Buddhist Kingdom, Demonic Land; Mietian, the Demon Monk

The yellow dog at the alley entrance had already died, and several children had gutted it, laughing and playing around with it.

The lead child's arm wound was still bleeding, but he didn't seem to care at all, and didn't even cry, which drew praise from the adults around him who said, "He's got guts."

An old man selling candy passed by, carrying his load on his shoulder pole. He glanced at the boy, smiled with satisfaction, and praised him, "Good child, so brave! You're sure to amount to something someday!"

After saying that, he took out a piece of malt candy and gave it to the leader of the children.

Seeing this, the other children swarmed forward, overthrowing the old man and snatching all the malt candy from his load.

The old man fell to the ground with a cry of pain, and the group of children scattered in a flurry. But the old man did not show any anger; instead, he watched the children go with loving eyes.

Yu Tunzhou's gaze was calm. He did not intervene, but instead withdrew his gaze and walked slowly along the bluestone path, his eyes sweeping over every detail and every face.

In the middle of the street, in a food stall, diners were wolfing down their food, spilling soup all over the table, while a few people in the corner, chewing slowly, were mocked as being poor and stingy.

Yu Tunzhou continued walking forward, and two neighbors came towards him. They greeted each other with smiles.

The fat man patted the skinny man on the shoulder and said enthusiastically, "Looking at how pale and thin you are, your family is definitely going to suffer a famine this year, right?"

The skinny man chuckled and replied, "How can I compare to you? You're bloated and fat; you look like you're about to have a really bad time."

The two chatted enthusiastically and found themselves getting along exceptionally well.

Yu Tunzhou looked back at the two departing figures, but there was not a trace of "malice" in their words; they all seemed to come from the heart, which seemed particularly incongruous.

He looked around and noticed that the people around him spoke loudly and often used harsh language, just like the two people from before. They would mock and insult each other upon meeting, and those who spoke softly would be met with disdain.

Suddenly.

A child's cry came from the end of the alley. A girl ran home carrying an injured sparrow, but was slapped to the ground by her mother.

The woman raised her foot and stomped hard on it, spitting out:

"You jinx, bringing the bad luck of wild animals home, are you trying to kill your whole family?"

The neighbors nodded in agreement, condemning the girl for being cruel.

Yu Tunzhou frowned, not because of the absurdity of the scene, but because the appearance of the little girl meant that not all the people in this world Lairu as he had thought, and that there were people with normal cognition among them.

He continued walking and stopped briefly at the entrance of a teahouse by the roadside, where a storyteller was recounting the history of the area.

After standing at the entrance of the teahouse and listening for a while, Yu Tunzhou got the gist of what was being said.

The country beneath his feet was called the [Turbid Kingdom], which was surrounded by several neighboring countries. The highest ruler of the Turbid Kingdom was not a king, but the abbot of the [Formless Temple].

The abbot of the Turbid Kingdom is known by the Divine Ability Mietian. He is incredibly powerful and the strongest among the surrounding countries. It is said that he alone can suppress the abbots of other countries, and he is hailed as the number one in the world.

"Fresh bone whistles—just picked, they're loud and clear, the kids love them!"

A peddler came up from behind and, upon seeing Yu Tunzhou, enthusiastically approached him. His carrying pole swayed back and forth, and inside were needles and thread, candy, and small wooden puppets. On the top shelf, however, was a row of bone whistles still stained with blood.

"Sir, you look unfamiliar. Are you from out of town? How about I get one for your child too? My bone whistle is made from the leg bone of a freshly killed animal. It's full of life energy; blowing it can even summon a spirit."

Yu Tunzhou looked into the peddler's eyes.

The latter laughed openly, without a trace of malice in his eyes.

"Unnecessary."

"That's a pity." The peddler wasn't annoyed. He chuckled, put the bone whistle back in his carrying pole, and continued hawking his wares as he walked away.

Yu Tunzhou continued to look towards the teahouse.

According to the storyteller, betraying one's country for personal gain is being pragmatic, sacrificing oneself for righteousness is being hypocritical, loyal ministers are being treacherous, and wise rulers are being foolish...

He frowned and continued walking down the next street. As he passed an alleyway, he overheard several women gossiping together, one of them pointing at a closed door and sneering:

"That widow has remained a widow for three years; she's truly ungrateful. Holding onto her body without marrying, she must either have something to hide or be ill; she's just wasting her beautiful body."

The person next to her immediately chimed in, "Exactly! Look at A Tao from East Street, she's been married six times, and each time she's made a fortune from the dowries. That's real skill for a woman."

A sudden commotion arose not far away. It turned out that someone was harassing a woman in the street, and instead of rebuking him, bystanders were laughing and cheering him on.

"It's only natural for young people to be a little carefree; to be so self-restrained is just being hypocritical!"

