Chapter 310: Fighting the Monk

"I'm not doing anything—I just came to see how rich this Buddhist Sect is. Back then, Emperor Taiwu and Emperor Zhouwu's crackdown on Buddhism actually made some sense—you monks don't farm or work, yet you somehow manage to rake in so much money. Don't tell me building such an extravagant, massive Chan monastery costs not a single coin!!" Bai Lang said to the four monks before him.

"Having money is one thing, but there are also so many strong monks who neither pay taxes nor serve in the military. If this continues, won't the country be doomed? As they say, the Southern Dynasties had many temples, so isn't it because the Sui, with slightly fewer temples, destroyed them?" Bai Lang continued. Of course, those four old monks felt no shame at all.

However, since Bai Lang had said that, the four monks couldn't immediately think of anything to make him leave. Bai Lang said he was just here to visit; if you try to kick me out—I certainly won't leave on my own—if you want to drive me away, you'll have to show some skill.

Even if the Four Great Holy Monks overestimated Bai Lang's martial prowess, they wouldn't rate him higher than the Evil King Shi Zhixuan—who, as the leader of both sects, self-taught the Undying Seal Technique and Phantom Magic Body Technique, roamed the world for decades as the Demonic Sect's top expert; even such a person, when faced with the Four Great Holy Monks working together, would be utterly defeated and forced to flee.

One-on-one, the four monks would likely not be a match for the Evil King; two-on-one they'd probably win, and four-on-one they'd easily secure a narrow victory. Although Bai Lang's bravery is known across the world, and he has indeed trampled thousands of troops, in people's eyes he still can't compare to the Evil King.

Thus, the wicked guest Bai Lang arrived at the gate. The four old monks saw his ferocious face, his beard exploding, his eyebrows arched like hooks, and the aura emanating from him was like a substantive white tiger—clearly not someone swayed by words. Moreover, the Pure Thought Chan Monastery still harbored the Heirloom Jade Seal as a secret ailment, which absolutely must not be revealed to this person.

Therefore, the only option was to drive him out by force. At that moment, a handsome monk also came up behind the Four Great Holy Monks. This monk, dressed all in white, appeared to be in his thirties, but the warrior monks attending him indicated he was the highest-ranking person here—apparently the abbot of the Chan Monastery, Liaokong.

The Four Great Holy Monks chanted the Buddha's name, then a rough-and-tumble, somewhat dirty old monk stepped forward first, unleashing a boundless, ever-changing palm that covered the sky and earth. "Hey, old monk, what's your name?" Bai Lang showed no panic, shouting directly.

"This poor monk of the Chan Sect is Daoxin." The big-eared, full-faced, auspicious-looking old monk said with a grin. "Oh my, you're still grinning while fighting—definitely not a good thing." Bai Lang also grinned, but his smile was like that of a man-eating tiger; he matched palm against palm, Daoxin's hundred hands and thousand palms versus Bai Lang's single palm strike.

That palm was a vicious gust, like a giant tiger swiping—one slap shattering a wild boar's skull. And Bai Lang's swing was like a city wall collapsing straight down; in the face of that true qi force, the hundred hands and thousand palms scattered instantly.

Even if it could shatter hundreds of city bricks, what of it? The whole thing is still just an avalanche. Daoxin's momentary lapse left him flustered—Daoxin is the first expert Bai Lang has encountered in this world, and of course there are three more of his peers watching him like tigers eyeing prey.

Thus, seeing Daoxin in a bit of trouble, the second, third, and fourth experts struck simultaneously. A Zen staff rose like Mount Buzhou, piercing the heavens, and directly from its middle it 'propped up' Bai Lang's palm force.

Then came the resonant Buddhist chants; a palm force instantly split into dozens or hundreds, each resembling a tiny Buddha niche, rising to meet Bai Lang's avalanche-like Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist palm force. Finally, it was as if flying in from beyond the heavens, or as if it had existed since ancient times—a finger pointed out. The Buddha image sensed within the aura hovering above the Pure Thought Chan Monastery also pointed far away, like a flower-smile gesture.

The Four Great Holy Monks struck together; Bai Lang's palm naturally collapsed and shattered, finally transformed by the Buddhist Sect's true intent into formless harmony. Bai Lang clicked his tongue, raised the corner of his mouth, his beard trembled, and he lunged straight at the old monk who had unleashed the Thousand Buddha Palm—the Wisdom Grand Master of the Tiantai Sect. With his claws gathered, he waited for the right distance, then seized and tore, ripping the old monk in half.

The Four Great Holy Monks always act as a unit: in single combat, four take on one; in a group fight, one faces four. Seeing that the Wisdom Grand Master's Buddhist Sect aura and his Thousand Buddha Palm, before the advancing Bai Lang, were as flimsy as paper, the other three, their minds in unison, immediately struck out.

As for the Buddhist Sect's mind-penetration ability, it certainly has merit—although these four definitely lack the Arhat's fruition, and certainly haven't cultivated mind-penetration, they still possess the mutual ability to sense each other's intentions. Thus, three joining forces to defend one is perfectly coordinated—blocking, escaping, delaying, counterattacking all at once.

Bai Lang also changed his stance: his previously clenched claws struck out simultaneously upward and downward, then he twisted and tore in the opposite direction, generating a great force out of thin air, and even in empty space a sound like tearing cloth rang out.

This tear directly shattered the Bodhidharma Hand and Heart Buddha Palm, which had been perfectly coordinated and mutually promoted to the point of almost forming a fixed Buddha realm on the palm. Afterwards Bai Lang turned his claws into a fist, punching the Zen staff overhead; the consummate staff technique's power was directly shattered by Bai Lang's Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist, driven like a raging gale, as a siege cone. The staff wouldn't budge and was instead sent flying back by the physical force from the external divine skill.

As for the finger Zen of the flower-smile gesture? Its energy comes from afar, seeming nonexistent, but only when it contacts the body or aura does it suddenly explode like something appearing out of nowhere, and with Grand Master Jiaxiang's decades of profound Buddhist doctrine imparted, it strikes both body and mind simultaneously.

However, this is of little use to Bai Lang—if, in Bai Lang's own world, Grand Master Jiaxiang could obtain a divine skill commensurate with his Buddhist cultivation, he ought to be able to match Bai Lang, or even surpass him; but here we'll just leave it at that.

Before the Buddhist Sect's doctrine could even take shape, it was torn apart and devoured by the white tiger's leaping roar. When the energy suddenly erupted, Bai Lang's Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield on his body rang out loudly; the bell's roar like a tiger's instantly shattered that energy, but with Bai Lang's current Golden Bell Shield power, he could not really reflect that force back from a distance.

Such external martial arts truly startled the Four Great Holy Monks—this time it's trouble. The onlooker Liaokong hadn't yet broken his silent meditation, yet he also turned his prayer beads—indeed, his subordinates, the Four Great Dharma Protector Monks, one of whom exclaimed in astonishment and envy at Bai Lang's displayed martial prowess, "Great Vajra Divine Power! Indestructible Vajra Body!"

This is the supreme realm the Buddhist Sect aims for in training external martial arts; these Four Great Vajras, named after the Vajra, naturally cultivate such martial arts, and they can acutely feel the formidable strength of Bai Lang's external martial arts.