As morning light had just spilled over the flying eaves of the Wang Clan residence, Wang Yue stepped out of his room. He had not gone to the Essence Chamber to cultivate last night; instead, he had rarely given himself a night off, resting and recuperating properly. At this moment, vitality shone between his brows, carrying a crisp, keen edge.
He walked to the bronze mirror, picked up a blue hair ribbon, and skillfully tied back his long hair, revealing his smooth forehead.
The youth in the mirror was tall and straight, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted. Though his muscle lines were not exaggerated, they held the solid feel of explosive power. Paired with those bright, sharp eyes, anyone who saw him would inwardly praise, "What a gallant young man!"
Wang Yue adjusted his collar, tucked the porcelain bottle containing premium Blood Replenishing Pills close against his body, then checked the Black Cloud Fist Armor on his hands once more. Though he had not fully donned it and had merely hidden the fist guards inside his sleeves, it was enough to deal with sudden developments.
With everything prepared, he pushed open the courtyard gate and headed toward the Three-Headed Buddha Temple outside the city.
The moment he reached the county town's main street, the bustling sight before him startled him. For some reason, the county yamen had specially issued a proclamation for the Buddha Grand Celebration today and had even organized a parade. What had already been a much-discussed celebration had become the liveliest event in the entire county town.
The streets were packed with commoners on both sides. Quite a few busybodies had spontaneously formed groups, with several people working together to carry a half-man-tall wooden carving of the Three-Headed Buddha through the streets. The three faces of the Buddha were carved with three expressions: "joy, wrath, and serenity." Though the workmanship was crude, it carried an inexplicable solemnity.
The commoners burned incense and prayed before the wooden carving, murmuring endlessly as they begged for "the Buddha's blessing." Amid the curling incense smoke, even the air seemed steeped in devotion.
Wang Yue moved forward amid the crowd, his gaze falling on the wooden carving while his brows furrowed slightly. This Buddha statue was clearly "one head with three faces," so why was it called the "Three-Headed Buddha"? Its name did not match its form, carrying an unnatural strangeness that seemed deliberately contrived. The doubts in his heart deepened further.
Following the flow of people out of the city, roughly half an hour later, a completely renovated temple appeared in view. It was the Three-Headed Buddha Temple.
In his memories, this temple had been dilapidated year-round, its courtyard walls mottled and its incense offerings sparse. Yet now, it had completely changed.
The courtyard walls had been rebuilt and whitewashed. Two stone lions stood at the entrance, while a newly carved plaque reading "Three-Headed Buddha Temple" hung above the gates. The vermilion temple doors gleamed with fresh lacquer, exuding a grandeur and splendor wholly at odds with its former decay.
"A perfectly good old temple, suddenly renovated with such fanfare—it is far too deliberate."
Wang Yue shook his head inwardly. He had never believed in gods or Buddhas to begin with, and seeing the temple's transformation now only made him more vigilant. If this were merely an ordinary festival, why would they go to such extravagant lengths?
He followed the crowd into the temple. The instant he stepped into the front courtyard, he sensed something was wrong. There were not only ordinary commoners in the courtyard, but also many martial artists dressed in fitted combat clothes, their auras steady and composed. Some stood alone, while others gathered in groups of three or five. Their wary gazes swept over their surroundings. Clearly, they were not ordinary people who had come to pray.
Wang Yue swept his gaze over the crowd and quickly recognized several familiar faces: disciples of the River Gang, dressed in their distinctive black combat outfits.
There were also collateral descendants of the Wang Clan.
There were even martial artists from other lineages, standing in corners with varying expressions.
Clearly, every powerful faction in Changyun County had sent people here. This was definitely far more than an ordinary grand celebration.
He did not linger and continued toward the inner courtyard. Just as he reached its entrance, a host dressed in gray monk's robes blocked his path.
