Longevity Chronicles

But speaking of the Demon Buddha Temple, it had cast out the Han Mountain Monk and occupied Qiantang Province, opening a sub-temple there.

The presiding monk in the temple was of course Kongchan, with Shipi and a host of Arhats from the Ultimate Happiness Realm, each of them unparalleled in strength, with limitless Buddhist Law.

They seldom took action themselves, sitting firmly in the sub-temple ready to respond to powerful enemies.

All other matters were handed over to yet another group of venerable demon monks under their command, such as Hei Bo and Flower Staff, who were among the best, and that's how they secured the task of casting the [Great Compassionate and Merciful Transcendent Bodhisattva] in Yinping City.

In recent times, the divine powers displayed by monks Hei Bo and Flower Staff had indeed subdued all directions.

Those two big warlords, Pi Mao and Chi Shen, came to Yinping thinking to cause trouble, but they were each subdued single-handedly by the two Venerables, becoming docile and obedient; they were manipulated into becoming supplies and treasure materials without any ability to resist.

Who could have expected, just when it was time to harvest the rewards,

Two young monks suddenly appeared out of nowhere, one from the north who, with a single collision, dispatched over a hundred demon monks into Nirvana, even forcing Venerable Flower Staff to avoid; the other from the south who, with a toss of his cloth bag, not only captured Venerable Hei Bo but also took the opportunity to snatch the Great Transcendence Bodhisattva.

After so many days of hard work, to have it taken advantage by others, how could this be allowed?

Venerable Flower Staff's face showed anger, and he no longer cared about another enemy, the Free Buddha's Son, only fixing his gaze on that "silver spearhead with a pewter handle" of a handsome young monk.

He opened his Buddha Eye and applied Sublime Dharma, trying to peer into the foundation of his power.

But no matter how he looked, he could not find any weakness.

Only thinking to himself in his heart,

"I must have been mistaken before, the mana within this young man is so ferocious, it's even stronger than that of the Great Freedom Buddha's Son; that ragged cloth bag was able to capture my brother Hei Bo, clearly it's a great treasure, which sect did he come from, to have such achievements at such a young age?"

"Hmph, no matter which sect, it's not bigger than my Demon Buddha Temple."

With his mind made up, Venerable Flower Staff decisively included both young monks in his verbal attack.

The Buddha Staff paused for a moment, then he angrily shouted,

"Who are you two, daring to meddle in the affairs of my Demon Buddha Temple, one killing my monks, the other capturing my brother, and taking the treasure of the Demon Buddha."

"You must think yourselves mighty with Great Divine Power and possession of great treasures, hence you provoke my brother and me."

"Young and inexperienced, you know not the immensity of heaven and earth."

"If today you do not give a satisfactory explanation, before long, my Demon Buddha Temple will have Arhats come to capture you both, and we will then go and settle the score with your masters."

This threat from Venerable Flower Staff, if it were directed at the young talents of other Great Sects,

It might have some effect.

Unfortunately, he happened to encounter two who were not susceptible.

Upon hearing this, the two monks exchanged a glance, then developing a bit of a rapport, the ugly monk with a lump on his forehead was the one to speak first,

"This humble monk, Shenxiu, is a native of Tianfu Province, simply a kitchen monk from Free Temple."

"The Mage claims this humble monk killed; the accusation is greatly unjustified. When this humble monk arrived, I had already warned not to touch my Dharma Body. It was those hundred or so comrades who did not listen, and that's why they ascended to heaven; this ledger should not fall on this humble monk's head."

"It is not possible to capture this humble monk, as I came into this realm to overcome my Cultivation Tribulation and need to amass nine great merits and ninety-nine small merits; I cannot afford delays."

"As for seeking out my master to settle accounts, that I can accommodate. I can indicate the path; Mage, you go to Great Freedom Temple yourself and look for Long Meng Arhat, he is my master."

After saying the last sentence, the ugly monk considerately raised his hand and conjured the illusion of an Arhat.

This act seemed like an honest person, yet also like one harboring cunning, making him difficult to decipher.

However, he spoke with a Tianfu Province accent, occasionally spitting out some odd slang, which Tao Qian found amusing, while Venerable Flower Staff found it infuriating.

At this moment, in Tao Qian's mind, he suddenly heard Lian Jing'er's voice revealing more about the ugly monk's background.

"Comparison in progress... confirmed to be Great Freedom Buddha's Son, Master Shenxiu."

"This individual is nominally a kitchen monk but is actually ranked within the top three amongst his generation of Buddha's Sons in Great Freedom Temple and is even recognized by many cultivators who have sparred with him as the foremost Buddha's Son."

"This individual is only a step away from the Ultimate Happiness Realm."

"This person's temperament and mental state have reached the stage of returning to the truth, he cultivates the 'Great Buddha's Top Secret Scripture' as his life's work and is adept at divine powers such as [Thundering Buddha Flame], [Observing the Buddha Eye of Freedom in All Worlds], [Mahayana Demon Suppression Fist], [Great Wisdom Mantra] etc., all of which are methods to subdue demons and hence he has earned the nickname 'Demon-suppressing Ugly Vajra'."

"Since this person has been in this world, he has subdued devils and eliminated demons, accumulated good deeds, and enlightened mortals without a single evil act, and even peers in the Daoist and Buddhist circles cannot help but admire him."

No sooner had Lian Jing'er finished speaking than Master Yuan transmitted a message.

Different from before, he revealed the background of the ugly monk's master.

"Boy, I know you were once duped by a baldy from Great Freedom Temple, but also don't develop a bias; if this temple could be the leader of the Buddhist Sect, it could not possibly be a haven for all that is filthy. There is good and bad, just differences in the paths and philosophies."

"This ugly monk's master, being Long Meng Arhat, should be a promising acquaintance."

"Long Meng, this baldy, is just as his name suggests, exceptionally strong."

"Nonetheless, he's also an honest monk, practicing the proper Buddhist Law. Once, knowing that a different lineage brother named Venerable Bao Ye misunderstood Buddhist principles and robbed civilians to increase his mana, he specifically intercepted him on the way and not only beat him severely but also forcibly destroyed his cultivation."

"Because of this, he was reprimanded, but the baldy did not change his ways and continued beating disciples from Vajra Temple, Dharma Cakra Temple, Da Zhao Temple, etc., for similar reasons until eventually he was punished to face the wall in contemplation for five hundred years within the temple. I did not expect such a straightforward baldy to start teaching disciples now."

Tao Qian listened to the message while also following Shenxiu's lead and volunteered his own background,

"This humble monk, Wu Gou, a native of the South Sea."

"The Daoist's rebuke is entirely without reason; kindly, I offered that Venerable entrance into my People Species Bag for rest; to nourish and protect his Divine Soul, where is the wrong in this? As for the Buddha Treasure, it was the Daoist himself who threw it, and it just happened to fall into my bag, signifying that the treasure was fated to be mine."