"Really."

Yu Tunzhou's gaze swept across the street, and he muttered to himself,

"Killing is courage, shamelessness is true nature, falsehood is sincerity, lying is cleverness, and loyalty is false nobility..."

"The fundamental precepts of Buddhist School have been trampled to pieces in this world."

"Even the smallest details, from the initial thought to the actions of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, have been almost completely broken."

Huntian also witnessed everything through his eyes, and said in a deep voice:

"This Rahula was once known as the foremost in secret practices, upholding the precepts to the utmost, never committing the slightest transgression even in the slightest thought. Now that he has fallen into demonic possession, he has completely reversed all the precepts he kept?"

"Also..."

Huntian said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist, this place may seem like a demonic land, but in reality, it still possesses the destiny of the Buddhist School sect. If I hadn't seen those sights with my own eyes, I would have thought this was the pure Buddhist kingdom of some Bodhisattva."

Yu Tunzhou frowned.

If this world is a demonic land, and that Buddhist School venerable one has completely fallen into the demonic path, then all the abnormalities before our eyes are perfectly logical—the demonic path bewitches the mind, illusions abound, and killing is its essence; this is the path of the demonic path.

However, Huntian said that this place still has the foundation of the Buddhist School Buddhism, which means that the fundamental path here is still the Buddhist School path, not the demonic path or Outer Dao, which is rather unbelievable.

Suddenly, a sound of nail plates clattering came from the street corner.

Several guards pushed a nun through the streets, banging gongs and shouting as they went:

"Everyone, come and see! This witch from the east is actually advising people to kill less and do more good deeds. She's just spouting nonsense and ruining the rules of our Turbid Kingdom!"

The nun's face was covered in blood from the beating, yet she remained calm, softly chanting Buddhist mantras.

The surrounding villagers picked up stones and rotten vegetables and threw them at her, cursing as they did so. "Kill this witch from the east! Why should we live our lives the way she says!"

Soon, another group of men arrived. The captain in charge held up a portrait and shouted sternly, "Look carefully! A nationwide manhunt for this Demonic Monk! This man has repeatedly violated the city's rules and regulations, and has spread heretical teachings, inciting people to evil. He is truly a heretic! Anyone who reports him will be rewarded with a hundred strings of cash; anyone who harbors him will be punished as an accomplice!"

Yu Tunzhou looked closely, only to see that the portrait depicted a gray-robed monk, not the Dingguang he had imagined.

Why are so many Demonic Monk infiltrating our Turbid Kingdom lately?

"The Imperial Advisor is about to pass away; it must be those guys around him causing trouble!"

"Excellent! Once the Grand Preceptor completes his Nirvana, we can destroy all the fake temples and then enslave all the other countries! Make them our Turbid Kingdom!"

Hearing the noisy discussions around him, Yu Tunzhou glanced around and suddenly looked down.

A teenager suddenly appeared beside him!

Only now did Yu Tunzhou realize that this Buddhist kingdom seemed to be gradually increasing its pressure on him.

With his Nature Cultivation level and the strength of his Primordial Spirit, he was unable to project his Primordial Spirit more than one meter outward at this moment.

The Unity of Heaven and Celestial Person and man is greatly limited, and so are Divine Ability. The only thing that is not suppressed is the physical body.

The boy had just reached for the Buddhist prayer beads on Yu Tunzhou's wrist when Yu Tunzhou glanced at him. But the boy wasn't flustered; instead, he pulled his hand back and glared back defiantly.

"What are you looking at? You're broke? What's wrong with lending you some money? Besides, you're a penniless wretch yourself, you don't even have a purse!"

Yu Tunzhou gazed at the boy before him, pondering another question—

If he were to kill the boy now, would he be breaking the precept against killing, or upholding the precept against killing in this world? Would he be hunted down by the local guards, or would he be praised by those around him?

Suddenly.

A sense of dread inexplicably arose in Yu Tunzhou's heart.

The once noisy and chaotic streets suddenly became very quiet.

All sounds stopped abruptly at the same moment.

The peddler stopped hawking his wares and turned to look; the old men in the teahouse put down their teacups and peeked out; the women on the street stopped gossiping and stared intently; the soldiers stopped warning everyone not to hide the Demonic Monk and all looked over...

This scene was particularly horrifying.

Everyone's movements were as if a string had been snapped by the same hand, and they all turned their heads at once to look at Yu Tunzhou.

Hundreds of faces, hundreds of eyes, without malice, without ferocity, without even curiosity.

They simply smiled and spoke in unison, in a uniformly gentle tone:

"My lord, aren't you going to kill him?"

Yu Tunzhou slowly raised his head, his gaze passing through the crowd, and saw a temple several miles away.

