Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 396 The Wrath of the Vajra, the Tears of the Bodhisattva
No one expected that the Mani relic would suddenly burst into brilliant golden flames.

The light immediately stung the eyes of everyone in the hall, making it impossible for them to look directly at it. They all raised their sleeves to cover their faces.

Even with such intense Buddhist light, Xiao Chen couldn't get within three feet of it.

Although he stood still and did not make any move.

Suddenly, a black mist rose around him, and in the blink of an eye, it was like a sea of ​​ink bursting its banks, with a surging, malevolent aura gushing out.

The malevolent aura was not entirely black; various strange and bizarre phenomena also appeared within it.

In the center, countless fragmented images of broken weapons could be vaguely seen floating in the black mist, and the clash of their blades seemed to produce a series of piercing clangs.

Dark green venom dripped from the edge of the mist, merging with the Buddha's light in mid-air and turning into wisps of blue smoke.

The temperature in the entire hall dropped sharply, and a noticeable layer of frost instantly appeared on the surface of the Seven Treasures Incense Burner in the corner.

Strands of crimson lotus fire rose from his back, causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.

The blue bricks beneath their feet have turned into a swamp of the underworld, and amidst the churning turbid air, stark white bones are revealed, with pale mycelium spreading across the ground.

In the blink of an eye, it enveloped most of the palace!

Surprisingly, it forced the dazzling Buddha light back inch by inch.

At the same time, a foul gust of wind suddenly rushed out from nowhere, scattering the sandalwood incense in the hall and replacing it with a rusty, bloody smell.

"Hi~!"

Everyone in the hall gasped in unison and involuntarily took a few steps back.

"Click! Click! Click!"

The eight guardian Vajra statues seemed to come alive, turning their heads to glare angrily at Xiao Chen, their bronze-cast bodies emitting a dull metallic scraping sound.

They held up all eight magical implements, including the Vajra Pestle, the Demon-Subduing Sword, and the Vajra Wheel, high in the air.

It seemed as if it would crash down at any moment, carrying out its act of subduing demons and monsters.

Not only that, Zen Master Jingxing also made a shocking discovery.

The statues of the Twenty-Four Heavenly Bodhisattvas on both sides of the main hall also exhibited strange phenomena.

The Guanyin statue sculpted from Jingshibao glass has a single tear of blood slowly flowing from the corner of its eye; the Ksitigarbha statue carved from ancient sandalwood has a sorrowful expression; the Manjushri statue carved from white jade has lowered eyes, as if sighing...

The hundreds of prayer lamps on the altar swayed in unison, their flames flickering and their wicks crackling.

The flame core rapidly contracted and shrank, turning from golden yellow to a deathly white, illuminating the ground as if it were a ghostly place.

Even the scene of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss in the murals on the roof of the temple was distorted after the Buddha's light was forced back.

The gold paint on the pagoda peeled off piece by piece, the auspicious clouds of glazed glass gradually turned into a murky gray-black, and the lotus in the hands of the flying fairy withered for no reason, its petals falling into the air and turning into ashes.

"Wow~!"

The handwritten Buddhist scriptures hanging on the wall moved without wind, and the ink characters on the paper floated up one by one, rushing headlong into the evil energy.

But one by one they faded and vanished, as if swallowed by an endless abyss.

For a moment, the entire Mahavira Hall fell into a deathly silence.

Master Jingchen, who had only recovered from his injuries a few months ago, had fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

He had been in charge of Pudu Temple for over 650 years, and had never seen such a strange phenomenon before.
Master Jinghua, who usually enjoys reading ancient books, was completely dumbfounded at this moment.

Back then, the Blood Demon Ancestor slaughtered dozens of markets by himself, and the evil energy he gathered was not even enough to condense into blood clouds, not even one-tenth of this.

The Yellow Springs have actually appeared in this black mist. How many lives will be harmed?
Master Jingxing subconsciously took out the array flags, intending to use the power of the array to suppress it.

Fortunately, he was highly skilled and immediately stopped his actions with a faster reaction.

Nevertheless, he gripped the battle flag tightly, ready to respond at any moment.

"Wait a minute, everyone calm down!"

