Xiang Xian: “Lord Xiao, after you.”
Xiao Kun: “Master, after you.”
Xiang Xian: “Lord Xiao, after you.”
Xiao Kun: “Are you a parrot?”
Xiang Xian: “If you get stuck, I can shave you down left and right, turn you into a human stick, and drag you out. You can always regrow yourself anyway.”
Xiao Kun: “…”
Xiao Kun had no choice but to sidle in sideways. Xiang Xian saw that Xiao Kun barely squeezed through, so he should manage too.
“Give me a hand.” Xiao Kun said.
“Stuck already?” Xiang Xian gloated.
Xiao Kun now just wanted to punch Xiang Xian. Xiang Xian pushed him from behind with both hands.
Moments later, with gravel falling, Xiao Kun successfully squeezed through.
“Found it,” Xiao Kun said. “Hurry!”
Xiang Xian had to worm his way through too. His chest was about as thick as Xiao Kun’s, but his shoulders and back differed slightly, getting him stuck tighter.
“Breathe out.” Xiao Kun directed from the side. “Stick your butt out—you’re caught.”
“Pull me…” Xiang Xian had used all his strength.
Xiao Kun: “Figure it out yourself.”
Then he walked off.
“Hey!” Xiang Xian called.
Moments later, Xiao Kun returned, grabbed his wrist, and yanked hard outward. Both exerted full force, and Xiang Xian burst through, crashing onto Xiao Kun. Their faces collided, and Xiao Kun, caught off guard, ended up kissing him with a smack.
Xiao Kun: “!!!”
Xiang Xian: “Hahahahaha—”
Xiao Kun: “Enough!”
That kiss had been quite forceful. Xiang Xian’s lip hurt from the impact, but leaning on the Wisdom Sword, he laughed so hard he could barely stand. Xiao Kun’s face flushed red as he kept wiping his mouth.
Xiao Kun: “There’s a path ahead.”
Xiang Xian: “Your lips are so soft.”
Xiao Kun: “Stop fooling around!”
Xiang Xian sat on a rock: “It hurts from your bump. Need a break.”
Xiao Kun: “Let me see?”
Xiao Kun crouched down suspiciously, peering at Xiang Xian in the faint light. His left hand rested on Xiang Xian’s neck, right hand turning his face toward himself.
Xiang Xian looked into Xiao Kun’s blue eyes and ruddy lips, his neck held in place.
Xiang Xian’s face turned red. That collision had stirred his emotions; he couldn’t help wanting to take another advantage.
In that moment, a thought flashed through Xiang Xian’s mind—kiss him again.
The thought vanished instantly. Xiao Kun wiped his lip and patted his back. “A bit of blood. No big deal.”
Xiang Xian gestured several times for him to look, but Xiao Kun said, “You just want to slack off!”
Xiang Xian laughed and finally stood. “You took advantage of me, and I can’t even sit for a bit?”
Xiao Kun: “Who took advantage of you! Get to business.”
Xiang Xian pointed the Wisdom Sword deeper into the cave. The seventh rune glowed brighter. They descended along stone steps, the wind growing stronger. At the bottom, a sheer drop appeared, with no path forward.
Xiang Xian and Xiao Kun both snapped their fingers. Two light orbs rose: Xiang Xian’s magical power turned into orange-red flames, Xiao Kun’s into cyan-yellow wood-earth true power, illuminating the surroundings of the cliff.
It was a vast domed hall. A Yixiantian crack split the ceiling. The walls were covered in murals similar to Ge Liang’s legacy work. In the center was the Dipamkara Scripture Transformation Chart, with Dipamkara forming the Lamp Mudra with one hand, Mingguang illuminating heaven and earth.
All around were a thousand Buddhas, plus the Deer King Jataka, Wolf-Shaped Giant God, Beihai Kun, and flying birds.
On the other side of the drop was a pedestal with a magic array, bearing a light rune identical to the seventh on the Wisdom Sword.
The two leaped across the drop. Xiao Kun said, “This must be it!”
Xiang Xian looked up and saw the murals matched almost exactly those Ge Liang had left unfinished years ago. Silence reigned in the dome, broken only by occasional dripping water, evoking profound mystery.
“In his final moments before death, he saw this place,” Xiang Xian said, “and painted what he saw as a guide for those who came after.”
Xiao Kun placed his hand on the pedestal, touching the rune. Nothing happened.
Xiao Kun: “I suspect there’s one crucial condition missing, or the Heart Lamp won’t appear.”
Xiang Xian pondered, then said, “I think I get it. Let me try.”
Xiang Xian gripped the Wisdom Sword horizontally in his right hand and placed his left on the seventh rune, channeling some magical power. The rune lit up immediately.
With a hum, light beams flowed in the pedestal’s magic array. A soft glow seeped from the Wisdom Sword’s tip, condensing into a droplet that fell with a light sound into the array’s center.
Xiao Kun prepared himself to strike at any sudden enemies.
The moment the soft glow appeared, the space filled with sanctity. Next, the pedestal’s array blazed. As if sensing heavenly veins, a beam of light descended from the sky through the Yixiantian, striking the pedestal.
A vast ocean of intense light erupted. Xiang Xian stepped back. Xiao Kun knew the critical moment had arrived and strode forward.
The light surged wildly, the cave shook violently, murals collapsed from the walls, and the pedestal rose from the earth. The light rapidly converged at the center, gathering into a white seed of light-fire!
When the pedestal surfaced, Hulü Guang startled but didn’t shout. He leaped onto the plank road and raced toward Xiang Xian and Xiao Kun, finding a vantage and watching them blankly.
“Enemies incoming!” A Huang shot down toward Xiang Xian at the pedestal.
A voice rang out: “Thank you for your trouble, both of you.”
Xiang Xian: “Damn, the Demon King himself!”
As the words fell, a roaring giant beast mouth appeared in the air, morphing into a spatial gate. King Mu burst forth, appearing before them without warning.
Xiao Kun decided instantly: “I’m taking the Heart Lamp! Protect me!”
Xiang Xian turned without a word toward King Mu, flames bursting from both hands as he shouted, “A Huang!”
The Heart Lamp hall rose, centered in the basin encircled by the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves. Buddhist chants echoed as golden light poured from countless caves, as if summoned by the Heart Lamp.
