Chapter 363: Inside the temple

Out of respect for the strong, Li Qi still honestly climbed the mountain like other pilgrims, instead of flying directly up.

He let the old horse go play by himself, telling him not to scare anyone, and then came to the foot of the mountain alone, preparing to walk up.

There was no other way; the old horse was no longer a horse, but a half-Dragon monster, and he didn't control him very well. There was always blue lightning around him, and coming out easily scared people.

It was better to go play in the mountains, and find a mare to leave some Bloodline.

Li Qi, alone, climbed the mountain honestly as usual.

However, there was one good thing: there was no entrance fee to Fengde Temple.

However, Li Qi noticed that everyone around him was holding incense and candles.

He looked around and saw many shops at the foot of the mountain selling homemade incense and candles, and he guessed the answer.

It was probably because the temple itself didn't sell incense and candles. If pilgrims were sincere, they would bring their own, so these people at the foot of the mountain relied on the mountain for their livelihood, selling these things at the foot of the mountain to supplement their household income.

Looking at it this way, there was nothing to criticize about what Fengde Temple did.

Li Qi saw that his style was different from the people around him, so he also wanted to buy some incense and candles to take up.

But when he touched his Mustard Bag, he only had some gold dust, no local currency.

Although Tang Nation's copper coins could also be used in the Baiyue Area, Li Qi had been using digital currency at the time, and he truly didn't have any physical money.

This was awkward; he had no money to buy incense and candles.

But he was a Seventh-Rank after all, and this couldn't stump him. Li Qi flipped his palm, and the earth Qi and Jin Qi (Metal Energy) combined, immediately creating a large coin that looked similar to what others around him were using.

Although this coin was fake, Li Qi had used Divine Qi.

If someone accepted this large coin and took it home, it would dissipate into a ball of Qi. After absorbing it, the family would naturally be healthy and have many children and grandchildren, so it wouldn't be considered a lie.

He bought a pack of incense and candles with the fake coin he rubbed with his hand. The person saw that Li Qi's coin was of excellent quality, brand new, with no wear and tear at all, so he even specially gave him a piece of oil paper so he could wrap the incense and candles and not have to hold them in his hand.

Seeing this, Li Qi felt ashamed, so after turning to leave, he added another spell to the coin.

It was a method of transportation by small ghosts. When this coin dissipated, it could summon small ghosts from the underworld to collect mountain goods for him, so he wouldn't suffer a loss.

After doing this, he picked up the incense and candles and began to climb the mountain step by step.

The road was full of people climbing, and most of them were very dedicated. Devout men and women walked and kowtowed, muttering prayers. Some old women were even more pious, having their children follow them, kowtowing every step. Their children kept laying down mats for her.

Every step the old woman took, her children would lay two mats on the steps, one for her knees and one for her head, so she could kowtow, then get up, take another step, and move the mats up again, repeating the process.

There were at least several thousand steps up the mountain. If they kowtowed like this, those who started in the morning would only reach the top at sunset.

Li Qi shook his head at the sight.

He hoped this old woman wouldn't kowtow herself to death on the road. With her small frame, she probably had coronary heart disease. Kowtowing like this, she might not be able to bear it.

However, Li Qi also understood from these scenes.

At Fengde Temple, the devotion to Buddhism had deeply penetrated people's hearts. At least in this area, Monks were far more popular than any Human Dao officials, Shaman Dao Shamanes, or Daoist Daoists.

Were these bald donkeys truly wholeheartedly serving the people, or were they planting nails in Baiyue?

Putting himself in their shoes, if Li Qi had established property here, would he allow such a thing to happen?

Li Qi felt that he wouldn't.

But Li Qi couldn't quite grasp what the Buddhist sect was thinking.

Perhaps believers were truly important to them? But if that were the case, why put on such a show, acting as if 'I don't care about you, you're the ones who came to beg me'?

He didn't quite understand. Perhaps if he had time to go to the Western Regions, he would then be able to learn the secrets within.

Li Qi also couldn't figure out what it was about Buddhism that required people to prostrate themselves in worship.

If the foundation of the Divine Dao was believers, then so be it.

But Li Qi knew that Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and the many Arhats and Devas did not require faith; their power came entirely from themselves.

Since they didn't need it, what were the Buddhist sect's intentions in developing believers so eagerly?

Li Qi could infer much from little, but in such matters, relying on one or two 'flaws' simply wouldn't reveal the cause.

If Li Qi could guess the reason for all this, the Shaman God of the Diviner lineage would surely rush to take him as a disciple.

After all, just by visiting a temple, he could instantly see through the arrangements of the Buddhist sect's many years of abnormal actions, which even a True Buddha couldn't conceal. This level was already enough for a Shaman God to personally appear.

