Chapter 214: Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Temples, Inferior to One Temple

Chapter 214: Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Temples, Inferior to One Temple

Not long after, a voice emerged from the mist, its tone turning cold, "The latest news is that someone from the Flameglory Alliance has broken in."

"Oh? The guardian seems to be a Celestial Warrior from Unworry Heaven, if I remember correctly, and he's even a Sealed King. Yet, they've managed to forcefully break in?"

"I don't like variables. Who's going to make a trip and eliminate them quickly? Bring the offering here." Someone spoke coldly.

"I'll go." A young man stepped out of the mist, his face handsome, and his pupils were eerie and captivating, a white color that seemed to freeze the air with a chilling intent.

"Hmm, I'll accompany you." Suddenly, a woman stepped forward.

"I can handle it alone." The young man frowned.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not worried about your abilities." The woman smiled, "I'm just interested in the people from the Flameglory Alliance, and I'm particularly interested in that Ji Anquan."

The young man remained indifferent, "With the Flameglory name and the surname Ji, do you Heavenly Maiden Clan still dare to provoke them?"

The woman's smile faded, and she spoke coldly, "Times have changed, and even if we go back ten thousand years, I'd dare to compete with that person from back then. Otherwise, what's the point of breaking this taboo?"

"Hurry up and solve it." Someone urged, "We've already wasted enough time. We must quickly enter the Hanging Temple, obtain the inheritance quota, and enter the Second Sequence."

...

...

Ji Jingqiu looked up.

The mountain range before him was called Hanging Mountain, and it was the center of this holy site. The mountain was majestic, soaring into the starry sky.

Standing before this mountain range, anyone would feel their own insignificance, like an ant in the vastness of the stars, the gap was too great.

This was the most magnificent, grand, and vast mountain range Ji Jingqiu had ever seen in his life.

Boundless and immense, it was awe-inspiring.

Ji Jingqiu furrowed his brows deeply.

In such a mountain range, an individual's power is like a firefly in the night, unable to illuminate the darkness, and without direction, one would struggle to find anyone.

From the captured person earlier, he had learned about the recent changes within the Hanging Holy Site.

The original shared inheritance had become exclusive, and several forces had joined hands, not only starting to clear the area but also hunting down warriors from certain factions, including those from the Flameglory Alliance.

Currently, the situation of Qin Qingjue and the others was relatively optimistic. Although they had sustained injuries in previous battles, they had managed to escape into the Hanging Mountains and conceal their whereabouts.

Ji Jingqiu had just visited several teams, and from them, he learned that they were also searching for the Flameglory Alliance warriors. However, they had no news at the moment.

Finally, under Ji Jingqiu's coercion, all of them signed a contract with him. At his request, they infiltrated the mountains to search for Qin Qingjue and the others, and were responsible for informing them of his arrival.

Additionally, these people were also forced to protect Qin Qingjue and his group when necessary.

After that, Ji Jingqiu repeated the process with a few more teams of collaborating warriors, asking them to enter the mountains on his behalf, search for Qin Qingjue and the others, and spread the news of his arrival within the forest.

He hoped it would have some effect.

In the end, Ji Jingqiu abandoned the idea of entering the mountains himself. Rescuing someone didn't necessarily require finding his own people; finding the enemy would do just as well.

Compared to Qin Qingjue and the others hiding in the mountains, he believed it would be easier to locate these warriors from the Ten Thousand Temples, the Unworry Heaven, and other factions.

Previously, he had accidentally encountered these people, who were either forcing warriors from other factions into dangerous areas to scout for them or hunting down others, treating this holy site as their own territory, acting very arrogantly.

"I'll give you a chance to regain your composure. Go find someone you know and bring them to me."

Ji Jingqiu released the warrior he had captured earlier at the entrance, speaking calmly and allowing him to flee in disarray. Then, he sat cross-legged, with the Azure Lord's sword resting across his knees.

He closed his eyes to rest.

Ever since entering this holy site, he had sensed something amiss.

It was as if countless threads were connecting him from the void, guiding him towards a certain gateway.

Suddenly, Ji Jingqiu opened his eyes.

A small path had appeared beneath his feet, leading deep into the mountain forest ahead. It meandered through the mountains, where a faint mist lingered, giving the place an air of mystery.

Ji Jingqiu felt as if he had entered a wondrous land. After a moment of contemplation, sensing no abnormalities, he followed his instincts and proceeded along the path.

At the end of the path stood an ancient temple, its age-old walls were dilapidated, and its exterior was mottled with green bricks and tiles. Most of the windows were shattered, while others were covered by vines, blocking out some of the light.

