The Buddha is actually me

Chapter 351 The Old Taoist Priest's Test
On the eaves next to the night market, a peregrine falcon stood there, quietly watching the Taoist priest planting pears below, its orange-yellow eyes revealing a hint of humanity.

Zhang Jiuyang has been watching for a long time.

He even quietly opened his third eye, but still couldn't see clearly the depth of this Taoist priest Li. The other party seemed to be just an ordinary person, without any trace of magical power fluctuations on his body.

But it is extremely terrifying because you can't see it.

The pear core looked like a sparkling gem in the eyes of outsiders, but in his eyes, it was a small and exquisite heart that was still beating slightly.

The pear tree continued to grow and produced many fruits.

However, when Zhang Jiuyang looked at those fruits, he couldn't help but gasp.

Those were not pears at all; they were clearly little girls the size of a palm, whose hands and feet could move. They looked somewhat similar to Ah Li, and showed emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

It's just like the ginseng fruit in "Journey to the West".

The tree is full of small pears.

"Wow, wow, Ah Li is not a pear, don't eat me..."

One of the pears made a whimpering sound, but no one except Zhang Jiuyang could hear it.

What they saw were just fairy pears that could prolong life.

There should be one more person who can see it.

Zhang Jiuyang took a deep look at the old Taoist priest, only to see him holding two pink kitchen knives. He waved them gently, chopped off fairy pears, and distributed them to the people.

Although the situation has not been figured out yet, given Zhang Jiuyang's personality, how could he just watch those 'A Li' being eaten by others?
He immediately flapped his wings and flew towards the pear tree, ready to use his magic power to move the pear tree away.

The old Taoist smiled faintly and said suggestively: "The little sparrow finally couldn't help it and wanted to steal my fairy pear?"

He waved his sleeves, and a bird cage appeared in his hand, with a peregrine falcon flapping its wings inside.

Zhang Jiuyang was filled with horror.

Even he didn't know what was going on. He just felt a flash before his eyes and then he entered the cage. What's more terrifying is that when he wanted to change back to human form and break out of the cage, he found that his magical powers had failed.

It was as if all his magical powers were sealed, and now he had become a real peregrine falcon, a bird in a cage.

He kept hitting the cage. The Thirteen Forms of Escape was a Taoist magical power, a profound method of the Yuding Palace. Although he used the bird escape technique and turned into a bird, he still retained some strength of his body.

This wooden cage definitely couldn't withstand his impact.

However, after trying for a long time, he finally discovered in despair that the wooden cage seemed indestructible and could not be shaken at all.

At this moment, the people have already started eating pears.

They took a bite, and the pears were juicy and sweet. They ate with such relish that they didn't even notice the sad cries of the pears.

Zhang Jiuyang's eyes instantly turned blood red, his hostility grew, and his murderous intent suddenly arose.

After a while, all the pears on the tree had been eaten, and the pear tree quickly withered and died, turning into ashes and disappearing.

The people felt refreshed, relaxed and comfortable, and all their illnesses disappeared.

Seeing this, the old Taoist priest smiled slightly and said something meaningful.

"It's not too late. It all depends on your choice. This difficult question... I hope you can ask your own heart carefully."

As he said this, he actually opened the birdcage on his own initiative.

Zhang Jiuyang flew out quickly, and the moment he left the birdcage, all his magical powers were restored, and he transformed into his true form.

“No one is allowed to leave!”

He shouted loudly, and the dragon-binding rope on his waist flew out, transforming into a golden dragon a hundred feet long, circling and surrounding the people, not letting a single person escape to eat the pear.

Those ordinary people had never seen such a scene before. They were trembling with fear, thinking they were going to be eaten by monsters, and they kept crying.

Zhang Jiuyang stared at the old Taoist priest intently, feeling extremely fearful.

Who is this person?

Could it be the master who enlightened the White Bone Demon?
"Who are you and what is your relationship with A-Li?"

He knew that he was no match for the other party, but the little Alis that had just been eaten by the people made him want to get to the bottom of it no matter what.

The old Taoist smiled faintly.

"Zhang Jiuyang, this little ghost girl risked her life to save you, and she absorbed the power of Yin thunder in the Purple Thunder Book. Now her three souls and seven spirits have been eaten by these people. In just a moment, she will be completely digested, and there will be no chance of recovery."

Zhang Jiuyang's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and lightning gathered in his hands. With a loud bang, the lightning in his palms broke through the cloud barrier and struck down on his head.

However, when it fell on the old Taoist priest, it was like a drop in the ocean, not even the corner of his clothes was moved.

"Zhang Jiuyang, there are only two options before you now. Either you sit back and watch Ah Li, who risked her life to save you, die, or..."

He looked at the people who were trapped by the dragon-binding rope and said calmly, "Open their stomachs to take the pears, and use their lives to exchange for Ah Li's life."

Zhang Jiuyang was shocked.

"The lives of a group of innocent people, and the life of someone important to you. I'm curious, which one would you choose?"

"Zhang Jiuyang, ask your own heart."

Zhang Jiuyang clenched his fists and stared at him intently, his third eye between his eyebrows burning fiercely and his fiery eyes glaring angrily, trying to see his true form clearly.

But the invincible Lingguan's heavenly eye suffered a setback for the first time. It was like looking at flowers in the fog or the moon in the water. He could not see clearly at all.

It’s not that Lingguan’s Heavenly Eye is not powerful, but that the other party’s cultivation is much higher than his.

