Chapter 396
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Chapter 396: Headless Guardian Deity
When Chu Jiang went back into the Ghost Abyss, he couldn’t see the Yamata no Orochi anymore. It seemed like they had hidden themselves again.
What surprised Chu Jiang was that the perspective of the illusionary world was still there when he returned.
But Nie Xiaoqian was gone, what should he do about it? She was the main character in this story.
Well, thinking about that won’t help. Chu Jiang tried to contact Soga Hayayuki, but there was no response.
Now Chu Jiang didn’t have time to find them. They have to figure out how to survive on their own. They are all top Ghost Masters, so they shouldn’t be a burden to him, right?
Chu Jiang continued to venture deeper into the Ghost Abyss, but he still couldn’t find any clues to break the situation.
Just as mentioned before, the Ghost Abyss is like a bottomless pit, and it gets colder the deeper you go. You can’t even see a single ghost.
He couldn’t just dive straight into the deepest part, not to mention if there even was a concept of the deepest part. According to Belfast, the area beneath the Ghost Abyss is like a malicious black swamp, and getting trapped in it is uncertain if you can get out.
Therefore, Chu Jiang had to keep going down along the edge, slowly testing his limits.
In the middle of the way, Chu Jiang was amazed to see Sister Bel again!
For a moment, he thought that she had disobeyed and come back down, but he remembered that it wasn’t Sister Bel’s nature.
Moreover, the Belfast in front of him repeated the lines from before, "Sleepless on a moonlit night, I wish for Swan Goodness."
This made Chu Jiang immediately realize that the person in front of him was most likely just a pure illusion, just like the previous Yan Chixia and Grandma.
So Chu Jiang simply ignored the person. As long as he didn’t believe in it, he wouldn’t be harmed by the illusions from the imaginary world.
……
After reaching the furthest distance he had ever traveled before, Chu Jiang took a couple of steps forward and was amazed to see a statue of the Guardian Deity by the side of the road.
However, there was something eerie about the statue. It had no head, as if it had been broken off, and the gap was not very neat.
Guardian Deity statues, which are commonly seen by the roadside in this island country, have a historical background for their rise in popularity.
From around the middle of the Heian period, the belief in the Pure Land of Buddhism became very popular in this small country.
Whether noble or commoner, everyone believed that the age of degeneration had come, and they firmly believed in the idea of "suffer in this life, enjoy blessings in the next life"; they also believed that those who couldn’t enter the Pure Land would definitely go to hell after death.
Since not everyone has the chance to enter the Pure Land, at this time, the Guardian Deity Bodhisattva, who had made the great vow of "not attaining Buddhahood until the hells are empty," became like a savior in their hearts.
The belief in the Guardian Deity also spread widely in the island nation as a result.
In addition, according to the folk legends of the island nation, it is believed that after a child dies prematurely, because they committed a sin that saddened their parents, they are unable to cross the Sanzu River and reach the afterlife.
And that’s not all, the spirits of these deceased children can only be tormented by evil spirits on the Saigoku Plain; they must continuously stack stones into towers day and night, but when they are close to finishing, the evil spirits knock them down with a stick, and this cycle repeats endlessly.
Right at that moment, the "helpful" Guardian Deity Bodhisattva appeared again.
The people of the island nation believed that the Guardian Deity Bodhisattva would let the spirits of deceased children hide in his robe, listen to his recitations, and protect the children from the torment of evil spirits; at the same time, the Guardian Deity could also accumulate merit for the children, ultimately leading them to liberation.
Therefore, in the island nation, Bodhisattva Jizo is the guardian deity for children, especially those who die young; this belief extended to various forms such as Suiji Jizo, Zian Jizo, Shigo Jizo, and more.
And during the spread, the belief in the Guardian Deity also merged with the indigenous gods of the island country. These indigenous gods are similar to the local gods of the Nine Provinces, and as a result, Guardian Deity statues began to appear everywhere like mushrooms after the rain.
……
Why was Chu Jiang surprised? Because this Headless Guardian Deity was the only thing he saw that had human traces after entering the Ghost Abyss, unlike the illusions in the spirit world.
Was this set up by someone from the Peaceful Spirit Garden? Doesn’t seem like it… It wasn’t mentioned in the information he previously read.
Curious, Chu Jiang entered Chu’s Jiang state again and reached out to touch the statue.
The moment he touched it, he saw countless spirits in his eyes!
Moreover, all of the spirits were children with empty eyes and open mouths. Their numbers were countless, each of them squatting down and building stone towers.
At the moment Chu Jiang saw the spirits, they all tilted their heads and looked at him in unison.
Chu Jiang immediately let go and stepped back, but it was no use. These ghostly children eagerly gathered around him from all directions, reaching out their hands as if they were desperately trying to grab him.
Their mouths opened and closed, emitting a strange chanting sound that sounded somewhat like the "Guardian Deity Sutra," but it was extremely distorted and terrifying.
When Chu Jiang heard these sounds, it stirred up all the negative emotions in his heart once again.
This reminded Chu Jiang of the ghost-worshipping ascetic he had seen before, who chanted wicked scriptures similar to what he was hearing now but different.
Although unclear about what was happening, Chu Jiang decisively used the ghost dragon seal again, calling upon the assistance of the five ghost dragons to help him bear the pressure.
Before he could take any further action, he witnessed a surprising scene.
Snake!
A snake with eight heads and tails, eyes like red lantern fruits, covered with moss, cypress, and cedar trees, belly rotten and bleeding, and a black cloud hovering above its head, suddenly appeared in the depths of the Ghost Abyss.
This Yamata no Orochi was very different from the previous shadows he had seen; not only was its appearance more real and clear, but its physical characteristics were also very similar to the Yamata no Orochi in island folklore.
As soon as the giant snake appeared, it didn’t attack Chu Jiang. Instead, it bit the spirit of a child with its eight snake heads, tearing it apart and swallowing it.
Other ghost children speeded up and rushed towards Chu Jiang, as if they didn’t want to be the next sacrifice.
This made Chu Jiang somewhat astonished. So these ghosts didn’t want to kill him, but seek his protection?
Is this like considering oneself as the Guardian Deity Bodhisattva?
But where is the previous "Guardian Deity"? If the head of the stone statue is missing, does it mean that the previous Guardian Deity has been killed by Yamata no Orochi…
While Chu Jiang was pondering, more and more ghost children came rushing towards him.
Chu Jiang didn’t want to be caught by them, so he used Ghost Domain to separate them.
However, what he didn’t expect was that the ghosts completely ignored Ghost Domain and broke through in an instant, tightly clinging onto him! The touch was cold and slippery, making his scalp tingle.
In that moment, Chu Jiang was suddenly startled. But before he could react or fight back, he realized that all the strangeness before his eyes had disappeared.
And his right hand was still resting on the Headless Guardian Deity, as if everything that had just happened was nothing but an incredibly real nightmare.
Chu Jiang quickly stopped and stepped back, rare cold sweat appearing on his forehead…
