Chapter 643: Factions Stir

The anomalous phenomenon on Mangshan was clearly visible all around Luoyang.

Ten li outside the Longmen Inn lay the famed Longmen Grottoes.

These grottoes were carved before Emperor Xiaowen of Wei moved the capital to Luoyang, and continued to be expanded through the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties, especially receiving strong support during Wu Zetian's reign.

For instance, the most famous statue, the Lushena Buddha, was modeled after Wu Zetian's appearance.

There is a story behind it.

One morning, as Wu Zetian was dressing, Emperor Gaozong praised her: "Your Majesty's features are dignified and noble, bearing the bearing of a Bodhisattva." Upon hearing this, Wu Zetian immediately wiped away tears and said: "Even if all before me is splendid, a hundred years hence I shall be but a pile of dry bones—who will remember my face?"

Gaozong replied: "What is there to fear? I shall order painters to create a fine portrait of you."

Wu Zetian said: "A portrait is fine, but it is but a thin sheet of paper—it cannot endure for a thousand years."

"Your Majesty says I have the countenance of a Bodhisattva—why not carve a statue of me on Longmen Mountain?"

Thus, Gaozong ordered workers to carve a vast open-air Buddha niche, nine rooms wide, on the cliffside of the western Longmen Mountain, naming it the Great Lushena Buddha Niche.

Wu Zetian named herself "Zhao," meaning "light illuminating heaven and earth."

And the meaning of "Lushena" is precisely "radiant light pervading all."

The two thus complemented each other perfectly; even the Buddha's face was sculpted after Wu Zetian's likeness.

To ensure this statue would be remembered for eternity, Emperor Gaozong summoned the finest craftsmen, and Wu Zetian donated twenty thousand guan in cosmetics funds; it took three years and nine months to complete, and even today, the people near Longmen still call it the Wu Zetian Statue.

When completed, it shone brilliantly, becoming a grand spectacle of the Tang Dynasty.

Alas, even the most glorious things cannot withstand the erosion of time.

Now, the statue's surface has long faded and cracked; years of weathering and several wars have left it damaged in many places, appearing dilapidated.

Before the statue stood two elderly monks, gazing upward.

These two were the abbot and the overseer of Xiangshan Temple.

The Buddhist sects near Luoyang were relatively powerful.

Besides Baima Temple, there were the Ten Temples of Longmen.

These ten temples had long histories, with Xiangshan Temple as the foremost.

In those days, Bai Juyi had donated six to seven hundred thousand guan to restore Xiangshan Temple and wrote "Record of the Restoration of Xiangshan Temple," praising: "Of the Ten Temples of Longmen, Xiangshan is the foremost in scenic splendor."

Like Shangqing Palace, Xiangshan Temple also harbored great ambitions.

But their goal was not to curry favor with the emperor, but to continue expanding the Longmen Grottoes, carving more Buddha statues, ensuring this sacred Buddhist site endured for eternity, and engraving their names in history.

Even, through such merit, to enter the Western Paradise.

The cost of such a grand project was unimaginable.

To this end, Xiangshan Temple exhausted every means to raise funds, drawing much criticism from Luoyang's Confucian scholars.

But against such obsessions, a little slander meant nothing.

At this moment, the two were fully focused on the Buddha above.

The foremost task in restoring the Longmen Grottoes was the Lushena Buddha.

Having suffered centuries of decay and war, this world-renowned statue had sustained extensive damage; restoration had begun years ago, but intermittent funding had dragged the work on for a long time.

The wooden scaffolding was already thick with dust.

All other workers had left; only an old man sat cross-legged beside the Buddha's palm.

He was tall, his clothes disheveled, his white hair hanging loose, his face weathered yet vigorous; though his appearance seemed wild and unrestrained, his eyes were as still as lake water, carefully striking the Buddha's palm with a stone hammer and chisel.

With a crisp ding-ding-ding, lime powder sprayed in all directions.

Gradually, the palm's ridges began to emerge.

Upon closer inspection, these ridges were composed of Sanskrit verses from the Diamond Sutra.

As the old man blew gently, every stroke of the text became sharply clear.

"Marvelous."

Abbot Kushu of Xiangshan Temple exclaimed in admiration: "Master Lu's fine-carving skill is unmatched in Luoyang—too light a touch won't do, too heavy a touch ruins it; the control lies in the subtlest of margins."

"The Buddha's body patterns are all carved from sutras; once complete, we shall invite Daoist artisans to consecrate and activate them. When the people worship, they will hear the Buddha's voice in their hearts—and the entire Buddhist community will tremble."

"Entrusting this to him will surely accomplish this great feat!"

"The abbot speaks truly."

The overseer monk beside him also smiled: "The key is that Master Lu is obsessed with his craft, not greedy for wealth—it gives us some breathing room."

Hearing this, Abbot Kushu could not suppress his smile and nodded: "This is karma—if Master Lu were not of such pure character, he could never have refined his skill to this level."

"Remember, when this is done, light a long-life lamp for him in the Mahavira Hall."

"The abbot is right."

As they spoke, their expressions suddenly froze.

