Each Buddha Light began to reflect the past life of the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva, depicting the myriad sinful emotions she experienced from childhood to adulthood.
Almost no other scenes were included; it was all entangling love and desire.
Naturally, these were sights unfit for innocent children to see.
Yet, at this moment, they were witnessed by everyone.
Shocking!
Explosive!
Who could have guessed?
A well-conducted scriptural debate had turned into the public revelation of the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva's romance—a true inheritor of the Demon Buddha Temple, daughter of Lian Sha Arhat, and a cultivator of three methods.
Although everyone knew they should not watch, who could resist?
Even Tao Da, the Great Master, watched with relish.
Amidst the restlessness, it seemed one could hear everyone's thoughts:
"Such... such a remarkable... romantic history."
"Entangled with love and sinful emotions from a young age, no wonder she is called Beautiful Corpse; truly, she discriminates against neither meat nor vegetarian, man nor woman."
"Indeed, each story is worthy of songs and tears. In the Mortal World, it could surely make one weep countless times."
"Pitiful! Such sorrow, to think the Beautiful Corpse Daoist's past is so miserable. Having gone through so much, she never found true love and yet is more tragic than the Ten Lifetimes of Resentful Couples beside her."
"To say she never found true love, yet each episode was true love, only for her to miss or destroy it in the end."
"Hmm? Does she seem to want to change something?"
...
Amidst the surprised murmurs, the crowd indeed saw a change.
The "Heart Soul" of the Beautiful Corpse had fallen into an illusion, reliving her past over and over again, as if she were going through reincarnation.
With each iteration, she was able to change the beginning and the process.
But no matter how she changed it, the ending remained the same.
Gradually, she seemed to gain sudden insight, began to actively distance herself from the entanglement of love, no longer clinging. Signs of transformation appeared in the "Innate Lustful Qi" within her soul, and her love-warped Heart Soul gradually returned to its rightful path...
Witnessing these scenes, many Demon Cultivators in the crowd could not help but shout, "Is the Beautiful Corpse about to achieve sudden insight? Is she returning to the Guanyin Method?"
Before these shouts, a group of demon monks, Elders, and even Cheng Arhat and Shipi Kongchan, looked towards Lian Sha Arhat.
Their eyes clearly conveyed a message: this is your disciple, your daughter, swiftly make a move to take her back.
Especially Cheng Arhat, who spoke bluntly, "Lian Sha brother, it doesn't matter if you lose the first round, but don't let down your niece, the Beautiful Corpse."
Upon hearing this, Lian Sha Arhat should have intervened.
Yet, strangely enough, he did not.
On the contrary, a conflicted expression appeared on Lian Sha Arhat's face.
"Ha ha ha...such a karmic bond!"
"It's truly amusing. Lian Sha, this ruthless old thief, also shows such an attitude. He genuinely regards that girl as his daughter. At this moment, he must be thinking: if he could convert that girl from demon to Buddha, the horrific cost brought by her cultivation of three methods could naturally dissipate."
"In doing so, not only would the girl effortlessly master the Peacock Buddha Mother Dharma Image you spoke of before, but she could also set foot in the Ultimate Happiness Realm, returning directly to Guanyin Temple to become a True Bodhisattva. It is equivalent to all her karmic debts being erased, and her Dao path made smooth."
"This is both disaster and opportunity; it all depends on how you see it."
Yuan Gong could see these things, and so could Shipi Kongchan naturally.
The previously unruly and self-mutilating Shipi Arhat, suddenly looked through the air at the Great Abyss Zen Master, sneering:
"Monk, you have no shame."
"It was supposed to be a scripture debate. How dare you write your own Buddhist Scripture to plot against my niece?"
"However, your scripture is indeed well-written. Though not supernatural power, it surpasses it."
"I've taken note. When the time comes, I'll take it back to my temple for some revisions—it'll be another great Demon Scripture."
Before his words faded away, Shipi made his move.
Just as Xie Lingzhu chanted "Cut off love and eliminate desire," the old monk reached out his hand, and immediately, a sweep of black Demon Buddha brilliance passed across the sky.
As if time was rewinding, all the changes of the Beautiful Corpse were thrust back instantly.
The chanting dissipated, and the Beautiful Corpse was pulled out of the love illusion, and directly thrown back beside Lian Sha Arhat.
"We concede the first round," said Shipi Arhat.
All the warlords and strong people felt the show was sadly unfinished.
They didn't know if it was because they felt let down by the conceding scene or because they regretted missing the chance to continue watching the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva's past love history, with those incredibly explosive scenes of lustful desire.
