What do you mean by my awakened profession being Monster Hunter?

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The four stone statues exploded with a roar, turning into flying rubble, and golden light rained down like a waterfall, illuminating the entire desert.

Qi Shi'an stood there, exhaled a breath of stale air, and his gaze fell on the stupa. Without the protection of the four stone statues, the stupa was completely exposed to him.

The tower is majestic and soars into the clouds. The dense golden patterns on the four-story tower are now flowing slowly, as if they were alive.

The pagoda gate consists of two heavy stone doors, on which is engraved a Buddha. He sits on a lotus pedestal, his body is golden, his hands are in mudra, his face is serene, and his eyes are half-closed.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that although the eyes appear closed, there is actually a tiny slit, as if they are watching everyone who approaches.

Qi Shi'an stopped in front of the stone gate, but instead of pushing it rashly, he carefully observed the patterns on the stone gate.

He opened his third eye and stared at the stone gate. In his vision, the Buddha on the stone gate had changed. It was no longer a simple relief, but a restriction constructed of countless runes.

Each line is a chain of runes. The Buddha's robe, hand gestures, and lotus throne are all composed of densely packed runes, interwoven into an extremely complex seal.

Qi Shi'an slowly reached out his hand, his fingertips lightly touching the stone door.

The next moment, the eyes of the Buddha relief suddenly opened, shooting out two golden beams that pierced straight into his brow.

Qi Shi'an's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly dodged to the side. The beam of light grazed his cheek, leaving a burnt smell.

Qi Shi'an raised his hand to touch the burning marks on his face and said in a deep voice, "Damn, I knew it wouldn't be that simple."

After the Buddha relief on the stone gate opened its eyes, the entire pagoda trembled.

The golden patterns on the four-story pagoda lit up, as if nine true dragons were awakening, swirling and swimming along the pagoda, emitting deep dragon roars.

Boom!

The stone gate trembled, emitting a deep rumble, as if pushing open the dust-sealed years of time, and a vast sense of antiquity rushed over.

Qi Shi'an stepped inside. From the outside, the tower was only a few dozen feet in diameter, but once inside, it felt like stepping into a small, independent world.

The dome is high and distant, adorned with stars that cast a soft glow, illuminating the entire tower.

The ground was covered with bluestone bricks, with fine patterns carved on them. Stepping on them gave a subtle, warm feeling, like stepping on ancient jade.

Qi Shi'an looked around. The first floor of the tower was empty, without any furnishings, except for the murals carved on the surrounding walls.

He walked to the nearest wall, looked up and stared at it. It was inscribed with the old stories of the ancient monk lineage.

Qi Shi'an saw a crack that stretched across the sky, from which billowing black mist surged, followed by countless figures, each with a different appearance and exuding an eerie aura.

"An alien army?" Qi Shi'an muttered to himself.

As the scene unfolded, he saw a familiar figure, a man wielding a crimson spear in one hand and an immortal shield in the other, locked in a fierce battle with an ancient monk.

The murals are so lifelike, they seem to come alive from the walls, recording that dark period of time.

Although it's just the tip of the iceberg, it's enough to give people a clear understanding of that era filled with blood and bones.

Qi Shi looked at the mural quietly until he reached the end, where he saw a lineage of ancient monks sacrificing themselves for their faith in front of a majestic pass.

The scene was silent, yet it felt like an immense force pressing down on his chest, leaving him unable to calm down for a long time.

He raised his hand and gently stroked the stone wall, as if brushing dust off the monks.

He turned around and walked towards the second floor.

The door to the second floor was open, and there was no restriction. Qi Shi'an stepped inside. This floor was much smaller than the first floor, square in shape, and only about ten feet wide.

There was nothing here, just a vast expanse of white mist all around, obscuring the boundaries, as if stepping into a sea of ​​clouds.

In the very center hung a stone platform, gray and unremarkable, on which lay a scroll of animal hide, its edges yellowed and curled, its age unknown.

Qi Shi'an picked up the animal skin scroll and unfolded it, his pupils immediately shrinking.

On the animal skin scroll was a picture of a golden lion roaring angrily to the sky, its whole body glowing, its appearance solemn and majestic.

The divine seal swept across the sky, bringing with it a powerful and domineering force, as if it could move mountains!

"The Fearless Lion Seal!" Qi Shi'an blurted out.

This is a unique skill of the ancient monks, capable of protecting the path and safeguarding the rise and fall of a religion.

Legend has it that in the earliest times, before the Fearless Lion submitted to the lineage of the ancient monk, it once used its unparalleled supernatural power to fight and kill a celestial monk!

