Chapter 460: The Tomb of Xuanzang

Dust swirled endlessly, and only Su Lin, clad in the Brocade Dharma Robe, drifted through it, his eyes emitting a Buddhist white-gold radiance, while the shattered golden lotuses beneath his feet scattered through the Jin Luandian, leaving the civil and military officials—who had just been preparing to kowtow and worship Bodhisattvas—stunned into silence.

He gripped one skull in each hand, lifting the two Bodhisattva monks—whose heads had been split open, their blood streaming, their magical powers useless—by their necks, holding them one foot above the ground.

"Go, you and that yellow-haired brat over there—arrange my sutras neatly."

"We were sent by the Buddha—"

Compared to the handsome monk who had fainted, this cold, ethereal Bodhisattva was far stronger; she fixed her gaze on Su Lin, her eyes filled with shock and astonishment, yet even more with confusion.

"The Buddha?" Su Lin asked.

"You know well—are you mad?" Her voice carried a warning tone. "Don't forget your mission!"

The golden-bearded monk stepped forward, clutching a relic, and spoke gravely: "Tang Xuanzang, you must know your identity—what you should and should not do!"

Identity? Mission? What nonsense are you mystics spouting?

Ethereal Buddhist chants layered upon themselves, and for a moment, the golden-glazed roof tiles blurred and faded, replaced by a star-strewn night sky and a colossal Buddha towering above all things.

Her jade countenance was stern and majestic, golden elephants radiated glory, boundless Buddhist light pierced through clouds and clear heavens, bathing the entire brilliantly lit city of Chang'an in a pale golden glow, as if entering a Buddha-land on earth, where all beings dwelled peacefully amid the Buddha's flourishing realm.

Su Lin tossed the man and woman he suspected to be Reincarnators onto the ground, then turned toward the golden-bearded monk enveloped in Buddhist light, and—

The sutras, scattered across the hall by the gale unleashed by the monk's display of power.

"Tang Xuanzang, you have hindered the Buddha's work—do you know your fault? Demons ravage the earth, sentient beings suffer—step forward, receive the Dharma robe and the staff, and you may reach the Buddha, resolve a hundred karmic knots, and dispel unwarranted calamities."

The Buddha spoke, and golden lotuses bloomed in empty space; the Sanskrit chants carried immense authority.

"We are—" the Bodhisattva began to seize the opportunity, but then saw "Tang Xuanzang" swing the nine-ringed staff in two full circles.

Swish.

The weathered nine-ringed staff shot out instantly, becoming a streak of light that struck the Buddha's body; brilliant divine light exploded from his forehead, as if a red dot had appeared—but vanished in an instant.

In the next breath, ash rained down gently over all of Chang'an.

Su Lin caught the spinning nine-ringed staff as it returned, and walked toward the golden-bearded monk, who stared in shock at the shattered relic in his hands: "Amitabha—are you teaching me how to act?"

The surrounding Illusory Realm began to shatter; the space above the Jin Luandian gradually returned to normal.

It was not his own power, nor was the Buddha a true Buddha—but the brilliance lay in this single relic, which had just birthed a miniature world, dragging all of Chang'an into it.

Unlike fixed barriers or cave-heaven techniques, it bore similarities, yet its construction followed an entirely different path.

The golden-bearded monk looked utterly baffled, his expression as if he'd seen a madman: "Which team are you even from?!"

Looks like he needs some reeducation.

"Look into my eyes, repeat after me," Su Lin grabbed the monk's robe, his face expressionless as he stared into the golden-bearded monk's eyes: "Amen."

"Amen?" The monk blinked, then blurted it out instinctively.

Instantly, his eyes turned hollow and pitch-black, yet faint threads of light gathered within like cocoons.

"You are One, and also Ten Thousand."

As the golden-bearded monk began to praise, his body suddenly swelled outward, cracking like a porcelain doll smashed on the ground, as if about to shatter.

Pure radiant light spilled from his body, repairing the cracks; then, to counter the damage, thin, translucent, dark-purple tendrils emerged from within him, like needles and thread, stitching his flesh back together.

Seeing this, Meng Qi and the others all stepped back in unison.

"Isn't this too cruel?" Li Huowang whispered from behind Kleine: "Why's this baldy using this move? Isn't that overkill?"

"Brainwashing, conditioning, assimilation—once the whole process runs its course, they're one of us," Kleine said, using his Faceless One's expression-control ability to calm his restless Spirit Worm, lest it fall to the ground.

"Namo Amitabha," Meng Qi shook his head: "Master still hits too hard."

"Doesn't this feel… wrong?" Shi Hao's lip twitched; within the feathers flowing like blood, he sensed profound Daoic resonance leaking out.

"It's fine?" Li Huowang's expression was normal, unlike the others: "This level doesn't seem like much."

The others turned to look at him, their expressions tinged with unease.

This child…

Probably beyond saving.

Perhaps it's the effect of confusion—Li Huowang has already been corrupted, yet believes he hasn't.

