Who let him join the Sword Sect!

Chapter 451 Giving the Middle Finger
"Did you hit him?"

Her Majesty the Catwoman shaded her eyes with her hand as she looked south.

"It went astray, just grazed the edge, what a pity," Li Yueqi said, crossing her arms.

Behind the two of them was a huge golden Buddha.

The golden Buddha has eight arms; the lower six arms form mudras, while the upper two arms carry a gilded cannon barrel.

The magic around the cannon barrel was fluctuating, and the array was opening and closing. It seemed that it could fire another shot.

This magical artifact is named "True Words Without Limits". It is a magical artifact jointly built by the Buddhist sect and the Thousand Machine Pavilion. Its predecessor was the Thousand Machine Pavilion's Heaven-Opening Thousand Machine Cannon.

This unfortunate name was of course given by Zhang Zeqi.

Her Majesty the Catwoman turned her head and glanced at the Buddha statue's large face. After pondering for a long time, she couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Isn't it said that the Buddhist community in the East China Sea doesn't worship idols? Why does this Buddha statue look like the monk Kukai?"

She had wanted to ask this question for a long time, but she hadn't had the opportunity before.

She clearly remembered that Buddhism wasn't like this in its early days.

He probably read it in a book. He remembered that in the old days, the halls of various temples were always bare, mostly empty, and were only used as places for meditation and spiritual practice.

But now, it seems that every temple has a golden statue.

For example, in the Thousand Machine Temple in Thousand Machine Town, there is a Bodhisattva holding a Thousand Machine Cannon.

I don't know when they became so inconsistent in their words and actions.

The moment the words left her mouth, the giant Buddha, carrying a cannon on its shoulder and making hand seals, seemed to sense something. It looked down at the silly catgirl and even smiled.

The cat lady trembled in fright.

"Don't panic," Li Yueqi reassured her, "I've told you before to read more books and look at other people's introductory textbooks, so you won't make this kind of foolish mistake again."

"The Buddha statues in the Buddhist hall are not for worship, but for fighting."

"A fight?" Her Majesty the Cat Lady was puzzled.

Li Yueqi explained, "The Buddhist sect's approach to accepting disciples differs from the other five sects; it doesn't just look at talent and cultivation level."

“Those who are insightful and have awakened wisdom can enter the temple to cultivate their mind and learn Buddhist principles, even if they do not have the aptitude for spiritual practice.”

“Those who do not practice magic can still build temples and monasteries after they go down the mountain, spread Buddhist teachings and knowledge, diagnose and prescribe medicine, and bring blessings to ordinary people.”

“I know,” Her Majesty the Catwoman nodded. “They used to do this too, but they didn’t have those Buddha statues.”

"This is all Xiao Jing's fault," Li Yueqi sighed. "After the great war, order collapsed, and many small temples were destroyed, some by human intervention and some by natural disasters."

"So during that period, we came up with this method in order to seek stability."

“Every time a temple is opened, a golden Buddha statue is set up.”

"If a small temple is invaded by evil spirits or heretics, or if there is misfortune in the area, one can directly request the main temple of the East Sea Temple, or a high-ranking monk who is passing by, to descend and then..."

As she spoke, Li Yueqi imitated the scene of a Buddha statue standing up from the temple and walking out of the courtyard, slapping people.

"Got it? With the Golden Body as a support, it's easier to fight."

"Afterwards, some other temples that did not inherit the tradition of this temple also followed suit and erected a painted golden statue in the hall."

"When evil spirits and heretics see this, they have to gamble on whether the golden statue will attract a high-ranking monk."

"If you bet wrong, you'll be buried alive on the spot. If you bet right, you'll get two pounds of cornmeal."

"So over time, that's how it ended up."

Li Yueqi raised her chin, gesturing for Her Majesty the Cat Girl to look up. At this moment, [Truth Without Limits] had stopped operating, and the Golden Buddha's face had returned to its original ordinary appearance.

“The golden statues in legitimate Buddhist temples all have this face. This face is called the face of all sentient beings, which means that everyone can see the Buddha.”