In the end, it was only through the intervention of an unparalleled being from the ancient monk lineage who had attained a golden body sixteen feet tall that the fearless lion was suppressed and subdued.

From then on, the lineage of the Fearless Lion devoted itself to the ancient monks' temple for generations, becoming the guardian beast of the mountain.

Qi Shi'an carefully studied the hand seals on the animal skin scroll. Then, he tried to form the seals, his palms and fingers flying, his knuckles interlacing, one after another the seals blooming and extinguishing in his hands.

This hand seal does not require scriptures; with the help of the Myriad Paths Tree, he gradually grasped the key points.

At first, it seemed a bit awkward, but gradually, the movements became smoother.

Golden runes erupted from between his hands, and the surrounding white mist was stirred by the energy, swirling and gathering towards him.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a deep lion's roar came from the void, and the entire quiet room trembled.

Qi Shi'an clasped his hands together, and the phantom of a fearless lion appeared behind him, roaring angrily to the sky, its whole body emitting a golden light, exuding awe-inspiring power.

Although the phantom was blurry, its powerful and fierce aura, capable of moving mountains and seas, was already evident.

And so, Qi Shi'an successfully forged the Fearless Lion Seal!

Chapter 255 The Immortal Monk's Corpse

As Qi Shi'an stepped into the third floor, an ancient and rustic atmosphere enveloped him.

The place is very spacious, with mottled stone walls all around, covered with murals that exude an indescribable charm, as if they were not of this world.

Qi Shi'an slowly stepped forward and observed intently.

The mural depicts an ancient monk in a robe sitting cross-legged in the void, with a solemn and dignified appearance, radiating boundless light, and his hands forming an extremely complex mudra.

Could it be that this third level also holds complete supernatural powers?

Qi Shi'an frowned and moved to the next mural. It was still an ancient monk, but the mudra he was forming was completely different from the first one.

He looked at each mural one by one. There were eight murals in total, which meant that eight hand seals were engraved on the murals. When combined, they formed a complete supernatural power.

Qi Shi'an gazed intently at the eight murals, observing the postures of the ancient monks and quietly appreciating their spirit.

He had forgotten everything else and was completely immersed in it, carefully pondering and comprehending it.

However, this kind of supernatural power is too difficult to comprehend. Forcing oneself to comprehend it is mentally and physically exhausting, and one can never truly understand it.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt a chill run down his spine, pulling him out of his near-mad state. Looking down, he saw that his clothes were covered in coughed-up blood.

"It's not just a simple hand seal; it needs to be used in conjunction with the scriptures. Randomly practicing it will only drag you into the abyss." Qi Shi'an became alert, his eyes regained their clarity, and he was no longer impatient, but completely calm.

Unlike the Fearless Lion Seal, the Dharma seals in these eight murals require the accompanying scriptures to be understood; otherwise, one will inevitably suffer calamity.

He stepped back a few paces, stood in the center, and took in all eight murals, trying to see if he could find any flaws.

He soon discovered that although the ancient monks in the eight murals were in different postures, their orientations subtly formed a circle.

And the center of the circle points to a bright star embedded in the dome.

Qi Shi'an raised his head and carefully examined the large star. It was a star covered with runes, shrouded in chaos, emitting a faint glow, dim and unclear, as if it were asleep, embedded in the top of the dome.

Qi Shi'an opened his Heavenly Eye and gazed intently. The moment his gaze touched the large star, it suddenly shone brightly, showering down a rain of light that fell on the eight murals.

As if brought to life, the eight murals radiated golden light emanating from the eight ancient monks, which spread like ripples and transformed into the sound of chanting, creating a vast and boundless atmosphere.

In an instant, it was like a hundred lifetimes of reincarnation, or like the first bloom of dawn, a riot of colors, with divine sounds resounding.

Qi Shi'an's ears were ringing. The scripture resounded like a great bell, crashing straight into his consciousness. The Dao was naturally perfect, deafening and enlightening. This was the supreme mystery!

He sat cross-legged on the ground, circulating the Myriad Trees within his body, inscribing the scriptures onto the rune leaves.

At this moment, he could no longer feel the passage of time; everything seemed to have frozen in time.

He stood like a stone statue, existing alongside heaven and earth, echoing the eight ancient monks from afar.

Later, time seemed to become chaotic, and Qi Shi'an had a strange feeling.

In a daze, he seemed to have entered the mural and was discussing the Dharma with the eight ancient monks.

boom!

