Demon Sword Immortal

Even the highest-ranking Buddhist temples can only display Buddha statues that are six meters tall. This Buddha statue is at least seven or eight meters tall, and its surface and the murals around it are covered with this gold powder pigment.

In Cao Chuan's memory, this kind of Buddhist worship should have been banned long ago. This indirectly suggests that the Buddhist temple was built a very long time ago, possibly two or three hundred years ago.

Is this an ancient Buddhist temple?

Or is it a training ground for demons specially created by practitioners of both Buddhist and sword cultivation?

"It's probably a place for raising demons." Huang Qian stared at the giant Buddha in front of him, marveling at the magnificent scale of the place. "I've never seen or heard of those insect demons before. It must be some kind of ancient ruin!"

The practice of using gold powder to worship Buddha has been popular in the world for nearly 1000 years.

At that time, although Kendo had emerged, it did not develop on the scale of modern times. Many people at the bottom of society were still focused on Taoist practices and Buddhist worship, and this was especially true in more chaotic and impoverished areas.

Many people can't even afford to eat, yet they fantasize about 'cultivating blessings in the next life'. They donate their ancestral wealth and hard-earned savings to temples, and even convert their farmland into monastic land.

It wasn't until a movement to suppress Buddhism arose that those wicked monks and temples that devoured people were destroyed, and feudal superstition was eradicated, that the faith in Buddhism and Taoism was brought back on the right track.

Cao Chuan thought about it and agreed with this assessment.

The two men stood in front studying the Buddha statue, while some of the other soldiers also looked around, but most of them sat in place eating and drinking.

Bai Xiang had eaten and drunk some time ago, so she wasn't hungry. She walked to another direction and carefully examined the outlines of the shapes.

She didn't recognize the inscription.

Although she had only seen this inscription not long ago—that is, the same inscription as the one recorded in the "Startling Cicada" scroll—the difference was that she could understand the meaning of the inscription even though she didn't recognize it, but she no longer had that convenience.

She understands the concept of applying knowledge to new situations, but the problem is that the time allotted is too short. If one insists on interpreting it according to a specific reference, this task will be extremely difficult for Bai Xiang.

So all we can do is look at the carved designs.

Each of these carvings is simple and abstract, yet somehow you can still tell what they depict.

After looking at it for a while, Bai realized that it contained a pattern.

For example, these carved murals are layered.

The bottom layer depicts the life of an ancient person. It tells the story of his birth, his schooling, the misfortunes that befell his family, his determination to learn martial arts, and his inability to achieve his goal despite all the hardships. In the latter half of his life, he could only become a monk and burn out his life amidst the ancient lamps and Buddha statues.

If you look further up, the second layer, or the second circle of carvings, depicts the life and deeds of another ancient person.

It is said that he was born into wealth and had many wives and concubines. He was also very talented and passed the imperial examination at a young age to become a civil official.

The story gradually unfolds as the protagonist reaches middle age, recounting how his parents are still alive and he has many children. He should be enjoying a peaceful and fulfilling life, but somehow he goes mad, resigns from his official post, runs away from home, and becomes a monk.

Becoming a monk wasn't enough; he also went to practice swordsmanship.

At the end of the second circle of carvings is an ancient man in a monk's robe with a long beard, holding a long sword and posing, with dense inscriptions piled up next to him, seemingly describing something.

They don't seem to be from the same dynasty...

Bai Xiang keenly noticed the difference: the clothing and etiquette worn by many people in the upper and lower layers of murals had changed.

The Dayu Dynasty only claimed to have lasted for 1600 years. This is similar to the Sima family successfully usurping the throne and changing the dynasty name to Han. After Zhao Kuangyin donned the yellow robe, the dynasty continued to be called Han. In reality, there was a break in cultural traditions in between, and the etiquette and clothing of each ruler's era were naturally different.

How many more stories like this are there?

Bai looked up and estimated the approximate height of the Buddhist hall from the ground to the ceiling.

The height of these layered "biographical records" is the same, but because the Buddhist temple is hemispherical, the layers become smaller as you go up, so the content of the "biographical records" decreases as you go up.