The temple door was half-open, and Ji Jingqiu looked up at the hanging plaque, which was also mostly obscured by vines and leaves, making it difficult to read. He could only vaguely make out a few characters.

Ji Jingqiu examined it for a while, confirming that he couldn't read it.

This wasn't his fault; there were countless civilizations in the universe, and writing was the foundation of civilization. The Hanging Holy Site was a remnant of the Royal Heaven Universe, and he couldn't even recognize the current characters of the Nine Continents, let alone those from a bygone era.

However, it wasn't a big issue. If he couldn't read it, as long as La Zhan could, it would be fine.

[Are you losing your sense of distance from me?]



As expected, La Zhan didn't become his translator but instead laughed at him.

Ji Jingqiu kept his cool, enduring the ridicule and even self-deprecating to flatter La Zhan, sacrificing himself greatly.

He comforted himself, thinking that as a descendant of the World Venerable lineage, if he didn't enter hell, who would?

However, he had to admit that La Zhan's human side seemed to be getting more "stable." She was acting coy, but it was also possible that the Divine Lords' modifications were going smoothly, or she was just playing a part to deceive him...

[You've reached the Hanging Holy Site, so it's only natural that it's the Hanging Temple.]



Even though he had anticipated it to some extent, when he received La Zhan's confirmation, Ji Jingqiu couldn't help but display a peculiar expression.

According to the information he had previously gathered, the reason why these people were hunting, including Qin Qingjue and others, was to perform a certain ritual to open the gateway to the Suspended Holy Site and enter the legendary Hanging Temple.

But he himself did nothing.

Did it find its own way here?

Is it that all Dharmas arise from causes and conditions, and no one can stop fate?

Ji Jingqiu embraced the attitude of going with the flow, taking the initiative to approach and testing out some of his guesses. As he had expected, the seemingly ordinary blue bricks and tiles were actually made of an unimaginable material, and with his strength, he could only crush a corner of it with great difficulty, which was astonishing.

No wonder this holy site has stood for countless years and still exists, but over the long years, it has lost its former glory.

He entered the temple, and compared to the Hanging Mountain Range, this temple was extremely small, yet it was the center of the entire Suspended Holy Site.

The temple was not empty, and upon seeing a figure with his back turned towards him, Ji Jingqiu stopped and his expression became solemn.

When he was outside the temple, he had not sensed the existence of this figure at all.

The figure was not human, although it wore a monk's robe, its exposed skin was covered in golden fur, and from its back, it seemed to be a...

Golden Ape?

An aged golden ape that always accompanied the ancient Buddha lamp?

For a moment, Ji Jingqiu didn't know whether to go forward or retreat. When the figure didn't turn around to respond after a long time, he started to examine the layout of the temple.

The interior of the temple was very simple, or even shabby, and it didn't look like a holy site at all. Ji Jingqiu secretly thought that perhaps this was the legendary simplicity of the Dao, returning to the essence of truth.

On the highest altar, there was a stone-carved Buddha statue sitting in meditation. The roof above the statue had a hole, and light shone through it. The statue was obviously weathered by the years, its surface worn down by wind and rain, and its blurred face still showed a faintly discernible expression of lowered eyebrows and closed eyes.

It was in a half-lotus position, with its left foot lowered and its left hand resting on its navel, while its right hand touched the ground.

Strangely, this Buddha statue was in the form of an ape, and unlike most Buddha statues with lowered eyebrows and closed eyes, this one had a thunder god face with a vajra wrathful expression, looking more like a fierce deity than a Buddha statue.

To be honest, this was the first Buddha statue Ji Jingqiu had ever seen.

Although there was a World Venerable's inheritance within the Federation, there were no Buddhist temples. If one had to say so, there should be some under the Supreme True Buddha Sect, but neither the Mu family nor the Federation had built a temple for Mu Shuai.

Or rather, Mu Shuai didn't want one.

【The temple is a prison, trapping the four corners of the heavens, and my heart cannot find peace】

This was Mu Shuai's attitude back then, and this attitude directly influenced the later Federation, leading to the fact that although there was a World Venerable lineage within the Federation, they did not promote the building of temples.

Seeing that he hadn't discovered anything unusual within the temple, Ji Jingqiu's gaze once again fell on the figure with his back turned, his head lowered, and his hands clasped together in prayer.

After a moment, he sighed softly.

So this was just an empty shell.

The old ape had already passed away, leaving behind only a shell of flesh.

Ji Jingqiu examined the temple with his Bodhi Wisdom Eye, but he couldn't find any abnormalities, and he couldn't help but feel puzzled.

What exactly had guided him here?

