Chapter 56: Murdering an Entire Family, the Rebel Monk

At only eighteen years old, your Buddhist practice had already reached a very high realm.

That same year, you were sent down the mountain to exterminate demons.

The rampaging monsters were two snake spirits, beings who had cultivated for a thousand years through Shapeshifting, and their strength was considerable.

After many years, you returned once more to Tianshui Huangdu.

The first thing you did after descending the mountain was not to exterminate demons, but to go to the place where your father had been killed.

The dilapidated courtyard, long neglected, was already covered with cobwebs.

Using the Cause and Effect Divination method, you located the murderer who killed your father.

The murderer is now a high‑ranking, influential figure in Tianshui Huangchao, serving as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, one of the Six Ministries.

You do not know why he killed your father back then, but the reason is irrelevant; you descended the mountain precisely to renounce worldly affairs.

You went to the Ministry of Punishments and found the Deputy Minister.

In the Deputy Minister's eyes, you are a senior monk of Jingshui Temple, an enlightened person, and he treats you with great respect.

You asked, "Why did you kill my father?"

The Deputy Minister's pupils contracted, and he tried to feign ignorance, "What do you mean, venerable monk?"

A mere Mortal, how could you possibly conceal anything from me?

You shattered the Deputy Minister's skull with a single palm strike.

As a result, you have broken the precept of killing.

But you do not care; you believe cultivation requires renouncing the world, and the grand teachings Shifu spoke are all wrong.

When you were young you asked, "Shifu, why can a villain lay down his butcher's knife and instantly become a Buddha, while a good person must strictly follow the rules and cannot err?"

Your Shifu, Fahai Heshang, said, "Good and evil, virtue and Calamity cannot be judged uniformly; you will understand in time."

At this moment, you feel you have awakened.

If a villain can become a Buddha the instant he puts down his butcher's knife, then why not become the Bad Man in the eyes of the world?

So, after killing the Deputy Minister, you also slaughtered his entire family.

The incident quickly shocked the whole of Tianshui Huangdu.

Practitioners of the Three Teachings were all shaken, and under the Emperor's decree, they all moved to seize you.

The abbot of Jingshui Temple, Yuanhai Heshang, arrived; he is the master's master, your Grandmaster.

In recent years, you have enjoyed considerable fame in the cultivation world.

Many cultivators regard you as the future pillar of Fo Men, the sole Fozhi of the next era.

Therefore, on your first descent to exterminate demons, Shifu sent no one to accompany you.

Everyone thought that demon‑extermination would be a trivial matter for you.

No one expected that the first thing you did after descending the mountain was not demon‑extermination but murder, and that the victim was a high‑ranking court official.

You were surrounded on all sides by numerous cultivators, cutting off your escape.

Your Grandmaster Yuanhai glared at you, "Jingchen, why do you willfully create Calamity?"

You replied, "This humble monk travels only to renounce the world, with a single heart toward the Buddha."

Yuanhai said, "The day you shave your head and become a monk, the worldly past already fades like smoke; to revisit the past and kill at will, Fozu will not forgive you."

You laughed, "If the Fozu truly exists, the ones who cannot be forgiven are the villains; this humble monk eradicates evil, which truly fulfills the Fozu's will."

Yuanhai, angry, shouted, "Nonsense! You should go to Di Yu to repent."

You laughed even more wildly, "Di Yu is empty, demons roam Ren Jian; this humble monk has already liberated the worldly demons, and will now enter Di Yu to exterminate ghosts and monsters."

Whoa!

At this moment, countless cultivators gasped.

Yuanhai struck with a palm, "Jingchen, your attachment to the world is too deep; from now on you are no longer a disciple of Fo Men."

"It is you, the stubborn old monks, who are trapped in deep attachment."

You stood calmly, a massive golden bell enveloping you, blocking Yuanhai Heshang's palm strike.

The assembled cultivators gasped again.

Probably no one expected that someone so young could already match a monk who has cultivated Buddhism for centuries.

"Everyone, suppress him together."

Yuanhai summoned the heads of other Fo Men temples, and they all advanced to subdue you.

"Eradicating evil to the utmost is the true Buddha!"

You remained unafraid, leapt forward, soaring toward the Horizon, "Venerable monks, you do not understand Mahāyāna Buddhist doctrine; this humble monk will teach you."

"Great Mighty Celestial Dragon, Daluo Fuzhou, Bore Zhufo, Bore Ba Ma—Bang!"

You unleashed the renowned technique of your Shifu, Fahai Heshang.

A massive golden dragon spanned the sky, shattering numerous Arhat skills and Jinfa.

In the battle, you heard a Daoist priest comment on you.

"Jingchen is probably the strongest Fozhi in history," the priest said.

You naturally know you are a genius, otherwise you would not be so reckless, yet you also realize that today you cannot escape death.

Many abbot of Fo Men are not themselves particularly strong, but Fo Men conceal supreme secret arts.

They can invite the Zhenfo to possess them.

In this world, the power of Fo Men seems stronger than that of the other two teachings.

Yuanhai Heshang sat cross‑legged in the void, eyes half‑closed, palms together, as mysterious energy continuously gathered around his body.

When he opened his eyes again, they were like a raging vajra.

Boom!

The hand, bristling with Fazi, struck down hard, slamming you into the earth, leaving a massive palm imprint on the ground.

Your years of cultivation are ultimately too shallow.

Regarding the Buddhist teachings, you have your own understanding, but you can no longer put it into practice.

"Wicked disciple, I ask you again, do you repent?"

Yuanhai again poses a question to you.

The abbot of another temple shouted, "Yuanhai, you still intend to show mercy? Jingchen has already broken the killing precept and must enter Di Yu to repent, or else our Fo Men will lose its face!"

"He killed my father; he must die!"

You refuse to bow your head, and you never regret; even ten thousand more times, you would still choose to kill the Minister of Punishments.

Yuanhai, heartbroken and indignant, said, "Killing one person is enough; why then did you kill his entire family? What grudge do his relatives hold against you? It is utterly unforgivable; the disaster should not affect his family!"

You laughed, "If he hadn't killed my father, how could he have sat in the position of Minister of Punishments? The disaster does not affect the family, but the benefit does?"

Yuanhai Heshang shouted angrily, "Absurd words!"

You gave no ground, arguing, "The benefit they enjoy stems from the butcher's evil; they feast on my father's blood, on my mother's tears. I should be the one to enjoy all this!"

"Alas."

Yuanhai sighed, "You are deeply trapped in obsession; this monk must now liberate you, to honor the Fozu."

"Everyone, strike!"

Your words left Yuanhai powerless to argue; only by subduing you with death can the anger of Tianshui Huangchao's beings be pacified and the people's incense offerings secured.

Countless killing techniques of the Fo Men descended together; you were powerless to resist, sitting calmly on the ground, awaiting the ridiculous death sentence.