"They're nothing but junior monks. Why would someone of your standing, with cultivation in the Spirit Condensation Realm, bully the young?"
Blue Lotus Monk had been deceived by Immortal Aunt Yuan Zhen of the Myriad Laws Sect and had lost his memories, so he no longer recognized Chen Ming.
But Chen Ming hadn't forgotten how Blue Lotus Monk had tried to take the boy under his care from Vast Mountain.
Last time, Chen Ming's cultivation had been insufficient, so he'd endured it.
Now that his Divine Ability Magic Treasure had been refined, and they'd met again, how could he possibly endure it?
Besides, Chen Ming had heard what Master Heyuan and his disciples had just said.
They were all disciples and grand-disciples of Monk Jieding, who had been killed by the Three Immortal Aunts of the Myriad Laws Sect while pursuing Situ Yuelan.
Worse, they were discussing using underhanded methods to seize Old Crow Temple, turn it into a Buddhist temple, and gather the city's Incense and Fire.
This was the perfect excuse to strike, and Chen Ming could claim the moral high ground, too.
Blue Lotus Monk had always kept to himself at Lotus Temple. Though he was a divine monk of the Spirit Condensation Realm, he didn't have a single disciple.
He and Monk Jieding had once studied the sutras under the same master. Later, they both cultivated to the Spirit Condensation Realm, one after the other. Their relationship had been fairly good, so they'd addressed each other as senior and junior brothers.
After Monk Jieding's death, the disciples of his branch had been left without a patron while holding onto their cultivation resources, making them the target of envy.
With no other choice, Master Heyuan had gone to Blue Lotus Monk for help.
As it happened, Blue Lotus Monk was about to travel to a secret realm that was soon to open in search of treasure, so he agreed to Master Heyuan's request.
That was why Blue Lotus Monk had led them out of Lotus Temple to find a place to build a branch temple of Lotus Temple and earn merit, so no one could accuse them of idleness.
Who knew they'd picked Golden Sun City, only to discover upon arrival that someone had beaten them to it?
Chen Ming didn't care about all their schemes and entanglements. Five-Colored Radiance burst out behind him, grinding away Blue Lotus Monk's Buddha Light.
Under cover of the Five-Colored Radiance, Poisonous Smoke coiled from the White Bone Demon Pot in Chen Ming's hand. Master Heyuan and all his disciples were swept into the pot.
The Blood Bead within the White Bone Demon Pot had lost its spirit, which had transformed into Red Spirit Boy.
But after being bathed in the light of the Creation Lotus Platform, and after Chen Ming had found a different path and refined it with a Secret Method, it was no longer what it had once been.
Now, the Hundred Thousand Eight Thousand Insects within the Blood Bead were merely a figure of speech.
In truth, the insects within the Blood Bead endlessly died and were reborn, like the sands of the Ganges. They had long since become impossible to count.
Master Heyuan and the monk disciples were swept into the White Bone Demon Pot and fell into the Blood Bead.
In an instant, karma coiled around them. Unable to break free, they sank endlessly as if they'd fallen into the deepest reaches of the underworld, while the insects in the Blood Bead devoured their Divine Souls and bodies.
Gradually, they became part of the Blood Bead, transformed into newly born insects within it.
"What a fiend!"
Blue Lotus Monk didn't know what had happened to Master Heyuan and the disciples who had fallen into Chen Ming's demonic pot.
But he could sense that they were in dire straits, and feared they were already dead.
Blue lotus flowers appeared beneath his feet, hazy and unreal, releasing waves of sandalwood fragrance. In the void, it was as if sutras and Buddhist chants were descending.
Blue Lotus Monk pointed a finger and said, "Enter my Lotus Paradise, and forget greed, anger, delusion, and hatred..."
Chen Ming sensed the great power of this Supernatural Ability. If it struck him and he couldn't break free, Blue Lotus Monk would convert him.
Five-Colored Radiance flashed behind him, blocking Blue Lotus Monk's finger.
The blood-red markings on the White Bone Demon Pot flickered. Several hair-thin insects flew out, their stingers jabbing Blue Lotus Monk's finger as they spat Poisonous Smoke.
Blue Lotus Monk winced in pain. Yellow Buddha Light glimmered over his finger, killing the insects with its radiance.
"Karma!"
Blue Lotus Monk's head spun, and his Divine Soul grew heavy.
As a Buddhist cultivator of the Spirit Condensation Realm, he was no stranger to karma.
