Chapter 2775: Sleeping Buddha Corpse
The so-called Ancient Desolate Ruins City was indeed severely desolate, with no buildings visible anywhere. Only some massive stones lay toppled or stood upright. Aside from this, the city was eerily silent.
Yet the city was not dark.
Because divine corpses filled the city.
Those divine corpses that had fallen not too long ago still emitted light, with colorful divine mist and radiant vapors rising and spreading throughout the city.
The sky itself was multicolored.
Zhang Ruochen and Hai Shui raced along the corpse of a divine dragon over five hundred miles long, moving swiftly forward.
Zhang Ruochen had examined this divine dragon corpse. The divine source within had long been dug out, the dragon blood corrupted by dark force, and the divine power within had almost completely drained away. It had likely been discarded here for millions of years, belonging to a dragon clan powerhouse from a hundred eons ago.
Over millions of years, combined with the dense dark force here, no matter how powerful its cultivation had been in life, it would inevitably be corrupted.
Even the dragon scales on its body had become dull and lusterless. When Zhang Ruochen swung his sword to strike, he could easily break through them.
"So many powerful divine corpses. I thought I might find some valuable treasures, but I didn't expect... sigh..."
Zhang Ruochen let out a soft sigh and put away the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Hai Shui said, "Dark force corrodes everything. The fact that their bodies have been preserved at all is because they were powerful enough in life."
Zhang Ruochen looked at her snow-white, jade-like face. Even without a single strand of hair on her head, she was still lively and beautiful. He said, "Actually, I've had a question in my mind all along."
Her eyes were bright as she stared at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Back in the stone temple left by Yinsnow Heaven, why did you advise Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen not to notify Wuqing Sect and Xue Jue War God, claiming that if they came, they would only be killed by the divine army? You are a disciple of the Western Buddha Realm. Wouldn't the deaths of Wuqing Sect and Xue Jue War God be a good thing for your Heavenly Court?"
Hai Shui said, "Are you doubting my identity?"
"Please, Little Master Hai Shui, tell me the reason."
Before dispelling the doubts in his heart, Zhang Ruochen truly did not dare to take Hai Shui to meet Bore and the others.
Hai Shui was silent for a moment, then said, "I have no reason to deceive you. A true Buddhist cultivator never lies. A true Buddhist cultivator possesses great compassion and kindness. All living beings' lives are lives. Knowing that one can save someone but choosing not to is going against one's own heart."
"I was truly grateful for Ruochen Benefactor's protection, which is why I offered that advice."
"So, Little Master Hai Shui is a true Buddhist? You don't even want to participate in the war between Heavenly Court and Hell?" Zhang Ruochen used the Heart of Truth to carefully sense every word she said.
Hai Shui said, "Unless what I do is to stop the war."
Zhang Ruochen frowned deeply. In her eyes, he could see no trace of falsehood.
And her words, "Unless what I do is to stop the war," happened to strike a chord with Zhang Ruochen. This was exactly what he had been seeking.
"Ruochen Benefactor has crossed the tenth layer of the Truth Sea. Your attainment in the Way of Truth is beyond the reach of ordinary people."
Hai Shui calmly extended her small, creamy-white hand, palm up, and said, "Why don't you investigate? If Hai Shui has even a shred of falsehood, you can kill me with a single sword strike right here."
Cautious at heart, Zhang Ruochen reached out and pressed his hand against her palm.
He not only mobilized the power of Truth but also employed the Wuji Sacred Intent, carefully sensing.
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his hand.
"Did you sense anything wrong?" she asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head.
Hai Shui said, "Is Ruochen Benefactor suspecting that Hai Shui has such profound cultivation that I can deceive your perception?"
Zhang Ruochen did not deny this.
"If that were the case, Hai Shui would have already struck, killed Ruochen Benefactor, and taken all your treasures and esoterica. Why would I bother to deceive a Saint realm cultivator?" Hai Shui said calmly and quietly.
This was precisely what Zhang Ruochen found hardest to understand.
If this nun named Hai Shui truly possessed supreme cultivation and harbored ill intentions, why hadn't she killed him?
The only explanation was that perhaps he was truly being too suspicious.
Although Zhang Ruochen had not completely let down his guard, he still said apologetically, "Little Master Hai Shui has a pure Buddhist heart, great fearlessness, great sincerity, and great kindness. It is Ruochen who has been petty-minded."
Hai Shui stepped forward, closing the distance between herself and Zhang Ruochen to mere inches. She shook her head and said, "Ruochen Benefactor is in the Hell Realm, a living myth among mortals, holding a high position. Yet you can save a disciple of the Western Buddha Realm and even take the initiative to lower yourself and apologize. This is what truly impresses Hai Shui. No wonder my senior sister speaks so highly of you."
"You are somewhat different from Cihang Fairy," Zhang Ruochen said.
Hai Shui said, "My senior sister enters the world, walking amid the mundane, and deals with worldly affairs. I, on the other hand, remain hidden, cultivating only Buddhism and my state of mind, ignoring worldly matters. Both are Buddha."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Turn around."
Under her long eyelashes, Hai Shui's eyes showed a hint of confusion and hesitation.
In the end, she slowly turned around.
The next moment, she felt Zhang Ruochen's scorching palm press against her back, sliding downward until it reached her waist, where it finally stopped.
"Slap! Slap! Slap..."
After examining her, Zhang Ruochen tapped his fingers on her back thirty-six times in succession, forming rings of golden light.
"The sealing secret technique that Yan Ting placed on you, I have now undone," Zhang Ruochen said.
Hai Shui pressed her palms together and said, "Thank you, Ruochen Benefactor."
