This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 225 Requires Power

Only after Zhuang Lin left Yanzhen Sect and rode the Dharma Cloud into the sky did an umbrella vaguely open beside him, and the nameless figure appeared from nothing under the umbrella.

"How did you feel about meeting the One-Horned Demon King and the Heavenly King of the Shramana this time, fellow Daoist?"

Although Wuming never showed himself from beginning to end, Zhuang Lin knew that he had been there all along and had been observing, so he naturally wanted to ask for his opinion.

The nameless man, holding an umbrella, looked back at the Taihang Mountains, his expression more solemn than ever before.

"With such power even without seeing its full form, it should not be underestimated!"

However, upon hearing this, Wuming suddenly had a thought and looked at Zhuang Lin, who was riding on a cloud.

"The One-Horned Demon King? Do you recognize that demon-like creature?"

Just by hearing the name, you can tell who Zhuang Lin is talking about. He is the one who initially fought against Dao Yanzi and the other person. His physique is truly impressive.

Zhuang Lin did not deny it.

"That's right, it should be this fiend. However, I don't know much about him, only his name. And if I'm not mistaken, he is the leader of the seventy-two demon kings, and there might be seventy-one more among them."

Even Wuming, who was always expressionless, showed a hint of surprise at this moment.

"A total of seventy-two?"

"Um"

Zhuang Lin responded, but his thoughts were no longer on that. He kept thinking, and an answer that seemed closer to the truth was gradually emerging.

Seeing this, Wuming also fell silent and stood still, not disturbing Zhuang Lin's thoughts.

In the version of Journey to the West that Zhuang Lin had read, the Seventy-Two Cave Demon Kings seemed to be quite weak. When they fought against the heavenly soldiers and generals at Flower Fruit Mountain, they seemed to be easily defeated several times. Later, they were even taken down by the gods and did not have much screen time.

But does this really mean that the Demon King of the Seventy-Two Caves is weak?
Is someone who claims to be the Demon King really weak?
If we consider some of the settings in Journey to the West, then the celestial being who could defeat the seventy-two demon kings must have been incredibly powerful. The fact that the Shamen Heavenly King displayed a strong but noticeable sense of oppression in that fleeting glimpse also tells us something.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Zhuang Lin had already traversed a long distance. The outline of the great city of Xiangyang had reappeared in the distance. He looked up at the place where the human fire aura was strong, seemingly because he felt something special today.

Zhuang Lin seemed to be able to see, invisibly, the endless human anger mixed with a lot of willpower, and it seemed to be faintly connected to the sky.

Every person, and even every living being, has desires. Even without burning incense or lighting a fire, there is still a faint power of will filling the world.

Perhaps even though I've taken it very seriously, I've always underestimated the power of Shinto?
Having traveled through ancient times for so long, I've never felt a strong presence of deities, but perhaps that's just my own feeling!

Zhuang Lin recalled the feeling he had when he crossed the gale to reach the Heavenly Realm in the Clouds. The Heavenly Gate that appeared was like an insurmountable chasm, preventing him from advancing an inch!

That sense of procedure also carried a kind of contempt, mechanically repeating the warning. Only when Zhuang Lin actually ascended the Heavenly Steps and reached the vicinity of the Heavenly Gate did the internal gods pay more attention to him in surprise. It seemed that only at that moment did a wisp of thought appear on the gods.

Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs; this is also the meaning of heaven and earth treating everyone equally.

Among the deities who receive incense offerings and the wishes of sentient beings, do the truly powerful ones also treat all cultivators as mere straw dogs?
Zhuang Lin felt slightly depressed, but his thoughts became increasingly clear. Looking down, he saw that Xiangyang City was already within reach.

This time, Zhuang Lin did not land on the street, nor did he go to Yanxianglou. Instead, he landed directly in front of Foguang Temple outside the city.

"Sir, are you here to ask the old monk Mo Ke about the Five-Colored Divine Mountain?"

Wuming put away his umbrella. Zhuang Lin glanced at him, nodded, and then shook his head.

"He wanted to ask, but he didn't actually know either, or rather..."

The nameless man continued the sentence.

"Or perhaps he simply can't remember!"

Zhuang Lin nodded and walked directly towards the temple gate.

"Let me confirm a few things!"

At this moment, as dusk falls, the already deserted Wanfo Temple is even more deserted. Having lost its former prosperity, the somewhat dilapidated and empty huge Buddhist temple gives ordinary people a strange sense of unease.

However, Zhuang Lin could still smell the faint scent of incense outside Foguang Temple, and it was pure incense, without any impurities.

Wuming waited outside Foguang Temple, with no intention of entering together. He simply floated slowly into the air, from where he could see the entire Foguang Temple.

Zhuang Lin entered through the open main gate of Foguang Temple and walked towards the back.

Zhuang Lin entered in the same way back then, and subsequently destroyed the evil Buddhist temple. Although it is no longer as prosperous as it once was, once you enter, you will truly feel a sense of Zen with ancient Buddha statues and green lamps. The dim light of the temple after sunset comes from the two halls at the back.

"Knock knock knock knock knock."

The sound of the wooden fish drum echoed rhythmically along with the chanting of the old monk Mo Ke.

Zhuang Lin walked to the path inside the temple between the two halls, and could see the two halls to the left and right respectively. On the ground, few traces of the battle between Zhuang Lin and the evil Buddha remained. The ravines had been filled in, and the broken stone slabs, apart from not being able to be restored, had been pieced back together piece by piece. This was all done by the old monk Mo Ke and Shen Qingyou, who had spent countless hours and effort.