Especially the top layer, which is basically a disc with only a few pictures engraved on it to depict a person's life story. It is extremely sloppy, which is in stark contrast to the people below.

They're all seeking Buddha's help, yet they're being treated differently.

Bai shook his head, disagreeing with this approach.

But as she continued to shake, her brows suddenly furrowed.

its not right.

its not right?

That topmost circular image... that 'careless life', why does it look so familiar?

Two pictures, one depicting the journey from birth to adulthood.

From adulthood to spiritual cultivation, two pictures.

From cultivating Tao to questioning the sword, two pictures.

Then they were chased and killed, a great battle took place in the temple, four pictures.

Finally, he died in the wilderness, a picture.

This person's life has come to an end.

But the problem is... Bai Xiang has seen this life trajectory elsewhere!

The *Chaoyuan Huaqi Jing*! — Qu Daoren 'Huang Ye'!

How come it's exactly the same as what Huang Ye described?

Her attention was completely drawn to the suspicious points, and she failed to notice the subtle change in the atmosphere inside the Buddhist temple.

The Red Dragon Army soldiers gradually stopped talking.

Huang Qian and Cao Chuan's discussion became strange, with their answers to each other being unrelated to the question, as if they had each heard something different.

Silently, the golden Buddha statue opened its eyes.

As its chest rose and fell, with each breath, the temperature inside the entire Buddhist temple began to rise, and even the walls and floor trembled slightly.

It's as if this isn't a building, but rather inside the body of some giant creature.

When the tremor occurred, Bai Xiang immediately noticed the change.

She quickly looked at Huang and Cao, only to find them smiling and talking to themselves.

“It must be those bedbugs!” Huang Qian raised his eyebrows.

“This place must have a history of a thousand years…” Cao Chuan frowned thoughtfully.

What the hell?

Bai Xiang squinted, about to step forward and wake them up, when he noticed that the ground beneath their feet was softening and sinking... it collapsed into a hole, swallowing the two of them.

laugh!

Chi Chi!

And it wasn't just the two of them, but also the Red Dragon Army soldiers who were either sitting or walking around.

They were all as if possessed, standing still without knowing how to dodge, letting the depression swallow them up.

This isn't the ground...!

Bai tried to jump away, dodging the hole that had opened up beneath his feet, but when he landed, it felt like he was stepping on a ball of cotton; the entire floor of the Buddhist temple was softening.

puff puff!

In an instant, seemingly enraged by her dodging action, tentacles suddenly sprouted from the softened ground in all directions, attacking Bai Xiang from almost every angle!

Such an attack is normally impossible to avoid no matter what.

Bai Xiang pursed his lips, quickly stood at attention, held the wooden sword upright in front of him, and began to vibrate his wrist at a high frequency.

Buzz—~~~~!

Invisible ripples spread outwards from her. All the tentacles that came to stab were affected, as if they had hit an invisible barrier and been bounced off by the ripples.

"Oh?"

There was a sudden noise overhead.

"The Divine Sword?"

What is your relationship with Bai Muying?

Bai Xiang followed the sound and saw that the huge Buddha statue was slightly lowering its head, its mouth moving... It was this thing that was speaking!

She took a breath, thought for a moment, and said to the Buddha statue, "Bai Muying... is my Bai family ancestor."

The founder of the Divine Cry Sword Path and the founder of the dojo.

Regarding this person, Bai Shengju had shown Bai Xiang a portrait of her when they were children.

Bai Shengju didn't know exactly what era the person came from. He only knew that he was a founding ancestor, and instructed Bai Xiang and Bai Zhuqing to recognize and worship him, and not to overstep their bounds.

"That's really strange!"

The Buddha statue's voice suddenly changed from deep and heavy to sharp and childlike. Its huge mouth opened, and a golden cicada the size of a fist flew out.

"How strange...how strange..."

The cicada demon circled Bai Xiang three times before stopping in front of her, flapping its wings and uttering human language from its belly.

"You said you are a descendant of the Bai family."

"Then who was it that came to me earlier?"

