Ch.156: Mountains High and Roads Unending; Narrow Paths Blocked 2
Hua Cheng said darkly, “No. It’s the mortal realm.”
It indeed was the mortal realm, because depicted within the painting were crammed houses, dense forests, crowds; yet, they were all submerged in a vast, endless sea of fire and flowing lava.
The houses and trees were ablaze, flames burned on the people’s bodies and they were screaming. Those twisted faces were drawn so realistically Xie Lian could almost hear their wails next to his ears.
In the centre of the painting was a vibrantly red mountain like a giant Kiln glowing from the heat, exceedingly horrifying. The fires and lava were all spewed from this mountain.
“The meaning of this mural is… volcanic eruption, the fall of the Kingdom of WuYong?” Xie Lian pondered.
“Yes. And no.” Hua Cheng said.
It dawned on Xie Lian, “It certainly wasn’t completely right, because this is… a dream.”
This portrayal of tragedy at the bottom of the painting should be a depiction of the Crown Prince of WuYong’s dream.
The Crown Prince of WuYongAnd the four guardian gods were surrounded by golden light, meaning at this time he had already ascended. He was in the middle of being tormented by a dream, so the content of the dream state had lines and colours that were more ‘hollow’ in contrast with the ‘real’.
Some heavenly officials possessed enormous spiritual might, their talents abnormally incredible, and when they saw miniscule omens, they could peek into the future in their dreams. This was what they called prophecy dreams. Had this dream state of tHis Highness the crown prince become reality? Was this how the Kingdom of WuYong fell?
Humming for a moment, Xie Lian remarked, “There must be someone who wanted to tell us something. The story in this mural should be the continuation from the previous one. I think, the closer we get to the ‘Kiln’, the more our questions would be answered.”
Just then, Ling Wen was watching outside the windows and spoke up, “Everyone, there’s something I must ask. Don’t you all think it’s strange?”
“What’s strange?” Pei Ming asked.
“Not sure if I remembered wrong, but have those two mountain bluffs ever been this close?”
Everyone looked out of the windows. Sure enough, earlier when they had entered, the mountain bluffs outside were about three meters away, but now, it was pushing extremely close, like it was going to press into them at any moment. Xie Lian was about to go out and check but he heard a series of weird crackling and creaking sounds, like the disturbance of earth and trees, bricks and stones being pressured.
Now everyone had sensed it. “What’s going on?”
The bricks under their feet were quivering, the ceiling above their heads was also shaking, one piece, two pieces, many pieces of debris and dust were falling. “Is it an earthquake?” Pei Ming wondered.
Just as the words left his lips, the walls were already cracked into shocking ‘wrinkles’ from the pressure. “It’s not an earthquake!” Xie Lian exclaimed, “It’s…”
The mountain bluffs on either side were pushing into the divine temple of WuYong sitting in its middle!
There was no time to explain. He shouted, “RUN!”
No need for him to tell them, Pei Ming had already kicked down a wall and opened an exit. The group broke through the wall and exited, running forward. However, they were still running within the divine temple of WuYong because this temple palace was long and deep, and other than the great hall, there were still many side chambers, small chambers, incense rooms, training halls, etc. Thus, the group had to keep running and keep breaking down walls, kicking down doors. It was times like these that a martial god’s typical way of doing things really helped.
However, they only crossed through two little chambers before a giant boulder the size of half a man crashed through the roof, falling heavily next to Xie Lian’s feet.
Giant boulders were falling from atop the two mountain bluffs on each side!
The rumbling noises were endless as more and more rocks fell from the skies. Large one were like water barrels, small ones were the size of heads, and they dropped from high in the skies, their powers astounding. Fortunately there was a layer of roof blocking them and everyone’s physical abilities were considerable and was able to dodge in time. Only Hua Cheng was the most at ease; as Xie Lian ran and dodged, he suddenly heard Hua Cheng beckon him, “Gege, wanna come here?”
