Chapter 179: 179、【Another Mysterious Pearl】
Translator: 549690339
The Monk, who appeared even older than a man in his nineties, suddenly knelt in front of Lu Xun.
Lu Xun’s first reaction was bewilderment, sheer bewilderment!
Oh, my turtle!
What’s going on?
Lu Xun was utterly stupefied, so much so that he didn’t even move to help the Monk immediately.
By the time he reacted, he quickly reached out to support the Monk, but was also wary inside.
Anything unusual predicts something strange!
Although the one in front of him was indeed a Monster Monk, what’s he up to?
Since arriving at Shallow Water Temple, Lu Xun did have a good impression here, thinking it indeed looked like a place out of this world, but if anything unusual happened, he would definitely hide behind Mao Nanbei with Lin Chan in the first place, and let Mao Nanbei chop the turtle.
However, this scene did remind Lu Xun of something.
He thought about his situation when he was in Qingling City.
Qingling City is a large city built on top of Turtle’s shell and the Demon Sect’s Trial Ground, Turtle’s Longevity, is inside the turtle’s shell.
In Qingling City, turtles are considered auspicious. One could often see all sorts of turtles leisurely strolling around.
Lu Xun remembered clearly that when he first arrived in Qingling City, all the turtles on the roadside bowed their heads to the ground in what could only be described as a greeting upon spotting him!
It wasn’t just one or two turtles making this gesture, but all the turtles in the entire city of Qingling would do it the moment they saw Lu Xun!
Back then, he felt very perplexed, but since he couldn’t understand the language of turtles and couldn’t communicate with them, he still hadn’t found an answer until now.
Now, with the reaction of the old monk upon seeing the sword sheath…
Surely, the odd phenomenon in Qingling City must have been due to the sword sheath as well!
“Thank goodness, I initially thought there was some intriguing connection between me and the turtles. Turns out I’m not the cause myself,” Lu Xun murmured inwardly.
“Master, why did you do that?” Lu Xun asked.
He was just silent and then knelt, quite a tough one!
The old monk raised by Lu Xun still had a respectful look on his face. “Excuse me for startling you, your sword sheath is a sacred object,” he said.
“Sacred object?” Lu Xun glanced at the sword sheath.
This sheath was made by Elder Gui, who told him so himself.
Considering some similarities between Elder Gui and these Monster Monks in behavior and manners…
One would assume that even if Elder Gui wasn’t a turtle transformed, he would have some kind of relationship with them.
The former seems more probable.
“Yes, the sheath was made from the back of an Ancient Turtle, specifically from the toughest part, which naturally makes it a sacred object to my people,” the old monk explained.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xun nodded, finally understanding.
“So that’s how it is,” he thought to himself.
Qingling City is within the sphere of influence of the Demon Sect and is built upon an Ancient Turtle’s shell, implying maybe the ancient turtle bears some relation to the Demon Sect as well.
He wasn’t sure whether Elder Gui had just managed to get the essence of the Ancient Turtle’s shell and crafted the sheath, or perhaps…he had a thousand strings and threads of connection with the Ancient Turtle itself!
It was said that after a turtle transforms, its shell becomes an external object.
Hence, this guess wasn’t entirely impossible!
“Since this sheath is considered your sacred object, wouldn’t it be fine if it wants to consume something from your temple, right?” Lu Xun thought to himself.
Lu Xun looked at the old monk, pondered for a moment, and then bluntly stated his intention.
The black cord on the sheath was swinging around as if making clear its stance and position, adding persuasive power and credibility to Lu Xun’s words.
The old monk looked at Lu Xun and the others, then at the sheath, and a chrysanthemum-like smile squeezed onto his face. “What does it wish for from my temple?” he asked.
Lu Xun was actually quite curious himself about what the sheath would want to eat.
The black cord floated up and pointed to the palm of the Stone Buddha.
In the Buddha’s palm, there was a stonework flower, and in the middle of the flower, there was a stone bead.
It appeared to be nothing special.
He wasn’t quite sure what it was.
“If it’s what the sacred object desires, then feel free to take it,” said the old monk with a smile. He was surprisingly straightforward.
This surprised Lu Xun, after all, he was just a stranger.
And according to the usual pattern, shouldn’t they attempt to snatch the sacred artifact of their clan upon seeing it?
Why did they offer it here?
Could it be a bit too hasty…?
Could it be that the monks in this dilapidated temple truly have a heart that transcends worldly desires?
Just as Lu Xun was about to respond with a few polite words, the sword sheath flew out of his hand.
It flew in front of the stone Buddha on its own, used its end to pry open, and then flung the stone bead out.
Then it opened its mouth upwards, and the stone bead fell firmly into the sword sheath.
It even made a “pop—” sound.
Its black string whirled a few times in the air, seeming very pleased.
After finishing these, it slowly drifted back into Lu Xun’s hand.
“Ahem, I’m sorry for the embarrassment,” Lu Xun put his hands together and bowed.
“No harm, no harm, this old monk didn’t expect that he would have the opportunity to witness a sacred artifact in this life,” he slowly waved his hand and said.
From beginning to end, he didn’t say much about what the stone bead was.
Of course, it’s possible that he himself doesn’t know…
But it must be a precious item, otherwise the sword sheath wouldn’t have been so eager, and it’s likely to be related to turtles.
After all this, Lu Xun, along with Mao Nanbei and Lin Chan, actually lit incense in the temple.
He was very impressed with the Shallow Water Temple, thinking that if he had the chance, he would come back and offer more incense.
Before leaving, the old monk didn’t make any attempt to retain them, seemingly content, as he had said, having seen a sacred artifact once in his lifetime.
Perhaps the old monk truly embodies the essence of Buddhism and has fewer desires.
Lu Xun and the others got back on the paper crane, which flew high into the sky.
Not long after they ascended, the black string on the sword sheath gently patted Lu Xun’s hand, then pointed down at the Shallow Water Temple.
“What’s up?” Lu Xun stopped the crane’s progress and made it hover in the air.
Soon, he heard another “pop—” sound.
A bead flew out from the sheath and hung in the opening.
It was no longer a stone bead, but a green pearl, surrounded by a green aura!
This must be its true form!
Lu Xun tried to check its basic information, but all he got were question marks.
Under the guidance of the sword sheath, some of this green aura was injected into the clouds, and some was blown downward by the wind.
The cloud turned into a rain cloud at this moment, and it began to drizzle.
The plants nourished by the rain showed a vigorous vitality.
In the blink of an eye, the flowers were in full bloom, and the grass was verdant.
Even the dead trees in the temple were sprouting new buds!
This was truly miraculous!
The green aura that drifted into the temple with the wind first blew towards the four young monks, then split into four strands and entered their bodies.
The young monks were all quite dazed and didn’t notice anything amiss.
Most of the green aura, however, surged into the old monk standing at the gate, entering his frail body.
His complexion visibly improved, and while he didn’t become younger, he certainly looked less aged.
The old monk stood at the door, looking up and smiling.
He put his hands together and recited a Buddhist chant:
“Amitabha.”
(PS: After updating three times yesterday, my rank on the monthly ticket leaderboard… actually dropped two places! Oh my god!)