Chapter 837: Secret

Chapter 837: Secret

“They are not from Great Qi, they are not from Great Qi…” Li Huowang’s face showed a trace of melancholy, his previous vigor and vitality now gone.

Hearing Li Huowang’s words, Chan Du’s expression revealed a flicker of understanding. “I see.”

After a moment of contemplation, he clasped his hands together and said to Li Huowang, “Venerable Master Li, it seems you know where they come from. Have you had any past dealings with them?”

Li Huowang nodded but remained silent, sitting still without moving for a long time.

All this while, he had been eager to know their identities, yet now that he had discovered who they were, Li Huowang wished he had never learned the answer.

Chen Yurong, standing nearby, could no longer hold back and asked, “Immortal, what should we do next?”

With a mixture of emotions, Li Huowang raised his head, stared blankly for a moment, then his scattered gaze reassembled itself. “What else can we do? We must find that sword! I have to go back! I want to ask him myself!”

The fact that Gao Zhijian had sent people to kill him was something Li Huowang still couldn’t believe.

It was impossible! That honest, simple-minded fool who had followed behind him with a wooden stick—how could he now be plotting to kill him?

Had he really acted so quickly after just one question? He had to confront him directly and demand answers! What was going on?!

“You speak truly, Venerable Master. Whether or not they are from Great Qi, your sword must be recovered. It concerns whether you can return and also the survival of the people of Great Qi,” someone interjected.

“But there are no survivors now. We cannot tell where they took the sword,” another added.

“There is a way!” Li Huowang’s voice drew everyone’s attention. “Just because the Qian family couldn’t find it doesn’t mean nothing else can be found! For instance, the Upper Extreme Gua Kou!”

Last time, he had used the Upper Extreme Gua Kou to locate the dice and the heart of Yin-Yang Doumu. If he could retrieve the Upper Extreme Gua Kou again, he would surely use it to find the Spine Bone Sword!

“Venerable Master, I must say, the entire world’s feng shui has stopped. Finding the Upper Extreme Gua Kou will be extremely difficult,” someone said.

Li Huowang suddenly raised his head, looking up at the sky. “Who says I’m searching in Great Qi? I’ll go straight to the Guardian of Secrets and Mysteries—the Siming—to demand it!”

“S-Siming? That’s probably impossible,” someone said doubtfully.

“Who says it’s impossible? Just because I am Ji Zai, it’s possible!”

Recalling his past experiences, Li Huowang turned sharply to Chan Du. “Hold a Dharma Assembly at Jialan! Let me meet your Buddha! I need a bridge to reach them!”

Chan Du hesitated slightly. “Venerable Master, the Jialan Assembly is no ordinary gathering. Even in normal times, it takes great effort, let alone now. This may be…”

“What? Did you just talk nonsense before?” Li Huowang glared at him fiercely.

Chan Du took a deep breath, twirling his prayer beads, and finally nodded. “May the Buddha’s name be praised. I obey. Great Qi belongs to you, and whatever you say is law!”

The so-called Jialan Assembly began at Zhengde Temple. The procedure was still the same as last time—outer circle open, inner circle sacred.

Surrounded by writhing flesh and blood, Li Huowang slowly closed his eyes.

How long passed, he did not know. All sounds and sensations around him gradually faded away.

When Li Huowang suddenly opened his eyes, the Five Wisdom Bhaisajyaguru was wrapped in divine sound, hanging like a full moon above his head.

Under the moonlight, his flesh and blood began to detach themselves from his control involuntarily.

Li Huowang forcibly plucked out his own eyes, using the brief respite of his body’s condition to shout toward the Buddha, “I didn’t come here to see you! I came to find another Siming! The one from before! The one who governs secrets!”

As soon as Li Huowang finished speaking, the restless sensation in his body vanished. But he was blind now, unable to tell if the Five Wisdom Bhaisajyaguru had left.

“Are you here? Are you there? I am Ji Zai! Don’t pretend you don’t remember me! I was the first to act last time! You all owe me a favor!”

“I’m facing trouble in the mortal realm now! Isn’t asking for some Upper Extreme Gua Kou too much?”

As soon as Li Huowang spoke, he felt something pass before him—a sensation like fine strands of hair.

“Have you come? Who are you?”

Impatient and anxious, Li Huowang knelt down quickly, placing the eyeball back into his eye sockets, then looked upward.

But what he saw in front of him was empty—nothing but grass, just as when he had been blind. Yet now, he clearly sensed those fine threads passing through his body.

He reached out with his right hand to grab at the invisible strands, but when he pulled some, there was nothing in his hand.

“What is this? What exactly is this?”

As he pondered this question, the very strands passing before him answered it for him.

“Seeing without seeing is called ‘Yi’; hearing without hearing is called ‘Xi’; grasping without grasping is called ‘Wei.’ These three cannot be questioned, thus they merge into one. Above, it does not cease; below, it does not dim. Endless, beyond naming, returning to non-being. This is the formless form, the image of the formless.”

“Yi Xi Wei? Are you the Three Pure Ones?”

In an instant, Li Huowang trembled violently and woke up from his dream. Around him stood naked monks.

Li Huowang blinked in surprise, then realized his confusion had been resolved. There was no more doubt in his heart—he could now see the location of the Spine Bone Sword! As though he had always known it was there!

Li Huowang didn’t care who the Guardian of Secrets and Mysteries was! What mattered now was that he could reclaim his sword!

“Go! I’ve seen it! Everyone, let’s move out!” Li Huowang rushed outside urgently.

The abbot wiped the sweat from his chin with the back of his hand, troubled, and asked Chan Du, “Abbot, the Jialan Assembly is meant to meet the Buddha, why could he see the Three Pure Ones?”

Chan Du glanced at the motionless stone statue of the Buddha beside him and shook his head. “I don’t know either.”

Li Huowang gave orders, and no one in Great Qi dared disobey. Soon, anyone with even moderate strength followed Li Huowang’s lead.

Looking at the Spine Bone Sword appearing in his mind, Li Huowang’s expression grew grave, and his steps quickened.

This was a hilly terrain, with small hills rising and falling endlessly. The target had hidden among such complex geography.

Just as they neared, the earth beneath Li Huowang’s feet began to soften, pulling him slowly into it.

Others spread out around the target, forming a tightening encirclement, closing in to prevent escape.

Silently, everyone approached, holding their breath, gripping weapons ready for a final battle.

As the encirclement tightened, tension mounted. Many began muttering spells under their breath.

But just as everyone’s hearts clenched in fear, everything stopped abruptly.

At the center of the encirclement lay a green expanse of open land, empty except for grass.

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