Thinking about these things, Li Qi walked slowly along the way, and finally reached the top of the mountain.

At the top of the mountain was the location of Fengde Temple.

As soon as he reached the top, what greeted his eyes were the lingxiao flowers climbing all over the pine branches.

The flourishing lingxiao flowers on the trees and walls, step by step, struggled to bloom towards the sky. Their sun-loving nature made all the flowers face the sun, like young girls looking up at the sky, full of spirit and never stopping. As long as there was a path, they would climb higher step by step.

The crimson flowers, interspersed among the green leaves, strove upwards, giving a sense of encouragement.

Looking at the wall full of lingxiao flowers, Li Qi stopped, preparing to observe them.

His True Knowledge Dao Resonance was fully activated, sensing the essence, Qi, and spirit emanating from the lingxiao flowers, wanting to see if there were any secrets.

Regarding True Knowledge Dao Resonance, Li Qi actually had some doubts now, but it didn't hinder him from using it.

He had seen True Knowledge Dao Resonance in the eyes of the Heavenly Demon before.

And there was another point: was the Divine Ability displayed by the three lives ancient mirror simply a reinforced, reinforced, and even more reinforced version of True Knowledge Dao Resonance?

One must know that the three lives ancient mirror… was essentially also one of the eyes of the Heavenly Demon of Enjoying Others’ Emanations.

In reality, it seemed to be the case. The three lives ancient mirror could peer into three lives, a person's past, future, and present circumstances, all clearly laid out before it. This bore some resemblance to the power of True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

Was it True Knowledge Dao Resonance, was it Heavenly Demon’s Dao Resonance, or was it that the Heavenly Demon had already made arrangements and seized other True Knowledge Dao Resonances for his own use?

Li Qi leaned towards the latter.

Because if True Knowledge Dao Resonance was Heavenly Demon’s Dao Resonance, then the Shaman God should have warned him long ago. If he couldn't tell the difference, surely the Shaman God wouldn't be unable to tell the difference either.

So Li Qi continued to use it with a clear conscience.

To be honest, if he were to lose True Knowledge Dao Resonance, Li Qi would truly feel a bit lost, as if he had gone blind.

He had already grown accustomed to being able to scan his surroundings at any time, taking in countless pieces of information, then dissecting and analyzing them to obtain intelligence, and finally making judgments.

This habitual process had already formed, and it wasn't so easy to change.

However… he couldn't rely too much on True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

Li Qi had now consciously started to operate with two separate Systems.

One System was True Knowledge Dao Resonance, like an external scanner. The progress bar from before was just a side manifestation of True Knowledge Dao Resonance. Its essence was to collect all information from the surroundings and then meticulously pour it all into Li Qi's mind, where Li Qi's brain would then analyze it itself.

The other System was for Li Qi to gather information using his own senses, and then use True Knowledge Dao Resonance to identify and verify it.

This allowed Li Qi to train his own eyesight, letting him know what he had just missed, what had been overlooked, and what unusual Qi could be disguised to appear less unusual.

It was like a practice workbook.

Do it yourself, then check the answer key for comparison. By continuously learning this way, one can always improve their eyesight.

It's just a pity that the progress is a bit slow.

For his own eyesight to improve to the point where it could investigate the truth several grades higher, like True Knowledge Dao Resonance, that would be truly, truly difficult.

However, this way was more reassuring.

If True Knowledge Dao Resonance really had a problem, he wouldn't suddenly go from an all-seeing detective to a blind man.

Besides, there was another point that belonged to him and could not be taken away by others.

True Knowledge Dao Resonance was only responsible for collecting information and then feeding it to Li Qi's mind.

The subsequent analysis, integration, and reasoning work were all done by Li Qi himself. Even if he no longer had True Knowledge Dao Resonance in the future, these information integration abilities would not be lost.

It's just that memorizing books might become much more troublesome in the future.

Li Qi's current reading volume, if not entirely, at least two-thirds depended on True Knowledge Dao Resonance. Once True Knowledge Dao Resonance had completely read a book, the book would be firmly imprinted in his mind.

If he could only rely on his own memorization in the future, the effort required would at least increase by twentyfold, making it much more difficult then.

Therefore, if possible, Li Qi still wanted to preserve True Knowledge Dao Resonance as much as possible.

It would be even better if it could be strengthened.

The method of strengthening should be to collect other True Knowledge Dao Resonances.

For example… that pile in the Heavenly Demon's eyes.

With these reckless thoughts in his mind, Li Qi also finished analyzing the lingxiao flowers.

As expected, it wasn't that simple. These lingxiao flowers formed a formation, protecting the Buddhist temple. If one wanted to force their way in, they would trigger a grand formation set up by a Fifth-Rank Country Lord.