Suddenly, the eight murals simultaneously burst forth with golden light, from which eight golden hands emerged, carrying overwhelming pressure, and struck towards Qi Shi'an.

However, Qi Shi'an was also forming hand seals, imitating the postures of the eight ancient monks. Each of them was demonstrating a different hand seal, mysterious and unfathomable.

At this moment, he looked solemn and dignified, like a warrior Buddha, with a halo behind his head, radiating divine light.

Eight large black hands emerged from behind him, clashing with the golden hand, causing the entire tower to tremble violently.

Soon, the eight ancient monk murals fell silent, and the large star on the dome dimmed, the glow of the sunset receding as if it had never been touched.

Qi Shi'an sat cross-legged on the ground, his large black hand completely retracted, his aura deep and unfathomable.

Within the inner sanctum, scriptures poured forth like a galaxy, the rune leaves on the myriad trees rustled, and the eight hand seals resounded like the grandest bells.

After an unknown amount of time, Qi Shi'an opened his eyes. His eyes flashed with alternating Buddhist light and black light. It took a while for them to calm down completely, leaving only clarity and depth in his eyes.

The mural actually contains one of the protective methods of the ancient monk lineage: the Eight Forms of Scattered Buddha!

The so-called Eight Styles of the Scattered Buddha is the strongest divine skill of the Warrior Buddha lineage. It is said that the Eighteen Songs of the Ancient Buddha were derived from it.

The War Buddha clan mostly did not originally belong to the lineage of ancient monks. They were an outsider who converted to Buddhism and became the highest level of beings known as War Buddhas.

This group is extremely formidable; they are well-versed in Buddhism and other ancient practices, and have combined them to create an invincible method.

The Eight Styles of the Scattered Buddha is the most powerful technique of the Warrior Buddha lineage. The reason it is called "Scattered Buddha" is because the Warrior Buddhas are originally outsiders, unrestrained, traveling the world like free spirits.

Therefore, he is sometimes called a wandering Buddha.

"This is the third level of supernatural power. What will the final level be?" Qi Shi'an wondered.

He stood up and looked toward the deepest part of the stupa, where a faint stone staircase led to the fourth floor.

The fourth level's stone steps are not paved with bluestone like the first three levels, but are suspended in the air.

Each step floats in mid-air, supported by an invisible force. Stepping on it produces a soft chant, as if the ground beneath your feet is not stone steps, but a passage of scripture from the past.

Qi Shi'an looked solemn and took a steady step forward.

At the end of the stone steps was a dim light. Unlike the grandeur of the first three levels, this place was very small, even smaller than the second level, with a space of only ten zhang square.

The walls here were bare and the place was extremely dark, with only an ancient lamp in the center, its wick burning with a tiny flame.

It was this tiny glimmer of light that dispelled the darkness of the entire space.

However, Qi Shi'an's gaze was not on the lamp, but on a sitting corpse behind the ancient lamp.

It was a humanoid corpse, its flesh and blood long since dried up, leaving only a layer of skin covering the bones, its surface tinged with a faint golden hue, as if it were about to dim at any moment.

The corpse was draped in a tattered monk's robe, the texture of which was still faintly visible despite the passage of countless years.

Clearly, this is an enlightened monk from countless ages ago.

But what shocked Qi Shi'an the most was the aura emanating from the immortal monk's corpse. It was withered and shriveled, yet it exuded a chilling sense of familiarity.

His aura and appearance bore a striking resemblance to that gaunt old man outside!

"Could this really be the body of that withered old man? Why is it here?" Qi Shi'an frowned, puzzled.

Ok?

Suddenly, his abdomen glowed, and the light gushed from his mouth upwards. It was the crystal bowl formed from the immortal wine he had drunk earlier, which now manifested and was imprinted in the void.

In an instant, endless brilliance shone forth, divine light pierced the sky, illuminating the small, dim space with dazzling brilliance.

The mark of that glass bowl resonated with the corpse!

boom!

Sure enough, even though that supreme master had died, the luster of his physical body had not faded, and at this moment it was revived, shining brightly there.

Like a tidal wave, a grand aura spread out, covering the entire tower.

The corpse emitted a dazzling golden light, and an ancient symbol appeared from between its eyebrows.

The human and the corpse faced each other, and the two marks seemed to have met a relative, manifesting and resonating there, emitting a rumbling sound.

brush!

The symbol between the eyebrows of the immortal monk's corpse transformed into water-like patterns of light, cascading down and enveloping the area, instantly creating a dazzling spectacle.

Then, the symbol split into many smaller ones, which danced like rain of light, engulfing the immortal monk's corpse.