Chapter 50: Chapter 35: Stone Pagoda Suppresses the Demon

After that, there was a three-year drought in the Wuji Kingdom, until that mysterious State Preceptor came to this place and summoned the Sweet Rain through magic.

After its death, the resentful Water God transformed into this monster fish, stirring up storms and disturbing the peace of Qing Lake.

"What a clever scheme indeed, waiting for Tang Monk and his disciples to expose the fake king’s true identity so that the Buddhist Sect could openly preach here, not completely killing the Water God was also to pave the way for the Buddhist Sect to demonstrate its holiness in the future," Lin Fang speculated to himself.

The calculations of the Buddhist Sect can truly be described as intricately connected, detailed from the big picture down to every single detail, causing Lin Fang to be thoroughly astonished.

The thought that he was still wanted by the Buddhist Sect gave Lin Fang a headache, as he could never fully escape these troubles.

The Water God’s resentfulness had already dissipated. The once turbulent Qing Lake gradually returned to calm, the dark clouds spread apart, and golden sunlight shone on the lake surface, sparkles flickering; Lin Fang stood above the lake surface, quietly admiring the beautiful scene of this moment.

On the shore, when the people saw Qing Lake become calm, they all let out joyful cheers; these past years, they had lived in fear, and their livelihood of fishing had mostly ceased, leaving their lives difficult. Now, seeing the monster eliminated and thinking about the good days ahead, their faces all showed joyful expressions.

When Lin Fang walked over from the lake, the delighted crowd had already surrounded him in the center, continuously expressing their words of thanks.

"Taoist priest, your divine skills are vast, releasing our Shangtan Village from this calamity. This small gift is not much to show our respect," said the village chief as he presented a plate, covered with a teal silk cloth.

Lifting the silk, the plate revealed many silver taels, likely collected by the villagers.

Lin Fang glanced at the silver, flashed a slight smile, and gently pushed the plate back, laughing and saying, "I appreciate your sentiment, but for a practitioner, money and possessions are unimportant."

"However, although this demon has been removed, the calamity still lingers. The resentments have deeply embedded themselves in the soil, if not eradicated, I fear it may cause trouble again in the future."

Upon hearing this, the village chief’s face instantly turned pale with fright; if this demon reappeared, without this Taoist priest, they might all become food for the monster.

"Taoist priest, please help us through to the end; think of a comprehensive way to eliminate this calamity. The people of Shangtan Village are willing to build you a temple, offering daily incense," the old village chief said eagerly.

"That won’t be necessary. Is there a Great Blue Stone here?"

"Yes, yes, there’s a large blue stone at the village entrance where we villagers often sit and chat," said the village chief, though he did not know why Lin Fang was asking about the Great Blue Stone, he quickly showed him the way.

Following the village chief’s directions, Lin Fang walked to the village entrance and indeed saw an enormous blue stone; perhaps because it had been frequently sat upon, the stone looked especially bright. Lin Fang surveyed it up and down, then nodded satisfactorily saying, "Not bad, it’ll do!"

Under the astonished gaze of the villagers, Lin Fang used his mana to levitate the blue stone into the air, spewing a surge of flames from his mouth; stone chips fell, and in less than a moment, the stone had turned into a stone pagoda.

Lin Fang gently tossed the stone pagoda into Qing Lake, uttered incantations and a stone pillar grew from the lake’s bottom, supporting the pagoda; he flitted to the side of the pagoda and slowly imprinted a mysterious Sanskrit inscription, the very one previously consumed by the paper figures.

He took out the divine seal left by the deceased Water God and placed it there, a mysterious power swept across Qing Lake, drawing numerous aquatic races to the stone pagoda. Schools of fish joyfully circled around, creating a beautiful scene.

A faint power of faith gradually gathered on the stone pagoda, part of which flowed into the belly of the paper figures through the Sanskrit connections, revealing a shining golden Sanskrit on its stomach that looked solemn and holy.

Feeling the changes in the paper figures inside the Glazed Glass Tower, Lin Fang sighed softly. The methods of the Buddhist Sect were indeed formidable; through this process, they could continuously collect the faith of the Three Realms at an alarming rate, and it was estimated that their power would increase tremendously within a few centuries.

Thinking of the innumerable fearless Buddhist Soldiers, nurtured by the power of faith and wielding magical treasures charging forward, Lin Fang felt an eerie chill.

However, for the sake of their so-called plan, they dared to kill a divine spirit with a divine duty, not fearing detection by the Heavenly Court. Were they perhaps underestimating the Supreme of the heavens?

After all, he was the master who had governed the Three Realms for many years, balanced various forces, and secured his position as the Heavenly Emperor with peaches as bait. He was not someone easily deceived.

But then again, Lin Fang thought, what does it have to do with him? After all, he was just a little monster mingling in the Three Realms; if he couldn’t provoke them, couldn’t he just avoid them?

Turning back to the shore, looking at the reverent yet fearful expressions of the people, Lin Fang simply said, "I have used the stone pagoda to suppress the negative energy here. Henceforth, you shall have peace and safety. On the second day of March every year, you need to worship the stone pagoda to seek its protection, and it will guard your village from sickness and disaster."

The reason Lin Fang said this was also for his own magical treasure, as he possessed the Dharma Technique from the Buddhist Sect to use the power of faith, which could enhance the quality of the Glazed Glass Tower through such means.

Hearing this, the village chief hastily nodded and agreed, "Rest assured, Immortal Elder. As long as there is one person in Shangtan Village, we will worship it annually."

"I know you, noble and high-minded, do not care for worldly possessions. Please stay a little longer, so that we can prepare some drinks to properly express our gratitude," the village chief added. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

However, Lin Fang did not wish to stay, as the death of the Water God involved the Buddhist Sect, and the longer he stayed, the more likely he was to leave clues. If the Buddhist Sect traced these back to him, it would not be good.

Therefore, he politely declined, "There is no need; I am but an outsider, already long since fasting. I appreciate your kindness, Village Chief, but I must take my leave now!"

With that said, he summoned clouds beneath his feet and headed straight for the capital of Wuji Kingdom.

Countless villagers in Shangtan Village knelt on the ground, grateful for Lin Fang’s grace. And this deed was passed down by word of mouth in Shangtan Village, later penned by a scholar into a story titled: "Demon Disturbance in Shangtan Village, Little Immortal Elder’s Pagoda Suppressing the Demon."

Not long after Lin Fang left, Da Zhuang, leading a group of young men from Shangtan Village, returned to the village with the silver taels taken from a swindler, looking dejected.

They felt they had let down the elders and folk of their village, having given them such great hope, only to dash it again.

"Don’t lose heart, everyone. Thankfully, we’ve reclaimed our money. In the future, we’ll find a Taoist priest with powerful mana to perform a demon exorcism, and our Shangtan Village will return to its former state," Da Zhuang said, suppressing the misery in his heart and trying to comfort everyone.

However, everyone still felt disheartened. They had repeated this so many times already; each time, they went with hope and returned with disappointment.