Rain wove a dense curtain, until heaven and earth seemed to hold nothing but a chaotic veil of gray-white water.
The oil-paper umbrella held by the young monk moved steadily through the wind and rain, like a yellow talisman leading the way. Gu Mo, Ye Chen, and the still-shaken Yun Song and Yun Qing followed close behind, trudging up the muddy, slippery mountain path toward the brightly lit manor halfway up the slope.
As they approached, the hubbub of voices and the decadent strains of strings and flutes grew clearer, drowning out even the patter of rain. Against the deathly silence of Mud Bottle Town below, it was a contrast as stark as hell and heaven.
The manor gates stood open, unguarded. A huge plaque hung above them, bearing four gilded characters written in a bold, flowing hand:
Little Leiyin Temple.
"Little Leiyin Temple? A temple?" Ye Chen looked at the plaque, then at the lavish lights spilling through the gate and listened to the clamor inside. His mouth twitched. "Maitreya Buddha's temple is... quite something."
The young monk acted as though he had heard nothing. Still wearing that calm, almost uncanny smile, he led the four across the high threshold.
One step inside, and it was like entering another world.
Warm, dry air washed over them, thick with scents of wine, meat, cosmetics, incense... all mingled into an aroma that left the senses pleasantly hazy.
The view opened before them. What monastery of quiet cultivation? This was plainly a den of pleasure built to devour fortunes!
The vast courtyard blazed as bright as day.
A raised stage stood in the center of the hall. Scantily clad dancers with graceful figures swayed to decadent music, long sleeves swirling and alluring eyes half-lidded, drawing loud cheers from the men around them.
In a hall nearby stood another stage, where a group of handsome, bare-chested men posed and preened, making the women and girls watching below stare with shining eyes.
Ye Chen smiled. "Maitreya Buddha really does practice the Buddhist teaching that everyone is equal. Men get beautiful dancers to admire, and so do women. Hah, maybe he's a real Buddha!"
For a moment, Gu Mo and the others could not tell whether Ye Chen meant that as praise or mockery.
The young monk leading them said slowly, "The benefactor speaks truly. Before my Buddha, all beings are equal."
Ye Chen promptly replied, "That still doesn't add up. Why do these people get to sit and watch while the ones onstage have to pose and preen for their amusement? How is that equal?"
"All beings are equal, each fulfilling their own role," said the young monk. "In Little Leiyin Temple, everyone is equal. Those dancers perform entirely of their own free will. It is what they enjoy.
"There are many people in this world. Some enjoy pleasure, some enjoy attention, some enjoy keeping busy, some enjoy power, and some enjoy bowing and scraping...
"In Leiyin Temple, Buddha's Mahayana Buddhism helps all beings obtain what they desire!"
Gu Mo asked, "Where is your Buddha? Didn't he invite us here? Why hasn't he shown himself?"
"Please be patient, benefactor," the young monk said hurriedly. "When the time is right, Buddha will meet you. You may explore as you please. Perhaps you will find what you seek here. This humble monk will wait here; if you need anything, simply tell me."
Ye Chen asked, "Big Brother, what do you think?"
"Let's look around first," Gu Mo said quietly. "I'm curious what this so-called Buddha has up his sleeve."
The four headed farther in.
No sooner had they passed a wall than a roar of voices met them, along with the crisp rattle of dice striking a Dice Cup, the dull slap of Pai Gow tiles against tables, wild laughter, and hysterical shouts. It was an enormous gambling hall.
The gamblers' faces were flushed with excitement, their eyes bloodshot as they piled gold, silver, and jewels onto the tables.
Yet strangely, most of them were dressed plainly, like ordinary folk, even as they threw around fortunes.
A building to the right glowed with suggestive pink light, and flirtatious voices drifted from within. Several stunning women and men of varying temperaments leaned against its railings. The women smiled sweetly, their roving glances enough to steal souls, while the handsome men each struck a different pose.
It was clearly a top-class brothel.
From time to time, guests stumbled in and out with beauties in their arms. The patrons included both men and women; some women even had two or three men hanging off them.
Straight ahead stood a magnificent restaurant. Through its huge floor-to-ceiling crystal windows, they could see guests raising cups amid displays of fine food and wine.
Acrobats performed feats, while Musicians played decadent tunes none of them had ever heard...
The whole manor distilled the utmost pleasures of the mortal world into one... paradise!