He was like a half-empty bottle, only knowing a little bit about the Donghai Buddhist sect, and regretted it as soon as he finished speaking.

If my unlucky disciple were to casually ask what Buddha is, I'd be stuck in this awkward situation.

I know absolutely nothing about it.

Fortunately, Her Majesty the Cat Girl was ignorant and incompetent; she didn't care what Buddha was, but was only curious about that awesome descent spell.

"Master, Master, is it too late for you to kick me out of the sect now and let me learn that summoning spell?"

"Your Majesty the Catwoman asked very sincerely."

Li Yueqi sighed and kicked her.

"The Buddhist community doesn't need a fool like you whose wisdom is blocked."

"Now that the six sects are exchanging resources, if you want to learn the [Avatar] spell, you can exchange it for it in Little Walnut using your points."

"No need to shave your head, hmm."

Because the conversation had been started, Li Yueqi suddenly had an idea while looking at the catgirl's head.

Besides the two human ears, this silly girl also has cat ears on her head that can hear and move.

It's not just for show.

So, what would she look like if her head were shaved bald?
Never seen it before.

With that in mind, Li Yueqi decided to do it. She opened the small walnut and ordered the Mystery Incense and Hair Growth Cream from Medicine King Valley.

The master and apprentice, each with their own thoughts, had already completed the recycling work.

The use of the "Truth Without Limits" was just a side test; the real ones who took back that middle finger were the old guys.

However, what was recovered was somewhat unexpected.

"Zhang Ze, what brings you here?"

Instead of the middle finger, all that was visible was Zhang Ze with a bitter smile.

"It's hard for me to explain to you, just consider it my bad luck."

As he spoke, Zhang Ze extended his right hand, which had been behind his back.

Zhang Ze's right hand was a little stiff at this moment, and he gave Li Yueqi the middle finger.

Li Yueqi: "What happened? What's going on?"

Zhang Ze sighed, unsure how to explain.

Fortunately, it was Fuhito who was considerate.

She appeared out of nowhere, poked Li Yueqi's face, and then snapped her fingers.

"I recorded it all."

In an instant, the scene that Fu Ji had just witnessed appeared before Li Yueqi's eyes.

The waves surged, and the middle finger, which had been grazed and deflected, stuck straight into a long, yellow stick.

In that instant, the surrounding seawater evaporated, the entire space began to collapse, and the long yellow strip disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye before it could even cry out, as if it had been sucked into a whirlpool.

Almost simultaneously, however, a beam of light burst forth from that vortex of nothingness.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Ze, looking completely bewildered and still covered in snow, was spat out of the vortex.

Then came an explosion.

The explosion obliterated everything around Zhang Ze except for the Fu Ji who was hiding under the seaweed and in the seashells, secretly observing.

The video abruptly ended.

"Don't panic, it's just a few of me who died. I can recover by eating a few mushrooms."

The little rotten princess pinched Li Yueqi's face to comfort her.

"What is that long strip?" Li Yueqi asked, frowning.

"It's Ah Li, but don't worry, it's not dead, it's still alive and well for now."

Zhang Ze tapped his head with his other, unimpeded left hand, as if he was thinking about how to bring it up.

"Lin Feng, you still remember him, right?" Zhang Ze brought up something from a long time ago, about someone from a long time ago.

Li Yueqi asked, puzzled, "I remember your somewhat gloomy junior brother. I recall he went out to train a few years ago and hasn't returned yet. What happened to him?"

“He did something big. Although we don’t know what he did, he, like the sect leader, also found the headquarters of the Hundred Demon Sect.” Zhang Ze pointed to the sky.

"Then he remained lurking right under Xiao Jing's nose, or you could say he was trapped there."

"And then?" Li Yueqi asked.

“My brother Feng is awesome.” Zhang Ze unconsciously changed his form of address. “He somehow managed to steal back one of Xiao Jing’s treasures.”

"So, that arm that's giving the middle finger..." Li Yueqi vaguely realized something.

