High Monk's Ascetic Diary
Song Shuhang's Spirit Ghost has recovered to the mid-tier level, and it possesses a rune core within its body—something only high-tier Spirit Ghost have. With this core rune, Shuhang's Spirit Ghost has a very small chance of evolving into a high-tier Spirit Ghost!
Mid-Rank Spirit Ghost possess considerable intelligence, while High-Tier Spirit Ghost are no less intelligent than humans, cultivate faster than ordinary cultivators, and can even cultivate some ghost-path spells.
Since Song Shuhang achieved 'synchronization' with the Spirit Ghost, the Spirit Ghost has been slowly evolving into High-Tier Spirit Ghost.
Although it is still Mid-Rank Spirit Ghost, it already possesses a high level of intelligence.
The Foreign Monk, completely unaware that he was on the verge of death, continued to ask, "My benefactor, is there some unfulfilled wish of yours?"
For a powerful cultivator like my benefactor to become a ghost, there must be some grudge he harbored, or some unfulfilled wish.
If there were any unfulfilled wishes of his benefactor, the Foreign Monk felt it was his responsibility to fulfill them for him!
He could never repay the debt of gratitude that saved his life, especially since the other party had saved him twice!
Spirit Ghost: "..."
The Foreign Monk waited a moment, and seeing that his 'benefactor' remained silent, he asked in confusion, "Benefactor, if you have any wishes, you can tell me, and I will definitely fulfill them for you!"
Spirit Ghost: "..."
"My benefactor, speak!" the Foreign Monk said, then suddenly a thought struck him—could it be that his benefactor didn't have some unfulfilled wish, but simply hadn't been properly guided to the afterlife?
This is quite normal. When powerful cultivators die unexpectedly, their strong spiritual power can easily cause their souls to turn into ghosts and wander around.
The ghost of his benefactor traveled a long way to find him... Could it be that he wants his help to help the ghost pass on to the afterlife?
"I understand, my benefactor. I will definitely perform the most solemn ceremony to deliver your ghost to the afterlife! I will now recite the Buddhist scriptures three hundred times to warm myself up, and then my benefactor will find a place to descend, and I will prepare the ceremony for your deliverance!" the Foreign Monk said earnestly.
As he spoke, he began to silently recite Buddhist scriptures. It was unclear which scriptures he was reciting... but it seemed that as he recited, he would occasionally interject a few words of English or Sanskrit.
At that moment, the Spirit Ghost really had the urge to throw the Foreign Monk off the ground.
It's not that it doesn't speak, it just can't speak!
Soon, the Foreign Monk had recited the Buddhist scripture once. He was just waiting to finish reciting the scripture three hundred times before preparing the ritual to deliver the Spirit Ghost from its wounds.
The Spirit Ghost's lips twitched, and with a flick of its wrist, it sent the foreign Foreign Monk.
"Hey? My benefactor!!" the Foreign Monk exclaimed, mid-air! He was currently in mid-air, hundreds of meters above the ground!
He doesn't have a flying artifact, and he can't fly. Even Second-Grade Cultivator would be turned into mincemeat from falling from such a height. Even his protective qi is useless!
In mid-air, the Foreign Monk cried out in a panic, "My benefactor, did I say something wrong? Ahhh!"
At that moment, the Spirit Ghost flew down to him and caught him.
"My benefactor!" The Foreign Monk, tears streaming down his face.
But the next moment, the Spirit Ghost flung him away again—the target was the rooftop of a thirty-story building.
The Spirit Ghost wasn't seeking revenge intentionally—it had been dragging the heavy Foreign Monk for so long that it was starting to tire.
Second-Grade- grade Spirit Ghost have limited physical strength.
Clinging to the Foreign Monk, they flew at a speed approaching that of Fourth-Grade Cultivator, fleeing for their lives for so long, and had almost reached their limit.
If they don't land soon, the Foreign Monk will really fall from the sky and die.
Bang!
The Foreign Monk, but was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.
At that moment, the Spirit Ghost floated in front of him, stretched out its hand, and pointed its palm at the Foreign Monk.
The Foreign Monk looked at the Spirit Ghost's hand with suspicion, then extended his hand and placed it against the Spirit Ghost's palm.
The Spirit Ghost and he exchanged a palm strike, and a connection was established between them.
The next moment, a voice resounded in the Foreign Monk's mind: [My true form is not dead yet. I am Spirit Ghost, Spirit Ghost!]
The Foreign Monk was immediately embarrassed.
It's Spirit Ghost!
Although the Foreign Monk had never seen Spirit Ghost, he had heard of such a thing—a Spirit Ghost cheat code that cultivators dreamed of. Even a low-level Spirit Ghost could double a cultivator's cultivation speed. Possessing Spirit Ghost was like having an extra portable power bank compared to other cultivators, with a longer battery life. With Spirit Ghost, there was no need to worry about prolonged battles.
