Mars Opportunity

When Ye Fan was about to leave the Big Dipper and return to Earth, the golden giant crocodile formed by the Crocodile Ancestor had once pursued and tried to kill him with a Buddhist Sect Forbidden Weapon from a golden ancient temple.

That golden ancient temple Forbidden Weapon had blocked several attacks from a corner of the Wushi Killing Array. It was a supreme treasure, though its exact rank was unknown.

When Li Xiaoman pursued Ye Fan in the Desolate Forbidden Land, she had even carried a Quasi-Emperor Forbidden Artifact.

Li Xiaoman had found both powerful Forbidden Weapons from the Great Leiyin Temple. Unfortunately, the Crocodile Ancestor's Divine Fetus had discovered her opportunity and taken control of her.

At the end of the ruins, Jiang Yun and the other two found an ancient temple. It was not large; if such a small temple appeared on Earth, people would at most consider it a ruined wilderness shrine.

But standing intact at the end of the Mars ruins, it revealed its extraordinary nature.

Beside it stood an ancient Bodhi tree, so robust that even six or seven people might not be able to encircle its trunk. It was the mortal remains of the Bodhi Immortal Tree, an Immortal Elixir.

Jiang Yun did not understand why Shakyamuni had not taken it away. Previously, Jiang Yun had not paid much attention to this Immortal Elixir.

After all, it was too large. But now that he had Source Space, he would leave the Bodhi Seed for his younger cousin Ye Fan if he did not want it.

He was determined to take the Bodhi Ancient Tree's remains. Even if the Bodhi Tree had undergone Nirvana and transformed into a seed, its remains surely could not be compared to ordinary Little Medicine Kings or precious herbs.

Jiang Yun pulled Ye Fan and Pang Bo directly into the Great Leiyin Temple.

The other students also noticed the temple. Seeing the three of them enter, they hurried after them.

The ancient temple was tiny, consisting of only a single Buddhist hall. It was empty, with almost nothing inside. Perhaps because no one had entered for far too long, the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Jiang Yun knew that most of the Buddhist artifacts were hidden beneath the dust. What Ye Fan and his classmates could find after entering depended somewhat on the Buddhist notion of affinity.

But Jiang Yun was not about to discuss affinity with them. Ye Fan's classmates would probably enter soon, so he intended to make that affinity a little stronger.

After entering the ancient temple, Ye Fan headed straight for the bronze ancient lamp before the stone Buddha, while Pang Bo began searching.

Jiang Yun directly waded through the dust on the temple floor as though crossing water. Source Space continually opened, storing the dust and the Buddhist artifacts beneath it, while he scattered the dust back out from Source Space.

Dust instantly filled the ancient temple, turning the place into a choking haze. Jiang Yun held his breath and concealed his presence. Before long, he had swept through the entire temple.

He even found a complete string of prayer beads atop the stone Buddha's head. Six beads were threaded together on a transparent string, each bearing a blurry humanoid image.

Seeing the various Buddhist artifacts in Source Space filled him with endless delight. Among the pile, he saw a Bronze Buddha Statue and a Stone Temple Forbidden Artifact steeped in ancient charm.

These two were relatively intact. The Bronze Buddha Statue was the Quasi-Emperor Forbidden Artifact, while Jiang Yun, who had yet to cultivate, had no idea what rank the Stone Temple Forbidden Artifact was.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both coughing repeatedly from the dust and could barely keep their eyes open. Ye Fan's classmates stood at the entrance, not daring to enter.

Only Liu Yunzhi gritted his teeth and rushed inside with two others.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved and everyone had arrived, Jiang Yun left behind the complete string of prayer beads and those two Forbidden Weapons.

He threw all the other Buddhist artifacts back onto the temple floor and covered them with dust.

Jiang Yun covered his nose and rushed out with Ye Fan and Pang Bo, all three looking filthy and disheveled.

Jiang Yun gulped down air and said to everyone,

"There was simply too much dust on the temple floor. The moment we made any big movements, all the dust floated up."

How many of them believed him was anyone's guess.

Jiang Yun called that a big movement?

Even if they called over a dozen people from some cringe goth dance crew, they might not create such an effect!

"Cough, cough. What were you three doing in there? Why is there so much dust? I can't even open my eyes."

Liu Yunzhi and the other two discovered that they could not see anything inside. Dust was everywhere, and they too ran out looking filthy and disheveled.

"You three weren't trying to keep all the treasures inside for yourselves, were you?"

A woman who had rushed in with Liu Yunzhi pointed at the three of them, speaking in a sharp and cutting tone, full of hostility.

"Look at us. Other than me taking an ancient lamp, did my cousin or Pang Bo get anything? Don't use your own mindset to slander others."

Ye Fan stared coldly at the woman.

"Exactly. After going in, all we got was dust in our noses, mouths, and all over our bodies. There was nothing else."

Pang Bo shot Jiang Yun a resentful glance.

Without Jiang Yun's meddling, the dust inside the Great Leiyin Temple quickly settled.

As they spoke, they could already vaguely see some things. Seeing that Pang Bo and Jiang Yun truly had empty hands, just as Ye Fan had said, everyone stopped talking and entered the temple together to search for treasures.

Unwilling to accept finding nothing, Pang Bo followed them back inside.

Only Ye Fan and Jiang Yun remained outside, looking at each other. In tacit understanding, they headed toward the Bodhi Ancient Tree.

"Cousin, what did you find inside? Did you hear any sounds? Do you know anything about this mysterious, fantastical world?"

After arriving on Mars, Ye Fan suddenly realized that his once-familiar cousin had become somewhat mysterious.