"No wonder Buddhists say the West is the Blissful World!" Ye Chen exclaimed, staring in amazement. "If Little Leiyin Temple is this much fun, Great Thunderclap Temple must be heaven itself! So this is Maitreya Buddha's Little Leiyin Temple. Could the old fellow enjoy a few rounds of gambling and drinking with beauties too?"
Gu Mo smiled. "I don't know whether Buddha likes a few rounds, but that monk certainly does."
As he spoke, Gu Mo pointed toward a gambling table in the middle of the noisy hall.
Ye Chen looked over. A monk in a Kasaya stood by the table shouting encouragement, one arm around a still-attractive middle-aged woman and the other hand gripping a small wine jar. He was having the time of his life, and the hand around the woman kept wandering.
"That monk knows how to have fun!"
Ye Chen moved closer out of curiosity and found that he was an old monk with white brows and a white beard. With his kindly face, he would have looked like a venerable master anywhere else.
Sensing Ye Chen's gaze, the monk turned and smiled faintly. "Benefactor, you are staring at this humble monk. Is there something you wish to say?"
Ye Chen shook his head. "Nothing to teach you. I'm just wondering how a monk can... have fun like this. Aren't you supposed to keep your six senses pure and see through worldly desires?"
The old monk smiled. "Benefactor, how could this humble monk see through worldly desires without first entering the mortal world? Without impure senses to begin with, how could I attain purity?"
"Or is your cultivation lacking, master, so you became a Wine and Meat Monk?" Ye Chen asked.
"Not so." The old monk shook his head. "Through Maitreya Buddha's Enlightenment, this humble monk has reached the Buddha Realm. Precisely because my cultivation is sufficient, I can dwell in the mortal world without being bound by it. I entered this world only to lead others beyond it. That is the essence of Mahayana Buddhism. Buddha once Cut Flesh to Feed Eagle and offered his body to a tiger. I entered this world solely to save all beings."
"How?" Ye Chen asked.
"By relieving the troubles in their hearts," the old monk replied.
Ye Chen grinned. "Master, do I count among the people of this world?"
"You do."
"If you save all beings by relieving their troubles, would you relieve mine?" Ye Chen asked.
"Of course," said the old monk.
The corners of Ye Chen's mouth lifted. He held out his palm. "Master, money is the only thing I lack. Since you're so intent on saving others, why not give me some? That would ease my troubles. What do you say?"
Ye Chen watched the old monk with a hint of challenge in his eyes.
But the old monk calmly took out a Money Bag and set it in Ye Chen's hand. It was heavy, holding at least fifty or sixty taels of silver.
Ye Chen: "??"
He actually gave it to him?
The old monk chuckled. "Benefactor, are your troubles eased?"
Ye Chen weighed the bag, then smiled slyly. "Not enough."
The old monk handed him another Money Bag, heavier than the first. This one held at least a hundred taels.
"Do you still have troubles, benefactor?"
Ye Chen stared at him. "Old monk, be honest. Did you steal your Buddha's golden statue and sell it?"
The old monk smiled faintly. "Buddha is in the heart, not in a golden statue. Benefactor, your question is unimportant. What matters is whether your troubles have been eased. That is what this humble monk cares about, and what Buddha cares about too. We wish only for all beings to know bliss!"
Ye Chen drew a deep breath. The old monk's attainment really was profound. "Monk, you enter the mortal world and find yourself a woman, but I'm still young and don't even have one. It's weighing terribly on my heart. How about giving me a woman too?"
The old monk nodded. "You have a point, benefactor, but there is one thing you got wrong."
"What?" Ye Chen asked.
"For a vigorous young man like you, how could one woman be enough? At least two. Two a day!"
"Huh?" Ye Chen froze.
The old monk stepped forward, hooked an arm around Ye Chen's shoulders, and pointed toward the brothel. "Come, benefactor. This humble monk will take you drinking with beauties. My treat. Stay as long as you like. I'll cover all your food, drink, gambling, and brothel expenses!"
Ye Chen gave him a thumbs-up. "Master, you truly deserve to be called an Enlightened Monk who received Buddha's Enlightenment. What lofty attainment! I'm convinced. From now on, you're my Buddha!"
"Buddha is in the heart. Any being may become a Buddha!" the old monk said with a smile.
"I understand, master! I understand! I am Buddha, and Buddha is me!" Ye Chen said quickly.
"What keen understanding, benefactor!" the old monk said, visibly pleased.
Ye Chen grinned. "Then since I am Buddha right now, master, shouldn't you let this Buddha see the legendary Buddha Country and take a seat on a Lotus Platform?"
