At once, an even stronger surge of "keen hearing and clear sight" emerged from the Ancient Scroll and circulated through Lu Feng's body. From the umbilical cord area, it flowed into the meridians branching out from his navel, giving rise to a light, ethereal breath.
As it circulated.
Lu Feng felt the muscles, fascia, and even cells throughout his body intercepting this "clear stream" like fields that had long lain parched.
Fortunately, this "clear stream" was strong enough.
From bottom to top.
It passed through his lower abdomen, navel, heart, throat, brow, and crown.
Then, from his crown, it descended step by step, forming a perfect cycle.
Finally, it settled between Lu Feng's brows!
The pleasure of this circulation made Lu Feng shudder.
Goosebumps rose all over his body, and his entire being grew "brimming with spirit."
In his eyes.
There was light now.
For a moment, Lu Feng thought that merely killing a Malevolent Ghost of the lowest level had brought him such comfort.
Then, if he subdued and killed more powerful Malevolent Ghosts.
Wouldn't he gain even more benefits?
Wouldn't the enhancement brought by the Ancient Scroll be even greater?
But subduing more Malevolent Ghosts.
Required a stronger monk.
Lu Feng immediately came to his senses.
An opportunity like today's could only be encountered, not sought. Not everyone could step outside and meet a Lama as kind as Zhuogedunzhu.
Nor would every Lama subdue Malevolent Ghosts and rid the people of harm.
A Lama was a Lama, not his hired muscle.
So, in the end, he still had to return to the routine of studying, debating scripture, taking examinations, and receiving empowerment. As the saying went, "what your father has and what your mother has are no match for what you have yourself."
Gather mighty power into his own person.
Just as Lu Feng was filled with joy.
Something seemed to have gone wrong with Master Zhuogedunzhu's subjugation of the Outer Dao over there. After that thrust of his fork, Zhuogedunzhu suddenly sat cross-legged, his face turning deathly pale. He immediately took a Thangka from inside his robes.
Strange colors appeared in the Kapala Bowl in his hand. Holding the Kapala Bowl with one hand, he peered inside.
The face of a vicious ghost was reflected in the bowl!
At the sight, Master Zhuogedunzhu's eyes suddenly opened impossibly wide. He recited the Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra, linking his breath and forcibly suppressing the evil thoughts in his heart to keep the Malevolent Ghost from emerging, while shouting, "Zhasa! Zhasa! Zhasa!"
Hearing him, Lu Feng hurriedly looked toward the Lama, only to see that the Lama's entire body had transformed into a Malevolent Ghost, crouching on the ground with his limbs hooked together.
He froze instinctively. Then the Ancient Scroll stirred inside his robes, jolting Lu Feng alert, and he immediately saw the Lama sitting perfectly intact in the same spot again. Only his face was deathly pale as he said, "White Vajra requires offerings. Zhasa, go find offerings!"
In that brief span alone.
A hair-raising sound came from Zhuogedunzhu's body. Something seemed to have gone wrong with Zhuogedunzhu after he killed that Malevolent Ghost, and an indescribable, immense Great Terror emerged from him.
Lu Feng saw what seemed to be something inside his body trying to come out, forcibly bursting through him.
Tearing his skin apart.
His skin split like ripped leather, revealing the sturdy flesh and bones beneath. Fortunately, the Thangka on the ground floated up on its own, covering his body and soothing his pain.
His body seemed to have become a passage.
Connecting to another Secret Dharma Region.
At once, throughout the entire official stronghold.
An eerie presence surged to the heavens!
Zhuogedunzhu looked to be in extreme pain.
He spun a prayer wheel with one hand. Behind his close-cropped head, another face was faintly about to emerge. The Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra on his prayer wheel emitted boundless rays of light, a myriad radiance that illuminated another person's shadow on the ground.
Master Zhuogedunzhu said, enunciating every word, "Zhasa, you must listen carefully to what I say next.
"The one I worship is an Outer God subdued by the great abbot of Pingzan Vajra Temple, White Vajra beneath Jade Mountain."
"Right now, White Vajra is enraged. I need you to prepare several offerings to please the deity.
"I want:
"A lamp wick made from a dead person's hair.
"Lamp oil made from a dead person's fat.
"A drink pleasing to the deity, mixed from bile and blood from the liver.
"White cloth whiter than the snowy mountains, three handspans wide and six handspans long!
"A human skull.
"Horse blood.
"I also want you to blow the Gangdong to please the protector deity.
"Do you understand?"
He tossed the Gangdong over. At his feet, great quantities of blood gushed out like spring water, turning the entire official stronghold into a lake of blood in an instant.
Lu Feng immediately lowered his head, keeping it firmly down. He looked at nothing, guessed at nothing, and tried to understand nothing, letting that aura of the Great Terror sweep through his surroundings like destruction descending.
As he walked.
He blew the Gangdong!
Unfortunately, before he had taken even two steps, Lu Feng could no longer move at all.
A terrible crisis.
A truly terrible crisis!
This crisis was far more terrifying than his earlier encounter with the Malevolent Ghost.
Lu Feng could feel what seemed to be a Great Terror constantly pacing beside him, constantly observing. Dripping with blood, mountains of corpses and seas of blood that did not belong here appeared around him, yet someone was also stopping that Great Terror. As the two auras intertwined.
An even greater eerie presence emerged from this place.
Something surrounding him was attracted by the aura emanating here.
That dark aura directly blanketed the entire official stronghold.
Amid such terrifying fluctuations.
