Chapter 326 : The Nameless Temple
The old monk was exceptionally decisive, not even waiting for Zhu Baiyi and the others to respond before he had finished speaking and turned to leave. He didn't appear to have lost his senses; on the contrary, he seemed remarkably lucid. Additionally, when Tan Xin followed without hesitation, Jiang Mo and the others, despite their lingering doubts, didn't delay and quickly followed.
As soon as they exited the Great Buddha Hall, they saw a group of monks standing outside—some elderly, some young, but each surrounded by Buddha-light and appearing completely peaceful, without the slightest resemblance to the rumored monsters.
Despite this, Jiang Mo and the other uninvited late-night visitors still hesitated momentarily.
The monks naturally noticed them, but showed no reaction, almost as if they hadn't seen them at all, focusing their attention solely on the leading Abbot. The Abbot didn't break his stride, and the monks waiting outside instinctively cleared a path for him, then followed behind without waiting for Jiang Mo and the others to catch up. Except for Tan Xin, who blended into the group of monks, everyone else was relegated to the back.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo and her companions understood that something significant was about to occur this morning. They looked up at the sky to see the first light of dawn appearing on the horizon, with the first ray of morning sunlight soon to bathe the land.
"Let's go, follow them and see what happens," Zhu Baiyi beckoned, taking the lead behind the group of monks.
The temple wasn't particularly large. Besides the Great Buddha Hall at the front, there were two smaller side halls, along with the quarters and monks' residences at the back. Beyond these, the most distinct and eye-catching structure was the pagoda at the rear.
The old Abbot led everyone toward the pagoda. As they approached, Jiang Mo and the others couldn't help but look up toward its summit. It was a nine-story pagoda, not particularly distinctive in style, quite similar to the one Jiang Mo and her companions had seen at Foguang Temple. Back then, Tan Xin had acquired the Seven Treasures Glass Heart at the top floor of that pagoda, and now, seeing another pagoda, Jiang Mo's gaze instinctively turned upward.
However, after the old Abbot led everyone into the pagoda, instead of climbing the stairs, he bypassed them and headed toward the rear of the structure.
Jiang Mo and the others were bewildered but followed nonetheless. Then they saw a solitary dried-up well standing behind the pagoda. To call it a dried-up well wasn't entirely accurate, because while this well contained no water, wispy strands of black mist were seeping out from within.
At first glance, the black mist resembled ordinary smoke, floating upward from the well. But upon closer inspection, the mist would quickly transform before one's eyes—sometimes congealing into skeletal forms, other times forming other grotesque monsters—and then, in the moment when one was startled and lost their mental guard, it would lunge forward.
Jiang Mo had been frightened just the previous night, so she was now extremely wary of anything strange in this temple. Though startled by the sight, her reaction was much more decisive than the night before—she swung her claws, trailing golden light, directly at the mist.
The White Tiger is naturally a divine beast, inherently associated with killing and auspiciousness, with an innate ability to suppress all evil spirits.
Therefore, when Jiang Mo's claws struck, the grotesque black mist immediately let out a shriek before completely distorting and vanishing. The shriek seemed both ethereal yet capable of shocking the soul, and everyone present felt it. In an instant, all the monks' gazes were drawn toward her, and though there was no malice in their eyes, Jiang Mo was still frightened into immobility.
Fortunately, in daylight these monks truly harbored no ill intent. After staring at Jiang Mo for a moment, they returned their attention to the dried-up well before them. They found their places and began chanting sutras, and as the Buddhist chants rose, golden Buddha-light emanated from each of them.
One glance was enough to reveal that every monk in the temple, regardless of age, was an accomplished Buddhist cultivator!
The monks' seating arrangement wasn't random—they sat cross-legged at specific points that, when connected, formed a powerful formation. However, this was a Buddhist formation that Yun Qingyue and the others didn't recognize and whose purpose they didn't understand.
Tan Xin wasn't originally from the temple, so there was no position for him in the chanting formation. He came to stand beside the group. Watching the radiant Buddha-light surrounding the monks, he couldn't help but press his palms together in admiration: "These seniors, each one's cultivation exceeds mine. Had they not entered the temple back then, they would likely have achieved enlightenment and ascended long ago."
Cultivation, of course, didn't merely refer to power level—Buddhist cultivation emphasized mental and spiritual refinement even more than Daoist cultivation. This temple housed at least thirty or forty monks, and for Tan Xin, a Buddhist disciple, to admit he couldn't compare to them revealed the extraordinary talent and potential of these monks.
To put it bluntly, all current disciples of the Buddha Sect combined couldn't match these temple monks who had already transformed into malevolent spirits!
Jiang Mo and the others were astonished, and after their surprise came curiosity—what secrets did this temple hold? What connection did it have to this well? And what had happened "back then" that Tan Xin mentioned?
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Jiang Mo and her companions had experienced many events recently, one after another, each like a mysterious puzzle. They were immersed in these events, glimpsing fragments, yet understanding little when examined closely.
Fortunately, this time someone was here to enlighten them...
As the morning sun rose, its brilliant light flooded the temple, and the surrounding buildings gradually became transparent and ethereal.
