The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 107 Long Time No See, Lord Taishan
These monsters still retained their appearance and habits from when they were monks, crooked and twisted, with holes in their robes, like vegetable leaves bitten by worms, and insects crawling all over their faces and bodies.

Zhou Yan noticed that the skin on the monks' faces resembled the wings of insects.

Li Sanlang exclaimed, "That's exhilarating!"

Zhou Yan wrapped his arm around Li Sanlang's neck, almost suffocating the old man. Zhou Yan's magic power could still support him to continue fighting, but he had a vague feeling that these monsters could not be completely wiped out.

The more they kill, the more there are.

The light of the Buddha lamp obscured the view, while the flowing wind dispersed the aura. These insect-formed demonic monks seemed to lack their own thinking ability, merely following a fixed command to maintain order.

Zhou Yan's heart stirred, and his consciousness locked onto a flying insect.

Bring your fingers together, tap them, and say a word in your heart.

change!
The insect was still flying, and after spinning around, it suddenly transformed into a young Taoist priest. He was wearing a Taoist robe, but the cuffs and waist were tied up. His hair was half-grown, and he carried a sword and a knife. He looked exactly like Zhou Yan.

The monks then discovered that the insect's brainstem seemed unable to think about why 'Zhou Yan' was outside. It simply followed the most basic feedback pattern: upon seeing Zhou Yan outside, it abandoned the place and swarmed out like a beehive.

Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Gao Lishi used his palm to carefully but frequently pat Zhou Yan's hand that was holding Li Sanlang's neck, shouting, "Let go, let go!"

Zhou Yan let go, raised his hand to push against the hole, and burst out.

Holding the Buddhist lamp, he stood at the doorway and glanced around. He found that the chaotic noise had already faded away, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The transformation spell he obtained by killing Zhu Zicheng had various flaws, and it was easy for Taoist masters and Buddhist virtuous people to see through it.

But it's enough to fool these little monsters.

"gone."

Chen Xuanli had already come down, carrying a long-handled battle sword. Gao Lishi helped Li Longji down. Li Longji's face was a little flushed, and he seemed quite excited, but he was not feeling well and was a little out of breath: "Haha, that was great, that was great."

"It's been a long time since I've had something so exciting and fun."

Li Sanlang appeared here because he learned what his son had done, that his son had deployed three thousand elite cavalry in Fengxiang. Keep in mind that his side, including servants, imperial guards, and officials, only had a few hundred people in total.

According to the Zizhi Tongjian, more than 900 horses from the idle stables were selected, which shows how disheveled they were.

Faced with this situation, three thousand elite troops were waiting. Li Longji was also a young and valiant man who obtained the throne through swords and bloodshed. Of course, he knew why his good son did this.

That's why he was feeling troubled, and that's why he left those people, the officials his son sent to "fetch him," and came to the Reclining Buddha Temple with Chen Xuanli and Gao Lishi to relax. Only then did he finally let out the emotions that had been suppressed in his heart.

It was absolutely exhilarating.

Even Zhou Yan, a man known for his outrageous pronouncements, found him exceptionally pleasing and comforting.

Zhou Yan closed the door, which allowed him to briefly recover his strength. Although his magical power could be restored quickly, the battle still took its toll on his physical and mental stamina. Li Longji's appearance once again connected everything to Zhou Yan.

From Dengying'er to Zhiniang, Taishan Gong, Qingmingfangzhu, Zhu Zicheng, and Jinchanchousui, all the events vaguely point to the Wofo Temple, and Li Longji's appearance at the Wofo Temple, or at least in the vicinity of the Wofo Temple, becomes a perfect link.

The An Lushan Rebellion brought immense suffering to the people. Now, with two emperors secretly vying for power, a thousand miles of land will suffer from crop failure for a century. What chaos will the world descend into? The main purpose of Qingmingfang is to command the gods, so what is the Weaver Girl yearning for?
A series of thoughts raced through Zhou Yan's mind.

He knew he was already in the middle of a whirlpool.

He couldn't avoid the fragment of the Taishan Gongdao Fruit that he carried within him.

