Chapter 675: 439
His expression was in a daze, his mouth constantly muttering, "I was wrong, I have done too much evil, I deserve to die, I should pay with my life..."
Seeing Gao Tianci, who just moments ago had been awe-inspiring like a reborn fierce demon, now fallen into this state.
The crowd, all with changed expressions, looked towards the Wu Gou Monk, who seemed like a true Buddha, with eyes filled with fear.
Such bizarre methods, was this child a Buddha or a demon?
Yelü Baoshan, who had finally gained freedom, initially complained in his heart that Kongchan Arhat had come too late; had he arrived a little sooner, perhaps he would not have had to lose face by calling that thief "bald daddy."
At this moment, looking at Gao Tianci’s plight, the warlord with three eyes on his chin immediately felt both relief and fear.
"Good monk! Good Buddha’s son!"
"Does he belong to the Demon Buddha Temple or Great Freedom Temple?"
This thought, in fact, was a consensus among the cultivators present.
Enlightening demons, turning evil into good should belong to Great Freedom Temple, but no one was naive enough to just assume.
The essence of these divine powers: it lies in enlightenment.
The key is not just turning demons into good, but also making them end themselves afterward.
Just this point alone made it clear this child was not from Great Freedom Temple.
"Great Freedom Temple, Great Reincarnation Temple, these orthodox Buddhist Sects, although very skilled at enlightening demons,"
"after enlightening, they want to take them in."
"Demon, Divine Spirit, Alien Species, Evil Cultivator... they are indiscriminate, once enlightened, they bring them back to the Mountain Gate to serve as protectors or otherwise, Bai Qin of earlier years is a clear example."
...
As the cultivators indulged in fearful and wild speculations, suddenly, the sounds in the area increased in urgency.
In an instant, Gao Tianci came to his senses.
He looked at himself, then at the Blood Pus Blade in his hand, his expression extremely unwell.
But he knew then, to provoke further was only to disgrace himself.
Fortunately, Kongchan Arhat gave him a face-saving way out.
"Good divine skills, nephew!"
"But since it was all a misunderstanding, why not let bygones be bygones."
"Daoist Gao shouldn’t harbor resentment, it was just a small tribulation, I’ll take your 100,000 troops for now and with my Demon Buddha Magic, refine them for thirty-six hours; in three days, I’ll return to you an army of Corpse Demons, but you will need to pay for the spiritual material treasures required in between, is that acceptable?"
"Good! I’ll follow the Arhat."
Having been beaten badly, Gao Tianci was also quite clever; seeing an out, he immediately took it.
After settling the matter, Kongchan nodded his head in satisfaction and once again turned to Tao Qian, his face full of appreciative smiles, generously speaking in praise:
"Earlier when I met with Daoist Qingjing, he proudly claimed his only true disciple, Wu Gou Monk, was a naturally born Buddha’s son with a clear Buddha Heart, inevitably achieving the status of Arhat and maybe even Buddha if lucky."
"I thought he was merely boasting, but now having seen for myself, I realize Daoist Qingjing was indeed being modest."
"I, as well as my fellow brethren under Shipi’s command, including those from the Demon Buddha sons and unworthy monks, compared to you, nephew, are simply not worth mentioning, all incompetent."
"It looks like when I meet Daoist Qingjing again, I must genuinely seek his guidance on the method of accepting disciples."
"I can assert: as long as you cultivate Mahayana Buddhism, you will definitely achieve the status of a Buddha in the future."
"Ssss!"
As Kongchan finished speaking, all the cultivators were shocked.
Tao Qian once again became the sole focus.
Truly the center of "all eyes on him," his prominence was unmatched.
Earlier, he had shown sainthood, proving his combat power with overpowering divine skills.
Now, an Arhat from Demon Buddha Temple, renowned for many years, was personally promoting him, vouching for him, even stating he would definitely achieve the Buddha status in the future.
One should know that Kongchan Arhat was no ordinary demon monk!
With such a high status, he had a certain level of Saying and Following, touching upon causality.
Since he had said so, he would also bear some consequences in the future.
In that moment, from the Seventy-two provinces and different territories of the Cultivation World, cultivators from various forces felt both amazement and doubt.
Amazement at the potential of this Wu Gou Monk!
The suspicion was why Kongchan Arhat personally came to welcome a South Sea Buddha Child and even praised him aloud?
In reality, it wasn’t just the cultivators who were puzzled.
Tao Qian himself was also pondering:
"This old bald thief, has he actually been fooled by my master?"
"It shouldn’t be this way, even if they wanted to win over both my master and myself, speaking privately and offering many benefits should have been enough."
