Xue Wu [1]

The silver text before his eyes kept emerging, overlapping almost instantly due to the sheer speed of its appearance.

At the same time.

Hu Long felt a thread of icy airflow surging into his body from the point where his left index finger made contact.

Seeing this.

Hu Long's gaze flickered.

He quickly noticed the anomaly.

His finger was touching a withered root, no thicker than a toothpick, on the stone pedestal.

This twig was extending from a wooden crevice in the lotus throne upon which the Bodhisattva statue stood.

As a wood carving, it was effectively dead; logically, it should have lost all photosynthetic and physiological functions.

It was impossible for it to sprout branches.

However, this was not absolute.

If tiny spores or seeds had been carried by the wind into the crevices of the wood carving, it was not impossible for them to grow from within.

He did not dwell on this.

What caught his attention was something else: when he pulled his hand away, the cool airflow vanished instantly, and the Source Value growing before his eyes stopped as well.

Upon resuming contact, that sensation returned.

Clearly, these faint, cool currents were the Source Value itself.

As for why he hadn't felt this while basking in the sun before.

Perhaps the Source Value gained was too meager, making the cool airflow too subtle to perceive.

This time, the influx was so dense that it manifested as a physical sensation—a case of quantitative change leading to qualitative change.

Having realized this.

Hu Long ignored the minor details and looked around.

Seeing that no one was paying him any mind.

He pretended to bow his head in prayer.

The Source Value continued to climb, breaking into double digits on the panel in just a few dozen seconds.

However, the rate of growth slowed significantly thereafter.

It was still increasing, though, gaining 0.01 strands every second or two.

It continued for a while longer.

The text vanished completely, and no more appeared before his eyes.

Is it over?

Hu Long's heart stirred, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes.

The sensation of the cool airflow gradually faded away.

He touched the root again, but there was no reaction.

It was as if everything that had just happened were merely an illusion.

Seeing this.

He had a thought and summoned the Primordial Plain Panel.

His gaze fell upon the final Source Value entry.

[Source Value: 16.21 strands]

His Source Value had originally been just over 4 strands.

This single event had increased it by more than a dozen.

The harvest was substantial.

This alone was equivalent to nearly four months of basking in the sun.

Is there something inside?

Hu Long's eyes flickered.

He was very curious about what could possibly be inside this lotus throne to provide him with so much Source Value.

Although he was tempted to smash it open, he ultimately decided against it.

Regardless of anything else, this was considered a piece of national intangible cultural heritage.

More importantly, it could no longer provide any more Source Value.

Hu Long abandoned the idea of further investigation.

With this discovery.

He did not choose to leave immediately.

Instead, he attempted to try his luck at the locations of other Buddha statues elsewhere.

After all, a single lotus pedestal had provided him with over a dozen strands of Source Value.

If he could find a few more, he would be rich.

But unfortunately, the idea was plump, while reality was skeletal.

Even after he circled the entire Wood Buddha Temple, no further notifications regarding Source Value appeared.

Regarding this, Hu Long was helpless.

He could only pretend to be curious and inquire about the origin of the Bodhisattva statue from the monks there.

After spending another thousand in incense money, he successfully obtained the information he wanted.

This wooden Bodhisattva statue had a history of over three hundred years and was one that had survived the previous fire.

It had been severely burned, leaving only the base, and was only restored to its complete form after repairs.

Its formal title was the Great Night King of the Sorrowful Footprint.

Legend had it that it vowed to reside forever in the lightless night, guarding the sentient beings of the Dark Realm.

The black lotus beneath its feet was a "Night Treasure" refined from the boundless darkness.

Hu Long had never heard of this Bodhisattva.

However, according to the core tenets of Buddhism, all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature and the potential to attain enlightenment and become a Buddha.

Therefore, in a broad sense, any practitioner who generates the Bodhicitta to "seek the Buddha's path above and transform sentient beings below" and puts it into practice can be called a Bodhisattva.

Thus, the number of Bodhisattvas is as infinite and boundless as the number of sentient beings who generate such an intention.

It was normal not to have heard of it.

To put it in layman's terms, the names of the remaining Bodhisattvas hadn't been thought of yet, so one could make up as many as one pleased.

At dusk.

The golden crow sank into the west, and the clouds across the sky were dyed into silk interwoven with crimson gold and deep purple, a fiery red expanse spread across the horizon.

Under the sunset glow.

Hu Long drove a limited-edition sports car into his home.

His parents were still at the company handling affairs, and his elder sister, Hu Zhao, had no intention of inheriting the family business after graduating from university; instead, she started her own internet company and was busy all day long.

Even his younger brother, who was over a year old, had been sent to an early education class.

In the vast house, he seemed to be the only idle person left, along with the housekeeper Wendys and some servants.

He did not return to his bedroom, but aimlessly paced through the garden.

The garden covered several thousand square meters, with layered rockeries, surrounding streams, and pavilions and corridors hidden among exquisitely manicured plants, with a new scene at every step.

It wasn't bad to stroll around when bored.

Hu Long stopped in a wooden pavilion by the water, pinched a handful of fish food, and scattered it onto the pond's surface.

As the fine bait hit the water, the calm surface was instantly broken.

Koi fish from all directions swarmed over, and the shimmering water surface shattered into a swaying mass of gold and red.

He gazed at the ripples spreading across the water.

His eyes were deep in thought.

Three days had passed since his visit to the Wood Buddha Temple. Having tasted the sweetness there, he had visited other famous temples and Taoist shrines in Huanyang City and several surrounding cities over the past two days, but unfortunately, he had gained nothing.

It was as if only that Bodhisattva statue at the Wood Buddha Temple was special.

Where exactly does the Source Value on the Primordial Plain Panel come from?

Hu Long unconsciously rubbed the remaining fish food between his fingertips.

Only with a comparison could he feel the gap.

Ever since he had obtained ten strands of Source Value at once, compared to the 0.1 strands he gained from basking in the sun for a day, the former was naturally much more attractive.

But unfortunately.

As of now, besides sunlight, only that wooden Bodhisattva statue could provide Source Value.

Yet, there was no common ground to be found between the two.

What annoyed him even more was that whether it was the Wood Buddha Temple or the temples and shrines he visited later, their explanations regarding ghosts and gods were either vague or deliberately mysterious.

The so-called "Dharma artifacts" were all useless.

However, strictly speaking, it was not a total loss.

With money leading the way.

Hu Long had exchanged pleasantries with those Taoist priests and abbots, all the while subtly probing for information regarding ghosts and spirits.

They claimed that Taoist rites and Buddhist chants could exorcise evil.

There was one more point.

That was, a strong body meant a vigorous spirit; those with sufficient yang energy and high vitality were difficult for evil spirits to invade.

This theory vaguely aligned with the fragmented rumors he had heard in his past life.

As for Taoist rites and Buddhist chants, even if they truly existed, these people possessed no such skills whatsoever.

Naturally, Hu Long did not believe them.

It seems the only way for now is to find a way to enhance my physical fitness.

Hu Long loosened his grip, letting the last few fish pellets fall into the water.

As long as the Source Value was sufficient, improving his physique shouldn't be difficult; this was perhaps the most reliable path.

Once the physical body reached a certain level of strength, no demons or monsters would be able to get close.

It was just a pity that the threshold to the extraordinary remained nowhere to be found.

If only he could directly download extraordinary skills.

All his problems would be solved instantly.

Just then.

A young male servant approached him.

"Second Young Master, the Eldest Miss has returned and wants you to come over."

"Mm, I know!"

Hu Long replied.