Chapter 13 The Vajra Bell

When Feng Bujue pushed open the temple gate, he expected the creak of wood and a cloud of dust.

Instead, the door opened with unusual smoothness. The wooden hinges of the two panels turned with barely a sound, as if they were brand new. And the scene inside was not one of cobwebs and layers of dust.

Inside was a Buddhist hall, with no other doors or rooms. Light from outside streamed directly in through the gaps in the windows, allowing the players to see the scene inside clearly, even without a flashlight.

The hall had two beams and four pillars, with gray-blue stone tiles on the floor and brick and wood walls.

On both sides of the Buddhist hall, red-lacquered copper racks leaned against the walls. Each rack had four layers, and each layer was filled with white candles, none of which were lit at the moment.

At the far end of the Buddhist hall, directly opposite the gate, the only Buddha statue enshrined was a headless one.

The Buddha’s body stood upright, its right hand with fingers joined, palm raised, while its left hand and its head were missing.

"Hmm... It's hard to tell which deity it is just from this posture." Feng Bujue walked forward, muttering to himself, "This jia zhu gan qi statue... is it from the Yuan Dynasty..."

Suddenly, Si Yu’s hand pressed on Feng Bujue’s shoulder, pulling him back. At that moment, a wisp of black smoke rose from the ground not far in front of Feng Bujue.

Feng Bujue's attention had been focused on the Buddha statue, and he hadn't noticed his feet. If Si Yu hadn't pulled him back, he probably would have stepped right onto it.

The black smoke rose, gathered, and then a figure emerged from it.

The person who appeared in the smoke was an old monk wrapped in a kasaya, with purple skin, white beard, and pitch-black pupils. His appearance was quite terrifying, but his face was upright and dignified, not like an evil person.

"Who are you? What brings you to my Cangling Temple?" the demonic monk asked.

"We are just passersby," Feng Bujue said. "We heard that this place is haunted by wronged souls, so we came to investigate."

"Passersby? Humph..." the demonic monk continued, "This old monk sees that you two have awakened your spiritual senses. You're probably not mortals, are you?"

"I see that your face is purplish, and you're full of demonic energy. You're probably not even human, are you?" Feng Bujue retorted.

"Ha... Hahahaha..." the demonic monk laughed, "Good, 'not even human'..."

In that instant, the windows of the temple were suddenly shrouded in a black mist, completely blocking the light from outside. However, this pitch-black state didn't last long. The next second, all the candles around them were lit, emitting a greenish glow.

Between this darkness and light, the demonic monk's image changed drastically, completely transforming into a Rakshasa demon. His height increased to ten feet, and his bulging muscles stretched his clothes. His beard and hair had turned scarlet. His face was filled with demonic energy, and he glared at Feng Bujue with wide eyes.

Seeing this, Si Yu wanted to raise her sword to meet him, but Feng Bujue blocked her, turning his head and winking, as if to say... there was no need to act yet.

"Like that tree, you were turned into this form by a ghost transformed from a little girl named Ling'er, right?" Feng Bujue asked.

"What if I am?" the demonic monk's voice had also changed; his voice couldn't be described as rough, but rather "violent."

"I just want to ask, are you willing to maintain this state," Feng Bujue said, "or are you forced to, attacking those of us who come up the mountain under her control?"

"If I were under her control, would you still be standing here talking to me?" the demonic monk asked.

"Then you're willingly a demon, harming the common people?" Feng Bujue asked.

"The fact that I've become what I am today is indeed due to that child's resentment. Unless her resentment is dispelled, I... and all the ghosts on this mountain will be trapped here, never to be reborn," the demonic monk replied. "However... killing you people from Cangling Town is what we all willingly do."

"Is it because the people of Cangling Town wrongly killed Ling'er?" Feng Bujue probed.

"Humph..." the demonic monk snorted coldly, "I suppose you're one of those exorcists they hired to get rid of the ghosts, aren't you?"

"Of course not. If I were, do you think you'd still be standing here talking to me?" Feng Bujue replied arrogantly.

"Hmm?" the demonic monk was taken aback by these words. He leaned his face forward, "You little brat, you have quite the nerve."

"I don't have time to waste with you. Answer my question quickly," Feng Bujue said. "Maybe I can help you."

"You? Hahahaha..." the demonic monk laughed again, "Do you know why this place is called 'Cangling'?"

"Why?" Feng Bujue didn't know, so he directly asked the question.

The demonic monk turned around and pointed to the headless Buddha behind him with his arm, which was as thick as a thigh, "This was originally the dojo of a Luohan. The temple contains a secret treasure of Buddhism—the Vajra Bell." He lowered his arm and glared at Feng Bujue, "And I am the only monk in this temple." At this point, he seemed to remember the events of that year, and a hint of fear appeared on his ferocious face, "But now? Look at me, what have I become?"

"Oh? Is that Vajra Bell very powerful?" Feng Bujue crossed his arms in front of his chest, put on a nonchalant expression, and looked up to ask.

"You ignorant Jianghu swindler, you naturally don't know the power of the Vajra Bell!" the demonic monk was indeed fooled and began to speak eloquently, "The Vajra Bell is the supreme treasure of Tantric Buddhism, capable of activating the power of countless charms... illusions, shikigami techniques, summoning techniques, puppetry, praying for blessings, praying for rain, healing diseases, pacifying homes, dispelling disasters... controlling ghosts and gods, encompassing everything. It can even guide a person's misfortune to the realm of liberation, subdue evil, transcend desires, change the fixed patterns of the five elements, yin and yang, and the eight characters, reversing fate against the heavens!"

"Where is that thing now?" Feng Bujue didn't show anything on his face, but in his heart, he was already thinking with certainty—"The Vajra Bell, I'm going to have it."

"What? You want to seize the bell?" the demonic monk asked.

The moment this question was asked, Feng Bujue was seventy or eighty percent certain that this was a mission flag!

He immediately turned his head and glanced at Si Yu. The latter understood and didn't reply, only nodding slightly to indicate agreement.

"That's right!" Feng Bujue replied immediately.

[Main quest progress updated]

[Enter the Realm Within the Bell and find Ling'er's soul.]

Sure enough, the system prompt immediately sounded, and the main quest in the game menu also changed.

"You said you want to help us, I'll see if you have the ability," the demonic monk laughed. As he spoke, he stomped his foot on the spot with the force of thunder striking a mountain. The blue-gray stone tiles on the ground instantly cracked, revealing a crack about two meters long. A mournful wail seemed to be heard from the crack, but looking down, it was just pitch black.

"If you want the Vajra Bell, go ask that child for it yourself," the demonic monk said, extending his palm. In his palm, there was a bell identical to the one that tree demon had given earlier. "Take the bell and jump down."

Feng Bujue didn't let Si Yu go forward to take it, but reached out and took the item himself, then handed it to Si Yu. Then, he politely said to the tall monster in front of him, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."

"Enough nonsense. Many people have gone down, but no one has ever come back alive. The only thing that comes back... is the bell," the demonic monk replied.

Feng Bujue felt that this part of the story was about over. He turned to Si Yu and said, "Um... let's come up with a slogan and jump down together."

"First of all, I reject the slogan 'You jump, I jump'," she replied directly.

"Tch..." Feng Bujue looked like his cunning plan had been seen through, "Then I'll count to three."