Chapter 124 – Shenxiu ⌈1⌋
Finally, Keke was unable to restrain its active nature anymore, it still crossed the boundary of the burial cloth in the end and ran over to the cabin. The snow-white little critter could even be said to be extremely daring. It actually jumped onto the inextinguishable underworld lamp with a thunk and curiously surveyed from above.
“Wuu~ Wuu~” Although the mournful screech was not very loud, it still resounded clearly in Xiao Chen and company’s ears. The chilly wind brushed past with a whoosh.
In that instant, the long fur on the little critter’s snow-white body stood on end, it was frightened by the sudden sound and jumped down hastily. And on the other side, that tough little dragon was still as compet.i.tive as ever, it already poked half of its body into the cabin. Its black dragon scales flickered with specks of light, it seemed to thirst for a good fight, regardless if it was a ghost, a beast, or a human.
Xiao Chen woke with a start, he was feeling helpless, these two cubs were uncommon beasts, hoping that they would stay in one place without moving was impossible, but to audaciously explore the ship like this was really inappropriate.
“Roar……!”
A huge roar resounded, it was a terrifying sound wave filled with the breath of death, the compet.i.tive tough little dragon was pushed back from the cabin by a mysterious power. At the same time the faint ghost screech resounded, it was as if there were hundreds and thousands of people muttering and weeping simultaneously. It was exceptionally intimidating.
The snow-white little critter and tough little dragon hesitated, they were feeling demoralized from an opponent that they could not see and backed away unconsciously. ⌈2⌋
Meanwhile, waves of black underworld fog gushed out from the cabin, they were rumbling like the black clouds. They could vaguely see dozens of malevolent shadows swaying in the fog, seemingly wanting to charge toward the two cubs.
“Swish!”
Divine light flickered, Keke’s used its divine ability, the confinement technique, to envelop the dozens of shadows ahead in the seven-colored radiance, then it fiercely throw them into the depths of the cabin.
As if some kind of balance had been broken, a furious chilly wind roared past the originally tranquil gold ocean in an instant, the dark fog overflowed and filled the sky, the Sovereign King Ship trembled violently, a soul wrenching howl transmitted from within the cabin, the baleful aura enveloped the s.p.a.ce in the vicinity in a flash.
The sinister and terrifying vibe made this entire region seemed like the netherworld, the starlight in the sky was covered up entirely, the roar was ear-splitting, that was a genuine ghost screech, the huge ship was swaying violently, it was swaying as it forged ahead.
“Come back here at once!” Xiao Chen really started to get a little angry.
The two little beasts slowly fell back, their gaze still fixed in front nervously.
“Didn’t I tell the both of you not to go over there?”
Seeing Xiao Chen admonish it like this for the first time, the snow-white little critter felt wronged and pointed at the cabin, then it made a threatening gesture. After listening carefully, Xiao Chen finally understood what it was trying to say; There was actually a terrifying ghost peeking at them from the cabin. It was precisely because the two little beasts had discovered the ominous object did they get over there.
“Mythological beast’s intuition is as amazing as expected.” Xiao Chen couldn’t help but heave a sigh, his spiritual sense that didn’t require sight nor smell actually lose its effectiveness on the ancient ship, he was unable to find anything abnormal, he was unable to understand what kind of monstrosity lies in the depths of the cabin, and yet these two cubs could sense it clearly.
“It seems like I was wrong, let me give you some reward.” Xiao Chen broke the Snow Lotus Core in half with one hand and distributed it to them.
“Squeak……!” Keke shouted with dissatisfaction, it seemed to be saying that was its property to begin with.
After a careful observation, Xiao Chen and Yan Qing Cheng also detected it, there really was an unknown demonic beast peeking at from the direction of the cabin. This was a very bad signal, with the speed the ancient ship was traveling at, they will need a really long time to get past the Taboo Ocean, G.o.d knows what would happen if the situation become worst than this.
“Boom!”
The giant ship swayed violently again, it made Xiao Chen and the rest very startled, the ship was actually slanting just now, as if it was about to capsize at the Taboo Ocean. A gloomy and yet extremely terrifying sighing sound echoed from within the ancient ship. It sounded like an extremely powerful evil spirit had roused from a deep sleep.
This was some kind of silent constrain, it made people felt very strenuous just gasping for breath, it was as if they were choking.
This kind of atmosphere made Xiao Chen and the others felt endlessly frightened, the situation at the moment was really too worrying, even that fearless Keke had become as quiet as a mouse. Only the tough little dragon had a blazing radiance in its pair of eyes, its battle intent was actually so high, it seemed like it was about to rush over there at any given time. It was as unyielding as the time it faced the Syndicate Dragon Kings on the dragon island.
