PDLP Chapter 173 Speculation, Behind the Door
Chapter 173 Speculation, Behind the Door
Outside the cave entrance, all was deathly silent.
The only sounds were the whistling of the mountain wind through the trees and the occasional bird calls from afar.
President Qin stared at the screen filled with static, his brows furrowed tightly.
All four drones have lost contact.
What lies behind that small door?
"President Qin." At this moment, Zhou Ge stepped forward and said in a low voice, "How about I have a few more drones sent over?"
President Qin remained silent for a few seconds, then shook his head.
"No need."
He looked up at the dark hole.
Inside the cave entrance, the bluish-gray light still flickered, as if it were breathing, or like an eye.
An eye is watching them.
"You have all seen the scene in the secret realm."
"Those corpses, those bloodstains, that tortured Buddha statue..."
President Qin paused for a moment.
"These things are all real."
Master Xuanming nodded.
"really."
"The scenes in the secret realm are basically echoes of past history, things that have happened before, because some special items or powers have been preserved."
"In other words, Guoqing Temple really did become like that more than a thousand years ago."
Everyone fell silent.
A sea of corpses and blood.
They kill each other.
The Bodhisattva severed his head.
The Buddha was punished.
Each of these words sends chills down your spine.
And all of this actually happened.
Right here on this land.
It is in this ancient temple that is a thousand years old.
but……
President Qin looked at Master Xuanming, "Senior, I don't understand."
"Guoqing Temple is an ancient temple built by imperial decree during the Sui Dynasty. It was once the ancestral temple of the Tiantai school of Buddhism."
"What exactly happened back then that could drive an entire temple of monks to madness and turn on each other?"
"How could those statues of Bodhisattvas and Arhats be destroyed like that?"
Master Xuanming did not answer.
He simply stared into the depths of the cave entrance, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
a long time.
He spoke slowly.
Did you notice?
President Qin looked at him.
"What?"
"Those corpses," Master Xuanming said, "though their deaths were gruesome, they were all wearing monk's robes."
"There are no outsiders."
"Those who destroy statues and desecrate Buddha are also Buddhist ritual implements."
What does this mean?
President Qin remained silent for a few seconds.
"Does this mean... there's a problem within Buddhism itself?"
Master Xuanming nodded.
"And it's a huge problem."
He turned around and looked at President Qin.
"There are only two possibilities that can drive a tradition to complete madness."
"One is an external force, so powerful that it cannot be resisted."
"One possibility is that internal conflicts have arisen that cannot be resolved."
"And looking at the situation here..."
He pointed to the hole.
"It's very likely that both are true."
After listening, President Qin looked at the deep space inside the cave entrance, his mind racing with thoughts.
Before the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism flourished, producing many eminent monks and attracting countless believers.
Those beings in Buddhist legends, though rarely appearing in the world, are not non-existent.
They live in another space, or dimension, separate from the secular world, enjoying the incense offerings of mortals and protecting their believers.
But seemingly overnight, Buddhism disappeared.
The tradition has been broken.
Believers abandoned it.
It's as if it never existed.
External force? Internal force?
What exactly happened back then?
Is it war? Like Ragnarok in foreign mythology?
This is quite possible, after all, in the Great Xia Dynasty at that time, besides Buddhas, there were also immortals, even more ancient immortals.
Moreover, according to some ancient Taoist texts, the path to immortality was severed during the Tang Dynasty. Not only was no one in the world able to ascend to immortality, but even the connection with the deities worshipped was broken.
The Night Watch once speculated that the absence of deities and the severance of the path to immortality in that era was due to the approaching end of the Dharma, but now it seems... there is probably another reason!
At that moment, President Qin thought of Master Li.
That Taoist priest Li from Qingfeng Temple.
The Taoist priest Li who cleaved the cherry blossom country in two with a single sword strike.
For various reasons, they believed that Master Li was related to the supreme being of Taoism, or even that he was the reincarnation of that being.
They held Master Li in awe, fear, and dared not offend him, which led them to continue to evade a certain issue to this day.
Why would a supreme being in mythology, who is almost capable of creating heaven and earth, need to reincarnate? How is reincarnation even possible?
Now it seems...
If something really changed back then.
If that great upheaval were to occur, even all the immortals and Buddhas in the heavens would be unable to withstand it.
Reincarnation, perhaps, is an option?
A... choice to survive?
President Qin was startled by his own thought.
He suddenly looked at Master Xuanming.
Master Xuanming was also looking at him.
Their eyes met in mid-air, and they both saw the horror and fear in each other's eyes.
"Senior..." President Qin's voice trembled slightly.
Master Xuanming raised his hand, interrupting him.
"Stop talking."
"Some things are beyond our control right now."
President Qin remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he nodded.
"You're right, senior."
He turned around and looked at the dark hole.
"But no matter what, we have to explore what's behind that door."
"We can't let this go unchecked."
Master Xuanming nodded.
President Qin turned around and looked at Zhou Ge.
"Zhou Ge, get ready."
