Nightfall

There were flowers blooming in any season on earth. Even in winter, one could still admire the Chimonanthus. Naturally, there would be flowers in autumn as well. Lanke Temple was renowned for its osmanthus in autumn. Ning Que hugged Sangsang, who was drenched in blood. For some reason, he thought of the osmanthus trees near the temple and beside solitary graves in the face of death.

Just then, the sword that had come from the skies was already very close to the black horse carriage. It would probably strike Sangsang and him in the next moment. He had not really seen the flying sword, but he had sensed it and knew that it was from the Sage of Sword, Liu Bai. That was why he knew that he and Sangsang would die soon. As such, he did not do anything but hug Sangsang closer to him and waited quietly.

However, what happened next was completely beyond Ning Que’s imagination The sword that was about to kill them matter-of-factly, tore through clouds and swept up against the black horse carriage and flew upwards!

The quiet Light of Buddha tapered off behind the horse carriage. The remnants of the ruins that was the back hall of Lanke Temple was like the autumn rain, isolated from the outside and then disappeared without a trace. All was silent.

Ning Que knew that the horse carriage had entered the world inside the chessboard completely. His nerves which were stretched to the extreme became relaxed suddenly. Sweat poured out from his pores like a torrential rain, drenching his entire body.

The Big Black Horse had also sensed the changes in its surrounding. It neighed happily and galloped on the quiet path. However, he had not run a few miles when the endless road suddenly seemed to break!

The road that was on a mountain in the world of the chessboard suddenly collapsed, turning into a cliff!

They had just escaped from a disastrous situation, so who could expect that they would encounter such a danger just after a while? The Big Black Horse could not stop in time, and its temper erupted in desperation, charging down the cliff while yelling.

There was a loud booming sound of collision. The black horse carriage landed on the ground heavily. The wheels broke through the ice of a puddle that was about to freeze over. Then, it crushed the hard icy ground and rushed toward the glacial sun.

The fierce collision caused Ning Que, who was sitting in the carriage to bounce up. He knocked his head heavily against the carriage panels. The pain caused him to awaken completely from the confusion that he faced earlier with the sudden change in the situation. He looked out of the window subconsciously, only saw a chunk of emptiness. The wilderness was dark and silent with an odd scattering of withered trees.  U.pdated b.y AllNovel

This was not Lanke Temple or the world in the chessboard. The white grass covered in frost had long died, and the fish in the puddle had long been frozen. It was still autumn, and the scene before him was somewhat familiar. However, he had never been here, so where were they?

Could this be the Wilderness? But the black horse carriage was still in front of the back temple of Lanke Temple just moments ago. How did it appear in the Wilderness the next second? Lanke Temple was in the southeast edge near the sea and was thousands of miles away from the Wilderness. What had happened to cause them to appear there?

Ning Que looked at sights of the Wilderness through the window and was shocked beyond words. When he recovered his wits, he looked at Sangsang, who was in his embrace, anxiously. He found that the girl was still very weak, but her life was not in danger. He could not help but heave a sigh of relief and waved his fist vigorously.

As long as Sangsang was still alive, as long as this wasn’t Lanke Temple, and as long as there wasn’t any Light of Buddha shining over the horse carriage, he did not care. He did not care even if they were in the Underworld, let alone if they had miraculously traveled thousands of miles to reach the Wilderness.

After galloping wildly for some distance, the Big Black Horse regained the wits it had lost after a close brush with death. It slowly stopped and looked around, panic-stricken, making sure that they weren’t at Lanke Temple and that it had not fallen off the damn cliff. Then, it began to pant with a lingering fear.

Sangsang woke up and opened her eyes with difficulty. She looked at the sky outside the window and realized that she had not died, and Ning Que had not died either. She felt a little bewildered and asked, “Where is this?”

Ning Que carried her closer to the window. He looked out of the window and thought in silence for a moment. He recalled an anecdote that Master Qishan had told him a few days ago, and could vaguely guess the truth in it. However, he still found it hard to believe everything that he had encountered even if he had seen it with his own eyes.

“If I have not guessed wrongly, we are now in the Western Wilderness.” He said.

