https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-103-Unscathed-by-Tribulations-Attaining-the-Dharma-Body/12553945/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-105-The-Annihilation-of-the-Vajra-Sect/12553947/
Chapter 104: Pingkang Mountain's Great Prison
Chapter 104: Pingkang Mountain's Great Prison
The devotees' expressions became increasingly calm, and the piety in their eyes was not feigned.
Amid the neat and solemn chanting,
Hong Lei swept his gaze silently over them, but instead of feeling peaceful, he felt a sense of unease.
Turning away from the main hall, he anxiously looked at Shen Yi and asked, "Sir, what do we do now?"
It seemed they had come to the right place.
However, the scene before them was not sufficient evidence.
The matter had escalated beyond a personal grudge. Along the way, Hong Lei had heard that Shen Yi, with an overwhelmingly dominant stance, had suppressed most of the younger generation in Qingzhou City at Da Shun Zhai.
Leaving almost no room for compromise!
At this moment, countless eyes within the city temporarily set aside their hostility and quietly awaited the outcome.
If they couldn't maintain their previous decisiveness and deal with the Vajra Sect decisively, they would be seen as hesitating.
If people discovered that Shen Yi wasn't as confident and dominant as he appeared, they would face relentless counterattacks.
Setting aside other underhanded tactics, at the very least, the desk of the Generalissimo would be piled high with petitions accusing "Sir Shen" of abuse of power and dereliction of duty! This would happen not just from outside, but even within the Demon Suppression Division.
These subordinate officers and captains trusted Shen Yi so much that he had gained far more prestige than an ordinary personal attendant officer.
However, this newly consolidated prestige needed time to solidify. If they encountered a problem this early on...
"Get up!"
Two inner camp officers flipped over the little novice monk who was on the ground and coldly asked, "What are you up to? Where is your abbot?"
"The abbot... the abbot is not here, sir. We were just leading the devotees in Qi cultivation and meditation. What are you doing?"
Before the little monk could finish his sentence, he saw the young man with the yin-yang fish emblem on his collar walking towards him. Just as he wanted to beg for mercy, the young man lifted his hand and flipped open his monk's robe, and his long fingers quickly pressed against his skin, flesh, and bones.
"Just started practicing?"
Shen Yi withdrew his hand and straightened up.
"What are you talking about, practice what?" The little monk's heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to argue, he let out a sharp, painful scream, "Ah!"
The clean, tall boots casually stepped on his arm, making a crisp cracking sound.
Shen Yi, who had been quietly observing, now slowly walked to the front of the hall, and the aura of the Jade Liquid Realm quickly swept through, dispersing the curling smoke inside the hall.
Almost at the same time, all the devotees looked up helplessly, the joy in their eyes gradually fading, and then turning into a kind of heart-wrenching pain.
They clutched their robes, and the veins in their necks popped out.
Soon, the chanting turned into painful, low howls, and everyone forcefully twitched their nostrils, but no matter what, they couldn't feel the happiness they had felt before.
"Master! I'll write a letter, I'll write a letter home right now! I'll definitely call my grandson to come and meditate with me!"
"Show me some more mercy!"
Someone stumbled to their feet, looking like they had their essence, energy, and spirit sucked out, like a zombie, and begged, "Give me paper and pen..."
The people from the Demon Suppression Division, including Hong Lei, were slightly startled, and then they all furrowed their brows.
Shen Yi pushed away the withered, skinny hand clutching his sleeve, and the golden light in his eyes shone once again!
In his hazy vision, white mist and golden light alternated, and after an unknown amount of time, a faint trace of scarlet finally drilled out from below.
He put away his aura-seeing technique and strode forward. He stopped in front of the Buddha statue and clenched his fist. Then, he punched out!
With the sound of the clay Buddha statue shattering, a secret passage was revealed amidst the dust and smoke.
"You two guard the entrance."
Shen Yi stepped down, and the two inner camp officers bowed and complied.
Hong Lei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed, "They left so many people on the mountain and even built a secret passage. It can't be just for the sake of incense offerings."
Before he could finish his sentence, his expression changed, and he covered his mouth and nose, forcibly holding back his urge to vomit as he continued to follow Shen Yi.
After some time, they reached the end of the quiet staircase. The ground beneath their feet was slippery and muddy, emitting a nauseating mix of odors: feces, blood, and rot...
