Inside Daluo Temple, everyone wore solemn expressions. Three days ago, Daluo Temple announced to the public that it would be closing its doors. The inner lake was sealed off and guarded by pet beasts. Even the rectors weren't allowed inside.
Most of the monks did not know what the beast claw was or what it did three days ago. Only a few smart ones could guess a little, but they did not dare to say anything, much less discuss it in private.
For the past three days, the atmosphere inside Daluo Temple had been eerie and depressing.
Inside one of Daluo Temple's rooms, Lin Jin was fiddling with a silver needle in his hand as he sat cross-legged on his bed, deep in thought. Goldy looked around while the six-tailed fox stared at Lin Jin. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and the little fox turned to look.
"Come in!"
Lin Jin said.
Xuan Jue and the abbot pushed the door open and entered.
Only these two were here.
They had been coming every day for the past three days.
Lin Jin had already told Xuan Jue and the abbot about what happened three days ago. Halfway through his explanation, Buddha seemed to have sensed something. Then, there was a loud noise and a beast claw came down from above, snatching Buddha away.
Even Lin Jin wasn't able to react in time.
Of course, it wasn't that he couldn't react in time. If he really wanted to fight, Lin Jin could do it. But the problem was, after he attacked, he heard Buddha's voice.
"Don't interfere, my friend. Let's part ways here!"
If even Lin Jin could react in time, how could an expert like Buddha be able to? There was no doubt that Buddha allowed himself to be captured by the beast claw on purpose.
But why?
This question had been bothering Lin Jin for the past three days.
Lin Jin told Xuan Jue and the abbot everything. Of course, there were some things he didn't tell them as well. For example, Lin Jin's needle had pierced that giant beast claw.
In other words, the Museum of Deadly Beasts already had information on that giant beast claw.
But it was precisely because of this that Lin Jin felt afraid.
Currently, the strongest pet beast Lin Jin had recorded in the Museum of Deadly Beasts was actually the 'Golden Crow'. It was a feather he obtained from the Nine-heavens World that was included in the collection.
The Golden Crow was a Rank 7 mythical bird.
Up until now, it was the highest rank. But three days ago, it wasn't.
"Immortal devouring beast, Rank 9 …"
This was the information Lin Jin had collected on that giant beast claw. That was why his fingers were trembling.
To the current Lin Jin, a Rank 9 was an existence he couldn't hope to defeat. It might even be the highest level of existence.
Lin Jin had seen the full appearance of this Rank 9 immortal devourer in the museum. It was the largest beast he had ever seen, or rather, a monster.
If he really revealed his entire body, he would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with a mountain.
For the past three days, besides contemplating, Lin Jin had also been resting and waiting to see if Buddha would return to tell him everything he had left unfinished, telling him what had happened in the past three days.
However, it was obvious that he couldn't wait for the Buddha to return.
Not only was this the truth, but Lin Jin was also able to come to this conclusion after careful analysis.
In terms of battle prowess, even if the Buddha was at his peak, he might not be able to defeat the Immortal Devouring Beast, not to mention that the Buddha had already revealed the aura of death, revealing the so-called Five Signs of Decay of the Heavens.
Even without the Immortal Devouring Beast's attack, the Buddha wouldn't be able to live for long.
Also, Lin Jin was trying to figure out why the Immortal Devouring Beast would suddenly attack at that moment. More importantly, Lin Jin realized that the Buddha seemed to have predicted it.
Xuan Jue and the abbot had already entered. Xuan Jue sat at the side as the abbot didn't dare to sit.
After all, Xuan Jue was the abbot's Progenitor. How could he dare to sit in front of the Progenitor? Even when he accompanied Xuan Jue here for the past few days, he had been standing at the back, not daring to say a word.
Basically, he was here to listen to Xuan Jue and the Curator's conversation.
Xuan Jue sat down and asked, "Do you have a solution?"
Three days ago, the monks of Daluo Temple were powerless. The beast claw came and went as quickly as it came. Moreover, it was so mysterious that no one knew where it came from. Even if they wanted to take revenge, it was impossible.
Xuan Jue knew that the Curator was no ordinary person so he placed all his hopes on the Curator, hoping to find a solution.
Lin Jin didn't tell Xuan Jue and the other monks the truth because there were many things he didn't understand. Fortunately, after three days of contemplation, Lin Jin had at least a theory.
It might not be the truth, but at least he had a direction.
Seeing Xuan Jue's hopeful expression, the masked Lin Jin shook his head. Xuan Jue's expression changed. "Are we just going to do nothing?"
Lin Jin asked, "Master Xuan Jue, how long have you been following Buddha?"
Xuan Jue thought for a moment before answering, "One hundred and thirty years ago, I met Buddha. Back then, I stayed by his side, secluding myself from the world to focus on cultivating Buddhism."
Lin Jin nodded. Buddha must have been hiding in that secret realm at the bottom of the lake. There was a secret technique down there that could isolate one's aura. Hence, for the past hundred years, no one had discovered the secret of the lake.
In other words, no one had discovered the Buddha for more than a thousand years after he had hidden in there.
Buddha had most likely allowed Xuan Jue to enter because he wanted to find a successor. Although Xuan Jue's cultivation level was still far from Buddha's immortal realm, he had cultivated according to ancient cultivation methods so he was probably just below immortals. In other words, Xuan Jue's cultivation was entirely based on his own abilities. In terms of spiritual energy volume, even the most powerful blood contract cultivator couldn't compare to Xuan Jue.
However, Xuan Jue's cultivation method was no longer suitable for the current laws of nature. He had relied on Buddha to slowly build up his cultivation over the past hundred years. Now that Buddha was gone, it was impossible for Xuan Jue to improve his cultivation level unless he changed his blood contract or trained his pet beast.
However, even if he didn't do so, Xuan Jue's strength was still unparalleled in this world. Even without his pet beast, he could fight the Abbot's four guardian beasts to a draw with his own strength.
From another perspective, Xuan Jue was the one who had followed Buddha the longest.
"Master Xuan Jue, do you know why Buddha chose to seclude himself in that secret realm at the bottom of the lake?" Lin Jin asked. Xuan Jue shook his head. He really didn't know the reason.
There must be a reason why Buddha chose to seclude himself from the world. But since Buddha didn't want to talk about it, Xuan Jue didn't dare to ask. While he had his doubts and curiosity, he could only suppress them.
Lin Jin then told Xuan Jue his speculation.
"From what I see, that beast claw that appeared out of nowhere must have something to do with the fall of the immortals back then …"
This was the conclusion Lin Jin came up with after three days of deep thought. It wasn't a sudden thought.
Buddha might have secluded himself from the world because he had experienced the fall of the immortals so he must have known a lot of inside information. The fact that he could survive until now spoke volumes.
Being a smart man, Xuan Jue said at once, "Could it be that the beast claw that appeared three days ago …"
He was obviously trying to say that the beast claw was related to the fall of the immortals.
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