Within the Temple

Out of respect for the strong, Li Qi obediently climbed the mountain like the other pilgrims, instead of flying directly up.

He told Old Ma to go play by himself and not to scare others, then he went to the foot of the mountain alone, ready to walk up.

There's no way around it, Old Ma isn't a horse anymore, but a half-dragon monster, and he doesn't control it very well. He's always surrounded by blue lightning, and he can easily scare people when he comes out.

Let's go play in the mountains by ourselves and find a mare to continue the bloodline.

Li Qi climbed the mountain alone, just like usual.

However, one good thing is that there is no entrance fee to Fengde Temple.

However, Li Qi that everyone around him was holding incense and candles.

He looked around and saw many shops selling homemade incense and candles at the foot of the mountain, and he guessed the answer.

It's likely that they don't sell incense or candles up there; if worshippers wish to, they bring their own. So, the people at the foot of the mountain rely on the mountain for their livelihood, selling these items there to supplement their income.

From this perspective, there is nothing wrong with what Fengde Temple has done.

Seeing that his painting style was different from everyone else's, Li Qi decided to buy some incense and candles to go upstairs as well.

However, when he touched his Mustard Seed Bag, he found only some loose gold pieces, no local currency.

Although Tang Kingdom copper coins could circulate in the Baiyue region, Li Qi was using digital currency back then; he didn't actually have any physical coins.

This is awkward; there's no money to buy incense and candles.

But he was a seventh-rank official after all, so this didn't stump him. With a flick of his palm, Li Qi combined earth and metal energy and instantly created a large coin that looked similar to those used by the others around him.

Although the money was fake, Li Qi used his divine power to obtain it.

If you accept this large sum of money and take it home, it will dissipate into a cloud of energy. After inhaling it, your whole family will be healthy and have many children and grandchildren. That way, it won't be considered a scam.

Li Qi bought a pack of incense and candles with counterfeit money he had crumpled by hand. The man noticed that Li Qi's money was in excellent condition, brand new and with no wear and tear, so he specially gave him a piece of oiled paper so that he could wrap the incense and candles in it and not have to hold it in his hand.

Seeing this, Li Qi felt ashamed and, after turning to leave, added another Technique Method to the money.

It is Ghostly Transport Method. When the money is lost, little ghosts can be summoned from the underworld to pick some mountain produce for the money, so that it will not be lost.

Having done this, he picked up the incense and candles and began climbing the mountain step by step.

The road was full of people climbing the mountain, and most of them were very dedicated. Pious men and women kowtowed as they walked, chanting incantations. Some elderly women were even more devout, having their children follow them. They kowtowed with every step they took, and their children kept laying out cushions for them.

As the old lady took a step, her children would place two cushions on the steps, one for her knees and one for her head, so she could kowtow. Then she would get up, take another step, and they would move the cushions up again, repeating this process.

There are at least several thousand steps to climb the mountain. If you keep climbing like this, you might arrive in the morning and not reach the top until sunset.

Seeing this, Li Qi shook his head.

Hopefully, this old lady won't accidentally bump into something and die on the road. With her small frame, she probably has coronary heart disease. If she keeps bumping into things like that, she probably won't be able to take it.

However, Li Qi also saw it from these scenes.

At Fengde Temple, the belief in Buddhism has taken deep root in people's hearts. At least in this area, monks are far more popular than any Human Path officials, Shaman Path, Shaman Daoist priests.

Are these bald monks truly dedicated to serving the people, or are they just planting spies in the Baiyue?

Put yourself in Li Qi's shoes: if Li Qi had acquired property here, would this kind of thing have happened?

Li Qi felt he wouldn't do it.

But Li Qi couldn't figure out what the Buddhist community was thinking.

Perhaps believers are really important to them? But if so, why bother with this pretense, putting on an act of 'I don't care about you, you came to me yourselves'?

I don't know much about it. Maybe I'll have time to go to the Western Regions and then I'll be able to find out the secrets.

Li Qi also couldn't understand what exactly Buddhism had that required people to worship.

If the foundation of Shinto is believers, then so be it.

But Li Qi knew that Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and many Arhats Celestial Host did not need faith; their power came entirely from themselves.

If it's unnecessary, then what is the purpose of Buddhism's eagerness to develop followers?

Li Qi was perceptive and insightful, but the cause of such a thing could not be found by relying on one or two 'flaws'.

If Li Qi had guessed the reason, the shamans of the divination lineage would definitely be vying to take him as a disciple.

After all, just one visit to a temple is enough to see through the arrangements made by the Buddhist sect over the years of unusual behavior. Even the true Buddha could not hide it. This level of skill is enough to make the Witch God personally intervene.

