Stripping Away the Disguise

Was the ancient corpse in Yongzhou killed by the Arhat of Love?!

Li Miaozhen and Daoist Jinlian turned their heads in surprise to look at Xu Qi'an beside them.

They had the deepest understanding of the ancient corpse in the underground palace, knowing that the corpse, left behind thousands of years ago, had recently "died a violent death."

But to everyone's surprise, the "death" of the ancient corpse was actually related to the Arhat who had saved the soul.

Asuluo, Zhao Shou, and Sun Xuanji didn't know much about this matter, so their expressions didn't change much. They listened silently, wanting to know Xu Qi'an's purpose in bringing it up.

Inside the cell, the dim light cast a yellowish hue, and Du Qing Luohan sat cross-legged, silent.

"Monks don't lie, so their silence is a tacit admission, isn't it?" Xu Qi'an smiled.

"Back then, among the extraordinary experts in Yongzhou, besides you and the two Vajra experts, there were only the two Yang Gods from the Heavenly Sect, as well as myself and the Imperial Preceptor. The latter two can now be ruled out, so who else could have killed the ancient corpse in Yongzhou besides you?"

At that time, the ancient corpse was sealed. It wouldn't be difficult for a third-rank Vajra to kill the ancient corpse, but it would definitely cause a commotion. However, when Xu Qi'an returned to the underground palace and ancient tomb, he only saw the ancient corpse whose intelligence had been obliterated, and there were no signs of a fierce battle.

To achieve this, one must possess overwhelming strength, and a second-rank Arhat perfectly fits the bill.

Li Miaozhen frowned and said:

"But didn't you say that the owner of the ancient tomb had returned? And why did Du Qing kill the ancient corpse?"

Lan Lian's interest in deduction and detective work was piqued.

Everyone turned to look at Xu Qi'an.

Next up was the highly anticipated deduction segment involving Xu Qi'an chuckled to himself, exhaled, and explained in a low voice:

"That was indeed my initial thought, which is why I didn't suspect Buddhist School. But if it was the tomb owner who killed the ancient corpse, given his level and cultivation, why didn't he target me directly?"

"Instead, they erased the evidence and silenced the ancient corpse?"

Regarding this, his thought at the time was that the owner of the tomb was concerned about the karma on Xu Yinluo's side and did not act rashly.

This idea was certainly reasonable. In addition, given his limited cultivation at the time, and his greatest enemies being Buddhist School and Xu Pingfeng, Xu Qi'an didn't take the tomb owner to heart. He adopted a "what will be will be" attitude instead of racking his brains to investigate.

"Later, when I went to the Heavenly Sect to take Miaozhen away, I learned from the Heavenly Venerable that the Dao Venerable's avatar in the Human Realm was very likely still alive. At that time, I wondered, if the Dao Venerable's avatar in the Human Realm hadn't died, who would he be? And where had he gone for countless years?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Asuro frowned.

"Stop keeping me in suspense."

Xu Qi'an ignored him and chuckled, "Actually, we've already seen the Daoist Venerable's Human Avatar."

Master Jinlian's pupils narrowed, and her tone became slightly hurried:

"The owner of the ancient tomb is the Daoist Venerable's avatar in the human realm!"

These words surprised everyone present.

Asuluo, Sun Xuanji, and Zhao Shou felt as if they had stumbled upon a huge piece of gossip and discovered an ancient secret.

Meanwhile, Li Miaozhen's mind flashed through various details about the tomb—after Xu Qi'an and the others left the underground palace, they gave a detailed description of the underground palace to the Heaven and Earth Society.

Now, when the two are compared, they surprisingly match.

Master Jinlian sighed:

"I have long found it strange. Since ancient times, there has never been any reason for those who fail to transcend tribulation to survive. Yet that senior from the Human Sect not only survived, but also shed his physical body and was reborn."

Throughout history, within the Daoist School, perhaps only the Daoist Master possesses such extraordinary talent and brilliance.

Xu Qi'an added:

"Moreover, the timeline matches up. Remember, Chu Yuanzhen once consulted historical records. Based on the clothing of the figures in the murals, as well as clues such as the scale and utensils used in the sacrificial rites, he deduced that it was at least two thousand years ago, or even longer."

"One of the murals depicts the slaying of a giant serpent by a senior member of the Human Sect, who was then revered as the National Preceptor. This suggests that the era in question was one in which the descendants of Gods and Devils roamed freely."

Sun Xuanji frowned and coughed forcefully.

Protector Yuan, with tacit understanding, began reading minds and asked on his behalf:

"But what does this have to do with Buddhist School?"

Xu Qi'an looked around at everyone and said:

"Some of you may not know this, but that ancient corpse has been sleeping in the underground palace for thousands of years, guarding the jade seal that carries the fortune, waiting for its master to return. But its master has been gone for thousands of years and has never returned."

It was only when Lina accidentally entered the underground palace that it was awakened from its slumber.

"To this day, I don't need to reiterate how important luck is to a superior being, so why has the master of the underground palace never returned to retrieve something so important?"