The host was around fifty years old, with a gaunt face but unusually sharp eyes. He looked Wang Yue up and down before saying evenly, "Benefactor, a 'blessing ritual' is currently being held in the inner courtyard. It is temporarily closed to outsiders. Please wait outside."
Wang Yue raised a brow. Looking past the host, he vaguely saw many martial artists with stronger auras standing within the inner courtyard's shadows. Their Blood Qi fluctuations were far denser than those of the people in the front courtyard. They were clearly experts who had condensed Blood Qi, and several of their auras even approached the Energy Refining Realm!
"The inner courtyard is off-limits?" Wang Yue sneered inwardly, though his expression remained unchanged. He merely released a trace of the aura of the twelfth strand of Qi and Blood. That dense force of Blood Qi was like an invisible pressure, instantly changing the host's expression. A smile appeared on his gaunt face.
"Ah... so you are a martial expert. This humble monk failed to recognize Mount Tai before him."
The host hurriedly changed his tone, stepping aside and making way. His voice also became respectful. "Please enter, Benefactor. You may visit the inner courtyard as you please."
Wang Yue said nothing. He merely gave him an indifferent glance and walked straight into the inner courtyard. Ordinary commoners could not even enter the depths of the temple and could only kneel outside in worship. This so-called "blessing ritual" was nothing but a pretext for a particular group of people.
The inner courtyard was several times broader than the front one, its ground paved with smooth bluestone slabs. At the center stood a huge golden Buddha statue atop a raised platform—the statue of the Three-Headed Buddha. It stood over four meters tall, entirely gilded, with its three Buddha faces facing three different directions.
The "joy" face smiled, the "wrath" face was ferocious, and the "serenity" face was still as water. Dense Sanskrit characters were carved across the statue's pedestal, radiating a chilling majesty.
Wang Yue finally understood why the temple had been renovated to such towering proportions. If they had not raised the courtyard walls and roof, they could never have accommodated this gigantic Buddha statue!
Just as he was examining the statue, a sharp gaze suddenly locked onto him. Wang Yue instinctively turned around and saw a middle-aged man in gold-and-red monk's robes sitting on the steps to the east side of the inner courtyard.
The middle-aged man looked only a little over thirty. His features were handsome, yet they carried a sinister air utterly mismatched with his monk's robes. At that moment, he was staring fixedly at Wang Yue, strange light flickering in his eyes as his breathing gradually deepened.
Wang Yue's heart stirred. Though he had never seen this man before, he could sense an inexplicable feeling from him, carrying an eerie aura!
Rather than retreating, he met the other man's gaze. His eyes were sharp as blades. Since the other party had taken the initiative to focus on him, he might as well see what he wanted.
The middle-aged man in gold-and-red monk's robes was Li Fang, the newly appointed host of the temple.
He had originally been secretly observing the martial artists in the courtyard, searching for someone who had come into contact with the Crimson Blood Bead. Yet he had not expected to truly sense that familiar aura. That aura perfectly matched the imprint he had left on the Crimson Blood Bead!
It was this brat who touched the Crimson Blood Bead! Li Fang was ecstatic, but when he saw Wang Yue's fearless gaze, he forcibly suppressed his excitement. There were too many eyes here; it was not suitable to expose his identity, much less act rashly.
He swiftly withdrew his gaze, took several deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down. Then he whispered a few words to a gray-robed monk beside him, signaling him to investigate Wang Yue's identity.
The gray-robed monk nodded and quietly withdrew, heading toward the inner courtyard entrance. He soon found a collateral descendant of the Wang Clan and began asking questions in a low voice.
Wang Yue took all of this in, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips. This newly arrived host indeed had a problem.
He did not stay any longer, instead continuing to stroll through the inner courtyard. His gaze appeared to be studying the Buddha statue, but he was actually keeping watch on Li Fang's movements while sensing the auras of the other martial artists in the courtyard. A storm hidden beneath the cloak of blessings seemed to be quietly brewing.