Chapter Sixty-Seven Reincarnation

"He's a fraud."

Without any hesitation, Bai Xiang even took the initiative to ask the cicada demon, "Are they a man and a woman, one older and one younger, the man named Bai Jingyuan and the woman named Bai Xuan?"

"Huh?" The cicada demon was even more surprised now, its body flailing wildly before it said, "The man didn't say! But the woman's name is definitely Bai Xuan!"

“That’s right.” Bai Xiang lowered his eyelids slightly. “These two are just making things up. In reality, they infiltrated my Shenming Dojo, stole the map leading here, and pretended to be descendants of the Bai family to deceive you.”

"How could this be!" The cicada demon was inexplicably furious upon hearing this, then quickly calmed down, her two large, bulging eyes seemingly fixed on Bai Xiang: "...How can I be sure you're not lying?"

"I know the Divine Cry Sword, isn't that enough?" Bai Xiang shook the wooden sword in his hand to show it, "They won't know this when they come up."

"Hmm..." The cicada demon seemed to still be a little uneasy, so it flew to the top of the Buddha statue and stood there for a while. After more than a minute, it flew down again and landed directly in front of Bai Xiang.

Bai Xiang reached out and let it land in his palm.

"I am the 'Cicada of Startling Gods'!"

The cicada demon tilted its little head back, continuing to speak in human language from its belly.

"What you see now is merely my avatar! The real me is many times larger than what you see! In fact, you are currently inside my pupa! You can only leave with my permission!"

Cicada pupa?

Bai Xiang immediately thought of the two scouts from the Demon Immortal Path, and remembered what they said... The main force of the Demon Immortal Path had been guarding a huge 'egg sheath' buried deep underground in the depths of the Void Realm.

So, that 'egg sheath' is most likely the real body of this 'Surprising Cicada'.

The tunnels of the underground labyrinth lead all the way to this place?

Did Chai Xuan and her father find their way here and then trick this insect demon?

Thinking about it secretly, this did indeed match his previous guess—there really was an 'old thing,' and it was this 'old thing' that helped the Chai family father and daughter obtain the opportunity.

The little cicada seemed somewhat naive, its conversations and responses revealing its innocence. Bai Xiang took the opportunity to subtly elicit information, quickly ascertaining the cause and effect of the situation without any complications.

"The two men said they were descendants of the Bai family, and I also wanted to leave the Void Realm, so I started cooperating with them."

"Why don't I go out by myself? Well, of course, it's because I can't get out on my own!"

The cicada demon flicked its leg and tilted its head.

"My pupa contains a divine soul restriction inscribed by your ancestors! Unless you acknowledge the successor of the Divine Cry Sword as your master again, you will not be able to leave!"

Bai Xiang squinted: "How do you plan to cooperate?"

"Of course, we should forge the sword for 'Bai Xuan' first," the cicada demon said. "She has a very good foundation; she can actually contain a 300-year-old demon pool in the sword. After she molts, she should be able to contain a 450-year-old demon pool. That's almost a thousand years in total!"

"free oneself?"

"You didn't know?" The cicada demon asked in surprise, then realized, "Oh! After all, you've even lost this place, it's normal that you didn't know..."

Then it began to give Bai Xiang a detailed introduction, from the 'Divine Cry Sword' to the 'Cicada Molting Technique', and then to the origin of this school of thought.

"The Divine Cry Sword isn't particularly powerful in itself." The cicada shook its head in her palm. "There are many sword techniques in the world more powerful than the Divine Cry Sword. Its true characteristic is 'Cicada Molting'!"

"For example, you know about things like mind imagery, flow, and the heart meridian, right?"

"This is your special ability, but it is not easy to cultivate normally. The flow of the mind and the meridians are constantly changing, and you cannot feel many of the branching paths at the end, so you can't cultivate to the limit."

"But the Divine Sword can!"

"By making 'Divine Cry' vibrate within the body, the detected model can be transmitted back to the mind in another form, allowing control over short-term changes in the heart meridian. On this basis, one can break through the realm and rebuild the foundation!"