https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-642-Bow-to-Me-Before-Bowing-to-the-Buddha/12947083/
Chapter 643: The Venerable's Teachings
Chapter 643: The Venerable's Teachings
In the instant that the two Bodhimanda Sect disciples perished, the once grand and opulent hall became eerily surreal.
Even the golden statue, which had been radiant moments ago, seemed to fade away like a fleeting cloud.
On the crowded street, a sudden wave of bloodlust spread, causing passersby to halt in bewilderment. On the bluestone pavement, only two pools of blood remained, testifying to the recent events.
Far away, on another street.
A white-robed man, holding a wine flask, stumbled slightly, his face flushed with intoxication. Suddenly, he sniffed and his eyes cleared.
He furrowed his brows, sensing the faint, pungent scent of blood.
Meng Xiuwen performed a spell, taking a step forward, and his figure appeared before the pools of blood. He pushed through the onlookers, bent down, and touched the bloodstains with his fingertips.
Upon seeing the golden light gradually dimming in the blood, his last trace of intoxication vanished, and he shivered.
"Something bad is about to happen..."
For some reason, Meng Xiuwen hadn't fully processed his thoughts, but his legs instinctively moved, and he rushed towards the inn.
He hadn't been too concerned about Ye Lan's departure from Jianyuan Prefecture, as Demon Slayers typically possessed the strength to guard an entire prefecture, and rarely encountered significant issues.
But now, he felt a chill run through his body.
A Bodhimanda Sect ascetic had fallen in Jianyuan Prefecture, and the ascetic Meng Xiuwen was most familiar with was none other than the newly appointed Demon Slayer, Ye Jing!
Could it be that Qing Mei, the old busybody, had come knocking on their door?
"Are you alright?"
Meng Xiuwen stood on the second floor of the inn and shouted, kicking the door open. As he took in the scene inside, his initial anxiety turned into bewilderment.
Ye Jing leaned against the corner, her eyes closed as she regulated her breath.
On the other side, an ascetic with a bloody hole in his face, recognizable as Zhi Kong, sat on the ground, staring blankly at Shen Yi on the bed.
The situation seemed different from what he had imagined.
But when Meng Xiuwen saw what Shen Yi was doing, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He quickly stepped into the room and slammed the door shut!
On the bed lay two corpses, both dressed as ascetics. One had their skull smashed by a blunt object, while the other was even more brutalized, with their head completely missing.
Shen Yi was meticulously searching the bodies, not leaving any detail unchecked.
His posture resembled that of a bandit who had just robbed someone.
"Huff."
Shen Yi slowly retrieved two golden pages, a faint smile finally appearing on his face.
Indeed, his prediction had been accurate.
Although ordinary cultivators rarely carried their cultivation techniques with them, the Bodhimanda Sect was different.
Shen Yi had personally experienced the terror of facing true tribulations without the protection of a sacred text, so these items were not merely cultivation techniques but life-saving talismans that stabilized one's spirit.
Even if one memorized the contents, having the text on hand for reference provided a sense of security.
"..."
Meng Xiuwen's eyelids twitched, and with that smile, he seemed even more suspicious. His mouth felt dry as he asked, "What are you doing here? What's going on?"
He now had a rough idea why Shen Yi, a wandering cultivator, seemed so refreshingly unconventional.
It seemed that all these abilities were acquired through this method.
"Bodhimanda Sect ascetics attempted to assassinate me and Official Shen in Jianyuan Prefecture."
Ye Jing, usually appearing absent-minded, slightly opened her eyes and with a single sentence, turned Shen Yi's personal vendetta for stealing the Bodhisattva position's sacred text into a public matter of criminals attacking officials.
Not to mention, those two monks had killed a Purple Cloud Sect cultivator, which was certainly no act of kindness.
Official Shen was merely eliminating a threat for the Divine Dynasty!
Ye Jing glanced at Shen Yi, who had just taken the sacred text from the corpses, and nervously pursed her lips.
"Tsk."
Meng Xiuwen wasn't a fool, and he wouldn't be fooled by such an incomplete explanation. But since the deed was already done... He turned his gaze to the side, where Zhi Kong, the surviving ascetic, stood: "So, this one is still alive?"
"Huh?"
Zhi Kong finally snapped out of his daze, feeling a chill down his neck as the white-robed man stared at him.
Shen Xianyou was truly peculiar, and his friends didn't seem ordinary either.
Zhi Kong remembered giving the Three Tribulation Lotus Platform Technique to Shen Yi, and within a short time, he had already perfected it. Of course, he didn't think an official would lack Imperial Qi to overcome the Heart Tribulation.
Imperial Qi, the means by which the court controlled the realm, was a precious resource. Every bit used meant one less for the court, and even officials had limited access, rarely obtaining it for personal use.
