I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 556 The Whereabouts of Niehua Temple
Finding Tamu was indeed the right move. Wang Lan had thought there would be several setbacks, but things turned out to be surprisingly smooth.
Cloud Sea Province is actually quite vast; only, most areas are poor and sparsely populated. Tamu drove for an entire day before reaching the county closest to the village he had mentioned.
"Leaders, we’ll rest in this town tonight and set off into the mountains early tomorrow. The village lies deep within the mountains, and we’ll need to cross twelve high peaks. On foot, it would take at least half a month."
"No need for that trouble. I’ll fly you there tomorrow. Had I known it was this far, I should have flown you there this morning."
Wang Lan had wanted to say this earlier. When he first asked Tamu if it was far, Tamu said it wasn’t. After driving for an hour, Wang Lan asked again, and Tamu said they were almost there. Perhaps in the Cloud Sea region, ’not far’ and ’almost there’ were understood differently from his perspective.
That night, Jiang Xinyu was pulled over to sleep with Yu Ruoyun. After they had gone their separate ways, some distance seemed to have formed between Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun. However, to his surprise, Jiang Xinyu and Yu Ruoyun, who had once been distant, had now become close friends.
Could it be that the less women gathered, the stronger their relationships became?
The next morning, the group of four had an early breakfast. Afterwards, Wang Lan, carrying Tamu, took off with the others and flew into the depths of the dense forest. From the sky, the primitive jungle stretched endlessly, filling the entire view.
This was an ocean of trees, a realm of mountains. For someone accustomed to the ever-changing city, the sight of this ancient, natural landscape was particularly moving. The fresh, humid air, laced with the scent of trees, hit him. Wang Lan couldn’t help feeling an impulse to roar to the heavens.
Under Tamu’s guidance, the four descended from the sky into the thick foliage. Tamu scratched a line on the ground to mark their position, pulled out a compass, and after calculating for a while, confirmed their direction.
"Who goes there!" Yu Ruoyun suddenly shouted towards a spot. Instantly, a rustling sound arose from the dense forest. A group of dark-skinned beings, resembling primates, appeared around them.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear that they were humans, though draped in animal skins with their faces smeared with black mud. Each person had a bow with an arrow nocked, all aimed at Wang Lan and his companions.
Tamu quickly shouted several incomprehensible words, and only then did the group lower their bows, though they still watched warily.
"Leader, these are people from the village I told you about. They’re very xenophobic and treat unknown people who approach them as enemies. However, if someone they recognize leads the way, they’re actually very hospitable."
"Then do you know them?"
"I know their village chief. Don’t worry. With me leading you, they won’t attack. However, ensure you don’t make any moves that could be misunderstood, or they might still react harshly." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
Following Tamu, Wang Lan and the others entered a village, led by the seemingly primitive villagers. The village was simple, but not as rudimentary as Wang Lan had imagined. The whole place looked tidy. After returning to the village, the villagers immediately shed their animal skins and washed the mud from their faces.
Once cleansed, the villagers shed their wild appearance, looking more civilized. Within the village, naked children ran around everywhere, indifferent to gender, while women were either washing clothes, sun-drying grains, or curing meats.
Looking at the villagers’ clothing, he saw common items like T-shirts and jeans. They didn’t look at all like the backward villagers one would imagine from a primitive forest.
Perhaps noticing the confusion in Wang Lan’s eyes, Tamu smiled slightly. "The government has always wanted to civilize them, so they often send supplies. They still keep to themselves, but they have become open to accepting things from the outside world. We send them collected old clothes and household items every year, and that’s how I got to know their village chief."
A voice called out some unintelligible words, and a burly middle-aged man with open arms ran over excitedly from the distance.
Tamu also called out similarly unintelligible words, sharing a warm embrace with the other man.
"This is their village chief. I have already introduced you to him. If you have any questions, I’ll act as the interpreter."
Wang Lan nodded and conveyed his questions through Tamu.
Tamu listened to the chief and then translated, "This question must be asked of the village’s Sapo. The chief will take us to her."
Wang Lan followed the village chief to the center of the village. Clearly, the Sapo’s status was very high. Her house was not only situated at the village’s center but was also the largest. Her yard displayed an abundance of wild game and more food than other households.
The Sapo was an elderly woman. Beside her stood a young girl who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, with expressive, lively eyes.
The Sapo began to speak, her words a stream of sounds Wang Lan couldn’t understand.
The young girl translated, "Grandmother says, ’Esteemed guests, welcome to my village.’"
"You understand Mandarin?"
"Don’t look down on people, okay, Mister? I’m a freshman at Kunyu University. I’ve also gone through nine years of compulsory education and survived the college entrance exam. I’m the next generation’s successor." The girl’s voice was light and playful, instantly narrowing the distance between them.
"That’s good to hear. Let me introduce myself. I am Major General Wang Lan from the Tianjian Bureau of Jade Country. I’ve come to Cloud Sea to inquire about two things. First, the whereabouts of the White Lotus Sect. Second, the location where the Evil spirit’s physical body was sealed after its battle with Buddha Shakyamuni three thousand years ago."