At this moment, he seemed to see the old ape in front of him stand up, turn around, and look at him. Those eyes, which seemed to have witnessed and contained everything in the world, stared at him quietly, with hands clasped together and a low chanting of the Buddha's words.

It asked:

"May I dare ask the Buddha..."

...

Within the inner realm.

The Bodhi tree swayed gently, showering endless pure light.

Outside the Pure Land, the guardian deity stood up, hands clasped together, with a sorrowful expression.

Even Hela leaned forward, as if witnessing something incredible.

【A... Buddha Warrior?】

...

Ji Jingqiu's heart trembled, and countless visions appeared before his eyes, as if he was seeing through the eyes of the old ape, witnessing the myriad forms of the past.

That was... the Suspended Holy Site before the great calamity, and it was completely different from the Hanging Mountain Range he had seen before.

Hanging Mountain Range, with tens of thousands of mountain peaks, and each peak had numerous temples standing tall!

Hanging Temple, with its brilliant lights illuminating the night brighter than the day, and countless believers walking between them, with the fire of faith burning upon the mountains, just like the boundless light.

Ji Jingqiu's heart couldn't help but be shaken, was this the real Suspended Holy Site?!

With tens of thousands of temples standing tall, it was indeed the Buddha's Pure Land!

Where was the old ape?

He subconsciously turned around and saw a dilapidated temple, a young ape, and a half-withered Bodhi tree planted at the temple's entrance.

The young ape curiously ventured into the temple, which had no Buddha nor Bodhisattva, only a statue of an old monk who had entered nirvana.

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The young ape hesitated for a long time, unable to contain his curiosity, he gently touched the old monk, but to his surprise, the old monk suddenly chanted a Buddha's verse, instantly turning into ashes and scattering, leaving only a monk's robe, which scared the young ape into a daze. After he regained his senses, he saw a meditation cushion, a wooden fish, a Buddhist scripture, and a monk's robe left in front of him.)



This chanting of the Buddha's verse seemed to awaken its spiritual intelligence, and from then on, the young ape sat on the meditation cushion, truly striking the wooden fish, and studying the Buddhist scriptures.

He read for a hundred years.

From a young ape to an old ape, at some point, it put on the monk's robe and considered itself a Buddhist disciple, studying the Buddha's teachings and tempering its spirit every day, and it indeed gained a bit of the Buddha's air.

During this time, it didn't forget to water the half-withered Bodhi tree at the temple's entrance, but after a hundred years, the Bodhi tree showed no changes, just like this dilapidated temple.

Until this day, the old ape opened its eyes, staring at the wooden fish it had just smashed, its expression solemn.

The old monk's chanting of the Buddha's verses recorded this scene, and it was a sign that a great calamity was approaching.

It turned its head to look outside the temple, murmuring:

"Could it be that a great calamity is about to arise..."

It was also on this day that it decided to go out and seek the Buddha's path, to save itself from the great calamity.

It took off its monk's robe and stepped into the Hanging Mountain Range, seeing the countless temples and the brilliance of the Buddhas, and it couldn't help but feel overjoyed, dancing with joy, feeling that it was saved.

The ancient ape rushed up the mountains, eager to reach the Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Temples, where the lights shone brightly, and the Buddhas, with lowered brows, did not preach the Dharma, nor did they speak of the nature of causality and emptiness, or of meditation. Instead, they only spoke of eliminating evil deeds.

They said, "Evil deeds are the root of all problems, and to eliminate them, one must make offerings, worship the Buddha, and support the monastic community. Donate money, land, and even oneself. By giving up wealth, one can avoid disasters and accumulate blessings..."

The Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Temples was magnificent, each temple shimmering with gold and jade, and every place was considered a "Holy Site."

The ancient ape traveled from one mountain to another, passing by one temple after another, but its expression became increasingly dazed.

It had bowed to ten thousand Buddha statues, yet not a single Buddha was willing to guide it across.

Perhaps, it hadn't found the true Buddha?

Gradually, doubts filled its mind. If the Buddha doesn't guide people, and people must guide themselves, then what's the purpose of the Buddha?

In the end, it returned to its starting point, the dilapidated temple in the mountains, silent and unspoken, keeping company with the ancient Buddha statue and the dim lamp. It felt that perhaps it had misunderstood the Buddhist teachings.

It began to read the Buddhist scriptures again, flipping through the tattered book that it had already read countless times.

And so, it read, not knowing how many seasons had passed.

Until one day, this dilapidated temple hidden deep in the mountains, unexpectedly received visitors—Buddhist followers and refugees from the outside world.

The ancient ape took them in, offering mountain fruits and spring water. It listened to their descriptions of the outside world, learning that a great calamity had begun, with powerful forces rising and attacking each other, and celestial beings invading from beyond. The world was in chaos, with countless lives suffering, and even the heavenly gods had fallen...

