Swallow Return

Noisy voices came from all directions, and occasionally one could hear angry shouts such as "Where did these bandits come from?" or "Who dares to be so bold?"

Fires broke out in some places, the sounds of clashing swords echoed in others, screams filled the air... and some houses even collapsed.

The monks running around had obvious confusion and tension on their faces.

At least twenty crow tengu were flying around the temple, muttering some incoherent nonsense.

I initially thought it was to direct operations and restore order.

Liu Yun felt that these flying monsters might be a serious obstacle to their side, so he quietly went up a tree to investigate.

The result was that the tengu were actually discussing how to salvage their property in the sky.

They may have been kind-hearted demons who were once regarded as capable assistants by the holy monk, but now they seem to have become corrupt and degenerate along with Buddhism.

……

Liu Yun arrived at the entrance of Zongchi Temple and found that there were still many monks guarding it.

There are no fewer than fifty of them, and they are all armed.

But at this moment, he didn't beat around the bush at all. He walked straight up to the monk who seemed to be in charge and questioned him: "How is the Sutra Repository? Has anyone suspicious come over? It's very important inside, so we must be extremely careful! If anything goes wrong, neither of us can bear the responsibility!"

The monk in charge was already uneasy, and now he was completely bewildered by the question, stammering for a long time without knowing what to say.

Seeing this, Liu Yun shook his head angrily and cursed, "There really isn't any, get out of the way!"

Then he pushed open the door and went inside.

The monk in charge instinctively stepped aside, bowed respectfully, and stood to the side, showing no intention of stopping them.

Liu Yun entered the Zongchi Temple so openly.

There were also quite a few monks in the courtyard, but they were even more uncouth. With just a sharp glance, no one dared to come up and ask a question.

Thus, Liuyun successfully entered the Sutra Repository.

This scripture repository is a five-story Buddhist pagoda. The foundation at the bottom is several meters long and wide, and it gets narrower as you go up.

At this moment, all that could be seen against the wall were bookshelves filled with Buddhist scriptures, numbering at least tens of thousands, but there was not a single person in sight.

Go up, and there's a wooden door locked with a small iron lock.

Liu Yun didn't need to exert any effort; he simply waved his hand and broke the door bolt.

Upon reaching the second floor, the shelves were still overflowing with books, densely packed with classic texts, only now they were all thick, beautiful hardcover editions. Still, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Further up, there was an iron gate and two heavy stone locks.

Liu Yun used a little force to kick the stone lock and open the iron gate.

The third shelf still has quite a few books, but there are far fewer books inside, and most of them are old, yellowed, and tattered, presumably ancient books from many years ago.

This time, the stairwell was blocked by only a semi-transparent, glass-like object, but it contained a very obvious high-energy reaction.

Liu Yun casually picked up an ancient book and tossed it over.

Then, the moment it touched the translucent panel, a cold wind and water suddenly appeared out of nowhere, freezing the ancient book into an ice block. It then crashed to the ground with a crisp sound and shattered into more than a dozen pieces.

Liu Yun weighed the strength of the ice-attribute trap and felt it wasn't too scary. So he held his breath, gathered his strength, swung his sword to cleave the semi-transparent plate, and rushed over at top speed.

He felt a chill rush from all around him, making him shiver.

But it was just trembling, which made people feel tired and uncomfortable.

There was no higher degree of damage.

After consuming the remaining portion of the "Supreme Soldier's Ration Pill," he was fully restored to his original state.

Looking around, Liu Yun noticed that the fourth floor of the scripture library had even fewer books.

There are nine bookshelves in total, facing all directions, but only eighteen books are placed inside.

However, one can feel the powerful and profound energy surging in each book, which clearly indicates that these are not just classic texts, but some kind of magical treasure.

Then Liu Yun tentatively took down a book and placed it inside the book.

No alarms were sounded.

However, no way to utilize these sacred scriptures has been found.

It probably requires certain methods that are only accessible to monks.

Liu Yun didn't bother to think about it carefully and went straight to the fifth floor.

This library has five floors, and most of the most valuable items are on the top floor.

According to intelligence, the magical white bottle is on the fifth floor.

Last time it was a freezing trap, what will it be this time?

With a cautious mindset, Liu Yun approached carefully.

But upon closer inspection—

The staircase leading to the top floor was surprisingly wide open, with no obstruction whatsoever.

Moreover, no unusual energy could be sensed.

There must be more to it than meets the eye, right?