He turned his head back to look. Hua Cheng was following closely behind him, his steps steady like he was flying, holding a red umbrella he took out from who knows where, and was smiling brightly at him from under the umbrella. Those fallen rocks were soundly crashing onto the surface of the umbrella, but Hua Cheng held the handle with a single hand without swaying!
Xie Lian instantly took cover under his umbrella. “Whew, that was close. Thank goodness for San Lang.”
San Lang smiled and very considerately leaned the umbrella more to his side, “Come closer here.”
Even though it wasn’t the right time, Xie Lian still felt his heart skip a beat in spite of himself,
“Are you tired holding this up? How about I hold the umbrella for you…”
The others were fleeing and dodging, running madly, and seeing how the two were having a good time, they couldn’t stand it and couldn’t help but call out, “Hey! Isn’t that unfair?!”
“Hua Chengzhu, may I ask if you have any more spare umbrellas??”
“Can I hide under that umbrella too??”
Hua Cheng smiled fakely, “No. And no.”
Under the objections of the others, Xie Lian was feeling a little embarrassed, and he mumbled,
“Oh, this mountain sure is strange!” And was about to sneak away as he spoke, but Hua Cheng stopped him unnoticeably, and leisurely explained, “Gege is right, this mountain is certainly strange. Strange like spirits. There are three large mountains in Mount TongLu, and they are called ‘Old Age’, ‘Sickness’, and ‘Death’. Although they’re not different than other mountains, they could move as they will within the perimeters of Mount TongLu, so, some would take them as Mount TongLu’s landmarks.”
Fallen rocks continued to crash down violently, but it was peace and harmony under the umbrella. Xie Lian replied, “I see! So before, that time when Rong Guang was disguised as the Swift Life-Extinguishing Blade Demon, the mountain that was blocking our way was one of those three mountain spirits?”
Ling Wen was bumping up and down on Pei Su’s back but still tried arduously to converse, “No wonder this divine temple of WuYong was so strangely built in the middle of the ‘valley’. Its original location was probably not that curious, and it was those two mountain spirits that came attacking on their own!”
“But ‘Birth’, ‘Old Age’, ‘Sickness’, ‘Death’ are a set*,” Xie Lian said, “Since there’s ‘Old Age’, ‘Sickness’ and ‘Death’, where’s ‘Birth’?”
“Regrettably, there’s no ‘Birth’. At least, I’ve never seen it before.” Hua Cheng replied.
“Meaning there’s no chance for life here, is it? How cruel!” Xie Lian said.
Immediately after, Ban Yue exclaimed, “The mountain bluffs are still coming closer!”
When they first entered the valley, the mountain path was about a couple kilometers wide, growing narrower as they walked. When they approached the gates of that WuYong temple, the road was no more than thirty meters wide. And now, the space between the two mountain bluffs were less than ten meters, the building and the walls were all cracking and bending from the pressure. Since the divine temple of WuYong employed stone beams and other such solid construction materials, it wedged between the two mountains that were simultaneously pushing closer. However, it might not last for much longer, and Pei Ming yelled, “Neither forward nor back is passable, let’s break through the roof and go upwards! This shower of rocks is nothing, just break them into pieces!”
However, Xie Lian exclaimed, “We can’t! Right now there’s the the temple wedged between, if we go upwards, what if the two mountain spirits throw a smacking blow or something? We’ll be clapped to death!”
In between their exchanges, the two sides were pushing closer even faster, rumbling and quaking, the spaces they’re in had become less than six meters in width. Under such circumstances, Ling Wen was still immobile, and he couldn’t help but cry, “CAN EVERYONE PLEASE COME UP WITH SOMETHING FASTER??? I DON’T WANT TO GET SQUISHED TO DEATH, THANK YOU???”
