Chapter 326
The White Bone Demon
At this moment, the old man Niu Shan's gaze was deep and sharp, as if he could see into the most hidden corners of people's hearts.
Zhou Sheng knew that he had already noticed something, and after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke.
"Senior, perhaps one day you will meet."
His words were ambiguous, but they represented the maximum he could say. The secrets of the Luo Shu could not be easily revealed unless he had become powerful enough to be fearless and had reached the pinnacle.
Old Man Niu Shan smiled slightly, seemingly unsurprised, and nodded, saying, "In that case, I'll wait a little longer for the right time."
Seeing that the atmosphere had become somewhat subtle, Yao Taifeng quickly changed the subject with a flick of her eye.
"Senior, what is the true form of this Crimson-Faced Bodhisattva?"
Although it was a deliberate attempt to change the subject, this question was crucial. If we could find out the other party's true identity, we could make some arrangements to exploit their weaknesses.
It is important to understand that in the path of cultivation, mutual generation and mutual restraint are very serious.
Even a fox demon who has cultivated for hundreds of years will feel weak in the knees and lose its demonic power when it sees a hunting dog or a tiger.
Centipede demons fear roosters, and snake demons fear eagles; these fears are practically ingrained in their very being.
If you know the other party's true identity, you can find their nemesis.
Old Man Niu Shan didn't hide anything from them and spoke frankly, but the answer surprised both of them.
"The more someone lacks something, the more they emphasize it. Why does He, who calls Himself the 'Blushing Bodhisattva,' have to add the words 'Blushing'?"
"Because His true form is a skeleton, when He looks in the mirror, what He desires most is a beautiful face."
……
The City of the Wrongfully Dead, within its treasure vault.
A holy figure, radiating flawless white light, stood quietly where the purple-gold gourd had once been. His white robes fluttered slightly, and thirty-six rays of light emanated from the lotus platform beneath his feet, illuminating the entire cave as if in a dream.
The black bear spirit, who had previously been invincible in the physical body and could emulate the heavens and the earth, now knelt at the feet of the Bodhisattva in awe, kowtowing repeatedly, causing cracks to appear in the mountain.
"Bodhisattva, we've lost Zhong Kui's magic gourd, a piece of Golden Crow Blood Copper, and some incense money, about 100,000 coins..."
The black bear spirit reported the loss of the treasure vault, his eyes filled with shame.
The thief was not weak, but far inferior to me. As a great demon who had survived the Heavenly Tribulation, I was utterly incompetent to allow him to escape.
The Bodhisattva lowered her eyes and gently raised her slender hand, sprinkling a few drops of dew from the willow branch.
The next moment, the burns and knife marks on the black bear demon's body rapidly healed, returning to their original state in just a few breaths.
"Buddha……"
The black bear spirit was even more moved and ashamed, and buried its head deeply in the ground.
"The person who plotted this time is no ordinary person. Their methods of concealing the secrets of heaven are brilliant. Even I was fooled."
Upon hearing this, the black bear spirit was shocked and showed an expression of disbelief.
Even the Bodhisattva was fooled?
"But no matter who that person is, if they dare to steal my things, they will pay the price, no matter how far they search."
The Bodhisattva's voice was very calm. Even when he spoke such harsh words, no one could detect any joy or anger in his voice. It was as if he was simply stating a very ordinary matter.
"Black Bear, have you memorized the scent of the treasure thief?"
"Bodhisattva, even if he turns to ashes, I will still be able to smell his scent. I will definitely capture him and retrieve the treasure for you in the future!"
The Bodhisattva nodded slightly and then said, "Continue to guard this place. No one may enter this gate without my order."
"Yes!"
The black bear spirit kowtowed respectfully, then went outside the cave to continue guarding it, only then did he breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Even though it had successfully survived its first tribulation under the guidance of the Bodhisattva and cultivated powerful physical supernatural abilities such as the Dharma of Heaven and Earth, it still couldn't help but tremble with fear when facing the Bodhisattva.
The stronger one's cultivation, the more one can appreciate the unfathomable depths of a Bodhisattva.
Inside the cave. After the black bear spirit left, the Bodhisattva stretched out her hand, her fingertips shimmering with pure white light, and began to calculate again, but ultimately put it down.
The other party's ability to confuse the secrets of heaven far surpassed his own. This feeling reminded him of the old man named Liu Bowen from back then.
Unexpectedly, after Liu Bowen's death, another grandmaster of divination appeared in the world.
He stopped thinking about it. Although Zhong Kui's gourd and the Golden Crow Blood Copper were precious, they were nothing as long as the thing in the cave was still there.
He rushed out of the pass to check on that thing.
Now it seems that either the other party didn't foresee that thing, or they did, but kept their distance and didn't want to create a karmic entanglement that would lead to certain death.
He formed a mudra with his hands, and an antique bronze mirror suddenly flew out from a box. The back of the mirror was engraved with patterns like the sun, moon, and stars, and it exuded an ancient and mysterious aura.
The mirror did not reflect a radiant, stunningly beautiful face, but rather stark white bones with bits of flesh and blood still clinging to them.
The sense of holiness, purity, and mystery of Zen vanished instantly, replaced by an indescribable terror.
Gently stroking her face, the Bodhisattva opened the jade bottle in her hand, which seemed to contain a universe, filled with exotic flowers and rare herbs, as well as the Buddha preaching and Arhats discussing the Dharma.
Beneath the Bodhi tree, countless souls listened with rapt attention and utmost devotion.
They all have the character "渡" (meaning "cross") on their hands.
At this moment, each of them was enveloped in immense happiness and satisfaction, feeling incredibly fortunate to be able to live forever in such a pure land and Buddhist paradise.
The Bodhisattva was right!
However, in the next moment, one of them glanced up unintentionally and was instantly terrified.
In the air, there is a blood-red eye, and you can vaguely see white bones.
It was as if a celestial demon was spying on this pure land.
Immediately afterwards, all the kind-faced Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats underwent a dramatic change in appearance. Their flesh and blood vanished, leaving only bare bones, revealing their ferocious nature as they opened their mouths to bite them.
Even the Bodhi tree pierced the bodies of countless dead souls, its branches constantly drawing some kind of nourishment, as if a tree full of corpses were hanging from it.
Screams rose and fell, the scene was extremely tragic.
In no time at all, these souls were torn to shreds and devoured.
And all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats regained their compassionate appearances, their countenances solemn and dignified, making it seem like a pure land of Buddha once again.
Inside the cave, a hint of enjoyment appeared in the Bodhisattva's eyes, while the skeletal figure in the bronze mirror seemed to have gained more flesh and blood.
"To become a part of me is salvation."
"Guanyin, you have gone astray."
……
Three days later, in a thatched hut deep in the Funiu Mountains.
"Old Niu, do you want some Vermilion Fruit?"
"I've brought you 300-year-old astragalus root!"
"Old Niu, this arm is yours. We won't owe you anything anymore..."
Inside the thatched cottage, Zhou Sheng's eyes were truly opened.
Then, one after another, mountain spirits appeared in costume, offering various precious medicinal herbs and minerals to the old man of Niushan.
Among them was even a ginseng doll that had cultivated itself into a spirit. That doll bravely cut off its own arm, which turned into ginseng whiskers and was sent over.
In just three days, the thatched hut was filled with all kinds of precious medicinal herbs, and the rich aroma of the herbs caused the wild grass around the hut to grow wildly.
"Hehe, this old beggar has lived in these mountains for many years, so he has some connections."
"That's about it. Let's prepare to start the furnace and refine the pills!"
...(End of this chapter)