Time passed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, it was noon.
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"Dong, dong, dong!"
Three resounding bell tolls suddenly rang out from the temple's bell tower. The deep chimes spread through the entire county town like thunder. The previously clamorous streets fell silent in an instant, and even the parade halted in its tracks.
The martial artists in the inner courtyard also raised their heads, turning solemn gazes toward the bell tower. The blessing ritual was finally about to begin.
Wang Yue stood at the edge of the crowd, instinctively tightening his grip on the fist guards hidden in his sleeves as his eyes vigilantly swept the surroundings. As the bell tolls faded, the commoners outside the temple fell to their knees, pressing their palms together and chanting, "Buddha, bless us." Their voices became increasingly uniform, gradually merging into a vast chorus of prayers that surged into the inner courtyard like a tide.
At that moment, Wang Yue's pupils suddenly contracted. His gaze shot toward the sky. He clearly saw that the Essence Refining Qi Gathering Array, which had originally enveloped the sky above the county town and gathered scattered essence, had begun to flow backward in an eerie reversal!
Pillars of silvery-white essence peeled away from each node of the array, as though drawn by an invisible force toward the temple. In the end, they condensed into a massive pillar of essence as thick as a water bucket and crashed straight into the Three-Headed Buddha statue atop the platform!
"Buzz!"
The instant the pillar of essence entered the statue, the entire golden Buddha statue trembled slightly. A faint layer of golden radiance spread over its surface. The formerly cold gilding seemed to come alive, and even the expressions of its three Buddha faces became more vivid. The smile on the joy face gained a touch of eeriness, the ferocity on the wrath face grew more bloodthirsty, and the calm of the serenity face concealed a hint of sinister malice.
A glaring red prompt instantly appeared on Wang Yue's panel, making every hair on his body stand on end:
Second-tier Divine Soul: Buddha Heart Blood can be extracted (Note: This divine soul contains an unknown Buddhist will. After extraction, there is a 90% chance of being restrained by the divine soul of the Three-Headed Buddha and becoming its puppet.)
"Second-tier Divine Soul? Buddha Heart Blood? And it could restrain whoever extracted it?" Wang Yue was utterly shocked and instinctively took a step back. What Buddha statue was this? It was clearly an evil Divine Soul vessel nourished by essence!
Before he could digest this shocking revelation, another strange sight entered his vision.
As the commoners' prayers became increasingly devout, fine golden-silver threads rose from above their heads, drifting toward the Buddha statue like gossamer. They ultimately merged into the Buddha's body. The instant these threads drew close, Wang Yue's panel issued another prompt.
First-tier Special Item: Incense offerings contain the power of human faith and can nourish Divine Souls.
"Devouring essence, refining incense offerings?" Turbulent waves crashed through Wang Yue's heart. He finally understood the truth behind this "Buddha Grand Celebration." Li Fang was not holding a blessing ritual at all. Under the name of the celebration, he was using the essence from the Essence Refining Qi Gathering Array and the incense offerings of the commoners to nourish the Buddha statue!
Just as his mind was reeling, a familiar figure entered his sight. Beside a pillar on the west side of the inner courtyard stood a man dressed in black combat clothes. His face was cold and stern, and a narrow curved blade hung at his waist. It was Ji Yue, the Soul Severing Saber whom Wang Yue had previously seen at the River Gang.
At this moment, Ji Yue had completely lost his usual composure. His face was so gloomy it seemed capable of dripping water. His eyes were fixed on Li Fang atop the steps, and the veins on the hand gripping his saber hilt bulged visibly. He was clearly extremely dissatisfied with what Li Fang was doing.
Li Fang seemed not to notice Ji Yue's hostility. Wearing a hypocritical smile, he slowly walked to Ji Yue's side, and the two began speaking in low voices. From too far away, Wang Yue could not hear their exact conversation. He could only rely on the acute perception granted by his farsighted talent to vaguely catch several key words.
