My Scales Can Make Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 268: Chinese Characters Appear Surprisingly in the Temple

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Chinese Characters Appear Surprisingly in the Temple

After landing, Wang Zijia’s mind stirred, and a few more blazing light orbs flew out, spreading around and illuminating the surrounding space.

They were in a huge palace, it stood over ten meters high, it didn’t seem like it was built for humans but rather like the temple of a giant spirit from legend.

The decorative style was strange, it was ancient but not classical, giving Wang Zijia an odd feeling.

’Why is there a mix of Western fantasy style in this?

Wang Zijia assessed the enormous columns surrounding the temple and the preserved carvings on the walls, and expressed his surprise: "Such a distinct decorative style."

"It’s indeed unusual, one of the brother monks of our sect who came here before guessed that this temple was originally built by entities like the ancient wizards from Miao. In the Fifth Era, this could, at most, be considered heterodox worship of a wild god, reaching towards its demise in an era that forbids divine cultivation," explained Ma Haoran, while they idly strolled about the palace.

"However, judging by the remaining fragments of the scriptures left behind, it cannot be considered worshippers of savage evil gods or anything similar."

"On the balance of probabilities, it was consecrated by some kind of independent cultivator or suchlike, a local deity in a remote area. As for whether or not they were registered with the Taoist School and had any sort of position, that is unknown."

As they walked and talked, they passed through many vast halls and arrived at a fairly normal-sized corner of the palace.

At this point, Wang Zijia suddenly stopped in front of a few side halls, looking at a plaque on one of them, and said, "Lady Hu?"

Looking at the plaque and reading the words, Wang Zijia had a sense that something was off, but he could not immediately recall what was wrong.

Ma Haoran, standing next to him, was surprised by Wang Zijia’s omission and said, "Junior Brother Wang is indeed knowledgeable, even able to understand ancient scriptures of Taoism. I heard from Senior Brothers that there aren’t many in our Sect who can recognize such texts."

Wang Zijia stiffened suddenly, and as realization dawned on him, he looked closely at the plaque once again.

This is Chinese!!!

Although it’s close to the seal script used in the Qin era, with some evolution, there’s no doubt about it, it’s definitely Chinese!

"Did you say this is Ancient Scripture?" Wang Zijia, struggling to contain his excitement, asked Ma Haoran.

"Err ... " Ma Haoran jolted by Wang Zijia’s expression, hesitatingly replied," I’m not sure, this is just what I heard from Senior Brothers in the sect."

"As you know, Junior Brother, the characters we now use underwent a certain evolution after the difficult transmission period of Taoism. And the ones used there, according to what I’ve heard, were used during the Fifth Epoch. If Junior Brother can recognize the text, could I have misunderstood something before?"

Wang Zijia didn’t respond to Ma Haoran, instead he looked up at the ’Lady Hu’ plaque once again, losing himself in thought.

After a while, and after regaining his composure, he noticed there was a sentence on the left and right pillars, like a couplet.

The phrase was somewhat fragmented, but since a large part of it was preserved, and by guessing the context, he was able to barely piece it together.

With a skeleton of monstrous bones and some make-up applied by pen and ink, painting a life of diverging paths;

Flesh and skin conceal the form, with the world acting as the matchmaker, the pursuit of a courtship in this life.

Looking at this sentence, then at the ’Lady Hu’ temple in front of him, were the visual elements not matching?

Was this an ancient Miao marriage temple?

But the poetic conception in the sentences seemed wrong, it was more like melancholy love stories from ’Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.’

With various confused thoughts flashing through his mind, Wang Zijia finally continued with Ma Haoran. The Underground Palace had witnessed numerous waves of scavenging over the past few decades.

Especially after it was visited by a large number of wandering cultivators, one could very aptly describe it as having dug up every three feet of the ground.

Forget about anything valuable, even the sculptures originally in the palace, and even the murals on the walls, as long as something seemed strange it was guaranteed to have been scavenged.

Even the floor tiles underfoot were no longer even, clearly having been tampered with. Only a few carved pillars were still barely intact.

Without exception, after a full tour of the temple, the two of them found nothing.

There were three main halls, each with a few plaques. Wang Zijia estimated that if these plaques weren’t carved directly from the architecture and instead were made of something more ordinary, even these would be gone by now.

They could only basically confirm that this temple originally was used to worship several deities. Especially in the case of the main halls, they presumably had giant sculptures several meters tall, all traces of which were now gone, leaving a desolate space.

...

Wang Zijia meticulously inspected the entire palace three times, finding nothing.

Ma Haoran quietly followed him the whole time, as if he had anticipated this result and showed no sign of impatience.

After a long time, Wang Zijia, completely sure he couldn’t find anything, gave a wry smile: "They sure did a thorough clean sweep!"

Ma Haoran laughed: "Considering any monk can enter this site, and with the tales spreading out, the fact that the Underground Palace hasn’t collapsed yet after the continuous onslaught from junior monks is already quite impressive."

On reflection, Wang Zijia agreed; after all, even street stall items can be traded at high-end exhibitions, so included scavenging would be thorough, wouldn’t it?

To find a leak in such a place was simply wishful thinking.

They had enjoyed their sightseeing, stayed a while longer, and then returned to the crevice. Their mana fluctuated, their bodies floated, and they returned to the surface of the ground. Standing on the edge of the crevice and looking down once more, they tossed out their magic tools again and ascend to the sky.

"Where should we go next?" Wang Zijia asked Ma Haoran.

"You mentioned earlier that you’re looking for a mountain gate today, do you have any particular requirements?" Ma Haoran looked back at Wang Zijia and instead of immediately answering, posed a question.

"Ideally there should be a low-level spiritual vein. If not, as long as it can support my cultivation, that would be fine." Wang Zijia contemplated for a moment before responding.

Listening closely, Ma Haoran paused before asking Wang Zijia again, "Do you really plan on starting a school in Tianhong, to revive the Tianhong Practice World?"

Wang Zijia nodded and said, "Suppose I do, after witnessing all the chaos in Tianhong while recruiting disciples over these past few days, no matter what, the civilians are innocent. Besides, it’s been 30 years now, the lesson has been given, and as far as appearances go, the Sect won’t interfere in these matters anymore."

Ma Haoran studied Wang Zijia intensely for a moment before exclaiming, "It’s the civilians’ fortune that Tianhong has met Junior Brother Wang."

"Senior Brother, you’re too kind. What I’m doing is merely offering a helping hand within my abilities. It’s not worthy of your praise." Upon finishing his statement, Wang Zijia changed the subject, half-jokingly, "Would you, Senior Brother Ma, be willing to act as a co-head teacher and assist me in establishing the school?"

Ma Haoran was taken aback for a moment before saying, to the surprise of Wang Zijia, "Wouldn’t that be me taking advantage of the situation?"