The old monk slowly withdrew his hand from Ye Chen's shoulder and stepped back, pressing his palms together. In that instant, his aura changed. The shameless old Wine and Meat Monk became an Enlightened Monk, radiating compassion.
He bowed slightly to Ye Chen and chanted with utter reverence, "Welcome, my Buddha, back to the Blissful World!"
In that instant, Ye Chen found his surroundings transformed!
The lavish, noisy gambling hall, brothel, and restaurant receded like a tide. The pungent smell of cosmetics and wine gave way to sandalwood incense, ethereal and vast, yet heavy with invisible pressure.
No longer did polished floors or muddy mountain paths lie beneath his feet. He stood on smooth, lustrous crystal ground shimmering with seven-colored light. Above him, the vaulted ceiling rose seemingly without end, studded with countless star-like Sarira that shed a soft, sacred glow.
Magnificent halls rose from the ground, resplendent with gold, carved beams, and painted rafters. Countless enormous golden Buddha Statues sat on Lotus Platforms, some lowering their eyes in compassion, others glaring like wrathful guardians. Each wore a different aspect, yet all radiated sacred majesty.
This was none other than the legendary Western Blissful Buddha Country!
Ye Chen and the old monk stood in the middle of a vast square, facing the immense golden Buddha at the highest point of the hall—Tathagata Buddha!
Buddha's eyes were half-closed, Buddha Light shining all around him. He seemed to embody the deepest truths of the universe, making it difficult to look directly at him.
The old monk now wore a dazzling Seven Treasures Kasaya. Solemn and devout, he pressed his palms together and bowed deeply to Buddha above. His voice rang clear and loud throughout the boundless Buddha Country:
"My Buddha Lord, your disciple has fulfilled his charge and guided the True Spirit of Wonderful Joy Free Buddha back to its rightful place! The Worldly Illusions have been dispelled, and Buddha Nature shines forth. Please bestow a Lotus Platform, Lord, and guide this Buddha into bliss!"
His voice brimmed with supreme pride and certainty.
Tathagata Buddha, seated high upon his Lotus Platform, slowly opened his eyes. His gaze blazed like twin suns, filled with supreme authority and compassion. He nodded, his voice tolling like a great bronze bell and shaking the heavens:
"Well done! Wonderful Joy Free Buddha, you have returned after countless tribulations, your merit complete. Ascend the Lotus Platform and enjoy eternal bliss!"
As Buddha's words fell, a vast Nine-Rank Golden Lotus Platform formed of pure light appeared beneath Ye Chen's feet. It rotated slowly, giving off a warm, powerful Guiding Force that seemed ready to lift him into the boundless Buddha Light.
All around, the Bodhisattvas and Arhats chanted Buddha's name in unison. Their Buddhist Chants shook the heavens, forming a mighty Mental Torrent that urged and tempted Ye Chen onto the Lotus Platform, that symbol of Eternal Liberation and supreme honor.
Just then,
Ye Chen's lips curved into a distinct, mocking smile.
He raised his head, looked through the magnificent halls and Buddha Light straight at "Tathagata Buddha" on the dais, then glanced at the devout-looking old monk beside him and gave a clear snort of derision.
"Master, this Great Thunderclap Temple of yours isn't nearly as tempting as the Little Leiyin Temple you set up!"
Ye Chen had not spoken loudly, but his voice carried with strange force. Amid the solemn, sacred Buddhist Chants, it rang out of place, like a boulder hurled into a still lake.
The old monk said calmly, "Wonderful Joy Free Buddha, this is the Holy Land of Buddha Country, and the World-Honored One stands before you. Ascend the Lotus Platform at once. Do not remain lost—"
His voice carried a strange force that made people trust him for no reason, made them believe his every word without realizing it.
But
an ordinary person might have fallen into Mental Devotion.
The man before him, however, was Ye Chen, Chu Kingdom's Third Master.
"Parlor tricks! Break!!!"
That final word exploded like thunder!
An unimaginable surge of inner power burst from Ye Chen as he unleashed a Sound Wave Skill.
Boom—!!!
The scene before him became like a fragile glass Mirror Surface, instantly covered in spiderweb cracks! The magnificent halls of the Buddha Country and its countless solemn divine figures shook and warped beneath Ye Chen's roar, charged with vast inner power and the will to shatter illusion!
Crack! Crack, crack!
The sound of breaking rang without end!