Liu Yun hesitated for a moment, then thought that since he was already here, he shouldn't be scared to death even if he was killed. He grabbed the "body substitute wood" in his arms and strode up.

The moment he stepped onto the fifth floor, he was suddenly overcome with inexplicable panic, tension, and feelings of depression and frustration.

I feel like life has no meaning.

I feel like the world has no meaning.

I feel like I was completely wasting my time living before.

I feel like living from now on is a waste of time.

The only way out is to devote oneself to Buddhism and immerse oneself in Buddhist studies...

However, this strange feeling only lasted for a moment before disappearing immediately.

At the same time, countless cracks appeared rapidly on the "body-replacement wood" that Liu Yun was holding, and then it turned into dust.

It seems I just suffered some kind of powerful curse and almost didn't make it through, but luckily I was prepared.

Liu Yun felt a lingering fear and looked around.

The layout of the top floor of this library is quite simple and straightforward.

There was no bookshelf, no book, only a small square table against the north wall, on which sat a simple, unadorned white bottle.

That should be my goal.

There was nothing unusual about the surroundings.

It seems there's no other option but to walk over and pick up this precious artifact.

Liu Yun calmed herself down a bit and stepped forward to take the white bottle in her hand.

Then, as expected, something unexpected happened.

To be precise, it can't really be called a mutation.

Nothing happened inside the entire library.

In Liu Yun's heart, a voice that was beyond her control had appeared.

The voice was very kind, very gentle, and very peaceful.

But it also possesses immense power.

The voice didn't seem to come from any other person or creature, but rather from its own consciousness.

Judging from the voice, the speaker was very familiar with Liu Yun's experiences in his two lifetimes and knew every detail of life intimately.

It felt like it was me.

It can be summed up in a very simple sentence: "You come from a land without gods to a world with gods. Since you see strange and chaotic phenomena, why do you not respect my Buddha?"

His voice had a mysterious and captivating quality, making it seem very believable.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yun felt himself being pulled from the real world into the space of consciousness.

They went from the real, material, three-dimensional world to the dark, chaotic, spiritual space of consciousness.

Completely out of control.

Unable to resist.

Then that mysterious voice echoed: "Why do you not respect my Buddha?"

Indeed, as he said, he lived in a world without miracles or supernatural powers in his previous life, so of course he could question any sacred existence and not believe in any religion.

But now that you've arrived in a world that's clearly a fantasy world, how can you still be so disrespectful to gods, Buddhas, temples, and shrines?

The mere fact of "time travel" makes it impossible to deny the existence of ghosts and gods.

The world is vast and all-encompassing. Human beings, with their limited knowledge and insignificant experience, dare to act out of habit? Dare to uphold the doctrine of atheism?

These thoughts flowed into her mind, but Liu Yun remained unmoved, instinctively and resolutely retorting: "I believe in science. Science is not just a universally applicable conclusion, nor is it merely the application of technology; it is a spirit and an attitude. Science is not equivalent to atheism. Even in a world of supernatural forces, we should face all supernatural elements with a scientific attitude. Even if gods and Buddhas exist, we should understand their existence with a scientific attitude. This is the spirit of science."

The mysterious voice seemed to chuckle, then asked, "What is the spirit of science?"

Without hesitation, Liu Yun replied, “I cannot define it in a few words. I only know that it is a pursuit of continuous exploration, questioning, and innovation. I will not rashly determine the existence of ultimate truth, but will strive to approach it in a spiral development. From Aristotle’s induction and deduction, to Galileo’s empirical testing, Descartes’ rational thought, Newton’s classical system, to Russell’s logical empiricism, Popper’s falsifiability theory, Kuhn’s paradigm revolution… the epistemology and methodology of science are constantly developing, and I have sufficient reason to believe in this constantly developing epistemology and methodology.”

These impassioned words silenced the mysterious voice.

At the same time, Liu Yun himself was also startled.

The education I received in the 21st century was always just a boring test-taking game. I never imagined that it would become the solid foundation of my values, which cannot be shaken by anything external.

What is the biggest difference between time travelers and natives?

Do you have a sufficient amount of knowledge?

That's probably not the case.

Different worlds may have different historical developments and different geographical climates. If Planck's constant changes even slightly, the physical and chemical rules of the three-dimensional world may be completely different.

The ability to readily accept different rules from different worlds and not be bound by past perceptions—this scientific spirit is the greatest characteristic of time travelers who have received modern education.

Upon realizing this, Liu Yun felt the power return to him.