Seeking to Become Wentesi's Disciple

The mortals on the plain had long since departed, leaving behind corpses and white bones.

Vultures that had caught the scent of blood circled overhead, waiting for the feast to begin.

But the enormous, strange-looking winged lizard on the plain made them hesitate. The faint, intermittent air of ferocity around it was especially frightening.

As for the hairless monkey beside the lizard?

The vultures paid him no mind.

They were no strangers to hairless monkeys like him. They had eaten plenty before, and they posed no danger. Though they tasted mediocre, they could at least fill a belly.

Wentesi silently watched Wuchen before him, while Wuchen silently stared at the ground beneath his feet, waiting for Wentesi's reaction.

Man and dragon faced each other without a word, the atmosphere exceedingly delicate.

"I suddenly don't feel like going to that Buddhist Shrine Secret Realm."

Wentesi spoke first, his tone calm and somewhat casual, his dragon eyes fixed on Wuchen's ordinary face.

Ever since he had met the monk named Wuchen, the man had called him "Elder" at every turn, treating him with great respect.

Since Wentesi intended to pass himself off as a Buddhist elder, he needed to know how Buddhist elders behaved and conducted themselves.

So Wentesi now wanted to act overbearing and test Wuchen's reaction, allowing him to judge the weight an elder's status carried.

He wanted to see whether Wuchen was merely being polite or truly respectful and courteous.

Of course, more importantly, he also wanted to coax plenty of useful information out of him.

The Buddhist scriptures and cultivation methods he had brought back from the cultivation world last time contained no introduction to the Buddhist forces of this world, only scattered scraps of information that formed no coherent whole.

The cultivator's travel journals and accounts were also incomplete and vague.

Let's see how you react.

Wentesi stared intently at the monk Wuchen before him.

Wuchen froze. He instinctively started to raise his head and look at the elder, but restrained himself, keeping his head bowed and eyes lowered as he said respectfully:

"Elder, you don't want to go to the Buddhist Shrine Secret Realm?"

Seeing his reaction, Wentesi felt a little reassured and spoke in an extremely overbearing tone:

"Why should I go? Are you questioning me?"

He made no effort to conceal the displeasure in his voice.

At those words, Wuchen's expression changed slightly. He immediately dropped to his knees and said in alarm:

"I wouldn't dare, Elder. Please quell your anger!"

Seeing his reaction, Wentesi knew he had gone a little too far.

But he had indeed glimpsed how much weight an elder's status carried in Wuchen's heart.

It seems an elder's status is no ordinary thing. Judging by how frightened he looks, an elder can probably decide life or death with a single word.

Wuchen knelt on the ground, fine beads of sweat seeping from his face. He dared not raise his head and remained on his knees.

Yet he could not help cursing inwardly:

Why are these Buddhist elders and Dharma Masters all so fickle?

That Dharma Master Daliangzi of mine is like this, and so is the elder before me, under whom I want to become a disciple.

Wentesi swayed his dragon head slightly, his tone questioning:

"What did you say that Buddhist Shrine Secret Realm was?"

Wuchen replied respectfully:

"In answer to the elder, the Buddhist Shrine Secret Realm is a secret realm left in the Chuan Region by a Buddhist senior in High Antiquity. The senior's Dharma name can no longer be verified.

"The secret realm opens every thirty years. Any Buddhist disciple within the Monk Realm may enter to seek a fortuitous opportunity. I came this time on my master's orders to go to the secret realm."

Wentesi committed the key information to memory: the Chuan Region, a Buddhist secret realm, and an opening once every thirty years.

Seeing that he said nothing, Wuchen grew a little bolder and asked tentatively:

"Elder, could it be... that you don't want to go to the secret realm?"

"Mm."

Wentesi nodded, his powerful dragon tail casually sweeping up some dust from the ground:

"I don't want to go anymore."

The plans Wuchen had been turning over in his mind were thrown into disarray.

He had thought this elder was also headed for the fortuitous opportunities in the secret realm that opened once every thirty years, and had come up with a good plan earlier.

Since the elder was going to the secret realm, he would serve him along the way, attending to his every need and becoming a familiar face.

If, after enough time, he could earn the elder's appreciation and then become his disciple, he would naturally be able to break free of Dharma Master Daliang's shackles.

His path of cultivation would surely be far smoother.

There's nothing particularly wrong with Dharma Master Daliang, but with the elder, the seas would be boundless and the skies vast for me!

Now the elder was no longer going to the secret realm.

If he still followed the elder, he would be defying Dharma Master Daliang's orders. If he failed to secure the elder's support and then returned to the monastery, severe punishment would surely await him, and he might not even be able to keep his cultivation.

But if he let this reincarnated great virtuous one pass him by, he would probably never encounter such a fortuitous opportunity again in his life!

