Chapter Twenty-One: Divine Might Overwhelming
1616 Words
Deep within the Bamboo Grove.
Fang Yi gazed intently at the mountaintop, then took a deep breath, clearing his mind of all distractions.
His thoughts detached from his physical body.
Before he could even observe carefully, a thunderous roar reached his ears.
Immediately afterward, chanting began.
This chanting was ethereal, its soft sound seemingly penetrating everything.
Fang Yi felt utterly tranquil, immersed in the chanting, experiencing a sense of detachment from the world.
A thought struck him, and he looked around, never expecting such a magnificent sight!
Endless red light enveloped the heavens and earth.
Within this solemn and grand red light, the mighty Yangtze River surged, its form ever-changing, its sails billowing like clouds and waves, its appearance shifting with the seasons. Ducks and cranes soared across the river, their distant forms swirling in the sky; fishing boats and merchant ships reflected the sun and moon.
Further away, the Yushan Mountain in Jiangnan presented a misty, ethereal landscape, its peaks rising and falling, its verdant slopes shimmering and disappearing.
Nearby, a forest of purple bamboo surrounds a cluster of mountains, atop which stands a majestic pagoda soaring into the clouds, its eaves and upturned corners seemingly floating with the clouds.
A solitary pagoda stands on the plains of Langshan, its unparalleled grandeur reaching for the heavens!
This is the Zhiyun Pagoda, a scenic wonder of Langshan.
Around the Zhiyun Pagoda is another grand hall, its plaque inscribed "Great Sage Hall," and another hall on the other side, similarly bearing a plaque reading "Yuantong Hall."
The Cuijing Tower and the Daguan Terrace vie for attention.
Midway up the mountain lies the Kuizhu Mountain Villa Garden, nestled against the slope, secluded and tranquil. Its pavilions include Zhiqi, Bansu Pavilion, Xianshi Tower, Rangyizhe, and the Dharma Garden Bamboo Grove, while scenic spots include Banqian Stone, Lushi, Shuiyun Shenchu, and Qinglian Pond.
The villa is backed by Xiangji Rock, and in front are Waiting Moon Slope, Sleeping Qin Stone, and Drinking Rainbow Stream. At the foot of the
mountain are the Huchao Terrace and the Vajra Gate.
The entire Langshan temple complex resembles a golden dragon crouching a wolf, magnificent and awe-inspiring.
Witnessing such a magnificent scene, Fang Yi could only recall a line of poetry: "Smoke and rain shroud the sacred sun, the vast ocean is inexhaustible."
Before he could even marvel, a piercing, mournful wolf howl resounded.
Immediately, Fang Yi saw a gigantic white wolf lying prostrate at the foot of the mountain, its length unknown, its head raised in a roaring posture.
Then, a thunderous roar, like a dragon's cry, rolled down from the rolling clouds.
Immediately afterward, Fang Yi witnessed an even more spectacular sight!
The buildings on Wolf Mountain shone with golden light, and a golden dragon descended from above, capturing the vicious wolf, its head below and tail above. This
was not a random golden dragon,
but a wondrous spectacle formed by the golden light emanating from the buildings on the mountain, reflecting and enhancing each other.
The mountain gate at the foot of the mountain was the dragon's mouth, the Great Buddha Hall the dragon's head, the Wheel Sutra Hall and the Great Compassion Hall on either side the dragon's horns, the buildings on the mountaintop the dragon's back, the Zhiyun Pagoda the dragon's tail, the Kuizhu Mountain House and the Three Immortals Shrine on the mountainside the dragon's outstretched claws, the mountainside running through the mountain was the dragon's body, and the vast, boundless golden light of faith was the dragon's scales.
It was precisely the scene of the Great Sage Sengqie of Wolf Mountain subduing the wolf in mythology!
However, this magnificent scene flashed by and vanished, as if it had never existed.
Fang Yi was deeply shocked. "Is this the immense divine power accumulated by countless incense offerings of this ancient temple over a thousand years?"
Compared to it, the small temple in the village was like a firefly compared to the bright moon.
He thought of climbing the mountain to investigate.
However, before his divine soul could even take flight, the mountain gate seemed to sense a threat, and a golden light flashed past.
Then, the golden light exploded in all directions, its divine power overwhelming wherever it went, almost shattering Fang Yi's bio-energy field!
Its power was thousands, even tens of thousands of times stronger than that of the small temple in the village!
