Divine Tang Era

After racking his brains for a long time and still not coming up with a solution, Xu Dan had no choice but to give up.

Suddenly, a thought stirred within me.

Just because you couldn't see something last night doesn't mean you can't see it today.

Xu Dan focused his gaze, his double pupils converging. The hazy, ethereal landscape of last night had suddenly transformed. About a kilometer ahead, above a slightly raised alpine meadow, dark clouds loomed overhead, thick with malevolent energy, as if it were not of this world.

strangeness.

really weird.

Even when Xu Dan focused his pupils, all he could see was the appearance of the clouds in the sky above, and he couldn't see the main body that generated the cloud of fortune.

If he didn't use his double pupils and looked with ordinary eyes, there was nothing in front of him, absolutely nothing. That's why he felt strange; there must be something he didn't understand here.

Continue to gaze into the distance, your pupils converge and focus.

At that moment, the golden lotus located in the heart emitted two beams of light, which entered the eyes.

Xu Dan discovered that below, where the malevolent energy was dense and the land was otherwise empty, it suddenly twisted and folded, revealing a bizarre scene. The ground was scorched and barren, with a gruesome pile of human skulls placed in the center. At the top of the pile of skulls was a thick talisman banner, its pole painted with countless strange patterns, its surface covered with numerous runes, shrouded in a dark mist, with countless figures floating and sinking within.

Xu Dan was shocked to see that the old woman, the elderly man, and the little kids from last night were all among them.

Their eyes were lifeless and empty, as if they were not human.

This talisman banner is clearly not a good thing. It would have been better if we hadn't known. Now that we know, how could we let it go?

Xu Dan put down the wine cup, grabbed the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, and ran towards the talisman banner. Reaching it, he leaped up and smashed it down with tremendous force. The talisman pole snapped in two with his power, but he didn't let up. He drew his Eight-Degree Sword and slashed a gash in the banner, then stepped on one side of the gash, grabbed the other, and violently tore it apart.

With a "hiss," the banner was torn in two.

Xu Dan wasn't done yet; he thought of finding some dry grass to burn the rag.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, thunder roared in the clear sky. Xu Dan looked up and saw a bolt of lightning descend from the sky, scaring him so much that he grabbed the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer and ran back to where he kept the jujubes.

Thunder roared down, splitting open a gap in the sky, which was thick with malevolent energy.

This bolt of lightning was just the prelude. Immediately afterwards, bolt after bolt of lightning struck down, hitting the malevolent energy, the banner pole, the banner surface, and the pile of evil skulls.

Each thunderclap and each deafening roar felt like a heavy hammer blow to my heart.

Xu Dan felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the blinding lightning and the thunderbolts striking the pile of skulls on the talisman banner. He quickly left with his luggage and wine cup, observing from a distance.

Only then did he have the mood to look at the dates.

I poured some water from the water bag to wash my hands, opened the sealed wine jar, and peered inside. It was filled with plump, glossy, dark red wine dates. They smelled wonderful. Perhaps due to their long storage time, the wine aroma wasn't very strong.

Xu Dan took one out and ate it. It tasted sweet with a hint of alcohol, and it was delicious.

But he remembered that he was still a child and was afraid that the alcohol would damage his brain, so he didn't dare to eat too much. He only tasted one jujube before putting it away.

Yu Longzi, chubby and smelling the aroma, climbed into the wine jar and began to eat the wine dates with a "rustling" sound. After eating only one, he was overwhelmed by the smell of wine, fainted inside the jar, and fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly.

Deafening thunder and blinding lightning continued to strike.

Xu Dan's eyelids twitched as he watched, fearing that if the thing wasn't aimed at him properly, it would hit him.

After striking for a long time, the lightning dissipated.

Xu Dan looked up at the sky again. The dark clouds and malevolent aura had disappeared. The skulls and talismans on the ground had been struck by lightning. Even the barren, scorched earth had been washed by the lightning and looked somewhat cooked.

Xu Dan walked back.

Under the sunlight, figures floated in the air—the people of the town.

At this moment, their eyes were no longer empty and blank; they had returned to normal and were full of life.