At this moment, Gang Yuan Zhenjun's mind was actually blank, but he still habitually tried to smooth things over: "Let's talk things out properly and slowly."

Honestly, he had never seen such a scene before and had absolutely no relevant experience.

What's wrong with me today?
One accident after another?
Surprise and suspicion flashed in Zhang Shouquan's eyes as he looked thoughtfully at the surging murderous aura.

This situation is truly bizarre.

Karmic fire gives birth to red lotuses, and the road to the underworld appears in the human world. Even if a demon god were to descend to earth, it would probably be no different.

Zhang Shouquan's heart skipped a beat—could it be that Fellow Daoist Xiao was secretly cultivating the demonic path as well?
Otherwise, how should we explain it?

It can only be said that he was, after all, a newly promoted True Lord, and made the same mistake as the previous Thunderbolt True Lord, overestimating the power of demonic arts.

In contrast.

Although True Lord Gangyuan was also wondering what Fellow Daoist Xiao had done to have such a strong baleful aura on his body,
As a result, Buddhist scriptures could not save them, and Vajra could not subdue them.

However, he immediately realized that such a situation was beyond the capabilities of one person alone.

It's likely that the assistance from the hidden sect to which Xiao Chen belongs is indispensable, and there may even be a huge causal connection involved.

Thinking of this, True Lord Gangyuan felt a tremor in his heart.

Hmm~, did he accidentally guess some incredible secret?

This is bad. If the hidden sect behind Xiao Chen is going to such lengths to plan something, it might be something major involving a Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, he was, after all, a Nascent Soul True Monarch. He only had a few guesses in his mind. As long as he didn't investigate the truth later, he shouldn't be implicated.

In fact, it wasn't just them who were horrified.

Xiao Chen himself was taken aback at first.

To be honest, he was already somewhat prepared after seeing Zhang Shouquan's situation.

And they started planning ahead, figuring out what excuse they would use if they also disturbed the Dharma protectors.

But he never expected that he would be able to trigger such a violent change.

This not only alarmed all the guardian deities, but also caused some damage to items.

To be honest, this was purely an accident, so there shouldn't be any need to pay compensation later, right?
"Well, I think there must be some misunderstanding here."

Xiao Chen coughed lightly and explained, "As everyone knows, I dealt with the demonic cultivators of the Zhaokong Sect before, and this may be a problem left over from that time."

"In short, it doesn't seem appropriate for me to continue standing here now."

"Everyone, please wait for me to move a few steps away first, and then we can slowly find the problem."

As he spoke, he lifted his leg and took three steps back.

Just like when you move away from a light source while playing shadow puppetry, the shadow on the wall will shrink.

After Xiao Chen moved a certain distance away from the Buddha's light, the murderous aura on his body seemed to have diminished considerably.

Strangely, everything returned to normal after Zhang Shouquan stepped back three steps, as if nothing had happened.

But taking three steps back only slightly alleviated the situation.

"Um, it seems a little too close. I'll move back a bit."

Xiao Chen blinked, then retreated to the palace entrance in one breath.

Just as they were about to leave, the Mani relic on the forehead of the Three Buddhas was finally obscured by the beams and curtains in the hall.

The light emanating from the Buddha statue inside the hall vanished completely.

Without the illumination of the Buddha's light, no one could see the intense malevolent aura anymore.

Immediately afterwards, the eight guardian Vajras lowered their raised ritual implements and returned to their original positions.

The strange phenomena caused by the statues of the Bodhisattvas on the left and right all disappeared, and the surface of the seven-jeweled incense burner was as smooth as new, without a trace of frost.

There was nothing unusual about the clanging of weapons, the mire of the underworld, or even the wish-power lamps and the murals on the ceiling.

It was as if what everyone had just heard was just an illusion, and what they had just seen was just a false impression.

Okay, then that's all.

Xiao Chen was very pleased with this.

Gangyuan Zhenjun also breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that everything has returned to normal, we can try to act as if nothing happened.

"Oh~!"

Master Jingxing sighed deeply, his brows furrowed, and his gaze swept over the blank handwritten Buddhist scriptures on the surrounding walls, revealing a deep concern.

Clearly, what just happened was not an illusion, and there are scriptures to prove it.

