Chapter 346 - Master Bodhis Taoist Field
Li Mu stood with doubt at the entrance of the cave.
Was it a coincidence that the place in the Journey to the West actually appeared?
Or...
The ape entered the cave and disappeared.
Should he chase it?
As a gust of wind blew, Li Mu only felt cold between his legs.
At this moment, he made up his mind.
“I should go to check it out, and take back the jade that has clothes stored in it.”
Then, the 24 flying knives flew around him and he strode in.
The cave inside was crooked but spacious and flat. Less than 100 meters from the cave mouth, blue stone steps were laid upward, and shrines were bright on both sides. The deities inside the shrines were destroyed, and the oil lamps were extinguished, indicating a long history here.
Inside some shrines were spider webs.
The entire cave was dilapidated, apparently no one had lived here for thousands of years.
Fortunately, apart from the dilapidated look, there was nothing like a formation or secret barriers. Li Mu went upward along the blue stone steps for several kilometers, and then he came out of the cave.
There were no forks along the way and no trace of the ape.
A One-Line Sky trail appeared in front of him.
Crossing the path, he found a line of ancient buildings made of blue bricks and stone tiles against the mountains, which covered an area of a kilometer, and some of which were collapsed already, with weeds around those dilapidated walls. Even so, some tall temples still stood high, which must have once been brilliant.
“This is a Taoist field.”
Li Mu knew at a glance.
In terms of the space, this place could accommodate at least tens of thousands of people, which was comparable to some famous sects’ practice field.
His spiritual power spread out like a tide.
Li Mu felt that there was faint energy of Taoist magic arts left in the void and on the ground. Obviously, as time went by, the tactical deployment placed inside and outside the Taoist field had lost its effect. Time was the most terrible force in the world, as anything could become ashes under its corrosion. Li Mu could imagine that in its peak time, this Taoist field was definitely superior to the so-called top nine Holy Clans of the Divine Land, even though it had decayed for some reason.
As he perceived more closely, he found that the energy of the remaining Taoist formations were all the methods of the Great Way in the universe, not the star pattern formations on the Divine Land, although they were not powerful today. Li Mu found the trace of the golden ape’s escape among the ruins, so he followed an ancient road into the Taoist field.
“Isn’t it really the Bodhisattva’s Taoist field?”
Li Mu guessed.
In the Journey to the West, after the Bodhisattva drove Sun Wukong down the mountain, he moved away. Later, Sun Wukong pushed down a ginseng fruit tree and went to Fangcun Mountain for help. When seeing the ruins there, he also failed to discover his master’s traces... This was also a mystery in the Journey to the West. In short, the Bodhisattva Master was full of mysteries. In three years, he taught Sun Wukong all kinds of magical power fantastically.
Li Mu felt like he had entered the scene of the Journey to the West.
Could this field be the place that was abandoned after Master Bodhi taught Sun Wukong the magical powers?
It was a bit incredible.
As Li Mu went deeper, he saw some houses of different heights, most of which had collapsed and whose beams were decayed. Weeds covered the area. He also saw the dried wells and the outline of the corroded iron pots... Everything had been eroded by time.
Then, he reached the martial arts practice field, where some tall marble statues stood or lay down in incomplete shapes. They were probably statues of various ghosts and gods, and seemed to be done by some people deliberately. Hence, Li Mu could only see rough outlines.
Li Mu saw a collapsed hall, and on an ancient stone monument by the door, ancient calligraphy was carved which read “Arts Gate”.
At that time, he thought that in the Journey to the West, before Master Bodhi, who was proficient in hundreds of schools, taught Sun Wukong the magical power, Sun Wukong had been asked to choose the “academic profession”, and Master Bodhi had shown him the 360 Taoist techniques, including the methods of inviting immortals and avoiding the evil in the Arts Gate, reading of the scriptures, pilgrimage to the true sanctuary in the Flow Gate, zen meditation of the Quietness Gate, balancing yin and yang, and shooting in the Action Gate, etc... Among them, the Arts Gate was mentioned.
“Gosh.
“Is it really the Bodhisattva’s Taoist field?”
