Ji Mo knew that the day of the so-called great harvest was likely not far off.
And could he truly stop the darkness from coming?
However, he was naturally optimistic and didn't dwell on it too much.
After all, no one knew whether tomorrow or an accident would come first; living each day happily was the most important thing.
The Yin-Yang Bodhi Tree took root within the Little Leiyin Temple, drawing the Dark Demon Wheel into its trunk. It used its Yin-Yang power to restrain the wheel, preventing it from causing further chaos. Simultaneously, it mobilized the boundless Buddhist resonance of the Blissful Plateau to slowly erode it.
"That was too close. This crisis has been averted, and the Immortal Spirit Realm has successfully escaped, gaining a reprieve."
The Four Unlike sighed. With the precedent of Ming Guang Buddha, those harvesters should be more cautious and not dare to act recklessly.
For a while, the Immortal Spirit Realm would undoubtedly be much more peaceful, but it was also the last calm before the darkness arrived. Once the time was ripe, they would ultimately be reduced to harvested leeks.
However, the Four Unlike would no longer be as dejected as before. It saw a glimmer of hope in Ji Mo.
The Yin-Yang Bodhi Tree swayed, clouds and mist rippled, and its leaves rustled like the chanting of Buddhas. The grand Buddhist resonance resonated with the entire Blissful Plateau.
"It's truly Patriarch Bodhi Seed! He's not dead; he has returned."
Some of the surviving elder monks of the Little Leiyin Temple, their eyes welling up with tears, swarmed from all directions and prostrated themselves before the Bodhi Tree.
To be precise, Bodhi Seed was the true master of the Little Leiyin Temple and was deeply loved by the people. Now that the traitor Ming Guang Buddha was dead, the Yin-Yang Bodhi Tree naturally took charge of the Little Leiyin Temple once more, and no one would dare to raise any objections.
Ji Mo was also somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the tea tree he dug up back then to have such a significant background, to be the renowned Master Bodhi Seed of the Little Leiyin Temple.
He quickly figured out the whole story. Ming Guang Buddha hadn't managed to kill Bodhi Seed completely back then.
The severely injured Bodhi Seed had escaped to the Xuanling Realm, transformed into a Bodhi Tree, and hidden at the summit of the Tongtian Mountain Range.
Later, when Ming Guang Buddha attempted to completely obliterate the Bodhi Tree, it happened to be saved by him.
Fate was sometimes so mysterious. After going through a long and winding journey, the Bodhi Tree returned to its homeland and reclaimed everything that belonged to it.
Subsequently, all the monks received a divine thought from the Bodhi Tree and immediately turned to bow to Ji Mo, thanking him for saving their lives and pledging their allegiance to him.
They had learned that Bodhi Seed had recognized Ji Mo as its master, and Ji Mo was now the true master of the Little Leiyin Temple.
Ji Mo had thus obtained the Little Leiyin Temple.
"Where is the ill-gotten wealth you accumulated over the years, the money extorted from the people?"
Ji Mo was not polite at all and directly demanded the wealth accumulated by the Little Leiyin Temple.
He needed to acquire more resources to replenish his body and accelerate his evolution.
"It's all gone."
The Arhat of Joy walked out and explained to Ji Mo, "Part of it was squandered by Ming Guang Buddha, and the remainder was offered to others. Only Ming Guang Buddha knew who they were."
Ji Mo's dream of striking it rich was shattered, and he immediately put on a dejected face.
He had thought the Little Leiyin Temple was a wealthy landlord, expecting to make a fortune this time, but it turned out to be a futile hope.
If he had known, he would have kept Ming Guang Buddha alive. That scoundrel must have hidden many untold secrets within him.
Ji Mo then asked the Arhat of Joy who else had participated in the plot to harm Grandmaster Kongxu.
The Arhat of Joy indeed knew some inside information and revealed everything he knew without reservation: "That battle was incredibly fierce. There were over a hundred super experts involved in the encirclement and suppression of Grandmaster Kongxu. They were all figures of immense power, but they deliberately concealed their auras to prevent outsiders from knowing their true identities. Most of them were killed by Grandmaster Kongxu, and only a handful survived."
Finally, the Arhat of Joy only revealed the characteristics of two people. One wielded a trident and was very likely a king among the sea demons.
The other was human, wearing a Daoist robe, but it was uncertain if he was from the Daoist sect.
"Sea demons and Daoists?"
Ji Mo was somewhat speechless. With such little information, it was impossible to confirm their identities. Finding these two would undoubtedly be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"These bastards have defected to the darkness and become lackeys, so they naturally cannot show their faces and will go to great lengths to hide their true identities. It's very difficult to find them. However, daring to attack Grandmaster Kongxu indicates that these fellows must be top-tier existences, and their status would not be low."
The Four Unlike analyzed and provided Ji Mo with some useful ideas, narrowing down the scope to beings of a specific level.
Ji Mo felt that the Four Unlike's analysis had some merit and cast a look of approval, finding this foolish donkey increasingly pleasing to the eye.
Chi Qingying came from the West Coast and dealt with those sea demons frequently. Perhaps she could provide some useful information.
Ji Mo suddenly remembered something else and continued to ask the Arhat of Joy, "Is there anyone in the temple named Wang Shou Zheng? This scoundrel went to our Void Sword Sect as a mole and stole Grandmaster Kongxu's notes. He needs to hand them over to me."
Those notes might contain important information, and Ji Mo wanted to get them back.
"Is it a book full of square characters?"
The Arhat of Joy had apparently seen it before and said, "Wang Shou Zheng only brought back a few dozen pages. The rest were reportedly taken by someone else. The eminent monks in the temple studied them for a while, but no one could decipher the writing. Later, a mysterious person visited, and Wang Shou Zheng and those pages were taken away, and their whereabouts are unknown."
"Taken away?"
Ji Mo's expression became even more grim. Were Grandmaster Kongxu's notes truly destined to be out of his reach?
He was itching to know the contents of the diary.
This trip to the Little Leiyin Temple had not yielded any money or the return of the notes, which was somewhat unsatisfactory.
However, the gains were still good. He had resolved an enemy for Grandmaster Kongxu, and his body's evolution had increased to 13%, which somewhat balanced Ji Hanhan's mood.
Ji Mo tidied up his emotions and walked towards the ancient bronze bell.
This was a good treasure, incredibly powerful. In the future, whoever he disliked, he could directly send them to their doom with this bell.
"It's just too big to carry around easily."
Ji Mo picked up the ancient bronze bell, looking troubled. He wished it could be smaller.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he spoke.
The ancient bronze bell seemed to understand his thoughts, and its volume continuously shrank. Soon, it became a miniature bronze bell, only the size of a finger.
The ancient bronze bell retracted its radiance, becoming ordinary. Its surface was covered in verdigris and riddled with cracks, appearing as if it could shatter into pieces at any moment.
As Ji Mo played with the small bronze bell, his expression suddenly changed drastically because he discovered two incredibly ancient pictographs on the bell's body.
"No way, this... could this be that legendary bell?!"