Lu Feng completely lost his sense of time.
His five senses were stripped away. Fortunately, the warmth brought by the Ancient Scroll kept Lu Feng lucid at every moment, preventing him from sinking into oblivion.
He might have been walking, or he might not, but he was certainly blowing the Gangdong the entire time.
But at this moment.
Lu Feng discovered the Ancient Scroll's third benefit.
That was its ability, in situations of extreme danger.
To preserve the most basic "lucid awareness" of his soul.
This effect seemed a little more useful to him.
But he quickly suppressed that thought.
Because now was not the time to think about it.
He did not know what had happened.
He did not know how much time had passed.
Lu Feng merely blew the Gangdong mechanically. He had absolutely no ability to seek out the other offerings.
Only when the sound of hoofbeats came from afar.
Was the deathly stillness around him broken, and the uncanny aura disappeared from his side.
The surrounding colors and sounds crashed toward Lu Feng like a tide, abruptly bringing him to his senses.
Only then did Lu Feng let out a great sigh of relief.
Sweat poured off him like a waterfall.
The Gangdong in his hand fell to the ground and turned to ashes. A gust of wind blew, leaving everything plain to see.
The lake of blood had vanished.
He raised his head to look.
Zhuogedunzhu was gone as well.
But in the distance, there seemed to be a herd of wild horses. The herd stood nearby, quietly watching this place.
Lu Feng exhaled at length, feeling somewhat inclined to collapse to the ground.
But suddenly, another sound of hoofbeats rang out beside him. He turned to look, and Zhuogedunzhu's voice sounded above Lu Feng's head.
He motioned for Lu Feng to raise his head and look at him, seated on a tall horse.
Zhuogedunzhu looked exceptionally weak now. Not far from him, the traces of a sacrifice and offerings remained where they had been made.
The corpses here had been stacked into a pile for the deity to consume.
On top of the pile lay a volume of the Scriptural Treasury.
Something was hidden behind the Scriptural Treasury.
It looked like a "person"?
Lu Feng acted as though he had not seen it.
He only looked at Zhuogedunzhu.
Master Zhuogedunzhu said evenly, "Raise your eyes, Zhasa.
"From today onward, remember my name.
"I come from the land of sunrise, a descendant of eagles and divine dragons. The great emperor of the Central Plains bestowed titles upon my ancestors. We migrated here from afar, received investiture from the Temple of the Source of All Dharmas, and established temples and estates in a distant land through which sacred waters flow.
"Long ago, we were granted the authority to issue 'Zha Fu' and 'Ordination Certificates' on behalf of the great emperor of the Central Plains' envoys, and the authority of a seal-bearing Zhasak. We retain those rights to this day.
"From today onward, Zhasa, in the name of my Lineage, I permit you to use my name until you establish your own estate. You need not be subject to my rule or obey my commands.
"But should you come seeking me one day, you must obey my orders and join me in cutting down the Outer Dao and pacifying the surrounding lands. You must not defy me in the slightest. Do you understand?
"If you violate this oath, you shall be suppressed beneath the feet of the Soma War God for a hundred thousand Fire Rooster Years, a hundred thousand Metal Rat Years, and a hundred thousand Water Horse Years.
"Do you understand?"
Lu Feng said he understood.
And so, a sheet of paper bearing a seal drifted down to the ground.
Lu Feng had never seen paper so exquisite since coming here. It did not look at all like paper that the nearby prefectures could produce.
It was covered in embossing, with many intricate incantations over the embossed patterns.
Amid these incantations was a seal, and within that seal was a name.
This should have been Zhuogedunzhu's true name.
Although he was not entirely clear on the situation in the Secret Dharma Region, judging by what Zhuogedunzhu had said, his Lineage seemed extremely prominent and renowned here. After all, he had mentioned the great emperor of the Central Plains and the Temple of the Source of All Dharmas. Zhuogedunzhu's Lineage must stand at the top of the food chain across the entire Secret Dharma Region.
But before he left for good.
Zhuogedunzhu seemed to pause briefly.
He hesitated before saying, "I see that you clearly perceive your true nature and possess the heart of a born Buddha’s Son. Perhaps you could take a risk.
"Others must learn certain secret mantras when they receive empowerment. You could actually learn your temple's King Mingzhu Dharma Protector Mantra as well. That mantra is immensely powerful and would greatly benefit you. Besides..."
Besides what?
Zhuogedunzhu did not say.
He stopped halfway through.
And urged his horse away.
Lu Feng looked up and saw that a tiger-skin kasaya had appeared on Zhuogedunzhu's horse.
The tiger-skin kasaya kept writhing, trying to break free, but several human skins covered in secret mantras entangled it, preventing it from escaping. Those human skins were wailing, and they saw Lu Feng.
Lu Feng glanced at them.
He barely recognized the two human skins as Tudeng and Duoji. They seemed to have seen Lu Feng and kept trying to reach out to him for help.
Lu Feng acted as though he had not seen them.
The horse walked into the herd. Surrounded by the wild horses, Zhuogedunzhu and his mount gradually disappeared from Lu Feng's sight and left the official stronghold.
The north wind blew.
In the entire official stronghold, Lu Feng was the one and only living person left.
Within the tiger-skin kasaya in the distance, flesh and blood seemed to be growing anew.
Lu Feng drew a deep breath, pounded his legs, which felt somewhat weak and sore at the knees and lower back, and forced himself to stand.
He knew that the business at the official stronghold was over.
His own business had begun!
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