Many Buddhist Supernatural Abilities required tempering with karma, but they were perilous in the extreme. One careless mistake, and karma would cling to you.
But if you could rid yourself of karma, your Supernatural Ability would advance greatly.
"This fiend's methods actually involve karma!"
Blue Lotus Monk hurriedly drew in the lotus flowers beneath his feet and drew Buddha Light into his body to block Chen Ming's Karma Poison Smoke.
Suddenly, his face stiffened, and a demonic gleam flashed in his eyes. "What kind of method is this? There's something strange about those insects I just killed with my light!"
"Those insects were none other than the monks you just saw, transformed!"
"Your Buddhist sect has its Paradise, and I, who refine demons, have my underworld!"
"Enter my pot, and you'll fall into the underworld, all transformed into insects!"
"If you went in, you'd surely become a fine insect!"
The White Bone Demon Pot in Chen Ming's hand sent ten thousand insects flying, and Karma Poison Smoke billowed everywhere.
Blue Lotus Monk's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly retreated.
With his cultivation in the Spirit Condensation Realm, it wouldn't be easy for Chen Ming to sweep him into the pot.
But Chen Ming's methods were far too bizarre, and Blue Lotus Monk had no wish to risk his own skin to test them.
"Fellow Daoist, please stop!"
"Their deaths at your hands were the result of fate and causality, and the matter is settled!"
"Why should you and I create more complications and entanglements between us?"
Blue Lotus Monk pressed his palms together. Only after expending a considerable amount of magic power did he dispel the Karma Poison Smoke that had seeped into his body. If he were tainted by it again, he wouldn't be able to afford the cost.
"Besides, they were Monk Jieding's disciples. What do they have to do with me, Blue Lotus Monk? Even if there is a connection, I led their branch away from the temple's persecution, and that repaid my friendship with Jieding!"
Blue Lotus Monk had his own set of principles, and he could always make them fit together. He truly believed in them, too.
Otherwise, with his crooked understanding of Buddhism, he never could have cultivated to the Spirit Condensation Realm.
Chen Ming hadn't intended to kill Blue Lotus Monk in the first place.
He knew that Blue Lotus Monk had been affected by Immortal Aunt Yuan Zhen's Supernatural Ability and had his memories obscured. The Myriad Laws Sect still had plans and schemes involving him in the future.
If Chen Ming killed Blue Lotus Monk, he would offend the Myriad Laws Sect and those three Immortal Aunts—and might even get dragged into their schemes.
Though he now possessed the strength of the Spirit Condensation Realm, Chen Ming had a vague sense that it was best to stay out of the Myriad Laws Sect's affairs.
"Fine. You make a fair point." Chen Ming took the opportunity to back down.
Blue Lotus Monk smiled. "What happened today, you know and I know. Heaven and earth know nothing!"
As he spoke, a passage of profound scripture appeared over Blue Lotus Monk's body. It spun through the air twice, then slowly faded away.
After reaching the Spirit Condensation Realm, he'd once had an unexpected stroke of insight and comprehended a Supernatural Ability that could block certain perceptions of causality.
Unless an Origin Return Realm expert or someone of even greater power deliberately tried to divine what had happened, they'd never discover a trace.
It was a fine Supernatural Ability for erasing the traces of a killing!
As soon as Blue Lotus Monk's Supernatural Ability took effect, Chen Ming sensed it.
He made a divination with his fingers and was astonished to learn that Master Heyuan and his disciples had found an opportunity here and gone somewhere unknown. Their fate didn't show them as dead.
If Chen Ming hadn't known for certain that those monks had entered the White Bone Demon Pot, been refined into insects, and then killed by Blue Lotus Monk's Buddha Light, he wouldn't have seen through the falsehood.
"The Supernatural Abilities of Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators truly can't be underestimated!"
A warning stirred in Chen Ming's heart. Fortunately, he hadn't gone straight to attack the Chayi Sect. Otherwise, if he'd faced Fairy Caiyi, he might have suffered a serious loss if he'd made even one careless move!
To all fellow Daoists, please toss me your recommendation tickets each day, and support me with monthly tickets. I'm currently eighteenth on the new xianxia rankings, and I want to break into the top ten, the top five, the top three, and then the overall rankings. I humbly ask you to lend me your support. With all you fellow Daoists behind me, I'll forge my demonic path and ascend all the way to immortality. My thanks to you all!
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