Buddhist School Secret Arts

Xilai exuded murderous aura, like a demon who had emerged from Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood. He was burdened with countless sins, and the Sha Qi between his brows seemed to have solidified into a tangible form, making him completely different from his usual immaculate appearance.

Who exactly are you?

Si Ming concentrated his strength and threw a punch at Xilai's back, the powerful force soaring through the air, but it was deflected by a single slash, the opponent's strength was not weaker than his own.

"The Buddha's blood builds the evil Bodhi, the extreme karma of the six realms leads to the Tathagata's downfall!"

After Xilai's slash repelled Si Ming, he ignored him, took out a demon mask, put it on his face, and stepped into Dragon Gate Temple with the Glazed Precept-Breaking Saber in hand. He killed anyone he saw, and with a single swipe of his knife, a head flew off.

"The enemy is at the door, sound the alarm! Ah—"

"Yuanzhu! You villain, I'll fight you to the death!"

The alarm bells of Dragon Gate Temple rang loudly, and dozens of martial monks rushed out, wielding weapons and charging Xilai. Each displayed their unique skills, with sword energy, staff shadows, and palm strikes crisscrossing the area, and the Buddha's light shining brightly, as if Arhat had descended to earth.

However, with a flash of light, a large number of people fell, their weapons were cut in half, their bodies were severed, the Buddha's light shattered, and their internal organs and blood splattered all over the ground.

Xilai, knife in hand, stepped forward. No one could stop him, and no one could escape from behind him. The stone bricks beneath his feet turned red and continued to expand and spread.

"Xiao Ming, aren't you going to stop him?"

Hongdou looked at Si Ming, who was standing at the temple entrance, clenching his fists but not chasing after them, and asked.

Si Ming said in a bitter tone, "Look closely, those people did it voluntarily."

Hongdou rarely showed a surprised expression. She opened her eyes wide and looked over, only to find that although the monks roared and used all their strength to attack Xilai, all their moves missed and did not hit anyone.

"Why do you have to do this? I don't understand..."

Xilai wielded his sword and charged forward without hindrance, facing no opponent. With a single strike, he would take several lives. The blood threads within the Glazed Precept-Breaking Saber twisted and writhed, absorbing the blood clinging to the blade to strengthen itself. Moreover, it absorbed only one drop of blood for each person killed, never greedily seeking more.

So the ground was stained red, the incense burner was stained red, the prayer cushions were stained red, the donation box was stained red, the main hall was stained red...

Finally, Xilai stood before the abbot of Dragon Gate Temple, the only living person in the Dragon Gate Temple.

The abbot sat upright on the prayer mat, constantly turning the prayer beads in his hand and chanting the Diamond Sutra, seemingly unaware of the impending calamity.

Wearing a mask, Xilai said with difficulty, "Uncle-Master, I'm sorry..."

The abbot smiled upon hearing this, stopped chanting, and looked up, saying, "The one who should apologize is me. When a person dies, their eyes close and all suffering ends, but the living must continue to endure pain, bearing all the sins on your shoulders. This is our incompetence as elders, and we hope you can forgive us."

I am not qualified...

"No one is more qualified than you. Everyone sacrificed themselves voluntarily, so you don't need to feel guilty. As Buddha said, 'If I don't go to hell, who will?'"

"My fellow disciples at Dragon Gate Temple died voluntarily, but many unsuspecting Buddhists died unknowingly at my hands, their grievances unspoken. The Blood Sha Qi clinging to me is proof of that."

Do you regret it?

"Even if I fall into abyss, I will not regret it."

The host laughed, put his hands together in prayer, and recited. "All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, dew, and lightning; thus should they be viewed."

The blade flashed across the neck, but no head flew off.

The abbot's hands hung down, his head bowed forward, and a knife wound appeared on the back of his neck, from which blood spurted out, staining the Glazed Medicine Buddha behind him a blood-red color.

Two drops of blood stained the Buddha's eyes, slowly sliding down, leaving bloody tear stains, adding to the indescribable sorrow.

Xilai turned around, removed his mask, revealing two tear tracks on his face, and looked at Si Ming and Hongdou, slowly saying, "This is our understanding."