Fire was burning their behinds, but ideas didn’t just come so easily. As the space continued to shrink, shrinking to only the length of a person, Pei Ming suddenly gave a loud shout and leapt up sideways. His arms pushed against the mountain on the left and his legs pushed against on the right, his entire person becoming a ‘spike’, wedging sideways between the two large mountains. “EVEN IF I’M GONNA BE SQUISHED TO DEATH I DON’T WANNA BE FUCKING SQUISHED TO DEATH BY THOSE TWO SHITS. I’LL HOLD THEM DOWN FOR NOW, YOU GUYS HURRY AND THINK OF SOMETHING!”
“…”
Everyone was stunned by his deed, and Ling Wen arduously gave him a thumbs up, “Ol’ Pei, what a man!”
Pei Ming gritted his teeth, “WELCOME!”
There was no need to explain a martial god’s strength; those two mountain bluffs were still trying to press closer to the middle but they seemed to have been obtrusively stopped by Pei Ming, and they fell into stalemate. However, this was Pei Ming exerting all the spiritual powers he possessed, and would surely not last. As Xie Lian was rapidly spinning his wheels trying to come up with a way to escape, the two mountain spirits were slowly gaining the upper hand, forcing Pei Ming’s knees to bend.
Seeing the situation not going in their favour, Pei Su cried, “GEN, ERAL I, ‘LL COME ASSIST YOU!” He tossed Ling Wen who was leaning on his shoulders to Ban Yue and also joined the ranks of human spikes. However, he was but a mortal at the moment, so how could he use spiritual power? The Brocade Immortal on Ling Wen could’ve been useful, but he was too much of a risk, and releasing him might be adding oil to flames, like stepping on a venomous snake after falling into the nest of a hoard of jackals. Thus, Ban Yue put Ling Wen down and said, “Me too…”
However, she had the body of a little girl after all, her limbs nowhere the length of two grown men and was too short to wedge between the walls, so she clapped her palms onto Pei Su’s back, transferring spiritual powers to him. The powers of the two combined exploded, their faces both red and veins popping.
As for Hua Cheng, whose powers were the strongest in the group, he was only watching them as he twirled the red umbrella in his hand, not a bit concerned. Suddenly, Xie Lian pounded a fist in his own palm and cried, “I’VE GOT IT! I’VE GOT IT I’VE GOT IT I’VE GOT IT!”
He’s gotten an idea! Xie lian said, “Since going forwards, back or upwards won’t work, then we’ll go downwards! Let’s dig a hole and hide for the moment!”
Ling Wen instantly latched on, “Good idea! Will you please start on it right now!”
Pei Ming said while gritting his teeth, “THEN… PLEASE… HURRY…!!!”
“Okokok!” Xie Lian responded while already crazily slashing at the ground with Fang Xin to drill a pit, sand and earth flying all over the place. Next to him, Hua Cheng was holding the umbrella over him, and not only was he not helping, he was even coaxing him, “Gege, don’t dig anymore.
Sit down and rest.”
No one could take it anymore and they all cried, “HUA CHENGZHU!!!”
“Hm? Did someone call me?” Hua Cheng said.
Ling Wen laid on the ground in a heap, “Hua Chengzhu, both yourself and His Highness are here too, if you have any tricks or ideas how about you contribute? None of us want to become stuffings between rock planks after all.” And words no one dared say: If you don’t have anything, can you please go and become a human spike too?
Although Xie Lian was anxious, he was still instinctively trusting of Hua Cheng, so he asked as he continued to dig the pit, “San Lang, you have a way?”
Hua Cheng chuckled, “Gege only needs to wait, no need for you to do anything, it’ll be fine in a moment.”
Fire was burning their behinds now, and although everyone all felt he must have an idea, they still couldn’t help but feel the burn. Ling Wen was about to say more when Xie Lian suddenly said, “What’s that noise?”
Amidst the loud rumbling of falling boulders came another strange noise approaching rapidly.
