Chapter 50: The Guardian of Tiandu
Under the radiant Buddhist light, Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse felt as though they were being reborn. At first, the sensation was blissful, but gradually, Lin Jing noticed sothing unusual. While his ntal strength was undeniably strengthened, he couldn’t shake an inexplicable feeling that sothing else had changed.
Even after opening his eyes, he couldn’t identify the source of this strange sensation.
Outside the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, Elder Mo stared intently at the evolving squirrel image on the stone stele.
“Stop staring!” the guardian ancestor Wang Batian barked. “He’s just a Qi Refining cultivator. Even if he manages to pass the first level, it’ll take him ages to adjust.”
“Ancestor, how about a bet?” Elder Mo grinned like a child with a sche. “I bet he’ll quickly pass the first, second, third… all the way to the ninth level!”
The tortoise ancestor burst out laughing. “Have you gone mad? A Qi Refining brat withstand Nascent Soul-level demonic pressure? Back in my day, even we Beast Kings cowered under that weight!”
“Do you dare to bet?” Elder Mo asked, his confidence in Lin Jing unwavering after betting on him being a rare beast companion owner.
“Fine! Let’s bet!” The two turned their attention back to the stele and the pagoda’s reflection in the pool. Before they could discuss the stakes, the reflection suddenly trembled violently as if the entire pagoda was on the verge of collapse.
Though it didn’t fall, the shaking was enough to alarm both of them. The tortoise ancestor leapt out of the pool in panic.
Monts later, Lin Jing’s astral projection returned to his body. Slowly, he stood up.
“Ancestor? Elder? What’s wrong?” Lin Jing asked, confused by their wide-eyed stares.
“What happened inside?” Elder Mo asked, his voice tight. Lin Jing had exited after just the first level, an extrely rare occurrence.
“Elder, I told you the seal on the pagoda is weakening!” Lin Jing said, his expression pained. “We barely entered before encountering a demon trying to escape!”
“What?!” Elder Mo and the tortoise ancestor exclaid.
“Thankfully, the legendary Buddhist elder left a contingency behind. His sealed consciousness subdued the demon.”
The two visibly relaxed.
“Unfortunately, according to the elder, the seal will only hold for a few more decades before losing its effectiveness.”
Their faces darkened again.
“At least it’s not an imdiate crisis,” Elder Mo tried to reassure himself. “The Demon-Slaying Bureau has plenty of experts. If we report this in advance, they’ll have soone ready when the ti cos. Besides, after being sealed for so long, the demon must be significantly weakened.”
“Exactly. I’m not fighting that thing,” Wang Batian muttered.
“Additionally, I learned sothing potentially valuable,” Lin Jing continued. He then relayed the treasure cave information provided by the demon. After a brief exchange of glances, the two elders decided to convene a sect eting to discuss the matter.
“For now, let’s seal the pagoda. It’s no longer suitable for training,” Elder Mo concluded, fearing Lin Jing might have been shaken by the experience. He promptly escorted Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse back to their quarters.
After Lin Jing left, the tortoise ancestor turned to Elder Mo. “Isn’t it strange that the seal loosened the mont he entered? Could that brat be a cursed Heaven’s Calamity Star?”
“Impossible!” Elder Mo retorted. “He has the Longevity Body, destined to outlive generations of ancestors. He’s just a Qi Refining cultivator—what could he do? The fact that he stayed composed and reported everything clearly shows his remarkable potential.”
“Longevity Body?!” The tortoise ancestor’s eyes widened. “That brat is going to outlive ?!”
Back at Danxia Peak, Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse sat at the entrance of their cave dwelling, taking deep breaths to calm their nerves.
“Let’s avoid places like that in the future,” Lin Jing muttered.
“How do you feel?” he asked the Pine Leaf Mouse about the Buddhist light’s effects. In response, the mouse pulled out one, two, three… until seventy red leaves floated into the air.
Lin Jing gasped at the sight of the dazzling display. “Next ti you et a sword cultivator, you can show off with your own Ten Thousand Blades Return to the Sect.”
Before the Buddhist light, the Pine Leaf Mouse, at Qi Refining seventh level, could only control fourteen leaves. Now, its ntal strength was so formidable that it could command seventy with ease.
Even if the Buddhist light had so peculiar side effects, they were willing to overlook them!
Lin Jing himself noticed that constructing Purple Qi for his Illusionary Path techniques had beco easier and more efficient.
“But if I had to na sothing strange…” Lin Jing mused, “the images of Buddhist figures like Fa Hai and Buddha have grown sharper in my mind, as if the ‘Buddhist essence’ has taken root.”
“Could the light have altered sothing deeper?” he wondered aloud. “I should find an expert to examine .”
Shaking off the thought, he turned to the Pine Leaf Mouse. “Want to try the Leap of Tiandu again?”
Returning to Cloud Cultivation Peak, Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse, now fortified by the Buddhist light, prepared for another attempt.
This ti, the Pine Leaf Mouse ascended effortlessly. Riding a single red leaf, it soared through the sky, pushing through the oppressive pressure with ease. Soon, it reached the summit and gazed down upon Tiandu Peak.
The view was breathtaking: an expansive mountaintop crowned by an ancient divine pine tree. Unlike ordinary pines, this one glowed with a crystalline erald hue. Its trunk shimred with spiritual energy, its branches golden-green, radiating an air of majesty and mystery.
The Pine Leaf Mouse froze, its gaze locked on the Tiandu Divine Pine. Then it noticed sothing alarming—the tree extended a branch toward it. The summit was devoid of other living creatures, making it clear that the guardian deity of Tiandu was not a beast but a sentient plant spirit—a pine tree!
It was over! The Pine Leaf Mouse quickly called for Lin Jing’s help. After all, it had eaten countless pine cones since birth. Who would have thought that the sect’s guardian deity’s natural enemy was actually ?
No wonder no Pine Leaf Mouse had ever succeeded in making this leap. My ancestor died unjustly!
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