Chapter 30: Four Gods Hall’s Heart Examination
“This is bad, how much money will they deduct from me?”
Jiang Ce had a stern face, calling it bad luck.
He originally just wanted to verify his harvest, who knew he would get involved in such big trouble.
“Forget it, since I’m here,” Jiang Ce shook his head, casting aside unnecessary thoughts, and began to observe his surroundings.
This was a magnificent palace, with towering carved stone pillars supporting a dome adorned with bas-reliefs depicting mythological tales.
An ancient, solemn, and sacred aura permeated the entire space, a majestic and grand presence washing over him.
In the four corners of the palace stood four bronze statues, as tall as giants, their faces indistinct.
To the west was the Buddha, meditating under a Bodhi Tree.
To the east was the Dao Ancestor, leaning on a Green Ox.
To the north was the Martial Sage, in a sleeping posture, fishing by the riverbank.
To the south was the Sage of Literature, holding a scroll and speaking with powerful eloquence.
The majesty of the divine permeated the hall, making Jiang Ce, standing in the center, feel an irresistible urge to bow in worship.
“The Four Gods,” Jiang Ce murmured in realization.
“Dwelling in the world as a mayfly, a mere speck in the vast ocean.”
This was the most direct feeling Jiang Ce had facing the four bronze statues; he felt incredibly small at that moment.
He vaguely recalled Jie Tan saying that the Four Gods Hall was built by a Half-Immortal, and that even the bronze statues, mere imitations of true gods created by a Half-Immortal lacking divine essence, possessed such a strong sense of oppression. If it were a true god…
Jiang Ce couldn’t help but gasp.
And in the center of the Four Gods Hall, there was a white jade carved altar.
It seemed to emanate a magical power, urging Jiang Ce to step onto it quickly.
This made Jiang Ce a little strange, but after a brief hesitation, he walked straight onto it.
But as soon as he stepped onto the altar, a feeling of irritation inexplicably appeared in Jiang Ce’s heart.
It was the dissatisfaction and restlessness from being suppressed.
It was as if he had suffered great injustice, his heart filled with grief and indignation, making Jiang Ce feel incredibly uncomfortable.
“What’s going on, why all of a sudden…”
Faced with the unknown, even Jiang Ce, as casual as he was, couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
Just then, a grand voice directly entered Jiang Ce’s heart.
“To seek true liberation and transcend, to save all pitiful beings adrift in the Sea of Suffering and attain enlightenment, will you?”
Having read many Buddhist Scriptures, Jiang Ce almost instantly thought of the legend of Buddha Shakyamuni. He immediately intended to answer this easy question with a nod, but for some reason, the words on his lips refused to come out.
No matter how hard he tried, with all his might, until veins bulged, he couldn’t make a sound.
It wasn’t until Jiang Ce felt he was about to suffocate from holding back that an impulse pushed him to say what was on his mind.
“To transcend for the present moment, to attain enlightenment for myself!”
As soon as the words were out, Jiang Ce instinctively covered his mouth, his face filled with disbelief.
Can I only speak the truth?
He abruptly turned his head to look at the Buddha statue to the west, his eyes wide with horror.
This is bad, this is really bad, am I going to be possessed?
But contrary to his expectations, after hearing Jiang Ce’s answer, the voice did not speak again.
After a short while, a slightly hoarse voice came again.
“To cultivate oneself for transcendence, to seek truth for enlightenment, will you?”
The Dao Ancestor who wrote the Classic of the Way and Virtue!
Jiang Ce covered his mouth, not daring to make another sound, but no matter how long he waited, no further voice appeared.
That is to say, unless Jiang Ce gives the answer of his true thoughts, he will have to stay here forever.
Understanding this, Jiang Ce swallowed and spoke the harshest words in the most cowardly tone.
“Transcend through benefiting oneself, prove the Dao by defining truth.”
It’s ruined, it’s ruined, it’s ruined!
Jiang Ce felt like he was about to cry. These opposing ideologies were surely offending both the Buddha and the Dao Ancestor, weren’t they?
