Chapter 138: Death Surrogate Puppet

Lin Jiufeng stood in front of Mount Daqing and looked at the inconspicuous mountain.

He suddenly remembered something about the Dalin Temple.

He had never left Jiangnan, let alone visited the Dalin Temple.

The information he recalled regarding the Dalin Temple was also what the boatman told Lin Jiufeng on the boat.

The Dalin Temple was located on Mount Daqing, but it was unlike Shaolin and Xuankong Temple, which placed a lot of emphasis on its exterior. Countless magnificent Buddha statues were built in those two sects, making their sects look very magnificent and awe-inspiring.

The Dalin Temple had paid more attention to the inner workings of their sect.

They dug out many caves in Mount Daqing, carving out thousands of Buddhist stories on the walls of those caves, one by one.

Generations of the Dalin Temple’s seniors had spent their days carving and painting.

Countless cultivation techniques, countless divine powers, countless statues, Buddhist stories, and even end-of-epoch paintings were all carved on these caves.

On the surface, the Dalin Temple looked like an ordinary Buddhist sect.

It wasn’t even as beautiful as those small Buddhist sects.

But only after entering the Dalin Temple could one truly see Buddha.

They could then see the magnificent Buddhist scenery created by a group of low-key and pious monks.

But now, the Dalin Temple had sealed off their mountain and didn’t receive any believers.

This wasn’t a problem for Lin Jiufeng.

No one could stop him from entering.

At the gate of the Dalin Temple, Lin Jiufeng walked in unimpeded.

No one detected his presence.

Walking into Dalin Temple and on a small mountain path, all he saw was a simple Buddhist sect. It was cold and empty, there was nothing special about it.

There weren’t even many statues of Buddha, nor were there many monks.

It looked empty and desolate.

But when Lin Jiufeng walked from the small mountain path to the depths of Mount Daqing…

He passed through a tunnel.

A brief period of darkness came, and a magnificent Buddhist world appeared before his eyes.

The depths of Mount Daqing had been hollowed out. Bodhisattvas, arhats, and yakshas of the Buddhist sects were carved into the mountain. Some of them had kind looks and were potbellied, while some of them looked fiendish with green faces and sharp teeth.

There were also more than a dozen murals that recorded the descent of Buddha.

Beneath a Bodhi tree was a monk chanting scriptures.

As he chanted and pondered about Buddhism, the wind and rain beat against him, a python guarded him.

The scene of Buddha feeding a hungry bird with his flesh before finally becoming Buddha was also depicted on a mural.

The depths of Mount Daqing were lit up by countless illumination stones.

These statues and paintings looked lively as if they were alive.

As Lin Jiufeng walked inside, he couldn’t help but sigh. A huge mountain had been hollowed out just like that. It was tens of thousands of feet high and there were countless caves that had exquisite Buddha statues carved into them.

This was the hard work of generations of monks from the Dalin Temple.

It was rare to see monks in the outside world, but upon entering the depths of Mount Daqing, one could see monks busy in their painting, carving, and coloring.

They seemed to be in a trance for their movements were steady, skillful, and without waste, making the cold stone carvings seem alive.

Each of these monks had chosen one thing to spend the rest of their life on!

This was the case for the monks of the Dalin Temple.

Lin Jiufeng observed them for a long time.

He admired these monks. Thus, he didn’t disturb them.

Walking along the depths of the Dalin Temple, Lin Jiufeng soon arrived at the back mountain of the temple.

The so-called ‘front’ mountain was Mount Daqing. It was the Dalin Temple’s storefront. 90% of their monks were in the ‘front’ mountain.

The ‘back’ mountain was an inconspicuous hill close to Mount Daqing.

The small hill wasn’t as tall and majestic as Mount Daqing.

But the higher-ups of the Dalin Temple all lived here to suppress something in the small hill.

This so-called ‘small hill’ was a million times more dangerous than Mount Daqing.

Lin Jiufeng entered the small hill and immediately saw a huge underground cave.

It was so deep that no one could see where it ended.

Endless black smoke seemed to be coming from it.

Fortunately, there was a huge array formation above the hole in the ground.

It flickered with an intense golden glow.