GRK GRK! GRK GRK GRK GRK! Rapidly fast, growing closer and closer. Xie Lian thought this sound was familiar like he’d heard it before somewhere, and he stopped his mad digging.
“This… COULD THIS BE?!”
Just as the words left his lips, a spot next to his feet suddenly caved in, revealing a black hole that was big enough to allow two people to drop in. Within the hole, the head of a shovel was raised, reflecting a bright white light.
The sacred shovel of the Earth Master!
That shovel showed itself but quickly shrank back into the hole. Hua Cheng spoke up, “A little late, but at least he made it. Let’s go.”
Without another word, Xie Lian picked up Ling Wen and threw him down, then Ban Yue and Pei Su, then Pei Ming. With the ‘spike’ wedged in the middle gone, the two mountain spirits increased their speed, and amidst the scratching, quaking sounds, Hua Cheng circled his arm around Xie Lian’s waist and held him tight, “Let’s hurry!” Then with him in his arms, they jumped into the underground path. Xie Lian only felt like he sank into darkness, and soon after, a thundering roar came from above.
Those two large mountains finally, completely, pressed themselves together!
If they were still above ground right now they would’ve for sure been crushed into meat pancakes. After steadying the spirit somewhat, two small balls of flames were ignited in the darkness. Xie Lian looked around at the underground path they were situated in at the moment, neither wide nor narrow, neat and orderly, as expected of the path dug by the sacred shovel of the Earth Master. The others who had dropped in first were all sprawled on the ground, huffing.
Hua Cheng released his waist, and Xie Lian also dropped the arm that had unconsciously gripped his shoulder, watching that black clad man holding the shovel.
That black clad man was also breathing harshly, leaning against the shovel and wiped at his cold sweat. Xie Lian took a few steps closer, looking him over closely. This individual appeared to be a neat and tidy good youth, considerably handsome but only about a seven. Only, he didn’t seem to have much personality. No doubt he must be someone whose presence was usually very faint.
Xie Lian approached him and that black clad man looked up, “Your Highness…”
But before he finished Xie Lian had already seized his wrist, “Where’s the Lord Wind Master?”
That black clad man was taken aback, “Huh? I… This I don’t know.”
Xie Lian exhaled and said solemnly, “My Lord Black Water, why keep up the act? Your revenge is none of my business, but Lord Wind Master did once share a friendship with you and had never done any crime or harm, so I hope…”
Just then, Ling Wen interrupted, “Black Water? Your Highness, why do you think he’s Black Water? Their faces are different.”
Xie Lian looked back and replied doubtfully, “Because he’s holding the sacred shovel of the Earth Master. Besides, don’t we all know the key to a good disguise? This face is so boringly plain, not noticeable in a crowd at all, so it must be a fake.”
The trick to disguise was discussed before, and the face of this black clad youth before them perfectly complied to the key component of an impeccable fake skin: boringly plain.
Even if one was to stare at his face for two hours, after a good night’s sleep, his appearance would be completely forgotten the next day, so no doubt this was a molded fake face?
“…”
However, a moment later, that black clad youth said, “I’m sorry Your Highness, but, I… I really do look like this.”
“…”
Hua Cheng walked over too and lightly cleared his throat, “Gege, this, really isn’t Black Water.”
“…”
???
“This really is his true appearance.” Hua Cheng said.
So, this was a real, naturally born pedestrian face!
Xie Lian slapped his forehead with his palm, and a moment later, he changed to pressing hands together in a prayer, inclining to bow in apology, “…I’m sorry.”
He actually thought things so matter-of-factly. He actually said to this person’s face that he looked boringly plain, not noticeable in a crowd. It couldn’t be helped, this face of his really was too much of a model for a perfect disguise!
That black clad youth was also feeling extremely awkward and he waved his hand, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing, I’m already used to it…”
Ling Wen then said, “Your Highness Yin Yu, thank goodness for you this time.”
———
●Birth, Aging, Sickness, Death are the four causes of suffering in Buddhism.
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