“So you’re just going to throw me in whichever police station for ten days or two weeks!”
“Fine, that’s what you said!”
Leo’s eyes flickered as he smiled meaningfully. “If I help you find the thief, what do I get out of it?”
“The Public Security Bureau has already issued a reward. You’ll definitely get your share.” Madame’s slight fondness for Leo disappeared when she saw how greedy he was.
Leo shook his head and said calmly, “Money is just a worldly possession. As you know, I don’t value it much.”
“What do you want then?” Madame was curious.
Leo looked at her face and finally said seriously, “Didn’t I say earlier? Come to my room tonight.”
Madame was about to kick him when she realized that Leo had disappeared without a trace.
Teasing female police officers gave him a great sense of achievement. In the end, Leo treated her to a bowl of snow konjak before sparing himself from any physical harm.
After finishing their meal, Leo thought for a moment and said, “Madame, if my prediction is correct, this group of thieves will definitely come back to Jade Peaks and enter the Road again. I suggest that you stay in the homestay on Jade Peaks tonight and notify the local police to prepare for catching these thieves.”
Leo spoke confidently, but Madame still had some doubts. “The Buddha heads have already been stolen. How could the thieves possibly enter Ten Thousand Buddhas Road again?”
“Believe me, the thieves’ intentions are definitely not as simple as stealing the Buddha heads,” Leo said.
In his mind, Leo made a bold speculation. Since there was the involvement of a Demon Cultivator during the theft of the Buddha heads, it was impossible for the Demon Cultivator not to have discovered what was hidden behind the stone wall at the end of Ten Thousand Buddhas Road.
Leo had previously used his spiritual sense to probe the stone wall at the end of the Road and found no signs of it opening. This indicated that the Demon Cultivator had not found a way to enter yet. But once they found a way in, they would definitely come back.
Leo dared to make such a speculation because when they arrived at Golden Summit and approached the statue of Samantabhadra from all directions, he noticed that they were being watched.
The person observing them was extremely skilled. If Leo hadn’t used his spiritual sense to probe the surroundings while examining the Samantabhadra statue, he wouldn’t have noticed the presence of that person.
So the Demon Cultivator would definitely come, and it was likely they wouldn’t come alone.
Nathaniel and Preston hadn’t found any valuable clues either. Madame followed Leo’s advice, and the four of them settled in an inn halfway up the mountain.
At nine o’clock in the evening, Leo quietly left the inn and headed straight towards Jade Peaks Golden Summit.
Infusing his feet with spiritual power, occasionally using his escape technique, Leo not only moved swiftly but also effortlessly evaded security and surveillance.
In just seven or eight minutes, Leo had arrived at the statue of Samantabhadra from all directions.
Under the dim lighting, Leo glanced at the Mabuhay Temple ahead and no longer hesitated. He performed an earth concealment technique, disappearing from the spot.
When he reappeared, he had arrived in front of the stone wall at the end of Ten Thousand Buddhas Road, which was engraved with lotus flowers.
So far, Leo had become increasingly skilled in using the Earth Concealment Technique, rarely making mistakes. However, the technique consumed a considerable amount of spiritual power, so he couldn’t use it too much.
Approaching ten o’clock, Leo still stood silently in front of the stone wall. He was now somewhat troubled because he had yet to find a way to enter the wall.
The semi-open lotus flower on the stone wall was not a “door” that could be opened at all.
Leo used his spiritual sense to probe the wall and found no movable mechanisms. Additionally, his escape technique couldn’t pass through it either.
There seemed to be an invisible barrier behind the stone wall that even the escape technique couldn’t penetrate.
This further confirmed that there must be some secret hidden behind the wall, but Leo was frustrated that he couldn’t enter.
Finally, Leo’s gaze fell on the semi-open lotus flower on the stone wall.
He remembered seeing it open from half to fully bloomed when he was here during the day.
Leo knew it was definitely not his illusion, but what did the fully bloomed lotus flower signify?
Reaching out to touch the sun-engraved lotus flower on the stone wall, Leo felt a stir in his heart.
Almost instinctively, Leo summoned Purple Radiance.
The purple radiance floated from his palm, seemingly drawn by a mysterious force, slowly approaching the stone wall.
As it neared the wall, mysterious runes appeared once again on the surface of Purple Radiance.
Suddenly, a purple light shot out from Purple Radiance towards the stone wall.
Then, the semi-open lotus flower began to move slowly, its petals transitioning from half-open to fully open.
The changes didn’t stop there. When the purple light returned to Leo’s hand, the white lotus flower on the stone wall unexpectedly turned black and started rotating slowly.
As the rotation sped up, the black lotus flower gradually disappeared, revealing a pitch-black hole big enough for a person to enter in the place where the lotus flower pattern was located.
This unexpected change left Leo uncertain and amazed.
He couldn’t believe that Purple Radiance could react with the lotus flower and open a passage behind the stone wall.
After a moment of hesitation, Leo entered the hole. He wanted to see what this place concealed.
Shortly after Leo entered, the black hole vanished, and the half-open white lotus flower reappeared, restoring the stone wall to its original state.
Inside the tunnel was pitch black, so Leo took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.
It revealed a passageway, but the flashlight couldn’t illuminate a long distance. The path ahead remained dark.
Using his spiritual sense to probe forward, Leo discovered that, just like outside the stone wall, his spiritual sense couldn’t detect anything.
As he continued walking, Leo gradually experienced a peculiar sensation.
It was a strange feeling that was difficult to describe. If forced to put it into words, it was a transcendent feeling.
He transcended the five afflictions of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt, heading towards an eternal tranquility.
As the passage reached its end, an open space appeared. Here, he could feel the gentle breeze, and when he looked up, he could faintly see a few stars dotting the night sky.
Could he have already exited the secret passage within the Ten Thousand Buddhas Road? But where exactly was this place?
Moving forward, Leo turned on the flashlight on his phone once again and saw a wall ahead.
The wall was adorned with murals, all depicting black lotus flowers.
Under the illumination of the phone’s flashlight, the black lotus flowers appeared intensely dark, as if they had just been painted with ink.
The black lotus flowers evoked an indescribable feeling in Leo. He used his spiritual sense to probe…
Suddenly, dozens of black lotus flowers on the wall began to rotate, and Leo felt his spiritual sense being obstructed by some force, stopping at the wall and unable to spread outwards.
Vaguely, Leo sensed that this place seemed to be protecting something, or perhaps it could be said that it was suppressing something.