"Enough," Su Lin said, watching the golden-bearded monk before him, now stabilized, not eliminated by restraint techniques.

"Tell me…"

Before he finished speaking, the golden-bearded monk's body suddenly vanished halfway, as if erased by an eraser, his face still worn with devout serenity, utterly unaware.

Then, in the next blink—

He vanished entirely.

Should I say "Interesting" now, just to play along?

Su Lin turned to the bound man and woman, considering whether to send them directly to another universe—when the same thing happened to them.

Meng Qi swept his sleeve, using the Sleeve of Heaven and Earth, a technique that displaced an inner world, to absorb them.

But after succeeding, he focused his senses—and found his sleeve utterly empty.

"Interesting," Meng Qi smiled faintly.

Their strength was at most one or two tiers above our two newcomers, yet they managed to escape under our encirclement—no, it was more like the intervention of a great power or the effect of some supreme treasure.

"Enough. I had hoped to guide them into my sect, but fate has no such bond—no forcing it." Su Lin gathered the scattered sutras, then turned to Li Shimin and asked: "Your Majesty, are you satisfied with my response?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's stunned expression faded, replaced by a broad smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's look of shock gradually faded, replaced by a broad smile.

Mount Lingshan, Beneath the Two Ashoka Trees.

Forty-two white rainbows stretched north to south; one pillar suddenly went dark.

Auspicious clouds, colorful mist, superior lotus thrones, misty smoke, and auspicious radiance filled the land of Tianzhu; as blessed light descended, an ancient colossal book continuously turned its pages.

【Tang Xuanzang held the severed heads of Guanyin and Muzha, then turned to see Kai'en's relic shattered】

Tang Xuanzang gripped the heads of Guanyin and Muzha in his hands, then turned to look at the shattered Kain Sheli.

【Tang. Tang.】

【Kai En told everything to @! #, he returned to Lingshan carrying corruption, the deceased Buddhas of Lingshan would revive in another form, and the Book of Ages would come alive, the Dao that can be Dao】 (crossed out)

【At the eleventh hour, Kai En's time curse erupted, he saved Guanyin and Muzha and began counterattacking; Tang Xuanzang and his disciples remained unaffected; Kai En… attained truth, he shared truth with Guanyin and Muzha, and they returned to the Great Lei Yinsi, the withered husks of Bodhisattvas and Arhats once again swelled, the Book of Ages would awaken and return to the side of the Great One…】 (crossed out)

【Guanyin, Muzha, and Kai En did not proceed to Chang'an… Kai En, having sensed truth, refused to alter it; the Book of Ages, having been entangled with the believers of &#!, was about to become an independent sentient being】 (crossed out) —【Kai En had long been dead, killed by the time curse's eruption during the previous mission outside Chang'an, his soul scattered, his body vanished. Guanyin and Muzha turned back halfway to Lingshan; those who entered the Chang'an imperial palace were illusions, yet Guanyin and Muzha retained memories of the illusions.】

"Old Wei."

"I understand."

An old man in black robes, his hair bound and crowned, eyebrows sharp as swords, eyes bright as stars, placed his brush upon the dragon-headed sculpture, flipped several pages backward, and saw only a smear of ink like graffiti.

"Interesting."

The old man, called Captain, withdrew his gaze and looked at the "Guanyin" and "Muzha" upon the lotus platform; his eyes gradually grew cold.

"I told you to wait outside Chang'an with the new recruit and Kai En, deliver the kasaya and staff to the scripture seeker and complete the plot — yet you clashed with the scripture seeker." His speech was slow, yet each word made the two upon the lotus platform tremble:

"Mu Yan, is it this Bodhisattva's skin that gives you confidence, or have you simply ignored my words?"

Mu Yan lowered her head and said: "I only wanted to help Kai En seize Li Shimin's true spirit; with the identity of the human Son of Heaven, we could accelerate our progress."

"Do you still remember what a team is?" The old man's tone turned icy. "If you think you have your own ideas, after this mission ends, go become a lone wanderer!"

"What's the rush, Old Wei Wu? Fine, let Xiao Mu come warm your bed tonight — kicking someone out of the team so easily sounds terrible." A figure of male and female fused in an embrace appeared beside him:

"This Joyful Buddha's dual-cultivation technique is truly excellent, Miss Mu — want to practice together? It might help you break through faster."

"She caused a big mess. If she can't even learn from others' leftovers, she'd better leave this team early and stop dragging everyone down." Wei Wu glanced at the man openly practicing dual-cultivation and said:

"Ya, this promotion mission has trouble — through the Book of Ages, I discovered another team has acquired the scripture seeker identity, and they refuse to cooperate with us."

"Oh?" Ya stopped his motion and laughed. "Didn't we post the announcement on the Reincarnation Plaza bulletin board? During the Abyss's critical phase, still some foolhardy teams causing trouble?"

"What, not satisfied with the team battle mission? Want to haggle now?"

