The congregation's expressions beca even more serene, and the devoutness in their eyes was not feigned.
In the midst of the uniform, low chanting.
Hong Lei swept over them in silence, but he didn't feel peaceful or tranquil; instead, he felt a sense of unease in his heart.
Turning around to leave the main hall, he looked at Shen Yi with so nervousness, "Officer, what do we do now?"
The location seed to be the right one.
But the scene before them could hardly be considered evidence.
This issue was no longer simply a personal grudge. Along the way, Hong Lei had also heard that Shen Yi, with an overwhelmingly aggressive stance, had suppressed most of the younger generation in Qingzhou City at the Great Shun Gathering.
He had left almost no room for compromise!
At this mont, countless eyes within the city had temporarily set aside their hostility, quietly waiting for the outco.
If they couldn't maintain the previous decisiveness and handle Vajra Gate swiftly and neatly,
If they showed any sign of weakness in front of everyone,
The anticipation would be endless counterattacks upon finding that Shen Yi was not as strong and confident as he appeared to be.
Not to ntion other sches, at the very least, complaints about "Officer Shen" acting recklessly and perverting the law would pile up on the General's desk!
Not just from the outside, but even within the Demon-suppression Bureau.
These Colonels trusted Shen Yi so much that he had gained a prestige far beyond that of an ordinary Personal Adjutant General.
But this newly gathered authority needed ti to stabilize; if there were problems the first ti around...
"Get up!"
Two Colonels from the inner ranks casually flipped over the young monk on the ground and said coldly, "What trick are you playing? Where is your abbot?"
"The abbot... The abbot is not here, sir. We're only leading the donors in gathering energy and ditating. What is this about?"
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The young monk hadn't finished speaking when he saw the young man with the Yin Yang Fish embroidered on his clothing approaching. He intended to plead, but then he noticed the other party lifting his monk's robe, his slender fingers swiftly tracing over skin, flesh, and bone.
"Just started practicing?"
Shen Yi withdrew his hand and stood up straight again.
"What is Officer talking about? Practice what?" The young monk's heart leapt, and before the words of defense reached his mouth, he let out a sharp shriek, "Ah!!"
Clean boots carelessly crushed his arm, and the snapping sound was crisp.
Shen Yi, who had been quietly observing, now slowly walked to the front of the great hall, his aura of the Jade Liquid Boundary rapidly sweeping out, dispersing all the lingering smoke within the hall.
Almost at the sa mont, all the believers looked up in confusion; the joy in their eyes gradually faded, soon turning into an agonizing pain that seed to wrench the heart and scratch at the liver.
Clenching their robes, veins bulging on their necks,
Soon, the chanting turned into wretched low howls, as people forcefully flared their nostrils, but no matter what, they couldn't feel the happiness they had just experienced.
"Master! I'll write a letter, I'll write ho now! I will definitely have my grandson co to ditate and cultivate with us!"
"Just a bit more rcy!"
So staggered to their feet as if the essence had been drained from them, looking like walking corpses, and pleaded, "Give paper and pen..."
Hong Lei and the others from the Demon-suppression Bureau were slightly taken aback, then all frowned deeply.
Shen Yi peeled back the emaciated claw on his sleeve, and the golden glow rose again in his eyes!
In the grey, foggy view, which still alternated between mist and golden light, a barely perceptible streak of crimson finally erged from below.
He stopped using the art of energy perception and strode forward, stopping in front of the Buddha statue.
His fingers clenched into a fist, and then he thundered it out forcefully!
As the clay Buddha statue blew apart instantaneously, a hidden passage was revealed amidst the dust and smoke.
"Guard the above."
Shen Yi stepped down, and the two Colonels from the inner ranks bowed in acknowledgnt.
Hong Lei exhaled in relief and hurriedly followed, "With so many people left on the mountain and a secret passage built, it surely can't be just to swindle so incense money."
Before he could finish speaking, his expression changed slightly, he covered his mouth and nose, suppressed the urge to vomit, and continued to follow Shen Yi.
After an unknown amount of ti, the quiet staircase ca to an end, the ground beneath their feet was wet and slick, reeking with the intertwining odors of excrent, blood, and fishiness...
What caught their eyes were prisons composed of dark iron bars on both sides.
Beyond the iron bars, the prison preserved much of the natural appearance of the grotto; the only fixture was a stone trough where excreta and so paste-like food mingled, with traces of dicinal powder on the side.