Before my eyes, my benefactor's Spirit Ghost was so agile, its behavior almost indistinguishable from a human's. This must be at least a mid-level or higher Spirit Ghost, right?
"Hahahaha, so it's Spirit Ghost. I knew it! With your powerful cultivation, how could you possibly die so easily? Wahahahaha." The Foreign Monk used a silly laugh to cover up his embarrassment.
Then, he awkwardly changed the subject. "My benefactor, is there something you need from me?"
The Spirit Ghost sat up straight. "I've come to ask you for a method to deliver the souls of the dead."
"Soul-Deliverance Method? Are you interested in this, benefactor?" The Foreign Monk's eyes lit up, and he rummaged in his robes, pulling out a yellowed book.
The Soul-Deliverance Method is precious, but it cannot compare to the kindness of my benefactor who saved my life twice.
The Foreign Monk carefully handed the yellowed scroll to the Spirit Ghost: "My benefactor, this is the Soul-Deliverance Method I obtained. I practiced according to the contents of this book and learned how to 'deliver the souls of the dead.' Oh, right, it also needs this."
As the Foreign Monk spoke, he pulled out a copy of the "Ksitigarbha Soul-Deliverance Scripture," saying, "By combining these two, we can deliver all kinds of souls from suffering!"
The Spirit Ghost nodded secretly, then reached out and opened the book, "The Ksitigarbha Soul-Deliverance Scripture."
At the beginning of the book, there is a note written by Foreign Monk: "Only after all sentient beings have been liberated will I attain enlightenment; until hell is empty, I vow not to become a Buddha."
The Spirit Ghost rapidly flipped through the <Ksitigarbha Soul-Deliverance Scripture>, which was likely a secret scripture from a certain Buddhist Sect, its contents being extremely profound. Simply reading the scripture was enough to draw upon the spiritual energy fluctuations of heaven and earth.
I have no idea how the Foreign Monk got his hands on it.
So the Spirit Ghost read the scripture from beginning to end, memorizing its contents. It had a feeling that this scroll of the Ksitigarbha Soul-Deliverance Scripture would one day come in very handy.
After memorizing the "Ksitigarbha Soul-Deliverance Scripture," the Spirit Ghost opened the Foreign Monk's yellowed old book again.
It's called a book... but it looks more like an ordinary notebook.
Upon opening it, the Spirit Ghost saw a few small characters on it.
<High Monk's Ascetic Diary>
Spirit Ghost: "..."
It looked up at the Foreign Monk. Had this guy really figured out a 'method for delivering the souls of the dead' from this thing?
The Spirit Ghost opened the diary with a mixture of belief and doubt.
The diary wasn't written by the ascetic monk, but by an observer recording the monk's ascetic practices.
The high monk in the diary was bald, dressed in a thin linen robe, and walked barefoot. He was thin, but his eyes were bright, and he was full of energy and spirit.
The diary is very detailed, and many chapters repeatedly describe the ascetic practices of the high monk.
For example, a high-ranking monk walked in the freezing cold for dozens of days without eating or drinking. I wrote five or six articles on this topic.
For example, a high-ranking monk walked barefoot through a forest of sharp, jagged rocks, enduring wind and rain. This content also appears in five separate articles.
The diary also includes stories of high-ranking monks encountering and battling demonic beasts. However, these intriguing details are easily glossed over by the diarist.
The author of the diary repeatedly wrote about the high monk's suffering, describing his hunger, pain, cold, and thirst...
Whether it was the Spirit Ghost's imagination or not, as the Spirit Ghost read on, it actually sensed a sense of joy in the author's words.
Holy crap, the author of this diary must be a sadist. He watched the high monk suffer and got all excited.
As the pages were turned, the thin diary was soon halfway through.
The diary records that the high monk entered a terrible jungle, filled with all kinds of poisonous insects. On the first day he entered the jungle, the high monk was poisoned and almost died.
The diary used a variety of ornate words to describe in detail the high monk's state of poisoning—purple lips, a bluish face, violent panting, painful groans, and desperately gripping the ground with his fingers.
The author of this diary is indeed deriving pleasure from the high monk's suffering.
[Is this really a diary?] The Spirit Ghost was beginning to have doubts.
It wonders if this is some kind of 'novel' written by an ancient author? Is the author satisfying his own dark desires by describing the detailed suffering of a high monk?
Furthermore... from what perspective did the Foreign Monk view this book, and from which did he glean the 'Soul-Deliverance Method'?
The Spirit Ghost looked up at the Foreign Monk again, only to see him gazing at him expectantly.