But no matter what, it was still much easier for him to obtain than for ordinary cultivators.
However, the prerequisite for overcoming the Heart Tribulation was also being able to understand the spell and having entered the initial stages of cultivation.
Shen Xianyou had cultivated the Three Tribulation Lotus Platform Technique with such ease that even within the Buddhist Sect, he would have been praised by the elders for his exceptional Buddhist nature.
What a pity...
Venerable Zhi Kong looked back at the corpses of his two senior brothers. Ever since Shen Xianyou had killed them, it had become extremely difficult for him to join the Buddhist Sect.
But at the same time, he thought of something even more terrifying.
If Shen Xianyou was an official of the Imperial Court, with access to abundant Imperial Qi, coupled with his remarkable Buddhist nature and possession of the Dragon Tiger Scripture, if this trend continued, wouldn't it mean... that in the future, a Dragon Tiger Bodhisattva would appear, but he wouldn't be a disciple of the Buddhist Sect, and there would even be grudges between the two sides?
Venerable Zhi Kong dared not imagine what kind of punishment the elders of the Buddhist Sect would impose upon learning of this matter.
Fortunately, neither he nor his two senior brothers had mastered the Golden Lotus Technique.
That thing wasn't something one could obtain so easily.
Even after achieving perfection in the Six Tribulation Lotus Platform, one still needed to be valued by a Venerable, becoming their half-disciple, and pass their trials before obtaining this technique and entering the realm of the Golden Lotus Ascetic.
Then, they could pluck the Dao Fruit and become the Dharma Protector Bodhisattva under that Venerable's Lotus Platform.
Shen Xianyou was treading a path to his own demise, fortunately, this path had a missing segment.
"This has nothing to do with Master Zhi Kong."
Shen Yi carefully put away the Golden Ledger, turned around, and shook her head.
[Seventh Stage. Six Tribulation Lotus Platform Technique: Not Initiated]
"So it was our Shen adult again, huh?" Meng Xiuwen smiled bitterly, he had already seen that Shen Yi wasn't a pushover earlier, so when Ye Lan appointed her as the temporary Demon Slayer Official, he found it quite amusing.
But he never expected her to be this ruthless.
Collaborating with the Buddhist Sect disciples, she directly killed the other two Ascetics, taking their techniques by force. Listen, is this something someone from the court would do? The most outrageous thing was that Shen Yi had won.
The Six Tribulation Ascetic represented the upper limit of Seventh Stage strength, even Venerable Zhi Kong would be a step behind, and Ye Jing definitely couldn't play any significant role in such a battle.
She was just a loose cultivator, yet she not only won but also killed two at once.
If this news got out, no one would believe it.
"Hmm."
Meng Xiuwen sighed, summoning a sword light to destroy the corpses and erase any traces. At the same time, he noticed an invisible flame landing on the other corpse.
He paused for a moment, looking at Shen Yi, their movements were so familiar, and a brief glance into each other's eyes was enough for them to understand each other without words.
"Can we talk?"
After finishing the task of destroying the corpses, Meng Xiuwen put away his playful demeanor, and for once, he became unusually serious.
Even if the news of killing the Buddhist Sect disciples reached Venerable Zhi Kong, matters concerning the Demon Slayer Bureau couldn't be disclosed to him.
"Okay."
Shen Yi nodded lightly and followed him out of the house.
The reason she could remain in Juyang Prefecture after doing so many things and not have to flee for her life was precisely because of this identity as a Demon Slayer Official.
But this identity obviously had its limits.
No matter how thick the tree, it couldn't always indulge the whims of its subordinates.
"You'll eventually need to find a master to follow, you can't keep going like this forever."
Meng Xiuwen walked slowly and handed over the wine gourd in his hand, "Learn a little from the East, learn a little from the West, it may seem like you have many methods and formidable strength, but without reaching the Fifth Stage, in the end, it's just a minor path. Whether it's the Dao Fruit or the Fruit Position, you'll eventually need to pluck one."
"These things, it's hard for you to obtain them on your own, you need others to teach you."
"However, by joining our path, it's like being rejected by the Three Teachings, including other Immortal Sects, it'll be difficult for them to accept us. Most likely, you can only learn from the elders within our circle."
At this point, Meng Xiuwen's face showed self-mockery, "Don't end up like me, saying you can do as you please, acting as a chivalrous hero, but in the eyes of the elders, you're just a rebellious troublemaker, always causing problems, and no one dares to pick us."
"Talking about being the strongest Demon Slayer Official... no matter how strong you are, in the end, you still can't obtain a title or find a master, forever stuck at the Sixth Stage, unable to make any progress."
"..."
Shen Yi listened quietly and took a sip of the turbid wine.
