After obtaining Stone Treasure Molybdenum Gold, Lin Xun carefully searched the book archive.
Most of the scriptures and books in the book archive were junk. He turned the book archive upside down, but only found a few low grade Buddhist divine ability skill books.
It seemed that the divine ability skill taught by the old scripture master was already the most valuable skill within Fengyang Academy.
He had already finished exploring the several locations inside Fengyang Academy. However, Lin Xun did not immediately leave the academy and head to the next location. Instead, he returned to the lecture hall to seek information from the old scripture master.
There were still two intact buildings remaining in the city. One was the great pavilion in the west that still retained some Daoist style, and the other was the towering temple pagoda in the center of the city.
According to the old scripture master, the great pavilion was originally called Flying Immortal Pavilion, an extremely ancient building. It enshrined the shrines of Daoist Heavenly Venerates, and qi cultivators passing through Luoyi would all enter Flying Immortal Pavilion to worship.
It was rumored that several great qi cultivators once attained the Dao and ascended in Flying Immortal Pavilion, undergoing Ascension and becoming immortals.
However, later, the Vermilion Emperor honored Buddhism and suppressed Daoism. Flying Immortal Pavilion was converted into Punitive Tower. Not only was its name changed, but the immortal shrines within were also removed one by one, and it was used as a military tower for observing and guarding the western border.
After the world had been peaceful for a long time, Punitive Tower was gradually converted into a famous scenic place for people to enjoy and play in. The top floor of Punitive Tower was also changed into a place of wine and meat for banquets with high officials and nobles.
[…]
[You and the White Elephant Demon leave Fengyang Academy, pass through the groups of monsters wandering over the ruins, and arrive beneath Punitive Tower.]
[Punitive Tower has five tiers of flying eaves, a pointed roof, and golden glazed tiles covering the top. It is supported by numerous round pillars, and crane-wing-like upturned corners extend outward from the tower.]
[Originally, outside the tower were also pagodas, memorial arches, corridors, pavilions, and other surrounding buildings. However, now these surrounding buildings have all turned into ruins, and only Punitive Tower still stands intact.]
[You and the White Elephant Demon enter the tower side by side. Upon entering the first floor, you see a tall and spacious hall, with an enormous Buddha Universal Salvation mural on the front wall.]
[The Buddha in the painting is Namo Shijia Taduo Ajia Tuo, which is what the world calls Present Buddha.]
[The entire hall is splendid, magnificent, ancient, and elegant. Not the slightest trace of its former elegance as a Daoist Ascension place can be seen. It is completely a place of amusement and appreciation.]
[Several Extreme Evil monsters wander sparsely in the hall. The White Elephant Demon waves its iron hammers and sweeps away and eliminates all the monsters on the first floor.]
[You search through the hall once. After finding nothing special, you follow the stairs to the second floor…]
[…]
[Punitive Tower has five floors in total. You and the White Elephant Demon sweep away monsters all the way up and arrive at the top floor of Punitive Tower.]
[From here, leaning on the railing and looking into the distance, one can take in all the beautiful scenery of Luoyi City. However, the current Luoyi City only has the scene of a human purgatory. Its beautiful rivers and mountains have long since been destroyed and vanished.]
[The top floor also seems to have nothing special. Your gaze turns to the two support pillars on one side, where a long couplet hangs: Buddhist light comes from the west, clouds and mist sweep open, shaking heaven and earth. Purple qi goes east, waves cleanse all evils ancient and present.]
[You have not discovered anything of exploration value within Punitive Tower. Do you want to leave this place?]
Lin Xun frowned.
The hellish game most likely would not set up a useless scene. If a useless place existed, it would collapse and be destroyed like the ruins outside, rather than appear in the Apostle’s preset stage flow.
Barring accidents, there had to be some other hidden mystery in this Punitive Tower.
He carefully pondered the meaning of the couplet. Buddhist light was a Buddhist term, and Buddhist light comes from the west meant the gods and Buddhas filling the sky came from Western Pure Bliss Heaven.
Purple qi, however, was a Daoist term. Did purple qi goes east secretly refer to the Daoist Heavenly Venerates leaving Vermilion and heading east to Penglai in the Eastern Black Sea?
