Chapter 384: Tracking the Culprit in the Sublime Realm

“There is thunder but no rain; surely some evil force must be at work.”

Master Huineng murmured thoughtfully, his mood slightly tense.

Shui Miao also felt an ominous premonition but didn’t dwell on it. Thunderstorms were normal in this kind of weather. Perhaps the rain would come soon enough.

Arriving at the Arhat Hall, Shui Miao’s vision brightened. The hall’s doors and windows were tightly shut. Not only were numerous electric lights switched on, but many candles were also burning. Rows of golden Arhat statues had been arranged into a formation. Three senior monks sat within the array, waiting. Besides the Arhat statues, Shui Miao noticed many monks sitting in neat rows inside the hall, each with a wooden fish before them, silently waiting.

The atmosphere was extremely solemn, prompting the question: what exactly were they doing?

“Please!”

Huineng invited Shui Miao to walk toward the center. Two strong monks immediately shut the large doors of the Arhat Hall, fastening them securely with thick wooden bars. They then pasted talismans onto the doors and sat cross-legged nearby, motionless, waiting.

What exactly were they about to do?

With a heavy heart, Shui Miao approached the three senior monks.

Before Shui Miao could speak, Master Liaochen opened his eyes and said, “Benefactor, you needn’t say anything. We already know your situation. I have arranged the Vajra Arhat Formation to protect us. I will now guide you into a mystical realm to discover who the hidden enemy behind your misfortune is, and then we will make plans accordingly. Please sit down quickly, and whatever you do, do not speak.”

“…”

Shui Miao was stunned. He hadn’t expected that Master Liaochen had already foreseen his situation. Deeply moved, he nodded quickly.

Master Liaochen asked Shui Miao to sit beside him. He handed Shui Miao a piece of jade and then placed a large talisman on Shui Miao’s forehead, saying softly, “This is the Prajna Secret Store Great Dharma Life Talisman. Once it’s on, no one will be able to sense your presence. Now put this jade in your mouth. Shortly, I will guide you into the mystical realm. The hidden enemy might try to interfere, so you must remain calm and focused. No matter what you see or hear, they are all illusions and hallucinations. You must follow our instructions precisely. If anything goes wrong, we will all perish because of you. Remember this well.”

So serious!

Shui Miao was deeply moved. He had only just met this senior monk, yet the monk was risking the lives of all the temple monks to help him. How could he ever repay such kindness?

Seeing Shui Miao’s agitation, Master Liaochen added, “Now begin to calm your mind. The highest state of mind is emptiness. If you can achieve a state where your mind is completely empty, I can then guide you into the mystical realm.”

Hearing this, Shui Miao nodded again quickly.

Then, Master Liaochen raised his hand, and Abbot Liao Kong led the monks in striking the wooden fish and chanting Buddhist scriptures.

All the monks immediately joined in, beating their wooden fish and chanting in unison.

Buddhist chants filled the air, bringing warmth to Shui Miao’s heart.

Normally, hearing such sounds would make it impossible for Shui Miao to calm his mind and focus.

But this time, he found the sound of the wooden fish and the chanting very soothing, effectively helping him calm down instantly.

“Emptiness of all things… a mind devoid of all thoughts…”

Shui Miao completely relaxed, his heart calm and peaceful like still water. Everything seemed to stop. Gradually, the sound of the wooden fish became fainter, and he felt as though he had vanished, everything turning into a white haze…

“Boom!”

Suddenly, a thunderclap shook the heavens and earth, snapping Shui Miao out of his meditative state.

Shui Miao felt a ringing in his ears, as if the thunder had exploded right above his head.

“Don’t be afraid. The thunder is merely a reaction of the nerves to sound. Forget it, and you won’t hear it anymore,” Master Liaochen whispered softly in Shui Miao’s ear before resuming his meditation.

“Forget it?”

“How can I forget?”

Shui Miao pondered. Perhaps he should just ignore it, not take it seriously.

Thus, Shui Miao once again tried to calm his mind and focus, but outside, thunder after thunder rolled louder than the last.

Master Liaochen slowly picked up a cymbal and struck it hard. Upon hearing the cymbal’s sound, the monks raised their voices. Soon, the chanting grew so loud that it drowned out the thunder.

Without hesitation, Shui Miao relaxed again and re-entered the meditative state.

Gradually, Shui Miao heard nothing… In his white-hazed vision, there was nothing, and he thought of nothing. Everything was so still, so empty, as if time had stopped. Slowly, the white haze transformed into the image of the Arhat Hall. Everyone was there, devotedly chanting Buddhist scriptures, but there was no sound.

At this moment, Master Liaochen took Shui Miao’s hand and placed it on his own mouth.

Shui Miao understood: Master Liaochen was reminding him not to make a sound.

Then Master Liaochen began chanting a secret mantra. Shui Miao watched as the scene before him suddenly changed. The monks, once normal, transformed into women, beasts, monsters, immortals, and even trees and grass… Master Liaochen turned to where Huineng had been sitting in meditation and found that Huineng had transformed into a young monk. But soon, the young monk changed again, becoming a small tiger, then transforming into golden light, and disappearing.