With these thoughts in mind, Li Qi walked slowly all the way to the top of the mountain.

At the top of the mountain lies the site of Fengde Temple.

Upon reaching the top, the first thing that catches the eye is the Trumpet Flower climbing all over the pine branches.

The flourishing Trumpet Flower grows step by step on the trees and walls, striving towards the sky. Its love of the sun makes all the flowers face the sun, like a girl looking up at the sky, full of spirit and never stopping. As long as there is a road, it will climb up step by step.

The crimson flowers, interspersed among the green leaves, strive upwards, inspiring people.

Looking at the wall covered with trumpet Trumpet Flower, Li Qi stopped to observe them.

True Knowledge Dao Charm was in full bloom, and sensing the Essence, Qi, and Spirit emanating from the Trumpet Flower, he wanted to see if there were any secrets hidden within.

Li Qi actually has some doubts about the True Knowledge Dao Charm, but that doesn't stop him from using it.

Before that, he saw the True Knowledge Dao Charm in the eyes of the Heavenly Demon.

Furthermore, is the Divine Ability displayed by the Three Lives Ancient Mirror an enhanced, enhanced, and enhanced version of the True Knowledge Dao Charm?

It should be understood that the Three Lives Ancient Mirror... is essentially one of the eyes of the Mara of Self-Transformation.

In fact, it seems to be so. The Three Lives Ancient Mirror can see through three lives, and a person's past and future lives, including the present situation, are all clearly laid out in front of them. This is somewhat similar to the power of True Knowledge Dao Charm.

Is it the True Knowledge Dao Charm, or the Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm, or did the Heavenly Demon have already made a plan to seize other True Knowledge Dao Charm and use it for his own purposes?

Li Qi tends to believe the latter.

If the Witch God True Knowledge Dao Charm was the Heavenly Demonic Dao Charm, then he should have reminded the Witch God long ago. If he couldn't distinguish it, surely the Witch God couldn't either.

So Li Qi continued to use it without feeling guilty.

To be honest, if he were to lose sight of the True Knowledge Dao Charm, Li Qi would feel completely lost, as if he had gone blind.

He has become accustomed to scanning his surroundings anytime, anywhere, taking in countless pieces of information, breaking them down and analyzing them to derive intelligence and ultimately make a judgment.

This process has become a habit, and it's not easy to change it.

However... we can't rely too much on True Knowledge Dao Charm.

Li Qi has now begun to consciously separate into two systems.

The "True Knowledge Dao Charm" system is like a scanner plug-in. The progress bar at the beginning was just a side manifestation of the True Knowledge Dao Charm." Its essence is to collect all the information around it and then fill Li Qi's brain with all the details, Li Qi's brain then analyzes on its own.

The other method involves Li Qi his senses to collect information, and then using the True Knowledge Dao Charm to identify and verify it.

This will train Li Qi's eyesight, allowing him to recognize what he missed, what he overlooked, and what unusual auras could be disguised to appear less unusual.

It's like a workbook.

Do it yourself, and then compare it with the reference answer. If you keep learning like this, you will eventually improve your eyesight.

Unfortunately, the progress is a bit slow.

Improving one's eyesight to the point where one can discern the truth even across several grades like the True Knowledge Dao Charm is extremely difficult.

However, this way I feel more at ease.

If True Knowledge Dao Charm was in trouble, they wouldn't have suddenly gone from an all-knowing detective to a blind man.

Besides, there's something else that belongs to him, something no one can take away from him.

True Knowledge Dao Charm was only responsible for collecting information and then brainwashing Li Qi.

The subsequent analysis, integration, and reasoning were all done by Li Qi himself. Even if True Knowledge Dao Charm were no longer around, he would still retain this information integration ability.

It might be much more troublesome to memorize things later.

Li Qi's current reading volume, if not entirely due to True Knowledge Dao Charm, is at least two-thirds thanks to her. After True Knowledge Dao Charm reads the book in its entirety, the book is firmly memorized.

If I have to rely on memorization on my own in the future, the effort required will be at least twenty times greater, and it will be much more difficult then.

Therefore, if possible, Li Qi still wants to preserve True Knowledge Dao Charm as much as possible.

It would be even better if it could be enhanced.

The best way to strengthen this is to collect information from other True Knowledge Dao Charm.

For example... that bunch in the eyes of the Heavenly Demon.

With these reckless fools in mind, Li Qi finished analyzing the Trumpet Flower.

As expected, it wasn't that simple. These Trumpet Flower formed a formation to protect the Buddhist temple. If anyone tried to force their way in, they would trigger the grand formation set up by the fifth-rank king.