Da Yu, the Zen Master and author of the "All Living Beings Love and Desire Root Scripture," had easily won the first round, yet his face was full of regret.
He chanted a Buddha's name and, addressing the Three Arhats, especially Lian Sha, said,
"What a pity, what a pity, I still couldn't convert Friend Yang back to the Righteous Way, Da Yu has failed the trust placed in him by his Master."
"This scripture may be a bit crude, but it was written from the heart after Da Yu traveled through many provinces, observing the myriad love and lustful entanglements of the human world."
"It's a great honor for me to have my work collected by your temple."
"Noticing that Daoist Lian Sha is also trapped by emotion, if you have some free time, you could recite this scripture to help your disciples eliminate their sinful debts, and amongst it, the thirteen-character mantra of liberation, which might help you relieve the guilt in your heart...."
These words sounded very rambling, and seemed somewhat hypocritical and arrogant.
The implication was: "Take this Buddhist scripture of mine; rest assured you won't be able to transform or copy it. Lian Sha, you better read it well; who knows, there might be great benefits."
This was what all the warlords and strong people were thinking.
Nevertheless, they all acknowledged the impressive abilities of Zen Master Da Yu—he certainly had the capital for his arrogance.
"Good Zen Master, truly a remarkable monk of this era."
"With a casually written Buddhist scripture, he almost managed to convert the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva back, no, had Arhat Shipi not interfered, the Innate Lustful Soul and the sinful debts of love and desire within the Beautiful Corpse would have been transformed."
"However, something's not right; if he's really that powerful, why didn't he just write another scripture and convert all the demon monks in the provincial city once and for all."
...
"Though he nearly succeeded, this Zen Master truly counts as an incredibly remarkable monk."
"The Buddhist scripture was written specifically for the Beautiful Corpse, for cultivators like her, possessed by lustful souls and entwined by love and desire, utterly irresistible."
"If he had more time, could he produce an even more powerful Buddhist scripture?"
"Hmm, it's unlikely, but not impossible."
Tao Qian mused to himself, contemplating.
Lian Sha Arhat, who had barely avoided losing his "daughter" again, finally snapped out of his dilemma.
He looked at Zen Master Da Yu with a complex gaze and then scoffed,
"Zen Master, instead of worrying about my disciple and me, you'd better think about the second and third matches."
"That small monk named 'Shenxiu,' although somewhat skilled, how could he possibly overcome my immaculate disciple? He has already been defeated once before; in my opinion, he might as well concede early to save some effort."
"As for saving the world, heh, if this Qiantang Province, which has been in our grasp for so long, could really be saved by a monk without any supernatural powers... then we will admit our bet and retreat to our temple, no longer contesting Qiantang with you."
Hearing the second sentence made Tao Qian feel somewhat embarrassed.
For the first time, his enemy was boasting on his behalf.
However, he truly wasn't sure he could defeat Master Shenxiu.
If he could act without inhibitions, going all out, then the odds of winning were quite high.
But relying solely on the People Species Bag and the Buddha Bird Relics, his chances were somewhat diminished.
"Unless, right from the start, I use the People Species Bag to sneak attack Shenxiu, capturing him inside would naturally bring victory."
"Or maybe, quietly arrange a deal with Shenxiu, cooperate for a staged match?"
Tao Qian muttered to himself, then heard the third sentence.
Immediately, including himself, everyone fell into surprise.
Previously outside the provincial city, the details hadn't been completely clear; now, upon hearing this, everyone understood that the so-called "saving the world" contest was actually this serious.
"To save the world means to save people, or to use one's Source Power and Buddhist Law to influence mortals."
"And not just one person, not ten thousand, not a million, but ten million."
"On the third day, Cheng Arhat and Zen Master Da Yu would compete to see who could save more people."
"The stage isn't just this provincial city; it's the entire Qiantang Province."
"Will Buddha or Demon be decided by these two?"
At the moment of enlightenment, Tao Qian also instantly guessed Cheng Arhat's method of saving the world.
That fat corpse planned to borrow Kongchan's formidable Buddha Treasure, the Demon Buddha's Magic White Bone Glaze Tower, to sit in meditation, emulating Buddha himself, stepping into the Ultimate Happiness Realm through the method of saving all beings.
The more demons he converted, the stronger his cultivation would become.
Not only aiming for a meteoric rise but also intending to use "Zen Master Da Yu" as a stepping stone to achieve fame in one decisive battle.