Chapter 1 The Buddhist Land

"The sacred land of Buddhism brooks no impudence!" The monk, dressed in Daoist robes, Huiqi, waved his sleeve, his face full of anger.

"Huh?!" After looking at Huiqi for a few moments, and then at the Daoists behind Huiqi, Fatty's brain short-circuited for a moment. If Huiqi's attire hadn't suddenly changed, he would have even suspected that these people were putting on a show.

However, Ye Qiutang from Jiangcheng understood somewhat. Jiangcheng put his hands together and said to the furious Huiqi, "Master, please calm your anger. May I ask where this place is?" As he spoke, Jiangcheng pointed to the building in front of him.

Although Huiqi was full of anger, he still put his hands together and replied, "Does this benefactor not know that this is the Sutra Repository, an important place of this temple?"

Afterward, Jiangcheng looked at the Daoists not far behind Huiqi and asked the same question again. But this time, the result was completely different. The leading Daoist replied first, "Three pilgrims, what exactly do you mean? Senior Brother Xuanqi has already made it very clear that this is the Scripture Reading Hall, an important place of this temple!"

Jiangcheng stared at these people, his gaze sweeping across their faces one by one, but he didn't detect any signs of acting. He retreated little by little towards the Scripture Reading Hall. Seeing this, the monk Huiqi and the group of Daoists behind him pressed forward.

The next second, a bizarre scene appeared. The Daoists changed their appearance as they passed the spot where Huiqi had been standing. First, the Daoist robes faded little by little, and then the tied-up hair gradually shrank. The speed of this change was surprisingly fast, probably only in the blink of an eye, the transformation from Daoist to monk was complete.

At this moment, the "monks" who had transformed later put their hands together and, along with the monk Huiqi at the front, dissuaded Jiangcheng, "Three benefactors, this is the Sutra Repository, an important place of our Buddhist temple. No one other than the monks of this temple may approach it!"

Now Jiangcheng understood that this range of change only existed within a few dozen meters of the Sutra Repository.

As long as one approached the Sutra Repository to a certain distance, the Daoists from the Qingfeng Temple would turn into monks from the Chijie Temple.

As for the reason, Jiangcheng understood it clearly. Lingxiao Daoren must not be able to completely suppress the evil spirit possessing Master Fuji.

The closer one got to the Sutra Repository, the stronger the evil spirit's influence on the surrounding people. No wonder Lingxiao Daoren told them not to approach this place during the day.

Everything was developing as Lingxiao Daoren had said, but Jiangcheng still couldn't figure out a few things. He turned around and walked quickly towards the Sutra Repository. The monks outside the door wanted to stop him, but he dodged them all.

"Benefactor, you mustn't!" The martial monk holding a staff didn't act violently as Jiangcheng had expected, but was still trying to dissuade him, showing the heart of a monk.

Until Jiangcheng touched the wooden door in front of the hall with one hand. Now, with just a slight effort, he could push open the door and see the scene inside.

But he didn't. He was still waiting, waiting for the monk Huide, who might suddenly appear like a ghost.

If Huide appeared again and stopped him at the moment he was about to push open the door, then Jiangcheng could be sure that there must be something wrong here. After all, there wouldn't be so many coincidences in a row.

But this time, the monk Huide didn't appear. Jiangcheng decided to raise the stakes again. He put a little more force on his finger, and the door shaft of the main hall made a "creak" sound. The door was pushed open a little.

But Jiangcheng stopped at the last moment when the door was about to be opened. The monks behind him were only dissuading him, but they didn't use force at all. And the so-called monk Huide didn't even appear.

Jiangcheng didn't dare to gamble. If what Lingxiao Daoren said was true, then pushing open the door just now would have caused a catastrophe.

"Benefactor, you disobey our advice and forcibly break into the sacred land of our Buddhist temple. What are your intentions?" Monk Huiqi questioned.

Jiangcheng breathed a sigh of relief, slowly turned around, put his hands together towards the angry monks, and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, masters. I just wanted to see what the Sutra Repository looked like. I was very rude. I hope the masters will forgive me."

Fortunately, although these monks were angry, they didn't make things difficult for Jiangcheng and the others in the end. They just sent someone to escort them out all the way. It was said to be escorting, but it was actually more like being escorted under guard. Two burly monks escorted them to a place far away from the courtyard.

Of course, when they passed the critical point, the two monks became two Daoists again.

"Three pilgrims, one thing never happens more than twice. The Scripture Reading Hall, an important place of our temple, must not be desecrated by outsiders."

After the stern warning, the two Daoists still didn't leave. They didn't turn around and go back until they watched Jiangcheng and the others walk away.

Fatty was sweating profusely. He was really worried that the doctor would push open the door just now, and then it would be difficult to deal with.

"You don't need to worry. He was just testing just now, testing whether those evil monks would come to stop him." Ye Qiutang understood clearly. She could feel that although Jiangcheng seemed reckless, he was still reliable in doing things.

Turning a corner and arriving at a quiet place, the three of them sat down to rest for a while. Before Fatty could catch his breath, Jiangcheng called him up, "Let's go."

Fatty stood up with some curiosity, "Still going? Where to?"

Ye Qiutang tidied up her belongings and glanced at Fatty, "Where else can we go? Of course, we're going back to sneak back and see what's going on in that Sutra Repository."

Worried about running into other Daoists on the way, Jiangcheng and the others made a big circle and took small paths. Fortunately, Ye Qiutang had a strong sense of direction, so they managed to find their way back to the Sutra Repository.

This time, they changed direction and didn't leave the forest at all. They hid behind a few trees on the edge of the forest and looked towards the Sutra Repository.

In the open space, the Daoists were chanting scriptures and practicing swordsmanship. Daoist Xuanqi was also among them, demonstrating swordsmanship in front of the Daoists.

There were several monks sitting cross-legged on the steps of the Sutra Repository, and some monks were sweeping fallen leaves. The two martial monks were still guarding the door.

Everything looked strange but harmonious. However, it could be confirmed that there was no change here from before they left.

"Could it be that we guessed wrong? All of this is true. Lingxiao Daoren didn't deceive us?" Jiangcheng was also a little unsure at the moment.

"Let's go, let's go back and take a look at Huicong." Jiangcheng planned to verify it one more time.

Just as the figures of Jiangcheng and the others disappeared into the forest, the huge square suddenly became quiet. Whether it was the Daoists chanting scriptures and practicing swordsmanship, or the monks sitting in meditation and sweeping the floor outside the door, they stopped at the same time, turned their heads, and looked stiffly in the direction where Jiangcheng and the others disappeared. Dozens or hundreds of gazes looked in the same direction at the same time. The scene was silent and eerie.

A moment later, as if a switch had been turned on, strange smiling faces appeared on their faces.

"Fúshēng...wúliàng tiānzūn!"