After practicing the Lion's Roar technique, Huo Yuanzhen unexpectedly discovered a mysterious person in the back mountain of Shaolin. His heart filled with worry.
It was clear that the person in the back mountain was a master, but for some reason, could not leave that place.
However, just because this person couldn't leave now didn't mean they would never be able to. If one day they came out, it would certainly be a threat.
If possible, Huo Yuanzhen wanted to eliminate this potential danger, but not now. At the very least, he had to wait until his martial arts were stronger.
As he silently hoped that this person would stay in the back mountain for a few more years, Huo Yuanzhen returned to the Shaolin Temple.
At present, several projects in Shaolin were nearly completed. The large courtyard, spanning several miles, had almost taken shape, with blue stones laid on the ground. The only thing left was a small section of the mountain road and the temple gate, which would likely be finished in a couple of days.
Returning to the temple, Huo Yuanzhen didn't go to sleep. Instead, he quietly made his way to the back courtyard.
According to his plan, the Shaolin temple was divided into four main sections.
The first section included the Bell Tower, Drum Tower, and the Heavenly King Hall.
Beyond the Heavenly King Hall was the second section, where Huo Yuanzhen planned to have halls for Avalokiteshvara, Vajrapani, Amitabha, Weituo, Manjusri, the Medicine Buddha, the Ten Kings of Hell, and the Great Hero Hall, among others.
The first and second sections were mainly for pilgrims to offer incense and tourists to visit.
The third section was the inner temple area, including the dining hall, bedrooms, Arhat Hall, Bodhi Hall, Prajna Hall, Dharma Hall, and the martial arts arena.
The fourth section was the core area of Shaolin, which contained the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda, the Sutra Pavilion, the Wooden Man Alley, the Elder's Court, the Discipline Hall, and the Abbot's Room.
After the Wooden Man Alley, one would be considered to have left the Shaolin temple.
Behind the temple, one would enter the back mountain.
Logically speaking, the back mountain should have a Pagoda Forest where the tombs of deceased high monks were located. However, since the old monk Xuanming had passed away, the Pagoda Forest couldn't be constructed for now.
Even so, with all the buildings, there were nearly a hundred structures in total.
Currently, the various areas had already been divided according to Huo Yuanzhen's plan. The blue stone steps and the dining hall had all been completed.
Huo Yuanzhen made his way directly to the fourth area, the highest point, where he planned to use the one and only construction token, the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda Construction Token.
Building the pagoda at the highest point would make it visible from afar and would become Shaolin's iconic building.
During the day, he had told the people who were listening to his teachings that the Buddha would show a divine manifestation the next day. In reality, he was planning to construct the pagoda in the middle of the night.
Arriving at the spot where he intended to build the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda, Huo Yuanzhen was excited. This was his first time using a construction token, and he had no idea what the pagoda would look like once it was completed.
"At least it should have five stories, right? How else could it hold ten thousand Buddha statues?" he muttered.
Huo Yuanzhen silently prayed, then took out the construction token he had been carrying.
"Are you sure you want to use the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda Construction Token?"
A system prompt sounded. Huo Yuanzhen confirmed it.
The construction token in his hand disappeared in a puff of smoke and appeared at the selected location.
A blurry image of the pagoda began to rise, layer by layer.
Three stories, four stories…
The pagoda kept growing until it reached nine stories.
The illusion slowly solidified, and within about ten minutes, a nine-story pagoda appeared in front of Huo Yuanzhen.
Huo Yuanzhen stared dumbfounded at the scene before him. The system's construction token was truly magical, and a large pagoda had materialized just like that.
The sound of the pagoda's bells and chimes echoed in the night air. Huo Yuanzhen looked up.
The pagoda, according to later measurements, had a base area of around three hundred square feet on the first floor. Below, there were blue stone steps, with each level having railings made of Han white jade. The eaves curved upwards, and wind chimes dangled, making a crisp and pleasant sound as the wind blew.
The large red gates stood tall, and by the light of the moon, Huo Yuanzhen ascended the steps and pushed the door open.
Inside, it was pitch dark. Huo Yuanzhen lit a torch.
On the walls, there were countless Buddha statues, and in the center stood a massive statue of Avalokiteshvara, flanked by statues of the Good Fortune Boy and the Mountain Guardian God, with numerous oil lamps around, although Huo Yuanzhen didn't light them.
He roughly counted—there must be around fifteen hundred Buddha statues on the first floor. The larger ones were at the bottom, and the smaller ones were at the top.
