Chapter 1 The Door

Jiang Cheng could even hear the sound of the door being pushed open a crack, but the sound stopped the next second.

Several shadows were clearly cast on the paper door by the candlelight. Fatty swallowed hard, feeling several sinister gazes staring in from the damaged spots on the paper.

"Let's go, search elsewhere, they can't have run far." After a moment, the figures dispersed.

Remembering the fishing trick from last time, Jiang Cheng didn't move until the shadows were far away.

"It's alright now." The abbot's voice sounded again, not loud, but filled with a rare sense of gravitas.

"Are you Abbot Foji?" Ye Qiutang wasn't intimidated, but being in the dark for so long, facing unknown people, made her feel very uncomfortable. She subconsciously wanted to light the candle in her hand.

"Amitabha, this poor monk is." The abbot's voice came faintly from not far ahead. "This benefactor, please do not light the candle. Those people outside haven't gone far."

Ye Qiutang was stunned. "You can see my hand movements?"

She had heard Jiang Cheng say that the abbot was blind, his eyes gouged out. For a moment, Ye Qiutang didn't know who to believe.

"Hehe, this night is all illusion. Having lost these eyes, this poor monk sees even more clearly." The abbot slowly chanted a Buddhist prayer. "Amitabha."

"Master, Little Master Huiqing came to find us tonight, but we couldn't save him. Those monks killed people and then set out sacrifices, treating people as two-legged sheep to offer to the Bodhisattva." Jiang Cheng described the events in the Merit Hall as simply as possible.

"Alas—" The abbot sighed. "It is all because this poor monk's Buddhist Dharma is weak, unable to restrain my disciple."

Changing the subject, the abbot's tone towards Jiang Cheng and the others suddenly became solemn. "Benefactor Jiang, this poor monk has already said what needed to be said to you. Now that demonic thoughts have arisen, all living beings in the world are about to encounter a great calamity, and you, benefactor, have arrived at my Jiechi Temple at this very moment. This is all the compassion of my Buddha, and your deep connection to Buddhism. All of this is destined. I hope that you, benefactor, will put the world's people first and help my Jiechi Temple through this calamity."

"According to this poor monk's deduction, tonight is the deadline. If we fail, then all will be lost!"

The abbot's voice even carried a hint of sorrow at the end.

"Master, I am willing to help, but what exactly should I do?" Whether to help, how to help, these could be discussed later. Jiang Cheng just wanted to know what the old monk wanted him to do.

"Amitabha, well said, well said, benefactor, you care about the people, this poor monk admires you." The abbot kept repeating these phrases, which annoyed Jiang Cheng. "As for the method, this poor monk told you last night. I wonder what you have decided?"

Thinking that the other party was still thinking about his eyes, Jiang Cheng felt very uncomfortable. "Master, is there no other way?"

"Amitabha, it seems that you still don't trust me, benefactor. This poor monk has told you that this night is a night of illusion, and the people you see on this night are also illusory people. Keeping these eyes will only lead you into a realm of illusion and increase your delusions. Only by cutting off this root of troubles can you obtain the opportunity to completely escape."

Fatty's hand reached out towards Jiang Cheng, grabbing his hand and squeezing it hard twice. Jiang Cheng knew what Fatty meant; he suspected that the abbot was unreliable.

Ye Qiutang was the same; she also lacked trust in the abbot hidden in the darkness.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Cheng seemed to have figured it out. "Okay, then let me ask again, is it enough for only me to do this, or do all of us have to do it?"

"Only you, benefactor, are needed." The abbot answered decisively.

"Why? Don't they need to escape the realm of illusion?" Jiang Cheng seemed to have found a flaw in the abbot's words.

"Amitabha, you are different from them." After a pause, the abbot's tone changed slightly when he spoke again. "Don't you know what is special about yourself?"

Hearing this, Fatty gripped Jiang Cheng's hand even tighter. Fatty knew that Jiang Cheng was Zero, brought back from another world by the old chairman.

These words seemed to have touched Jiang Cheng. He no longer hesitated. "Abbot, what do I need to do? Can I just gouge out my eyes?"

"Benefactor, please come forward."

Jiang Cheng and the others moved forward together, holding hands, like a single entity.

"Further forward."

After several times, the abbot finally told Jiang Cheng to stop, and at this moment, the abbot's voice was very close.

According to the abbot's instructions, Jiang Cheng let go of one hand. He chose to let go of Ye Qiutang, and then used that hand to reach into the darkness in front of him. Soon, he felt a heavy stone table. On the stone table was a wooden box.

"Inside the box is the temple's treasure, the Zī Jīn Bō Yú (Purple-Gold Alms Bowl). Benefactor, just place your eyes inside."

"This item is very mysterious, capable of breaking the universe, ignoring the passage of time, and transmitting objects from different dynasties." The abbot's voice was quite emotional. "Moreover, Huicong was also knocked down by senior brother with this item, which allowed him to be sealed."

Jiang Cheng suddenly remembered that the abbot had mentioned that the senior brother had tearfully hugged Huicong's thigh, and taking him by surprise, took out an alms bowl from his arms and knocked Huicong unconscious. He didn't expect it to be the treasure in front of him.

However, Jiang Cheng was more concerned about the abbot's description of the item, capable of breaking the universe. The four directions, up and down, are called Yǔ (space), and the past and present are called Zhòu (time). The two words, Zhòu Yǔ (universe), are the ancients' terms and understanding of time and space.

And the following sentence, ignoring the passage of time and transmitting objects from different dynasties, was even more impressive. Jiang Cheng understood that the alms bowl might contain things that did not belong to this time and space, such as a mobile phone or a watch. In other words, he could also put things into it and send them to another world.

"Another world!"

Jiang Cheng was suddenly stunned. He instantly thought of Li Bai, Yao Shun Yu, and the two teams of Zhu Jie and Tang Qisheng.

Weren't these people scattered in different time and spaces?

Could it be... could it be that the Zī Jīn Bō Yú (Purple-Gold Alms Bowl) is the meeting point of the three time and spaces, and the people in the other two worlds urgently need his help?

The next second, Jiang Cheng slowly calmed himself down. But this didn't make sense. After all, he could understand if the other two teams needed something else, but needing his eyes was too strange.

Jiang Cheng silently raised his head and looked towards the direction of the voice in the darkness. "Master, is it that simple?"

"Before that, benefactor, you need to kowtow to the Buddha, a total of three times. You must perform the great ceremony each time, and shout piously."

"Shout what?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Attain Buddhahood!"

"Where is the Buddha statue? How do I kowtow?"

"Amitabha, you don't need to worry about that, benefactor. The Buddha statue is behind this poor monk. Just kowtow to this poor monk."