noffsinger Chapter 88 Fellow Daoist, have you ever seen my disciple?
Chapter 88 Fellow Daoist, have you ever seen my disciple?
Qi Qinzi had just taken a step when his expression suddenly changed.
The exuberant spirit receded like the tide, replaced by an expression mixed with pain and confusion.
He loosened Xu Changqing's sleeve, held his head in his hands, and his body trembled slightly.
"...No," he said in a hoarse voice, filled with deep confusion, "Shiyo Denzo...it seems he's been gone for a long time."
"Daoist Master?" Xu Changqing's heart tightened. Seeing that he was not in a good mood, he quickly stepped forward and tried to soothe him in a low voice, "The past is the past, there's no need to force yourself to recall it. Our current situation is unclear, we..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Qinzi seemed to be suddenly awakened by the voice, and he raised his head sharply, a look of helplessness and fear appearing on his face.
He stammered incoherently, "Oh no, run! I feel like 'I' am about to come... No, that's not 'me'... It's 'him,' no, that's 'me,' run! Watch out for 'me'..."
"Taoist Master, what do you mean? No way..." Xu Changqing's scalp tingled, and all sorts of ominous guesses surged in his mind.
However, there was no time to ask further questions.
The next moment, Qi Qinzi's figure vanished in an instant, like wisps of smoke scattered by the wind.
Almost at the same instant that Qi Qinzi disappeared, the thick fog ahead parted to the sides without warning.
A three-headed figure dressed in a purple Taoist robe and wearing a lotus crown appeared silently about ten feet in front of Xu Changqing.
The one in the middle has a face that is six or seven parts similar to Qi Qinzi, but has a deep black line between his eyebrows, and his temperament is gloomy and sullen.
The left side of the head is half middle-aged and half old, with a wooden expression that contains a hint of gentleness.
On the right side were almost entirely wrinkled, aged faces, which were now turning slightly, their murky and eerie gazes falling on Xu Changqing.
"Fellow Daoist, have you ever seen my disciple?"
The lips of the old head on the right moved, its tone gentle, yet it sent a strange chill down one's spine.
"That immeasurable Heavenly Venerable!"
Xu Changqing looked at the three-headed Taoist in front of him and felt his scalp was about to explode. He could only curse under his breath.
"I did not reply to the Daoist Master. I am new to this place and the fog is thick. I have encountered many dangers along the way and have not met anyone else. I wonder what your beloved disciple looks like? If I am fortunate enough to meet him, I will definitely tell him to come and reunite with you as soon as possible, so as to fulfill your deep love for your disciple."
Xu Changqing forced himself to remain calm and spoke sincerely, but in reality, he was secretly using the Illusionary Body Technique.
Upon hearing this, the Taoist slowly leaned his right head forward, his turbid eyes staring intently at Xu Changqing, as if trying to see right through him.
"Fellow Daoist, you are too kind," the aged voice said, devoid of emotion. "My disciple, who appears to be middle-aged, is unconventional and unrestrained, the most carefree of all... Fellow Daoist, you truly have never seen him?"
"Hehe, Daoist Master, you jest." Xu Changqing remained expressionless, even revealing a helpless, bitter smile of being questioned. "Although my cultivation is shallow, I know that honesty is fundamental. I even have the nickname 'Good Man of Qingyang' in the martial world. How could I deceive you on such a matter? If you don't believe me..."
He paused, a solemn expression appearing on his face, and raised his hand as if to swear an oath to the heavens: "This humble Daoist swears in the name of the Heavenly Venerable, Heavenly Venerable above, your disciple Xu Changqing..."
Before Xu Changqing could finish speaking, he suddenly saw the middle-aged part of the head on the left blink rapidly and subtly at him.
"Disciple, haha, there, yes, my disciple is there..." The head on the right suddenly opened its mouth and laughed loudly.
Immediately afterwards, the right head of the three-headed Taoist priest let out a low chuckle, while the middle head shed two streams of murky tears, and the left head remained unchanged.
The three heads displayed a variety of emotions, a mixture of crying and laughter, but they ignored Xu Changqing. With a flicker, they transformed into a streak of purple light and drifted away like ghosts towards the direction of Ziyang Temple, leaving behind only a chilling echo that seemed to be both crying and laughing, lingering in the mist.
