allendalepharm Chapter 405 Using Blood as Ink to Copy Scriptures
Chapter 405 Using Blood as Ink to Copy Scriptures
Wasim was the first to recover. He grabbed a broom and rushed forward, swatting at the burning remnants of the prayer flags to prevent the fire from spreading to other flags.
After all, their core purpose is deterrence, not to actually burn down the entire prayer flag forest, otherwise the trouble would be much bigger.
The air was filled with the smell of burning, and the remains of the prayer flag were still emitting wisps of smoke, hanging there forlornly.
And other prayer flags—
Everything was shaking.
It wasn't the uniform trembling it used to be; instead, each piece of fabric shook violently like a sieve, rustling and rattling as if it were a group of terrified rabbits.
The runes on it no longer emitted black energy, but instead became dim and shrank tightly within the cloth.
Lin Feng held up the torch, his gaze slowly sweeping over the prayer flags, like a general inspecting a defeated army that had bowed down in submission.
He smiled slightly, turned to look at the Chosen Ones behind him, held the torch to his side, and said loudly:
"Everyone, watch carefully—if you notice anything unusual about any prayer flag, report it to me immediately, and I'll take care of it."
"clear!"
The crowd responded in unison, their tired faces regaining their spirits. They straightened their backs, scattered, and each took up a section of the area, their eyes fixed intently on the prayer flags.
For a moment, all the prayer flags fell silent, not daring to sway even slightly, for fear of getting burned.
One minute……
Five minutes...
Ten minutes have passed.
The purity level remained steadily at 100%, without decreasing at all.
"Slap, slap, slap—"
A crisp clapping sound suddenly broke the silence of the prayer flag forest.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Xia Ning had stood up from the pear wood table, her plain white robe fluttering gently in the breeze.
A faint smile played on her lips as her gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Lin Feng.
"Well done!" Her voice was clear and pleasant. "You are the first team to complete the task of cleaning the prayer flag forest!"
"To reward everyone for your performance today, the poison test will be waived for lunch."
The crowd erupted in excited cheers.
"Lin Feng's performance was particularly outstanding, merit +15. Current total merit: 30."
"Evelyn and Vassim, you have each received +5 merit for your assistance. Current total merit: 20."
The three nodded in acknowledgment, while the surrounding Chosen Ones looked on with envy.
"Good heavens... he's already accumulated thirty merits in such a short time?"
"At this rate, won't Boss Lin be able to accumulate enough qualifications to leave the instance very soon?"
"However, as much as I envy them, I can't really hate them. If it weren't for Lin Feng's intervention, we might have become the souls trapped under this banner."
"That's right, we should be grateful to have survived!"
"If anyone dares to vote for room number 56 again, I'll be the first to mess with them!"
Listening to the crowd's discussion, Xia Ning's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.
Ordinary excellence easily attracts jealousy.
But once someone becomes so outstanding that they can crush everything else, they will only inspire awe, admiration, and even unwavering loyalty.
Lin Feng is exactly that kind of person.
........................
After lunch, everyone returned to their quarters to rest.
Having expended a great deal of mental and physical energy in the morning, many people fell into a deep sleep as soon as they touched the bed, and the small dormitory room was soon filled with the sounds of breathing.
Lin Feng and Vassim, however, were not sleepy and their gazes fell intentionally or unintentionally on Park Ji-won on the opposite bed.
Within half a day, the strange changes in Park Ji-won became increasingly obvious.
The skin, which was already unusually pale, was now almost transparently white, with the blue veins and blood vessels clearly visible beneath the skin.
His eyebrows were also lighter than in the morning, almost blending into his skin tone, giving him an indescribable eeriness.
But he was completely unaware of it, and continued to hold his notebook and write and draw.
Lin Feng and Vassim exchanged a glance, a hint of seriousness flashing in their eyes.
The pollution in Park Ji-won is deepening, and at this rate, it won't be long before he is completely corrupted.
Just as Lin Feng was about to launch the infinite deduction to see how long he could hold out, a clear, cold voice suddenly descended from the sky, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"All Chosen Ones, immediately proceed to the stone tower in the plaza to assemble."
"The afternoon's training mission is about to begin."
No one dared to delay. They all got up, changed into their cultivation robes, and hurried toward the stone tower in the square.
Xia Ning was already waiting in the open space in front of the tower.
Her complexion was more radiant than in the morning, with a subtle glow in her eyes and brows.
Her gaze swept across everyone's faces, pausing for a moment when it passed over Lin Feng, before naturally looking away.
"The afternoon's training task," Xia Ning announced loudly, "will take place in the scripture copying hall of the Scripture Pavilion."
"The practice involves copying scriptures with blood ink."
"You need to use your own blood as ink to copy the scriptures."
"The scripture contains 268 characters. You have ten minutes to complete it, and your handwriting must be neat."
"If you exceed the time limit or your handwriting is illegible, the words will be swallowed by the paper and you will have to rewrite them."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in chaos, their faces turning even paler than Park Ji-won's.
"Use blood as ink? Are you crazy? You might as well just suck all my blood!"
"Ten minutes? Two hundred and sixty-eight characters? And they have to be neat? This is simply beyond human capability!"
"The words get eaten up by the paper? Doesn't that just force us to keep bleeding money and rewriting them?"
"This isn't cultivation; it's clearly a matter of adapting to changing circumstances!"
Xia Ning coldly swept her gaze across the crowd, her voice cutting off as her gaze fell upon them.
"If you feel pressured, you can raise your hand now." Her tone was neither too light nor too heavy. "The Hall of Silent Souls... would be quite suitable for you."
Everyone fell silent instantly.
Xia Ning withdrew her gaze: "Now, please follow me to the Scripture Pavilion."
The group followed Xia Ning into the main hall, where statues of the supreme masters of all ages were enshrined on the first floor.
The stone statues are tall and ancient, with their robes flowing like clouds, and their postures, whether standing or sitting, are majestic.
Strangely, the faces of all five statues were blurry and indistinct, making one feel increasingly uneasy the more one looked at them.
The group climbed the stairs to the second floor, where the scripture library was located.
The vast collection of scriptures and classic texts were displayed on both sides, but they were not something they could touch at present.
The group walked straight through and arrived at the inner copying hall.
The space was about the size of a classroom, with low wooden tables neatly arranged on the floor. Plain paper was laid on the tables, along with an inkstone and a wolf-hair brush. Next to them was a bloodstained awl.
The dark red bloodstains on the awl had long since dried, clearly traces left by predecessors who used their blood to copy scriptures.
The most striking feature is the ceiling, where dozens of thick hemp ropes hang down, their ends just twenty centimeters above the low table, swaying back and forth like countless dormant snakes.
Someone swallowed hard: "This...is it that if they don't copy well, they're going to hang themselves?"
Lin Feng's gaze shifted and landed on the three aphorisms on the wall:
Time has no measure; the weary feel its slowness, the joyful find it too fast, and the tranquil grasp its order.
When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also falls into you.
Reversal is the movement of the Tao; weakness is the function of the Tao.
Xia Ning clapped her hands lightly: "Everyone, don't just stand there, find a seat."
The crowd then seemed to awaken from their daze, and each of them knelt anxiously on the prayer mats.
Once everyone was seated, Xia Ning snapped her fingers lightly, and a plain-colored scroll appeared out of thin air, slowly unfurling in front of everyone. It was the scripture to be copied today.
"The copying of scriptures has begun. Any work not completed by sunset will be erased!"