My Scales Can Make Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 376 - 354: Illusion of the Eight Immortals?

Chapter 376: Chapter 354: Illusion of the Eight Immortals?

At that moment, Wang Zijia was standing on a huge square at the foot of a mountain, with a mountain peak not far ahead.

Behind him, disciples appeared one after another, unaware as they inhaled the mysterious fog into their bodies.

If it weren’t for the exchange of human skin paper figures, they probably would have silently transformed into statues.

This was probably the most basic middle Bewitching Domain route.

Without needing any direction from Wang Zijia, the surrounding disciples, organized by the three deputy head teachers, began to clean the surrounding statues.

Once it was confirmed that destruction would yield cultivation, special statues like the mud sculpture divine fetuses were especially targeted.

Wang Zijia didn’t participate. He observed for a moment, and when he confirmed that the destruction hadn’t triggered any mechanism, he no longer paid it any mind.

He casually walked towards a mountain peak in the front, with Mo Yunzi and Ling Yanlan, who had transformed into a tall bird, closely following behind him.

······

The mountain peak where this Mysterious Domain begins wasn’t too high, and the path leading to it was flat and wide, with several pavilions set up along it.

It looked specially prepared for the pilgrims.

Based on the layout, it could be guessed that this frontmost mountain peak was once a place designated for ordinary pilgrims.

What surprised Wang Zijia slightly was that on his way, he saw numerous statues wherever he looked. However, there were no statues worshipped in the Taoist temples that he encountered along the way. They were all empty.

While observing this, Wang Zijia headed toward the peak.

"Ancestor, did these statues run out of the temples?" Ling Yanlan, transforming into a human-sized bird, looked at the empty Taoist temples and the numerous statues scattered around, and couldn’t help asking.

Wang Zijia shook his head slightly and said, "Unlikely. If I’m not mistaken, all the statues outside are the products of people from the Qinglian Realm entering the Mysterious Domain and being bewitched over millions of years. They didn’t originally exist in the Mysterious Domain."

"They all turned into statues after being bewitched?" Ling Yanlan asked confusedly, "Both the mud sculpture divine fetuses and the real statues?"

Wang Zijia nodded, glanced at the statues along the way, casually smashed a few, and then said, "Ordinary people turn into the fundamental nourishment of this Bewitching Domain after being bewitched. They deteriorate into useless mud when they’ve been completely consumed."

"However, if a monk or a spiritual root with good talent is bewitched, they probably transform into these somewhat eerie mud sculpture statues. Absorbing incense everyday, they are refined into peculiar objects under the influence of the Bewitching Domain."

"According to the records in Wanyu, every Bewitching Domain has a similar evolution mechanism. The manifestation may be different, but the core remains the same."

"A monk becoming bewitched unknowingly and then becoming a part of the Bewitching Domain is one of the most common occurrences in a Bewitching Domain."

"As for where the original statues in the temple have gone... I’d also like to know!"

"Oh!" Ling Yanlan nodded as if she somewhat understood.

Mo Yunzi came back to his senses after a moment, frowning and asking, "Then according to the records in our sect, why are there ordinary people who enter this Bewitching Domain and it’s like they go into a dead relic of a Taoist temple, stroll around, and then come out unharmed and unaware?"

Wang Zijia glanced at the faint mist all around, transformed from incense, and guessed, "Perhaps those who come out are ordinary people who neither have spiritual roots nor any belief?"

Mo Yunzi was struck dumb by his words and wondered incredulously, "Just like in the legends, does the Taoist school disdain those without wisdom roots? This Bewitching Domain also takes that into account?"

"It might not necessarily be disdain--it’s more likely that these kind of people simply wouldn’t be contaminated by the curse and so wouldn’t be bewitched," Wang Zijia responded indifferently while looking around at the fog.

Mo Yunzi pondered, while Ling Yanlan listened with a confused face. She was only a little over a hundred years old. In terms of demon race’s lifespan, she was still in her youth.

Furthermore, she spent most of her time sleeping in a volcano, so her level of knowledge was severely inadequate.

The two people and a bird didn’t continue the conversation, but continued walking toward the peak.

Compared to the bustling Hundred Demon Bewitching Domain, this Forbidden Area of God and Mystery was many times quieter. In fact, it was too quiet. Other than the noise of the disciples breaking things at the foot of the mountain, there were no other sounds, not even the chirping of cicadas or other insects.

After a while, the three of them reached the peak, where a large hall came into view.

As it was once a place for receiving pilgrims, there was a large Sacrifice to the Sky Square in front of the hall, with several large cauldrons for burning incense on it.

The grandeur of the hall at the center of the square made it seem majestic, without any signs of the passage of time, entirely unlike a place that had been neglected for who knows how many years.

The decoration and layout were grand and classic, but lacked a hint of immortal aura and felt more like the mortal world.

Whether it was the lack of sunlight in the Bewitching Domain or for some other reason, the inside of the hall seemed somewhat dim, and it couldn’t be seen clearly from outside.

Wang Zijia gave a quick look, then stepped into the hall.

As soon as he set foot in the hall, Wang Zijia felt a daze.

"I pray to Miao Dao Heavenly Venerate to bless my son with success!"