The sacred Buddhist Chants turned to piercing shrieks, the solemn Buddha Light twisted into bizarre colors, and the compassionate expression on "Tathagata Buddha's" face froze before dissolving into a blurred, savage gleam!
The attending Bodhisattvas and Arhats wavered like reflections struck by a thrown stone, then broke apart!
"Aah—!"
The old monk let out a furious, startled roar. His Seven Treasures Kasaya shattered piece by piece, revealing the worn monk's robe beneath, stained with wine and cosmetics.
The pungent scent of cosmetics, the rich smell of wine and meat, the clatter of dice and Pai Gow tiles, the flirtatious voices of men and women... all the noise and decadence of Little Leiyin Temple surged back like a returning tide, filling their senses once more.
The old monk stared at Ye Chen in surprise. "Such profound Martial Dao True Intent! Such a masterful Sound Wave Skill!"
Ye Chen ignored him. Turning toward Gu Mo, who was approaching with the Yun Family Brothers, he called, "Big Brother, I think this old monk is the one we're looking for!"
Gu Mo had been watching Ye Chen all along. He had sensed the old monk using a Spiritual Secret Technique to pull Ye Chen into an illusion, but though Ye Chen could be flighty and unreliable, his martial arts were formidable. Gu Mo had not been worried in the slightest.
"Amitabha." The old monk cupped his hands and bowed to Gu Mo. "Do you benefactors also have troubles you wish my Buddha to relieve?"
Gu Mo returned the gesture. "Master, let's stop talking in circles. Where did the townspeople below go? What happened to the people hanged in the inn? And why did you lure us here?"
"Amitabha," said the old monk. "The townspeople are all here, as are the people from the surrounding hundred li. As for those in the inn, they were bandits who deserved execution. Yet my Buddha, in his compassion, still guided them to the Blissful World.
"As for why I invited you here, this humble monk was guided by Buddha to travel the world in his stead and save all beings. You are among those beings, and fate brought you to the place where I am staying. Naturally, you should receive guidance and go to the Blissful World!"
Ye Chen curled his lip. "Old monk, why keep up the act with us? Buddha, the Western Heaven—your mind trick has already been broken by me, yet you're still pretending. What's the point?"
"Amitabha," said the old monk. "You misunderstand, benefactor. Though this humble monk used certain methods, Buddha truly guided me to lead ten thousand people into bliss, into the Pure Land of Bliss!"
Gu Mo chuckled and pointed at the men and women around them, still lost in gambling or flirtation. "This is your so-called bliss? Stimulating their minds until they're all like lunatics?"
The hall was eerie now.
Gu Mo and the others faced off against the old monk, but the people around them seemed to inhabit another world. They went about their business, deaf to everything else. Even when Ye Chen's Sound Wave Skill had shattered many things in the hall, not one of them had spared him a glance.
The gamblers still shouted hysterically. Men and women still carried on openly before the crowd. Those gorging themselves were already stuffed, yet remained enthralled by the food...
At first glance, these people looked normal. A closer look was terrifying.
They were enthralled—far too enthralled!
"Amitabha!"
The old monk bowed to Gu Mo with cupped hands. "Benefactor, look at them. Are they not happy? Are they not satisfied? Now look outside: war fires rise everywhere, the people can barely survive, the starved lie strewn across the land, and bones litter a thousand li. All beings suffer beyond endurance.
"In peaceful times, common folk suffer. When chaos engulfs the world, they suffer too. So many suffer from the moment they are born, never knowing happiness or contentment their whole lives. This humble monk is guiding them to bliss."
As he spoke,
the old monk walked over to a gambler. "This benefactor loves to gamble, but he always lost. He lost his entire fortune, and his wife and children left him. Now I have granted him victory in every wager. He is happy. That is bliss!"
The old monk pointed to a scantily clad woman. "This benefactor's husband died when she was a teenager. Custom and convention forced her to remain a widow for life. But everyone has desires; everyone feels lonely. Now I have granted her the freedom to enjoy herself as she pleases. Food and desire are human nature. She is happy. That is bliss!"
"This benefactor worked hard all his life and never had a coin to his name; everything went to the landlord. I granted him a vast fortune. He is happy. That is bliss!"
"That benefactor never ate a full meal in his life. Here, I granted him endless delicacies. He is happy. That is bliss!"
"..."
The old monk listed more than a dozen people in one breath, then looked at Gu Mo and the others. "Benefactors, is this not a Pure Land of Bliss? Am I not saving all beings?"
