Chapter 2550 - 2550: Brahmin Sculpture

Yelu Changfeng opened the car door and jumped down. He had built a path underwater, which couldn't be seen from the outside. However, once he jumped down, the water hadn't reached his thighs yet.

"Follow me!" Yelu Changfeng waved to Ye Qing and Yelu Ying, leading the way to the cliffside.

Yelu Ying hesitated for a moment but eventually followed Ye Qing out of the car and trailed behind Yelu Changfeng.

Yelu Changfeng reached the edge of the cliff and felt around on the rock face for a moment before suddenly pressing a spot. He turned to Ye Qing and Yelu Ying, saying, "Be careful, the water will be strong in a moment!"

"What water?" Ye Qing just uttered these three words when Yelu Changfeng forcefully pressed down on the spot. It was a mechanism resembling a disc, and once pressed, a section of the rock face slowly retracted, revealing a stone gate.

The surrounding lake water rushed in swiftly and directly pushed the stone gate open. Ye Qing and Yelu Ying were standing at the entrance, and the water stream swept them straight into the stone gate. Indeed, the current was very strong!

Upon entering the stone gate, a spacious underground river channel lay behind. Yelu Ying was clearly unprepared and choked on a few mouthfuls of water within the underground passage. Fortunately, Ye Qing dragged her out of the water; otherwise, she might have drowned.

Ye Qing dragged Yelu Ying to the stone bank nearby, allowing her to catch her breath. Looking at the deep underground river, her heart was evidently still a bit frightened. The recent event had caught her off guard.

Yelu Changfeng closed the stone gate behind them, then jumped into the underground river and walked over to Ye Qing and Yelu Ying.

"What is this place?" Ye Qing asked curiously.

"It's a path discovered by my ancestors, a cave that leads to the ancestral tomb," Yelu Changfeng replied while walking ahead.

Ye Qing and Yelu Ying exchanged a glance. Without lingering, they followed Yelu Changfeng forward.

This cave was indeed spacious, with the underground waterway running through it. Ye Qing and Yelu Ying followed behind Yelu Changfeng, observing their surroundings as they walked. This cave didn't look naturally formed, yet there were no signs of human presence, making it appear very strange.

"How did this cave come about?" Ye Qing wondered.

"I don't know either!" Yelu Changfeng shrugged, saying, "It was discovered by one of my ancestors five hundred years ago and leads to the ancestral tomb. Later, only the clan leaders of the tomb-guarding clan and the Yelu family heads knew about this path; others had no idea it existed!"

"Oh?" Yelu Ying paused in surprise, saying curiously, "I didn't even know about this!"

"Because big brother didn't have time to tell your father..." Yelu Changfeng paused, saying, "If the family head hasn't had time to inform the next head, our clan leader is responsible for telling the next family head. But recent years have been different from before, so we didn't tell you this secret!"

Strolling along the cave, Ye Qing looked at the silent waters, asking in a deep voice, "When you discovered this cave, was there anything inside it?"

"Anything?" Yelu Changfeng wondered.

Ye Qing asked, "Or any peculiar things or anything special inside the cave?"

Yelu Changfeng thought for a moment, saying, "I heard back then when they discovered this cave, there were water monsters in the water. Later, the water monsters mysteriously disappeared."

"Water monsters? What kind of water monsters?" Ye Qing asked inquisitively.

"I don't know either; it's been so many years. Besides, the legends from back then might not be true," Yelu Changfeng said, "Anyway, for several hundred years after that, nobody has seen the water monsters again. So, everyone thinks the legends of the water monsters are false."

Ye Qing furrowed his brows; he didn't believe that. Looking at the river water in the underground channel, Ye Qing felt a sense of familiarity.

"By the way..." After walking for a while, Yelu Changfeng suddenly remembered something, turning and saying, "In the ancestor's records, it was mentioned that there used to be some iron chains in the underground riverway."

"Iron chains!" Ye Qing's eyes widened as he gasped; he already knew why he felt familiar.

"Are the iron chains very thick, entirely made of mysterious iron, extending into a water cave, with a black stone pressing on top? Are there many special symbols carved into the black stone?" Ye Qing asked a series of questions excitedly.

"This..." Yelu Changfeng widened his eyes in surprise, staring at Ye Qing with an astonished expression.

"Is it like this?" Ye Qing asked urgently.

