Xin Hui

"Buddha?" Li Huowang looked up at the enormous mass before him in stunned disbelief. It was at least twenty meters tall.

No matter what the old monk's Buddha looked like, the Buddha before Li Huowang was a gigantic pink Mountain of Flesh, its toad-back-like skin covered in sticky blood plasma.

All manner of organs stretched out from and withdrew into that nauseating skin, endlessly writhing along with its squirming body.

And this bizarre, revolting thing was now covered from head to toe in equally writhing monks.

Those monks were using their own flesh and blood to fill every gap in the "Buddha's" body.

Women, their own kind, livestock, and now this thing before him—the monks of Zhengde Temple seemed to be challenging the limits of the flesh step by step.

"How is it? Big, isn't it? This stone Buddha is the biggest one I've ever seen!" The utterly oblivious old monk stood beside him, singing its praises.

Li Huowang's entire body stiffened. He had always believed that villains like Danyangzi were extremely heretical in this world, rejected by the mainstream.

Since the monks of Zhengde Temple had a grudge against Danyangzi, then even if they were not especially righteous, they should at least have followed rules.

But that assumption had been wrong at its very root! There was no such thing as righteous or evil factions at all! Perhaps every other path of cultivation in this entire world was just as grotesque!

Danyangzi's feud with these monks might not have been some irreconcilable clash between good and evil either! It was simply two groups fighting over turf!

Whatever their reasons for doing this, one thing was certain: everything the Old Abbot had said before was a lie! They had tricked him!

"What Great Pudu Fast? That old monk must have been lying! No, I have to get out of this damned place as soon as possible!"

Li Huowang turned to look at the old monk, who had noticed nothing unusual. Though he did not know why the monks' Blinding Method had no effect on him,

one thing was certain: they had not discovered him yet. If he wanted to escape, he had to make good use of that.

Li Huowang forcibly restrained himself from making the slightest unusual move. He composed his expression and turned around. "It's all right. Nothing special. I'm heading back first."

With that, Li Huowang strode out of the Great Hall and arrived at the nauseating sculpture yard outside.

The Mountains of Flesh around him still rose and fell as they squirmed, but he pretended not to see them and kept walking forward.

"Hey! Daoist, don't leave. You came all this way—why the rush?"

The old monk ran out of the hall as he spoke, hurrying after him. "The food here is good too. How about we have a meal together later? The fried tofu here tastes even better than meat."

Li Huowang put on a hint of impatience and quickened his pace, while the old monk kept chattering beside him.

Just as Li Huowang was about to leave the Mountain of Flesh, a tall figure blocked his path.

It was a burly monk with a solemn expression. A full head taller than Li Huowang, he stared at him without saying a word.

"Master, is there something you need?" Li Huowang asked coldly, though his heart instantly clenched tight.

The tall monk gradually leaned forward and examined Li Huowang with painstaking care.

Then came a sight that made Li Huowang's heart tremble: a black tentacle, visibly soft and nimble and lined with suckers, emerged from the monk's scalp scar and extended farther and farther.

Like a sea serpent swimming through the air, the strange tentacle slowly twisted around Li Huowang's head, as if sensing something.

"Amitabha. How good, how good. Benefactor, your heart is impure."

The moment those words left his mouth, the writhing Mountains of Flesh around them suddenly stopped. Every monk fixed his gaze on Li Huowang in unison.

He knows I saw through the Blinding Method! I'm going all out! Seeing events hurtle toward an irreversible point, Li Huowang steeled his heart. He drew his sword with one hand and slashed with all his strength at the tall monk before him.

With a rip, the tall monk's tentacle and robes were sliced apart, yellow-green pus spraying outward without cease.

With a plop, a pill flew into Li Huowang's mouth. He kicked hard against the ground, shooting three meters into the air and charging toward the nearest earthen wall.

The instant Li Huowang moved, everything around him underwent drastic changes. The monks atop every Mountain of Flesh leaped down and roared as they chased after him.

But that was not enough. The ground suddenly shook, nearly throwing everyone off their feet.

Li Huowang, already perched atop the wall, instinctively turned his head and saw that the gigantic "Buddha" had smashed through the Great Hall's wooden doors and was rolling toward him!

Run! Get out of this temple! They can't possibly let all the people of West Capital City see the Buddha's true face!

Driven by that conviction, Li Huowang raced toward the main hall. The sounds behind him grew more and more chaotic, but he could no longer care about any of it.

One man ran, a crowd gave chase. Having taken the pill, Li Huowang's endurance was astonishing. Though danger had brushed past him time and again, he fortunately was not caught.

Just as Li Huowang rounded one more corner and was about to reach Zhengde Temple's entrance, a familiar face blocked his way. It was Zhengde Temple's abbot, Xin Hui.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Huowang reached into his robes for the Dao Bell. But the next instant, his hand froze in place. The Dao Bell that could summon Lord You was gone.

"Amitabha, Benefactor Xuan Yang, are you looking for this item?" Xin Hui asked, holding the Dao Bell in his palm. His expression remained as unhurried as ever.

Before Li Huowang could answer, Xin Hui slowly walked to his side and placed the Dao Bell back into his hand. "Benefactor, this item is inauspicious. You must use it with care."

Then, without questioning Li Huowang, he turned around and rebuked the monks who had already caught up. "Hush. You are all men who have left the secular world. What sort of conduct is this, panicking so wildly?"

"Abbot! It is not that we wished to panic! This disciple of the Profound Sect suddenly attacked Senior Brother Jianwei!!"

Hearing this, Abbot Xin Hui turned back and asked Li Huowang in confusion, "Benefactor Xuan Yang, is this true? Why did you suddenly attack a disciple of our temple? Did he fail to attend to you properly?"

Looking at the crowd of shaved heads before him, then at the Dao Bell returned to his hand, Li Huowang could not understand what they were doing.

They all knew he had seen everything. What were they still acting for?

After thinking for a moment, Li Huowang simply laid his cards on the table. "Abbot Xin Hui, you have a grudge against Danyangzi, and I killed Danyangzi. Even if you won't thank me, there's no need to slaughter every last one, is there?"

"Rest assured, I will keep everything I saw in this temple sealed behind my teeth. I won't tell a single person."

"Besides, with my word alone, I could never shake Zhengde Temple's reputation."

Yet after hearing Li Huowang's words, Xin Hui's expression grew even more puzzled. "What did you see, Benefactor? Why can this old monk not understand what you mean?"

Both sides stood frozen in place, and for a moment, the situation fell silent.

Hm? What is going on? Could the abbot not be in league with those things? With that question in his heart, Li Huowang slowly recounted everything he had seen.

"Preposterous! Utter nonsense!!" It was the first time Li Huowang had seen Xin Hui angered. The two white whiskers beneath his nose trembled faintly like dragon whiskers, and his powerful presence instantly pressed the monks behind him into lowering their heads.