I changed the world.

Page 134

In particular, the former abbot had hinted at this on several occasions when he was alive, and now all that is missing is a confirmation process.

Positions of great importance, such as the abbot of Yunxiao Temple, are traditionally elected by the sect according to the empire's established rules. The candidates are then reported to the Imperial Bureau of Religious Affairs, and the appointment is officially made after confirmation by the empire.

However, for over a hundred years, this process has been largely a formality, and there has never been an official rejection of a candidate. Therefore, everyone knows that the day when the abbot of Yunxiao Temple will be officially confirmed is today.

According to tradition, outsiders are not allowed to attend the meeting to elect the abbot, not even lower-ranking disciples. All the senior members of the temple, high-ranking Taoist priests, and disciples of the former abbot will gather together in the ancestral hall of the temple to finally elect a candidate.

During this period, disciples from the temple guarded all the exits of the Ancestral Hall, and the doors were sealed off, prohibiting entry and exit.

Around 13:30 PM, as the bell rang three times, everyone in the temple knew that a new abbot had been chosen. About fifteen minutes later, as the doors of the Ancestral Hall opened, a group of high-ranking members of the temple came out, and the news quickly spread throughout the temple.

As expected, Li Jingxin was chosen as the new abbot.

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Just as the guests were about to exchange a few words with Li Jingxin, the newly appointed abbot, he did not appear before them.

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With a creaking sound, the gate of a six-story brick tower located on the back of Yunxiao Mountain was opened.

"Abbot, please."

Li Jingxin bowed respectfully to the expressionless tower keeper, then stepped over the threshold and entered the deep stone tower. Another creaking sound followed, and the extremely heavy tower door, studded with copper nails, slowly closed behind him.

According to the rules passed down through generations of Yunxiao Temple, only the abbot of each generation is allowed to enter this Chengzong Pagoda. It is a strangely shaped stone pagoda, built entirely of extremely solid and thick natural basalt. Apart from a large gate and some ventilation holes in hidden places, there are no windows. Each floor is about five meters high, and there are six floors in total. Overall, it is more like a fortress than a pagoda.

When Li Jingxin was a child, he was curious about what was inside this sturdy stone tower located in the forbidden area of ​​the back mountain. However, apart from his master, only the tower keepers who lived in seclusion and could never leave the temple were allowed to enter.

I remember back then, Junior Brother Li once sneaked into the forbidden area, wanting to see what was inside the tower. He was discovered by the tower guard, beaten with sticks, and expelled from the temple. After that, none of the brothers dared to spy on it anymore, and they rarely even discussed it in private.

Now, in his sixties, he has finally gotten the chance to come in.

According to the rules of Yunxiao Temple, the last ceremony for each new abbot is to climb the tower.

No one but themselves knew what they would see inside the tower. And coincidentally, successive abbots had always kept this a closely guarded secret, never revealing a single word.

As the door closed, the entire space went dark. Fortunately, Li Jingxin was carrying a lantern. He turned the button on the lantern, and the light suddenly shone brightly, illuminating the surrounding environment clearly again.

He saw that the ground around him was paved with terrazzo tiles, and the walls were painted with murals depicting mystical deities. In the dim space, on the ancient murals, the gods stared with eyes that were either indifferent or fierce, as if watching his arrival.

What will I see?

A sense of unease crept into my heart.

Li Jingxin took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and walked forward.

The interior of the stone tower covers an area of ​​about 200 square meters. At the center is a spiral stone staircase. Li Jingxin climbed the staircase and soon arrived at the entrance to the second floor. There was a heavy and ancient door. The door was made of some kind of redwood and covered with copper for corrosion protection. The door was carved with traditional symbols with esoteric characteristics, such as the Bagua and constellations, which added to its mystique.

After shining a lantern on the door for a while, Li Jingxin quickly found his target: a door lock embedded in the center of the door.

Li Jingxin carefully examined the lock. The entire lock body was made of white brass and looked quite antique. Unlike ordinary antique locks, in addition to the keyhole, there were nine ratchet wheels below, each with some small characters on it.