“Logically speaking, the Vermilion Emperor honored Buddhism and suppressed Daoism, removing all the immortal shrines within Flying Immortal Pavilion and turning it into a place for pleasure and entertainment. That is such disrespect toward Heavenly Venerates and immortals.”
“And Flying Immortal Pavilion underwent multiple renovations. How could it still retain the eaves that resemble crane wings flying toward immortality, and the couplet on the top floor that secretly refers to Daoism?”
“Waves cleanse all evils ancient and present… the person who wrote this couplet absolutely knew something!”
With this thought, Lin Xun immediately brought the White Elephant Demon back to Fengyang Academy and asked the old scripture master about the origin of the couplet.
[…]
[The old scripture master blows his beard and glares, slaps the teaching table, and says, What nonsense is this? The couplet on the top floor of Punitive Tower clearly says: Buddhist light comes from the west, clouds and mist sweep open, shaking heaven and earth; great river goes east, waves cleanse all sorrows ancient and present.]
[Where is there any Daoist talk of purple qi goes east?!]
[Do not think that just because he is old and muddled, you can fabricate nonsense here to fool him!]
The old scripture master’s behavior did not seem fake. He even took books and classics from the book archive, where it was clearly recorded that this couplet had been personally written by the Luoyi grand administrator in ancient times, and had never changed from beginning to end.
Lin Xun thought briefly, then returned to Punitive Tower.
He and the White Elephant Demon turned the entire tower from the first floor to the fifth floor upside down again, but in the end, they still found nothing unique. It seemed that no special event existed in Punitive Tower.
[…]
[The White Elephant Demon pats the dust off its great red kasaya and says somewhat doubtfully, Junior brother, this Punitive Tower is ordinary and unremarkable. It also does not look like a place containing some godly or Buddhist treasure. What exactly are we looking for here?]
[With nothing to do, it sees the giant Present Buddha mural standing there properly and thinks that since it has seen Buddha Ancestor, it should at least worship. So it presses its palms together and worships.]
[After standing up, it suddenly freezes and carefully observes the portrait.]
[Junior brother, there is something wrong with this Buddha Ancestor portrait…]
[Hearing this, your eyebrows lift. You had carefully observed the Buddha Ancestor portrait earlier and had not seen anything wrong. It was just an ordinary Buddha Universal Salvation painting.]
[The White Elephant Demon continues, According to Buddhist rules, Buddha images and Buddha portraits should sit west and face east. The placement should be on the west side, while the Buddha’s facing direction should be toward the east.]
[But this Buddha Ancestor portrait sits north and faces south. That is the placement rule on the Daoist immortal side. It has completely messed up the rules.]
[After hearing the White Elephant Demon’s words, do you want to try worshipping Present Buddha?]
Lin Xun frowned, somewhat repulsed.
But then he thought that the one kneeling was the Child of Evil, not himself, and so he pressed yes without any psychological burden.
[You press your palms together toward the Buddha Ancestor portrait and perform three bows and nine kowtows…]
[After the ceremony is complete and you rise, nothing happens.]
[Do you want to leave Punitive Tower?]
“…”
“Hellish game, are you messing with me?”
[Dense characters flash through your eyes, and you suddenly say to the White Elephant Demon, Senior brother, do you know how Daoist qi cultivators worship Heavenly Venerates?]
[The White Elephant Demon scratches its head and thinks for a long time before saying uncertainly, Daoist qi cultivators worshipping Heavenly Venerates is not like the Buddhist pressed-palm salute. It seems to involve forming some Zi-Wu Mudra.]
[The White Elephant Demon makes an awkward hand gesture, right hand embracing the left hand, with the right thumb and index finger respectively inside and outside, pinching the zi position at the base of the ring finger of the left hand, while the left thumb pinches the wu position at the tip of the middle finger, making the Zi-Wu Mudra.]
[You imitate the White Elephant Demon’s hand gesture and make the Zi-Wu Mudra to worship the Buddha Ancestor portrait…]
[Seeing this, the White Elephant Demon slightly opens its mouth, just about to correct this method of worship that is both greatly rebellious and improper according to the rules and rites, but then it sees the Buddha Ancestor portrait suddenly undergo a violent change!]
