Chapter 443 - Buddha and Devil (1/2)
The group went into the city and saw people coming and going. Although Huai Prefecture City was not as prosperous as Tianyuan City, it was quite of antique beauty, its citizens lived and worked in peace and contentment and everyone practiced Buddhism diligently.
Xiao Chen found a restaurant in the city. Gu Feng was very gregarious. He drank eighteen jars of spirits in a row, which made the waiter hurry-scurry shattering several jars.
But Xiao Chen did not dare to drink, so as not to mess up the proper business at night. When it was dark, a bright moon outside the window gradually rose to the top of the willow, and the shadows moved. The group of 14 left the restaurant and went northward to Karmaless Mountain in Reminiscence Town.
The 14 people moved speedily like wind, and after an hour, they reached the foothills of Karmaless Mountain. The moon was bright that shone thousands of miles, and the surrounding area was illuminated brightly. Flashes of light could be seen on the mountain which were probably from the patrolling monks.
Xiao Chen made a shush gesture and said, “Don’t wake the sleeping dogs, just sneaking into the Devil Repressed Tower in the back mountain will do.” After speaking, he looked at Qingluan. “Give me the corpse bag.”
Qingluan immediately passed him the corpse bag, and then found a face mask to cover her face. Eleven others also covered their faces as well. Xiao Chen also took out a black scarf from his arms and covered his face.
After the preparations were completed, the 14 people moved towards Karmaless Mountain’s back mountain. After arriving at the Zen Temple at the back mountain, they saw the Devil Repressed Tower standing high as the sky and 18 Arhat statues around the tower stood tall as well. The statues had a ring of golden light on them. But around the Zen Temple, it was dead silence, and there were no patrolling monks.
In recent days, the Devil Repressed Tower had been restless. Frightening devil whistles were ringing beneath the ground at times, the citizens of Reminiscence Town who were 10 kilometers away were so scared that they had temporarily moved elsewhere to stay. But what was unusual was that there were no patrolling monks at all.
When Xiao Chen was wondering, a cool wind suddenly blew, and an old man’s voice rang in the backyard, “Why did you not inform that you’ll visit late at night so that I can at least prepare a pot of hot tea for you.”
Xiao Chen was shocked and before he could react, a figure was standing not far away. In the moonlight, the figure seemed thin and was wearing a string of sandalwood bodhi beads on the neck. His eyes were deep and full of wisdom. It was the sweeping monk of this yard, Zen Master Quechen.
“My little friend, since you’ve left a few months ago, why do you come back again tonight?” Zen Master Quechen’s voice was flat and indifferent, like the sound of the ancient bell, without sorrow or joy.
Xiao Chen did not know how to respond. The old monk was not like those hypocritical people, and he had no bad blood with him, but in fact, he revered him. He said, “It had been a thousand years, and things have changed. The land had become sea and the sea had become land, what sin can’t be forgiven? So much that he had to be imprisoned?”
Zen Master Quechen slightly nodded and said slowly, “Cause and effect in the world, reciprocating, when spring leaves, the autumn comes, flowers bloom and flowers wither.” After he spoke, he cast a Buddha’s seal with his hand and pointed it towards the Devil Repressed Tower. A golden light soon enveloped it.
Xiao Chen frowned. It seemed impossible to persuade the old monk. As he was thinking of what to do next, Gu Feng suddenly stepped forward. This immediately brought upon a windblast, causing the branches of the nearby trees to shake violently. Zen Master Quechen narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, “Devil Qi? Who is Your Excellency?”
Gu Feng was not like Xiao Chen beating around the bush. He had always been straightforward. He looked up and laughed. His voice was like the sound of a bell, and he said, “I’ve nothing to hide; I’m Great Devil, Gu Feng! Who’re you, little monk? You were not born when your Monk Juekong and I battled 300 rounds right!”
“Amitabha…” Zen Master Quechen said a Buddhist chant, slowly took off the bodhi beads from his neck and hung it on his right palm between the thumb and index finger, saying, “There’s only a fine line between Buddha and Devil, but it seemed to be millions of mountain apart. You should not be here.”
Having said that, Zen Master Quechen cast a seal with his fingers and sent it forward. A huge golden Buddha handprint suddenly appeared in midair and went to Gu Feng. The wind raged at that moment, Xiao Chen and the 12 people of Levitating Dark Fragrance felt suffocated at that instant as they were overwhelmed by the presence of the handprint.
“Haha!” Gu Feng laughed, his hair fluttered wildly with the wind, and he shouted, “Devil Devour Weather Spell!”
Suddenly the wind raged again, and a hundred-foot-high black devil shadow appeared in midair. The devil shadow pushed its arms forward and collided with the golden Buddha handprint. “Boom!” and the surrounding shook. This huge impact sent the 12 people of Levitating Dark Fragrance and Xiao Chen flying.
Gu Feng laughed out loudly. “I, Gu Feng, move around the world as I please. If I want to come, nobody can stop me, and if I want to go, nobody can stop me either!”
There were two Mystic Powers in the air, one gold and one black, one Buddha and one Devil. As they confronted each other, the winds whistled endlessly, the plantations around were messy from the winds, and the tiles of the Zen Temple flew off. Xiao Chen could not help but be shocked. The ability of this old monk should be much stronger than the four Great Divine Monks.
Zen Master Quechen shook his head and suddenly rushed to the front of Gu Feng. His right hand was still in front of his chest, and on his left hand, with his thumb and index pinched, he struck at the shoulders of Gu Feng. Though Gu Feng was arrogant, he did not dare to take the strike face on. He took a step, went to the Zen Master’s back and attacked with one palm.
However, Zen Master Quechen was skillful and would not let him succeed. He too turned speedily like a flash of lightning and waved his right palm. A ring of golden light shone on the bodhi beads that were hanging on his palm at that moment as he attacked.
This string of bodhi beads seemed to have little power, but in it was hidden with the power of the Buddha. Gu Feng was afraid to take the blow face on, he leaped back and avoided the attack from the bodhi beads. Then he got back up and counterattacked with a palm. Zen Master Quechen hit back with a palm as well. As the two palms collided, the earth shook and the plantations nearby flew.
Both of them took a few steps back. Gu Feng grinned, as if the more he fought, the braver he got. He glared sharply at Xiao Chen and said, “What are you staring at!”