He could only slave away like an ox or a horse under Dharma Master Daliang, with no day of rising above his station.

For a time, a battle raged in his heart, and hesitation appeared on his face.

Wentesi saw every change in his expression, but did not know the reason. Puzzled, he asked:

"What are you hesitating about?"

At Wentesi's words, Wuchen abruptly raised his head, as though he had reached some decision. His voice trembled slightly as he said:

"Elder, may I venture to ask how long it has been since you reincarnated and began cultivating anew?"

Wentesi was taken aback, but his expression remained unchanged.

After all, a true dragon's face was covered in hard scales. As long as his emotions did not fluctuate too greatly, neither joy nor anger would show on his face.

"Reincarnated?"

Then he heard Wuchen say in an extremely low voice:

"I observed that the elder's presence was hidden, yet you possessed the true essence of the Golden Land. Earlier, I used [Brahma Sound Six Consciousnesses Many Ears Penetration] to probe you, and found the same.

"Thus, I took the liberty of guessing that the elder... must have reincarnated not long ago and has yet to recover his cultivation."

Having said this, he let out a long breath, feeling cold sweat break out all over his back.

The Buddhist hierarchy was strict, with clear distinctions between superiors and inferiors.

For an inferior to speculate about a superior and rashly discuss an elder's reincarnation was a grave offense of disrespect within Buddhism.

The lighter punishment was to have one's cultivation crippled and be reduced to a mortal, chanting scriptures all day to atone. The heavier punishment was death, followed by being sent into the cycle of reincarnation as one of the six domestic beasts, never to find release for lifetime after lifetime.

Brahma Sound Six Consciousnesses Many Ears Penetration? Is that a Buddhist technique? Come to think of it, I haven't obtained anything in the way of techniques yet.

After hearing him, Wentesi suddenly understood.

So the monk Wuchen had mistaken him for a Buddhist elder who had reincarnated to cultivate anew.

Wentesi thought this identity was excellent. He might as well play along.

Wentesi did not answer immediately. He looked at Wuchen with his golden eyes, his gaze calm.

Suddenly, Wentesi unleashed Dragon Might, bearing down on the monk Wuchen.

The Dragon Might descended upon the monk Wuchen, making his heart pound wildly. Just as he was almost unable to bear it any longer and was about to beg forgiveness, Wentesi finally raised his head and uttered a single word.

"Yes!"

The single word sounded like heavenly music. Wuchen instinctively started to raise his head, then hurriedly bowed it and lowered his eyes again, striking his forehead against the ground as he said hoarsely:

"I, your disciple Wuchen, have an impertinent request..."

Wentesi said, "Speak!"

"I wish to serve at the elder's side, attending to your every need, easing your burdens, and protecting you as you ascend to your former heights."

Wuchen's tone was utterly sincere, as though the words came from the bottom of his heart.

Now it was Wentesi's turn to be surprised. He raised a dragon brow and swayed his dragon tail:

"Didn't you say you were a disciple of Dharma Master Daliang? Since you already have a master, why do you want to become my disciple?"

It would have been better not to mention Dharma Master Daliang. At the mention, Wuchen's face showed unmistakable grief and indignation, and his voice took on a sob as he said:

"Elder, there's something you don't know! That Dharma Master Daliang is no master of mine! He's clearly my slave master!

"He has thousands of disciples, and he treats most of them as servants, ordering them about and making them toil like oxen and horses all day, without passing on the slightest bit of his true teachings!

"I spent decades distinguishing myself among a hundred fellow disciples and was lucky enough to receive a little of his true teachings. But then he immediately made me sign a binding contract, placing my life entirely in his hands. I have no control over my own fate!"

He knocked his head heavily against the ground, sobbing too hard to speak clearly:

"I truly can't endure it any longer. I beg the elder to take pity and teach me how to escape this sea of suffering. I am willing to serve you for lifetime after lifetime, Elder, and would never dare betray you in the slightest!"

Wuchen was gambling again. Based on his earlier deductions, the reincarnated elder cultivating anew before him should be an ancient Buddhist cultivator.

Ancient cultivators were different from those of the present. They had to cultivate six hearts: the heart of compassion, the heart of shame and loathing for evil, the heart of joyful giving, the heart of great vows, the heart of wisdom, and the heart of selflessness.

Perhaps, seeing how pitiful Wuchen was, the elder would be moved to great compassion and take him as a disciple.

But Wuchen had guessed wrong. Wentesi was a red dragon, with three dragon hearts but no human heart.

He came for profit and desire, not out of mercy.

After hearing all this, Wentesi pondered in silence.

After a long while, as Wuchen waited expectantly, he spoke with a hint of condescension:

"What would I gain by taking you as my disciple?"

These words were quite in keeping with Buddhist principles, leaving Wuchen at a loss for an answer.