In his view, teams entering this world for team battles were only A-rank level; even if occasionally one or two powerful individuals appeared, they could not match their squad.

Why? Because their squad was an entire tier higher.

As long as they could drag this world into the Abyss, their own promotion mission would be completed; then they would become an SS-rank squad, receive rich mission rewards, and naturally their strength would rise accordingly.

"Kai En is dead, cannot be revived by the Book of Ages; the other team possesses a strange artifact." Wei Wu did not hide his wariness: "Their information left no trace in the Book of Ages — hard to deal with."

Upon hearing this, Ya pulled on a white robe and walked straight to the Book of Ages to flip through it.

For an instant, as he read its contents, he wondered if he had entered some high-level weird horror scenario.

"No wonder they were assigned the scripture seeker position… should we contact the Captain…?"

"At this critical moment, we cannot disturb him — the Abyss is about to swallow this world; we must obtain the merit of the western journey and give these natives no chance to breathe."

The Abyss unconsciously devours other worlds — whether it was their original world or certain instance-dungeon worlds they had experienced over the years.

The 【Dang Hun】 squad's promotion mission was neither grand nor noble — merely an auxiliary drug to accelerate this process.

During this process, the Reincarnation Space would dispatch multiple Reincarnator teams into this world to better control parts of it.

This knowledge was no secret; over long ages, Reincarnators had come and gone in waves, yet the information gathered and the exploration experience summarized by predecessors still retained high dissemination and credibility today.

"The Reincarnation Space would never let a lion loose among rabbits to play games. This team may possess some strange taboo artifact, but their individual strength cannot match ours."

Wei Wu thought for a moment and said to Ya:

"Withhold the information for now. Give some items to your known A-rank teams; tell them not to kill each other — go eat Tang Seng's flesh."

"Also, send someone to negotiate with them — ask what their price is. But once sent, that person must sever all contact, to prevent them from using that taboo artifact to influence us."

As this thought arose, he quietly cast his gaze toward Mu Yan: "Guanyin Bodhisattva belongs in the Southern Sea hermitage. Spend this time properly assimilating the position you've gained."

Mu Yan's face turned pale; she recalled the strange demon monk, and her heart tightened — logically, a Reincarnator of this level should not be faced alone by her.

"Yes."

The 【Dang Hun】 squad's rules allowed merits and faults to offset each other; since she caused trouble, she must bear responsibility.

"Did Huangfu Tiangang tell you to do this?" Su Lin held the travel pass in his hand, looking at the Tang Emperor before him, crowned with a towering hat, clad in ochre-yellow robe.

"In the past, the Deputy Supervisor always stationed himself in the palace to prevent demon monks from entering Chang'an." Li Shimin touched his blue jade belt and smiled: "Though they've sent various threats and bribes through tricks, how could I let them succeed?"

This emperor was also strange — his actions and speech clearly showed some knowledge of the real Tang Xuanzang; had Su Lin not noticed the emperor knew little, he might have thought he'd just stormed the lair of a riddler.

Outside Huasheng Temple, Li Shimin ordered his generals to remain outside, then led Su Lin and others to strike the bronze gate, awakening several young monks.

"The Master has returned." The monks who opened the gate all smiled happily upon seeing Su Lin.

Li Shimin passed through the monks, guiding Su Lin's group through winding paths to a dim, nearly dark, remote area surrounded by high walls, with only a locked iron gate — as if leading to the wilderness.

"I'm tired too. If I were as ignorant as ordinary mortals, it would be fine — but this half-knowledge, trapped in the game yet powerless, wears even the emperor's spirit thin."

"Don't laugh at me — the Deputy Supervisor said today it was over, then vanished. I thought they'd abandoned the mortal realm, but how can a Son of Heaven sit idle?"

"I intended to fight that heretic myself, but never expected my brother to be so brave."

Li Shimin chattered on, now without any imperial bearing, speaking as if in casual conversation.

"This place — you're probably the first."

He pulled out a key, aligned it with the lock, and with a click, the lock fell to the ground.

"That's all I know. Brother, examine it slowly. At noon tomorrow, I'll see you beyond the pass, pouring wine to bid you farewell."

Before Su Lin and others could react, Li Shimin returned the way he came, shaking his sleeves with clear relief.

"This place blocks perception; heavenly fate is chaotic." Meng Qi warned.

"Zhu Bajie." Su Lin looked at Shi Hao: "Master is tired — can't push the door open. Please help."

Shi Hao glanced at Su Lin, stepped forward, and kicked the iron door directly — it flew off, revealing what lay behind.

That was

a forest of tombstones, each engraved with identical characters — before each stood a purple-gold alms bowl — 【Tomb of Brother Sanzang】

The iron door fell from the sky, smashing several tombstones.

"Sorry, Master, I didn't mean to." Shi Hao's tone was sincere: "Shall I buy you a new one?"

The overtime hell is over, it's time for dinner—hah hahaha... how is it already midnight?

(End of Chapter)