Besides Gu Hai and the burly monk, the valley was empty.
“Where is he? Imperial Emperor Gu, where is Zhengfa Ming?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng asked anxiously.
“Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, please calm down,” Gu Hai said with a frown.
The others looked at Vairocana curiously, wondering who he was.
“The Spirit Mountain Holy Land and the Southern Sea’s Purple Bamboo Forest want to capture Zhengfa Ming. I sent him to a safe place. As for his location…Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, please understand,” Gu Hai said gravely.
“But—” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said anxiously.
“Zhengfa Ming is Zhengfa Ming in the end. We should first consider how to save Gu Han,” Gu Hai persuaded.
After some thought, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng smiled bitterly. Alright, then.
Although he stopped pursuing Zhengfa Ming’s matter, he still dwelled on it.
“However, Jiang Gautama locked up Gu Han. Even I do not know where he is,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said with a bitter smile.
“Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, please follow me to the palace, then tell me the situation in detail,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Oh?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded with some misgivings.
“Gu Qin!” Gu Hai looked at Gu Qin.
“This son and official is present!” Gu Qin nodded.
“Tidy up a top-class residence in the west of the palace,” Gu Hai commanded.
“Yes. What should we name this residence?” Gu Qin asked.
Gu Hai looked at Vairocana.
“Just a hall will do. The hall’s name shall be the Hall of Great Strength!” Vairocana nodded.
“The Hall of Great Strength?” Gu Qin and Bodhisattva Lian Sheng appeared confused.
Isn’t the Hall of Great Strength Jiang Gautama’s religious grounds?
“Do as he says,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” Gu Qin immediately left with some people.
Gu Hai, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, and Vairocana flew back to the palace.
At the Soaring Palace Hall’s plaza, Vairocana reached out and grabbed.
Whoosh!
Seventeen purple Buddhist prayer beads appeared out of nowhere and landed on Vairocana’s palm. These Buddhist prayer beads all had an eye on them.
“Those are Jiang Gautama’s Light Stealing Buddhist Prayer Beads? They hide in the void and are used for surveillance. They do not give off any energy fluctuations, and no one can find them but him. How did you…,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said in shock.
Vairocana clenched his fist, crushing the Buddhist prayer beads into powder.
“Just minor tricks.” Vairocana shook his head.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng looked at Vairocana in confusion, unable to fathom him.
“Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, please repeat everything without omitting any details,” Gu Hai said.
“Alright. Gu Han is the good Gautama’s reincarnation. Imperial Emperor Gu, you know this. After reestablishing Nalanda Temple, we recruited some disciples to serve Gu Han. They are sincere towards Gu Han, practically fanatic devotees. However, they all changed after an encounter when they were out for some reason. They tricked me into opening the Minor Meru Illusionary Realm, where Nalanda Temple was located. Jiang Gautama barged in with many people from the Spirit Mountain Holy Land. Besides me, no one escaped. No, Gu Han nearly escaped.” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng frowned slightly.
“Oh?”
“Back then, Gu Han chanted a strange six-character mantra. Bright light instantly shone in the surroundings, as though countless Buddha images appeared. The Buddhist light showed many buddhas and bodhisattvas. Even Jiang Gautama could not differentiate which was one Gu Han. Gu Han nearly escaped in the chaos. However…however, he was unlucky and got caught. I escaped during the chaos caused by the six-character mantra,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said bitterly.
“Six-character mantra?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
“Yes. Gu Han created it himself. It seems to go, Om Mani… I can’t recall the last three characters. When he chanted the mantra, I…,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng recalled.
“Om Mani Padme Hum!” Gu Hai said as his expression changed.
“That’s right. That is the one. The six-character mantra contained boundless Buddhist principles. It takes a Buddhist powerhouse to comprehend it. Imperial Emperor Gu, how did you know this?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng exclaimed in shock.
“I taught it to him,” Gu Hai said indifferently.
“Huh?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s expression stiffened.
Gu Hai taught it? How can this be? Gu Hai cultivates Buddhism too?
However, Gu Hai looked at Vairocana.
“The Six-Syllable Great Light Mantra? Om Mani Padme Hum? It represents all the blessings of the Bodhisattva of Mercy. This means that Gu Han’s cultivation was too weak. Even with the Six-Syllable Great Light Mantra, he could not hide from Jiang Gautama?” Vairocana said, frowning.
“Perhaps. Do you have a way to find him?” Gu Hai looked at Vairocana.
“Since he has the blessings from using the Six-Syllable Great Light Mantra, he should still carry the bodhisattva’s conception. Let me try to sense him,” Vairocana said gravely.
“Alright, let’s go to the Hall of Great Strength. No one will disturb you there,” Gu Hai said solemnly.
Vairocana nodded.
Then Gu Hai’s group brought Vairocana to the Hall of Great Strength, which Gu Qin just set up.
Vairocana entered.
Creak!
The hall’s doors closed, and Vairocana entered a closed-door session alone.
At the side, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng appeared confused. Logically, his Nalanda Temple should be the most ancient Buddhist institute with its long history. Why did he feel ignorant about the Buddhist Dao before that monk earlier?
“Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, rest for a while. We will find Gu Han soon,” Gu Hai consoled.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng looked at Gu Hai with mixed emotions before eventually nodding.
At a small courtyard in Ying Divine City, Ying Imperial Dynasty:
Long Sanqian, Yun Mo, Sima Changkong, Shangguan Hen, and the Mosquito Daoist listened to an Embroidered Uniform Guard report.