Sangsang almost cried when she heard that. She said sadly, “There is a large piece of land separating the Western Wilderness and Tile mountain. How could we get there in such a short time? Are we dead? Is this the Underworld? We are already dead. Ning Que, why do you still like to lie to me?”

Ning Que wiped the tears from her pale face and coaxed her. “If you’re really dead, it wouldn’t matter if I lied to you. When have I lied to you when you were alive? This is really the Western Wilderness.”

Sangsang felt a little better, and she got up from his embrace and sat down. She looked out of the window and realized that this was indeed the Wilderness that was familiar to them. She was shocked.

“Master Qishan told me an anecdote about Lanke Temple a few days ago.”

Ning Que said thoughtfully, “It is said that when Buddha was cultivating in Tile mountain, he once sensed that there was somewhere that was vaguely linked to Xuankong Temple at the foot of the mountain. Therefore, he ordered his disciples to build Lanke Temple. After that, when he learned how to manipulate space, he built a simple Stone Tower to let monks reach the western holy land. I asked Master Qishan if the Array was still there, but he said that the powers that Buddha left behind had long expired after millennia. The Stone Tower had already turned into dust. In the legend, the monks in the temple built a Buddhist temple on the Stone Tower. It was the same temple as where we stayed earlier.”

Sangsang could not believe this explanation. She opened her eyes widely and asked, “Do you mean that the reason why we were sent here is because the master also activated the Stone Tower Array Buddha left behind as he activated the world in the chessboard?”

Ning Que shook his head and said, “Since the master thought that the space array left by Buddha had already expired, it certainly wasn’t activated by him. Something must have happened in Lanke Temple after the horse carriage entered the chessboard. However, we can’t find out what happened now, but it must have been something serious.”

The Stone Tower Array deep in the back temple of Lanke had been buried for many years. The powers left behind by Buddha had indeed been completely lost. However, the monks in the temple have constantly chanted and prayed, and it still retained the last vestiges of its power after being influenced by this spirit of Buddha for years.

Ning Que did not know what happened in Lanke Temple after the black horse carriage entered the chessboard. However, his guess was spot on. Whatever that had caused the array Buddha left behind to be activated again had to be serious.

At that moment, Qi Nian, the Buddhism Sect Wayfarer, broke his 16-year Silent Meditation, attempting to reverse the rules of the chessboard world forcibly, while Second Brother Jun Mo had thrown his iron sword with all his might.

The Buddhism Sect Silent Meditation and iron sword of the Academy were two of the strongest skills in the cultivation world today. Just one of the skills alone would not be sufficient to activate the array. However, when the two were used together, a magical change occurred.

The Buddha’s power hidden in the broken well had been touched and the Stone Tower Array was activated once more. Or perhaps, it was because the chessboard was one of Buddha’s belongings, thus causing the array to send to chessboard to the Western Wilderness.

Which was why when the black horse carriage rushed into the world in the chessboard, they naturally landed in the Wilderness.

“There is still another thing that I can’t figure out. Why were we able to rush out of the world in the chessboard?”

Ning Que was very confused.

Sangsang had already believed in their miraculous encounter and thought of another thing. Her face was slightly pale as she said, “If the array linked the Lanke Temple with Xuankong Temple, then, we must be…”

Ning Que looked at the grey bark and lush leaves of the Bodhi tree in the distance. He said with a grave expression, “Indeed, we should be near Xuankong Temple.”

The Big Black Horse was just feeling exhilarated having escaped death. It kicked its front hooves lightly against the black soil, wanting to see if it could find anything tasty like the yellow fruit to reward itself. It suddenly heard the voices carried from the carriage. His ears pricked up in fear and his body stiffened.

Because of their previous encounter in Lanke Temple, the monk in kasaya had made an indelible impression on him. To be more exact, he was extremely terrifying. That monk was from Xuankong Temple. To the Big Black Horse, any monk from Xuankong Temple was scary. Now that it had come to Xuankong Temple, it was just as seeking death!

The Big Black Horse forcibly suppressed the fear in its heart. It did not dare to whine, but turned around sneakily, preparing to run in the other direction. However, when it had turned around, it suddenly discovered that the scenery in all directions was almost identical. It did not know where Xuankong Temple was and which direction it should escape?