What greeted their eyes were iron prison cells on both sides, made of black metal bars.
Apart from the iron bars, the prison cells retained the original shape of the stone cave, with the only facility being a stone trough. Excrement and a sort of porridge-like food were mixed together, with some medicinal powder on the sides.
Inside the filthy trough,
There were bodies lying with their upper halves submerged, allowing themselves to soak in the food and waste. Their faces were emaciated and jaundiced, with feces smeared on their cheeks, and their eyes dull as they mindlessly swallowed the porridge-like substance, dirty and pig-like.
But this was the first time he had encountered such a disgusting environment.
"Can that old man really stand to stay in a place like this?"
Hong Lei didn't even want to refer to him as 'Fake Bald Donkey' anymore.
"Maybe he's used to it," Shen Yi replied softly as he continued walking forward.
If Zhang the Butcher's account was accurate, then even if they counted from when 'Yuanzhi' was killed, it had already been many years.
"Why is he keeping these people here?" Hong Lei asked, perplexed. If he liked keeping things so much, why not just raise pigs instead?
Shen Yi paused and nodded slightly.
Hong Lei followed his gaze and saw two elderly men with wooden buckets, pouring their contents into a large pit.
The thick, crimson liquid churned, revealing streaks of milky white, with chunks of blood clotting within.
The two men put down their buckets and glanced coldly towards them, as if they had anticipated Shen Yi's arrival, their faces devoid of panic.
They stood quietly by the pool, as if proclaiming something. Their voices were calm, "You two benefactors are too late. You will die here."
Recognizing the familiar faces, Hong Lei quickly identified them as veteran masters from the Vajra Sect, no weaker than Abbot Benxin.
"It's impossible." He exhaled and placed his hand on his sheath. "Today, no matter what, you must leave one for me."
"I'll give you both of them."
Shen Yi looked at the blood pool.
"Both of them?" Hong Lei pulled at his lips, intending to decline politely, but his gaze was also drawn to the blood pool.
The churning surface grew more violent, as if boiling, visibly reducing in volume.
Soon, a bald head emerged.
The man had a pale, beardless face, and his eyes, which were open, were filled with bloodshot threads, devoid of spirit and foolish.
As he breathed, the blood pool completely merged into his body, and his skin alternated between dark and pale, not bearing any demonic aura. Instead, it exuded a harmonious balance of yin and yang, and his robust aura made the abbot, who was sitting cross-legged, appear like a subjugating demon Arhat.
"Not experiencing... the Samsara... Attaining the Dharma body..."
The abbot slowly stood up, his movements stiff, and his words sounded like delirium.
"Ah?" Hong Lei gripped the knife handle tightly.
Could these words be interpreted this way? Does it mean attaining Buddhahood without experiencing countless kalpas, implying that you transfer your tribulations to others, and then attain the Dharma body yourself?
Does this old man take the scriptures literally when he reads them?
"Thank you..."
"Thank you..."
The abbot's body twitched, and he clasped his hands together towards the prison cells. He then pulled the two Vajra Sect elders towards him and embraced them with immense gratitude.
Under those seemingly thin arms, the two elders, no weaker than Abbot Benxin, didn't have time to speak before their eyes bulged out of their sockets. Their bodies made a teeth-grinding, squeaky sound.
As he released them, these two powerful masters collapsed on the spot, their bodies limp like rotten meat.
The abbot stared at the ground in confusion and then grinned. "May I attain Buddhahood and become a treasure king, and may I also save countless sentient beings like the sand of the Ganges... I have attained perfection, and I was about to save you, but you are without this destiny..."
As he spoke, he suddenly surged forward, and the thick stone wall, several dozen zhang thick, shattered like tofu under the force of his body. In an instant, he burst out of the underground prison!
"... "
Hong Lei stood there, stunned, his heart sinking as he stared at the two corpses on the ground.
He had heard that the abbot of the Vajra Sect had attained the Half-Volume Pill Tempering Body Law, but he had never believed in the existence of a "Half-Condensed Elixir" in this world.
However, the situation before him completely shattered his understanding.
"Thank you."
At this moment, someone gently patted his shoulder.
Hong Lei hugged himself instinctively and saw Shen Yi holding a strand of dark and white qi between his fingertips, which he then stored in his silver bell before turning and striding towards the exit.
"What are you thanking me for?"
(End of Chapter)
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