“Long Shenying dismissed the crown prince, Long Aotian?” The Mosquito Daoist frowned at the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
“Yes. It seems that Long Aotian talked back to Long Shenying. Long Shenying deposed him in a fit of pique and assigned him to the border. However, this humble officer is still investigating his exact location,” that Embroidered Uniform Guard said gravely.
“Aotian is the person most likely to notice something wrong. Great, he has already dealt with Aotian. This Teacher Yinyue might be short-sighted, but he is quite smart,” Long Sanqian said with a cold expression.
“Furthermore, the movement of personnel in the capital has been extremely frequent. Many officials are finding it strange,” that Embroidered Uniform Guard said again.
Long Sanqian nodded. “That makes sense. He knows nothing about the capital and needs to move the personnel around continuously to find out how the capital works. This is not the Wu Imperial Dynasty; it is not that easy to grasp.”
“Ancestor is not stupid; he just fails to take the future into consideration,” Yun Mo said with a bitter smile.
Could someone who comprehended the music Dao to such a degree be completely useless?
“Tell me, have the three imperial dynasties and three mid-tier sects bordering the Han Nation sent envoys to meet Long Shenying?” the Mosquito Daoist asked with a frown.
“That’s right. However, we have not yet discovered what they discussed,” that Embroidered Uniform Guard replied with a bitter smile.
“It’s obvious, even without investigating. His Reverence will honor the dead citizens at Three Mountains City eight days later. They want to target the Han Nation again and are asking the Ying Imperial Dynasty to make a move. They will also ask the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s people to attack too,” Long Sanqian said sullenly.
“That’s why we need to settle everything within eight days.” Shangguan Hen frowned.
“If I guess right, the three imperial dynasties and three mid-tier sects might even send their sovereigns or sect masters in person to convince Teacher Yinyue.” Long Sanqian narrowed his eyes.
“That’s right. A sect master arrived earlier,” that Embroidered Uniform Guard said respectfully.
Everyone fell silent.
“We can settle everything within eight days. Given the situation, we can just play it by ear,” Long Sanqian said seriously.
“Oh?” Everyone looked at Long Sanqian.
“Prime Shangguan can transform. How about you transform into a Spirit Mountain Holy Land envoy and invite Teacher Yinyue to the Spirit Mountain Holy Land for a discussion? You can even bring in the people of these factions, inviting them to come with Teacher Yinyue. Once he leaves Ying Divine City and loses the protection of his blessings, we can ambush him. After severely injuring him, we can force him to exchange souls again, like we did with my third younger brother.” Long Sanqian narrowed his eyes.
“That is viable.” Shangguan Hen nodded.
“That’s right. Although it is troublesome to fight him, we can give it a try.” The Mosquito Daoist’s eyes lit up.
Suddenly, Sima Changkong shook his head, showing a faint smile. “We don’t have to go to so much trouble.”
“Oh?” Everyone looked at Sima Changkong with confusion.
“I recall His Reverence saying Prime Shangguan cultivates the Eight Nines Profound Technique. So, Teacher Yinyue cannot exchange souls with you?” Sima Changkong smiled.
“That’s right.” Shangguan Hen nodded.
“That will simplify things, then. We only need Prime Shangguan Hen alone.” Sima Changkong smiled.
“Me alone?” Shangguan Hen felt slightly startled.
“That’s right. You just need to transform into a mosquito.” Sima Changkong smiled.
“Transform into a mosquito? Mister Sima, what do you mean by this? Do you even need Prime Shangguan for that?” The Mosquito Daoist frowned.
I am a mosquito spirit. Why do we need Shangguan Hen to transform into a mosquito?
“No, you are different. I am thinking of letting Teacher Yinyue trap Prime Shangguan. If you get trapped, Teacher Yinyue can exchange souls with you. But Shangguan Hen is different,” Sima Changkong explained, smiling.
“Huh?”
“Mosquito Daoist, you just need to coordinate with Prime Shangguan. The rest of us do not need to do a thing.” Sima Changkong smiled.
“Oh?” Everyone’s expression changed.
Long Shenying held another banquet during the evening, entertaining the envoys from the six factions.
“Hahahaha! We will agree if everyone can convince the Spirit Mountain Holy Land!” Long Shenying guffawed as he looked at the envoys.
“Many thanks, Imperial Emperor Ying!” the envoys of the six factions said as they raised their cups happily.
Long Shenying raised his large goblet as though in toast to the alliance.
Just then, a small mosquito sneaked into Long Shenying’s goblet.
Long Shenying raised his goblet and guffawed, not noticing the mosquito in the wine.
Gulp! Gulp!
Long Shenying immediately drank up his wine in one go, including the mosquito.
Long Shenying’s stomach possessed an extremely powerful digestive ability. Let alone wine, he could quickly digest a Lower Heavenly Palace Realm animal spirit. However, he did not swallow something as simple as a Lower Heavenly Palace Realm animal spirit but Shangguan Hen, who had an indestructible body.
Shangguan Hen had transformed into a mosquito, and Long Shenying swallowed it.
Long Shenying’s stomach was not like Kong Xuan’s, which formed an independent world. It was just a powerful digestive system.
After Shangguan Hen entered Long Shenying’s stomach, he started to transform back into his original form. A powerful force started squashing Long Shenying’s internal organs.
Crash!
Long Shenying stumbled in pain, kicking over the table before him.
“That dastardly thing!” Long Shenying roared out in a rage, rocking the entire palace.
