Chapter 507: Southwest Dark Cold Forest

The strange manifestation of the Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet startled Li Yan.

This object was gifted by the Dragon Maiden, used to convey dream-based clues—the true identity of the "Shanghai Guest" was revealed by its hint.

Since the last dream in Chongqing Prefecture was interrupted by a Yin Bureau mission, the Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet had remained silent.

Li Yan had thought it broken.

Yet now, it suddenly stirred again.

Could this "Charnel Forest" hold a clue as well?

Curious, Li Yan relaxed his mind and actively sensed the rhythmic pulse emanating from the Dragon Pattern Jade Tablet.

Soon, he closed his eyes and fell into sleep.

Once again, it was this bamboo hut, but Sha Lifi beside the bamboo bed had vanished; in the hazy dimness, it seemed only he remained.

Whoosh!

Lake water surged around him once more.

Li Yan was accustomed to this; he simply waited quietly.

Suddenly, a pair of jade arms embraced him from behind.

Before Li Yan could react, his entire body plunged downward, as if instantly sinking to the lake's depths.

He felt no danger—he knew the Dragon Maiden wanted him to see something—so he remained calm and composed.

In an instant, he seemed to have descended dozens of meters; all around turned pitch black, as if entering the lake's abyss.

Then, as if heaven and earth had reversed, he surfaced again.

And the surroundings changed utterly.

Before him stretched a vast expanse of hills, riddled with gullies, barren of grass, swirling with black sand and mist, devoid of any life.

Between the hills and gullies lay countless dense stupas, and mounds of bones piled into bone hills, surrounded by stacked stones, tall wooden poles bearing colorful flags—all yellowed and faded.

It was the "Charnel Forest"!

Li Yan instantly recognized the place.

Legend spoke of eight cold forests in the Charnel Forest.

According to the scroll obtained from the Incense Sect's Holy Maiden, this was the "Southwest Dark Cold Forest."

As he pondered, his body rose steadily into the air.

He had felt this before—when the Mountain God "Zouyu" in Shennongjia had drawn him into a dream to observe distant scenes.

As he drew nearer, the cold forest's details became clearer.

The bone mounds were clearly far older, while the scattered stupas varied in design but were all relatively recent.

Li Yan carefully recalled the intelligence he had gathered.

The five-colored flags hanging from the ropes were called "Mani flags," also known as "prayer flags" or "wind horse flags," commonly seen in Tibetan Buddhist regions.

These flags were hung on mountain ridges, open fields, and near cremation grounds around temples; inscribed with sutras, they fluttered in the wind, symbolizing the faithful's verbal recitations.

They represented not only faith and prayer but also spread the Buddha's voice through the wind—each flutter of the Mani flag equated to one recitation, possessing the power to liberate souls and ward off evil.

And those stone piles.

These were called "Mani piles" or "spirit piles."

They served many purposes: sacrifice, commemoration, trail markers… but in the cold forest, without doubt, like the Mani flags, they were used to liberate souls and ensure safety.

Both were Tibetan customs.

As for the stupas, they were called "Bhikshu Stupas," used to enshrine the relics and sarira of high monks.

Their coexistence here was not surprising.

The concept of the Charnel Forest also existed in Chinese Buddhist circles.

This practice had already existed in Han lands before the Sui Dynasty, promoting the Bodhisattva's selfless giving—even of life—converging with Tibetan Buddhism despite different paths.

Li Yan already had a suspicion.

This place may have originally been established by Tibetan Buddhist monks, later joined by Chinese Buddhist disciples…

This place was far larger than he imagined.

Li Yan was growing anxious.

First, the Dragon Maiden had yet to give any clue—he didn't know why she brought him here.

Second, Sha Lifi had also entered the Charnel Forest, yet his whereabouts remained unknown…

At that moment, distant winds suddenly intensified.

Amid the howling wind, faint sounds emerged—agonized wails and strange, grating bird cries.

Li Yan's mind stirred; riding the gale, he swiftly drifted toward the source of the eerie noises.

Soon, he saw his target.

It was a sizable stone watchtower, clearly Qiang architecture, yet vaguely resembling a stupa.

One side of the tower had collapsed, revealing a vast tunnel.

Outside, dark winds howled; shadowy figures drifted—some in Tibetan robes, others bald monks in monastic garb, their eyes glowing blood-red, flickering uncertainly in the black mist.

For some reason, they merely circled outside, never entering.

Above the mist, countless crow-shaped black shadows flitted up and down, yet could never draw near the figures below.

"Get out! Get out!"

"I'll kill you all!"

From within the tunnel came Sha Lifi's furious roar.

He swung a rotting bone staff wildly at the tunnel's mouth, but could not strike anything.

