Chapter 024: Shrinking Stature

The Thousand-Hand Buddha healed the Heng-Ha Erjiang and said to Wang Bo, “We are ready.”

Wang Bo looked at the size of the Heng-Ha Erjiang, then at his own portal. Although his portal was large, it was not yet big enough to accommodate the Heng-Ha Erjiang.

Moreover, among these Buddha Star people, the Heng-Ha Erjiang were not the largest.

The largest Buddha stood several tens of meters tall, utterly impossible to pass through the portal.

So Wang Bo said to the Thousand-Hand Buddha, “I need to shrink your people before they can go through the portal.”

The Thousand-Hand Buddha asked, “How will you shrink them?”

“Like this.” Wang Bo pointed a single finger at the Heng-Ha Erjiang. The two giant Buddha Star people began to shrink in the blink of an eye. In just a few breaths, they went from over ten meters tall down to about two meters.

The Thousand-Hand Buddha grew even more astonished and turned his head to look at the Heng-Ha Erjiang.

The Heng-Ha Erjiang shook their heads slightly, indicating that they felt no problems—aside from their reduced size, everything was normal.

Only then did the Thousand-Hand Buddha relax. He turned to Wang Bo and said, “I trouble you.”

“It’s just a small favor.”

Wang Bo casually snapped his fingers. Every Buddha Star person taller than two meters began to shrink—whether seven or eight meters, over ten meters, or several tens of meters, all shrank down to two meters.

“Let’s go.” Wang Bo led the group through the portal and entered the lone mountain transfer station in the Central Land.

Inside the vast treasure chamber, Smaug was sleeping. Hearing the commotion from the portal, he cracked open one eye. Seeing Wang Bo enter with a group of unfamiliar beings, he closed his eye again.

This was none of his business; better to sleep.

The Buddha Star people, seeing Smaug lying atop gold coins and gems, were dumbfounded, their eyes wide and jaws dropped.

After all, Smaug’s body was truly enormous.

Even the largest Buddha Star person was still a little brother compared to Smaug.

The Thousand-Hand Buddha glanced at Smaug. He could sense the immense energy within Smaug’s body—though not as great as Wang Bo’s, it was still terrifying.

Such a creature was not something he could handle.

His reverence for Wang Bo grew even deeper.

Wang Bo led the Buddha Star people into the world of Tonglao. The Buddha Star people would be hard to hide in the modern world, but in the ancient world, they were all too easy to conceal.

Just build a temple anywhere, move in, and they could pass for the Buddhas in the main hall.

Wang Bo placed the portal to Tonglao’s world in the basement beneath the Tianya Haige. After passing through, he led the Buddha Star people out and notified the sect leader of Tianya Haige, Li Qiushui.

Transmitting sound across a thousand li was no trouble for Wang Bo now.

Li Qiushui, who had been watching her maids dance, changed expression. She waved her hand and said, “Stop. All of you, leave.”

The dancers did not understand why, but they dared not be slow. They stopped dancing, bowed to Li Qiushui, and said, “As you command!”

Then they all filed out.

Li Qiushui dismissed the dancers, then looked at her personal maids around her. After a moment’s hesitation, she did not send them away but kept them there.

It was time for these people to see what her man, Li Qiushui’s man, looked like.

“In a moment, several honored guests will arrive. You must serve them carefully. Whoever disgraces me, I’ll skin her alive. Understood?”

The maids were so frightened they knelt prostrate. “Yes, Sect Leader.”

“All of you, rise.”

Li Qiushui waved her hand, and the personal maids stood up.

Meanwhile, Wang Bo led the Buddha Star people out of the basement and into the main hall. When Li Qiushui saw Wang Bo arrive, she happily came forward to greet him. But when she saw the Buddha Star people behind him, her expression changed instantly.

Li Qiushui was not a woman who fasted and chanted sutras; on the contrary, she was ruthless, cunning, and never believed in Buddhism. Yet she was no stranger to the Buddha statues in temples.

So when she saw the Buddha Star people, she was utterly stunned.

Th-this… was this an epiphany of the Buddha?

This was too incredible.

Even she was shocked, let alone the maids. When they saw the Buddha Star people, they were dumbfounded; the more timid ones rolled their eyes and fainted on the spot.

Li Qiushui walked to Wang Bo’s side and asked in a low voice, “These are…”

Wang Bo said, “These are all friends I know. They are Buddha Star people, just similar in appearance to Buddha statues—not real Buddhas. Don’t worry.”

Only then did Li Qiushui relax. She made a graceful bow and said, “Li Qiushui of Tianya Haige greets you all.”

The Thousand-Hand Buddha nodded slightly and spoke a sentence. Li Qiushui looked completely bewildered, for she understood nothing.

Wang Bo explained, “He just greeted you.”

Li Qiushui nodded thoughtfully.

Wang Bo continued, “The reason I came this time is to arrange for these Buddha Star people. I plan to build a temple nearby for them to live in, serving as the temple’s Buddha statues.”

Li Qiushui immediately said, “Leave this matter to me. I will supervise my people to handle it.”

Although the martial arts in this world were extremely high, and the Tianshan sect’s techniques could even grant immortality,

there were indeed no immortals in this world.

So Li Qiushui saw nothing wrong with letting a group of Buddha Star people pose as Buddha statues, nor did she think it would incur the wrath of the Buddha.

After all, whether there were Buddhas or Arhats in this world was still an open question.

Wang Bo shook his head and did not entrust the matter to Li Qiushui. “Your people are too slow. Building a large temple would take several years. I can’t wait that long. I’ll do it myself.”

Li Qiushui did not insist. Instead, she asked, “Then where do you plan to build the temple?”

Wang Bo said, “Right near Tianya Haige, so you can look out for each other.”

Li Qiushui’s feelings for Wang Bo were complicated. To say she loved him was impossible. The reason she gave herself to him was not only gratitude for saving her life but also, more importantly, to latch onto a powerful backer.

After all, Wang Bo was too mysterious and powerful.

After latching onto him, she had gained many benefits, even easily overthrowing Wu Xingyun.

Even when Wang Bo did not come for days, she did not complain. After all, in a sense, their relationship was not much different from a transaction.

But now, hearing Wang Bo’s words, her heart warmed, because she knew that Wang Bo did not treat her as just a fling. That alone was enough to make her happy.

So Li Qiushui nodded and said, “Thank you.”

Wang Bo smiled and said, “Bring me a map of the area. We’ll choose a location.”

Li Qiushui naturally agreed and ordered someone to present the map.