"I'll go down and take a look with Senior Xuanming."
Zhou Ge was taken aback.
Immediately, his expression changed, and he strode forward.
"President Qin! You mustn't!"
He said urgently, "We don't even know what's behind the door, how can you and your senior go down there yourselves?"
"Let me down!"
President Qin looked at Zhou Ge and shook his head.
"Zhou Ge, I understand what you're thinking."
"But you can't."
He pointed to the hole.
"You saw what just happened."
"If something unexpected happens inside, it's beyond your ability to handle."
"My strength and that of Senior Xuanming are the strongest present."
"If there is any danger in the secret realm, we have the highest chance of survival."
"You stay here and make sure there are no problems outside."
At this point, President Qin paused.
"If Senior Xuanming and I don't come out in an hour..."
Zhou Ge's heart sank suddenly.
"President Qin..."
President Qin looked at him with a firm gaze.
"Contact the military immediately to seal off the entire Tiantai Mountain area and surrounding regions."
"Then, tell Liu Zhenguo of Nancheng..."
"Send him to Qingfeng Temple to invite Master Li."
Zhou Ge stood still, clenching his fists.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something.
But the words stuck in his throat.
He knew that President Qin was right.
"Yes."
Zhou Ge lowered his head. "Don't worry, President Qin, I will definitely guard this place well."
President Qin nodded.
He turned around and looked at Master Xuanming.
"Senior, let's go."
Master Xuanming nodded.
The two walked to the edge of the cave.
President Qin took a deep breath and looked into the deep, dark space.
Then, he lifted his foot and stepped inside.
Master Xuanming followed closely behind.
The two figures were quickly swallowed up by the bluish-gray light.
……
dark.
Endless darkness.
The moment President Qin stepped into the cave, the whole world seemed to disappear.
It's invisible.
I can't hear it.
I can't feel anything.
Even his own body seemed to have disappeared.
Only consciousness remains, still alert.
Floating consciously in a void.
one second.
two seconds.
three seconds.
Just as President Qin began to doubt whether he would be trapped in this darkness forever—the light returned.
He squinted instinctively, and after a few seconds of adjustment, he could see that he was standing in a pile of ruins.
Underfoot were broken stone slabs, with withered yellow grass growing in the cracks.
All around were ruins, collapsed palaces, and broken stone pillars.
President Qin took a deep breath, suppressing his unease.
He turned his head and looked around.
Master Xuanming stood beside him, looking around with a furrowed brow.
"senior."
When President Qin spoke, his voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet space.
"We're in."
Master Xuanming nodded.
He raised his hand and made a hand seal, as if sensing something.
A moment later, he lowered his hand.
"The interior of the secret realm is very stable."
"There is no obvious sign of danger."
President Qin breathed a sigh of relief.
But soon, his heart jumped again.
Because he saw those corpses.
Not far ahead, several monks' corpses lay scattered among the ruins.
He was wearing a gray monk's robe that was already tattered.
His skin was dry and clung tightly to his bones, like dried bacon.
But his posture remained the same as it was at the moment before he died.
Some were lying on their backs with their mouths open, as if they were screaming in agony.
Some were lying on the ground with their hands outstretched, as if they were crawling.
Some were curled up in a ball, their hands covering their heads, as if they were hiding from something.
President Qin stepped forward, squatted down, and examined the area carefully.
The body was very dry.
It was so dry that even the process of decay seemed to have been omitted.
It remained frozen in its final state for over a thousand years.
He reached out and gently touched the robe of one of the corpses.
The fabric instantly turned to ashes and fell down in a flurry.
President Qin quickly withdrew his hand.
He stood up and looked around.
Corpses like these are everywhere.
Densely packed.
shocking.
"Let's go," Master Xuanming suddenly said.
The two walked forward cautiously.
We walked for a while.
A relatively intact building appeared ahead.
This is the Mahavira Hall that was previously photographed by a drone.
Although most of it collapsed, the main structure is still intact.
President Qin and Daoist Xuanming exchanged a glance and went inside.
The hall was very dark.
Light streamed in through the collapsed roof, casting beams of light onto the ground.
Dust particles floated and slowly rotated within the beam of light.
The huge Buddha statue in the center sat there quietly.
The footage is the same as that captured by the drone.
A large hole in his chest.
A tin cane was inserted into each eye.
A dagger was embedded in the nose.
A vajra is inserted into each ear.
A huge wooden fish was stuffed in his mouth.
President Qin stood in front of the Buddha statue, looking up at the Buddha statue that had been tortured beyond recognition.
Even knowing it's just a clay sculpture or wood carving.
But seeing it with my own eyes now is far more shocking than watching footage taken by a drone.
Every trace of that mark exudes a kind of insane hatred.
A deep-seated hatred.
"senior."
"Why do you think those monks did that back then?"
Master Xuanming stood next to President Qin, also looking up at the Buddha statue.
There was a few seconds of silence.
Then, he slowly began to speak.
"This humble Taoist does not know."
