The next day, Manager Liu grabbed Jiang Feng and set out early in the morning. "Hey, Uncle Liu, we haven't eaten yet."
"All you ever think about is food. Will you die from missing one meal? Hurry up and keep up." With that, he quickly darted toward the outskirts of the town.
Along the way, Jiang Feng chased closely behind him. The results of his usual training now became fully apparent. Although he failed to catch up to Manager Liu, he was never left far behind.
After running for a distance, Jiang Feng realized that leaning his upper body forward and angling his arms slightly backward reduced air resistance much more effectively than running upright with his arms swinging back and forth.
Running for about half an hour, Manager Liu finally stopped in a dense forest. Ahead stood a temple with tall, apricot-yellow courtyard walls enclosing several majestic grand halls. From within came the steady sound of wooden fish percussion and chanting.
By this time, Jiang Feng had also caught up, his expression natural and his breathing steady. Seeing Jiang Feng's running posture, Manager Liu nodded in great appreciation. "Hmm, you've got some ideas. That should save quite a bit of stamina. Let's go in." With that, he vaulted into the temple grounds.
"Hey! Wouldn't it be better to use the front gate... Though this is certainly faster!" Jiang Feng imitated his method.
Little did he know that plenty of hardships were waiting for him to endure on this trip.
The two walked straight to the door of a meditation room, and Manager Liu shouted, "Big monk, I've come to visit you! Hurry up and get me a bowl of vegetarian food." Without waiting for an answer, he pushed the door open and walked in.
Inside, a plump monk sat cross-legged on a straw mat, draped in a red cassock, holding prayer beads in both hands with his eyes half-closed.
Without getting up, the monk flicked a massive sleeve, sending a fierce gust of wind straight toward Manager Liu.
Manager Liu didn't hesitate either, stepping forward and striking out with a palm. "Bang!" The two formidable gusts collided with a deafening explosion, yet strangely, the furnishings in the room remained completely undisturbed.
"Liu Zhendong, what are you here for again? Did you come to return my Great Return Pill?"
"Big monk, you're so stingy. That broken pill was just something I borrowed. I'm here today to ask for your help."
"When have you ever come here and not asked for my help?"
"Monk, you're no fun. When you were still a layman, the two of us were practically brothers." Manager Liu pointed at Jiang Feng. "Look at him, this is my nephew, Jiang Feng. We've come this time to borrow your Thousand Stone Array for a few days of cultivation. Once he's done, how about I send you a batch of medicinal herbs?"
"Now that sounds like human speech. Hmm, he's not a bad sapling after all. Liu Zhendong, it seems you still haven't given up!"
"Of course. If I don't fight with everything I have, the Liu Family will sooner or later be ruined by them."
"Very well. I'm afraid of your stubborn persistence. Consider it building a good affinity with this young alms-giver!"
Hearing this, Manager Liu was overjoyed and quickly urged Jiang Feng, "Kid, hurry up and thank the stinky monk—oh, Liaochen, Master Liaochen. Master Liaochen is the abbot of this Puhua Temple and a supreme expert at the Origin Returning Stage."
Jiang Feng hurriedly stepped forward and bowed. "Thank you, Master, for your grace! This junior is endlessly grateful."
Liaochen put his palms together. "Young alms-giver, no need for such formalities. Go find a guest room later and have some vegetarian food. This elder of yours is certainly very familiar with this place."
"Haha, you're too polite, big monk! See you later!"
After finishing their vegetarian meal, Master Liaochen led Manager Liu and Jiang Feng before a grand hall. Supported by five ridges and iron tiles, it looked exceptionally majestic. On a plaque above the temple doors were carved three large characters: "Thousand Stone Hall."
Jiang Feng looked at Manager Liu in confusion, but Manager Liu merely shook his head.
Master Liaochen said, "Young alms-giver, this hall is where the monks of our temple practice and cultivate. Inside lies the Thousand Stone Array, which is immensely profound and has been passed down for several hundred years. It is of tremendous help to cultivation. Please enter and experience it yourself. Remember, do not force yourself beyond your limits."
Jiang Feng bowed deeply and walked into the hall.
The interior of the hall seemed isolated from the outside world, exceptionally quiet. Aside from the sound of his own footsteps, not a single sound could be heard.
Using the dim candlelight flickering on the walls, Jiang Feng looked around. The vast space did not have a single supporting pillar. The hall was around two zhang high, and its walls and floor were covered all over with deep pits and dents.
Unsure of what dangers awaited him, Jiang Feng could only brace himself and stay on high alert.
Suddenly, the creaking sound of mechanisms activating echoed through the room. Immediately afterward, with a sharp whistle, a stone projectile shot out from the dimness in the distance. Its speed was so astonishingly fast that the naked eye couldn't even catch its trajectory.
Jiang Feng had no choice but to dodge. "Crack!" The stone grazed his clothes and struck the wall behind him, blasting out a brand new crater.
Jiang Feng felt a lingering wave of fear. Thank goodness he hadn't tried to block the stone with his hands; otherwise, his bones would surely have been shattered by now.
Before he had time to think, another whistle pierced the air as a stone shot toward him from the front right. Just as he tried to leap backward, yet another stone hurtled toward him from behind.
Jiang Feng was alarmed, desperately throwing his body backward and to the right, but he was still too slow. "Thwack!" A stone struck him squarely on the shoulder.
"Aargh!" Jiang Feng let out a beast-like howl of agony. A bun-sized swelling instantly rose on his shoulder, and his entire arm went completely numb.
The moment his concentration slipped, another stone struck him directly in the back.
"Damn it, the speed is too fast! How is anyone supposed to dodge this?" This was the first time Jiang Feng had suffered such torment since beginning his cultivation. Panic briefly overwhelmed him, and stones continued to slam into his body, leaving him injured.
"My eyes can't even keep up with the speed of the stones. What should I do? At this rate, my whole body is going to be beaten to a pulp." The flying stones gradually grew denser, leaving Jiang Feng completely dazzled.
Enduring the pain racking his body, Jiang Feng forced himself into a state of extreme concentration. Based on the distance and speed of the incoming stones, he calculated their time of arrival and then determined the best way to evade them. Even if he couldn't dodge every single stone, he tried his absolute best to minimize the hits.
Even so, agonizing and miserable cries continued to ring out densely within the hall.
"You don't think he's going to ruin Jiang Feng completely, do you?" Manager Liu sat outside the hall, unable to sit still.
An hour later, the doors of the hall slowly opened. Jiang Feng limped out, his clothes torn to shreds and his body covered in bruises and cuts. Before he even reached Manager Liu, his legs gave out and he collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Looking down at the smiling Manager Liu, Jiang Feng said with a grievance-filled tone, "Uncle Liu, you must really have a grudge against my grandfather."
Back in the guest room, Manager Liu helped Jiang Feng apply herbal medicine for bruises and stared straight into his eyes. After a moment, he said guiltily, "Xiaofeng... actually, I also have my own selfish motives. I want to ask you for a favor. Do you know about the relationship between your grandfather and me?"