Of course, his sighs and distress were not because he felt sorry for these Buddhist scriptures.

Although this stuff is quite expensive outside, Pudu Temple is a large and well-established company that produces and sells its own products, so it doesn't need the money at all.

What Master Jingxing was truly concerned about was the strange phenomenon of the Vajra's wrathful gaze and the Bodhisattva's tears.

That was clearly the sign of 'Asuras appearing in the world' recorded in the Asura Sutra!

If he remembered correctly, this was a very bad omen.

This signifies that a catastrophe will soon befall the world.

"Sigh, these are turbulent times!"

Zen Master Jingxing sighed again: "Layman Xiao, may I ask where this... malevolent aura on you comes from?"

"A few magical artifacts alone would hardly be enough to cause this."

"This matter is of utmost importance, and we hope that you will tell us the truth."

This question is actually quite easy to answer.

But it's hard to say when pressed like this.

Xiao Chen himself had a pretty good idea of ​​the specific reasons.

After all, he possessed carefully collected Five Elements Killing Qi.

Meanwhile, some of the unusual phenomena we just witnessed are also highly related to the five elements' malevolent energy.

Therefore, the truth of the matter is probably that Pudu Temple claims to be able to distinguish between good and evil by using the Mani relic's ability to detect evil energy.

In essence, it uses the fact that wicked and evil people are tainted by murder and have a malevolent aura to judge good and bad.

As a result, he mistakenly took the five elements of malevolent energy on his body as the bloodthirsty energy brought about by killing.

But how can this truth be explained?
Xiao Chen didn't want to reveal to the outside world that he possessed the Five Elements Evil Qi.

Once the news leaks out, others will definitely suspect his purpose in collecting the five elements of evil energy, and then their suspicions will wander to other places.

"Abbot Jingxing, there's no need to get to the bottom of this."

Gangyuan Zhenjun spoke first: "I can testify, as can Fellow Daoist Yunfeng, that Jianying Zhenjun of Zhaokong Sect did indeed fall into the demonic path back then."

“If needed, I can also provide him with the image stone of the demon general he commands.”

"Fellow Daoist Xiao may have accidentally come into contact with some evil energy, but failed to discover and remove it in time."

"After all, this thing is invisible and intangible, so it makes a lot of sense."

In his heart, True Lord Gangyuan wished he could shout it out loud.

This is terrible! Can you please not ask such questions?!
He had absolutely no desire to know the source of the evil energy, nor did he want to know the truth of the matter.

Unfortunately, Zen Master Jingxing shook his head: "Layman Gangyuan, it's not that I'm unwilling to believe you."

"It's just that the murderous aura emanating from Master Xiao just now was too overwhelming. Anyone with discerning eyes should be able to see that it cannot be explained by the mere mention of 'demonic weapon'."

"Please, Mr. Xiao, think carefully about what the reason might be."

what?
Gangyuan Zhenjun was truly going crazy now.

He was already offering a way out, but he still wouldn't let it go and kept asking questions.

They came with good intentions to provide reinforcements, and now there's the formidable enemy of the sea creatures outside, watching us with predatory eyes. Whatever the problem may be, is it really necessary to pry into it at this crucial moment?

Please stop asking!

And as the old saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

In the cultivation world, everyone who successfully advances to the Nascent Soul stage has some secrets.

Abbot Jingxing should clearly understand this principle.

Why did I have to make such a mistake at this crucial moment?

“Master Xiao, my senior brother did not mean any harm.”

Seeing that things were not going well, Zen Master Fazhao stepped forward to mediate and said, "There is a reason why we are concerned about the source of the evil energy."

As he spoke, he recited the relevant passage from the Asura Sutra.

He even used colloquial language to explain the meaning of the scriptures.

Then he concluded, "Perhaps you lay Buddhists do not quite believe in such warnings of calamity."

"But within our Buddhist community, such warnings are quite serious and crucial, and their accuracy is extremely high, with almost no errors."

"That's why I dare not be careless."

"Actually, he's not usually the type to ask so many questions, so please don't misunderstand."

That concludes what I've said.

Master Fazhao then looked at Xiao Chen and explained separately, "Layman Xiao, carefully recalling and finding the source of the evil energy will actually benefit you."