"But I know that what could make them do such a thing for their own beliefs..."
"That must mean that their faith has collapsed."
President Qin was stunned.
The collapse of faith?
The faith of Buddhist monks in Buddha has collapsed?
is it possible?
He couldn't imagine it.
But what he saw before him forced him to believe it.
"Let's go."
Master Xuanming turned around and walked out.
"There's nothing much to see here."
President Qin took one last look at the Buddha statue before following Master Xuanming out.
The two continued walking forward.
We passed through the collapsed monks' quarters and circled the broken stupa.
All I saw along the way were corpses and ruins.
at last.
A relatively intact courtyard appeared ahead.
The footage is the same as that captured by the drone.
There were a few low houses, two dead old trees in front of the door, and a well under the trees.
There were no bodies nearby.
There was no blood.
It was eerily clean.
"We've arrived at the dining hall," Master Xuanming said.
President Qin nodded.
The two walked to the gate of the courtyard and stopped.
Master Xuanming closed his eyes and carefully sensed the surroundings.
After a moment, he opened his eyes.
"The atmosphere here is different from other places."
"The smell of blood and the chilling feeling have been dispelled."
"Like..."
Master Xuanming paused for a moment.
"Just like when you're standing outside the secret realm."
President Qin was taken aback.
He sensed it carefully.
really.
From the moment he stepped into the secret realm, he could feel a faint sense of oppression.
That feeling is hard to describe.
But it makes you feel suffocated and unable to breathe.
But now, I stand at the entrance of this courtyard.
That feeling of oppression disappeared.
Instead, a sense of peace prevailed.
A sense of peace that brings reassurance.
It's as if some kind of force is protecting this place.
"Let's go in and take a look," said Master Xuanming.
The two stepped through the gate and into the courtyard.
The yard is very clean.
Dead trees, dried-up wells, dilapidated houses.
Everything was so quiet.
So peaceful.
Master Xuanming walked to the well and peered inside.
The well was very deep, pitch black, and the bottom could not be seen.
He withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the houses.
The door to the house was half open.
Through the crack in the door, you can see the furnishings inside.
Very simple.
A few wooden tables and a few long benches.
There was a pile of rotten firewood in the corner.
On the stove, there were a few broken pots.
Master Xuanming pushed open the door and went in first.
President Qin followed behind him.
The two walked around the dining hall.
There's nothing special about it.
The only abnormality is that it's too clean.
It's as if that great upheaval back then had absolutely nothing to do with this place.
"Over there," President Qin pointed to the depths of the dining hall.
There is a small door there.
The door was half open, and it was pitch black inside, so you couldn't see anything.
It was the door that the drone finally entered through.
The two exchanged a glance.
Then, I walked over carefully.
Upon reaching the door, Master Xuanming stopped in his tracks.
He reached out and pressed his hand against the door.
The door was old, the wood was rotten, and wood chips fell off with the slightest touch.
But strangely, the door could still be opened normally.
Master Xuanming did not push him away immediately.
He closed his eyes and used his divine sense to probe behind the door.
After a moment, he opened his eyes.
There's nothing there.
President Qin was taken aback.
"Nothing at all?"
Master Xuanming nodded.
"Probing with my divine sense, all I saw was darkness."
"I can't sense anything."
President Qin frowned.
With Senior Xuanming's current cultivation level at the Refining Void Realm, how could his divine sense not detect anything?
Behind that door...
What exactly is it?
"However," Master Xuanming spoke again.
"Although I couldn't detect anything, I didn't feel any danger either."
He looked at President Qin.
"This humble Taoist priest will go in and take a look first."
President Qin was taken aback.
"senior……"
Master Xuanming raised his hand, interrupting him.
"My cultivation is higher than yours, so if there is any danger, my chances of survival are greater."
"You wait here."
President Qin remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he nodded.
"Be careful, senior."
Master Xuanming nodded.
He took a deep breath.
Then, he reached out and pushed open the door.
The door opened silently.
Behind the door was complete darkness.
Pure darkness.
The kind of darkness where even light can't penetrate.
Master Xuanming lifted his foot and stepped inside.
But the moment he stepped inside—the darkness suddenly brightened.
The light came too suddenly.
Master Xuanming subconsciously narrowed his eyes.
He vaguely saw two figures sitting not far away, smiling at him.
Those were two monks.
He wore a gray monk's robe, had a thin face, and a peaceful gaze.
They sat there with gentle smiles on their faces, smiles as gentle as the spring sunshine.
Master Xuanming was startled.
Hanshan?
Found?
The Two Immortals of Harmony and Union?!
He was about to speak.
The light suddenly dimmed.
The scene before my eyes instantly became clear.
Where are there any monks left?
Where is the smile now?
He was standing at the door of a small room.
The room wasn't big, only about ten square meters.
The furnishings are very simple.
A bed made of wooden planks was placed against the corner of the wall.
A wooden table was placed by the window.
On the table was a dried lotus flower, and on the bed was a bamboo tube.
There was nothing else.