A sudden gale swept through; moisture condensed on the Lushena Buddha's surface, gathering in its eyes and trickling down like tears, while the already faded lacquer on its body and the niche around it began peeling off in flakes.

Boom!

The ground trembled; stones and dirt rained down from above the grotto.

"Worse—earth veins are shaking!"

"What has happened?"

The two elderly monks were Daoist practitioners themselves and immediately sensed the disturbance in earth energy.

Above, the "Master Lu" carving the statue also stiffened, his arm's force shifting.

Ding! A sharp crack.

A fissure appeared on the Buddha's wrist, then with a thunderous crash, the entire limb tumbled down.

The two monks stared, their faces flushing crimson.

This Buddha was already ancient; even with repair, it could never be restored to its original state, and the manpower and resources required would be immense.

How could it be so fragile?

Before they could speak, they saw a blood-red sky in the distance.

"That's… toward Mangshan?"

"Heaven shows an omen—something has gone wrong."

"After all, it's Shangqing Palace's territory—we…"

"Go see. Baima Temple is Baima Temple, but Xiangshan Temple is too close—we must know what's happening."

After brief discussion, they quickly departed, ignoring the Buddha's repair behind them.

After they left, the old man slowly turned around.

His eyes instantly turned pure black.

Gazing at the blood-red sky, he frowned: "Why did it emerge earlier?"

He muttered, pinching his fingers in calculation:

"The time has not come—destroy the underground palace, and it will summon the orthodox Daoist sects."

"Enough. First, give them something to occupy them…"

…………

The disturbance on Mangshan stirred all factions.

Those at the center, like Li Yan and others, felt it most acutely.

In a short time, the bloodlight grew even more lurid, rising and falling like flames, staining the clouds above, coating the mountains and fields in crimson, as if a wildfire raged, blotting out the sun.

Around Mangshan lay numerous imperial tombs.

In the forests surrounding the tombs, birds and beasts fled in panic, flocks of crows darkening the sky.

Their cries were piercing, like ritual chants of exorcism.

Due to the collapse of the underground palace, dust rose everywhere; Li Yan and the others were covered head to toe in grime, looking disheveled.

Especially, soil from deep underground surged upward.

The air reeked of a foul, rusted iron odor, making one nauseous.

Yet even Long Yan, the most fastidious about cleanliness, paid it no mind.

"This bloodlight…"

Long Yan looked up at the sky, her face filled with shock: "Could it be… we've caused this?"

"Not our fault," Yin Jiuling replied.

The hunchbacked old man's eyes gleamed; he squatted, scooped up a handful of soil, tasted it, then took a pinch of five-colored earth from his waist pouch, piled it on the ground, and stuck three incense sticks into it, watching their changes.

In everyone's sight, the incense burned abnormally—left stick grew long, the two right ones stayed short.

"It's an earth vein disturbance—clashing of Gang and Sha energy!"

Yin Jiuling frowned, puzzled: "Six states' demonic armies' evil qi are suppressed here—something seems to be preventing their release, causing this commotion."

Li Yan also formed a hand seal, his ears twitching, then stared at the ground in shock.

"I… heard dragon roars and battle cries."

"Dragon roars?"

Yin Jiuling pondered, immediately pulled out the Luo Pan, circled several times, then said: "Hmph—worse. This underground palace has hidden arrangements I didn't detect—it connects to Mangshan's earth veins and even stirs the Central Dragon Vein!"

"It must be the 'Sui Hou Pearl'—could it really have such power?"

His eyes held utter disbelief.

Li Yan's heart stirred; he reached into his robe and pulled out a bamboo slip.

It was the one he had seized from the old yin-man possessed by demonic qi.

"Master, please examine this."

After explaining his background, Li Yan said grimly, "The demon artifact carried with it must be no coincidence!"

Everyone looked down and saw the bamboo slips glowing with a bluish-black sheen, appearing especially eerie under the crimson light.

Yin Jiuling took them and felt a chilling coldness—clearly not an ordinary object.

"These are Qin slips."

As he flipped through them, he frowned and said, "The Ming Jiao's Scripture Hall still preserves many others—identical in size, shape, and material—likely originating from the Qin Palace. But these characters… I truly cannot recognize them."

It was no wonder he was troubled; the characters were exceedingly ancient.

They resembled small seal script, yet were coarser and more complex, even somewhat akin to oracle bone script.

Upon hearing this, Li Yan also felt a headache coming on.

He had already examined them himself and recognized none of the characters; he never expected even this well-traveled elder of the Ming Jiao to be stumped.

"May I take a look?"

At that moment, Jin Yanfeng beside him suddenly spoke up.

After taking the slips and flipping through them briefly, he nodded and said, "These are 'Golden Magpie Script.'"

"The Mo Sou says: ancient coin inscriptions were made by Zhou's imperial treasury, Han's zhu and liang weights, and dao and bu currency. The Zhou-era coins bore these marks—ordinary people could recognize only a few characters. But I acquired an ancient text and studied this script."

"Elder, you truly deserve the name 'Golden Eye!'"

Li Yan rejoiced and hurriedly said, "Quick, what does it say?"