They exchanged glances.
Ye Chen sent Gu Mo a voice transmission. "Big Brother, why do I suddenly feel this old monk has a point? Forget Northern Zhou as it is now—even in your Gan Country and our Chu Kingdom, plenty of people don't have enough to eat. For them, this so-called Little Leiyin Temple really could be called a Pure Land of Bliss!"
Gu Mo frowned slightly. "Master, you said everyone from a hundred li around was here. But there are only a few hundred people here at most. Where are the rest?"
The old monk looked pleased. "They have gone to the Blissful World."
Ye Chen: "??"
"Don't tell me that by 'gone to the Blissful World,' you mean they died like the bandits hanged in town!"
"Of course not," the old monk said quickly.
Ye Chen relaxed a little.
"Those bandits bore sins," the old monk said. "Only after they suffered execution by hanging did this humble monk guide them to the Blissful World. The common folk were different. They went to the Blissful World from a state of bliss, to enjoy bliss forever!"
Ye Chen's relief died in his throat. "You mean you killed everyone within a hundred li?"
"No. This humble monk guided them to the Blissful World!" The old monk smiled faintly.
Ye Chen drew a deep breath and pointed at the people around them. "So the price of eating, drinking, and having fun here is your life? That's a bit steep, don't you think?"
"You misunderstand, benefactor," said the old monk. "This humble monk saves all beings on behalf of my Buddha, freeing them from the sea of suffering so they may enjoy eternal bliss. Amitabha!"
Ye Chen sneered. "Then if I beat you to death right now, should you thank me for sending you to the Blissful World?"
The old monk shook his head slightly. "My joy lies in saving all living beings. When Buddha enlightened me, I made a great vow to guide ten thousand people across. So far, I have guided only six thousand four hundred and thirty-two. I cannot go to the Blissful World yet!"
Ye Chen shook his head. "You really have gone mad, monk!"
The old monk said calmly, "The people of this world are ignorant, and you benefactors are no exception. In that case, I shall guide you to the Blissful World so you may see it for yourselves!"
In an instant,
waves of golden light spread from the old monk. Buddhist Chants seemed to rise around him as his true qi began to circulate.
Ye Chen chuckled. "Old monk, you want to fight me? Do you know who I am? I am Ye Chen, the Chosen One of the Chu Kingdom!"
"Amitabha," the old monk said. "I shall remember. Once I have guided you to the Blissful World, Benefactor Ye, I will be sure to tell Buddha your name."
Ye Chen's mouth twitched. Realizing the monk had never heard of him, he pointed at Gu Mo. "Fine, you don't know me. But do you know who he is? He's Number One Under Heaven in today's martial world. You want to fight him?"
The old monk paused. "I recall that Sword God Su, Su Qianqiu, is already past eighty. This benefactor is barely twenty. Amitabha, benefactor, all living beings are equal. You are yourself; there is no need to pretend to be someone else!"
Gu Mo: "..."
Ye Chen stared blankly. "Wait, is news in Northern Zhou that far behind? Big brother, you've been Number One Under Heaven for two or three years now, haven't you?"
But
the old monk clearly had no time to hear Ye Chen explain who they were.
"Amitabha!"
He stepped forward, and golden light blazed. He resembled a Buddha Dharma Image poised to hold down the world. Golden radiance burst beneath his feet and flowed across the blue bricks like molten gold boiling in a cauldron. Illusory lotuses bloomed wherever he stepped. His kasaya stirred without wind, and its hanging golden threads became ten thousand rays of Buddha Light.
"Please, benefactors, go to the Blissful World!"
A palm came down to crush them.
The instant his palm turned, a great formation appeared across the entire estate. The energy of heaven and earth poured into it like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, forming a domain outright.
Spiderweb cracks spread through the void. Boundless Buddhist Chants rode that palm. Before it even touched them, it whipped up Gang Feng. The sound seemed to hold a thousand Buddhas chanting sutras, while sandalwood mingled with the scorched-earth scent of a lightning strike and took solid form between heaven and earth.
At that very instant,
Gu Mo slowly extended his hand and spread his fingers.
Smack!
A sharp slap rang out.
Gu Mo slapped the old monk across the face as easily as swatting a mosquito. The sound was crisp and clear.
Then
the Buddha Light faded, the formation shattered, and the domain dissolved.
The old monk flew backward and broke a pillar. He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with several teeth.
He scrambled to his feet, pressed his palms together, and began, "My Buddha is merci—"
Smack!
