Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 363 - 316 Bookworm Immortal (4K)_2

Chapter 363: 316 Bookworm Immortal (4K)_2
Jiu Fenghai pointed at the ear of the Buddha statue on the far left. "These Buddha statues have many layers of gold leaf applied to them."
Xia Jun drifted over and, following the direction of Jiu Fenghai’s finger, closely inspected the cracked patterns behind the statue’s ear. Indeed, through the crack, he could see layer upon layer of gold leaf accumulated on the surface of the statue. He immediately realized that the gold leaf technique of this era involved repeatedly hammering a whole block of Gold with an iron hammer until it was as thin as cicada wings, then blowing it onto the surface of an object. Hence it was called applying gold leaf, usually only one layer.
Xia Jun asked, "Could it be the Jialan Sect is trying to display their wealth?"
"Unlikely. Applying multiple layers of gold leaf is wasteful, and it would obscure the patterns on the surface of the object. It only has the advantage of not peeling off easily. Using it to show off wealth, on the contrary, lacks taste." Jiu Fenghai paused. "It looks more like they’re trying to cover up the original color of the Buddha statue..."
He reached out and peeled off a piece of gold leaf, revealing the true appearance of the Buddha statue—solid, heavy, pitch-black, the material resembling hard rock.
What exactly is this...
A ridiculously absurd idea rose in Jiu Fenghai’s mind. He pursed his lips, raised his palm, and pressed it against the Buddha statue, slowly circulating his Qi Sea. Spiritual Power slowly permeated into the Buddha statue; it was solid and dead, showing no signs of vitality.
Jiu Fenghai unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to turn to Xia Jun to say something when he saw a dazzling Buddha Light outside the window.
「In the monastery’s dining hall courtyard,」
Monks gathered. Liao Wu and Abbot Lian Nan, with ashen faces, looked at the empty dining hall storage. Stored grains, oils, and vegetables had all turned into char.
"Kong Hai!" Abbot Lian Nan was nearly roaring.
The named Monk Kong Hai, who was usually in charge of the warehouse, fell to the ground with a thump, trembling like a sieve, and stuttered, "Abbot, other brothers and I have been outside the warehouse shed all night. We haven’t left, nor have we seen anyone break in..."
"What happened then?!" Abbot Lian Nan struggled to hide his rage. He pointed at the warehouse, his imposing aura pressing down on Monk Kong Hai, bending his back.
"Brother, do not commit the sin of anger," Liao Wu said slowly. "The warehouse had more than ten layers of Prohibition set up. Even you and I wouldn’t find it easy to sneak in silently. The intruder must be a Technician of Candle Cloud Realm or a Divine Talisman Master capable of using the Extinguishing Talisman to silently burn down the entire stock. It’s understandable that Kong Hai and the others didn’t notice."
"But!" Abbot Lian Nan forced the words through his teeth. "What about the food?"
"There are still crops in the fields. Besides, the pond can be used for breeding fish and the pastures for breeding livestock to supply the pilgrims. There will be a way." Before the abbot could finish, a monk ran up in a panic and whispered a few words into his ear.
Liao Wu’s face suddenly changed, and he looked toward the direction of the farmland behind the mountain.
"..."
Ink Silk Flies were circling over the Mountain of Mind and Heart. Wherever they could see, the fields and the crops within had all turned into scorched earth.
「The next morning,」
The dining hall only offered thin porridge—calling it porridge was more akin to calling it rice soup. Pilgrims looked at each other. Someone couldn’t help but stand up and inquire of the monk serving the porridge beside them, "Master, what’s going on?"
The serving monk’s face showed embarrassment. He started to speak, then stopped, but eventually, it was the nearby Kongwo Monk who answered, "Last night coincided with a fire dragon burning down the storage. Some of the materials in the warehouse were damaged, but the remaining food should last for a while. As for—"
"Look outside!" No one knew who shouted, but the pilgrims stood up and looked outside, seeing Jialan Monks working furiously to plow the scorched farmland.
The panicky discussions grew louder. A group of pilgrims surrounded Kongwo Monk, bombarding him with questions, "Master Kongwo, how much food does the Jialan Sect still have? Is there enough to eat?"
"Yes, Master Kongwo, you are a monk; you cannot lie to us!"
The pilgrims were visibly panicked; they were familiar with famine even if they hadn’t directly experienced it. Eight thousand pilgrims and nearly ten thousand monks consumed vast amounts of food daily. If the food stored in the warehouse was burned and they needed to start planting anew, many wouldn’t last until the autumn harvest.
"Master Kongwo, we’ve all paid! The Jialan Sect cannot just ignore our lives!"
"Where is the Abbot, the head of the monastery? We need to speak to him."
The pilgrims crowded around Kongwo Monk, clamoring loudly.