Not only Huineng vanished; everyone in the temple transformed into golden light and disappeared.

Shui Miao watched in awe as the temple itself turned into golden light and vanished…

Master Liaochen held Shui Miao’s hand and continued chanting the spell. The scenery before them changed. The sun and moon alternated, and time flew by rapidly… After a long while, the scene suddenly stopped. Here, clouds floated, mountains hovered in midair, and rainbows arched overhead—it was a dreamlike fairyland. Shui Miao looked closely and gradually saw a vast white platform appear before him. On this platform stood two dragon-entwined jade pillars, hundreds of meters high. At the top of the pillars, a giant blade gleamed coldly, sending chills down his spine. Soon, a figure with a gray sack over his head was pushed onto the platform by a group of powerful golden warriors. They forced his head into a groove on the platform. With a sudden explosion, the giant blade high above dropped, severing the figure’s head. As the head fell, the sack fell off, revealing the face beneath. When Shui Miao saw the face, his heart jolted in shock—it looked exactly like him!

Master Liaochen raised his hand, signaling Shui Miao not to panic.

Master Liaochen continued chanting the secret mantra, and the scene changed again. Once more, the beheading occurred. Finally, the head revealed was again identical to Shui Miao’s!

Shui Miao struggled to control his emotions, wanting to see what would happen next.

However, the beheading scene repeated itself nine times!

After the ninth time, Master Liaochen was clearly exhausted. Gritting his teeth, he changed the scene again… This time, Shui Miao saw the figure who looked exactly like him furiously slaughtering immortals and deities. With one open mouth, endless dark energy engulfed and devoured the celestial beings. He was incredibly powerful, seemingly invincible. But finally, a giant with a jade-like face, cold expression, and wearing a yellow Taoist robe appeared from behind, grabbed him by the waist, and crushed him to death!

He transformed into endless dark energy, which was then devoured by the giant!

But soon, the giant spat out a soul fragment and threw it away… Master Liaochen quickly chanted the spell, following the soul fragment closely. The soul fragment pierced through multiple worlds, arriving at a place filled with smoke and dark clouds, and fell into the belly of a black dragon. The black dragon let out a mournful cry and produced a massive black egg.

Master Liaochen rapidly chanted the secret mantra. Time flew by. The egg cracked, and a black dragon was born. The dragon spewed clouds and mist, cultivating for many years until it transformed into a human form—again, it was Shui Miao’s appearance. This person cultivated for many years, and one day met a monk dressed in golden robes. The two conversed joyfully and finally became sworn brothers. The golden-robed monk took a thread of this person’s soul and then flew into the sky riding a giant Kun fish. Time flowed rapidly again. Shui Miao watched as this person, who looked exactly like him, grew increasingly powerful. Eventually, he began killing recklessly, stormed into the Nine Heavens, slaughtered beings, and beheaded immortals and deities. But in the end, the jade-faced, cold-eyed giant wearing a yellow Taoist robe appeared again, killed him once more, and cast out his soul!

At this point, Shui Miao’s heart was shaken violently. He immediately thought that this jade-faced giant in the yellow Taoist robe might be the legendary Jade Emperor?

Before Shui Miao could finish his speculation, the scene in his vision began to blur.

Master Liaochen quickly transmitted his voice telepathically, “Absolutely no random thoughts! If your thoughts are correct, the mystical realm will not vanish. But if you think incorrectly, the mystical realm will immediately disappear. Once it’s gone, there will be no way to return.”

Shui Miao suppressed his distracting thoughts and nodded quickly.

Master Liaochen’s face was pale. He chanted the secret mantra again, and the scene changed dramatically. The golden-robed monk carefully nurtured the black soul, splitting it one into two, two into four, four into eight, creating eight souls. Then he sent them into various realms. One of them fell into the human world and entered a woman’s womb. Then, Shui Miao saw Liu Hongmei, who secretly left the hospital holding the child…

Shui Miao was deeply shocked but had to control his emotions.

Suddenly, Master Liaochen collapsed weakly to his knees. Shui Miao quickly rushed forward to support him, shaking his head and urging him to stop, not to waste any more spiritual energy. However, after catching his breath for a few moments, Master Liaochen gritted his teeth, insisting on continuing to chant the secret mantra…

The scene changed again, returning to the present. Hidden within the dark clouds was a giant black figure!

Shui Miao guessed that this figure must be the jade-faced, yellow-robed giant.

But when a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, Shui Miao saw the figure’s face—it was a face streaming with tears. At the sight of this face, Shui Miao lost control, shaking his head and shouting in disbelief, “How could this be? How could this be? It’s impossible! Impossible!”

“Buzz!”

A ringing sound filled his ears. Shui Miao felt the scene before his eyes rapidly change. He suddenly opened his eyes and withdrew from the mystical realm.

Master Liaochen, however, had blood flowing from his seven orifices and collapsed to the ground.