The master who enlightened the White Bone Demon?

Lord of the Underworld?

The Buddha behind the two-faced Buddha?

Even...the Lord of Heaven?
Many names emerged in Zhang Jiuyang's mind, but he couldn't be sure of any one of them.

"Who are you and why are you pushing me like this?"

The old Taoist priest did not answer this question, but just looked at him deeply, his voice full of meaning.

"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is your choice." After saying this, his figure gradually disappeared, and even Zhang Jiuyang's Sky Eye could not find any trace of him.

But Zhang Jiuyang knew that he must be hiding in the dark, watching his next choice.

"Please, don't kill us!"

"We just ate a pear. It was that evil Taoist who bewitched us..."

"You can kill me, but please let my son go. He is only six years old..."

"I can't die. I still have a mother in her seventies to take care of..."

The common people also heard the conversation between the two people, and they all cried and begged, and some even knelt down and kowtowed.

They didn't expect that just eating a pear would cause such a big disaster.

Zhang Jiuyang clenched his fists, his eyes full of struggle.

With his heavenly eyes, he could see that Ali was being digested bit by bit inside these people's bodies, and time was running out.

But asking him to kill these unarmed and innocent civilians would go against his conscience and principles.

Time passes little by little.

Zhang Jiuyang was unable to make this choice.

Which is more important, the lives of a group of innocent people or Ali's life?

He closed his eyes and thought of what the old Taoist had just said. In order to save him, Ali absorbed some of the power of Yin Lei. With her level of cultivation, doing so would undoubtedly be courting death.

This little girl has always been loyal to him and has always been faithful to him.

He could not let down the heavy bond of affection and trust.

Recalling the times they had spent together, Zhang Jiuyang slowly opened his eyes, as if he had made a decision.

He stretched out his hand, and the Evil-Slaying Sword automatically flew into his palm, transforming into a three-foot green peak, with sword light flowing and sword energy flowing.

He walked towards the people step by step.

But looking at those pairs of eyes, some old, some young, and some pleading, he felt that the sword in his hand was extremely heavy, like a mountain.

After a long time, Zhang Jiuyang slowly raised the sword in his hand, his eyes determined.

……

Under the willow trees, by the river.

The old Taoist priest who had just sold pears was fishing. His eyes were quietly looking at his reflection in the water, and the scene in it was exactly Zhang Jiuyang at this moment.

When the old Taoist saw Zhang Jiuyang picking up the sword and walking towards the people, slowly raising it with a resolute look in his eyes, he couldn't help but sigh.

It seems that he is not suitable.

Pity.

The old Taoist shook his head. Seeing that a tragic scene was about to happen, he moved the fishing rod in his hand. Ripples appeared on the river water and the fishhook floated towards Zhang Jiuyang, as if it had penetrated two time and space, ready to fish the man out of the mirage.

But the next moment, his hand holding the fishing rod paused slightly, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

In the reflection on the water, Zhang Jiuyang did something he didn't expect.

He slowly raised the sword in his hand, put it to his neck, and made a gesture as if he was ready to commit suicide.

When the old Taoist's fishhook was about to hook him, Zhang Jiuyang seemed to notice something. He looked at him in the direction of the fishhook with his fiery eyes between his eyebrows, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Then, swing the sword!
Blood splatters!

The river water also turned scarlet, dyed red, but soon disappeared.

Snapped!
The old Taoist priest only felt the fishing rod in his hand loosen and the hook broke.

The fish broke free and swam upstream, the sea was vast and the sky was boundless.

A figure flew out of the water and landed on the river bank, holding a red sword in his hand. His white clothes fluttered in the night wind, not a drop of water getting on him.

There was a thin red mark on Zhang Jiuyang's neck.

He turned around and looked at the river. He could still clearly see the bright lights and the crying people, as if it were a world in a painting.

"What a powerful method! I didn't even notice when I fell into your illusion."

"Let me guess. The moment Ali's knife flew out, you quietly replaced my world and made me sink into it little by little."

"The eyes of heaven cannot see, the heart of the sword cannot detect. I was just a little bit away from being fooled."

The old Taoist priest seemed to be interested and asked curiously: "How did you find the flaw?"

He believed that everything he had arranged was flawless. Although this kid had many magical qualities, his absolute overwhelming level of cultivation made him very confident.

Because I have seen more powerful illusions.

Zhang Jiuyang secretly felt fortunate in his heart. The reason why he was able to wake up in time was not because the opponent’s methods were not clever. On the contrary, the opponent’s methods were extremely clever and did not reveal the slightest flaw.

The reason why he was able to wake up in time was purely because of his experience in the Yellow Millet Dream.

Compared with Lu Zu's methods, the old Taoist priest is still far inferior after all.

Of course, Zhang Jiuyang couldn't be completely sure, but when he drew his sword to commit suicide, his sword heart showed no warning, which explained the problem.

Perhaps his behavior was beyond the old Taoist's expectations. At the moment when he was about to commit suicide, the old Taoist's aura leaked, revealing the only flaw, which was captured by Zhang Jiuyang with his Heavenly Eye.

This made him completely certain that he had fallen into an illusion.

However, he still underestimated the power of this illusion. He was clearly committing suicide in a false world, but there was actually a red line on his neck in reality.

This kind of illusion has reached the level of making the fake become real and is so magical.

"It doesn't matter how I discovered the flaw. What matters is, who are you?"

Zhang Jiuyang stared at him and spoke word by word.

(End of this chapter)