The incense in the temple suddenly burned brightly, and the lowered eyelids of the Golden Body Buddha statue had somehow been raised.

benign countenance.

But Yu Tunzhou's expression was extremely solemn.

"Fellow Daoist," Huntian's voice rang out immediately, "You have been noticed by the Heavenly Dao of this world! Do not answer carelessly!"

Yu Tunzhou stood still, his breathing steady as usual, his gaze sweeping over the uniformly smiling faces.

The streets and alleys remained quiet.

Yu Tunzhou watched them, and they watched Yu Tunzhou too, their smiling faces awaiting his answer.

But what truly put immense pressure on Yu Tunzhou was the Golden Body statue in the distant temple!

His eyelids, once raised, never lowered again; his compassionate eyes pierced through the incense, the streets, and the crowds, finally settling on Yu Tunzhou.

Could this be...?

That Venerable Rahula?!

Under the gaze of those Buddha-like eyes, Yu Tunzhou clearly sensed the pressure from heaven and earth gathering, and his connection with the laws of heaven and earth was being completely severed.

This made his heart sink.

If this continues, who knows how much of his strength will be left?

No wonder Huntian once emphasized that even those at the same level would rarely trespass on others' home turf.

He looked down and saw that the boy beside him was also staring intently at him.

"How to break this deadlock? Kill this kid?"

Huntian vetoed, "No! If you kill this boy under that fellow's gaze, you will be acknowledging the rules of this world, ultimately falling into the same predicament as Hun Tian, gradually becoming one of the beings here, where killing and drowning will become commonplace!"

"Fellow Daoist, take a look at the Buddhist prayer beads you received before entering the sect."

Hearing Huntian's warning, Yu Tunzhou temporarily abandoned his intention to act rashly, but instead of looking at the Buddhist beads, he focused on the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic.

No matter how good the Bao Household's Buddhist prayer beads are, they can't compare to his method left behind by the Buddha!

In his mind, golden Sanskrit characters flowed erratically. Even without the Yu Tunzhou sensation, these golden characters gradually resonated under the gaze of the Buddha statue.

An aura of closeness, even one that could be described as shared origins, emanated from Yu Tunzhou's body.

In an instant.

The oppressive atmosphere between heaven and earth slowly dissipated.

The Buddha statue in the temple lowered its eyelids.

Everything around them came back to life at that moment, with all sorts of noisy and bustling sounds filling the air.

Yu Tunzhou feels at peace.

The Yi Jin Jing (Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic) is indeed effective.

Now that the passage to the outside world has disappeared, retreat is impossible for the time being. We should find Dingguang first.

This guy is a Buddhist disciple; maybe he has some way to find a way out.

Just as Yu Tunzhou was about to leave the street, a voice suddenly transmitted to his ear:

"May I ask if you, Master, come from the upper realm?"

Yu Tunzhou turned around abruptly and pinpointed the source of the sound—it was the nun being shoved by the guards!

She wore a blue monk's robe, and there were bloody marks from the shackles on her ankles. Her eyebrows and eyes were delicate, but her gaze was surprisingly bright.

She was actually a cultivator, possessing the skill of transmitting sound into secret realms.

"You are also a cultivator, so why are you being controlled by a few ordinary people around you?"

Instead of answering, Yu Tunzhou asked a question.

The "upper realm" they mentioned probably refers to the outside world.

Having just been locked down by the Heavenly Dao, he would never casually reveal his identity; who knows if this is a trap?

"That Mietian Demonic Monk's Law Power has already covered the entire Turbid Kingdom. Any cultivator who steps into this place will have their strength reduced to less than one-tenth. In addition, with these shackles on my feet, ordinary cultivators have no ability to resist."

The nun's voice came quickly, not insisting on repeatedly confirming Yu Tunzhou's identity, seemingly already convinced he came from the upper realm, and continued speaking at a rapid pace:

"If you, Master, are dissatisfied with the actions of the Turbid Kingdom, please leave as soon as possible. Three hundred miles to the east, there is a [Little Formless Temple]. Jingchen there is a pillar of resistance against the Turbid Kingdom. He will tell you everything that has happened over the years, as well as the conspiracy of the Turbid Kingdom's Grand Preceptor!"

"Time is running out. We must stop that Demonic Monk's Nirvana plan within seven days, or the entire Buddhist kingdom will fall under his control!"

Yu Tunzhou gave the man a deep look, but did not agree. Instead, he asked, "I came here looking for a young monk, about ten years old. Have you seen him?"

"Could it be the Divine Monk Dingguang? Before I sacrificed myself to enter the Turbid Kingdom, I saw this astonishingly eloquent young monk at the Little Formless Temple. He was with the Dharma Master Miemo, and I wonder if he is still at the Little Formless Temple now."