Li Mu jumped up, then discovered about a few hundred meters away, a hall of a similar size. And on an ancient stone monument at the entrance, the words “Flow Gate” were carved in ancient calligraphy...
Li Mu stood in place and began to meditate.
He just casually related it to the work of the Journey to the West before.
But now... he had encountered so many coincidences.
A coincidence is like a misunderstanding.
Too many misunderstandings are not misunderstandings themselves.
So are the coincidences.
“If this is really Master Bodhisattva’s Taoist field, it...”
Li Mu looked up with excitement.
The Bodhisattva was a super master. Any trivial methods in his Taoist field were the most valuable treasures.
Li Mu didn’t want to regain his pants anymore, but excitedly rushed into the hall of the Arts Gate in a straw skirt to look for the martial arts secrets and cultivation methods that might have been left behind.
Compared to other houses, this hall was made of rock and consisted of Taoist patterns, so it hadn’t collapsed during these years. The slate was laid in it. There were no weeds inside but a little dust. However, what disappointed Li Mu was that inside the hall, there was nothing, let alone the secret methods for cultivation. There were even no cabinets, futons, or statues, which indicated apparently some people had taken them away.
Li Mu used his Third Eye to sweep around dozens of times, confirming that nothing had been missed.
It disappointed him.
Then, he walked ahead and searched the other more than 30 halls, including the Arts Gate and Action Gate, and found nothing in them.
He was very disappointed.
But it seemed reasonable.
Even though Master Bodhisattva possessed rich assets, he would not throw away all the cheats and Cultivation Methods randomly.
Alas, he expected too much.
Li Mu then jumped onto a stone temple to look for the location of that golden ape.
“I’d better get back my pants first and put them on.”
However, he was shocked at first glance.
Then, Li Mu found that 10 meters away, the golden mountain ape, more than three meters high, with a strange golden stick in its hand, was approaching him slowly. It was sneering and moving silently... It could even hide itself and wanted to make a secret attack.
Li Mu was extremely surprised.
This mountain ape was really crafty, since it tried to counterattack him.
As soon as the ape felt that it had been discovered by the Third Eye, it was stunned.
“Oh, oh...” It screamed as if it had seen a ghost and turned to flee.
Li Mu, in order to get his revenge on it, immediately used the Broadsword-commanding Skill to catch up to it.
“Crack!”
The blade of the flying knife was drawn on the ape’s butt forcefully.
“Do not steal my clothes.
“Do not ridicule me.
“Do not steal my stick.
“I will first hit your butt.”
The mountain ape cried and fled desperately. Along the way, it had smashed numerous stones and houses, and suffered numerous cuts. From its roars, it was clearly angry and violent, and later, it began to beg for mercy... because he couldn’t get rid of Li Mu despite using every method, as Li Mu could perceive any Taoist magic arts by means of his Third Eye.
In the end, the ape did not escape.
It lay on the ground and stuck its head into a tree hole, enduring the hits.
Li Mu smiled.
Then, he took back the jade and took out the clothes stored inside. He felt comfortable once he put on his clean clothes.
“Where are the cheats and Cultivation Methods?”
Li Mu, who was still angry, then asked it as he beat it, relentlessly venting his anger as a result of observation nothing in the Taoist field. In the end, with a swollen face, the ape finally knelt down on the ground in a humble manner...
In fact, the ape was also confused.
Because of some opportunities, it obtained the skills of incarnation, hiding, and flying, and it was sturdy. Hence, it dominated this area. Now, however, it was beaten seriously after stealing some clothes... It was really angry.
It touched its swollen butt and face, feeling achy and regretful.
“Speak. Is there any good thing inside here?” Li Mu said aggressively.
This ape obviously treated this deserted Taoist field as its house, so it had to be very familiar with it. Li Mu certainly needed to threaten it for more information.
The ape covered its face with its hands, pointed behind itself honestly, gasped, and screamed, as if there were treasures in that direction...
“Lead the way.” Li Mu condensed the 24 flying knives into a complete Samsara Knife, and pressed it on the neck of this ape.