「Zuo Xiulan, Lu Wenxie, Zhang Hechen, Jiang Jian...」

"My disciple kept reciting names, followed by the disasters those people would cause in the future: banditry, war, plagues, floods, wildfires... all extremely serious events that would lead to the deaths of countless innocent people."

"I recognized some of those people. My disciple had already killed them with his own hands. I didn't recognize others. They... they were still alive then, all villagers from around here."

"The names kept coming, one after another, making my scalp crawl. There must have been hundreds. When I thought about my disciple having to kill so many people, I... I..."

"Alas—"

The Abbot sighed deeply and stopped speaking.

Thinking of the simpleton state of Monk Huicong today, Jiang Cheng couldn't connect him to a murderous demon. "What happened after that?"

Although Jiang Cheng didn't understand much about this, judging from the content of the Buddhist debate, Monk Huicong was completely overwhelming the Abbot's junior disciple, speaking logically and reasonably. As for the mysterious ability to foresee the future, Monk Huicong had also used the painting to prove that he could indeed do it.

"Before my junior disciple could answer, our eldest brother acted. He suddenly cried, the kind of crying that came from extreme joy, and then... then he just knelt on the ground and crawled forward. He hugged Huicong's leg, crying like a child, shouting that it was real... really becoming a Buddha! This disciple is guilty, I beg the Buddha to deliver me!"

"This disciple is guilty, I beg the Buddha to deliver me!"

Jiang Cheng was stunned. It took him a long time to react. What was this plot? How could the aloof and solemn eldest brother surrender like this?

Immediately afterward, another ominous feeling surfaced in Jiang Cheng's heart. "Could it be... could it be that Huicong really became a Buddha? But that's not right. If he really became a Buddha, why would he be treated like this in the temple? Or is everything at night just an illusion?"

Before Jiang Cheng could think further, the Abbot continued, "Our senior brother's performance shocked all of us. I even began to suspect that maybe I was wrong, that Huicong had really touched the threshold of becoming a Buddha, but because our cultivation was too low, we couldn't see the true meaning of the Buddha Dharma hidden beneath Huicong's absurd behavior?"

"And Huicong smiled at that moment. His eyes were lowered, just like a gilded Buddha statue, his eyes filled with compassion for all living beings. He gently placed one hand on our senior brother's head, and raised the other hand in front of him, then formed a flower-picking gesture. Gradually, he closed his eyes and began to softly chant sutras."

Listening to the Abbot's narration, Jiang Cheng also imagined a scene full of Buddhist nature. If Jiang Cheng could only use one word to describe it, it would be devoutness, extreme devoutness. But the next second, this devout scene was completely shattered.

"Taking advantage of the moment when Huicong closed his eyes, our senior brother took out a golden alms bowl from his robes, then suddenly jumped up and smashed it down on Huicong's head, knocking Huicong unconscious with one blow. Then he straddled Huicong's body, turned his head, and shouted at us to quickly find a rope. Ordinary rope wouldn't do. We had to use the gold thread left over from sewing the kasaya to tie Huicong up!"

"Ah?"

Jiang Cheng was dumbfounded. He didn't expect this highly respected senior brother to be such a trickster, resorting to sneak attacks when he couldn't win the Buddhist debate.

"Senior brother said that this wasn't becoming a Buddha at all, but clearly entering a demonic state!" "Huicong is indeed full of Buddha nature, but he lacks a Buddha heart. My disciple did touch the threshold of becoming a Buddha, but he failed at the last step because of his state of mind. The hanging of the stone women at the temple gate was too much of a shock for him, causing him to be unstable in his resolve, and a trace of demonic obstacle grew within him."

"One thought can lead to Buddhahood, one thought can lead to demonic state. Huicong didn't suppress this demonic thought. This demonic thought has already taken root in his heart. If it isn't eliminated, the consequences will be endless. Not to mention our small Jiechi Temple, I'm afraid it will be a catastrophe for the world!"

"But... how did senior brother see that?"

Jiang Cheng was too embarrassed to say directly that he also thought what Huicong said made sense. During the Buddhist debate, he almost single-handedly hung up the Abbot's two junior disciples and beat them.

Moreover, this Buddhist supernatural power that could see the future didn't seem to be fake either.

The Abbot seemed to sense what Jiang Cheng was thinking and explained:

"Senior brother said that it wasn't a Buddhist supernatural power at all. The future he saw wasn't the real future, but just a false future born from the demonic thoughts in Huicong's heart."

"All of this started because of the demonic thoughts in Huicong's heart. Simply put, if there was no Huicong, no Huicong about to enter a demonic state, then those so-called futures would never appear! There would be no so many disasters and catastrophes!"

The Abbot's words were a bit convoluted, but Jiang Cheng still understood some of them. "The master means that the source of these disasters all comes from Huicong. If there is no Huicong, I mean no Huicong who has entered a demonic state, then none of this will happen in the future?"

"Huicong isn't saving a catastrophe; he is the root cause. Those disasters are all generated around him!"

"Exactly!" The Abbot said righteously.

Jiang Cheng gasped when he heard this. Things here were becoming more and more bizarre. According to the Abbot, people who came into contact with Huicong would be affected by him in a strange way, and it would even make the future extremely unfortunate, with constant disasters.

"Master, do you have any evidence?" Jiang Cheng still felt that something was wrong.

"Alas—, this is also what senior brother pointed out to us. We dull people only realized it after seeing through the fog." The Abbot sighed, "Actually, it's very simple. Benefactor, think about it. How many villages are there near our Jiechi Temple? How many people are there in total?"

"My disciple reported more than a hundred people at once, and each of these people can cause a disaster. Isn't that suspicious? If all of this is true, is a real Buddhist supernatural power, then how can we live our lives? I'm afraid that all the people in the villages at the foot of the mountain, even if they all died ten times over, wouldn't be enough!"

"That's right!" Jiang Cheng also felt enlightened, and the trace of doubt lingering in his heart was finally found. If the future was really as Monk Huicong said, then how many people would have to die? It didn't make sense.

After figuring these things out, the question Jiang Cheng was most concerned about was how the temple dealt with Huicong. "Master, after you tied up Monk Huicong, what did you do? Are you going to arrange an exorcism ceremony for him?"

The Abbot's words were tinged with bitterness. "We don't have such abilities. We just plan to seal his consciousness along with the demonic thought in his heart. Life is only a few decades long. When Huicong's body turns into a pile of withered bones, that demonic thought will naturally dissipate."

Jiang Cheng slowly frowned. "So Monk Huicong became like this now because you sealed his consciousness and his heart!"