Mo Chuan held Zhang Hanshan, who was still in a deep slumber, his heart lost in thought.
In the memories of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva just now, he recognized the figure of the woman at first glance—King Qin Guang.
Therefore, Mo Chuan did not speak these words, but rather pondered in silence.
First were the markings on the bronze statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the strange dreams that often occurred when he approached the statue.
Second, why was the bronze statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva circulating in the ghost market.
In fact, Mo Chuan had a general guess: King Qin Guang had placed some kind of mark on the bronze statue, which could bewitch or coerce its owner into either throwing it away (putting it back into circulation in the black market) or following the statue's hint and going to the ruins to return it.
“This step… I don’t understand…” As Mo Chuan was thinking, Qing Lianzi and Zhang Hanshan beside him and in his arms groaned simultaneously. Mo Chuan looked and saw that Qing Lianzi and Zhang Hanshan had woken up.
“Mo Chuan (Chuan Ge)? My head is spinning… Where is this?” As the two spoke in unison, they immediately heard their shouts:
“What the hell! What happened to me?!” “Mo Chuan! Who is he?!”
“You two, don’t argue…” Mo Chuan rubbed his buzzing ears and said, “Sister Lian, don’t panic, this is Zhang Hanshan. You go find a way to wake up the others first; Old Zhang, use your supernatural ability, I want to see what your supernatural ability has become.”
“Chuan Ge (Mo Chuan), what are you talking about… My (his) supernatural ability was shattered…”
Before the two could finish speaking, Zhang Hanshan subconsciously condensed his supernatural ability and summoned the Golden Dragon Ruyi Staff. The Di Ting beside him immediately transformed into the appearance of a small white dog, rushed over, and pounced into Zhang Hanshan’s arms, affectionately licking his face.
“No… Chuan Ge… little dog, stop licking… so much drool… Chuan Ge, what’s going on?”
“This is the Buddhist ‘Little Western Heaven Pure Land.’ I helped Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva eliminate these demons, and the Venerable helped you reshape your supernatural ability. Your current supernatural ability is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s.”
Upon hearing this, Qing Lianzi and Zhang Hanshan both had expressions of disbelief and shock.
What, during our slumber, what exactly did you go through?!
Zhang Hanshan comforted the incessantly frolicking Di Ting while processing the information. Finally, he asked, “Chuan Ge, what happened in the Buddhist realm? Is there… any change?”
Mo Chuan recalled for a moment and told Zhang Hanshan everything in Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s memories. The latter fell silent for a moment, then finally said, “Then the Venerable…”
“Left to search for the wandering souls of the Buddhas.”
Zhang Hanshan nodded and then began to practice his brand-new supernatural ability.
After a while, Qing Lianzi used the Qinglian Formation to awaken the people who had fainted. Unexpectedly, the little monster Luo Ni was the last to wake up.
Perhaps the longevity technique taught by the Golden-Winged Great Peng also came with a price.
Finally, Mo Chuan clarified the situation to everyone. Then, they searched this ruin for half a day. Although they didn’t find any spiritual treasures or magical artifacts, they found a large pile of Buddhist scriptures and ancient scrolls.
Finally, everyone unanimously decided: to give them to Master Wu Hai, as they needed these scriptures more than themselves.
Then, Luo Ni opened a portal to send them out of this now defunct ruin.
…
“Luo Ni, why are we here.” Mo Chuan looked at the desolate sand sea around them and the entrance to the ruin behind him. He instinctively reached for a cigarette, but then realized he didn’t have a lighter, so he could only sigh in despair at the sand sea.
“Uh… If I say it wasn’t intentional… would you believe me…”
“…”
Just as Mo Chuan was about to say something else, a golden light flashed at the entrance of the ruin. When they looked again, Master Wu Hai and most of the people who had entered the ruin were teleported out.
“Amitabha… thankfully we are out…” Master Wu Hai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, “Everyone, quickly check if anyone is injured…”
“Master! What’s going on? Why did you come out?” Qing Lianzi quickly led people to help the crowd. Master Wu Hai also breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Qing Lianzi and said, “Amitabha… Daoist Qing Lianzi, the spatial order within the ruins was suddenly broken, and all the caves returned to their original positions, so we were all squeezed into one place. To prevent casualties, I had people teleport us out…”
“It’s just that this ruin, I’m afraid, cannot be entered anymore…” Qing Lianzi looked at the caves not far away and sighed.
The entrances to such large ruins are usually only open for a few days before closing due to the depletion of spiritual energy. However, it is estimated that the collapse of the Little Western Heaven caused the ruin to close prematurely.
“Everyone, count the number of people and casualties. After packing, prepare to leave.” Master Wu Hai called out, then said helplessly, “The harvest from this exploration is too little… What should I do…”
“Master?”
Master Wu Hai turned back upon hearing this, only to see Mo Chuan standing beside him. He chuckled, “Young friend, what can this old monk do for you?”
“Master, these are the Buddhist scriptures and ancient texts we found in the ruins. Please take them for study.” Mo Chuan handed the scroll case to Master Wu Hai and then signaled to him with his eyes.
“Hahahaha!—Young friend, you are too kind. You have been a great help this time! Speak, what do you want, young friend?”
Seeing that Master Wu Hai was very understanding, Mo Chuan also said, “Master, you are too polite. However, Mo Chuan does need a small item…”
“Young friend, please speak.”
“I remember… Hua Cheng Temple on Jiuhua Mountain enshrines the treasure bead of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, right?”
“That is a ninth-tier spiritual treasure, young friend. Ask for something else.”
“No, I don’t want that…” Mo Chuan pointed at Zhang Hanshan and said, “Master, do you know who he is?”
“Uh… When did a little boy join our team?”
“He is Zhang Hanshan…”
“Young Zhang? He isn’t… How come he…”
“In the ruins, to protect me, he was struck by a demonic statue and his supernatural ability was shattered. Afterwards, we experienced another encounter and received the help of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s divine soul to recast his supernatural ability, so now his supernatural ability is…”
“Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?!” Master Wu Hai immediately understood something and looked at Zhang Hanshan in disbelief, “Young friend, what do you need the treasure bead for?”
“To lend it to him for cultivation.”
Master Wu Hai pondered for a moment and then said, “Alright, this old monk will definitely help young Zhang.”
“Mo Chuan~”
Just as Mo Chuan finished talking with Master Wu Hai, he heard a charming and bone-melting voice from behind him. Before Mo Chuan could turn around, he was embraced by a pair of jade hands around his neck.
Tsk, running into someone pregnant, one warning!
“Since young friend has other matters, this old monk will take his leave first.” Master Wu Hai, this lecher, narrowed his eyes and turned to make space for Mo Chuan and Tang Jingjing.
“Mo Chuan…” Tang Jingjing’s warm breath gently brushed against Mo Chuan’s back neck, causing goosebumps to appear all over Mo Chuan’s body, “It feels like I haven’t seen you in a long time… Time is hard to tell in the ruins…”
“Yes… yes…” Mo Chuan almost forgot about this troublemaker. He quickly patted Tang Jingjing’s wrist and asked, “Alright, stop fooling around. Were you injured in the ruins?”
“No~” Tang Jingjing squinted her eyes happily, her arms tightening even more, as if she wanted to merge Mo Chuan into her body.
However, a confused shout shattered this ambiguous atmosphere:
“Strange? Where are the people who came to pick us up?”