The group passed through one cave after another, gradually approaching the depths of Mogao Grottoes.
The people brought by Dewinsen had gotten separated from Qing Lianzi and the others midway. However, after communication, they were not far apart, so they decided to act independently.
Finally, they stopped in a cave where a giant stone statue stood.
"These murals... are primarily made with cobalt blue pigments, and most of the figures are rather slender... but the clothing still conforms to Hu-style attire, so these murals should date from the late Tang dynasty to the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, or possibly even the early Song dynasty," Zhang Hanshan had clearly done his homework and immediately analyzed the approximate era of the cave's construction.
"Old Zhang, you're amazing!" Mochuan bumped Zhang Hanshan with his shoulder and asked, "What is that statue?"
"This..." Zhang Hanshan examined it carefully for a moment. "I haven't even seen this kind of image in the Ghost Market... but its form is three-headed and six-armed, holding a vajra pestle, a sword, and a golden ring, with flowing ribbons and prayer beads on its body. Its status is basically no lower than that of a Heavenly King."
"The three faces of this statue are a Buddha face, an Asura face, and... a Yaksha face? What kind of Buddha is this? Could it be a demon?"
Zhang Hanshan looked at the statue's appearance with a dark expression. Although parts of the statue had eroded, its general form was still discernible: the entire statue was three-headed and six-armed. From left to right, the three heads were an Asura face, a Buddha face, and a Yaksha face; among the six hands, two were clasped together in prayer, one was lightly twirling a pearl, and the remaining three held the other three magical implements. Its body was muscular, bare-chested, with flowing ribbons draped over its shoulders, prayer beads around its waist, and bare feet. One foot was planted firmly on the ground, while the other was raised. It was a typical image of a demon subduer.
However, the discordant aspect of the statue was that its otherwise solemn and righteous body bore two demonic faces. Compared to the Buddha face's lowered brows and compassionate gaze, the Asura face appeared exceptionally arrogant and tyrannical, while the Yaksha face seemed particularly greedy and cunning.
He Lanxin walked forward. While the others were observing the statue, she reached out her hand and, as if guided by a supernatural impulse, touched the statue's base.
"Hiss."
He Lanxin looked at her palm. A shallow wound had appeared on her fair palm, and drops of bright red blood slowly seeped out, falling onto the statue's base.
The blood washed away the dust, revealing ancient inscriptions beneath the accumulated grime.
"What is this..." He Lanxin frowned.
On the other side, Luo Ni dismounted from Mochuan's back, sensed for a moment, and then said, "It disappeared right here, but not from this statue."
"What do you mean it disappeared here but not from here?" Mochuan rubbed the back of his head.
Luo Ni also shook her head.
"Wait a minute, I remember!" Zhang Hanshan slapped his forehead and said, "There are two divine Buddhas in Buddhist scriptures depicted with three heads and six arms. One is the Fire God Bodhisattva, but his three heads are all red-haired and bearded, and he wears golden armor. The other is the Asura King! But the Asura King has three Asura faces; there's no Buddha face or Yaksha face..."
Before Zhang Hanshan could finish speaking, the Asura face of the statue, which was directly facing him, seemed to blink.
Zhang Hanshan thought he was seeing things, so he rubbed his eyes and looked up again.
This time, the Asura face did not move, but a small amount of dust fell from the statue.
"Everyone, fall back! This statue seems to have come alive!"
Zhang Hanshan shouted, and everyone immediately retreated. The statue seemed to have locked onto He Lanxin. The moment she stepped back, it violently swung the vajra pestle it held towards where she had just been standing.
"Damn it! Attack first!" Mochuan summoned his grappling hook and lantern, intending to apply the [Imperial Decree] buff to the statue first. Beside him, Luo Ni seemed to recall something and summoned Yellow Sand Soldiers to form a defensive line, protecting Mochuan and herself.
He Lanxin and Zhang Hanshan, the two front-liners, immediately activated their skills and charged forward: after landing, He Lanxin forcefully threw her Overlord Halberd, but the statue slightly lowered its head, and the halberd narrowly missed its head, flying straight into the ceiling, leaving only a white mark on the statue; Zhang Hanshan, now enlarged to the height of the statue's shoulder, directly locked his arms around the statue's hands holding the golden ring and the vajra pestle.
He Lanxin activated [Overlord's Formation Break] and flashed to the side of her Overlord Halberd, shouting, "This statue is strange! Its defense is outrageously high."
"I can see that..." Mochuan retrieved his grappling hook, which had been forcefully bounced back by the statue's outer skin, and planned to use [Wasteland] to see how high its magic resistance was.
"It's not the statue itself!" Since Zhang Hanshan was closest to the statue, he clearly saw a flash of golden light every time the statue was attacked, rendering their attacks useless.
Just as Zhang Hanshan finished speaking, a strange grinding sound echoed from the statue's head. Then, everyone looked up to find that the Buddha face, which was originally in the front, had turned to the right, and the Asura face, which was on the left, had moved to the central position.
At the same time, the faint golden light on the statue disappeared, replaced by the four magical implements in its hands, which were now engulfed in dark green flames; strange characters also appeared on the flowing ribbons.
Mochuan was stunned: "Holy crap... What kind of boss is this... it even changes forms?"
"Everyone be careful!" Qing Lianzi shouted, with several purple talismans flying from his hand, "Step on the clear wind to brush the willow, stand in the flowing waves to open the river, Wudu! Xun Feng! Hasten as the law commands! Speed!"
The four purple talismans instantly ignited. Mochuan and the other three immediately felt as if a breeze was beneath their feet, significantly increasing their speed. Zhang Hanshan, seizing the opportunity, charged behind the statue, clasped his hands together to form a hammer, and smashed into the statue with flames of crimson and gold intertwined.
"Boom..."
The statue, evidently having its defense reduced due to the form change, had a large circular pit blasted into its back by Zhang Hanshan's punch. However, the statue's counterattack was also formidable. If He Lanxin had not used her halberd to block its horizontal sweep with its sword, Zhang Hanshan would not have simply been smashed into the mural by the vajra pestle.