"To come welcome me in public and with such nauseating praise, there must be a catch."
"But this bald thief is indeed skilled in rhetoric, claiming that I will definitely become a Buddha in the future, yet craftily setting the prerequisite that I must practice Mahayana Buddhism."
"Hehe, who doesn’t know that in the Cultivation World, only the Demon Buddha Temple claims that they possess Mahayana within their Mountain Gate?"
"This is tantamount to implying: I must join the Demon Buddha Temple to achieve the status of Buddha."
As Tao Qian was pondering, Yuan Gong suddenly transmitted his voice.
"Young man, be cautious, Kongchan old thief is deliberately flattering you to death."
"There must be a trap or disaster ahead."
As if to verify Yuan Gong’s words.
Suddenly, hundreds of miles away, in another direction of the province city, opposing this territory.
Suddenly at this moment, a familiar Buddhist chant came drifting over:
"I am Shenxiu, a kitchen monk from Great Freedom Temple."
"I’ve long heard that there are three Arhats at the Demon Buddha Temple, planning to hold a Buddha’s Birthday Dharma assembly and expound Mahayana Buddhism to enlighten the common people."
"As an unskilled monk, I have learned several volumes of the true scriptures, which also includes the Mahayana Buddhism, and today I come with several Daoists from Vajra Temple, hoping to debate the scriptures and discuss the Dharma with the Daoists from Demon Buddha Temple."
"I heard that here are Daoists from all seventy-two provinces, with millions of mortals present, serving as witnesses, so as to let the people of the world know."
"Your Demon Buddha Temple, my Free Temple, who is righteous and who is evil."
...
These words reverberated, completely stirring up the vicinity of Qiantang Province City.
The local cultivators first looked at Wu Gou monk strangely and whispered, "Do powerful Buddha Children all love to talk like this? This Shenxiu Monk may not be calling those Three Arhats his father, but the effect is almost the same."
Then, looking at Kongchan Arhat, surprisingly, there was no anger on the face of this challenged Arhat.
Instead, he laughed heartily and continued saying:
"Indeed, there are talented people emerging in every generation. I’ve heard that this Shenxiu little monk is among the top three Buddha Children of Free Temple, and seeing him today, he truly stands out."
"Come, come, come, let all Daoists join me to see something rare."
"Let’s see whether this Shenxiu Monk is formidable, or if my nephew’s techniques are stronger."
After saying this, the old monk actually took the initiative to lead everyone towards the city.
A step behind, Tao Qian, seeing this scene along with Yuan Gong’s reminder, suddenly had a vague guess about the intentions of the three old bald thieves.
Before long, all the cultivators and warlords reached one end above Qiantang City.
Looking up, a grand scene immediately appeared on the opposite side:
Half the sky was filled with pure Buddha Light, inside which there roared many Heavenly Dragons. There was also a rain of flowers, chanting of Buddhist hymns, and blooming lotuses transforming this Demon Buddha Territory into a likeness of the Western Heavenly Bliss Pure Land.
In the Buddha Light stood a monk wearing a patchwork Buddha’s Robe with a strange lump on his forehead, looking ugly. Behind him stood a hundred or so half-naked golden-bodied, awe-inspiring powerful Vajras.
This side also had many figures of warlords and cultivators, many of whom were not weaker in aura or might than Gao Tianci, Yelü Baoshan, Shi Zhongsheng, Zhu Xun, etc.
But at this moment, the limelight was completely taken by the Buddha Child from Free Temple.
Just as previously, Wu Gou monk Tao Qian impersonated had also stolen the limelight.
And here too, an Arhat had come out to meet him.
This Arhat wore a Ten Thousand Lotus Kasaya, sat atop an Evil Lotus lotus platform, and held in his hand a Red Lotus carved from Blood Jade, looking archaic as if always having an angry expression.
Everyone knew: This must be Lian Sha Arhat, whose Divine Powers and temple status were not inferior to Kongchan Arhat.
And for Tao Qian, this Arhat had another identity: the Master of his old nemesis, the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva!
"Previously, from Zhen Buchi’s Heart Soul memory, I knew that Beautiful Corpse, although disastrously set up by Bai Qin, still managed to preserve his Primordial Spirit after the battle in Southern Yue."
"I don’t know what the current condition of that Beautiful Corpse is, but if there’s a chance, I still need to strike him secretly, as I still remember his persecution against me from those years."
As Tao Qian murmured to himself, at the other end of the city, Lian Sha Arhat had already disdainfully addressed Shenxiu Monk along with those hundred or so Vajra Monks.