Jiang Mo and the others knew this heralded the temple's impending disappearance—yesterday morning, standing outside the temple, they had witnessed this transformation firsthand. Upon returning at night, they had found everything restored, even those who had remained in the quarters had vanished without a trace. They knew staying would be dangerous, but this morning's developments made them decide to risk it and remain.
Having taken this risk, Jiang Mo and the others naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to uncover the truth. Jiang Mo was particularly direct—not daring to question the monks, she asked Tan Xin directly: "What exactly is going on with this temple? And what happened 'back then' that you mentioned?"
Tan Xin looked up at her, and in his eyes, Jiang Mo saw her own reflection, reminding her that she and her companions were still disguised.
Now that the Nine Abyss Sect members were gone, Jiang Mo's group no longer needed their disguises. Jiang Mo was the first to remove hers. However, Tan Xin's gaze remained unchanged, suggesting either he had seen through her disguise long ago or had already guessed her identity.
After removing her disguise, Jiang Mo spoke familiarly, patting the young monk's shoulder: "We're all on the same side. We only disguised ourselves to follow because we were worried the Nine Abyss Sect might cause trouble again. You need to give us some insight into what's happening here." After a pause, she added: "Those Nine Abyss Sect disciples who stayed in the temple yesterday during the day have all disappeared, yet you're still fine..."
Tan Xin had always maintained a low profile, but he wasn't one to hide things unnecessarily. Reciting a Buddhist invocation, he sighed: "This is a long story."
Jiang Mo glanced at the sky. Though they didn't lack time now, she still responded quickly: "Then give us the short version."
Tan Xin looked at her but didn't object. Instead, he first asked: "Friend, do you remember Wuxiang?"
Demon Monk Wuxiang—Jiang Mo certainly remembered him. Back when they entered the Canglán Secret Realm, their cultivation was still shallow, and they had been thoroughly troubled by this monk. Fortunately, they had run fast enough to avoid being caught. Later, when leaving the secret realm, Wuxiang had been captured by the Buddha Sect to be dealt with internally, though only one of his manifestations had been captured, and she didn't know what had happened afterward.
Seeing that she and Yun Qingyue remembered, Tan Xin continued: "When Wuxiang entered the Canglán Secret Realm, he was after the Seven Treasures Glass Heart, but at that time, he wasn't certain it was in Foguang Temple, which is why he was first deceived by the Glass Lamp..."
Though the Buddha Sect had captured only Wuxiang's manifestation, his manifestations differed from those of other cultivators—his manifestations were large fragments of his divine soul, which couldn't be casually abandoned. Because of this, the Buddha Sect had obtained considerable information from Wuxiang, the most important being that the Nine Abyss Sect had long been searching for the ancient sealing ground.
However, regarding the Nine Abyss Sect's conspiracies, while Wuxiang had his suspicions, he wasn't a member of the sect and therefore didn't know much. His only concern was the Seven Treasures Glass Heart—a Buddhist treasure and the anchoring artifact for the ancient sealing formation.
Reportedly, the Nine Abyss Sect wanted to destroy it, but Wuxiang, a "Buddhist disciple," couldn't bear to see that happen. He was crazy enough that the Nine Abyss Sect didn't want to provoke him, so they reached an agreement: if Wuxiang could find the Seven Treasures Glass Heart first, he could keep it—this didn't interfere with the Nine Abyss Sect's plans, as Wuxiang had already turned to demonic cultivation. If the Seven Treasures Glass Heart fell into his hands, it would eventually become a demonic artifact and could never be used to reinforce the seal.
But plans couldn't keep pace with changes. Wuxiang failed to find the Seven Treasures Glass Heart at Foguang Temple; instead, it had chosen Tan Xin as its master. It was refined and venerated by Tan Xin, and Wuxiang's manifestation was captured by the Buddha Sect, so the Nine Abyss Sect remained unaware of this development.
However, by accepting the Seven Treasures Glass Heart, Tan Xin had essentially accepted this karmic connection.
The Seven Treasures Glass Heart's purpose was to anchor the sealing formation. Regardless of how it had escaped from its anchoring position back then, for the sake of preventing the seal from breaking and for the sake of all living beings, Tan Xin needed to return it to its original location.
Because of this connection, he had boarded the ghost ship to Merperson Island.
And because of this connection, he had followed the Nine Abyss Sect members to this nameless temple.
Guided by the Seven Treasures Glass Heart, almost as soon as Tan Xin stepped through the temple gate, he learned about the past of this nameless temple—this was precisely where the Seven Treasures Glass Heart had once anchored the seal, and the monks in this temple were all Buddhist cultivators who had participated in establishing that seal.
Thousands of years had passed, and the Buddhist cultivators who had participated in the sealing had long exhausted their lifespans, but they hadn't forgotten their original mission and had thus transformed into spirits along with this nameless temple. However, the sealing had lasted too long, and at some point, a flaw had appeared in the formation, causing problems with the temple's containment. Subsequently, the Seven Treasures Glass Heart was lost, demonic energy leaked out, and the originally pure spirits were corrupted by this demonic energy, transforming them into malevolent entities.
The monks still chanting and maintaining the seal before them would still strive to contain the seal during the day, but at night they would lose their senses and transform into something else. The Abbot was probably the only one who could maintain some degree of clarity, though he too was half Buddhist, half demonic.