After a brief tour, he climbed to the second floor, where the situation was similar to the first floor, except the central Buddha statue had been replaced by a statue of Lingji Bodhisattva.
Each floor had different large Buddha statues, and numerous smaller Buddha statues.
After touring the pagoda, Huo Yuanzhen was satisfied and left the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda.
From the outside, the pagoda stood tall and dark, towering at the mountain's peak, almost as if it touched the clouds. Huo Yuanzhen couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.
Tomorrow, when the people arrived at the mountain, what an exhilarating scene it would be—an entire pagoda rising overnight. No one would believe it was normal. The Buddha's followers would undoubtedly increase.
With a growing follower base, recruiting disciples in the future would be much easier.
By the time dawn broke, Huo Yuanzhen quietly returned to his room to rest.
The next morning, four Shaolin monks—Ikong, Jing, Huizhen, and Huiming—woke up and were shocked to see a massive pagoda, bathed in the morning light, standing at the back of the newly completed courtyard.
They rubbed their eyes in disbelief and hurried toward the beautiful pagoda.
Standing under it, they were even more amazed by its grandeur, as if it pierced the clouds. They had seen other pagodas in temples, but compared to this one, the pagoda in the nearby Fawang Temple was like a toothpick.
A miracle! This was truly a miracle!
Although the abbot had mentioned that there would be signs of the Buddha's divine manifestation the day before, no one had taken it seriously. But now, looking at this, could there be any other explanation? Wasn't this the Buddha's divine manifestation? How else could such a pagoda have appeared?
There was also the question of how the abbot had known the Buddha would manifest. Had he been communicating with the Buddha? Or had the Buddha given him a prophetic dream?
Excited, the four monks knelt down and bowed repeatedly, chanting prayers for the Buddha's protection.
Soon, people from the village began rushing up the mountain. The reason was simple: after dawn, the people below had also noticed the pagoda.
Shaolin was situated on the central peak, and Huo Yuanzhen had chosen the highest point to build the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda, which could be seen from below.
Such a large pagoda appearing suddenly had shocked the villagers. Yesterday, when they heard the tale of the Daughter Kingdom, there hadn't been this many people, but today, the number of people had doubled.
By the time it was fully light, nearly ten thousand people had gathered on the mountain, with more continuing to arrive.
People gathered around the pagoda, lighting incense and praying to the Buddha. In their minds, this was the Buddha's work. How could it be explained otherwise?
Many people were asking to open the pagoda doors so they could enter and view the Buddha's divine miracle.
Unfortunately, the red lacquer doors of the pagoda were locked, and they couldn't get in. Ikong and the others didn't have the keys either.
Faced with such a large event, the monks had to report it to the abbot. However, Huo Yuanzhen seemed unconcerned. After peering out the window, he said, "I know, I'll go take a look after I get some more sleep."
By now, it was already morning, but he was still planning to sleep a little longer. It was clear he'd sleep through until nightfall.
In the end, Ikong and the others couldn't resist the excited crowd and had to drag Huo Yuanzhen out of bed.
Huo Yuanzhen reluctantly dressed, took the keys to the pagoda, and followed Ikong and the others to the pagoda. They first bowed a few times, and then Huo Yuanzhen turned to address the excited crowd.
"Dear devotees, everyone here," he began. "The Buddha has blessed us with this pagoda. The Buddha said he has many more treasures to send us. Look, this key was sent to me by the Buddha last night."
As Huo Yuanzhen waved the key, the crowd's excitement only grew.
"Abbot, please let us see the Buddha's miracle!"
"Yes, let us see it!"
Many voices called out to enter the pagoda.
Looking at the sea of faces below, Huo Yuanzhen knew if everyone tried to get in, the pagoda would collapse. He quickly gestured, "You can't just go in. The Buddha gave me a directive—there are ten thousand Buddha statues inside, which will protect the homes of ten thousand families. Only those who have purchased their own Buddha statues can enter to offer incense. Others can only offer incense outside and admire the pagoda."
The crowd looked around, and sure enough, there were smaller Buddha statues around the pagoda, which they could offer incense to.
When the talk of money came up, the crowd's enthusiasm was tempered, and many fell silent.
However, having witnessed this miracle, most of the people were now convinced of the Buddha's existence. Those without faith were eager to find a spiritual anchor, and someone asked, "Abbot, how much silver do we need to offer to purchase a Buddha statue?"
"It's not about buying," Huo Yuanzhen smiled slyly, "it's about inviting." He had been waiting for this question, as his detailed plan was already in place, and now, they had taken the bait.