This Fengde Temple was indeed not that simple, and there should be a deep connection with the Lingxiao Flower Goddess.

After observing the periphery, Li Qi followed the crowd and entered.

Upon entering, there was the main hall.

Inside were sixteen Arhats, two Bodhisattvas, and one Buddha.

Within the grand hall, the light was purplish-blue and pervasive, the Buddha statues' sacred countenances were exquisitely crafted, and they were offered fragrant flowers.

Undoubtedly, they were also lingxiao flowers.

Many devout believers continuously prostrated themselves, then lit incense and candles, offering them in a large cauldron.

That cauldron was three zhang (about 10 meters) in circumference, but the incense ash inside was actually full, showing how prosperous the incense offerings usually were.

After all, there were millions of believers in the vicinity. Even if they weren't that devout, coming once a year during festivals would still result in an absolutely large number.

Li Qi also lit his incense and candles and bowed to the Buddha above.

It wasn't faith, but respect.

After all, it was a Buddha, and according to Li Qi's understanding, he was probably a Second or Third-Rank big shot. It was still necessary to maintain basic respect when facing someone else's statue.

Li Qi didn't understand the other party's doctrines and philosophies, but he understood the size of their fist very well.

He still had to show respect to the fist.

While inserting the incense, he looked at the Monks around him again.

Indeed, it was as rumored outside.

Most of them were evil people and demons; proper, formally trained Monks were very few, but their status was very high. One could see people constantly going to consult them.

Those evil people and demons were also easy to recognize.

Demons, needless to say, didn't even look human; they could be spotted at a glance.

Those evil people, though they had human forms, were all fierce and malevolent, exuding Killing Intent, and many had the aura of vengeful spirits clinging to them.

But now, all the demons and evil people had a tight golden band and戒疤 (jiebā, Buddhist scalp marks) on their heads.

That tight band seemed to be made of iron, with no special carvings. It was just an iron ring on their heads. At first glance, there was nothing unusual about it, like an ornament used to distinguish Monks from pilgrims.

They were greeting guests and leading the way nearby. Although they looked fierce, they were all very amiable, seemingly having truly reformed.

After offering his incense and candles, Li Qi also found a demon. It was a wolf demon, with a wolf's head, furry body, sharp teeth, fierce eyes, and claws like five small knives, extremely terrifying.

However, when Li Qi approached, it actively retracted its claws, stepped forward, and politely said, "Benefactor, are you lost? Would this poor Monk be able to guide you?"

As he spoke, he was still spewing foul breath from his mouth, but his words were very polite.

"Indeed. Please, Dharma Protector, guide me. Where is the Buddha carving that has been widely discussed recently? May I have a look?" Li Qi said.

"So, Benefactor has come for the Buddha carving. That's right, the matter of the Buddha carving has been causing a stir recently due to some rumors. It's natural for Benefactor to be curious. Then, please, Young Master, follow me. Do not wander off on the way, lest you get lost." The wolf demon said.

His voice was rough, and it carried a certain roar, seemingly trying to suppress something.

However, it was clear that the wolf demon had tried his best to appear more amiable.

An ordinary person would naturally be intimidated by the wolf demon's tone, but Li Qi was not so easily flustered. He merely nodded: "Thank you, Dharma Protector."

Immediately, the wolf demon led the way, Li Qi followed, passing through the main hall, preparing to head to the back mountain.

Along the way, people came and went, incense offerings were constant, and devout men and women bowed respectively. The smoke from the incense and candles lingered, like green clouds circling the beams, unable to disperse for a long time.

Moreover, these incense and candles—the candles aside—the incense was basically made of genuine materials, using mountain herbs mixed with adhesive powder to form sticks. When burned, they not only lacked that pungent smell but also had a medicinal fragrance that made one feel pleasantly intoxicated.

Upon reaching the back mountain, there were fewer tourists here.

Although the mountain scenery was still beautiful, with towering mountains, lush greenery, occasional beast roars and bird calls, and the sound of the wind, the scenery was unique.

Everyone came to burn incense and worship Buddha; who wanted to look at the scenery?

It was just ordinary mountain scenery. Everyone was a mountain dweller; who hadn't seen it before? Everyone usually lived in the mountains and had already grown tired of seeing it while traveling.

Only outsiders would probably appreciate this kind of scenery.

But that's also the meaning of travel, isn't it?

Traveling is about going to see those unique features that locals have long grown tired of.

After passing through the back mountain, the number of tourists gradually thinned, while the number of Monks gradually increased. After walking more than ten li, there were almost no Mortals left.

All around were cultivators.

There were demons, humans, Shamanes, and ghosts. Of course, most were Monks from Fengde Temple.

Following these people all the way, Li Qi finally reached the place of the Buddha carving.