"call."
Only after the terrifying aura completely disappeared from his senses did Xu Changqing slowly exhale the breath he had been holding for so long, feeling his legs go weak. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken.
"Was that Daoist Qiqinzi?" Xu Changqing looked at Xuan Zi's departing figure, recalling that look in her eyes, and guessed.
But he dared not linger there. He pushed the Blood Lotus to its limit and his figure disappeared like a wisp of smoke.
......
"Buzz!"
Not long after the three-headed Taoist disappeared, a loud buzzing sound suddenly came from the depths of Ziyang Temple.
Immediately afterwards, a magnificent radiance burst forth from the sky without warning. Within the radiance, clouds surged and gathered, and a grand Taoist temple, radiating auspicious light, slowly appeared.
With its vermilion walls and green tiles, flying eaves and bracket sets, the temple complex is filled with halls and pavilions, with the bell tower, drum tower, alchemy room, and scripture pavilion faintly visible. The main gate of the Taoist temple is majestic, and above the lintel, two ancient seal characters shine brightly in the rosy light: Ziyang (Purple Sun).
"Ziyang Temple? This...this is Ziyang Temple?" A cultivator who had just struggled out of somewhere in the Ghost Forest looked up at the sky, dumbfounded. "But wasn't Ziyang Temple supposed to have sunk underground for a thousand years? How...how could it appear so intact?"
Xu Changqing squinted, observing the strange phenomenon in the sky. After the initial shock, a strong sense of bitterness welled up from the depths of his heart. He clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath:
"Hey, it's true what they say, comparisons are odious! Look at this, what you call the profound heritage of a thousand-year-old grand temple? This is what you call celestial grandeur! Look at this spectacle, this aura..."
While feeling a pang of jealousy, Xu Changqing calmly analyzed the situation.
"However, this should be some kind of illusion, reflecting the former glory of Ziyang Temple. After all, Ziyang Temple has been buried underground for more than a thousand years."
"The Great Dao is formless, yet it gives birth to heaven and earth; the Great Dao is without emotion, yet it governs the sun and moon..."
Suddenly, a grand chanting of the Huayan Sutra arose, as if a high priest was preaching and a Dharma master was explaining the sutras.
The sound of the scripture carried a strange and infectious power, causing those who heard it to tremble with excitement. Even some demons with shallow cultivation and weak will showed a look of infatuation and longing in their eyes.
Meanwhile, various strange phenomena occurred within the Xiaguang Taoist Temple.
A phantom of a fire dragon soars through the air, its scales and claws flashing; a precious sword's brilliance soars into the sky, its clear, resonant sound ringing out; jade scrolls and golden seals float and disappear, their Daoist inscriptions flowing; a phantom of a cauldron spews auspicious energy, which swirls into clouds... Each scene is like a recreation of an ancient immortal's Daoist temple, utterly captivating.
"This is a great opportunity. The reappearance of Ziyang Temple must mean that an ancient treasure has been passed down to this world."
A demon with a leopard's head and a human body could no longer contain itself. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and it roared wildly. Its demonic energy exploded, transforming into a black light that soared into the sky and rushed straight towards the Taoist temple in the glow of the sunset.
"The treasure belongs to the virtuous, and it is rightfully mine!" Another bird demon shrieked and flapped its wings to follow.
Immediately afterwards, three or four demonic figures, unable to suppress their greed, each used their own methods to rush into the sky.
Below, many more humans and demons held their breath, staring intently at the first group of explorers. Their eyes held greed, expectation, but even more so, caution and observation.
However, what happened next made all the onlookers feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave, their whole bodies chilled.
"Sizzle".
The bird demon at the forefront was devoured in the blink of an eye, its flesh and blood completely consumed, without even a single howl escaping its lips.
The following demons met the same fate, a bizarre and terrifying end.
"hiss!"
Seeing this, Xu Changqing couldn't help but gasp and mutter to himself, "Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Whether there's any opportunity involved is hard to say, and even if there is, it's not so easy to obtain."