Asuro pondered for a moment and said:

"Perhaps the timing wasn't right, or perhaps some unexpected event occurred."

Xu Qi'an grinned and said:

"For example, being sealed away!"

At this point, everyone present understood, and they were all dumbfounded, their expressions shocked.

Xu Qi'an's words conveyed only one meaning—Buddha was the master of the underground palace, that Daoist of the Human Sect.

Duqing Luohan's white eyebrows twitched, and his aged and ancient face could no longer remain calm; his eyes held a mixture of bewilderment and understanding.

After a long silence, the oil lamp burned quietly.

Asuro sighed, breaking the silence, and whispered:

"What is your basis for claiming that the Daoist master is the Buddha?"

If this matter gets out, it will surely cause a huge uproar throughout the land.

The others remained silent, still processing the news and trying to find loopholes to refute Xu Qi'an's speculation.

Such a big matter must be 100% confirmed; there can be no "uncertainty" whatsoever.

Zhao Shou, who had remained silent until now, shook his head and said:

"No, if that were the case, He wouldn't have needed Shenshu to subdue the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons. He could have simply infiltrated the Central Plains and retrieved the fortune from the ancient tomb. Even if the fortune wasn't enough, it's always better to have it in hand. If Buddha were the master of the underground palace, he would have had countless ways to send people to retrieve the jade seal."

Li Miaozhen thought Zhao Shou's words made sense, and frowned, saying:

"But if the Buddha wasn't the master of the underground palace, why would He send the Arhat who delivers love to kill the ancient corpse?"

Du Qing Luohan couldn't help but speak up:

"This humble monk did not admit it!"

This female Daoist priest was too subjective, immediately concluding that he was the murderer of the ancient corpse.

Xu Qi'an looked at the white-browed Arhat and smiled:

"Don't rush, I'll explain it to you slowly."

He then looked at Zhao Shou and answered his question:

"That's the second possibility: the time isn't right yet. We can now determine that the Supreme One has a goal of seizing the destiny, perhaps even fighting for it. So, the Buddha's purpose in hiding this destiny is obvious."

The crowd nodded slightly, agreeing with Xu Qi'an's statement that this was one of his trump cards.

"There is another piece of evidence to support this. Do you all remember when the Buddhist School intended to convert me into a monk?" he asked.

"A battle of magic among Buddhist School!" Li Miaozhen didn't even think about it.

"But after I entered the underground palace and obtained the imperial seal, from then on, the Buddhist School went crazy trying to convert me to Buddhism. Was it really just because of Mahayana Buddhism?"

Ah, this, on the surface it's for Mahayana Buddhism, but in reality it's to reclaim the fortune within Xu Ningyan's body. Li Miaozhen pursed her lips, secretly glancing at Xu Qi'an with some admiration.

This person has thought about so much and considered so much behind the scenes.

She thought that the philandering Xu Yinluo only thought about how to sleep with the Flower Goddess and the Imperial Advisor in different ways, and, well, Lin'an too.

"This alone is not enough to prove that Buddha is the human incarnation of Daoist Venerable. It was only tonight that I was absolutely certain," Xu Qi'an said.

At this moment, Daoist Jinlian sighed:

"You only truly believed that the Buddha was the human incarnation of the Daoist Master after hearing Shenshu's account tonight, right?"

Xu Qi'an smiled and nodded.

What does this mean? Everyone was stunned.

Asuro's pupils contracted slightly, and he blurted out:

"One Qi transforms into Three Pure Ones!?"

He has practiced this art.

Master Jinlian nodded:

"The Buddha's method of separating the divine beings is exactly the same as the method used by the owner of the underground palace to create the ancient corpse. These are simplified applications of the One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones Law Technique."

Zhao Shou shook his head and sighed:

"Impressive, truly impressive. To reverse-engineer the cultivation system from the level of a transcendent being and create a completely new path—though relatively simple—is a testament to the Dao Venerable's unparalleled talent."

"Are you going to say something else? But so what? You were still suppressed by our Confucian sage, "Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

Cough cough cough!

Sun Xuanji coughed violently as a reminder to Protector Yuan, who had become completely dumbfounded after hearing too many secrets.

He also wanted to actively participate in brainstorming sessions.

The latter took a deep breath and barely managed to read minds:

"There's still one thing I don't understand: what is the purpose of Dao Venerable's Human Sect avatar doing this?"

In Sun Xuanji's view, the Daoist's clone was completely unnecessary.

The Daoist Master is already a transcendent being, so why bother creating a new system that would be thankless and exhausting, and discard his past identity?

Xu Qi'an and Daoist Jinlian exchanged a glance, and the former smiled:

"I have a guess, but I can't be sure. This is a matter for the Daoist School, so let Master Jinlian speak about it."

If it were Yang Qianhuan, she would definitely jump for joy and raise her hand to say:

Let me do it, let me do it.

But Master Jinlian only sighed and slowly said:

"Blue Lotus, do you remember the scene of the tribulation depicted in the mural we talked about?"