Chapter 366 Buddhist School Secret Techniques

The Dragon Gate Temple was wiped out, with all 103 monks killed, including an elder of the Fa generation from the Glazed Temple. The infamy of Buddha-Slaying Monk once again resounded throughout the entire Southern Martial World, and even children dared not cry at night upon hearing the news.

By this time, Xilai, the instigator, had already left the crime scene. After removing his mask, he quickly reverted to his usual image as a humorous, witty, and sometimes Zen-like monk, with a smile that was genuine and friendly, making people feel as if they had never seen him as a demon.

"Was the Buddha-Slaying Monk a bait created by your Glazed Temple?" Si Ming asked.

"Yes, we need someone to lure the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King into this scheme. This person must not only be an enemy of the Glazed Temple, but also have an irreconcilable blood feud. Only in this way can we gain the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King's trust. In fact, three months ago, the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King sent his subordinates to contact me. However, from the perspective of the Buddha-Slaying Monk, although he hated the Glazed Temple, he also had no trust in the Monster Race. Therefore, I rejected him outright and even cut off the messenger's arm on the spot."

Xilai answered truthfully, without hesitation or reservation, and was not affected at all by the previous massacre of the temple.

Si Ming understood and said, "Playing hard to get will actually dispel the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King's suspicions. So, how do you plan to establish contact between the two sides?"

"According to the plan, the Buddha-Slaying Monk will fall into the trap and be surrounded by the Glazed Temple. He will be rescued by the Monster Race while he is seriously injured, and in order to repay the favor, he will have to join forces with the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King."

"To achieve this, you must be able to contact the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King in a timely manner, so you must have an inside agent among the Monster Race, and some of the Monster Race are Buddhists?"

"The Buddha's teachings are boundless; all sentient beings can be liberated, regardless of whether they are human, demon, monster, or monster," Xilai began, recounting profound Buddhist School principles. He continued, "Of course, some leak information to us purely for personal gain. All intelligent beings have their own thoughts and stances. Not all Monster Race are willing to fight every day. Some, like the Corpse King, are uninterested in power; others abhor war and cherish life; and still others covet the position of King of Monsters, wanting to usurp it. Only the extraterrestrial demons are solely focused on destruction and annihilation."

Si Ming said, "On the other hand, I'm afraid even your Glazed Temple has members who have sided with the Monster Race."

Xilai did not deny it, but calmly stated. "The main temple of Glazed Temple has nearly 300,000 monks, and if you include the branch temples in various places, the number is well over two million, not to mention the more than ten times that number of worshippers and vassals. It is normal for there to be traitors among them who have been bribed by the Monster Race. After all, Buddhism is not brainwashing and cannot control people's minds. In fact, we have already identified the identities of several traitors, but we have not exposed them yet, precisely so that we can release false information at crucial moments."

Sowing discord, counter-espionage... The battle between Glazed Temple and the Monster Race has lasted for a century. Its scale is no less than that of a war between major powers, and it is far more powerful than that of medieval Europe. Naturally, there are all sorts of conspiracies, schemes, tactics, and deceptions. A reckless man who only knows how to charge head-on would have been killed long ago.

Since leaving Dragon Gate Temple, Hongdou, who had remained silent, couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't they use Monster Race spy as bait? Why did they have to kill so many of their own people?"

Xilai, fearing that Hongdou wouldn't speak, hurriedly explained, "The bait plays a crucial role in the entire scheme. One wrong step and the whole thing is lost. We can't afford to gamble, nor can we truly trust a Monster Race. If they change their minds at the last minute, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"I still can't understand it; this is too sad..."

After saying this, Hongdou shut her mouth and remained silent no matter how patiently Xilai coaxed her.

Even though Xilai was eloquent, he had never met someone with a personality like Hongdou before. She was neither as innocent and ignorant as a child, nor was she cold-blooded by nature. It was as if she was missing a part of him. He was at a loss for a while and could only tell himself that haste makes waste and that he should not turn his persuasion into moral coercion.

Si Ming was persuaded and promised, "Count me in on the operation to deal with the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King. Although I don't agree with your methods, it's undeniable that the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King is also my enemy. Such an ambitious person must be eliminated, even just to prevent him from invading Sea Continent a second time."