There were 36 old monks sitting in 36 corners close to the cave entrance.

These 36 old monks were the cornerstones of the Dalin Temple.

Each of them was at the Grotto-Heaven Realm, and most of them were in the middle or late stages.

If they showed themselves to the world, they would definitely be considered a major force in today’s world.

But they remained unknown and nameless in the outside world.

No one knew that there were so many hidden powerhouses in the Dalin Temple.

Rumble!

Lin Jiufeng stood at the edge of the small mountain.

He watched as the huge underground cave trembled.

An extremely terrifying demonic creature could be seen charging forward.

Its boundless aura condensed into a skull that let out a sharp roar, wanting to destroy the seal.

But the monks of Dalin Temple weren’t to be trifled with either.

The 36 monks attacked at the same time. Their mellow Buddhist True Qi gathered together as the terrifying phantom of Buddha coalesced behind them.

Dong!

The phantom of Buddha slowly pressed down with a palm.

The powerful and terrifying aura directly suppressed the demonic creature in the underground cave to the point that it roared angrily.

It looked ferocious and vicious, its pair of wolf-like eyes were filled with hatred.

It didn’t say a word, but the pressure it gave everyone was indescribable.

“You guys won’t be able to suppress us for so long!” Staring at the monks of the Dalin Temple, the demonic creature let out a cackle and slowly sank back down.

The danger was temporarily alleviated.

The 36 monks heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed.

They were exhausted from the exertion just now.

“Uncle-Masters, you have worked hard. You’ve once again resolved the danger in the demon’s den.” A familiar monk appeared and said softly.

Lin Jiufeng recognized him.

Monk Qingyun.

He was different from when he met him in the Cold Palace back in the Imperial Capital.

After decades, the young and handsome monk had aged considerably.

Exhaustion could be seen on his face, but his aura remained vigorous.

Supremacy Realm!

He broke through into the Human God Realm not long after Lin Jiufeng.

After all these years, he was now at the Supremacy Realm.

“Qingyun, the demonic creatures here are becoming stronger and stronger. Suppressing them is becoming increasingly difficult.” An old monk couldn’t help but speak up.

“That’s right… The demonic creatures here have advanced by leaps and bounds in the past 30 years. Our rate of improvement is far inferior to them. If this continues, this seal can at most suppress them for only another five years.”

“Qingyun, don’t you know that Miss Hong? Can you ask her to come again?”

“Exactly, that Miss Hong was the one that had set up this seal back then!”

“Let’s invite her over to reinforce it again.”

The old monks spoke one after another as they looked at Monk Qingyun.

The former young monk had now become the abbot of the Dalin Temple and was in charge of everything in the Dalin Temple.

After hearing his Uncle-Masters’ words, he smiled bitterly and replied, “I haven’t been able to contact Miss Hong for more than ten years now.”

The old monks shook their heads in disappointment.

Lin Jiufeng couldn’t help but look at Monk Qingyun.

Wasn’t he close to Miss Hong back then?

“Miss Hong has been working very hard all these years. She has been suppressing all sorts of evil creatures everywhere. She’s just a single person, it’s bound for her to be overworked. I can’t burden her any further.” Monk Qingyun shook his head.

Amongst the so-called members of the Heavenly Dao, only Miss Hong had awakened so far in this brand-new era.

How could she suppress the entire world on her own?

Lin Jiufeng slowly took a few steps forward.

He wanted to take a look at the underground cave.

How many demonic creatures were there underground?

But when Lin Jiufeng approached, a line of words appeared before his eyes.

[Do you want to Sign-In before a demon’s den?]

“Sign in!” Lin Jiufeng said without hesitation.

[Sign-In successful. Received a Death Surrogate Puppet!]

A wooden figurine appeared in Lin Jiufeng’s hand.

The wooden figurine was exquisitely carved.

The details on its body were perfect, but it had no face.

“The user of the Death Surrogate Puppet will have their face reflected in the puppet’s blank face.”

The explanation appeared in Lin Jiufeng’s mind.

Its function was simple; the puppet could die for the user once.

Lin Jiufeng decisively put away the puppet—it was good stuff.