But he was like an Italian forced to watch the process of making pineapple pizza; though in pain, he had to watch.
“Offer respect to oneself to transcend, offer benevolence to others to prove the Dao, is that acceptable?”
Hearing this from the Sage of Literature, Confucius, Jiang Ce felt he was probably doomed.
Still different!
“Offer respect to others to transcend, offer benevolence to oneself to prove the Dao.”
Following closely was the core ideology of the Martial Sage, Jiang Ziya:
“Stabilize the nation to transcend, pacify the realm to achieve the Dao, is that acceptable?”
Jiang Ce breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had grasped the main theme correctly. At least one of them matched.
But he opened his mouth, and no sound came out. Then he suddenly thought of something, his expression turned mournful again, and he spoke with great difficulty, trembling:
“Uh, well… it’s okay, but it’s not suitable for now. It’s very good now.”
The Martial Sage’s voice disappeared, signifying the end of the trial of Jiang Ce’s true heart.
Jiang Ce stood there blankly for a long time, and nothing unusual happened.
No one knows what he was thinking; perhaps he had lost his mind, or perhaps he was just subconsciously seeking death.
“Is that all? Didn’t you say there were benefits? Where are they?”
The moment these words left his mouth, the white jade carved altar suddenly sank downwards.
Caught off guard and losing his balance, Jiang Ce fell to the ground with a plop. He instinctively grabbed the armrest of the altar and looked around nervously.
“What’s going on?”
Directly above the altar, four pillars of light of different colors, unseen by him, were circling his head from the bronze statues, locking onto Jiang Ce, intending to blast him to death on the altar.
The sinking of the altar was due to their impact!
However, they could not advance an inch.
Because a shadowy divine being firmly protected Jiang Ce, a mere stirring of its tentacles was enough to confuse the direction of the four beams of light, causing them to spin erratically.
The divine statues had spirits. Seeing their attack obstructed, they immediately increased their power.
The four beams of light suddenly became even more potent.
Yet, even with the divine statue’s all-out effort, it could not shake the shadowy divine being one bit.
On the contrary, the shadowy divine being’s form, initially calm, became restless, and finally, ferocious.
It was like a deity standing at the highest point being provoked by mortals.
The shadowy divine being opened its massive maw.
A black mist, filled with the aura of death and confusion, spewed out, engulfing the four beams of light, corroding and melting them, and finally devouring them.
The obscure radiance of the four divine statues suddenly dimmed considerably, and their inexplicable pressure gradually dissipated.
They retreated!
Faced with the shadowy divine being’s phantom, they were helpless.
Unaware of all this, Jiang Ce only felt the altar beneath him vibrate. Feeling nauseated by the jolting, he swallowed the sweet and bloody taste that had risen to his throat, and could not resist complaining.
“Damn it, is this my punishment? Even so, this altar is so indecent! What is this…”
Is this a shrine or some kind of rave?
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Ce instinctively swallowed the latter half of his sentence and his stomach acid back down.
I couldn’t even imagine what would happen to me if I even dared to say this, let alone the punishment I’d receive for answering those questions!
Jiang Ce only stood up after the altar finally stopped shaking.
It was at this very moment that the evil god’s phantom silently returned to Jiang Ce’s body.
Jiang Ce’s body trembled, and he inexplicably felt that his Power had become much more solid.
Although his Realm hadn’t changed, Jiang Ce felt that the channels through which Power flowed in his Body were clearer and more substantial.
If I were to draw an analogy, it would be like the equipment’s performance hasn’t changed, but the energy source has gone from a lithium battery to a micro-reactor.
Jiang Ce, sensing this, and unsure if it was confidence or an illusion, felt that if it were him now, he could probably crush the Ghosts and Monsters in the Western-style Building without even needing the Soul Soothing Technique.
“Oh my god!” Jiang Ce exclaimed, a mix of surprise and joy: “So even getting the questions wrong comes with a reward?”
He lowered his head and stroked the Armrest of the altar, realizing with a sudden understanding: “I thought it was an altar, but after all this, it’s just a concrete compaction table?”
