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Setting out from Wushuang City, even riding the fastest horse would take nearly half a month to rush to the Le Shan Giant Buddha in Lingyun Cave. This was mainly because the road was not straightforward; many places with mountains and rivers along the way could only be bypassed, which considerably increased the journey seven or eightfold.
The people of Wushuang City could not cross small rivers with a single step like Tang Lin, leap over large rivers with a running start, stomp up small mountains in one go, or reach the other side of large mountains using both hands and feet in just a few minutes.
So initially, they were not in too much of a hurry. It was a relatively long journey. However, not long after leaving Wushuang City, they encountered a very strange situation.
On the road, they saw many people heading north, in the direction of the Le Shan Giant Buddha, kneeling and worshiping. Initially, the warriors of Wushuang City thought they were devout Buddhists going on a pilgrimage, prostrating every three steps. But after walking twenty or thirty miles, they found this happening more and more frequently.
"Since when did so many people become Buddhist believers?" Shi Wuzun, who was responsible for leading the team, said curiously.
Shi Wuzun was a monk and considered part of the Buddhist circle, and his best martial skill was the Tathagata Divine Palm. In the martial arts world, he was also a master in his own right. At this time, Shi Wuzun was still a subordinate of Dugu Yifang from Wushuang City, and they had not yet parted ways.
(PS: According to the setting in the movie "The Storm Riders," Shi Wuzun's appearance is opposite Dugu Yifang's son, Dugu Ming. But in the comics, Shi Wuzun is the number one fighter in Wushuang City. So, I filled in a bit here, making Shi Wuzun originally a subordinate of Dugu Yifang, who later turned against him. Please do not delve deeply, original work fans.)
Although Shi Wuzun himself was a Buddhist, he truly did not know that there were so many devout Buddhists around Wushuang City.
After sending someone out to inquire, Shi Wuzun heard an absurd rumor: there were claims that the Le Shan Giant Buddha had come to life and traveled across mountains and rivers to Wushuang City.
What kind of nonsense rumor was this? The legend about the Fire Qilin inside Lingyun Cave was already a bit far-fetched, but claiming the Le Shan Giant Buddha was alive was ridiculous nonsense.
Yet, regardless of how absurd the rumor, Shi Wuzun felt it necessary to investigate. This was within the territory of Wushuang City, and anyone daring to engage in supernatural shenanigans was challenging Wushuang City. Moreover, these people spoke as if certain that the Le Shan Giant Buddha was alive, which must have some connection.
Dugu Yifang tasked Shi Wuzun with investigating the Le Shan Giant Buddha, and now strange things were happening there. Failing to take a look would be hard to justify. After all, that forest wasn't far, only ten miles—reachable quickly on horseback.
As the group approached the woodland, the surrounding trees grew denser. What started as a gallop turned into a cautious advance, fearing they might carelessly get hooked by a branch.
Shi Wuzun began channeling his energy to his ears, carefully listening to the surrounding noises. Upon entering the dense forest, he immediately sensed something was not right. There was a vague feeling of unease that he couldn't quite pinpoint.
This was human intuition, derived from subtle changes in the environment. While it might not register each detail accurately, these minute changes gathered into a noticeable sense of discord, creating unease.
The sharper one's observational skills, the stronger the intuition. Shi Wuzun, being a martial arts master, had naturally stronger observation skills than ordinary people, making him the first to notice this unusual feeling.
"Be careful, everyone!" Shi Wuzun instructed the others.
Ten people had set out from Wushuang City, led by Shi Wuzun, and the others were also skillful in martial arts. Each was adept in archery and riding, and their swordsmanship was the true legacy of Wushuang City, making them regarded as experts in the martial arts world. Hearing Shi Wuzun's caution, they drew their swords and carefully guided their horses forward.
As they delved deeper, Shi Wuzun noticed numerous signs of wild beasts left around. It seemed many mountain beasts had gathered, and the tracks they found on the road all led in the same direction.
Shi Wuzun was certain that something unusual was happening deep in the forest. It was likely related to the rumored living Buddha Giant; yet he wasn't sure what game was being played, drawing in these beasts.
Could it really be imitating the Buddha, trying to enlighten all beasts?
Dismissing this unlikely thought, Shi Wuzun continued to lead the warriors of Wushuang City onward and soon arrived at a massive ditch.
"Has someone dug a river here?" Shi Wuzun said in wonder as he looked at the ditch, nearly thirty feet wide before him.
While he was puzzled, a roar broke the silence. Shi Wuzun looked up to see a giant tiger, four or five times the size of a normal tiger, letting out a provocative howl at him.
What shocked Shi Wuzun even more was that the tiger had a pair of small wings on its back. While the size seemed mismatched, he immediately realized this was not a tiger, but a Demon Tiger.
Shi Wuzun decided to strike first. Before the Demon Tiger could pounce, he had already leaped and struck an open-palm attack at the tiger. Dozens of golden beams shot out from his palm, pummeling the tiger like a machine gun.