"Apart from the iron chains, nothing...the rest isn't recorded," Yelu Changfeng said, "The matters of the water cave and black stone weren't recorded. Only the matter of the iron chains was documented. The chains were indeed thick and entirely made of mysterious iron. Our ancestors tried to cut some of the mysterious iron to make weapons but ultimately failed. Later, the mysterious iron disappeared, and we haven't been able to locate the mysterious iron chains since."

Ye Qing was momentarily stunned. What he asked about earlier was related to the Immovable Bodhisattva Seal. He had encountered two such seals before in similar situations—an underground river way, chains in the water, water caves extending, and a black stele being the place the Immovable Bodhisattva Seal suppressed. Gazing at the underground river way triggered memories of the previous Immovable Bodhisattva Seals he had encountered. Moreover, upon hearing about iron chains, the first thing that came to his mind was the Immovable Bodhisattva Seal. However, Yelu Changfeng's answer puzzled Ye Qing, as only the iron chains were present, not the water cave or Immovable Bodhisattva Seal. How was it different from what he had encountered before?

"And there's one more thing..." Yelu Changfeng suddenly added, "On Alagu Mountain, there are records of demons, which only appeared after my ancestors discovered this stone cave. Previously, there were no records of demons. Afterward, incidents of people encountering demons occurred repeatedly, and even within our Tomb Guardian clan, some were attacked and devoured by demons!"

"Demons?" Ye Qing's expression slightly changed; it seemed this matter regarding demons related to the cave. But there wasn't an Immovable Bodhisattva Seal here, so what was going on? Could it be that there was only a demon without the Immovable Bodhisattva Seal for suppression?

With questions in mind, Yelu Changfeng led them out of the cave and into a stone corridor.

This stone corridor was narrow, extending deeply into the mountain's interior. The surroundings were dark, with no clue as to what purpose the corridor served.

Yelu Changfeng appeared familiar with the place and led Ye Qing and Yelu Ying through it, walking for roughly half an hour as the corridor gradually ascended. After another five minutes, they finally exited the corridor and entered a massive cave.

This cave was very spacious, with several stone pillars erected inside that were evidently not naturally formed but artificially chiseled. The cave resembled a hall. Inside, there was a meter-high platform on which stood a rather odd-looking statue. From the appearance, it was difficult to tell whether it was a god or a Buddha statue.

"What's this?" Yelu Ying asked curiously, wondering why there was a statue within the mountain's interior.

"I don't know either. The sculpture was already here when my ancestors discovered this place," Yelu Changfeng replied.

"There's a plaque behind the statue with writing on it, I believe," Yelu Ying said.

"Our people have seen it, but we don't recognize those words, nor do we know what era they are from. Many experts in ancient scripts have failed to identify the text," Yelu Changfeng said.

Ye Qing took a few steps toward the statue and carefully looked at the plaque, saying, "It's normal that you don't recognize these words; they're all Buddhist texts."

"Oh?" Yelu Changfeng and Yelu Ying both reacted in surprise. Yelu Ying was somewhat familiar with Buddhist texts. However, Yelu Changfeng had never heard of them.

Ye Qing had seen enough Buddhist texts to identify these inscriptions as such. However, recognizing them as Buddhist texts didn't mean he understood them. He could only recognize Taoist incantations at present, not Buddhist texts. Therefore, he planned to record the characters and find someone to inquire about their meaning after leaving.

"Speaking of Buddhist texts, I suddenly recalled something," Yelu Changfeng said, "I've seen a similar sculpture outside, also enshrined in a Buddhist temple."

"Oh?" Ye Qing promptly looked at Yelu Changfeng, asking, "Which Buddhist temple? What deity does this sculpture represent?"

"I saw it years ago while in Koga-ryu, handling a matter in Tianzhu. I accidentally saw a similar sculpture in a temple," Yelu Changfeng said, "Such sculptures are common in Tianzhu, and are said to be Brahmin idols!"

"Brahmin?" Ye Qing's expression changed, knowing that this Buddhist deity's reputation was quite renowned. After Dalin Temple's destruction, Brahmanism emerged dominant in Tianzhu's Buddhism, with even True Buddhas belonging to Brahmanism.

After experiencing so much, Ye Qing understood that so-called gods and Buddhas were once real people in ancient times. This implies Brahmin must have been a person who existed. But why would the Brahmin's sculpture appear here, when it's a Tianzhu deity? It's a peculiar situation in itself.

Furthermore, the vast cave contains only this single Brahmin sculpture. What does it signify? The appearance of a Brahmin statue in the Huaxia country's desert is odd enough, but its placement within the mountain's interior raises even more questions.