"I pray to Pure Yang Heavenly Venerate to bless me with a baby boy!"

"The Medicine King Bodhisattva, please bless my husband with a speedy recovery. I will promise to make a three-pig sacrifice in return!"

"······"

When Wang Zijia came back to his senses from the daze, countless noisy voices flooded his mind, and the intense sunlight hit his eyes, making him frown slightly.

At this moment, he was still standing at the entrance of the hall. It was almost noon, and the sunlight was quite strong, reaching just to the entrance.

People were constantly going in and out all around him, and there were also many worshippers on the square behind making offerings. They were dressed simply and antiquely, looking just like ordinary people.

In the hall, there were countless people burning incense and making all kinds of prayers and pleas.

The faint smell of candles and incense permeated the entire hall, giving Wang Zijia the illusion that he had suddenly arrived in a time long past.

"Are you here to burn incense or fulfill a vow?" A young Taoist boy approached Wang Zijia.

Unbeknownst to when it happened, Mo Yun, who was next to Wang Zijia, had turned into an old housekeeper. The upright Ling Yanlan had become a maid, following closely by his side.

It seemed as if the three of them were also incense visitors.

"We are..."

Faced with the Taoist boy’s questions, Ling Yanlan was about to reply when she was stopped by Wang Zijia.

This clearly irregular situation went unnoticed by the two, with only Wang Zijia retaining his sanity. Even his attire remained unchanged, maintaining its original white cloud-green robe attire.

Despite both having the paper figures given by Wang Zijia in their Sea of Consciousness, they still fell into this situation. Thus, this obviously seemed to be a scene similar to an illusion of the Mind Way.

With Wang Zijia’s intervention, Ling Yanlan no longer spoke. Regardless of her previous or current identity, she would listen to Wang Zijia.

Wang Zijia didn’t utter a word, but strode into the hall with furrowed brows.

The Taoist boy, seeing himself being ignored, didn’t show any anger and only dutifully followed at their side.

The hall was very large, with over ten statues inside. At this moment, in front of each statue, there were people worshiping.

What attracted Wang Zijia’s attention the most was a group of eight statues, six males and two females (?), which instilled a sense of familiarity within Wang Zijia.

A bald uncle holding an iron crutch;

An old Taoist riding a donkey backwards;

A reclining, heavy-chested, whiskered man, holding a banana fan;

A young fairy holding a lotus leaf;

...

Upon looking at the eight statues, Wang Zijia’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, a sudden realization flashed in his mind.

"Eight Immortals from the Upper Cave?"

As Wang Zijia uttered these words, with the sound spreading, the term seemed to possess a particular power. The entire illusionist scene abruptly halted then dense cracks appeared in the surrounding space.

*Crack!*

*Boom!*

With a crisp sound, the entire illusion shattered.

Surrounding noises faded, and Mo Yun and Ling Yanlan awakened simultaneously, looking shocked.

Once the illusion disappeared, the three of them saw the real scene inside the hall. In contrast to outside, the hall seemed very dilapidated, like ruins.

This time there was no emptiness inside. Out of the over ten statues, except for one, all the others had shattered into pieces.

A significant amount of incense fell from the sky, penetrating into the statue on the edge. After being absorbed by the statue, wisps of mist seeped out to its surroundings.

That statue also had a broken arm, and a crack on its forehead. The surface had lost a lot of paint and looked somewhat battered, so its specific shape couldn’t be discerned.

According to the memory, if nothing went wrong, that position originally had a man dressed in a large red official robe, wearing a black gauze cap, holding a Yin and Yang board.

Imperial Uncle Cao?

The moment the illusion shattered and the three had opportunity to clearly see the inside of the hall, that battered statue somehow awakened right in front of their sight.

As the statue stared at the trio — Wang Zijia to be exact — an intense pulling force came from its gaze.

Wang Zijia clearly felt that some force was pulling him, as if it wanted to rip his spirit away physically.

"Another wicked ghost with Divine Powers?"

Between thoughts, Wang Zijia’s eyes also stared back, his robust Spiritual Roots of the Mind Way mixed with Pupil Surgery clashed with the other party.

*Crack...Splash!*

The statue, which was already on the edge of shattering, crumbled completely because of the collision and turned into a pile of rubble.

The rigid bodies of the three were once again under their control, with both Mo Yun and Ling Yanlan lightly sighing.

Wang Zijia, however, came to the rubble of the statue with furrowed eyebrows. His Spirit Eye flashed, and out of the pile of rubble, he dug out a grey stone bead the size of a quail egg.

Wisps of mysterious mist seeped from it. Wang Zijia sensed for a moment.

The reason it was spewing out mysterious mist right now was entirely due to the residual incense within it.

A thing that seemed like an ordinary stone bead actually had the ability to gather incense and convert it into a mysterious mist.

The stone bead should have originally been some Divine tool, but now it seemed to have been thoroughly corroded by strange gases and its original appearance couldn’t be discerned. All that was left was the basic function of gathering incense, plus the ability to emit a curse modified by the Mysterious Domain.

Could it be considered a Gui Device? An object of darkness?

Who knows what it could be considered.

Because of its strange functionalities, Wang Zijia took it out with a flip of his hand and kept it.