“It’s Xiao Jing’s treasure. He has many, many more things like this, but this one is very special.” Zhang Ze scratched his head with his left hand.

"However, just as Brother Feng was about to successfully complete his mission and return victorious with secrets, this middle finger suddenly went out of control. I wonder if it was Xiao Jing's doing."

"So, what you saw was the serpentine movement and the flashing disappearances; it was Brother Feng trying to control this thing."

"He succeeded?" Li Yueqi asked.

“It failed.” Zhang Ze shook his head. “That thing completely went out of control, and in the end it was grazed again and directly taken into the Earth Sea.” “Ah Li was just unlucky. She was performing her dragon transformation there when she was accidentally stabbed in the same way.”

Zhang Ze then extended his right hand, which was pointing his middle finger.

“Logically speaking, Ah Li would be no different from being dead in this situation. But fortunately, it is connected to my origin, so I managed to hold it back at the last moment.”

"But I can't pull it back."

In the instant he was captured, Zhang Ze had a brief contact with Ah Li and Brother Feng's souls, which is why he learned about what he had said above.

Now, he can only sense that the two of them are 'sinking' somewhere in the Earth Sea, and he wants to pull them back, but he can't do so for the time being.

That's why he can only keep this middle finger gesture, which is so awkward.

If he lets go, then Brother Feng and Ah Li will really be gone.

Not only Li Yueqi, but even Lao Deng, who was listening nearby, was stunned and didn't know what to say.

However, the cat-girl with a very carefree attitude made a comment.

"Your Sword Sect is truly amazing, full of talented people, you... um."

Li Yueqi covered the emperor's mouth and dragged her away.

Old Tang, who had been listening intently, said seriously, "Your junior brother Feng..."

“It’s Junior Brother Lin, Brother Feng’s surname is Lin,” Zhang Ze mentioned.

"Hmm, did your junior brother Lin say anything else to you?" Old Tang asked.

“Yes, he said to be careful three years from now, there is more.” Zhang Ze’s words stopped abruptly. He glanced at Lily’s contact on the little walnut and then said, “Daoist, come back to Qianji Pavilion with me. I need to verify some things before I tell you.”

Old Tang: "Let's go, let's go quickly, time is of the essence!"

Qianji Pavilion.

Black Tower.

Although it was just fishing, this place was indeed invaded once, so since it was just sitting idle, several more layers of barriers have been added here.

The storage and research layers are also separated, and only those with sufficient permissions can move between them.

Zhang Ze and Lao Tang are examples of this type, as are Lily.

In the transition zone, Zhang Ze saw Lily.

"What are you going to do?" Zhang Ze asked, giving Lily the middle finger. Lily was hugging her bedding and wearing a large pearl around her neck.

The pearl that Ah Li gave to Lily had shrunk, but it was still the size of a fist.

As for the weight, Zhang Ze reached out and lifted it in his hand.

Yes, it's still around a thousand catties.

Iron-necked Wang Lili stiffly raised her head and said, "I'll live here from now on. It's safe here, so I won't end up like Ah Li, getting hit on the ground while walking on the street."

"I got smashed in, but no one came to my rescue."

Zhang Ze, "Then your pearls..."

Lily, "I'm praying for Ah Li."

Fine.

Zhang Ze raised his hand, gesturing for Lily to lead the way.

The three passed through several curtains, and suddenly their feet left no space, stepping into a dreamlike space.

In the starlit space, golden haze condensed into clusters, with golden branches connecting them, like golden flowers blooming. Each cloud cluster was topped with a golden ball, which shimmered with light.

The Heavenly Sect's magic, [Mirage Realm], was personally cast by Lu Yuzhou.

If one wrong step is taken, the old lady will immediately notice and attack in an instant.

Zhang Ze sighed in admiration, thinking to himself that it had been a long time since he had seen such traditional magic.

Occasionally, something traditional can also look quite nice.

Lily walked ahead, having already put away the bedding she had prepared to play the victim with Zhang Ze. Now, holding her precious pearl in both hands, she skipped and hopped, leading Zhang Ze to a golden ball.