Taking advantage of the earlier opportunity, Zhang Ruochen had once again probed Hai Shui's cultivation. Although she possessed a True Buddha Golden Body, the rules within her body were Sacred Dao Rules, not Divine Pattern Rules.
Hai Shui's cultivation had reached the peak of Demi-God, making her a top-tier powerhouse.
If not for someone as strong as Xue Tu making a move, very few in the mortal world could suppress her.
With her cultivation restored, Hai Shui's body radiated Buddhist light, her skin appearing even more fair and delicate. Sacred yet carrying a hint of enchanting charm, she was truly captivating.
Zhang Ruochen had not yet set aside his caution, so he did not return the Arhat White Pearl to her.
Following the direction of the sword marks left by Bore, they traveled several hundred miles, passed through the divine dragon corpse, and Zhang Ruochen discovered another sword mark, continuing onward.
"Ruochen Benefactor, look!"
Hai Shui called out softly, pointing upward.
Zhang Ruochen looked up. At some point, a massive bright moon had appeared in the sky, suspended above the colorful divine mist and radiant vapors. The light it cast down, like white gauze, draped an eerie glow over the divine corpses in the city.
A moon in the Abyss of Darkness?
Or did this moon only exist within the Ancient Desolate Ruins City?
"Ruochen Benefactor, come up quickly."
Hai Shui rode the wind, her green robes fluttering, and landed on top of a massive stone.
Zhang Ruochen stepped onto a cloud of energy and flew up, looking in the direction Hai Shui was pointing.
What met his eyes were divine corpses lying like overlapping mountains.
Among them, one divine corpse emitted ten thousand feet of golden light. It was a sleeping Buddha several thousand feet long.
No!
Not a sleeping Buddha.
It was a Buddha corpse.
Hai Shui said, "That Buddha corpse's Buddhist light is so intense. It must not have fallen here long ago, and its cultivation in life must have been extremely powerful. It might be a sacred being of the Buddha Realm whose name we have heard. Should we go pay our respects?"
Zhang Ruochen noticed that the location of the Buddha corpse was the same as the direction indicated by Bore's sword marks, so he agreed.
The two flew down from the massive stone and rushed forward at top speed.
After spending several hours and circling around mountains of divine corpses, they finally arrived below the Buddha corpse.
From a distance, it truly looked like a sleeping Buddha.
The surrounding ground and soil had been dyed golden by the power of Buddha nature.
But upon closer inspection, Zhang Ruochen felt a sense of sorrow. The Buddha corpse's face was not at all peaceful or solemn. Instead, it was gaunt and ferocious, nothing but skin and bones.
The Buddha blood within seemed to have long since drained away.
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palms together and bowed.
Beside him, Hai Shui was also performing a ritual, chanting softly, "Disciple Hai Shui pays respects to Ancestor Yunqing."
"Ancestor Yunqing."
Zhang Ruochen repeated the name, and suddenly his eyes blazed with light. He said, "Are you saying that he is the legendary Yunqing Ancient Buddha, the teacher of the Sixth Patriarch?"
"Not only the teacher of the Sixth Patriarch, but also the Buddhist teacher of Yinsnow Heaven," Hai Shui said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "How can you be so certain?"
Hai Shui said, "I once saw a portrait of the Ancestor at my master's place. Ancestor Yunqing went missing nearly eight hundred thousand years ago. I never expected him to have come to the Abyss of Darkness and fallen in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City. Amitabha!"
"Brother Ruochen, can you help me retrieve the Ancestor's remains? I want to take them back to the Western Buddha Realm for burial."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why are you calling me 'brother'?"
"Your relationship with my senior sister is close, and you are good friends. Calling you 'brother' makes our bond seem closer, doesn't it?" Hai Shui said.
Zhang Ruochen didn't care much about titles. He carefully observed Yunqing Ancient Buddha's corpse and said, "I think it's best not to move the divine corpses here lightly."
"Why?"
"These divine corpses have been left lying haphazardly here, and no one has ever collected them. There must be a reason. The Ancient Desolate Ruins City is extremely eerie. I think we should be cautious and not act rashly for now."
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen squinted his eyes. At the ear of Yunqing Ancient Buddha that was pressed against the ground, he saw a five-colored sword mark left by Bore.
The tip of the sword pointed...
It was pointing inside the ear.
Yunqing Ancient Buddha's divine body was enormous. Even just an ear hole was over ten zhang high, like a huge golden cave.
"Could it be that Bore and the others actually entered Yunqing Ancient Buddha's golden body?" Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
If Yunqing Ancient Buddha could be the teacher of the Sixth Patriarch and Yinsnow Heaven, his cultivation must have been unparalleled, definitely reaching the level of a God Venerable. If not for being corroded by dark force for hundreds of thousands of years, Zhang Ruochen suspected that even approaching the corpse with his current cultivation would be difficult.
Why had Hai Shui asked Zhang Ruochen to help her retrieve the corpse earlier?
Because even with her peak Demi-God cultivation, she could not move the corpse of a God Venerable.
The interior of a God Venerable-level ancient Buddha's body was like a world in itself, with dangers that could be considered forbidden zone level.
"Why? Could it be that Bore and the others are trying to find Yunqing Ancient Buddha's treasure?"
Zhang Ruochen knew that true gods would store their treasures in their Divine Realm World.
Since Yunqing Ancient Buddha had already fallen, his Divine Realm World should have been destroyed as well.
Hai Shui said, "Brother Ruochen, look at the ear hole of Ancestor Yunqing. There are many footprints. The footprints contain divine nature aura. Deities have been here. And it's very likely that they entered the Buddha's golden body."
Among the footprints on the ground, Zhang Ruochen detected the aura of unfamiliar deities.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Abyssal Ancient Sword, held it in his hand, and stepped into the golden ear hole that was over ten zhang high.