Initially, when the Jialan Sect was selecting pilgrims to enter the mountain, in addition to the young and devout and those with connections to the monks, they had also received many wealthy merchants and Jianghu cultivators. Each person paid a certain amount of money, a little over 10,000 strings of coins, and as much as 100,000 strings. With this, they secured a chance to enter the mountain. Having paid so much money, it was really hard to accept if they still had to endure hunger.
"Everyone, please stay calm..." Kongwo Monk tried to explain but was drowned out by the noise.
"Enough!" The sound of a large bell, like a Buddhist chant, filled the hall as Abbot Lian Nan strode in and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, please follow me to assemble outside the Grand Hall!"
Abbot Lian Nan was highly respected, and as soon as he appeared, the chaos in the hall immediately subsided. Everyone surged towards the open space outside the Grand Hall.
Once the crowd had settled, Abbot Lian Nan stood on the steps in front of the hall and proclaimed, "The food in the storehouse and the crops in the back mountains were indeed burned last night, but it is not entirely hopeless. There are still frozen vegetables in the ice cave, and plenty of fish in the ponds and rivers. Enough to last until the autumn harvest. If worst comes to worst, the Jialan Sect can activate the Mountain Guarding Array and urgently buy food from the outside world."
"Really? That’s great!"
"We are saved!"
The congregation below breathed a sigh of relief, but some cultivators furrowed their brows. Being people of Cultivation, they knew well that the Mountain Guarding Array used by the Jialan Sect sacrificed a lot for the sake of range and strength. Firstly, it was not intelligent enough. Even the Jialan Sect’s own people could not enter the Prohibition, or they would be obliterated. Secondly, the consumption was huge. Just maintaining the Array every day used up resources worth 10,000 strings of coins. Shutting it down and starting it up in a short period of time would also damage the Array itself. Not to mention whether there was food available outside or whether it could be bought. Even if there was, could the Mountain Guarding Array really be activated again after being shut down?
In a corner of the crowd, Sui Yi frowned and said, "The storehouse is burned, the crops are destroyed, it all looks like impending doom... Could it be that the Jialan Sect is destroyed because of this? Not enough food, survivors killing each other?"
"It doesn’t seem likely." Jiu Fenghai shook his head and said, "Though Xia Jun and I didn’t discover the burning of the storehouse immediately last night, we still managed to get to the scene quickly using a Ghost Travel Talisman and observed from a distance. Five or six large storehouses burnt down completely, yet the Prohibitions weren’t triggered, and the guards didn’t detect any disturbances beforehand. It’s a bit like an Extinguishing Talisman capable of releasing rapidly spreading flames. However, if a Divine Talisman Master did it, it still wouldn’t make sense."
Ashina Que Teqin pondered for a moment and asked, "Are you saying... burning the grain won’t destroy the Jialan Sect?"
"Yes." Jiu Fenghai nodded and said, "Among the eight thousand pilgrims, there are only a little over one hundred cultivators. The Jialan Monks number nearly ten thousand, with more than eight hundred able to sense Qi. The disparity in forces is too great. Killing each other off would still leave enough people to wait for the autumn harvest. Thus, the Jialan Sect will definitely not be destroyed just because of insufficient food. Rather, shutting down the Mountain Guarding Array poses a higher risk."
The group discussed the potential reasons for the extinction of the Jialan Sect and ways of survival, even beginning to consider whether they could jump in front of the abbot and claim they came from a future three hundred years hence where the Jialan Sect was already extinct, asking for the immediate deactivation of the Mountain Guarding Array—clearly an implausible suggestion, the more likely outcome would be being captured as a demon and tortured using Mutated Objects.
Li Ang did not join in their conversation. Under his sleeve, he frantically fiddled with the iron box engraved with "If you see the Tathagata, why not pay homage?"
Who could have left behind this iron box, sturdy enough that even the Yinghuo Sword Energy could not break it? If it was a relic of the Jialan Sect, why was it placed together with the Sea Shell Bell Bead? Shouldn’t it have been taken away by the Academic Palace Doctor who came later? If it was left by the Academic Palace Doctor... what could the purpose be?
Li Ang’s thoughts churned. He had combed through all the Jialan Sect’s materials but found no information related to the iron box...
BUZZ!
Just a second ago, Abbot Lian Nan was talking on the platform. Suddenly, a dull sound rose, and the ground in front of the Grand Hall lit up with patterns, like a net, ensnaring all the pilgrims within. The crowd immediately became noisy and restless. A few cultivators dressed like pilgrims changed their expressions and reached for their weapons but were shocked to find their Qi Sea blocked, unable to summon their Spiritual Power.
TAP, TAP, TAP, TAP.
A group of Martial Monks charged up from a corner, wielding long and short clubs, and surrounded the crowd.
"Everyone, please stay calm!" Abbot Lian Nan’s voice overpowered all other noises, and he said sternly, "The recent portents all point to the infiltration of a demon into the Jialan Sect. Now we will check everyone one by one, locate, and eliminate the demon."