Chapter 108

"Indeed, while Huicong's demonic heart is not yet awakened, we shall light one hundred and eight lamps before the Buddha in the main hall of my temple, before the Buddha's throne. Senior Brother will use a needle to tattoo the Jialan Secret Scripture demon suppression diagram on Huicong's back, while we, his fellow disciples, will chant scriptures to empower it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng's expression gradually changed, and the figure of Lord Guan's ghost instantly appeared in his mind. "Is it... is it Bodhisattva Jialan..."

After the Sui and Tang dynasties, emperors of all dynasties used Guan Gong's loyalty and righteousness as a model for educating people to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic, continuously conferring upon Guan Yu titles such as "Marquis then King, King then Emperor, Emperor then Saint, Saint then Heaven." Guan Gong's status also rose higher and higher in various religions. Temples and Taoist temples offered him many sacrifices, and Buddhism honored him as Bodhisattva Jialan.

Bodhisattva Jialan's holy image is solemn and dignified. Because of his uprightness, he can deter all kinds of evil spirits. Therefore, he and Bodhisattva Weituo are the great Dharma protectors of Buddhism. Among them, Bodhisattva Jialan is the right Dharma protector, and Bodhisattva Weituo is the left Dharma protector. Their position is generally located in the Jialan Hall on the southeast side of the Great Hero Hall of the temple.

"Was that Lord Guan you guys created?"

Recalling Lord Guan's ghost wielding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade and slaughtering everyone, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but twitch in his heart. With Lord Guan's blade falling, at least a dozen monks were splattered with blood on the spot.

"Amitabha, you have been frightened, Benefactor." The abbot's voice came from the darkness ahead, "But this poor monk has said that everything you see is just a delusion and cannot be taken as real."

"Master, you've said so much, and yet you say that everything I've seen tonight is illusory. Isn't that... a bit contradictory?"

Currently, Jiang Cheng's eyes still cannot be fully opened. He can only try to stay away from the direction of the master's voice, but fortunately, his eyes are gradually getting better. What the mysterious man sprinkled on him was not lime, but incense ash.

The abbot did not refute, and his voice was calm, "Benefactor should not be the first time exploring the Hall of Merit at night. This poor monk asks Benefactor, have the monks of this temple who were killed at night suffered any damage when Benefactor sees them during the day?"

"No, that's what I can't figure out either." Jiang Cheng answered truthfully. Whether what this abbot said was true or false, Jiang Cheng did not intend to fall out with him. He was trying to buy time, to delay until his eyes could see.

"The illusion this poor monk speaks of is not entirely the same as the illusion Benefactor imagines. It is true that the monks you see tonight are illusions, but these illusions all originate from the hearts of the monks."

"The demon suppression diagram jointly set up by Senior Brother and us cannot completely suppress the demonic thoughts in Huicong's heart. That wisp of demonic thought is now growing stronger and stronger, and a small part has broken through the seal. The leaked demonic thoughts have invaded the monks of this temple. The monks Benefactor sees tonight are the delusions born in the hearts of the monks of this temple."

"Amitabha, not only the monks, but even Benefactor, and Benefactor's friends, as well as this poor monk tonight, are all illusions arising from demonic thoughts in everyone's heart."

"It's like a dream, but this is a dream woven by all of us together, and the person who is dreaming is Huicong," Jiang Cheng replied after hesitating for a few seconds.

"Benefactor is intelligent, but not accurate enough. Huicong cannot dominate such a night of illusion either, it is just the demonic thoughts in his heart."

Jiang Cheng slowly nodded. He roughly understood, "So this is a setup. The demonic thoughts in Huicong's heart are using the hands of the monks in the temple to help them escape with the delusions of the monks. And every time at the critical moment, when Huicong's original heart is about to be completely eroded, it will trigger a backlash from the seal, summoning Bodhisattva Jialan to kill all illusions and expel evil spirits, is that right?"

"That's right, but I wonder if Benefactor has noticed that the current image of Bodhisattva Jialan has been completely destroyed, and the killing is extremely heavy, even beginning to attack Benefactor and others." The abbot's voice became more and more heavy, and his voice trembled constantly, "Because the Bodhisattva has also lost its Buddhist heart and is also being eroded by Huicong's demonic thoughts. This seal... is about to be broken!"

"What will happen if the seal is broken?"

"Within a hundred miles, no humans or animals will survive." "Then how long does Master think this seal can last?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"At most three days."

Jiang Cheng silently calculated in his heart. According to the difficulty of this task, they would probably not be able to leave within three days, so if they wanted to survive, they had to resolve the crisis in the temple.

"Master's Buddhist teachings are profound, and you must have a way to resolve this disaster. I hope you can enlighten me." After hearing so much from the old monk, Jiang Cheng believed that he might have a solution.

"Amitabha, this poor monk believes in fate. Benefactor came to my Abstinence Temple at this time of crisis, it must be due to a deep Buddhist connection, to help all living beings in the world through this disaster, immeasurable merit."

The abbot's words were beautiful, but Jiang Cheng didn't want to buy it. His eyes were already much better, and with the faint light coming in from the window, Jiang Cheng continued to back away. He asked the question that had been hidden in his heart for a long time, "Hehe, Master, there is still one thing I don't understand. Since you said that everything you see tonight is an illusion, and this illusion is all caused by the invasion of demonic thoughts, then I would like to ask, how much of the truth and how much of the falsehood is there in the words spoken by your illusory mouth that has been invaded by demonic thoughts?"

"Also, Master also said that my friend and I have also been invaded by delusions, but I am very clear-headed now, and neither my friend nor I have committed evil deeds like the monks Huide and Huiming. How do you explain this?"

The darkness suddenly fell silent. Jiang Cheng pulled Fatty back a little bit. This sudden silence was unbearably tense. Just as Jiang Cheng was about to turn around and crash open the door to run away, the abbot's old voice sounded again, "Amitabha, does Benefactor think this poor monk's eyes went blind?"

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but stop. He had to say that this question attracted him, "What do you mean, only a blind person can not be disturbed by this illusion? Did you gouge out your own eyes?"

The abbot smiled miserably and did not answer this question, but instead asked, "Since Benefactor firmly believes that everything you see is real, then this poor monk asks, since Benefactor came here, do you not find anything strange?"

Jiang Cheng tried his best to open his not-very-clear eyes. He felt that everything around here was strange, and it was the kind of strangeness that was indescribable.

"Hehe, since this poor monk appeared, your friend has not said a word."

Jiang Cheng was stunned for a moment, and then a chill ran from his hands to his feet. That's right, since he and the abbot had started talking, Fatty beside him had not made a sound, and what was even more terrifying was that he had not realized this at all, as if something was influencing him to completely ignore this anomaly.

Jiang Cheng was still holding Fatty's arm, but at this moment, he actually felt that Fatty's arm had become cold, as if he was not holding a living person, but a corpse, or...

In the next second, a hand tremblingly reached out to Jiang Cheng, touched the back of Jiang Cheng's hand, and then slowly moved on it.

"Fatty is writing..."

Jiang Cheng immediately reacted, but as he gradually realized what Fatty was writing, Jiang Cheng's whole body began to tremble.

"Run, the thing that's talking is above us, it's looking for us."