Chapter 76: Chapter 61: Great Inspirational King

Even at this moment, he still did not want this innocent young man to become entangled because of him, a simplicity and kindness that made Lin Fang also feel ashamed.

"I’m not afraid, what are you afraid of, let’s go!" Lin Fang’s voice came gently, and Chen Yi looked up to see a figure already walking toward the Inspiration King’s Temple.

At this moment, the reluctance to part with the child spurred him to get up and follow behind Lin Fang.

A few Little Monsters had already hidden inside the pagoda, only the White Ape, transformed into a white-clad swordsman, was standing guard in front of the temple door.

"Is there no one in the temple?"

The White Ape gently shook its head, having already confirmed it; the temple was empty, with only two children sitting desolately in front of the deity statue on the offering table.

"It’s almost time for the Great Inspirational King to feast on the boy and girl, who would dare to stay here, in case the monster is in a bad mood and eats them too."

In fact, it was Chen Yi who came running after and gave the reason. Although the villagers all nominally revered him as the Great Inspirational King and ceaselessly made offerings, everyone clearly understood that this was a man-eating monster.

On hearing this, Lin Fang smiled; that was good, it spared him the trouble of facing a group of unarmed mortals. If they were to impede them, it would indeed make things difficult for him.

Pushing open the temple doors, what came into view was an exceptionally tall and burly Immortal General clad in golden armor, wielding a copper hammer, imposing and awe-inspiring. Below him was a red offering table with fruits arranged on it, and in the center were two lacquered red wooden plates, on which two delicate-looking children were sitting, eating the fruit.

Seeing Chen Yi behind Lin Fang, the boy on the left plate suddenly started crying out, continuously calling out for his dad.

At this, Chen Yi felt as if his heart was breaking; all fear of the Great Inspirational King had vanished from his mind. He rushed to the offering table, intending to lift his child out.

However, a transparent barrier appeared out of nowhere, stopping Chen Yi in his tracks. The immense force made him back away involuntarily several steps, causing him to fall and sit on the ground.

"Mao Mao, don’t cry, Daddy’s here, Daddy’s here," Chen Yi called out while continuously banging against the barrier.

However, how could a mere mortal destroy a barrier made of mana? No matter how much Chen Yi struck it, even if his head bled, the barrier did not change at all, no wonder the Great Inspirational King was so confident.

The White Ape slowly drew its sword, its aura surging, about to strike, its sharp presence lingering in the temple. Chen Yi felt all the hair on his body stand on end; he looked at the White Ape, who had been silently standing by Lin Fang’s side, with surprise and suddenly felt a flicker of hope.

However, Lin Fang stopped the White Ape from swinging its sword, laughing as he said, "Don’t rush to strike yet. The moment we break the barrier, the Great Inspirational King will instantly sense it and rush here, endangering their lives unnecessarily."

Having said that, he slowly moved forward, extended his hand, and in front of Chen Yi’s eyes, the seemingly impenetrable barrier appeared to vanish. Lin Fang’s hand easily passed through the barrier and lifted the crying little boy out.

Chen Yi couldn’t help but rub his eyes, still somewhat in disbelief as he watched his son, now by his side.

Only when the child clung to his legs, calling out ’Daddy,’ did Chen Yi confirm that this was indeed his son.

"In this world, everything is easy once you find its pattern," Lin Fang said softly.

He had speculated earlier that the Great Inspirational King came from the Buddhist Sect and grew up in the Bodhisattva’s pond. Therefore, his spells naturally carried the mark of the Buddhist Sect. Fortunately, Lin Fang, having delved into Buddhist spells through the Purple Gold Alms Bowl and acquiring mysterious Sanskrit, had tried them out, and the results were unexpectedly good.

Chen Yi, having realized the situation, tightly hugged his child. After a while, he quickly grasped his son’s hand and started kowtowing on the ground.

Lin Fang took the baffled little girl from the plate and then said, "Take the two children and go first, find a hidden spot to hide."

"Aren’t you coming with us, Taoist priest?" Chen Yi asked, puzzled.

"I need to stay here to meet the Great Inspirational King. Besides, if we all leave, what will happen to the people in your village?"

Chen Yi suddenly fell silent. He had been caught up in the excitement and hadn’t thought that far ahead. Now reminded by Lin Fang, he realized that if the Great Inspirational King found the offerings missing, he might become furious and possibly cause a flood that could submerge the village.

The silent Chen Yi then saw Lin Fang pull a white paper figure from his bosom, throw it into the air, and gently blow on it. Instantaneously, the paper figure transformed into the likeness of a little girl, albeit with a somewhat blank expression.

"Do you think she looks like this little girl?"

"Yes, exactly alike!" Chen Yi examined the little girl up and down, then looked at his own child in his arms and exclaimed in amazement.

Upon hearing this, Lin Fang transformed himself into Chen Yi’s child and started hopping around beside Chen Yi.

"Taoist priest, please spare me from this torment and return to your true form," Chen Yi said anxiously.

"Looking at how I appear, do you think the Great Inspirational King could spot the difference?" Lin Fang asked in a crisp child-like voice.

"No, he can’t see any!"

"That’s good. Now take the two children and hide. I’ll wait here for the Great Inspirational King to show up."

After giving these instructions, Lin Fang, with the paper figure turned little girl, went straight into the barrier, sat down in the plate, and closed his eyes to meditate.

Seeing this, Chen Yi pulled the two children to their knees to kowtow, then retreated outside the temple gate.

"Aren’t you going to hide, White Ape?" Lin Fang asked with a smile.

"I’ll hide behind the statue. When he comes, I’ll give him a thrust with my sword to test his mettle," the White Ape said coldly, gently stroking his sword, eagerness for battle shimmering in his eyes. This sword had not been unsheathed for a long while.

Night gradually fell, darkness enveloping the land. The temple surroundings were silent as death, and a silver moon rose from the horizon, casting silvery moonlight over the Celestial River, making it sparkle.

Suddenly, a figure burst from the bottom of the Tongtian River, soared into the air, stabilized its posture, and then walked straight toward the Inspiration King’s Temple.

This individual had a face covered with scales and long whiskers above his lips. His body was rotund, clearly the current occupier of the Celestial River water mansion, the Great Inspirational King.

The Great Inspirational King descended from the clouds into his temple courtyard. From afar, he saw the boy and girl sitting in the plate and immediately displayed a satisfied smile on his face.

"Ha ha, not bad, the people of Chen Family Village are quite trustworthy," he laughed as he walked into his temple. Upon entering, he saw his majestic statue and felt thoroughly pleased. He had heard that the temples of Bodhisattvas might look like this, and he felt extremely proud in his heart.