Sometimes, it wasn't that she intentionally wanted to cause trouble, but when she saw something wrong, she would impulsively try to fix it.
From the very beginning until today, she had experienced countless big and small matters, yet she still couldn't change this bad habit.
"Fine."
Seeing Shen Yi's expression, Meng Xiuwen sighed and shook his head, feeling like he was looking at his younger self. Reasoning was definitely not going to work.
He patted the young man's shoulder, changing the topic: "Do you know that whether it's a Celestial Immortal or a Golden Lotus Ascetic, these Sixth Stage Realms are merely transitional stages. Of course, this transition is also crucial, as it determines the type of Dao Fruit you can cultivate in the future."
"True Immortals face six tribulations, and Celestial Immortals face the same six. Together, it totals twelve, but for most Dao Fruits, nine tribulations are sufficient."
"You've learned so many skills, and you're quite proficient in all of them, which shows your exceptional talent. Find a good master, and if you can cultivate to perfection, and perhaps even obtain an excellent Dao Fruit, this life will be worth it."
"In life, one must always have hope."
He withdrew his hand and smiled at Shen Yi: "Do you understand?"
"Not really."
Shen Yi shook his head, unsure why the other man was suddenly talking about these things.
"Oh." Meng Xiuwen, frustrated with the young man's lack of understanding, reached out and vigorously rubbed his hair: "What I mean is, you don't have to be like a bandit, robbing others everywhere you go!"
"Ye Lan! This is the path you should be taking. If you can make her like you a little, the Void Dao Fruit she obtained is one of the top ten among the seventy-two best!"
With what Shen Yi was currently doing, it would only make Ye Lan trust him less. Wasn't this like throwing away a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds?
"I remember she said she'd take you to the gathering. This is a good opportunity. Don't mess it up. Show your best behavior. With your talent for offending people and making enemies, apart from her, I can't think of anyone else who could protect you."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yi slightly raised his eyes.
Void Dao Fruit... It sounded incredibly tempting.
To be honest, he was well aware that as an ascetic, he couldn't go far. After all, he had killed three disciples of the Bodhimanda Sect before even joining them. He couldn't rely on luck, hoping that every time he would be as fortunate as the last time when he effortlessly obtained the Dragon Tiger Scripture, a valuable treasure.
Obtaining the Dragon Tiger Fruit Position was probably his limit. Acquiring an even more advanced scripture would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
In the end, he had to return to the path of the Immortals.
However, he was truly unskilled at building good relationships with women.
"So, what kind of gathering is it?" Shen Yi glanced sideways, wanting to make a good impression, he needed to understand the situation beforehand.
Unexpectedly, Meng Xiuwen furrowed his brows: "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either. The Bodhimanda Sect is different from the Three Immortal Sects. They have their own ways, emphasizing that the Dharma should not be passed outside the sect. Even when a Venerable speaks the Dharma, they invite ascetics and Bodhisattvas to listen."
"But this time, it's different."
"That Venerable has widely distributed invitations without any reservations. Many Immortal Sects have received the invitations, and there will be numerous Immortals attending the ceremony. Who knows what this Venerable will speak about."
As he spoke, Meng Xiuwen narrowed his eyes, a chill forming in his pupils: "This matter involves a lot of people, and it has already caused quite a stir, even attracting the attention of the Imperial Capital."
"Do you know what a Venerable is? In terms of strength, they are equivalent to a Third Stage Immortal Official. In the Bodhimanda Sect, they are revered as Bodhisattvas!"
"Such a prominent figure's intentions are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, leaving them with a sense of unease."
Meng Xiuwen took a deep breath. For cultivators, this grand event was no less significant than the court providing disaster relief to refugees. But for the Demon Slayer Bureau, it was a real headache.
"I understand."
Shen Yi nodded, now almost certain that General Yanlan had brought him along purely to listen to the Dharma, in other words, to bestow him with an opportunity.
In matters concerning a Third Stage master, a mere Seventh Stage cultivator like him could do nothing.
Nevertheless, he decided to improve his strength a little. If he encountered any danger, he would have a better chance of survival.
With this in mind, Shen Yi bid farewell to Meng Xiuwen and returned to the inn.
He chose an empty room and summoned the Spirit Light Mouse to guard the door.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he slowly closed his eyes.
Ever since his last tribulation, Shen Yi had been reminiscing about the feeling of unity with heaven and earth. Now, with a new precious scripture protecting his soul, he could finally continue his journey forward.
【Remaining Demon Lifespan: 167 Tribulations】
In an instant, the remaining demon lifespan was channeled into the Six Tribulation Lotus Platform Technique.
The lotus platform within Shen Yi's body once again blossomed with new petals.
(End of Chapter)
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