The girl whispered into the Sapo’s ear. Instantly, the Sapo’s complexion drastically changed, her gaze toward Wang Lan becoming extremely vigilant.
"What do you want with this information? Do you want to release that Evil spirit? Do you have any idea how many people will die if that Evil spirit is released?"
"You misunderstand. It’s not that we want to release the Evil spirit; its Primordial Spirit has already broken free from the Demon-restricting Buddha Statue. We’ve come to annihilate the Evil spirit. The Evil spirit is probably looking for its physical body now, and we aim to find its body before it does."
Hearing the young girl’s translation, the Sapo’s expression softened somewhat, but fear surfaced on her face.
"The Evil spirit has already escaped... This is terrifying... This legend has always been passed down orally in our village. In the great battle of that year, almost all the Shamans of Cloud Sea perished. The disciples led by Buddha Shakyamuni also suffered heavy casualties. In the end, Buddha Shakyamuni cut off his own golden body to seal the Evil spirit’s soul. The Evil spirit’s physical body was taken away by the Lotus Fairy to be sealed. To keep this secret, Buddha Shakyamuni and the Lotus Fairy made an agreement. The Primordial Spirit and physical body were to be hidden separately and not disclosed to anyone except their own successors. After that, the Lotus Sect announced the closure of their Sect Gate. Buddha Shakyamuni’s disciple Jia Nan stayed behind to guard the Evil spirit’s Primordial Spirit."
"Then may I ask if the heritage of these two Sect Gates still exists?"
"Jia Nan created the Niehua Temple deep in the primeval forest. It is said that Buddha Shakyamuni, still not entirely reassured, left behind a powerful sealing spell. This was in case the Evil spirit escaped and there was no one to subdue it. As for the White Lotus Sect... we do not know, but I think Niehua Temple should know where the White Lotus Sect is."
"Niehua Temple? It’s been three thousand years. Niehua Temple should have disappeared in the river of history, right?"
"You’re mistaken. I remember when I was little, my grandmother once took me to pray at Niehua Temple. I only know that Niehua Temple is hidden deep in the primeval forest. The monks there cultivate their own land and live a solitary life of spiritual practice."
"Where is Niehua Temple?"
The Sapo shook her head. "It’s been too long. I only went there once when I was little, and I haven’t been there since. If you’re not someone familiar with the way, you’ll never find it. I’ve forgotten how to get there and where it is. I only remember it was deep in the mountains, surrounded by a large red forest..."
As Wang Lan had expected, even finding an ancient village was unlikely to yield much useful information. But even the slightest clue was a breakthrough for Wang Lan.
Besides learning that Buddha Shakyamuni’s disciple Jia Nan had founded Niehua Temple to watch over the Evil spirit’s Primordial Spirit, the rest of the information was useless to Wang Lan. Either it was too fictitious, or it was something he already knew.
Wang Lan had to take the existence of Niehua Temple with a grain of salt. According to the Sapo, Niehua Temple was where the Evil spirit was suppressed, but the Evil spirit had already escaped. Moreover, Yan Tong had found the Demon-restricting Buddha Statue in the ruins of a Different Dimensional Space.
If so, could those ruins be Niehua Temple?
Wang Lan returned from the ancient village to the Cloud Sea Tianjian Bureau. He immediately ordered Che Pure to investigate the whereabouts of Niehua Temple. Even if there were slim chances of finding anything, it was worth a try—what if they found it?
The Tianjian Bureau immediately sprang into action. There were a total of one hundred and eighty-two temples in Cloud Sea Province, far more than in other provinces. This was largely due to the more profound religious beliefs in Cloud Sea Province, as well as historical reasons.
In ancient dynasties, the people of the Cloud Sea region were fierce and intractable. Consequently, the emperors of that time sought to pacify them with Buddhist teachings. This strategy proved quite effective. Over a hundred years, many chieftains in Cloud Sea devoutly embraced Buddhism, "laying down the butcher’s knife to become Buddhas" on the spot.
"One hundred and eighty-two temples in Cloud Sea, and not one is called Niehua Temple. It’s also strange that many temples share the same name. For instance, there are five called Tianchi Temple and about six or seven called Jintan Temple. Yet, no temple is named after the classic anecdote of Buddha Shakyamuni’s ’flower sermon,’ which established the Zen sect," Yu Ruoyun said seriously, analyzing the information in her hands.
"There might be only one explanation for this. Niehua Temple likely holds a special significance among local temples. That’s why they would rather share other names than dare to use the name Niehua Temple."
"General Wang, we’ve found it..." Suddenly, the excited director of the Intelligence Department burst through the office door, shouting, "General Wang, we’ve found Niehua Temple!"
"Where?"
"Uh... Not found exactly, but we’ve found a clue to Niehua Temple," he said, placing a document weathered by years in front of Wang Lan. "This is Master Puhai’s monastic certificate. Look here, it records that fifty years ago, Master Puhai practiced in Niehua Temple before he became a monk at Pure Temple."
"Fifty years ago... That Sapo said when she was little, which would be about sixty years ago... It must be the same temple. Let’s go find Master Puhai."
The team of three, along with special agents from the Intelligence Bureau, rushed towards Pure Temple in two roaring cars.