Jin Yanfeng nodded, carefully deciphering the characters, then his face filled with shock.

"This… is Xu Fu's own handwriting!"

Sweat broke on his brow as he continued flipping through them. "It recounts Xu Fu's departure from Shenzhou, his voyage overseas in search of immortality—he never intended to return. He left behind three bamboo scrolls: one recording the path to immortality, another detailing the secret of the False Yin Si, and the third the Luoyang sealing array."

He began reciting the original text:

"Fu, under the Emperor's command, quelled the demonic armies of the Six States at Mangshan. But these armies were born of yao sheng qi—ordinary methods could not destroy them. Thus, imitating Fengdu's structure, I established a False Yin Si to contain them."

"The False Yin Si rests upon the Three Talents: Heaven's position—the Sui Hou Pearl, Humanity's position—the Three Sovereigns Wood, Earth's position—"

Jin Yanfeng's voice suddenly halted, his brow furrowed. "This section has been deliberately worn away."

He continued reading: "The Six States' sorcerers forged demonic soldiers from yao sheng qi. If forcibly suppressed, the backlash grows worse."

"Penglai holds no elixir, Yingzhou holds no immortals; crossing the eastern sea is a one-way journey. Yet Qin law is cruel—I fear the Emperor will send assassins after me. Thus, I left a flaw in the 'Humanity' wood, to break the Emperor's Nine Cauldrons Shenzhou Array. Though my heart is uneasy, I seek only to protect myself…"

"What a demonic traitor!"

Hearing this, Yin Jiuling's face darkened with murderous intent. "So it was this bastard behind it all!"

"What 'self-protection'? If he truly feared for his life, why leave this behind? Clearly, he's secretly guiding us. Did it mention the path to immortality or the Nine Cauldrons?"

The matter was too grave to conceal.

Jin Yanfeng understood the gravity and studied it again, then sighed and shook his head. "Elder, what you seek is likely on the other scroll—the one titled 'Path to Immortality.' This one only details the False Yin Si."

"The 'Sui Hou Snake Pearl' connects Mangshan, the Yellow River, and the Central Dragon Vein. Should the Six States' demonic armies break free, the pearl, used to suppress them, will inevitably stir the Dragon Vein. At the right moment, it can draw forth the Yu Province Cauldron!"

"I understand!"

Yin Jiuling's mind flashed with insight; he gritted his teeth. "Xu Fu truly is a master of manipulation."

"The Sui Hou Snake Pearl is the bait; Mangshan's Dragon Vein is the fishing rod; the Six States' demonic armies are all tools, channeling power to pull the Yu Province Cauldron. Should any future generation covet the treasure cauldron, they will unwittingly trigger his plan."

"Wang Xuanmo captured the descendants of the Six States not to suppress the demonic armies, but to control the timing!"

"Qingming is tomorrow!"

Li Yan mused, "We moved up the timeline—did we disrupt his plan?"

"It's probably not that simple."

Yin Jiuling frowned. "Right now, both sides are locked in stalemate below. If we ignore it, the Sui Hou Snake Pearl will keep drawing the Dragon Vein's earth qi. The Yu Province Cauldron will eventually be pulled up. If we destroy the array, the demonic armies will break free—and then…"

Before he could finish, urgent footsteps echoed from afar, accompanied by the sharp clatter of metal.

"Someone's coming!"

Lu San barked a warning; the white fox leapt from his shoulder, ears twitching alertly.

Li Yan swiftly tucked away the bamboo slips, hand resting on Duan Chen Dao.

Through the swirling blood mist, he saw a group of figures in Daoist robes advancing rapidly.

At their head stood an old Daoist with white hair and beard, holding a fly whisk, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"It's the Shangqing Palace!"

Jin Yanfeng's expression darkened. "Judging by their posture, they're not here for a friendly visit…"

In an instant, the Daoists closed in.

A quick count revealed at least fifty to sixty of them.

Compared to Qingcheng, they were nothing—but so many sorcerers still formed a formidable force.

The Daoists' faces were filled with murderous intent; soon, they surrounded the group in a fan formation.

"Who are you, villains, daring to desecrate the imperial tomb?!"

The lead Daoist roared, his fly whisk pointing directly at Li Yan. "Did you dig up Jingling and trigger this crimson yao sheng disaster?"

Li Yan frowned and said grimly, "Elder, you misunderstand—it was the demons of Mangshan who did this…"

"Silence!"

The old Daoist refused to listen. He swung his fly whisk. "Mangshan is our Xuanmen holy ground, guarded by Shangqing Palace. What demons? You hold stolen relics from tomb-robbing—and dare to lie!"

"All disciples, seize these thieves!"

Before he finished speaking, over twenty Daoists drew their swords at once.

Whoosh!

Lu San and Li Yan immediately raised their fire guns.

"Hahahaha…"

The old Daoist laughed bitterly with rage. "New-style firearms? You think only you know how to use them?"

He waved his hand, and the Daoists behind him raised their fire guns in unison.

But before he could finish, his face froze.

Wu Ba stood with a tiger squat cannon aimed directly at them…

(End of Chapter)