"After being entangled by evil energy, there seems to be no obvious effect in the short term."

"In fact, it can easily cause a cultivator to change his temperament without realizing it, or even go into a state of demonic possession during cultivation."

"Moreover, the longer it goes on, the greater the impact will be."

"We need to find a way to eliminate or suppress it as soon as possible in order to avoid the impact."

"However, a very important prerequisite for clearing or suppressing the evil energy is to figure out the source of the evil energy and what types it is."

"Firstly, it allows for targeted treatment and enhances the effect."

"Secondly, it can also prevent us from coming into contact with the source again and being contaminated by the evil energy without our knowledge in the future."

"Therefore, I hope that Layman Xiao can understand my senior brother's intention."

"In order to find out the source of the catastrophe in advance, and for our own safety, let's think carefully about what the specific source of the evil energy is?"

Zen Master Fazhao spoke with sincerity because these were truly his heartfelt words.

However, when it reached the ears of Gangyuan Zhenjun, it made his heart tremble.

Oh no, it's even related to a human catastrophe!
Those who are worthy of these four words are probably more than just one or two Nascent Soul cultivators.

It seems like this matter is about to get bigger and bigger.

He felt his vision go black, and he felt completely unwell.

Zhang Shouquan also felt that he was not feeling well at all.

He only knew before that being exposed to too much malevolent energy was bad, as it could lead to demonic possession.

I've never heard of such a thing before. It's as if malevolent energy can drastically change a cultivator's temperament and cause even more serious effects over time.

At this moment, I suddenly heard such a secret.

Zhang Shouquan quickly memorized the information and resolved to find a way to get rid of the evil aura on his body as soon as possible.

One couldn't help but sigh, realizing that independent cultivators could never compare to those established sect disciples.

Sometimes people are already infected without even realizing it.

If he hadn't learned the secret today, he probably wouldn't have known to deal with the evil energy in time.

It is very likely that in the future, he will be affected by it and go astray, dying unjustly without knowing where he went wrong.

Therefore, we still need to find ways to gather more intelligence in the future to broaden our horizons.

By the way, he had also heard at the banquet that Xiao Chen had a habit of borrowing scriptures from the various sects' library.

It is said that he has already visited several sects but is still not satisfied.

They also made advance reservations for Cangming Immortal Sect and Qianji Valley.

At the time, Zhang Shouquan didn't quite understand what Xiao Chen's purpose was in watching the videos repeatedly. Shouldn't two or three videos be enough?
Now he finally realized that there was indeed an underlying reason why people did this.

He should take this as an example in the future and try to borrow more books.

Zhang Shouquan's mind raced, and he stood there, lost in thought.

But no one was paying attention to him at that moment.

Everyone was staring at Xiao Chen.

Zen Master Jingxing nodded in agreement: "Indeed, it was for these two reasons that I asked the question."

"Please, Mr. Xiao, do not refuse and tell me the truth."

Fortunately, Xiao Chen was prepared.

He had considered beforehand whether it was inappropriate to use the same reason as Zhang Shouquan.

So he came up with another explanation: "Let me think... I've killed quite a few powerful sea monsters recently, maybe it's because of this?"

"In addition, I have previously come into contact with and destroyed some demonic materials, and I have also used demonic blood escape talismans."

"The current situation is probably caused by a combination of factors."

After he finished speaking, the hall remained somewhat quiet.

Master Jingxing stared intently at him, clearly waiting for the real reason to follow.

Honestly, that's a bit much.

Xiao Chen retorted directly, "If the abbot has any ideas, he might as well just say them. Why play games with me?"

"If I had known that Pudu Temple treated its guests like this, I wouldn't have come here to suffer."

He glanced at the array flags on Master Jingxing's hands and feet: "Or rather, does the abbot intend to attack me first?"

Gangyuan Zhenjun quickly tried to smooth things over: "Oh, it's not that serious, why go to such lengths?"

“Abbot Jingxing, I’m not trying to criticize you, but with a formidable enemy at hand, how can you treat your own people like this?”

"What does this do to my Taoist sect?"

"Please put away the battle flags first, otherwise things will definitely not end well today."

