Chapter 236: All the Statues Shatter
In Yizhou's Qingcheng Mountain, within Fuqing Temple, a group of Daoists was performing the evening liturgy.
The evening service consisted of burning incense to honor their ancestors, offering reverence to the deities, and reciting scripture. In smaller temples, such a service might simply involve reading aloud, but for a major temple like Fuqing, the recitation was set to music.
To achieve the proper solemnity, the recitations followed a melody, each note requiring focus and clarity, accompanied by a dedicated ensemble with instruments like drums, bells, cymbals, and hand chimes, creating a resonant, ritualistic harmony.
The Fuqing Temple had grown more renowned in Qingcheng Mountain over the years, recently expanding and recruiting several young Daoist attendants from the nearby town. By now, elder Daoists led younger initiates in the evening ceremonies. The two Daoist priests, Yingfeng and Chuyun, had matured a lot over the years and gained considerable experience; they had even begun taking on disciples.
The temple filled with the soothing resonance of the liturgical chant, and the music drifted up the mountainside. Yet amidst the melody, a faint cracking sound went almost unnoticed.
Many of the younger apprentices didn’t detect anything unusual, continuing to chant along with the music. Only those with keen senses or cultivated skill perceived it, their gazes lifting to the altar.
A soft, sharp sound of cracking.
On the left side of the altar, a statue of the Thunder Division’s chief officer suddenly revealed a large fissure across its surface, which deepened rapidly into a second, then a third crack, widening before their eyes.
Finally, with a loud crash, a large section of the statue—running from its right shoulder to its left side—broke off entirely and fell heavily onto the altar.