Chapter 360: The Du Shi True Scripture!

Even if the journey for the scriptures is a trap, one must advance into it without hesitation.

This is an instinct carved into the bones of scripture-seekers; even though Tianhe Jin was both crying and laughing, like a schizophrenic, he set foot on the westward journey without a word the next morning.

Without any hesitation.

Speaking of which, his original plan was to create a bunch of powerful snake ghosts before heading to the Western Pure Land.

That way he might have the power to protect himself; regarding the matter of fetching scriptures, Tianhe Jin had harbored doubts since very early on.

The current situation, from a certain perspective, is actually several points better than the original plan.

Because even if Tianhe Jin gathered a hundred of those snake ghosts kept in the Ghost Prison, it still wouldn't be enough for Tang Luo to swat away with a single palm.

The companion is stronger, and moreover, is a former scripture-seeker.

Everyone's purpose is the same.

However, Tianhe Jin's mood showed no sign of improving because of this; fetching scriptures is a trap, but the white-haired man beside him, is he not an extremely dangerous giant crocodile?

Even those few old dead Tianhe Experimenters he once feared most in his heart, the most brutal and insane ghosts he knew.

The danger level of these "people" added together falls far short of the Tang Xuanzang beside him.

If judged by the broadest definition of "ghost," based solely on power and danger, then Tang Xuanzang is the most dangerous ghost under heaven.

Tianhe Jin firmly believes this.

At the same time, he believes he is just a tiny insect trembling between two colossal beasts; even with an undying body, it merely grants a sliver more chance of survival.

So Tianhe Jin is panic-stricken.

He looked at Yu Kongyuan beside him, calm as an old dog on the surface, god knows what inside: "We're about to reach the Western Pure Land, aren't you nervous?"

Yu Kongyuan shook his head with utter indifference.

Two months had passed since the last time at Flower-Fruit Mountain.

The group's westward journey was about to reach its end; during this period, Tang Luo and the others encountered a few special ghosts, suspected to be former scripture-seekers.

Just like the white giant ape at Flower-Fruit Mountain, mention "scripture-seeker" and these ghosts would go completely berserk.

They couldn't get any useful information out of them, so Tang Luo and the others stopped asking.

Right now, the location sensed by Yu Kongyuan and Tianhe Jin is right before their eyes; the terminus is very close.

However, such a short distance is not easy to "cross over."

Before Tang Luo and the others lay a bottomless black chasm, incomparably broad; gazing into the distance, only white mist could be seen, impossible to discern just how deep or wide this chasm truly was.

The location sensed by Yu Kongyuan and Tianhe Jin was right in the middle of the chasm.

And, in the dark, a voice told them to jump down!

They could not take other means to descend slowly; to enter the Western Pure Land, they must throw caution to the wind and jump down without hesitation.

"Let's go." Yu Kongyuan said softly, took a step forward, without any hesitation, and plunged straight into this bottomless abyss.

"Master." Fei Yuan Shisan murmured, and likewise leaped down.

Tianhe Jin glanced at Tang Luo and said with a smile: "Lord Xuanzang, you'll come along too, right?"

Tang Luo nodded.

"Heh." Tianhe Jin chuckled, retreated a dozen meters, closed his eyes, and sprinted forward, falling down with an "Ah" cry.

Tang Luo and Ao Yulie jumped down at the same time.

Roaring gales whistled past their ears; darkness swiftly replaced their vision.

Then, a piercing light occupied their entire sight, gradually softening.

Plop!

Tang Luo fell into water, completely lacking the sensation of falling from a height; rather, it was like jumping into a swimming pool from the edge — no pain, no itch, just the water a bit cold.

"Now this looks a bit like a Pure Land."

Tang Luo flew out of the water and landed on the shore; a faint light flashed, and his body became clean and fresh, without a trace of moisture.

In the fairly clear lake, the others also swam ashore, sizing up their surroundings.

The place where the group fell was a large lake; lush green grass grew around it, and a few fawns could be seen watching them with curious eyes.

There were also quite a few buildings nearby, some majestic, some exquisitely gorgeous; sadly, they had clearly been uninhabited for a long time, already dilapidated, possessing a kind of decayed beauty.

In the distance, a towering peak soaring into the clouds could be seen.

Faintly visible, a magnificent complex of buildings sat atop the summit.

Without lingering, their footsteps startled the fawns, and Tang Luo's group headed toward that mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, a stone staircase two meters wide led upward; green grass surrounded it, and every ten-odd meters on both sides stood a green tree, blooming with unknown pink and white flowers.

Petals fluttered down with the breeze, beautiful beyond description.

Worthy of the name Western Pure Land, only a bit too quiet.

Following the stone steps upward, they walked for over an hour before reaching the tightly shut main gate.

A plaque hung on the gate.

"Little Thunderclap Temple..." Ao Yulie felt a toothache; Flower-Fruit Mountain and Water Curtain Cave were one thing.

But this name doesn't seem like something Third Senior Brother, that honest man, would come up with.

During the westward journey, "Little Thunderclap Temple" was a fake concocted by the Yellow-Browed Old Demon, a great disrespect to Buddhism.

Pushing open the heavy gate and entering, the group saw a very spacious courtyard with a large tree planted in the center, its crown lush like a green umbrella.

Faintly visible, white tender fruits grew among the leaves.

Not many in number, barely discernible.

Tang Luo frowned slightly; Ao Yulie's eyes widened, he quickened his pace, walked under the tree, and looked up.

"Ginseng Fruit Tree! Master, why is it a Ginseng Fruit Tree!" Ao Yulie turned and said, his expression agitated.