The martial arts in "The Storm Riders" were highly impressive, and this Tathagata Divine Palm was like fireworks, illuminating the dim forest.
Even though the Winged Tiger had become a monster, its foundation was too weak. Faced with such a powerful Hand Skill, it could only leap aside to evade. Unexpectedly, those golden orbs of light could bend in mid-air, veering toward where the Winged Tiger dodged, sending the giant beast weighing two to three thousand pounds flying away.
The Winged Tiger, though taking the full brunt of the palm, only rolled on the ground, seemingly not too severely injured. Having its constitution thoroughly transformed by the Blood Bodhi, its resilience increased markedly. While it was still far from matching the Fire Qilin, it wasn't something Shi Wuzun could finish off instantly.
Shi Wuzun frowned slightly; even with a five-force palm, he couldn't subdue this demon tiger. When did such a creature appear outside Wushuang City, and why hadn't he heard of it before?
As he was preparing to continue the hunt, he suddenly felt darkness before his eyes, as if clouds suddenly obscured the sky.
Shi Wuzun looked up to see a Giant so enormous that the sun in the sky was blocked, casting shadows that covered everyone from Wushuang City.
Tang Lin scoffed, shouting to Shi Wuzun and his group, "I'm the one protecting this tiger."
The massive sound was like thunder, rattling Shi Wuzun's ears so harshly that he couldn't hear what the opponent was saying.
But he immediately understood that the appearance of this demon tiger was undoubtedly related to this mountain-like Giant. No wonder those passersby claimed the Le Shan Giant Buddha came to life. Such a huge Giant was indeed comparable in size to the Le Shan Giant Buddha.
Having already engaged, Shi Wuzun would not stake his life on the Giant's mercy. Hearing the shout, he knew the Giant was angry. Shi Wuzun did not perceive Tang Lin as human, mainly due to his bizarre appearance, which seemed more like a mythical monster.
So Shi Wuzun had no intention of communicating with Tang Lin. He promptly used Qinggong to leap into the air, and ten beams of golden Tathagata Divine Palm power shot toward Tang Lin, aimed strictly at the knee.
He had no choice; jumping this high while riding a horse was already his utmost effort.
In this world, martial arts masters had extremely high attack power. A single strike could split stone and mountain. Yet Tang Lin chose to confront it directly since he had the power of being the Earth's child for Healing injuries. He refused to believe that Shi Wuzun could break his leg with one palm strike.
Crackling noises filled the air as those golden palm forces struck Tang Lin's knees, erupting into dazzling bursts of golden light. And indeed, Tang Lin felt a series of impacts, somewhat akin to BB pellets from a gas gun.
Despite being struck on the knee ten times, even BB pellets were painful.
However, as for the damage, that was all it amounted to. Shi Wuzun's full-force strike didn't even break the trousers, merely leaving Tang Lin's knee bruised.
He initially didn't want to kill indiscriminately, but Shi Wuzun, attacking without reason, thoroughly provoked Tang Lin. Just like in the last world, where Tang Lin was preparing to escape, the Apocalypse people suddenly slashed his calf. How could that be tolerated?
"Goddamn it, attacking right away, are you all crazy?" Tang Lin angrily raised his weapon, targeting Shi Wuzun's group.
It was a device resembling a toy gun, with a yellow and black shell, a thin muzzle appearing like a nozzle. This was Tang Lin's specially prepared weapon to deal with nuisances—the Salt Gun!
Invented to specifically deal with flies, this weapon used air pressure to launch large quantities of table salt, killing flies with a single shot.
Loading the gun, Tang Lin aimed at the group from Wushuang City and pulled the trigger. Countless salt particles shot from the muzzle, creating a massive whooshing sound, descending on the group like hailstones.
In this Different World, the power of the Salt Gun had also been exaggerated remarkably. The dispersed salt particles even broke through the sound barrier, covering such a wide area that they had no chance to dodge. These salt particles were larger than fists to the warriors of Wushuang City, and with such high speed upon impact, they severely injured and crippled them instantly.
Although they were all elites of Wushuang City, each possessing commendable martial skills, half of them were severely injured, coughing up blood, with countless bones broken. The remaining half fared worse, getting reduced to an indecipherable mass needing a mosaic.
Shi Wuzun didn't fare well, either. Tang Lin had specifically aimed at him, and with his high-level Qinggong, he still couldn't evade. Each salt grain was as potent as the mighty palm force of martial arts masters. Despite using all his martial skills for defense, Shi Wuzun was still hit to the point where he vomited blood, unable to even stand steadily.
"Hmph, this is what they call 'no matter how high your martial skills, a single gunshot can take you down.' Monk, the era has changed!" Tang Lin said smugly to Shi Wuzun.
Unfortunately, Shi Wuzun could no longer hear him. Severely injured as he was, seeing stars and with his ears ringing, it was only a matter of moments before he passed out.
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