As it listened, the ancient ape's face revealed a look of shock, and it asked, "What about the Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas? Haven't they come to protect the mortal realm?"

The Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas?

Someone bitterly replied, "The Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Temples is also considered a 'Buddha Land' in the mortal world. It's currently at war with another 'Buddha Land,' fighting for the future path. They don't have time to care for those who don't worship the Buddha, and even for those who do, if they don't have 'merit' and only offer 'resources,' they won't be protected."

At that moment, the ancient ape's expression froze, and it stumbled out of the temple in a daze.

It couldn't see the suffering in the world, but it saw the Bodhi tree that it had watered for years, not improving but withering even more.

It was as if the mortal realm was reflected in that tree.

At this moment, it finally understood, and whispered, "So, this is the true Boundless Calamity..."

Where did the great calamity begin?

It started from beyond the heavens, from within the heavens, from the hearts of people, and from the Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Temples. Everywhere was a calamity.

The ancient ape left the temple to the believers and descended the mountain once more, determined to witness the true Boundless Calamity.

This time, it traveled through countless places, and through its eyes, Ji Jingqiu witnessed the true Boundless Calamity, not the scene of countless worlds being destroyed on the final day, but the time before the calamity began.

The invasion of the mental ocean was terrifying, and the most frightening thing was not the false disasters but the arrival of countless 'heretics' as 'pioneers,' invading and subverting countless civilizations, and capturing the spirits of various realms. In this rolling era of calamity, stars went out, realms collapsed, and the universe of the Royal Heaven faded away.

The ancient ape traveled everywhere, silently saving those it could and bringing them to the mountain forest where the dilapidated temple was located.

But one day, the people from the Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Temples came to its door, smashing its temple, destroying its gate, cutting down its Bodhi tree, slandering it for plundering the temple's followers, and then forcibly taking away all the refugees, sending them to the 'Buddha Land' as a foundation.

On that day, it seemed to be both laughing and crying, its expression shifting between sorrow, solemnity, and anger.

It stood in the ruined temple, turned, and its gaze seemed to fall upon Ji Jingqiu, whispering softly.

The voice wasn't loud, but it was clear in Ji Jingqiu's ear:

"I dare to ask the Buddha, there are heretics who pretend to be the Buddha, committing demonic acts, defiling our Buddha Land, corrupting our Dharma, distorting our scriptures, destroying our rules, misleading the people's faith...

What should be done?"

At that moment, Ji Jingqiu woke up from a dream.

He raised his head and saw that in the temple, where there were no Buddha statues, a new clay Buddha statue had appeared. It had the body of an ape, but its expression was that of a wrathful Vajra, never lowering its brow.

That was the Buddha in the hearts of the people.

It was said that the Buddha and Bodhisattva statues in the temple always had lowered brows, not looking at sentient beings. Because if they saw the suffering of sentient beings, they couldn't help but want to save the world, and once they entered the world, they would be like sentient beings, experiencing and crossing calamities.

At this moment, Ji Jingqiu seemed to understand a bit of the state of mind that Mu Shuai had been in when he left those words.

The Western Heaven was too distant, and the temple was too deep and dark. Only in the hearts of sentient beings could there be a place for causality and emptiness, and also a place for his heart to find peace.

Since it was so, what use was a temple?

The four-cornered prison trapped his heart, the hearts of sentient beings.

The Buddha didn't lower its brow, but he did.

He seemed to transcend time and space, understanding a part of Mu Shuai's state of mind from the past, and his heart was filled with unspeakable emotions.

He heard the ancient ape's whisper again in his ear:

"I dare to ask the Buddha, when a great calamity arises, and heretics take control, what should be done?"

The answer was:

"Subdue the demons!"

The next moment, the withered Bodhi tree outside the temple, which had been cut down, suddenly shone with a brilliant light.

The ancient ape took off its monk's robe, turned it inside out, and put it back on. It strode out of the temple and into the mountains, its face like that of a wrathful Vajra King.

A ray of Buddha light blossomed in its mind, appearing in the mountains, shining brightly like a waterfall flowing upwards, dispelling the dark sky, becoming more and more radiant, and turning into a true boundless light, dyeing the night sky. A white lotus, pure and sacred, bloomed at its feet.

The white lotus bloomed thirty-two times, nurturing the supreme battle Buddha form.

The wrathful Vajra expression, filled with boundless compassion.

And the thunderous voice that echoed through the mountains and the earth:

"Subdue the demons!"

"Subdue the demons!"

"Subdue the demons!"

That night.

The Hanging Temple of Ten Thousand Temples was no match for a single temple.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end