Moreover, he seemed on the verge of madness.

His eyes were bloodshot; he nearly stepped out of the tunnel several times.

Seeing this, Li Yan instantly sensed danger.

From letters, he knew Sha Lifi's heart had grown—possessing courage and killing intent, bold enough to face the Charnel Forest.

But in the Daoist path, courage alone was insufficient.

According to Buddhist teachings, the Charnel Forest was teeming.

Not only a dwelling for souls and malevolent spirits, but also a gathering place for Dakini Warriors and Dakini Mothers, under the control of the Charnel Forest's Lord.

As for the strange birds, they were flesh-eating vultures, commonly seen in the Charnel Forest like vultures pecking corpses and devouring souls.

Though fierce, they were sacred, symbolizing the cycle of life and natural law.

The structure before him was also strange.

Why would Qiang architecture appear in the Charnel Forest?

And why did it possess protective power?

Sha Lifi's spirit had, by sheer chance, hidden within it, barely resisting the onslaught.

Li Yan grew anxious, unable to resist the urge to descend.

But in an instant, the vision shifted again.

The ruined stone watchtower-stupa vanished.

Instead, an old monk dressed in Qiang attire sat cross-legged on the open ground, eyes half-closed, silently reciting sutras.

Countless malevolent spirits tried to approach, but were held back by the power of his recitation, shrieking and circling outside.

This was precisely the method of cultivation within the Charnel Forest.

As the old monk recited, massive stones appeared out of nowhere, leaping into the air to assemble the stone watchtower.

So this was it…

In an instant, Li Yan understood many things.

According to Buddhist teachings, he suspected the Charnel Forest, like the Qiongqi clan lands he had seen at Xianshan, was a fissure between the mortal world and the Great Luo Dharma Realm.

Dakini Warriors and Dakini Mothers, in Buddhist lore, were celestial messengers—likely originating from the Great Luo Dharma Realm.

This place could only be reached through dreams; it must be a kind of spiritual space.

The stone watchtower and stupas were likely tied to its construction.

As he pondered, sudden change erupted.

Hoo~

Seeing the watchtower nearly complete, the surrounding malevolent spirits went mad, launching desperate attacks.

They were likely failed cultivators here.

Driven by obsession and hatred, they sought to strike the Qiang monk.

Moreover, vast numbers of flesh-eating vultures were startled, swarming in a dense cloud, circling and relentlessly attacking the malevolent spirits below.

But the spirits' frenzy had overwhelmed the monk.

Whoosh!

The nearly completed stone watchtower nearly collapsed. "Roar!"

At that moment, a dragon's roar echoed.

From the monk's back, rolling black smoke surged upward, twisting in the air into a massive dragon-shaped shadow.

The gale howled, swallowing both the malevolent spirits and the flesh-eating vultures.

It was the River God Great Lord!

Li Yan instantly understood why the Dragon Maiden had brought him here.

The River God Great Lord's lingering spirit clung to this monk.

What Li Yan couldn't understand was why the River God Great Lord had come here.

Could it be…

A thought suddenly struck Li Yan.

Is the River God Great Lord trying to slip through the fissure into the Great Luo Dharma Realm?

With no interference, the stone watchtower was quickly built; the Qiang monk slowly rose and walked toward the tower, vanishing into its walls.

!.

Li Yan faintly began to understand.

To cultivate successfully here, one must manifest the Watchtower's Outer Form; all those Dadaxiaoxiao 's "Bhikshu Stupas" are traces left by Buddhist masters who once cultivated here.

Wind and sand drifted endlessly, as if time itself were flying by.

After an unknown length of time, a thunderous crash echoed—the stone watchtower's walls collapsed, and the monk slowly stepped out, gazing upward with a sigh, his eyes filled with helplessness.

Clearly, whatever he intended to do had failed.

The monk's figure vanished as well, leaving the Corpse Forest behind.

Though it lasted only an instant, Li Yan clearly saw his appearance: an ancient, weathered face, a thick beard, and pupils of golden yellow.

Then, the Dragon Girl's dream also ceased.

Li Yan felt an invisible force pulling him, rapidly retreating, dragging him out of the Corpse Forest.

"No, wait a little longer!"

Li Yan grew anxious and cried out.

But the force was too strong to resist; he could only watch helplessly as Sha Lifei and the stone watchtower's shadows swiftly receded.

Huh~

Li Yan took a deep breath and suddenly rose to his feet.

He turned his head—back in the Bamboo Hut.

Sha Lifei still slept on the bamboo cot beside him, face ashen, sweat beading on his forehead, teeth clenched.

"How is it?"

Lu San, who had been guarding beside him, immediately pressed.

Li Yan said gravely, "How long was I asleep?"

"Less than an incense stick's burn."