Fengde Temple is indeed not as simple as it seems; it must have a deep connection with the Trumpet Flower God.

After observing the surrounding area, Li Qi followed the crowd and entered.

Upon entering, one arrives at the main hall.

Among them are sixteen Arhats, two Bodhisattvas, and one Buddha.

Inside the main hall, the light was a deep purple, illuminating all around. The Buddha Statue were exquisitely beautiful and meticulously crafted, and were offered incense and flowers.

Without a doubt, it is also Trumpet Flower.

Many devout believers continuously worshipped and then lit incense and candles, offering them in a cauldron.

The tripod was three zhang in diameter, but it was filled with incense ash, which shows how popular the incense offerings were usually.

After all, there are millions of people in the surrounding area, all of whom are believers. Even if they are not that devout, they still come once a year during festivals, so the number is definitely not small.

Li Qi also lit his incense and candles and bowed to the Buddha image above.

It's not faith, it's respect.

After all, he was the Buddha, and based on Li Qi's understanding, he was probably a high-ranking official of the second or third rank. One should still maintain basic respect when facing someone else's statue.

Li Qi didn't understand the other party's doctrines and ideas, but he knew the size of the other party's fist.

We should still respect fists.

When you light incense, look around at the monks.

As expected, it was just as rumored.

Most of them were evil people and demons; there were very few proper, formally trained monks, but they all held high positions, and you could see people going to them for advice from time to time.

Those evil people and demons are also easy to recognize.

Demons, needless to say, don't even look human; you can tell them off at a glance.

Although those villains had human appearances, they were all fierce and menacing, exuding murderous aura, and many of them were haunted by the aura of vengeful spirits.

However, now, all the demons and villains have a tight band around their heads and a shackle on their heads.

The headband appeared to be made of iron, with no special decorations; it was just a ring of iron around the head. At first glance, it didn't seem unusual, like an ornament used to distinguish monks from pilgrims.

They greeted guests and led the way nearby. Although they all had fierce faces, they were all very friendly and seemed to have truly reformed.

After Li Qi finished offering incense and candles, he also found a demon. It was a wolf demon with a wolf's head, a furry body, sharp teeth, fierce eyes, and claws like five small knives, which was extremely frightening.

However, when Li Qi stepped forward, the monk deliberately retracted his claws, walked up to him, and said leisurely, "Are you lost, benefactor? Would you like this humble monk to lead the way?"

He spoke with a foul breath, but his words were very polite.

"Indeed, please enlighten me, Dharma Protector, where is the Buddha sculpture that has been circulating recently? May I have the opportunity to see it?" Li Qi said.

"So you've come for the Buddha sculpture, sir. That makes sense. The matter of the Buddha sculpture has been quite a stir lately due to some rumors, so it's normal for you to be curious. Please follow me, young master, and don't wander off on the way, lest you get lost," the wolf demon said.

The voice was rough, with a kind of roar, as if it was trying to suppress something.

However, it was clear that the wolf demon had tried its best to appear as friendly as possible.

An ordinary person would naturally be frightened by the wolf demon's tone, but Li Qi was not so incompetent. He simply nodded and said, "Thank you, protector."

Then, the wolf demon led the way, Li Qi followed, passing through the main hall and preparing to head to the back mountain.

People came and went along the way, and incense burned continuously. Devotees worshipped and prayed, and the smoke from incense and candles swirled around them like clouds that lingered for a long time.

Moreover, these incense sticks and candles, not to mention the candles, are basically made of high-quality ingredients, using mountain herbs and sticky powder rolled into a strip. When burned, they do not have that pungent smell, but instead have a medicinal fragrance that makes people feel intoxicated.

Once you reach the back of the mountain, there are fewer tourists.

Although the mountain scenery remains beautiful, with towering peaks, lush greenery, occasional roars of animals and chirps of birds, and the whistling of the wind, the scenery is unique.

Everyone's here to burn incense and pray to Buddha, who wants to see the scenery?

It's just ordinary mountain scenery. We're all mountain folk, so it's like we've all seen it before. We all live in the mountains and are already tired of it when we're on the road.

Only people from other places would probably appreciate this kind of scenery.

But that's part of the meaning of travel, isn't it?

Tourism is about seeing the unique features that locals have long since grown tired of.

As we traversed the back mountain, the number of tourists gradually decreased, while the number of monks increased. After walking for several miles, there were almost no ordinary people left.

All around were cultivators.

There are demons and humans, witches and ghosts, but of course, the most numerous are the monks of Fengde Temple.

Following these people, Li Qi finally arrived at the place where the Buddha sculpture was located.