Moreover, when the Foreign Monk's gaze swept over the yellowed old diary, it was as if he were looking at a priceless treasure, as if he were afraid that the Spirit Ghost's hands would turn the pages too forcefully and tear the yellowed diary.
Spirit Ghost: "..."
So it patiently continued to flip through the diary.
The high monk in the diary, after being poisoned, narrowly escaped death, but finally overcame the deadly poison with his strong willpower and regained his life!
--Overcome my ass! Is something as potent as poison something you can overcome with willpower? Would it kill you to write about the antidote process?
The Spirit Ghost flipped through the book faster and faster.
The ascetic monks traversed mountains, crossed swamps, treaded deserts, and swam across oceans barefoot. They encountered storms, were struck by lightning, crossed seas of fire, and were even buried alive by sandstorms.
His experience was absolutely Spartan!
As they flipped through the pages, the Spirit Ghost suddenly sensed something when they reached the back.
He thought of the movement technique from the "Gentleman Travels Ten Thousand Miles".
Although I hate to admit it, I always feel that the ascetic practices of the high monks described in this diary are very fitting for the original work, "The Gentleman Travels Ten Thousand Miles"!
One is the Buddhist Sect practice of asceticism, and the other is the Confucian Sect practice of traveling thousands of miles; yet, they share common ground.
Perhaps sometime when I have some free time, I can also take a spontaneous trip.
Without any food or water, they trekked through mountains and rivers, enduring wind and rain, like the ascetics in the diary. They crossed mountains, deserts, swamps, and oceans, experiencing storms and thunder, sandstorms and tsunamis...
Then, just like this ascetic monk, after completing his long journey, he experienced a profound spiritual transformation. Isn't that a wonderful way to cultivate oneself?
Just as he was thinking this, the Spirit Ghost finally turned to the last page of the "High Monk's Ascetic Diary".
The last page of the diary was very short.
Finally, he died...
Even the bones have rotted in the soil.
He used his own life as the end of his ascetic practice.
His soul was elevated! This is the best form of asceticism!
Spirit Ghost: "..."
At that moment, it felt an urge to tear the book apart.
In the end, Godtama died...
He's dead!
Can't we just have a pleasant chat anymore?
The question remains: how exactly did the Foreign Monk deduce the method of 'liberating the souls of the dead' from this?
The Spirit Ghost closed the "High Monk's Ascetic Diary," its lips twitching, and handed it back to the Foreign Monk.
"My benefactor, have you found anything?" The Foreign Monk carefully put away the "High Monk's Ascetic Diary" and then asked expectantly.
"..." The Spirit Ghost opened the door and entered the mountain, asking directly, "I want to know how you learned the Soul-Deliverance Method from this diary?"
"Oh, my benefactor, after reading this diary, weren't you moved?" the Foreign Monk asked in surprise. "Don't you think that such an ascetic monk is worthy of respect? When I read to the end, I felt a strong urge to bless this ascetic monk."
When that thought arose in my mind, the ascetic life of the high monk described in the diary flashed through my mind like a movie. Then, I learned the method of liberating the souls of the dead from this ascetic monk."
The Foreign Monk answered earnestly.
It's like this: [While I was doing math problems today, a sudden surge of emotion welled up inside me, the Pythagorean theorem came to mind, and from the Pythagorean theorem, I envisioned the shape of a triangle. And then, I learned an unparalleled martial art, the 'Triangle Divine Fist'.]
The Spirit Ghost sighed softly.
It seems that trying to learn the method of 'liberating the souls of the dead' from this <High Monk's Ascetic Diary> is unrealistic.
We have to find another way.
Why don't I go home in a bit and ask the seniors in the 'Nine Provinces Number One Group'? Surely some of them know about the 'method of salvation'.
Thinking of this, Spirit Ghost prepared to say goodbye to the Foreign Monk —he was going home and also needed to contact Yu Jiaojiao.
******************************
Jadewater Pavilion, Time City.
Song Shuhang has been in a coma ever since the Spirit Ghost left the Jadewater Pavilion.
In Time City, Song Shuhang had been unconscious for five days.
Just as the Spirit Ghost was reciting the "High Monk's Ascetic Diary," ten wounds suddenly appeared on Song Shuhang's back.
Blood gushed out, instantly staining his new clothes red... These new clothes were just put on him by Senior Sister Ye after he fell unconscious.
Suddenly, Song Shuhang, who was in a coma, opened his eyes. Runes flew out from his eyes and disappeared into the void.
A moment later, the rune returned from the void to Song Shuhang's eyes.
[The * High Monk's Ascetic Diary Practices* describes the Transcendence Technique of a high monk and serves as an introduction to the World-Saving Buddha Sect High Monk's Ascetic Diary of 'liberation'. Those with great compassion can grasp the true essence of 'Transcendence Technique' from this book. Reading this book with a compassionate heart will bring unexpected rewards.]