numerous translucent Illusions.

Monks in robes wandered about;

Pilgrims devoutly bowed to the Buddha statues;

Flags, covers, Scripture Pillars, wooden fish, conch shells, and other ritual items were placed on the Buddha Altar;

And in the middle of the Buddha Altar, a small, delicate, empty hourglass.

Wait, an hourglass? Isn’t that used for timing? Why is it placed with wooden fish and other sacred items, and in the center of the Buddha Altar, no less?

Li Ang’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise.

Buddhist chants lingered in the air as Demonic Qi overflowed.

The central Buddha statue—one half of its face as holy as a Buddha’s, the other as fierce as a Demon’s—waved its palm. A fierce wind swept up everyone, including Li Ang and Sui Yi, pulling them towards the center of the hall.

Alarm Talisman!

In his desperation, Xiao Da ignored the competition rules. He took out a small knife, inserted it into the seam of the talisman on the back of his hand, and tore off the Alarm Talisman.

The Alarm Talisman activated on its own, shooting dazzling fireworks toward the gap in the dome of the Grand Hall.

If only the fireworks could reach the sky and alert the teachers on the Heavenly Boat for support, everything would be all right...

WHOOSH—

With lightning speed, the left Buddha statue extended its palm and crushed the fireworks out of thin air.

Meanwhile, the jaw of the right Buddha statue seemed to dislocate, its mouth gaping open down to its chest as it attempted to swallow everyone whole.

In the blink of an eye, Li Ang’s expression changed several times.

These three Buddha statues, suddenly awakened and revived, were particularly eerie. He didn’t think they had been set up by the Academic Palace Doctors.

Some unexpected event must have occurred that he was unaware of.

Was it caused by the movement of the Twelve Perfect Enlightenment Bodhisattva Statues?

Or was it because he had kowtowed to the Buddha statues?

Li Ang’s mind raced. Seeing the right Buddha statue’s mouth grow ever wider, like a black hole sucking in the fierce winds, he gritted his teeth. Mo Si slowly extended from beneath his sleeve, covering his palm...

Just as he was about to summon Mo Si, Li Ang suddenly felt an intense heat in his chest.

Hmm?

He looked down. Among the layers of Mo Si beneath his skin lay the Bitter Realm Lotus, Spirit Summoning Paper, and other Mutated Objects. This also included the fragment of the Water Spirit Bead he had obtained while aiding Abe Nakamaro’s descendant, Abe Takano.

Li Ang had crushed the Water Spirit Bead, a gift from Li Taibai to his friend Abe Nakamaro, and retrieved salt-like granules from within.

At this very moment, these salt-like granules were heating intensely. If not for Mo Si’s protection, they would likely have burned the skin on Li Ang’s chest to a crisp.

What on earth is happen...

Before the "ing" of "happening" could fully form in his mind, a strong light obscured his vision and cut off his consciousness.

「...」

Dazed.

Aghast.

Dizzy.

Li Ang suddenly broke free from the strong light, doubled over, and coughed violently.

Since Mo Si had taken root in him, he had never felt so unwell.

An afterimage of the intense light seemed to burn his retinas. He blinked hard and patted his cheeks, forcing himself out of the daze.

Where is this?

Li Ang looked around. To his surprise, he found himself no longer in the Grand Hall, but in a moderately sized side room.

The room was simply yet elegantly decorated. Instead of the glass windows popular in Yu Country, it had plain paper windows. The oil lamp was not the common glass type from Yu Country but a primitive, water-saving oil lamp.

Sui Yi, Xia Jun, and the others were also in the side room.

They, like Li Ang, coughed violently and struggled to rise from the ground.

"Are you all okay?" Jiu Fenghai supported himself on the corner of a table, clutched his forehead, and asked hoarsely.

"We’re fine, not dead yet." Ashina Que Teqin slowly exhaled a turbid breath, shook his head, and looked around, puzzled. "Where is this? Weren’t we just in the Grand Hall being swallowed by the Buddha statues? Could this be Buddha’s Pure Land?"

Sui Yi shook her head. "Impossible. Those three Buddha statues radiated an eerie aura. If they had eaten us, we certainly wouldn’t have ended up in any Buddha’s Pure Land."

The last thing anyone remembered was being on the verge of being swallowed by the Buddha statues. The question remained: where were they now? And how had they gotten here?