Li Jingxin examined it carefully and was certain that what his master had told him to memorize was correct. It was a hidden poem lock, with many characters on each ratchet. The nine ratchets had to be arranged into a specific set of poems to unlock the door with the key. This lock was extremely ingenious and could be considered a kind of ancient combination lock.

"Who knows the old man with yellow hair who served four dynasties..." Li Jingxin put the lantern aside, and by the diffused light, bent down and carefully fiddled with the ratchet on the ancient lock. When the whole poem was aligned, he took out the key from his waist and inserted it.

With a soft click, the door opened smoothly. Li Jingxin placed his hand on the door and slowly increased the pressure, causing it to swung open...

Li Jingxin picked up the lantern and went up to the second floor. The second floor was still surrounded by a large number of murals, which looked somewhat similar to the first floor. Li Jingxin did not stop and continued to walk upstairs.

At the junction of the second and third floors, he stopped again. There was another large door with a lock on it. Unlike the lock on the first floor, the lock on the second floor was no longer the Tibetan Poetry Lock. This lock looked quite strange. From the front, it looked like the Chinese character "凹" (āo). The keyhole was irregularly shaped. If there were a collector who knew about ancient locks from the Zhao Dynasty, he would definitely be able to tell that this was a rare maze lock.

People who handle this type of lock for the first time are usually careless, thinking it's extremely simple. But only when they actually pick up the key to open it will they realize that it's very difficult for a novice to insert the simple-looking key into the keyhole...

It took Li Jingxin about five minutes to finally unlock the door and enter the third floor. The third floor had many bookshelves around the perimeter, filled with a large number of books. Normally, Li Jingxin might have browsed through them with great interest. However, driven by a greater curiosity, he only glanced at them briefly before continuing upwards.

Continuing upwards, the doors from the third to the fourth floor are equipped with a hidden lock. This type of lock has two keyholes, and opening it requires following a specific procedure, using both keys in combination...

Fourth floor………………

Fifth floor………………

After all, he was over sixty years old. By the time he finally arrived at the last major gate, Li Jingxin's back was covered in sweat. According to his master, there were mechanisms behind these gates. If the gate could not be opened in the correct way, the mechanism would trigger an alarm.

As for why the founders set up such a complex mechanism, and what secrets the sect was hiding, the master at the time did not say.

At this moment, Li Jingxin became even more curious.

The Yunxiao lineage has been passed down for over two thousand years, continuing until the early days of the Xuanmen sect. Its origins can even be traced back to the Yellow Heaven Path at the end of the Xia Dynasty.

What secrets are hidden within these sects?

The last door was secured with a complex interlocking lock. Each step of the unlocking process affected the next. Even though Li Jingxin already knew every step of the unlocking process, it still took him more than half an hour to finally open it. By the time the door was pushed open, Li Jingxin felt that his back was completely soaked with sweat, and even his hands were trembling.

Finally reaching the top floor, Li Jingxin stood on the sixth floor of the tower, holding a lantern and looking around to the left and right...

Chapter 219 The Azure Heaven is Dead, the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise

Compared to the third, fourth, and fifth floors, which are mostly filled with books, scrolls, and even some antiques, the top floor appears quite empty. There is only a simple stone pedestal in the center, with a futon placed on the ground in front of it. On the pedestal is a stone statue of the Supreme Celestial Venerable, which is over one meter tall. The sculpture style is quite ancient and is obviously not a modern artifact.

In front of the statue of the Celestial Venerable, there was a small square bronze box.

The surrounding walls are also covered with murals, but the style of the murals is completely different from the murals on the ground floor that depict the immortals and gods of the Xuanmen sect. The murals depict scenes of war, with soldiers on both sides of the war. One side is fully armored and has fierce faces like ghosts and gods, while the other side has yellow turbans on their heads, shouting and rising up, one after another.

The mural had clearly been around for many years, and even the colors were somewhat distorted. However, from the moment Li Jingxin noticed the mural, he seemed to smell the flames and blood of the battlefield, hear the shouts of men and the neighing of horses, and hear the sound of war drums beating on the howling wind. The warriors in the mural seemed to come alive and look at him...

With a start, Li Jingxin snapped out of his daze and looked at the mural again, only to find that it was still just a mural, without the slightest abnormality.