"Dragon Transformation Sect..." "Essence Refining Qi Gathering Array..." "Three-Headed Buddha..." "Cooperation..."
Each word made Wang Yue's heart sink another notch. Li Fang was not only making use of the Essence Refining Qi Gathering Array—he was also connected to the Dragon Transformation Sect?
Wang Yue quietly edged several steps closer to the two, wanting to hear more clearly. Yet he had barely taken two steps when Li Fang suddenly turned his head. His gaze locked precisely onto Wang Yue, and the smile at his lips became even stranger.
"This young friend seems quite interested in our conversation?" Li Fang slowly walked toward Wang Yue. His steps appeared unhurried, yet they carried an invisible pressure. Even the air around them seemed to grow thick and viscous.
Wang Yue stopped, forcing himself to remain calm on the surface while alarm bells blared in his heart. Li Fang was not as strong as Wang Yue had imagined, but his body still carried an eerie fluctuation of the same origin as the Buddha statue. He was absolutely no easy opponent.
The Blood Pill in his body had already been broken by the Crimson Blood Grandmaster that day and had yet to be restored. His aura was leaking severely!
Li Fang stopped before Wang Yue and looked him up and down. A trace of greed flashed through his eyes, but his tone held false gentleness. "Since you have come to the Buddha Temple, young friend, why not bow before the Buddha? During today's grand celebration, the Buddha is especially merciful. Perhaps he may grant you tremendous benefits, such as... making your Blood Qi more condensed?"
The instant he finished speaking, Wang Yue sensed a faint pulling force coming from the direction of the Buddha statue. At the same time, a concealed malice emanated from Li Fang. It was not killing intent directed at him, but the malice of "luring prey," as though Li Fang wanted him to approach the Buddha statue of his own accord and fall into some trap.
"I do not believe in gods or Buddhas. I merely came to watch the spectacle." Wang Yue's expression darkened as he refused without the slightest politeness. At the same time, he quietly circulated the twelfth strand of Qi and Blood, ready to strike at any moment. He was certain that if he dared approach the Buddha statue, disaster would surely befall him.
Li Fang seemingly had not expected Wang Yue to refuse so decisively. The smile on his face stiffened for a moment, but he continued trying to persuade him. "Why be so stubborn, young friend? It is only a bow. It will not cost you a piece of flesh. What if you truly receive the Buddha's blessing? Would that not be a profit?"
A trace of unmistakable coercion gradually entered his voice.
Wang Yue's face grew increasingly unsightly, and his vigilance had risen to its peak. Li Fang's persuasion was plainly forcing him! He did not waste another word. Giving Li Fang a cold glance, he turned and headed toward the inner courtyard entrance.
Seeing that he was leaving, Li Fang's eyes flashed with sinister malice, but he did not stop him. He simply stood where he was, watching Wang Yue's retreating back. Only after Wang Yue left the inner courtyard and vanished from sight did the smile at his lips disappear completely, replaced by icy coldness.
"An interesting brat... Not only has he come into contact with the Crimson Blood Bead, he can also resist the attraction of Buddha Heart Blood. He would make quite a fine believer."
Li Fang murmured softly, a vicious gleam flashing through his eyes. "Since you refuse to come willingly, I can only go invite you myself."
He turned and walked back to Ji Yue. The hypocritical smile returned to his face, but his tone held several more degrees of unquestionable hardness. "Brother Ji, it seems our cooperation needs one more condition. Help me capture someone."
Ji Yue frowned tightly, his hand gripping the saber hilt even harder. "Who do you want to capture?"
"A brat named Wang Yue, one of the Wang Clan."
A cold glint flashed through Li Fang's eyes. "He must be captured."
Ji Yue turned away, having made up his mind to kill Li Fang tonight!
He had defied the imperial order to enter the Wanted Division back then—could he now be bound by a single written decree? How laughable!
If I feared death, I would have knelt long ago!
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