Inside the filthy trough,
Bodies were sprawled with their upper halves imrsed, soaking in food and waste, cheeks gaunt and sared with feces, their eyes dull as they unconsciously swallowed the pasty substance, dirty and pathetic like a herd of swine that knew nothing but eating and drinking.
After taking a few gulps, he lay on his side on the stone trough, licking the dicinal powder with his tongue. Then his eyes bulged furiously, as if falling into so sort of madness. His body spasd violently until he was exhausted and his gaze beca dull, wriggling on the damp ground.
So crawled out a distance, reaching out to grab the iron poles, stupidly pressing their heads outwards, making a "clang clang" sound upon impact.
Hong Lei looked at the prison cells that stretched endlessly on both sides, not even bothering to count how many people were there.
In a world plagued by demons and chaos, he had seen worse.
But such a vile environnt was truly a first for him.
"How can that old man stand to stay in a place like this?"
Hong Lei didn't even want to use the term "bald donkey" anymore.
"He's probably used to it."
Shen Yi replied softly, continuing to walk forward.
If the words of Zhang the Butcher were to be taken into account, even starting from the killing of "Yuan Zhi," it had already been many years ago.
"What is he controlling these people for?"
Hong Lei found it quite puzzling. If he really liked raising things, why not just raise pigs?
Shen Yi stopped in his tracks, nodding his chin slightly.
Hong Lei followed his gaze and saw two old n with wooden buckets, pouring their contents into a large pit.
The scarlet, thick liquid churned, giving off strands of milky white, mixed with clots of blood.
The two n put away their buckets and looked coldly outside, seemingly already aware of Shen Yi's arrival, but their faces showed no sign of panic.
They just stood quietly by the pit, as if declaring sothing, their voices without a ripple, "The two benefactors have arrived a step too late and will die here."
Looking at the two sowhat familiar faces, Hong Lei quickly recognized their identities, both were elderly experts of Vajra Gate with significant cultivation, at least no weaker than Monk Benxin.
"Impossible." He exhaled, his hand pressing on the sheath, "No matter what, today you have to let have one."
"Both are for you."
Shen Yi glanced at the blood pit.
"Both?" Hong Lei twitched the corners of his mouth, about to decline, but his attention was also drawn to the blood pit.
The turbulent surface grew increasingly violent, as if boiling, visibly decreasing at a rate discernible to the naked eye.
Soon, a bald head erged.
His face was white and beardless, his two eyes opened wide and bloodshot, lifeless and foolish.
With each breath, the entire blood pit drained into his body. The alternating dark and pale hues flowed through his skin, showing no signs of demonic influence. Instead, there was a balance of yin and yang, and a robust aura, illuminating the seated figure, casting him in the likeness of an Arhat subduing demons.
"No need to endure... the ordeal... to obtain the Dharma Body..."
The abbot slowly stood up, his movents stiff, his words like muttering in sleep.
"Huh?" Hong Lei gripped the hilt tightly.
Could this be interpreted that way? That one needn't go through imasurable tribulations to attain enlightennt, but instead distribute the hardships to others and oneself obtain the Dharma Body?
Did that old man read the scriptures literally just like that?
"Thank you..."
"Thank you..."
The abbot convulsed, bowing to the prisoners, then brought the two n from Vajra Gate close, hugging them gratefully.
Under those seemingly frail arms, the two n didn't even have a chance to speak before their eyeballs protruded from their sockets, their bodies making a cringe-inducing creaking noise.
When he released his arms, these two experts, no weaker than Monk Benxin, were already breathless, collapsing limp like rotten flesh to the ground.
The abbot looked puzzledly at his feet, then burst into a sharp, wide grin, "Wishing to beco the Precious King today, to save such a number as the Ganges Sands Assembly... I have achieved perfection, ready to save you, yet it is you who are not destined to enjoy it..."
As he spoke, he leapt up powerfully, and the sturdy stone wall, several dozen feet thick, crumbled like tofu before his body, and in a flash, he burst out of the prison!
"..."
Hong Lei stared blankly at the two corpses on the ground, his heart sinking to the abyss.
He had heard that the abbot of Vajra Gate had obtained half a scroll of the Condensation Elixir Tempering thod, but he never believed the tales of a "half-sage of the Condensation Elixir" in this world.
Yet the scene that had just unfolded shattered his beliefs completely.
"Thank you."
Just then, soone patted him gently on the shoulder.
Hong Lei instinctively embraced himself, then saw Shen Yi pinching a wisp of dark and pale aura between his fingers, placing it in the silver bell at his waist, and then he turned around and swiftly headed towards the exit.
"Thanks for what?"
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