The Lord of Void and Real

Chapter 89: Chapter 88: Shocking Change in the Temple

At that moment, a muffled sound suddenly came from the sky, and a strange yellow wind blew up from nowhere, which quickly whipped up, completely blocking the sky in a few moments.

The already dim sky was now completely dark, almost indistinguishable from night.

The surrounding mist was swept up by this strange wind, like a rolling wall of gas approaching, its force was so strong that Shen Luo could hardly walk normally.

Left with no choice, he had to brave the wind, taking one step at a time into the ancient temple.

Just stepping into the mountain gate, Shen Luo was confronted with a headless obese corpse seated in front of him. His heart tightened, and he subconsciously began to activate the Yang Gang Qi to protect himself.

However, when he saw clearly, he found that the corpse was clutching a string of Buddhist beads in its hand, which was unmistakably a clay Maitreya Buddha statue.

Going around the back of the Buddha statue, Shen Luo saw a figure all in black, holding a demon subduing pestle, standing with his back to him. It was naturally the dharma protector Wei Tuo. Only, where its eyes should be there were empty holes, making it look all the more fierce.

“Excuse me …” Shen Luo raised one palm and murmured.

As a cultivator, one should always show respect to both Buddha and Dao

Shen Luo crossed the courtyard, where sutra banners had fallen among the fallen leaves, and immediately spotted the Mahavira Hall inside. From the outside, it seemed relatively intact, except that there were many broken windows and doors, and there was even a faint glow of fire inside.

“Someone?” Shen Luo’s eyebrows raised as he cautiously approached.

When he arrived at the hall entrance, he didn’t immediately enter, but leaned against the broken door and peeked inside.

Inside the hall, the floor was covered with withered grass. Placed on the central divine seat was not a statue of Buddha or Bodhisattva, but an odd-looking three-headed statue holding something like an iron shovel, which somehow looked rather comical.

But this wasn’t odd, as local communities have the tradition of worshipping their local deities, possibly some kind-hearted man who did good deeds while alive and was enshrined as a flesh and blood Buddha after death.

Underneath the statue, a pile of dried grass was simply spread into a bed, on which lay a beggar with messy hair and ragged clothes, snoring soundly on his side.

Not far from him sat a short, ugly man with scabies on his head, wearing a short brown shirt and carrying a black short axe at his waist. Beside him were two bundles of firewood, he appeared to be a woodcutter.

In the corner of the hall near the wall, many floor tiles were broken, creating a large pit filled with a pool of greenish rainwater.

Shen Luo watched from outside for a while, when he saw that the two inside had not noticed him, he pushed the door and walked in.

The “squeak” sound of the dilapidated palace door was very loud when it was pushed open, and as soon as it was opened, a gust of yellow wind blew in, causing the fire to flicker.

The woodcutter only noticed Shen Luo then. Seeing the blood all over him, he recoiled, his face full of fear.

“Don’t be afraid, elder brother, the wind outside is strong, I’m just coming in to take shelter. As soon as the wind stops, I’ll leave.” Shen Luo laughed, turned around to close the door, then wrinkled his nose.

The smell inside the hall was not pleasant, the entire place filled with a damp, rotting smell.

Seeing Shen Luo had no ill-intent, the woodcutter slightly moved his lips, revealing a timid and flattering smile, and stretched out both hands in a gesture to invite him to sit.

Shen Luo glanced at the beggar and saw that he was still sound asleep, seemingly unaware that someone had come in. He kept his hands folded in his sleeves and silently walked to the right side of the fire, sat down there.

The woodcutter stole glances at Shen Luo, then hurriedly looked away, behaving cautiously, not daring to speak a word.

Shen Luo has no intention to speak, after scanning his surroundings, his gaze fixates on the fire, lost in thought.

At that moment, his gaze suddenly turns towards the direction of the palace door.

Then, with a “crash”, the two wooden doors of the great hall were forcefully pushed open, and seven or eight guards, dressed in martial gear and with swords hanging from their waists, stormed in.

Under their protection, a dark-faced youth wearing scale armor covering his chest and back, alongside a grey-haired old man in a brown satin robe, walked in. Behind them were about a dozen men dressed as servants.

As these guards entered the great hall and saw that there were already people inside, they drew their swords without hesitation, their faces tense as if facing a formidable opponent.

The grey-haired old man quickly darted behind the dark-faced youth who looked like the leader of the guards, peeking out timidly, his face full of unease as he sized up Shen Luo and the woodcutter.

Shen Luo followed their figures with his eyes, glancing outside, he vaguely saw vehicles and horses in the front yard, it seemed like a small passing merchant caravan.

“Who are you?” The dark-faced youth narrowed his eyes slightly, pointing his sword at Shen Luo, he demanded to know.

The bloodstains on him were indeed quite conspicuous.

Seeing this, Shen Luo was stunned, thinking about how to explain, but the woodcutter beside him had already knelt on the ground, his face deathly pale, trembling like a leaf.

“Master, master… I’m just a woodcutter from the village, I don’t have any money, please spare me…,” he pleaded continuously, bowing and kowtowing non-stop, obviously mistaking these people for bandits.

However, the beggar, who was in a deep sleep, despite such upheaval in the hall, continued to lie motionless on the spot, seemingly still submerged in his dreams.

The dark-faced youth listened to the woodcutter’s words, ignoring him completely, his eyes focused on the three of them, his gaze lingering more on Shen Luo.

“I was robbed on the road, barely escaped with my life, that’s how I ended up here,” Shen Luo explained helplessly.

“My apologies,” the dark-faced youth showed no change in his expression, and gestured with his hand.

A guard from his side immediately brought a palm-sized round compass and handed it over to him.

Shen Luo, after a quick glance, noticed that this compass had a simple and ancient design, seemingly forged from brass. A thumb-sized grey-white jade stone encrusted at the center of the needle, where one could vaguely see a bit of white gas inside.

“Yuan Stone…” muttered Shen Luo to himself.

The dark-faced youth then gripped the sword handle with one hand and held the compass with the other, swaying it towards Shen Luo’s direction and all eyes moved with it to focus on Shen Luo.

The compass pointed at him for a moment, the needle didn’t move, showing no apparent abnormality.

The dark-faced youth’s eyes flickered slightly as he moved the compass towards the beggar who was sleeping against the deity seat. Similarly, nothing happened.

Seeing this, the faces of most of the people in the merchant caravan relaxed.

However, when the compass was aimed towards the kneeling woodcutter, the needle suddenly began to spin out of control and the encrusted Yuan Stone on it exploded with a “pop”.

At the same time, a white light shot out from the compass and hit the woodcutter.