Clear Abyss Sect's Past, the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix
"Brother Li, if you don't want it, just give it to me. It's such a waste to throw it away."
Murong Xiao quickly bent down to pick up the picture album and brushed off the dust.
Then, when she looked up, she met Li Mo's suspicious gaze.
Brother Murong, you feel like a stranger to me.
So you came here specifically to buy this thing?
Murong Xiao chuckled awkwardly:
"I've recently been studying Buddhist martial arts."
"Then what?"
Li Mo was confused.
The Golden Bell Shield is indeed a Buddhist martial art, and it needs to be practiced in conjunction with Buddhist principles.
Is this your reason for buying the Imperial Uncle?
Murong Xiao explained with a serious expression:
"Buddhist scriptures say that form is emptiness and emptiness is form. As long as the mind is clear, even a beautiful woman is like a withered skeleton."
"How can one ignore temptation without being tempted? If I don't go to hell, who will?"
"Therefore, I've decided to fiercely challenge my weaknesses!"
"..."
Li Mo fell into deep thought.
Is this how you understand "form is emptiness"?
Is this what it means to be truly free from worldly desires?
But it seemed to make a lot of sense, and he couldn't refute it.
Unable to understand, Li Mo could only nod and say:
"Okay, remember to return it to me after you're done reading it."
"Alright, Brother Li, farewell."
Murong Xiao happily accepted the picture book.
Just as he was about to go back and challenge his weakness, Li Mo's instructions came from behind him:
"By the way, Brother Murong, your understanding of Buddhism and Daoism is best kept to yourself; please don't spread it around."
"Huh? Why?"
"I'm afraid that if this gets back to Buddhism, the masters will challenge you to a test of your weakness regarding the prohibition against killing."
Main Peak Ancestral Hall.
The Ancestral Hall was located in the center of the mountain and was heavily guarded. Ying Bing followed several elders and walked a very long way to reach it.
During the journey, Ying Bing felt the fluctuations of the Will Soul sweeping over her several times.
The power of Clear Abyss Sect is not limited to the elders who are on the surface.
A moment later, the group arrived at a large gate, where an old man lay drowsy.
"Senior Uncle."
Shangguan Wencang respectfully greeted him with a cupped-hand salute.
"Oh, Wen Yuan, it's been so long! How could you bear to come see this old man?"
The old man seemed to awaken from a dream, opening his cloudy old eyes.
"Senior Uncle, I am Wen Cang."
Shangguan Wencang.
"Oh, you're Wen Cang... This old man's memory is failing me."
The old man patted the back of his head and asked:
"You've come here because..."
"Bring the True Disciple Ying Bing to meet the ancestor."
Shangguan Wencang took out the Sect Master's token.
"The True Disciple..."
The old man's gaze passed over the elders and landed on Ying Bing, who stood quietly there. A glint of light flashed in his cloudy old eyes.
"Okay, okay..."
He praised it several times before accepting the token and combining it with the token in his own hand.
The assembled tokens were inserted into the center of the gate, and the heavy ancient gate, painted with Dark Bird patterns, finally opened slowly.
Ying Bing looked up, her gaze slightly narrowed.
She had never been to this place in her previous life.
Before her eyes, bronze pillars supported the dome, their style similar to those she had seen in the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm. The objects enshrined there were birds imbued with a strong sense of vicissitude.
They all stood on a section of Bronze Divine Tree.
That's why, in a daze, I felt as if they were still alive, Divine Charm and vitality.
Hoo--
The candle spontaneously combusted, illuminating the Divine Tree.
"This is Heavenly Fortune Dao Artifact from the Great Shang..."
"To be precise, it's a part."
Shangguan Wencang stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the Bronze Tree shimmering with divine light, and sighed softly:
"You are destined to take over my responsibilities in the future, and there are some things that it's time for you to know."
"What's on this Divine Tree is all the Form-Will imprinted by the Will Soul imprints of powerful members of the former Great Shang royal family."
"You must be wondering why this thing is here."
Shangguan Wencang's eyes flickered.
He paused, then continued:
"My ancestor Clear Abyss, was not only a meritorious minister who helped the Great Yu rise to power, but also the last member of the royal family of the Great Shang."
"After helping Martial Emperor pacify the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, she did not accept any rewards, but instead returned to Purple Sun Prefecture, the former capital of the Great Shang Kingdom, to guard the spirits of her ancestors."
"So, below Clear Abyss Sect is..."
"The Imperial Mausoleum of the Great Shang Dynasty"
Listen to Shangguan Wencang's detailed explanation.
Today, many of the nine peaks of Clear Abyss Sect are descendants of former officials of the Great Shang Dynasty.
Ying Bing frowned slightly as she re-examined the Bronze Divine Tree.
It's strange.
Time, glory, decay, and exquisite beauty can all be manifested in the same thing.
She noticed a clear gap above the Divine Tree.
This place should be surrounded by hundreds of birds; it should not be left empty.
Shangguan Wencang seemed to know her doubts and said:
"That was supposed to be the place where the founder Lower Form mark, but she went to the capital and never came back."
Therefore, the form of the Golden Crow is now missing.
"The Form-Will imprinted on these are all Extreme Form and profound. You have a long way to go and a heavy responsibility to bear. Please study them carefully."
Throughout his life, Shangguan Wencang only comprehended one form, which is the Python Sparrow Swallows Dragon Form.
Condensing the Hundred Birds Form, gathering the Phoenix God —this is the path left behind by the patriarch.
He had always thought this was a pipe dream in his lifetime.
It wasn't until Ying Bing appeared that he saw a glimmer of hope.
After Ying Bing followed Shangguan Wencang to worship the Divine Tree,
Step by step, they walked to the vicinity of the broken Bronze Divine Tree.
"Little Bing, this Divine Tree possesses profound majesty; it cannot be approached directly..."
Xue Jing had just spoken when Shangguan Wencang stopped him with a look.
"Sect Master, these Form-Will imprints were all left by the royal family of the Great Shang Dynasty, and their will remains within them."
Xue Jing said somewhat anxiously.
Those wills once belonged to the most noble and powerful.
Every will is unyielding and extremely arrogant.
Little Bing has only just begun to Divine Observation; if she walks up like this, she might be harmed by her willpower...
"Let's wait and see."
Shangguan Wencang expressionless, squinting as he looked over.
But then they saw Ying Bing standing before the Divine Tree, her black hair and dress swaying gently, like a snow lotus standing in the wind.
Her cool gaze remained unwavering, as if that wild and untamed aura simply did not exist.
She seemed to be even taller than the Divine Tree.
Thump--
Like a heartbeat, the dilapidated Divine Tree suddenly released waves of resonance.
One of the Green Phoenix at the top actually came to 'life'.
The Green Phoenix flapped its wings and flew down, leaving a mysterious trail in the void, seemingly transcending time and space.
It stood in front of Ying Bing and bowed in greeting.
"Green Phoenix..."
Ying Bing fell into deep thought.
Based on this Form-Will, he began to refine his own Will Soul.
Immediately afterwards.
Various birds, in various Form-Will, all voluntarily flew down from the branches.
Buzz--
A sublime aura flowed around Ying Bing, as if she were receiving worship from True Phoenix.
In the Unseen, it seemed as if celestial music flowed, its lingering sound echoing around the beams.
Xue Jing's eyes widened, almost thinking he was hallucinating.
The other elders all had similar expressions.
I'm numb.