Chapter 787 - 501: Ancient Temple, Ghostly Statues! (Double-Length)

Chapter 787: Chapter 501: Ancient Temple, Ghostly Statues! (Double-Length)

Heaven knows how these relics buried under this rocky mound have been preserved so intact.

These temple chambers appear merely dilapidated, rather than just a pile of ruins or simply a heap of broken bricks and rubble.

Just as Song Changming was about to step into the ruins to take a look, several spectral figures suddenly flew out from within, resembling human shapes, heading straight for him.

Song Changming prepared to act, but the God-devouring Saber at his waist moved slightly.

After a brief thought, he drew the Treasure Saber, and in the next moment, the blade came into contact with the oncoming spectral figures.

Roar!

The Evil Beast in the saber leaped out, biting onto the spectral figure, dragging it right into the blade.

Then it jumped out again, seizing the remaining two spectral figures and pulling them in as well.

Song Changming observed that his God-devouring Saber seemed to be feasting on these spectral ghosts, and inside the blade, the Evil Beast tore them apart with ease.

These spectral figures seemed to have encountered their nemesis, unable to escape the clutches of the Evil Beast, nor flee from Song Changming’s God-devouring Saber.

Within moments, the Evil Beast Blade Spirit devoured everything, even leaving a somewhat insatiable expression.

"So you have a taste for this," Song Changming remarked, as if having made a new discovery.

He knew that this God-devouring Saber had a penchant for devouring the souls of powerful beings, but he hadn’t expected it to be interested in these roaming ghostly forms as well.

In that case, next time when the Evil Beast grows restless, he might take a trip to An Province, where there were similar ghosts and evil spirits.

Song Changming then stepped into the ruins before him.

He could feel the eerie atmosphere of the temple, much like the haunted ancient temples often described in ghost stories, always unsettling.

Entering the courtyard, he found it filled with rubble, with some fallen wall fragments scattered about.

Suddenly, Song Changming heard the sound of a large broom sweeping the ground, causing him to glance sideways.

Indeed, there was a broom sweeping the rubble and dirt in the courtyard, but no person holding it was visible.

The divine light in Song Changming’s eyes grew stronger as his Spiritual Power infused his eyes, enhancing his use of the Spirit Rhinoceros Eye Technique.

After blinking and looking again, he saw an extra figure beside each broom.

They wore simple monk robes, with bald heads, but what was peculiar was that although their hands moved, their stiff faces all turned towards him, staring straight at him, expressionless.

"I really have arrived at a haunted place..." Song Changming muttered to himself, not frightened by these spectral figures, but instead, he stepped closer.

"Where is this place?" Song Changming suddenly asked those sweeping monks.

He wanted to see if these monk ghosts could communicate with him.

Unfortunately, the sweeping monks remained silent, only their eyes continued to stare at him, making the atmosphere increasingly eerie.

Seeing this, Song Changming bypassed the sweeping monks and stepped into the main hall of the temple.

Inside, against the walls, there were two rows of stone statues, not ordinary deities but some bizarre and grotesque monster forms, resembling some ugly Demon Race.

Some had long noses covering their faces, some had half hands and half wings, and others were covered in bumps with eyes on their feet.

Their appearances were strange and varied, unlike any beings Song Changming had ever seen, not recorded in any ancient texts of the Human Race.

Among the statues, the most striking was the one in the center of the temple.

It stood high and mighty, with no other statue at its side, the largest of them all.

Its shape was humanoid, with a face resembling a dragon but more sinister, narrow sinister eyes, and a half-open mouth, neither smiling nor frowning. No matter where Song Changming stood, it seemed he could always meet its gaze.

Its demon body’s lower half was twisted, coiled like a bolt, with hands most resembling human hands, akin to slender women’s hands.

One hand hung down, and the other held a shape like a lotus bud in front of its body.

The strangest part was that after gazing at this statue for a while, Song Changming inexplicably sensed a hint of Buddha Nature or sanctity emanating from this peculiar creature.

He himself didn’t know how he discerned this.

And as he sensed the Buddha Nature’s sanctity, he suddenly realized it felt as if the surrounding statues were also watching him, causing ripples even in his rock-solid heart.

An inexplicable unease, an inexplicable irritation.

In his ears, he heard a resonant sound, like chanting voices.

In the temple, there was also a mat for worship, and with the sound of chanting, he noticed that at some point, a group of monks had appeared on the previously empty mat, chanting and murmuring there.

However, they neither bowed their heads nor closed their eyes, nor did they appear devout.

Like the sweeping monks outside and like the statues, they too stared at Song Changming with open eyes, necks twisted, expressionless, chanting as if it was directed for Song Changming alone to hear.

Song Changming couldn’t decipher the meaning of their chanting, nor could he identify the language.

Listening for a while, he felt an increasing urge to worship, even feeling an impulse to prostrate before the statue.

He was supposed to do this, meant to do this!

The moment this thought arose, Song Changming instinctively activated the Heaven Lifting Divine Technique.

Rationality instantly pulled him back, calming his turbulent emotions.

Looking again at the temple hall before him, Song Changming’s expression had become stern, and the chanting he heard could no longer disturb him, gradually fading away.