Gu Mo delivered another slap. A giant handprint in the void struck the old monk's other cheek, sending him flying again. He crashed onto the stone steps outside, landing squarely on both knees. He spat out more blood, and both sides of his face swelled to match.
The gaunt old monk had become a fat-faced old monk.
"Benefactor, your cultivation is remarkably high!"
"How high?"
"Very high."
Gu Mo chuckled and walked to the doorway. Looking down at the old monk, he asked, "Do you still want to guide me to the Blissful World?"
"I do."
Kneeling on the ground with his palms pressed together, the old monk said, "I made a great vow before Buddha to guide ten thousand people out of the sea of suffering. Naturally, I make no distinction between high and low. All people can be guided.
"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva once vowed not to become a Buddha until hell was empty. Though I cannot compare with him, I too will uphold my great vow. Until I have guided ten thousand people out of the sea of suffering, I swear I will not return to the Blissful World!"
For a moment,
strange rays of Buddha Light spread from the old monk. They bore the sacred aura of Buddhism, yet strands of sinister energy lurked within them. In an instant, they gathered into a domain.
Then a character formed from swirling Black Qi appeared on the old monk's forehead.
Gu Mo frowned slightly. "Monk, there's a character on your forehead."
The old monk smiled. "If there is, it must be the character for 'Buddha.'"
"No. It's the character for 'slave'!"
The old monk smiled. "Do you mean to say I have fallen prey to delusion and become a slave to desire, benefactor? You are mistaken. I have neither fallen prey to delusion nor been ruled by desire.
"I wish to guide you not out of obsession, but because all living beings are equal in my heart. Though your cultivation is high, you remain one of the countless beings of this mortal world. All living beings suffer, and you suffer too.
"To deliver all living beings is a great vow, and suffering must be endured for it.
"Benefactor, your martial arts are formidable.
"You are a tribulation on my path to delivering all living beings.
"But this tribulation will pass,
"because I am Buddha!"
As his words fell, the old monk's kneeling body snapped upright. An indescribable Buddha Light shot into the sky. It was no longer solemn gold, but a chaotic color streaked with filthy dark red and ghastly green.
The light twisted and writhed, gathering behind him into a vast, hideous Buddha Dharma Image!
It had Buddha's form and Buddha's compassion. Yet it had three heads and six arms, a blue face and fangs. Every wide, wrathful eye streamed light as thick as blood.
An enormous palm wreathed in Filthy Buddha Light slammed toward Gu Mo at the doorway, bearing terrifying pressure!
Where its palm wind passed, even space seemed stained with filth and groaned under the strain.
"Amitabha! Benefactor, this is the Duo E Buddha Palm, born of my great vow! Enter the Blissful World!"
Yet faced with that strike,
Gu Mo merely raised his eyelids a fraction.
He made no other move. Once again, he simply raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and casually slapped toward the Filthy Buddha Palm that blotted out the sky.
The gesture was effortless, like brushing a speck of dust from his sleeve.
Smack!
The slap rang out with piercing clarity. Amid Buddha's roars and the Filthy Buddha Light filling the chaotic space, it was startlingly out of place and unmistakable!
There was no earth-shaking explosion, no violent collision of power.
It was like pressing a red-hot iron into solidified lard.
The enormous Buddha Palm, brimming with boundless evil power and towering filth, met Gu Mo's seemingly casual slap and shattered inch by inch like a dream bubble. The Buddha Light composing the image melted and scattered as swiftly as snow beneath the sun!
"Pfft—!"
As though struck by a crushing hammer, the old monk doubled over violently. He sprayed a great mouthful of dark-red, filthy blood mixed with fragments of his organs across the stone steps before him.
Gu Mo bent down, seized the back of the old monk's tattered robe, filthy with blood and mud, and hauled him effortlessly off the cold stone steps. He dragged him toward a clear puddle in the middle of the courtyard.
The puddle reflected the lamplight and the outline of the roof.
Gu Mo roughly pushed the old monk's head toward the clear water. "The character on your forehead is read 'slave'!"
The water trembled slightly, reflecting the old monk's swollen face.
On his bare forehead, an eerie character formed from pure Black Qi stood out as clearly as a brand!
"Slave!"
The old monk froze. "What is this?"
Gu Mo said calmly, "You don't know?"
The old monk slumped onto the ground. After a long silence, he said, "I fear I have fallen to a demon!"
"What demon?"
"An Inner Demon!"