They floated down to Xu Dan, bowed respectfully, smiled at him, and then vanished into the world. Having never met before, Xu Dan felt no particular emotion, simply bowing back to congratulate them on their new beginning.

He walked to where the talisman banner had been and poked it a few times with the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer.

It was a complete and utter annihilation; nothing was left.

He looked around and found nothing, so he wanted to leave. But he felt he should do something, otherwise he would feel uneasy. After thinking for a while, he decided to recite some scriptures to help them pass on and do his part. He didn't know any long scriptures, so he recited the Heart Sutra and the Purification Mantra to cleanse this filthy world.

"If you want to do it, do it." Xu Dan put down his things, took out a string of beads, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began chanting the Heart Sutra.

"When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva was practicing the profound Prajnaparamita, he perceived that the five aggregates are all empty, and thus transcended all suffering and distress. Shariputra! Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form; form is emptiness, emptiness is form; feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness are also like this..."

"puff"

In the far west, within an ancient temple.

An old man with a withered face, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You dare to damage my magic weapon? I'll kill you!" The old man's eyes were bloodshot as he made hand seals and shouted, "Demon Yeke, Shaqueli, bring back the person who damaged my magic weapon! I'll cut him into a thousand pieces!"

Two flying skulls descended from the dome, their mouths gaping open with cruel "hehe" laughs as they flew out of the temple and vanished into the void.

The old man looked up at the sky, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

The coffered ceiling, which was originally covered with exquisite patterns, paintings and reliefs, is now adorned with grotesque heads. Some have lost their flesh and blood, leaving only skulls; some still have flesh but no eyeballs, their faces deathly pale; some have disheveled hair and closed eyes, yet their faces are ruddy; some have wide-open eyes and bristling hair and beards, as if they want to devour someone.

The old man showed no fear whatsoever in the face of these things.

He glanced at it once, then closed his eyes again to continue his meditation.

Xu Dan recited the Heart Sutra more than a dozen times, feeling he had almost succeeded. Reciting sutras is all about intention; if it could truly bring liberation, he would have already saved himself, instead of staying here. He got up to stretch his body, intending to continue reciting the Purifying Heaven and Earth Mantra, when suddenly a vortex appeared in the sky.

Hehehe

Two flying heads emerged from it, grinning wickedly as they charged toward Xu Dan.

What is this thing?

Xu Dan sensed something was amiss and cautiously gripped the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer. The flying skull approached and suddenly spewed out a cloud of black smoke. Xu Dan realized something was wrong, quickly held his breath, and ran to the side. The flying skull swiftly gave chase.

Xu Dan took one look and realized this was serious.

Grabbing the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, he leaped up and struck at the pursuing flying skull.

"嘙"

With a crisp sound, the flying skull shattered upon impact with the hammer, and a wisp of soul was swallowed by the hammer's body. The words on the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer became even clearer, and a line on the hammer's body lit up; upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a human figure.

Another flying skull followed, and Xu Dan attacked again.

The skull was shattered, and black, foul-smelling brain matter gushed out, spilling onto the ground.

Xu Dan felt nauseous and quickly wiped the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer on the ground. He couldn't help but wonder where those two flying skulls came from and why they killed him; he didn't have any enemies here! Speaking of enemies, he remembered the broken talisman banner. Could it be that the banner's owner had come looking for him? That was far too fast!

Inside the ancient temple, the old man, having lost contact with the flying skull, frowned and his face turned gloomy.

After a moment's thought, he sent out four more flying skulls. But not long after, the four flying skulls lost contact again.

The old man sensed that the person who killed the flying skull was highly skilled, and that sending out the stupid flying skull would be useless, so he abandoned the idea of ​​sending it out again. He is currently in seclusion, and will deal with everything after he emerges. If his things are damaged, no one will escape punishment.

Xu Dan looked at the new flying skulls on the ground and found that these things were very fragile and would break at the slightest touch.

After waiting for a while and seeing nothing coming after them, they buried the shattered flying skull to prevent it from remaining on the ground and causing a plague.

After reciting the Purification Mantra ten more times, I realized this place was not a good place at all, so I packed my things and left.