Lily reached out and touched it to verify with her divine sense before crawling inside.

“If I remember correctly, they were all put here.” A moment later, Lily poked her head out again.

Zhang Ze and Lao Tang exchanged a glance and followed him inside.

Once inside, I finally felt grounded.

The interior contains items related to the innate Dao embryo.

Zhang Ze said, "Brother Feng thought he was going to die, so he told me what he thought was the most important thing. But he only got halfway through his story before he was taken into the Earth Sea."

"I need to verify whether what he said is true."

As he spoke, Zhang Ze gave the middle finger and gestured for all the items he needed.

A stone pill containing a living being, an empty stone pill, and a fragment that was just pried off Erpi's face a few days ago.

Zhang Ze stretched out his left hand, pointed, and took the empty stone pill in his hand. Then he closed his eyes and began to circulate it according to the method Feng Ge had instructed.

A moment later, the stone pill merged into Zhang Ze's body.

"Awesome!" Lily exclaimed, her eyes wide.

Zhang Ze shrugged at Lily, and the empty stone pill reappeared from his fingertips.

Zhang Ze then looked at the stone pill that contained a living being inside.

He reached out the same way, but this time the stone pill wasn't absorbed into his body. Instead, it created ripples around him.

Then the stone light up, just like when Ah Li woke up back then.

This time, however, what emerged from the stone was not a pangolin, but a ferocious beast with a single horn that pounced on anyone it saw.

Lily's sense of danger had given her an early warning, and she hid behind Zhang Ze before the beast appeared.

Zhang Ze then struck the beast on the forehead with his middle finger, and in just a moment the beast was frozen into an ice block.

He took out the Beast Taming Ring and put it inside, preparing to send it to the Beast Taming Sect later. Whether it goes to the Beast Enclosure or the Kitchen is up to fate.

Then, Zhang Ze looked at the piece of debris that had been taken from Erpi's face.

The fragments flew up, and at the same time, Lily and Old Tang heard Zhang Ze's voice in their ears.

"Hello, hello... Hello, hello..."

Zhang Ze did not speak, nor did he use the usual method of transmitting his voice; his voice entered the ears of the two people directly through the fragment.

"Damn, what kind of magic is this? I've never seen anything like it before." Old Tang stroked his chin and circled around Zhang Ze.

"This isn't magic... I can't quite explain it either, but anyway, let me give you my conclusion."

Zhang Ze tucked his hand, which was still pointing his middle finger, into his sleeve, and at the same time, a pill he had made floated out beside him.

"Remember what I said before? When I first broke through the Heavenly Barrier, I saw the Four Continents curled up in the universe like infants."

"At the time, I thought I was seeing things, but actually I wasn't."

"Because the four continents beneath our feet are a gigantic primordial Dao embryo..."

“Among those primordial worship practices, some were His ‘children’.”

"Just as I can knead these little balls, so can He. These stone pills are the little balls that He kneaded. Of course, they were produced unconsciously."

"The reason why Shidan can preserve the soul and reshape the body, and bring people back to life, lies here."

"After all, all things on these four continents are born from Him."

The innate Dao pills that Shi Dan and Zhang Ze had conjured flew to his left and right sides.

"So... what is Xiao Jing going to do?" Lily asked fearfully, stroking the large pearl that A-Li had given her.

"Eat," Zhang Ze said.

He looked into Old Tang's eyes and said, "Xiao Jing believes that only one person can follow the right path, and he thinks that the road to heaven is right under his feet."

"He wants to refine and possess the entire Four Continents."

"The four continents are a cage, and he will break out of the cage and take their place."

"He is the only one who is supreme in heaven and earth."

"This is the path he sought."

Lily shrank her neck. "But...but didn't he fail? He turned into pieces himself."

Zhang Ze shook his head. "I don't know. Brother Feng only had time to say that the timing was wrong, three years later... and then he was gone."

As he spoke, Zhang Ze raised his right hand and gave Lily the middle finger.

"So we have to find a way to get Feng Ge and A Li back."

(End of this chapter)