"So time in the Corpse Forest differs from outside…"

Li Yan glanced worriedly at Sha Lifei, then recounted everything he'd seen in the Corpse Forest, shaking his head: "This time, the Dragon Girl's dream brought me in—I was only an observer. I couldn't help Old Sha at all."

"Then what do we do?"

Upon hearing this, Lu San's eyes darkened with gravity.

The Corpse Forest's complexity far exceeded his expectations; if things continued like this, Sha Lifei would collapse before the ritual even began.

Once the spirit-soul sinks in, it may become like those malevolent spirits—haunted by obsession and resentment, attacking newcomers.

"I must enter the Corpse Forest!"

Li Yan said gravely, "I've figured out how to cultivate there. The stone watchtower where Old Sha hides is merely the lingering residue of someone else's practice—it won't hold much longer."

"If we build the Watchtower's Outer Form, we can protect Old Sha and complete the ritual. Tell me again—how did Old Sha originally enter the Corpse Forest?"

"He followed those old monks in their cultivation…"

Lu San recounted the details once more.

After listening, Li Yan said gravely, "I'll go to the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Temple and try as well."

As he spoke, Sha Lifei groaned, slowly awakening, his bloodshot eyes opening. Seeing Li Yan, he forced a smile:

"Fool, if you'd come back any later, I'd be dead…"

He passed out again, snoring loudly.

"No time left!"

Li Yan immediately rose. "I'm leaving now. San'er, prepare everything. When I return, we'll begin the ritual immediately!"

"Understood!"

Lu San nodded solemnly.

…………

Leaving the Bamboo Hut, Li Yan immediately activated the Jia Ma talismans and headed toward the valley Lu San had described.

Fortunately, the two places weren't far apart; within half an hour, Li Yan arrived at his destination.

It was still night. Looking out, the valley was blanketed in snow, howling with icy winds, utterly dark, not a single glimmer of light visible.

He sensed trouble and quickened his pace.

As Lu San had said, the closer one got to the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue, the more one's spiritual powers were suppressed. By the time he reached the small temple's entrance, all spiritual abilities were completely blocked.

The temple door was shut; traces of Lu San's earlier battle remained, but inside, there was only deathly silence.

Seeing this, Li Yan already had a suspicion.

Creak~

Indeed, when he pushed open the wooden door, the several old monks inside sat cross-legged, heads bowed, bodies cold, lifeless.

They had already been flickering candles in the wind.

A heavy snowfall and freezing cold finally claimed them.

Li Yan sighed softly upon seeing them.

He knew these monks still clung to the hope that the Sky Dancers would guide them to rebirth in the Pure Land.

But without a Buddha Stupa to protect them, they would only become wandering malevolent spirits within the Corpse Forest.

Spiritual opportunity and Buddhahood were never easily won.

They clung to this obsession—even less than Sha Lifei. Even if they cultivated for decades more, the outcome would be the same.

Ignoring them, Li Yan sat cross-legged, silently chanting "Corpse Forest," guarding his spirit with unwavering focus until he sank into deep sleep.

When he opened his eyes the next day, he shook his head slightly and fell asleep again.

Last night, though he'd dreamed, he hadn't been summoned.

He slept like this for another day and night.

Forcing sleep when unwearying was deeply uncomfortable.

Fortunately, just before dawn the next day, in a hazy dream, Li Yan arrived at a strange place.

Unlike the Dragon Girl's dream.

Around him lay silent gullies and hills; as far as he could see, darkness stretched into the distance, visible only nearby piles of bones.

He had finally reached the Corpse Forest!

Li Yan exhaled in relief.

He looked around—no wonder Sha Lifei had fallen into terror.

Being brought in by the Dragon Girl's dream was entirely different from experiencing it firsthand—like being trapped in a labyrinth, seeing a completely different scene.

Yet fear stemmed from the unknown.

Li Yan had been here once before, observing from above as an outsider; now, he felt no dread, sprinting swiftly toward Sha Lifei's location.

Here, spiritual powers were unusable too.

Around him, howling winds carried faint, piercing wails—even the sacred carrion birds' cries sounded like women's mad laughter.

Li Yan ignored it all, leaping and racing forward.

Finally, after crossing two ridges and passing countless Bhikshu Stupas and bone piles, the stone watchtower appeared before him.

Numerous malevolent spirits still surrounded it.

And Sha Lifei now had bloodshot eyes, as if insane, gripping his bone club, desperate to leave the trench and fight the spirits.

Swish!

At the critical moment, Li Yan leapt forward, grabbed Sha Lifei, and pulled him back into the stone watchtower.

"Roar—!"

Outside the cave, the malevolent spirits' furious roars rose in succession…

(End of Chapter)