"Hiss, what terrifying power! No wonder it's the sacred site of the Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta and the Great Sage Bodhisattva!"
Fang Yi dared not covet it any longer. He was self-aware and knew that even with the ability to summon golden dragons, he couldn't possibly match it. The power displayed by the four bursts of golden light at the mountain gate far surpassed the two golden dragons from the small temple in the village that day, not to mention the hundreds of feet long white wolves and the golden dragon that pierced through the heavens and earth.
His current bio-energy field strength was far inferior to the statues in the small temple in the village, let alone compared to the Wolf Mountain sacred site. He simply couldn't withstand the power of the four bursts of golden light at the mountain gate.
If he forced his way in, he would die without a burial!
Although unwilling, Fang Yi immediately withdrew his thoughts to his physical body, glanced towards the mountaintop, and turned to leave without looking back.
...
It was already midnight when he returned to the hotel.
The shocking scene of his nighttime exploration of Wolf Mountain still kept flashing through Fang Yi's mind.
Although he knew there were no gods, Buddhas, demons, or monsters in this world, the Guangjiao Temple's flourishing incense offerings, accumulated over a thousand years of faith, actually enveloped the entire Jianghai Plain—a truly astonishing sight.
"A mountain is not famous for its height, but for the immortals dwelling there; water is not sacred for its depth, but for the dragons residing within. Langshan possesses immortals, Buddhas, and golden dragons; it truly deserves its title as the number one mountain in Jinghai,"
Fang Yi couldn't help but exclaim. "Though it was just a fleeting glimpse, I could feel the incredible power contained within the energy field of the Langshan statues—more than ten thousand times stronger than the small temple in the village. I wonder when I will be able to strengthen my own bio-energy field to such an extent, thus glimpsing the mysteries of the mountain."
He yearned even more to become powerful.
At the same time, Fang Yi understood something for the first time.
Whether there were other extraordinary beings in this world was unknown, but at least the immortals, Buddhas, and ancient temples endured. If he could unravel their secrets one by one, perhaps he wouldn't be far from ascending to immortality.
"With my current strength, famous temples are definitely out of the question. After all, their reputation is well-known, and who knows how much faith power they've accumulated?"
he analyzed carefully. "But smaller temples can't be that powerful. Perhaps I can break through their defenses and glimpse their wonders by using the summoning of the golden dragon technique I learned from the village statue."
Fang Yi's thoughts changed.
Originally, he wanted to fly directly to Longhu Mountain to see if he could learn any magic.
But after witnessing the golden dragon subduing the wolf tonight, he thought about traveling around to explore the mysteries of relatively weaker temples.
Even the energy field model replicated by the village statue was so magical, allowing him to enter a state of oneness with heaven and earth, thus comprehending the Dao, and even observing the composition of all matter in the world and summoning the golden dragon.
Could there be even more profound supernatural powers and mysteries in other temples?
Even if not, the faith power accumulated by those small village temples over hundreds of years could allow him to merge with the universe several times, thus gaining more insights.
“We must choose temples with weaker energy fields for our deities,”
Fang Yi nodded, pondering. “Also, encountering something similar to the haunted villa of Mr. Zhu wouldn’t be a bad idea, since creating illusions is quite useful.”
“Of course, it would be even better if we could meet someone like me, a superhuman. Maybe I could learn some magic before even reaching Longhu Mountain.”
Fang Yi took out his phone, searched the map, and began planning.
He wanted to choose a route that would allow him to search for mythical relics without significantly disrupting his journey.
Considering that at the beginning of the second stage of his cultivation, like a woman two months pregnant, the initial embryo is the essence of true yang, and the spirit is the heart, belonging to fire. The best time for cultivation is noon, so he didn’t plan a long route; each stop would be a short one.
For example, the next stop would be Suzhou, followed by Jiaxing, then Hangzhou, Quzhou, Shangrao, and Yingtan. After arriving in Yingtan, he would rest for a day to recharge before continuing his ascent.
"If the journey goes smoothly, it should take at most a week,"
Fang Yi thought, quite satisfied with the planned route. He planned to arrive in Suzhou tomorrow morning, cultivate for a while at noon, and then inquire about any unusual situations in the afternoon. If there were any, he would investigate; if not, he would proceed to the next stop.
He hoped to find something in Suzhou.
After finishing his thoughts, he washed up, preparing for a good night's sleep before setting off again.
- Writer
