Chapter 170 - 155: News

"It shouldn’t be, search again," said the Heavenly General in a deep voice.

The group continued to search around the dilapidated temple. There wasn’t much ground to cover, and it did not take long for them to finish, yet they found nothing.

The Heavenly General stared at his comrades returning empty-handed, muttering to himself, "It shouldn’t be, could it really have been taken by someone?"

He wandered restlessly around the temple. Thinking of returning without success, he could already imagine the look of disappointment on his Marshal’s face.

For someone eager to advance, such failure was hard to accept.

At that moment, he turned his gaze to the statue sitting on the stone dais. Unlike the statues back in Luzhou in the North, this one bore no trace of ferocity. Instead, it seemed somewhat ethereal and out of this world, quite akin to the Immortals worshipped in the Three Pure Ones Daoist Temple.

He quietly approached the statue, examining it from top to bottom. Suddenly, the sitting statue opened its eyes.

The terrifying atmosphere nearly made the Heavenly General jump. Then, he felt the world spinning around him. When he regained his senses, he and his group had arrived in a strange world.

Golden Buddha’s Light shone upon them, surrounded by the grand chanting sounds of the Buddhist Sect.

"I am not sure which Buddha has descended. I am a Heavenly General under Marshal Tianpeng, and I respectfully ask the Buddha to allow us to leave," the Heavenly General shouted loudly.

Since the Buddhist Sect and the Heavenly Court were still in a cooperative phase, he believed the Buddhist Sect wouldn’t dare launch an attack, for that would be tantamount to declaring war. This thought kept him fairly calm at the moment.

However, within the Buddha Land, there was no response to his words. The grand chanting continued to echo throughout heaven and earth. The Heavenly General calmed his mind and listened carefully, only to discover that these followers were all extolling the greatness and holiness of the Paper Buddha.

"Paper Buddha!" exclaimed the Heavenly General. Never had he heard of such a Buddha within the Buddhist Sect, and such a multitude of followers wouldn’t be allowed by Mount Ling.

This realization shocked him. If it wasn’t the true Buddha, then what could it be?

However, his voice seemed to awaken the followers immersed in their chanting, and they all opened their eyes and stared at the Heavenly General and his group.

An invisible pressure descended, causing them to involuntarily step back. The place was too eerie, making everyone distinctly uncomfortable.

But it was too late. In that time, Buddha’s Light had imperceptibly invaded their bodies, making it impossible to leave.

Before they could resist, their minds were enveloped in this strange power, and shortly after, these Heavenly soldiers and generals became part of those extolling the Paper Buddha.

At that moment, the figure of Lin Fang slowly appeared above the Buddha Land. As the Paper figures were a mutation of his split soul, the followers here always saw him as the embodiment of the Buddha, sensing nothing amiss.

Lin Fang materialized and slowly walked up to the few who were now under control, softly asking, "What is the purpose of your visit here?"

"To find the divine seal for the Marshal," the Heavenly General quickly returned to Lin Fang’s question, but as he spoke, his consciousness seemed slightly alert, and he began to struggle.

However, the current situation hardly allowed him an escape, and in a breath, he was controlled again.

Lin Fang sharply sensed it—as a hint of celestial fate leaked out with this brief clarity, yet he chose not to sever this slender thread of fate.

"It’s just right to let that guy wildly guess." Lin Fang said with a smile to himself.

After all, at that moment, he was in Buddha Land, surrounded by the dazzling Buddha’s Light with fervent devotees around him, and a massive golden Buddha leading the forefront. It all seemed like the handiwork of the Buddhist Sect.

Given the style of the new Marshal Tianpeng, he probably didn’t have the courage to confront the Buddhist Sect, and most likely, he could only swallow his pride.

"What use is there in finding this divine seal?" Lin Fang continued to inquire.

The Divine General proceeded to share everything he knew, and after listening, Lin Fang fell into deep contemplation.

He always felt that this divine seal had thousands of connections to the current divine seals in the Heavenly Court, and that the Heavenly Court was destroying these seals to cover up something.

"What exactly is the Demon Court you mentioned?" Lin Fang asked, extremely curious about the Demon Court mentioned by the Heavenly General, as it was something beyond his knowledge.

Moreover, this so-called Demon Court was not at all mentioned in the Three Realms. He had initially thought it was the frightening Heavenly Court written in future novels.

But on further thought, this was Journey to the West world not the Prehistoric world, and the performance of the Demon Court was not as strong as he imagined.

"This was once an organization established by demons. At that time, they were competent enough to compete with the Heavenly Court, and the Demon Emperor was even a renowned expert in the Three Realms. However, they later lost in the war with the Heavenly Court, leading to the destruction of the Demon Court. The great demons from the Demon Court also dispersed and fled."

As Lin Fang listened to the narration, images he had seen from the White Element Sword flashed in his mind. If he was not mistaken, those demons fighting against the Heavenly Court in those images were probably from this so-called Demon Court.

"What about the Demon Emperor, what happened to him?" Lin Fang asked with great curiosity.

"It is said that the Jade Emperor executed him in the Northern Sea, and his body was divided into nine parts, each suppressed in different locations," the Heavenly General recounted the legend he had heard.

Lin Fang wanted to know more about the Demon Court, but given the low rank of the Heavenly General, without the backing of his leader, the newly appointed Marshal Tianpeng, he would not be privy to so much confidential information.

"Who is this Marshal?"

"The marshal, named Yin Qi, was once a Personal Soldier under the Jade Emperor. Due to his outstanding military accomplishments and multiple promotions, he has gained great trust from the Jade Emperor. After Marshal Zhu Gangliao was demoted to the Mortal World for misconduct, His Majesty supported Yin Qi against many objections to assume the position of Marshal Tianpeng."

"Because of this, he has also faced much criticism, with others believing he was unworthy of his rank. Determined to prove his worth, the marshal decided to make a name for himself, initiating the entirety of the Celestial River Naval Forces, aiming to win a significant victory to establish his position."

"Behind the scenes, he secretly sent us to find the lost divine seal to break free from constraints," the Heavenly General added.

Listening to this, Lin Fang had a preliminary understanding of this ambitious and dangerous figure named Yin Qi, who was fixated on climbing higher.

Given this, Luzhou in the North was bound to face troubled times. With a man so eager to prove himself, it was unpredictable what he might do.

It seemed unrealistic to hope for any compassion from him, pity for the demons living in this region, whose blood and bones would serve as the stepping stones for Yin Qi’s relentless ascent.