The Ginseng Fruit Tree belongs to Patriarch Zhenyuan of Five Villages View; it flowers once every three thousand years, fruits once every three thousand years, and takes another three thousand years to ripen. The fruit falls upon meeting metal, withers upon meeting wood, dissolves upon meeting water, chars upon meeting fire, and burrows upon meeting earth.

The Sea-Mountain Realm is unique, exceedingly precious.

Inside Little Leiyin Temple, there's actually a Ginseng Fruit tree growing?

"Creak—" went a sound.

Across the courtyard, the tightly shut door opened, and a gray-robed monk walked out, one hand held upright at his chest; each step appeared small, yet crossed no short distance, and he soon arrived beneath the tree, pressing his palms together toward Tang Luo and the others, bowing slightly: "Amitabha, this humble monk is Huangquan; greetings, all of you."

"Hm?" Ao Yulie looked at this bald monk.

He found this person looked a bit familiar, and recalled for a moment.

He remembered this fellow's appearance was almost exactly the same as the executioner samurai they'd met outside Lake City back then.

The same emaciation, pale face, build that looked like a gust of wind would topple it.

The only difference was one had long hair, the other a shaved head.

That fellow was called Sanchuan; he turned Yu Kongxin into a human-faced eagle.

And this one calls himself Huangquan.

Sanchuan was turned into a headless corpse by Tang Luo; he should be impossible to resurrect, and arrive at this Western Pure Land before them, becoming Huangquan.

What relationship do the two have?

"We've met." Ao Yulie looked at Huangquan and said.

Huangquan glanced at Ao Yulie, smiled faintly: "No, this humble monk has never met you, Benefactor." As he spoke, his gaze fell on Yu Kongyuan and Tianhe Jin, revealing a trace of a gentle smile.

Yet it made the two's bodies tremble uncontrollably, a sense of fear arising from the depths of their hearts.

Feiyuan Shisan stepped forward one pace, blocking in front of Yu Kongyuan.

Huangquan's smile didn't change: "Two scripture-fetchers, please come with this humble monk; the Du Shi True Scripture is in the Scripture Pavilion."

He looked again at Tang Luo and them: "The three of you, please rest here a moment."

"Together." Tang Luo looked at Huangquan and said.

Huangquan blanked slightly, then nodded and said: "Good, then please follow this humble monk."

Following Huangquan through winding corridors, past layer upon layer of grand gates, Tang Luo and them arrived beneath a majestic high tower.

It was also the last building in this architectural complex, soaring into the clouds.

One-third of it was shrouded in mist and clouds.

A vermilion-red grand door over five meters tall; Huangquan extended a hand, slowly pushed it open.

A chill emanated from inside out.

"Please." Huangquan spoke, and walked in first.

The crowd filed in; the moment they stepped into the high tower, myriad chaotic sounds, like demonic voices pouring into the ears.

Snake hisses, frenzied beast roars, threatening low growls, mixed together.

As if entering a hunting ground; front, back, left, right, all four directions and eight quarters were brutal frenzied beasts.

There were also miserable human shrieks, resentful weeping, and "die die die die."

Repeated monotonous syllables, yet clearer than any sound, like a knife stabbing into the brain, frantically stirring.

"..."

Ao Yulie clutched his head, face pained and ferocious, dragon scales surfacing on his body, that peerlessly handsome face gradually taking on the semblance of a dragon head.

His body began to swell, a half-human half-dragon form, yet different from when he manifested dragon horns and claws.

It added not a shred of majesty; it looked more like some brutal wild beast.

The scroll he carried fell to the ground, writhing like a living thing, its postures extremely similar to the sword moves recorded on it.

The scroll slithered to a snake-bodied, human-limbed, ghost-headed creature, covering a patch of exposed flesh and blood.

This scroll was torn from that corpse.

"Aaaaaah!"

Over there Feiyuan Shisan let out a roar, both eyes and skin turning crimson.

Mouth and nose, likewise, began to swell.

Black hair kept growing out, covering the torso, but the head did not enlarge along with it, retaining its original appearance.

One arm's flesh and blood exploded, turning into a white-bone snake.

The other arm swelled even more severely than the torso, like a grown man's arm grown on an infant's body.

"What are these!"

Tianhe Jin disregarded the two's transformations, asking loudly.

"These are all the Du Shi True Scripture." Huangquan turned his head, smiling, smile eerie.

The tower's first floor stood quite a number of corpses.

There were ghosts', also humans', and even more were combinations of human and ghost, pieced together, neither human nor ghost.

Hard to find a suitable adjective to describe these things; indescribable, exuding a malevolent, madness-inducing aura.

The myriad auras turned into sound; even Ao Yulie could not resist.

One could see, on the half-human half-dragon, neither-human-nor-dragon, beast-like body, cracks began to split open, one after another.

Eyeballs popped out one by one, constantly rolling, or rather twitching.

As for Feiyuan Shisan, he had already mutated into an irregular lump of flesh.

The "Scripture Pavilion" those indescribable things' features appeared on him now and then, now and then vanished.

Yu Kongyuan exerted all his strength, yet could only barely maintain Feiyuan Shisan's face, not letting it disappear.

"Power is the Du Shi True Scripture; only power can save the world. These are the gathering of power!" Huangquan said smiling, "Come, choose; choose whichever part you like, spread it to the world!"

"Amitabha." A Buddha invocation rang out.

Two beams of light fell on Feiyuan Shisan and Ao Yulie.

The mutation on both of them instantly stopped, and they began to rapidly recover.

Huangquan abruptly turned his head, looking at Tang Luo, his mouth slightly open, revealing a mouthful of sharp fangs.