Li Jingxin silently recited the title of the patriarch in his heart again, calmed his mind, made a hand seal with one hand, said "May the Heavenly Venerable grant boundless blessings", and stopped looking at the mural. Instead, he walked to the statue of the Heavenly Venerable, knelt down on the prayer mat, and performed the proper rites. Then he stood up and focused his gaze on the bronze box.

Walking over, Li Jingxin placed the lantern he was carrying on the stone base beneath the bronze box. By the light, one could clearly see that the bronze box was exquisitely crafted, especially the lock, which had four rows of ratchet wheels, seven in each row, for a total of 28.

It was actually a complete hidden poem locked away.

However, Li Jingxin breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, as it was exactly as his master had instructed.

"The world is full of treacherous storms, but the carefree seagulls are at ease. Just as I was about to lie down fully clothed on the Three Peaks, a heavenly decree descended upon the edge of the sun."

Once the four lines of poetry were in place, a soft click was heard from the mechanism, and the lid of the bronze box opened on its own.

Li Jingxin hurriedly opened the box and looked inside. He saw that the box was lined with velvet, and on the velvet was an envelope and an antique-style jade pendant.

In the dim space, Li Jingxin could clearly see that the jade pendant was emitting a faint glow.

Huh?! Is this some kind of treasure?

In that instant, legends such as luminous pearls flashed through Li Jingxin's mind. He reached in and picked up the jade tablet.

wrong!

How can it have warmth!

Li Jingxin clearly remembered that when he first picked up the jade pendant, it was ice-cold to the touch. But once he held it in his hand, he felt the jade pendant begin to heat up, and it got hotter and hotter. Yet, it didn't hurt his hand at all.

It seems that this is merely a form of psychological suggestion.

This is incredible!

Li Jingxin felt his heart pounding. He took deep breaths and carefully examined the jade pendant in his hand.

This is a jade pendant that looks somewhat ancient. Perhaps because it has been around for so long, the relief carvings on it are a bit blurry. Although Li Jingxin doesn't have presbyopia, his eyesight is not as good as it used to be. In the dim environment, he subconsciously squinted, trying to see the patterns on it more clearly.

Just then, he felt as if the patterns in front of him had come to life, and in a daze, the surrounding scenery changed...

Twisted, inhuman shadows invaded from the darkness. Soon, one after another, terrifying, ugly, four-limbed monsters rushed out of the night, running and greedily pouncing on the people dressed in coarse linen clothes.

A filthy and distorted shadow looms and spreads in the great river, dragging those who approach into it;

On the desolate land, in the dilapidated village, the fields were overgrown with weeds, and not a soul was to be seen. White skeletons lay dead between the roof tiles. Occasionally, a wild dog with bloodshot eyes would pass by, dig up a few white bones, and tear them apart and gnaw on them…

White bones lie exposed in the wilderness, and for a thousand miles no rooster crows...

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On a massive altar, crimson blood flowed as armored soldiers dragged out those still howling and crying, beheaded them, and threw their heads onto the altar.

On the altar, ghosts howled, and cracks appeared in the dim sky, like a leaky roof, with clumps of indistinct and eerie substances seeping in.

Visible to the naked eye, invisible to the naked eye, terrifying, distorted...

Countless bizarre phenomena, indescribable in words, are invading this world.

The scenes unfolded before Li Jingxin's eyes, leaving him with an overwhelming sense of shock. He instinctively realized that this was a hellish world...

Judging from the people's clothing in the picture, it shouldn't be modern.

Which dynasty is this from?

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The view suddenly shifted, and atop a high cliff atop a mountain, an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in a feathered robe, sat cross-legged, a nine-section bamboo staff beside him. He gazed at the setting sun in the distance. Behind him, a man knelt on the ground, a sword strapped to his back, his legs bound with hemp shoes, looking as if he were about to embark on a long journey.

The two were not dressed in modern clothing.

"Yi Ming, are you still determined to do this?"

"Master, please witness! Emperor Xia has acted perversely, favoring his relatives and, in his quest for the elixir of immortality, defied the world's condemnation by sacrificing blood to an evil god, causing the collapse of the regime and the devastation of the people..." The tall man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and bright eyes proclaimed loudly.