Zhang Shouquan sighed inwardly, thinking that nothing good ever came of following Xiao Chen.

Let's hope that Buddhism and Taoism don't end up fighting each other first.

But he still spoke up, "Please, Abbot, put away the array flags first!"

Things had come to this point, which was actually beyond the expectations of the Buddhist community.

Fortunately, Zen Master Jingxing was taken aback upon hearing this, and then immediately put away the array flags.

Then, he actually put his hands together, bowed to Xiao Chen, and apologized: "I am very sorry that you misunderstood me, Mr. Xiao."

"I was only momentarily surprised when I saw the murderous aura, which is why I subconsciously took out the array flag. I had no intention of coercing anyone."

“I am truly grateful to the three lay Buddhists for coming to my aid at this time.”

"I swear before Buddha that everything I have said and everything I have done today came from a kind heart and contained not a trace of evil intention."

"Including questioning Mr. Xiao, it was entirely out of concern for the human catastrophe mentioned in the warning."

"If there is even half a false statement or the slightest selfishness in the above, you will fall into the Avici Hell and never be reborn."

He maintained a bowing posture throughout his speech.

Only at the very end did he rise and swear an oath before the Three Buddhas.

With one side yielding humbly, the atmosphere inside the hall immediately eased considerably.

However, that's not all.

Zen Master Jingxing continued, "If Layman Xiao does not wish to say more today, then this old monk understands and will not force him."

"As long as the layperson clearly refuses, everything will be over."

"However, before that, I humbly request Layman Xiao to clarify the truth for the sake of all living beings."

"It should be noted that the signs of Asura also appeared once in an era even longer than ancient times."

"At that time, due to the lack of preparedness, countless people died and were injured throughout the world. The only thing we know is that at least 200 million cultivators perished."

"If such a calamity were to occur again, no matter how vast the world is, it would likely be nothing but piles of white bones."

As he spoke, he actually stepped forward and knelt down in front of Xiao Chen, saying, "This old monk shamelessly asks on behalf of the people of the world for the truth from Layman Xiao."

what?
Xiao Chen fainted.

No, you... how could you, oh dear.

You, the abbot of Pudu Temple, are you so disregardful of your own reputation?

The problem is that Xiao Chen didn't want to talk about it; the key point is that it was actually just a misunderstanding.

In fact, there was no sign of Asura at all. How was he supposed to answer that?
To be honest, if the other side were to use force, he could simply use Night's Edge to escape.

The problem is that doing it this way... ugh, it's so annoying.

More importantly, now that things have come to this, wouldn't it be inappropriate for him to say that everything was a misunderstanding?
Wouldn't that make it seem like he's playing tricks on Pudu Temple and deceiving a kind abbot?

Although deception was not his intention, it's hard for Pudu Temple not to care after learning the truth.

Xiao Chen felt like he was in a bit of a dilemma.

To be honest, revealing that you possess a malevolent aura won't bring you any favors.

Telling a lie—well, if I just go along with it and tell a white lie, it doesn't seem so bad.

All you need to do is come up with a plausible reason.

This way, the awkward situation can be eased without revealing that you possess a malevolent aura.

Generally speaking, this reason is not easy to find.

But then a brilliant idea struck him, and he actually came up with a perfect excuse.

"Abbot, there's no need for that!"

While reaching out to help the other person up, Xiao Chen explained, "Since we've come this far, I'm not an unreasonable person."

"Actually, I've already guessed the general reason."

"I didn't want to talk about it earlier because it involved a fifth-tier spiritual item."

"Fellow Daoist Gangyuan is actually aware of this matter as well."

"That was when I broke through the sea creature's formation and was inspecting the spoils of war the other day, I unexpectedly found a tentacle from a fifth-tier great demon."

"At the time, I didn't recognize it in time, and my carelessness led to the invasion of demonic energy."

"It was at that moment that I vaguely felt as if an invisible force was enveloping my body."

"But the feeling wasn't strong at the time; it seemed like just an illusion, so I didn't think much of it."

"Looking back now, it must have been around that time that we unintentionally fell into the trap of some unknown fifth-tier demon."

"Many fellow Daoists can serve as witnesses to this matter, and there is absolutely no falsehood in it."

(End of this chapter)