"Daoist Master, please just call me Miaozhen," the Flying Swallow Heroine protested, then replied:

"After that Daoist master became the Imperial Preceptor, he usurped the throne, concentrated his fortune, and attempted to overcome his tribulation through it, but he ultimately failed."

Master Jinlian hummed in agreement and said:

"Looking back now, this guess was wrong. Since he was the Dao Venerable's human avatar, it was impossible for him to gather fortune for the purpose of transcending tribulation. He had other purposes for usurping the throne, but later he discovered that those who obtain fortune cannot live forever."

"Therefore, I had no choice but to use the Heavenly Tribulation to kill myself, shed my original body, and my destiny must have separated at that time."

Li Miaozhen was stunned for a moment, somewhat disbelieving:

"A dignified Daoist master, do you not know the principle that those with great fortune cannot live forever?"

As a scholar, Zhao Shou said:

"You can't judge the ancients with the eyes of modern people. In the era when Dao Zun lived, the human race had just risen, and the descendants of Gods and Devils were wreaking havoc on the Nine Provinces. At that time, the Nine Provinces were filled with tribes and kingdoms, and it was impossible for them to have the same powerful national destiny as the Central Plains dynasties of today."

"It's normal for a Daoist master to be unaware of this fundamental Principle of heaven and earth, as he's essentially feeling his way across a river by touching the stones."

Li Miaozhen nodded slightly, accepting his explanation, and then asked:

"Then what was his purpose in usurping the throne and consolidating his power?"

After saying that, she already knew the answer:

"Is it related to the goalkeeper?"

In his later years, Dao Zun constantly planned and worked hard for the gatekeepers. This was true for his two avatars in Heaven and Earth, and it was inevitable that his avatar in the Human Sect would do the same.

"This isn't right." Asuluo frowned, looking at Daoist Jinlian:

"Aren't gatekeepers related to incense offerings, deities, and Warlock System? How did they get involved with mortal emperors?"

The Daoist Venerable's Earth Sect avatar destroyed the incense and divine path and plundered the Mountain and River Seal, all for the sake of the gatekeeper.

The Warlock System is inherited from incense and deity worship, and the supervisor is determined to be the gatekeeper.

The fact that the Gatekeeper is related to the Warlock System is undeniable.

Xu Qi'an waved his hand:

"Didn't I just say that he went down the wrong path? That explains why he traveled to the Western Regions and founded Buddhist School. Perhaps, this time he has finally found the right path."

However, I could learn from the Daoist Master's method of stripping away one's destiny, so that I could escape the limitation of a short life.

Xu Qi'an immediately gave a final summary:

"When Dao Zun's avatar from the Human Sect usurped the throne, he discovered that those who possess the Qi Yun (destiny) could not live forever. So he used the Heavenly Tribulation to kill himself, facing death to be reborn, successfully shedding his old body, and went to the Western Regions to establish Buddhist School. He originally wanted to keep the Qi Yun of the Imperial Seal as a trump card, but I beat him to it. So, under the pretext of converting Buddhist disciples, he sent extraordinary experts to capture me many times."

"Lohan of Devotion, if I'm not mistaken, your journey to the Central Plains wasn't solely to capture me; killing the ancient corpse to silence you was also one of your purposes, wasn't it?"

The Arhat of Compassion's expression turned solemn, he was speechless, clasped his hands together, and murmured:

"Amitabha."

"Why did you kill the ancient corpse to silence it?" Li Miaozhen demanded, her eyebrows raised.

The Buddha, or one of the three Bodhisattvas, sent the Arhat who had been sent to deliver the message to silence the witness, certainly not solely to keep the Buddha's secret.

This kind of thing, outsiders can know if they want, it won't harm a single hair on the head of the Buddhist School.

There was absolutely no need to kill the body to cover it up.

The Arhat who had been guiding the way lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Xu Qi'an said calmly:

"No need to ask. A mere second-rank official isn't qualified to know these things."

"A mere second-rank official..." Master Jinlian and Asuluo glanced at him silently.

A crude and vulgar brute.

The Arhat of Compassion sighed:

"I've long heard of Xu Yinluo's divine ability to solve cases; this humble monk has finally witnessed his skill."

The implication is that he tacitly admitted to being commissioned by the Buddhist School to kill the ancient corpse and silence it.

"There must have been a reason for killing the ancient corpse to silence it, but the matter is settled now, so there's no need to dwell on it," Zhao Shou said.

They've already exposed their true identities... Xu Qi'an said:

"Master Jinlian, do you know how the master of the underground palace stripped away the fortune?"

P. S.: Actually, I originally estimated that I should have finished writing the part about Buddha's identity in a week. But the annual meeting at the beginning of the month meant that I could only update once a day, which made it difficult to build up the tension in the whole plot, which was very frustrating. As an author, I usually try to avoid these kinds of events, especially as this book is in its final stages, and every chapter is very tiring and difficult to write.

But I really couldn't refuse this year's annual meeting because there were so many awards, and I had to attend to receive them. Besides, I also got to shake hands and hug my crush, which was an irresistible temptation.