Jiang Yun seemed to understand the things they faced. Ye Fan had a stomach full of questions but did not know how to ask them.

"I came into contact with some influential people through business, and I heard them talk about the cultivation world. It is very mysterious. I don't know much either, but I suspect there is an unknown danger here. Something may be sealed beneath the Great Leiyin Temple."

Jiang Yun chatted with Ye Fan as they walked, arriving beneath the Bodhi Ancient Tree.

The Great Leiyin Temple stood beside it. How could the Bodhi Ancient Tree growing alongside it be an ordinary tree? Shakyamuni had attained enlightenment beneath a Bodhi Tree.

The withered ancient tree before them was as vigorous as a Qiu Dragon. Six or seven people could not encircle it, and its main trunk was hollow.

Only one dead branch, hanging two or three meters above the ground, bore six green leaves. They glittered crystal-clear, translucent like green agate.

Jiang Yun did not understand why no one in the original story had thought to come take a look.

Now everyone was captivated by the ancient artifacts inside the temple, making things convenient for Ye Fan and Jiang Yun.

Ye Fan quickly made a discovery. He squatted down and began digging through the soil near the roots, finding a Bodhi Seed the size of a walnut.

Just as he was about to stand, he discovered that the Bodhi Ancient Tree had vanished. Only ash drifted down from above, filling the sky as it fluttered to the ground.

"What happened here?"

Ye Fan stood and looked at Jiang Yun curiously. His attention had just been completely captured by that walnut-sized Bodhi Seed.

The Bodhi Seed from the Innate Buddha Diagram made him feel that it was far from ordinary. He vaguely felt that it was even more important than the bronze ancient lamp that had always accompanied the stone Buddha!

"When you were digging beneath the tree, a light breeze passed by, and this Bodhi Tree turned into flying ash and scattered away. What were you doing just now? I was focused on the six leaves of the Bodhi Tree and was just about to pick them, but in the blink of an eye, they were gone."

Jiang Yun also looked at Ye Fan with an expression of surprise.

Ye Fan did not suspect anything. The Bodhi Seed he had just obtained was indeed extraordinary.

Perhaps the moment he dug it out, the Bodhi Tree had fulfilled its mission.

"Nothing. I was just curious about the dust on the ground. It seemed like it had transformed from the leaves of the Bodhi Tree, so I studied it a little. This fantasy world is still far too mysterious. Who would have thought that Mars would have a Great Leiyin Temple and Heavenly Palace Ruins? Or perhaps it might even be the Spirit Mountain Ruins?"

Ye Fan explained awkwardly and tried to change the subject.

"Then let's leave first. Otherwise, when they come out, we won't be able to explain this clearly."

Seeing Ye Fan's expression, Jiang Yun knew that he had probably obtained the Bodhi Seed. He gave Ye Fan a meaningful glance without exposing him, then turned and left with him.

After all, he had just stored the Bodhi Ancient Tree's remains in Source Space as well.

Ye Fan and Jiang Yun quickly left the area and entered the temple together again.

The students had nearly finished searching. Jiang Yun pretended to be lucky and pulled a broken half of a Vajra Pestle from a patch of dust.

Besides the Vajra Pestle, several others found damaged incense burners, monastic rulers, bronze bells, wooden fish drums, Jade Ruyi, and many other ancient artifacts.

Zhou Yi had even found an intact alms bowl. Jiang Yun had not noticed it earlier, so it counted as a fish that had slipped through the net.

Although these damaged Buddhist artifacts were no longer complete, each appeared remarkably extraordinary.

But compared to the bronze lamp in Ye Fan's hand, they were clearly inferior. It was one of only two intact Buddhist artifacts visible to everyone.

The ancient lamp, untouched by dust, burned eternally. Anyone could tell it was extraordinary.

Pang Bo was the most depressed. More than a dozen people had found ancient objects one after another. He had been among the first to enter the temple, yet he had still found nothing.

Jiang Yun guessed that this might be related to Pang Bo carrying Demon Race blood in his body. Perhaps fate had prevented him from finding anything.

Or perhaps he was simply unlucky.

The Great Leiyin Temple was not large, and every corner had already been searched. There was nothing else, so everyone exited together.

Jiang Yun pulled Pang Bo quietly aside and whispered something to him. Pang Bo's eyes immediately lit up.

While everyone was marveling over the disappearance of the Bodhi Ancient Tree, Pang Bo piled several large stones beneath it, then removed the Bronze Plaque engraved with "Great Leiyin Temple."

The instant Pang Bo left the temple, the entire ancient temple began to shake. The stone Buddha inside suddenly cracked, producing sharp cracking sounds.

Then, the Buddhist Six-Character Mantra rang out: "Om, ma, ni, ba, mi, hum..."

The majestic Buddhist chant resounded through the heavens, shaking the sky. The entire world seemed to tremble!

Everyone else stood frozen in place, too shocked to say a word.

At the same time, every artifact the group had found in the Buddhist hall, whether intact or damaged, emitted a gentle radiance. Brilliant light shone forth, filling everyone with alarm.

But in the end, with a tremendous BOOM, the stone Buddha within the ancient temple shattered and turned into ash.

"Pfft!"

Soon afterward, the Great Leiyin Temple also turned to powder in a light breeze.

"Everyone, run! Something demonic may be sealed beneath the Great Leiyin Temple, and it could be breaking free now."

Jiang Yun shouted, jolting everyone from their shock. Then he tugged Ye Fan and Pang Bo along and sprinted toward the Five-Colored Altar at full speed.

If he got them running sooner, a few more people might survive.