Xiao Chen hastily restrained it, don’t joke around, this is not the situation where outside forces can go and infuriate that unknown, yet exceptionally terrifying existence in the cabin. They could only hope for the sun to rise.
However, after that terrifying baleful aura persisted for one and a half hour, it slowly dissipated again, nothing happened at all during those intervals. The black underworld fog gradually pulled back, the starlight in the sky became visible again, as if nothing had happened at all.
Occasionally, they could hear the ghost screech from the cabin, but Xiao Chen and the others preferred the situation to stay like this forever, because this kind of ghost screech was much better compared to that constraining atmosphere just a moment ago. Comparatively speaking, these ghost screech could already be considered a gentle symphony.
After all, they could clearly feel these wouldn’t be able to threaten their life, and the terrifying atmosphere that accompanied that sigh earlier was the most dangerous.
The morning sun finally rose at the horizon in the East, and the red sun jumped out from the surface of the sea, a new day had begun, that terrifying atmosphere from the previous night disappeared without a trace.
During the noon, Xiao Chen found to his joy, the radiance emitted by little sacred tree below the ship’s railing was getting more intense. The seven-colored sapling was enveloped by a gold radiance. Pulling it back onto the ship, he saw that the fourth leaf had actually budded. Maybe it might be better to call it a sprout, a few golden leaf blades were already growing.
This made people felt satisfied and joyous, they could see the little sacred tree’s growth very clearly, this was a gain that could be seen with naked eyes.
The palm-sized sapling did not grow taller at all, its tree trunk was strong and vigorous, it coiled around just like a young eastern dragon, it seemed like there was a little more breath of vicissitudes. From bottom to up, there was the inky jade leaf, the milky jade leaf, the jasper leaf, and the golden bud in succession. It was very possible that the gold jade leaf will become fully developed at the Taboo Ocean.
Of course, no one could be happier than the snow-white little critter.
Xiao Chen put the sapling outside of the ship again, he was also looking forward to the growth of the little sacred tree, he wanted to know how it would end up in its final stage. They moved forward in the boundless Taboo Ocean slowly, although something terrifying did happen on the ancient ship in the next few days, no dangers fell unto them thus far.
The time went by quickly, ten days had pa.s.sed under this kind of dangerous and nervous atmosphere. The little sacred tree’s golden jade leaf was almost fully grown. The gold radiance was glorious, and it was crystal clear at the same time, as if it was a jade artifact. Boundless divine power circulated on top of the leaf.
The power it absorbed from the Taboo Ocean was not really a lot on a daily basis, but the power it acc.u.mulated over a long time was enough to let it grow.
And after travelling for so long, the huge ship also seemed to have become much faster, and the color of the Taboo Ocean also changed gradually, from gold to dull gold over time. Xiao Chen knew they were about to enter the outer region of the Taboo Ocean, it was extremely possible that they will break away from this terrifying sea area soon.
Yan Qing Cheng was terrified and joyful at the same time, the glimmer of hope was finally before her eyes, but she knew she didn’t have much time left, she must make a decision soon.
They were really about to break away from the Taboo Ocean, the color of the seawater gradually changed into dull gold, the Sovereign King Ship already traveled at speed faster than ordinary people’s jogging speed. It was very obvious the divine power declined at outer region of the Taboo Ocean, the resistance had decreased greatly.
And on the fourteenth day, something exceptionally miraculous happened, a long drawn out Buddha chant transmitted from far away.
This was really too strange, this was the Taboo Ocean, although it was located at the edge, it was impossible for someone to enter safely, and there was actually a gentle Buddha chant transmitting over.
“My body is the tree of wisdom, my heart the bright mirror’s altar……” ⌈3⌋
The voice gradually became more distinct, it was a melodious and beautiful sound, it was the voice of a young man who seemed to be filled with endless Buddhist power. With the sound transmitting over and over, it resounded in Xiao Chen and company’s ears like a gold trumpet, it seemed to be enlightening them with perfect wisdom, it made them felt as if they had received enlightenment, as if they had come to realize something.
They only saw a transcendental figure, his white clothing was far whiter than snow. He stepped on the gold Taboo Ocean and came over, words failed to describe his otherworldly elegance. He was just like a deity descending to earth.
Closer, he was getting much closer, his figure gradually became clearer, he was wearing a monk cloth, his entire person was extremely ethereal, without being polluted by the inelegance of the mundane world, his upper body was enveloped by a dim white fog, so they were unable to see his face clearly.
“My body is the tree of wisdom, my heart the bright mirror’s altar, always wipe them to make them not be contaminated by dust.”