And as a human being...

Chen Xuanli looked at the situation outside. The version of himself that Zhou Yan had transformed into had been torn to pieces by the many demonic monks. After killing the insect, the demonic monks wandered around the entire Zen temple unconsciously.

Chen Xuanli immediately assessed the situation: "We can't get out."

“If we go out, we will be discovered and entangled by the demons.”

"No matter how profound your magic and cultivation are, you will eventually get tired. Once you are mentally exhausted, these insects will tear you apart. Moreover, the key to the insectoid prodigy is the [mother insect]. Killing these smaller insects will only deplete your energy."

Zhou Yan agreed with Chen Xuanli's judgment and reorganized his thinking.

The most urgent task is to find a way to reunite with Shen Cangming and obtain that pill in order to break through to the next level and refine the insect eggs on my body. The next task is to find the blue lotus flower that the old man in my dream mentioned, and preferably stop the evil disturbances in this area.

Let's meet up with Uncle Shen first.

We need to leave here first.

As Zhou Yan pondered this, he turned around and surveyed the entire interior of the temple. The enormous reclining Buddha had a kind and benevolent face with a gentle smile, but the heart of the Buddha statue was now empty.

Can a person live without a heart?
No, no.

A person without a heart cannot live.

The Buddha has no mind.

So what should this Reclining Buddha Temple be called?
In Zhou Yan's mind, the jade scroll turned over and landed on the scene of the lamp-stealing rat spirit. The lamp shadow of the rat spirit, formed by ink marks, was vivid and lifelike, and the story of the lamp shadow flowed before Zhou Yan's eyes.

The rats that steal the Buddha's lamp live in the hollow spaces of the reclining Buddha statue.

Judging from the later part of the story, where Dengying'er searches for a 'temple' again as a place to live, this rat spirit actually approves of this reclining Buddha temple, but then escapes.

"In the jade book, it is mentioned that the monks who recited the sutras had no magical powers, and only the rats became spirits... In other words, the monks in the Reclining Buddha Temple before were just monks who simply recited the Buddha's name, and had no magic or abilities."

"Then it's impossible to tell 'Master Chen' that the Golden Cicada Dew can prolong life, let alone have the miraculous method of shedding the cicada's skin. In other words, this happened after Dengying'er escaped, or after she became a spirit."

"It's highly likely that Dengying'er stumbled upon these things while fleeing from the Reclining Buddha Temple."

"Then why did he take the Buddha lamp with him?"

"Is it simply to keep this Buddha lamp as a personal treasure, because you can't bear to part with this temple and want to take a 'souvenir' with you, or... does this Buddha lamp actually have another connection with the cicada's molted skin and the cicada's dew?"

Zhou Yan's gaze swept across the area, his magical power flowing, and his eyes opened wide. He avoided the purple aura emanating from Li Longji, and slowly strolled around, taking in the ancient and simple atmosphere of the Buddhist temple. In front of the huge, hollow reclining Buddha was a three-tiered wooden platform with red candles lit on it.

Solemn and solemn.

Under his discerning eye, most of them exhibited a grayish-white texture.

This means there is no spiritual energy.

Zhou Yan paused when he saw the huge reclining Buddha.

In his eyes, the interior of this reclining Buddha, hollowed out with its heart empty, was covered with countless traces. Having practiced martial arts for some time, he could tell at a glance that the reclining Buddha contained all eight extraordinary meridians.

There's something wrong with this thing.

Zhou Yan noticed a spot on the wooden table filled with red candles that emitted a faint spiritual aura. Judging from its base, it was connected to a Buddhist lamp. Zhou Yan's eyes lit up slightly, and he strode over.

Chen Xuanli and the other two were discussing the situation here.

Gao Lishi frowned deeply, Chen Xuanli was solemn and resolute, while Li Sanlang was quite carefree. He still had a purple aura around him, but he valued this purple aura very much. At this moment, he was no longer the emperor, and had no soldiers, no generals, and no power.

If this purple aura dissipates, then he will truly be at the mercy of his own son.