Zhuang Lin simply wanted to verify some things with his own eyes using his divine eye. He looked towards one of the main halls, which was where the old monk was chanting sutras.

At this moment, the Daoist essence flowed in Zhuang Lin's eyes, his magical power surged wildly, the azure wood energy appeared, the yin and yang colors slowly rotated, and a faint outline of order and order even appeared.

While it's difficult to recreate the original blue eyes and square pupils, Zhuang Lin can still manage to recapture some of the original feeling if he spares no effort and uses all his magical power.

The Evil Buddha and the Old Monk Moke are both two sides of the same coin of the Mahakala. Back then, the Evil Buddha was naturally seen as extremely evil, so what about the Old Monk? Can we see some true clues by combining the two?

In that instant, Shu Zhuanglin's eyes showed a hint of emerald green pupils, but it only lasted for a moment before dissipating.

But that's enough.

Meanwhile, in the air outside Foguang Temple, Wuming's heart skipped a beat. In that instant, he seemed to sense an indescribable, boundless aura emanating from Zhuang Lin within the temple, as if the entire universe and all things were contained within him.
Zhuang Lin was unaware of how others felt; he was only immersed in the feeling of that one glance.

Although it was only a fleeting glance, it seemed to reveal many things in a daze. It showed the life of the old monk Mo Ke, and even the evil Buddha through him. It also vaguely resembled a corner of the Five-Colored Divine Peak Secret Realm.
As many images then appeared, Zhuang Lin couldn't help but rub his temples.

However, although this one glance revealed many things, it was also like waking up from a dream. It seemed like you saw a lot, but after opening your eyes, you couldn't fully express it. You just remembered the feeling.

Images flashed by, then seemed to fade quickly from his mind, until finally only one picture remained in Zhuang Lin's heart.

It was a golden Dharma image that emerged from the clay sculpture in the temple, then turned to look at the Buddha statue. The two were exactly the same, except that the golden Dharma image looked at the clay sculpture with a complex expression.

"Amitabha."

This Buddhist chant seemed to be the same one from before, or perhaps the one Zhuang Lin had seen. But now, he couldn't help but chant it softly, his voice not filled with the pure compassion and wisdom of a Buddhist practitioner, but with an indescribable contradiction.

It seems that while lamenting the suffering of all living beings, it also laments its own plight.
The sound of the wooden fish in one of the main halls at the back of Foguang Temple abruptly stopped.

The old monk Mo Ke looked surprised, then subconsciously turned his head to look outside the hall. He then quickly got up, walked to the hall door, and opened it.

But looking around, there was hardly anyone on the central path connecting the two halls along the thoroughfare.

For some reason, the old monk was somewhat agitated. He walked step by step out of the main hall to the spot where Zhuang Lin had just stood, then looked in several directions and frowned slightly.

"Was it a Bodhisattva who just appeared?"

Zhuang Lin had already left Foguang Temple by this time. His feelings were growing stronger, but they were not completely cleared and needed a strong verification.

However, one thing is certain!
Zhuang Lin had come to understand that the former Mokha Jiedi was very strong, extremely strong, far exceeding his original expectations, and far superior to the evil Buddha he had dealt with before.

Even the evil Buddha from back then was merely a fragment of the indestructible essence remaining after Mahagateti stripped away his evil thoughts and annihilated them; it was far from being a complete evil Buddha!
-
As dusk settled, Hidden Immortal Valley, brimming with the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year, was bustling with activity in every household. However, this didn't stop people from stargazing at night, as it was not only a way to enjoy the night view but also a way to aid in cultivation by utilizing the star-gazing platform's ability to attract stellar energy.

The students from the school who were still in the valley were also sitting in a circle on a high corner of the observatory.

While the other students were meditating cross-legged, Liu Hongyu was observing the condition of his junior brothers and sisters from the outside.

There were also a few tables on the side, with some food and drinks on them.

Xi Miao sat on the edge of the high platform, with her legs dangling outside the observatory. One hand was supporting her on the ground behind her, while the other hand held a slender-necked wine pot against her face, as if warming the wine with her slightly flushed and hot face.

"Hmm, shouldn't they be back by now?"

Liu Hongyu glanced back at the distance, initially thinking that Senior Xi Miao was asking him a question, but now it seemed that she was talking to herself.

However, the next moment, Liu Hongyu felt a slight movement in his heart and sensed a change through his connection with the cave heaven formation.

"Senior Ximiao, Master has returned!"

"Is it?"

Xi Miao's spirits lifted, and she immediately sat up straight. Sure enough, she saw a streak of light flying in from the distant horizon, seemingly heading straight for the observatory based on the energy she sensed.

Before long, Zhuang Lin landed directly next to Liu Hongyu and the others.

As many students opened their eyes and Liu Hongyu got up, Zhuang Lin glanced at Xi Miao, then looked directly at Liu Hongyu.

"Perhaps we have all misjudged many things! We need to expedite our cooperation with the Great Yan Dynasty of the future."

The various desires and entanglements of people in this world may indeed be clearly visible to the heavens. Therefore, many things really need to be done by people who are not from this world, such as matters that truly involve the course of history.

If the gods are so powerful, they must start from the smallest roots, even if it means changing history to some extent—no, revising history!

Moreover, relatively speaking, the later Great Yan dynasty may be able to analyze the impact on the general historical trend more comprehensively.

More importantly, Zhuang Lin knew that there was something that could control these matters to a certain extent, and he really wanted to use it: the Xuan Tian Yi from the Imperial Observatory of later generations!
(End of this chapter)