Yu Tunzhou squints; has Dingguang become a divine monk?

If the other party can recite Dingguang's Dharma name, there's a high chance they've actually seen him.

"Who is the Dharma Master Miemo?"

"Is he the one on the wanted poster just now? You don't know him, Master?"

Yu Tunzhou suddenly looked at the wanted poster again.

Is this guy a monk from Little Thunderclap Temple?

No wonder he and Dingguang disappeared in Luofu at the same time; they must have entered this grotto together.

It seems that a trip to Little Formless Temple is indeed necessary.

Having made up his mind, Yu Tunzhou asked again, "Do you want me to save you?"

"This humble nun has entered this Turbid Kingdom to feed the demon with her own body. I beg you, Master, not to show me any mercy, but to leave as soon as possible, lest that Demonic Monk set his sights on me."

The nun lowered her eyes, chanting Buddhist mantras, enduring the insults and beatings from the surrounding people of the Turbid Kingdom, and refused Yu Tunzhou's proposal.

This surprised Yu Tunzhou slightly; had the other side already prepared to sacrifice themselves?

But is this sacrifice truly worthwhile?

At that very moment.

In the far distance, seemingly at the edge of the horizon, a beam of Buddha's light shot into the sky!

The Buddha's light transformed into a pure, golden pillar, piercing straight into the clouds. The clouds, pierced by the light, swirled and parted, revealing an indescribable spectacle high above.

Countless Sanskrit characters flowed through the gaps in the clouds, and the blurry phantoms of banners slowly rotated. The sounds of bells, chimes, and wooden fish were almost overwhelming and omnipresent!

Soon, all the people of the surrounding Turbid Kingdom displayed an expression of utter rapture, their eyes filled with piety and fervor. They murmured along with the chanting, blissful smiles on their lips, their mouths reciting:

"Killing brings blessings, falsehood brings wisdom..."

Before Yu Tunzhou could observe carefully, he suddenly realized that some extremely vast and solemn power was trying to invade his Primordial Spirit Heaven and Earth, it was practically everywhere!

"Master! Run! This is the demonic chant of that Mietian Demonic Monk! This Demonic Monk uses Buddhist chants as a shell, with inner demons as his core, chanting distorted scriptures day and night at the Formless Temple, forcibly altering the understanding of all the people of the Turbid Kingdom!"

Yu Tunzhou looked at the nun, only to see that she had already sat down cross-legged, straightened her back, and began to chant Buddhist scriptures.

She emitted a faint halo, which seemed to be able to resist the brainwashing effect of the demonic sound, but it was far too weak.

With a firm tone, she transmitted her final words telepathically. "Please leave immediately, Master, and do not worry about me! Only by stopping Mietian Nirvana of the Demonic Monk within seven days can everything be saved!"

Yu Tunzhou immediately turned and headed east, which was exactly the opposite direction from where the Buddha's light had risen.

The truth seems to be different from what he and Huntian guessed.

They had initially guessed that the anomalies here were caused by the fall of Venerable Rahula, but now it seemed that the root cause lay with the national teacher of the Turbid Kingdom, who was known as "Mietian".

In this world where the precepts are reversed, Bao Ruyin and his Bao Household, who are close to Buddhism, are probably facing many times greater difficulties than he is now. It is unknown whether they were prepared in advance.

As for Long Hua and the various powerful figures who later broke in...

You can only hope for the best!

A pale yellow Buddhist light rose up, transforming into a barrier to counteract the vast golden Buddhist light in front.

Bao Ruyin the other powerful Bao Household each occupied a corner, holding a Buddhist treasure in their hands, and quietly chanting Buddhist scriptures, creating a "miniature world".

It was called a small world, but it was actually only about ten feet in diameter, barely enough to cover the Bao Household and block the attack from the person in front.

Entering the Buddhist kingdom through the crack, finding a place to settle seems to depend entirely on luck.

The Bao Household members were clearly not very lucky.

They arrived directly in the capital of the Turbid Kingdom, right in front of the main gate of the Imperial Preceptor's residence!

At this moment, the people of the Turbid Kingdom on the street were already in a state of rapture amidst the chanting of Buddhist scriptures, kneeling on the ground and bowing in worship towards the direction of the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

A monk was standing on the stone steps leading to the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

Bao Ruyin was trembling all over.

She stared intently at the monk's face, her lips twitching slightly before tightening again. She opened her mouth several times, but never dared to utter the name.

The monk, whose Dharma name Mietian, looked at Bao Ruyin a gentle yet curious gaze, like a child discovering a butterfly they had never seen before. He said softly:

"You seem to know me? But I don't remember ever seeing you before."

"Someone you know..."

His voice suddenly softened, as if he were talking to himself, or asking a question that he himself hadn't figured out.

Is it me?