There were no proper records of the decline of the immortal path and the death of immortals. Although there were many versions of legends, most of them were hearsay and wild imaginations. None of them were related to the truth of history.
The closest one was the depletion of spirit energy, leading to the decline of the immortal path.
Even so, no new cultivators or immortals would be born. Many of the great immortals of the past should have survived, just like Buddha who had lived for more than three thousand and seven hundred years.
But in reality, other than the remnant soul of the Unending Nature Landscape, Du Li, who was a real immortal, Lin Jin had never seen anyone else. Buddha was the second immortal he saw and he was a living immortal.
This meant that under normal circumstances, immortals should have been able to survive until now.
Why not?
Some people said that the laws of nature had changed, causing the immortals to experience the decay of the heavens. No one could withstand the passage of time, so they all died. But the fact that Buddha was still alive proved this theory wrong.
Lin Jin speculated that it must have something to do with that Rank 9 immortal devouring beast.
Was it possible that an immortal devouring beast stronger than immortals had appeared, causing the world to change back then?
Immortals didn't die of old age but were killed by immortal devouring beasts. Otherwise, why would the museum give that claw the title of 'immortal devouring beast'?
Lin Jin didn't hold back on his speculations. He shared his evaluation results with his conjectures. Be it Xuan Jue or Daluo Temple's abbot, both of them were dumbfounded. Unable to find any rebuttal, they could only nod in agreement.
"I noticed that Buddha was shrouded in an aura of death that day. He must be nearing the end of his lifespan …" Lin Jin said. Xuan Jue nodded. "That's right. You're right about that. Buddha told me himself that he would pass away in five days at most."
Once again, Lin Jin's conjecture was confirmed.
"It was my fault. If Buddha hadn't dispelled my Vulcan's Edict, that immortal devouring beast might not have noticed …" Lin Jin revealed an important speculation.
Why did the beast claw have to show up right after Buddha cast the Thousand Leaf Buddha Palm?
The only logical explanation was that Buddha had revealed his immortal aura and that was how the immortal devouring beast appeared.
Hearing this, the Abbot's expression changed and Xuan Jue was stunned.
The two monks were silent for a long time. The abbot chanted the name of Buddha, and Xuan Jue said, "This matter may have something to do with Fellow Daoist, but when Buddha made his move, he must have known about this. That's why he wanted to meet Fellow Daoist. I understand. I can only blame myself for not thinking of this at that time."
It was obvious that Xuan Jue was a little upset.
The abbot noticed this as well. However, he was not in a bad state of mind. He knew that the Curator was not to be blamed for this matter. Buddha had invited the Curator over for a chat at his last moments. This was a message to everyone in Daluo Temple that they were not to hold any grudges against the Curator.
They were all eminent monks, so they would definitely be able to think of this.
Aside from that, Buddha seemed to have another layer of meaning to him. All three of them, including Lin Jin, could tell, especially Lin Jin. He remembered Buddha saying that he and Lin Jin were fated and that their paths were intertwined.
Buddhism was particular about karma. It was because of the Curator's ascension that led to Buddha's death. Their fates must have been intertwined and Buddha was asking Lin Jin to take care of Daluo Temple.
"It's precisely because of this that I want to tell Master Xuan Jue that there's nothing we can do right now. A Rank 9 beast isn't something we can handle with our current capabilities. Forget the fact that we don't know the enemy's background, even if we did, what could we do? Besides, if my previous speculation is correct, then how could an Immortal Devouring Beast be able to annihilate all the cultivators in the world? "
At Lin Jin's words, both Xuan Jue and the abbot's expressions changed.
They clearly agreed with Lin Jin. If there wasn't just one immortal devouring beast, but hundreds or even thousands of them, forget Xuan Jue and the Curator, even the combined forces of all the major countries in the world wouldn't stand a chance.
Even premium countries didn't have a Rank 9 beast.
Forget a Rank 9 beast, even Rank 8 beasts only existed in legends.
The meditation room fell into silence. Goldy couldn't stand the atmosphere anymore so he jumped down and walked out of the room to catch some bugs.
"You're right, Curator," the abbot said as he put his palms together and bowed.
Speaking of which, he was also involved in karma. It was his battle with the Curator earlier, otherwise, he wouldn't have …
Lin Jin got up and Shang'er in her fox form immediately followed him.
Xuan Jue asked, "You're leaving, Brother?"
Lin Jin nodded. "I've troubled you for a long time. I still have important matters to attend to so I won't disturb you any longer."
Lin Jin wasn't just making an excuse. He really did have something important to attend to, and that was to find White Ape. Of course, Lin Jin was willing to stay at Daluo Temple for three days not only because he needed time to think, but also because he subconsciously believed that White Ape was no match for Zhi Yin.
Through their interactions, Lin Jin learned that Daluo Temple had true experts. Putting aside the likes of Xuan Jue and the abbot, even the rectors of their respective halls were formidable. Among the monks of the 'Zhi' generation, Zhi Nian was the one with the most wisdom and the highest attainment in Buddhism. Zhi Yin, on the other hand, was the strongest among the 'Zhi' generation.
Although White Ape wasn't bad, he still paled in comparison to Zhi Yin. Lin Jin had a feeling that Zhi Yin might bring White Ape back to Daluo Temple within these three days.
But he didn't.
According to the abbot, if it was just to subdue a monster, Zhi Yin shouldn't have taken so long to return to the temple regardless of whether he succeeded or not. Even if he was delayed, he should have informed the temple through a messenger bird.
But in reality, Zhi Yin seemed to have disappeared and Daluo Temple was panicking.
Hence, Lin Jin had reason to suspect that something had happened to White Ape. Since he couldn't interfere with Buddha and the immortal devouring beast for now, Lin Jin could only put it aside for now and focus on the task at hand.
There was one thing Lin Jin didn't tell Xuan Jue and the others.
Even if Buddha was nearing the end of his lifespan, he was still an immortal so he shouldn't have been captured without putting up a fight. Hence, it was probably Buddha's intention.
Firstly, he didn't want Daluo Temple's destruction to implicate others. Secondly, he planned to investigate the door behind the beast's claw and fight the immortal devouring beast to the death.
That was highly possible.
However, Lin Jin wasn't optimistic about it. The information that the Rank 9 immortal devouring beast revealed in the Museum of Deadly Beasts was too overwhelming. Buddha might not be a match for it.
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