Xiao Chen and Yan Qing Cheng were very shocked, someone was actually able to ride on the waves of the Taboo Ocean, this was a little unbelievable, this person must have an incomprehensible amount of magic power!
In the next instant, when they sucked in a mouthful of cold air, the breeze swept past lightly, which dispersed the fog at the upper body of the white-clothed monk, it made his entire body visible to the naked eyes, and that was actually a headless corpse…… that was a transcendental headless Buddhist monk!
The fog fluttered lightly and enveloped his upper body again in a split second, but Xiao Chen and Yan Qing Cheng had seen the scene just now, although it was just a quick glance.
Graceful, out-of-the-world, and extremely divine, but he was actually a headless corpse, this was really too strange. Although he was overflowing with the vibe of an immortal Buddha, it made people felt a little frightened instead.
The white-clothed headless monk was as quick and agile as the deity, he went past Xiao Chen and company while riding on the wave. However, only after a short while, he turned back and returned, overtaking the ancient ship once more. After that, he kept going back and forth like this, always drifting in the surrounding of the ancient ship.
At this moment, although he gave off the vibe of a transcendence, that feeling he gave people was that of a specter, it was hard for people to think of anything positive.
“Don’t tell me…… is this the genius from the legend of Zen Buddhism……?” Yan Qing Cheng had a really ugly expression.
Xiao Chen had already realized a long time ago, this headless Buddhist monk might very possibly be that legendary Buddhist Shenxiu, who was both handsome and scholarly.
“My body is the tree of wisdom, my heart the bright mirror’s altar, always wipe them to make them not be contaminated by dust.” This phrase could even be said to be famous throughout all ages, it was well-known even among non-Buddhism.
However, scholarly Buddhist Shenxiu during that time was actually a tragic figure, when this phrase of his just came into being, it had turned into a supporting role to enhance other people’s brilliance.
“The mind and spirit are in the void, there’s nothing there in the first place, so the temptations of the world can’t blemish it.” This phrase came out from Huineng ⌈4⌋, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, at almost the same time, which made people slap the table and shout with praise, it completely covered up the brilliance of Buddhist Shenxiu.
Fifth Patriarch Hongren ⌈5⌋ originally wanted to pa.s.s the position to Buddhist Shenxiu, but precisely because of the phrase that was born later, he completely changed his mind, because he knew the other person might be more fitting for this position.
If Huineng was not born, Shenxiu might have walked a completely different path. Shenxiu brought about Huineng’s accomplishment that had been pa.s.sed down for all eternity, but if it was not because of Shenxiu, this phrase of Huineng wouldn’t exist either.
He was a scholarly great sage from the Buddhism clan, and yet his brilliance had been completely covered up, those who were familiar with the details would never forget about this genius that had been neglected in the Buddhism clan.
“The legendary great sage from the Buddhism clan, Shenxiu……” Xiao Chen muttered to himself, he felt it was unbelievable, that was a figure from the human world a millennium ago. He never thought he’d have the chance to see him in the world of immortals, although his head was missing, although he was no longer in a normal state, Xiao Chen still felt a great wave in his heart, maybe he might be able to see more of the legendary figures in the future.
The headless monk followed them for a few dozen miles, and then gradually vanished within the Taboo Ocean, he didn’t continue to chase after them.
“What’s going on? How did this happen……” Yan Qing Cheng also felt fl.u.s.tered, it was hard to calm down, she spoke to herself, “The dragon island is really terrifying, for this kind of figure to actually be at the outer region of the Taboo Ocean……”
Two days later, the bluish-green waves rolled over and over in front, the color of the dull gold ocean completely changed, they had left the Taboo Ocean! They finally broke away from that cursed region, Xiao Chen and Yan Qing Cheng were very excited. Even the two little beasts were also jumping in joy, only the three skeletons remained as still as the ancient well, they were very calm.
But just at this time, an ear-splitting dragon roar seemed to have came from the Ninth Heaven, the roar was raging in the sky above the bluish-green ocean, it caused the seawater to turn over violently.
At the distant place, a seven-colored huge ship flickered the multi-colored radiance, braving the wind and billows as it came over, it was like a huge dragon, that was actually the divine ship. The ship that once carried Yizhen, Lawrence, and the others away from the dragon island. Xiao Chen never thought he would encounter it again at this place, he had a bad premonition.
As expected, the divine ship came from outside of the Taboo Ocean and directly charged towards their direction. It caused a huge tsunami, as if trying to capsize the Sovereign King Ship.
“Shriek……” An extremely oppressive ghost screech transmitted from the Sovereign King Ship, the jet-black ghost ship wouldn’t take it lying down, it seemed to possess wisdom and let out a screech in response. ⌈6⌋