nucmednet Chapter 8 Taiping Temple, White Cloud Taoist
Chapter 8 Taiping Temple, White Cloud Taoist
This was Ding Yi's first time leaving the village.
He was very curious about everything around him, and even took out the quicksand map to verify it one by one.
"This quicksand map is truly amazing. Not only are the routes clearly marked, but even the locations of some herbs are dynamically displayed."
Ding Yi would occasionally sneak a peek at the quicksand diagram, becoming increasingly satisfied with its enhanced effects.
But soon, Ding Yi's smile faded.
He discovered that the group was heading in the direction marked with a red cross on the quicksand map.
Suddenly, a bad feeling popped into Ding Yi's mind.
"Holy crap, no way, can I really be this unlucky?"
Ding Yi was startled by his own thoughts, but he didn't dare to sneak away at all. After all, according to the old man leading the team, each trip to the Taoist temple could not only get fresh lamp oil, but also a certain amount of dried meat, which was the reason why every villager had been able to survive in the village until now.
Ding Yi came to a house with only one oil lamp. Although this oil lamp was more effective and lasted longer, once it was used up, it was used up and could not be replenished by strengthening it a second time.
Therefore, Ding Yi had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the Taoist temple.
Secondly, although Ding Yi was at the very end of the group, he always felt that the villagers in front of him were watching him and would occasionally look back to see if anyone had fallen behind, which meant that Ding Yi had no room to escape.
"Let's take it one step at a time. It shouldn't be a big problem. Otherwise, the people of Xiaotan Village would have been wiped out eight hundred times over."
Ding Yi took a deep breath, suppressing his unease, but became even more cautious. He pressed the wooden board in the package, which brought him some comfort.
The scenery outside the village was perfectly normal, with flocks of birds flying by from time to time, making it seem full of life.
The roadside was lined with vegetation of varying heights, and the faint sound of a stream could be heard in the distance, which made Ding Yi wonder if his experience last night was just a hallucination.
Why is this place so normal during the day?
But since no one asked Ding Yi, he could only suppress his doubts and do his best to observe everything around him.
The group walked for most of the day, taking a break once, but soon set off again.
Finally, before sunset, the group arrived at the foot of a small hill.
Looking at the small hill covered by lush vegetation in front of him, Ding Yi unconsciously swallowed. The reason was simple: the place in front of him was exactly the location marked with a red cross on the quicksand map!
"Murphy's Law, what you fear most is what happens."
Ding Yi felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but seeing that the group ahead had already started to go up the mountain and the surrounding sky was gradually getting dark, he dared not linger and quickly followed the people up the mountain.
Based on my experience over the past half day, the wilderness is relatively safe during the day, but at night, it's hard to say.
The place that everyone calls a Taoist temple does indeed look like a Taoist temple.
Ding Yi followed the others up the hillside and saw the Taoist temple standing on the mountainside.
Whether it was the red cross on the quicksand map that left such a deep impression on Ding Yi, when he first saw this tall, red-lacquered Taoist temple, Ding Yi did not feel calm at all; instead, a strange unease arose in his heart.
"It's grass."
Ding Yi gritted his teeth, then tried his best to calm himself down before continuing to follow the villagers up the mountain path.
After a while, the group finally arrived in front of the Taoist temple.
A Taoist priest dressed in a gray linen robe was standing in front of the temple gate.
The Taoist priest appeared to be around thirty years old, with a thin face. He smiled at the group that had just arrived and said:
"You've come at the perfect time, please follow me inside."
Standing at the back of the group, Ding Yi looked at the Taoist priest and a sense of unease arose in his heart.
Although the Taoist priest was also rather thin, he clearly possessed a more "human" quality than the villagers.
Even so, Ding Yi still felt that he could not be careless. After all, the icons given by Liushatu along the way had been very accurate, and it was definitely not a coincidence that Liushatu marked this place with a red cross.
Thinking of this, Ding Yi immediately composed himself, pretending to be expressionless like the other villagers, and slowly followed the procession into the Taoist temple through the gate.
As the last person entered, the gates of the Taoist temple slowly closed, creaking loudly in the dim glow of the setting sun, a sound that stood out clearly in the silent mountains.
The villagers of Xiaotan Village were clearly frequent visitors. Led by the old man in charge, the group passed directly through the front courtyard of the Taoist temple and walked along the long corridor on the main side towards the back.
Before long, the group passed through the long corridor and arrived at the courtyard behind the Taoist temple.
Ding Yi, who was at the back of the group, had been quietly observing everything in the Taoist temple. Now that he had entered the backyard, he found that it was actually quite large. There were even some strange runes engraved on the walls. But what was more eye-catching was the statue standing in the courtyard.
The statue, about three zhang tall, stands in the center of the courtyard. It depicts a Taoist priest, and it is unclear what its connection is to the Taoist temple.
"Hurry up!"
At this moment, the old man leading the group showed an eager yet hopeful expression, directing everyone to stand around the statue in the courtyard.
Although Ding Yi didn't know what to do next, he had no better option at the moment, so he could only follow the crowd and line up around the statue in order.
After all the villagers had taken their places, the Taoist priest who had led them in earlier stroked his beard with a smile and began to speak.
"This month's sermon will be given by the Abbot of Taiping Temple, Master Baiyun. All villagers must listen carefully and comprehend it well, lest you miss this opportunity."
As he spoke, the Taoist suddenly cupped his hands to the side, and Ding Yi then noticed that there was actually a person standing in the shadows beside him.
"I am Baiyunzi, and today I will preach to you all."
As a slightly hoarse voice rang out, an old Taoist priest with gray hair, narrow eyes, and eyebrows and beard reaching past his ears emerged from the shadows and slowly walked down the steps into the courtyard.
Upon seeing this man, the villagers, who had previously been expressionless, suddenly became frenzied, all kneeling down with a thud and shouting:
"Old Immortal, Old Immortal!!"
"Please, immortal, save us!!"
Ding Yi, who was in the crowd, was stunned by this scene, but fortunately he had been paying attention to the surrounding commotion. He quickly knelt down as well, pounding the ground with his hands, rising and falling, pretending to be crazy.
Just kidding, when it comes to acting skills, he's never been afraid of anyone.
"When the Way of Heaven changes, all things perish; when Greed Wolf reaches its extreme, the Purple Pivot transforms eight times..."
Seeing everyone's reaction, Baiyun flicked his whisk and slowly spoke.
As Baiyun spoke, the villagers kneeling on the ground went into a frenzy, some even banging their heads on the ground, making dull "thump-thump" sounds.
"Damn it, is it really that serious?"
Ding Yi glanced at his surroundings out of the corner of his eye, and just as he cursed inwardly, he suddenly felt the sounds around him become unusually blurry, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.
"not good!"