Just then, they saw Zhou Yan walk towards the wooden platform in front of the reclining Buddha. Just as they were wondering what was going on, they saw the young man raise the heavy knife in his hand and sweep it away several times, knocking away all the red candles on it. Zhou Yan's gaze locked onto the location where Ling Yun was.

Zhou Yan took down the Buddha lamp and placed it in this place where the spiritual energy resided.

The Buddha lamp looked normal, and there was nothing unusual about the wooden platform, but when Zhou Yan's Buddha lamp touched the ground, it made a crisp click, and there was a feeling that it was fitting together.

The Buddha lamp lit up naturally, its faint light swirling around. The clicking and clattering of the mechanism continued incessantly. Zhou Yan saw that the hollow in the Buddha's heart was collapsing and spiraling downwards, layer by layer.

Finally, what appeared before them was a spiral staircase leading downwards.

really……

Looking at this scene, Li Sanlang asked, "What is this?"

Zhou Yan said, "It must be the secret of this Buddhist temple."

He exhaled and said, "At least, it's one of the secrets."

From the very beginning of his martial arts training, starting with the first monster he slew, "Lantern Shadow," to now, this Buddhist lamp has finally returned to its original place, and its light has illuminated the shadows within the Reclining Buddha Temple.

There was nowhere else to go outside. An ordinary person would probably huddle here for peace of mind, but Zhou Yan was cheerful and easygoing. In addition, he had insect eggs on his body. If he couldn't reach the twenty-two-hour mark, no, it was already less than twenty-two hours.

If Zhou Yan cannot find the demon or reunite with Shen Cangming before the time runs out, he himself will become an empty shell with countless flying insects crawling in and out of his eyes, nose, and ears.

They might even crawl in and out from behind.

Zhou Yan felt he would rather die in battle.

He said, "There must be danger in here. I'll go scout ahead."

After thinking it over, Li Sanlang, eager to try, smiled and said:
"It's rare to be able to adventure with a young man like me."

"I'll go as well."

Zhou Yan wanted to kick the old man with his big feet.

Although he was very unhappy with Li Longji, he also knew that if Li Longji, who possessed the purple aura of humanity, died here in this extraordinary world, it would likely cause great changes in the human world, followed by natural disasters and man-made calamities, and bring trouble to the Chinese people.

Zhou Yan's gaze swept over Gao Lishi and Chen Xuanli, and he said bluntly:

"You two hold him down."

Gao Lishi gripped Li Longji's sleeve tightly. Chen Xuanli remained silent, took out a rope, tied it around Zhou Yan's waist, held the other end in his hand, and said in a deep and solemn voice, "I am a fifth-rank Xuanguan. If you encounter danger down there, pull hard."

"I will pull you out."

"Thank you."

With his worries resolved, Zhou Yan nodded. He glanced at the clear and quiet Buddha lamp, then stepped into the hollow of the reclining Buddha's heart and walked down. Li Longji looked at him and stopped struggling.

Or perhaps he was just having fun. The old emperor's lips curled into a smile, and he suddenly said:
"Dear Taishan, please be careful."

Chen Xuanli's pupils suddenly contracted, and Gao Lishi's hand trembled in fright.

Zhou Yan looked at Li Longji.

Under the lamplight, the young man's black hair drooped slightly, and his eyes opened to reveal his divine vision. Deep within his dark pupils, extremely fine ripples spread out, causing the expressions of Gao Lishi and Chen Xuanli to slowly freeze.

He looked at the aged emperor and said:

"My name is Zhou Yan, you've mistaken me for someone else."

"Li Sanlang."

Gao Lishi's legs went weak and he sat down. Li Longji laughed loudly, but the boy's knife hilt swept a pastry out of his mouth and stuffed it into his mouth, forcibly silencing his laughter.

Chen Xuanli gripped the rope tightly, connecting to the earth's veins.

Zhou Yan took a step forward, gripping his heavy sword, and charged into the Buddha's Heart.

Ripples spread across the jade scroll.

(End of this chapter)