劍問蒼天 - 第181章 無字玉壁 - 清風書屋

In his amazement, Mingli felt that besides the demonic power of the Blood-Devouring Bead stirring restlessly within him, the Great Brahma Prajna of his own cultivation, affected by the Buddhist aura of this place, was unwilling to yield and likewise leaped up, as though bent on a contest of strength with the demonic power of the Blood-Devouring Bead.

Before anything had even begun, such a vast change had come over his own body; the earth-qi of this place was truly beyond comprehension. Mingli was shaken, and for a moment forgot the strange figure he had seen in the mist, and only urged his own cultivation to guard his heart meridian as he slowly descended.

Soon the mist thinned, and the ground below grew clear: a small stone platform, quite smooth, some three zhang across, with sparse trees around it, and upon it sat several dozen monks of Brahma Voice Temple. Their seats seemed near or far, without rule or order, yet within them lay a hidden principle, and a faint Buddhist power flowed through them, forming as it were an array.

Mingli looked closely a few more times, and suddenly it seemed familiar; he thought a while, and recalled that it was the shape of an ancient, clumsy script, the appearance of a Buddhist true word.

Mingli soon touched the ground and looked about. Fa Cheng and Fa Jing were by now seated among the monks, palms pressed together in silence, eyes downcast, and they looked at him no more. At the head of the monks sat Master Pucheng, Abbot of Brahma Voice Temple; to his left below him sat one Mingli had seen before, the Divine Monk Pufang, who had unleashed such power that day on Canglan Mountain. But the monk seated to Pucheng's right below him looked rather odd, and Mingli had never seen him before. His face was withered, his complexion sallow and yellow, as though he bore the hue of a dying man, and his aged look far surpassed Master Pucheng's. Mingli did not know who he was, but to sit on equal footing with the two great divine monks Pucheng and Pufang, he was clearly no ordinary figure in Brahma Voice Temple.

Mingli said no more, but bowed his head in salute to Master Pucheng. The Abbot pressed his palms together in return and said with a smile, "The young benefactor has come."

Mingli nodded and said, "Yes. But may I ask what the Abbot would have me do?"

Master Pucheng pointed to the platform and said, "Nothing else. The young benefactor need only sit calmly upon that stone platform, regulate his breath and quiet his heart, and sit for a few days."

Mingli nodded, glanced back at the stone platform, then raised his head and looked around. Above was only thick mist; where was the legendary Wordless Jade Wall? He could not help asking, "Pray tell, Abbot, where is the Wordless Jade Wall?"

Master Pucheng smiled. "In a little while, the young benefactor will see it."

Ming Li started, nodded, and turned to take his seat on the stone platform, when all at once a shrill cry came faintly from the sky—wind, or the howl of some beast—piercing cloud and mist. Then a beam of dazzling radiance tore a rift through the dense fog and shot down, falling full upon Ming Li.

Ming Li fell back a step and looked up. Within the valley a strange rumbling rose, like rolling thunder, and the sea of dense fog suddenly heaved into waves, surging from a gentle drift into great billows. More and more fissures opened; the fog thinned, and beam upon beam, ray upon ray of radiance broke through.

Facing this prodigy of heaven and earth, Ming Li gazed a long while, until at last the fog scattered and the radiance poured down. In an instant all the world was a blaze of light so dazzling that no one could keep his eyes open. Only after a time did it slowly soften.

When Ming Li opened his eyes again, his body gave a jolt—he had caught sight of the legendary Wordless Jade Wall.