Ning Que placed Sangsang on the blankets carefully and walked out of the carriage. He shaded his eyes with his hands and looked up into the sky. He looked up seriously for a long while without saying anything.

The Big Black Horse was extremely anxious. How could Ning Que still be in the mood to admire the star-filled skies at a time like this? Looking at the glacier-like sun, it was obviously daytime. How could there be stars?

“Why have we not seen it?” Ning Que said in confusion, “Could it be that the array doesn’t lead to Xuankong Temple? But there was obviously something strange with that Bodhi tree.”

The Big Black Horse’s eyes brightened as it was filled with pride for its owner. Ning Que had thought that Xuankong Temple would be on the legendary Xuankong Island. So they would not have to worry if they mapped their journey by looking up at the sky.

Ning Que looked at the tiny mound in the distance. There was a smattering of green on it. He kicked the Big Black Horse’s butt lightly, signaling it to walk in that direction to check it out.

The Big Black Horse wriggled its butt in annoyance. It was not unhappy that Ning Que had kicked his butt, for it was used to it already. However, it felt that Ning Que’s decision was a little rash. In a place like the Wilderness, anything green was dangerous. Ning Que was someone who had killed the Horse Gang in the Wilderness in the past, how could it not know this?

Ning Que knew what the horse was thinking about, and he said in an irritated manner, “Do you think Xuankong Temple is on top of that mound? It’s such a small mud mound, and you can’t even put an incense burner on it. I want to see how a temple could appear on it.”

The Big Black Horse thought that Ning Que did make sense, and perhaps its mind had been muddled by fear. Ning Que was indeed his master, for he could still remain so calm after a brush with death.

The wheels rolled, and the black horse carriage drove towards the green mound in the distance.

Ning Que was still calm at the beginning. However, his expression turned solemn gradually as he discovered something odd.

At the Big Black Horse’s speed, the little mound seemed extremely far. However, it wouldn’t take them too long to reach it. However, they have traveled some distance, but the little mound still seemed far away.

Ning Que grew wary. He lifted the curtains and prepared to get the Big Black Horse to stop.

The Big Black Horse had already stopped. Its eyes were filled with terror, and its thick lips were tightly locked. It did not dare to reveal its great white teeth that it was very proud of because it did not even dare to breath.

Ning Que saw what laid before the horse carriage and stiffened. He was so shocked that he couldn’t breathe.

The Wilderness was about a few dozen feet before the black horse carriage. It suddenly fell steeply, forming a steep cliff. The terrain in the Wilderness was extremely flat, so one would not be able to see the sudden drop until they reach the cliff.

The sudden appearance of a cliff in the wild was indeed weird. However, what made Ning Que and the Big Black Horse so surprised that they did not even dare to breathe was not the cliff.

This cliff was extremely wide and spread across in four directions in front of the Wilderness. It seemed to be endless and extended into the sky before coming together again. It formed a pit that was extremely large and deep beyond imagination.

Ning Que stared at the shocking image before him and felt an intense feeling. Even if he placed the whole of Chang’an into the pit, he would not be able to fill it!

He once visited the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine and was shocked by the grand buildings that were built by the Desolate Man thousands of years ago. However, compared with this pit, the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine was but just a hut!

Right in the middle of the pit, stood an extremely majestic mountain peak. The peak seemed to be as tall as the highest peak of Min Mountain. However, the extreme depth of the pit made the peak look like a small protrusion from the ground!

The majestic mountain peak in the pit was at least a dozen miles away from the black horse carriage, which was at the side of the pit. The lush greenery on the peak was the green mound that Ning Que had seen earlier!

If someone could look down from high above the vast Western Wilderness, the peak in the pit would probably like a delicately designed bonsai. However, this large-scaled bonsai that had appeared in the mortal realm would definitely shock anyone who saw it for the first time.

Ning Que and the Big Black Horse were stunned, but they were not in the mood to admire or worship it. This was because several yellow temples were nestled in the magnificent peak inside the pit.

The temples in the peak was probably Xuankong Temple.

It could only be Xuankong Temple.

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