Chapter 40: The Candle of All Sentient Beings, the Embryo of Divine Power

The man in the suit returned the greeting, shouting loudly, "Yes, Great Master, we have come from a very distant place, drawn by your fame."

Jiang Yan did not interrupt; the main quest was to explore the secrets of the Monkey King Temple.

Without entering, they could not carry out subsequent actions.

Upon hearing this, Abbot Shou'e chuckled, "Amitabha. It is precisely time for vegetarian meals. All who come are guests; please, everyone, enter."

With those words, he turned and walked inward.

"As generous as described in the quest..."

Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes and followed the others into the temple.

As they walked, they could hear the sound of chanting scriptures; the content was the 【Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of Ksitigarbha】 and the 【Great Compassion Mantra】.

Jiang Yan knew this so well because he had previously accompanied his grandfather to help others with funeral rites, where he had copied out several copies and received plenty of candy as a reward.

On the walls on both sides of the path, there were paintings of a divine monkey wearing a kasaya, with Buddha-light radiating from behind its head; surrounded by macaques, they gathered under a peach tree, holding crimson peaches and distributing them to rabbits and humans.

But no other animals were visible.

Was the rabbit some kind of religious metaphor?

The artwork was lifelike; no matter from which angle one looked, one could meet the monkey's eyes and see a gaze of compassion.

Jiang Yan looked curiously for a few moments, then suddenly discovered...

That eyeball had moved.

If not for the Ashen Lamp capturing it, he would have almost thought it was an illusion.

Is it alive?

Jiang Yan was shocked in his heart, but seeing the calm reactions of the others, he did not speak, merely glaring back.

This action was just seen by Little White, who was walking at the very back; seeing that Little Black was not paying attention to this side, she quietly made a face at him.

Jiang Yan smiled slightly at this, then turned his head back and did not respond further.

This girl is inexperienced in the world, her compassion overflows, and she is easily deceived.

If the interaction is too frequent,

one might accidentally turn it into a case of demanding repayment for a favor.

Otherwise, where do the scenes in TV dramas come from where a young hero falls into trouble, is saved by a maiden, and secretly develops feelings for her?

"Mmph!"

Seeing Jiang Yan's indifferent reaction, Little White puffed out her mouth, looking like an angry little hamster.

The temple is divided into a front courtyard, a middle courtyard, and a back courtyard, as well as the main hall, side rooms, and the back mountain.

The vegetarian meal is served within the main hall.

It is named the Hall of Zen-Dispelling.

Inside, it is paved with red stone bricks; the surroundings are carved with numerous Buddha reliefs, massive peach-tree pillars stand upright, and in the center position sits a gilded bronze statue of a monkey.

It sits in the lotus position, its right hand holding a peach the size of a human head, its expression compassionate, every detail crafted perfectly; strangely...

Its eyes are hollow, the pupils never painted.

"The Monkey King was kind-hearted, practicing chivalry throughout his life, suppressing evil and eliminating demons, protecting weak living beings. To suppress a great demon, he even transformed his body into a mountain; even after death, he continued to bear abundant peach fruits, distributing them to all sentient beings.

To commemorate him, we built this temple here for worship, offering incense and smoke; unfortunately, due to our lack of skill, we dare not paint the pupils for him."

Abbot Shou'e sat in the primary seat introducing the origins of the Monkey King Temple, his expression nostalgic.

After speaking, he clapped his hands.

Novice monks brought up plates on trays and placed them before Jiang Yan and the others.

"Pilgrims, please taste our Monkey King Temple's specialty vegetarian meal."

Abbot Shou'e said with a smile, "It is peach jam brewed and fermented from the blood peaches of the back mountain, spread on steamed buns for eating, along with peach gum soup, and the radishes and green vegetables we grow."

The little novice monk in front of Jiangyan stared fixedly at the food on the plate, unable to help swallowing his saliva.

As if enduring a huge temptation.

Although the dish was complete in color, aroma, and taste, none of the few present started eating.

Seeing this scene, Abbot Shou'e asked curiously:

"Eat, why aren't you eating? Wasting food is not good, or... do you refuse to eat peaches?"

Speaking to this point, Abbot Shou'e narrowed his eyes, and dense Sanskrit characters appeared on the surface of his skin, constantly intertwining.

From above the eaves, the roar of a fierce beast faintly came.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly dropped to the freezing point.

To eat or not to eat?

If we eat, and it is poisonous, causing illness, what then?

If we do not eat, that means fighting right here; even if we can escape the temple, subsequent quests will be very difficult to complete.

For a moment, everyone was in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

"Since the Abbot invites us so enthusiastically, then I must taste it properly!"

The man in the suit spoke, signaling with his eyes for others not to move yet; before entering the temple, he had said he possessed a special ability to detect food.

He picked up a steamed bun, dipped it in some scarlet peach jam, took a bite carefully, and chewed slowly.

Soon, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed in admiration:

"Delicious!"

He finished it in three or four bites and continued to taste the other vegetarian dishes.

"As long as the guests like it."

Seeing this, Abbot Shou'e returned to his chuckling appearance.

Seeing that the man in the suit was unharmed, the two sisters, Little Black and Little White, also began to taste it.

Others dared to eat, so Huang Mao naturally would not retreat.

Jiang Yan picked up a steamed bun, dipped it in peach jam, took a bite, paused for an instant, then the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a playful smile.

"Not bad."

Then, he began to wolf it down, still unsatisfied, asking for several more portions without the slightest hint of politeness.

'Still a... glutton.'

The man in the suit and Huang Mao frowned deeply; they had thought this suddenly appearing sickly ghost might be hiding his strength.

But after observing for a long time... there seemed to be nothing special about him at all.

His spiritual energy was also very weak.

Huang Mao truly never expected... that in the modern era there were still such starving ghosts.

"An impolite fellow."

Xiao Hei snorted coldly, unable to stand Jiang Yan's utterly unregulated manner.

Xiao Bai, sitting nearby, propped her chin with one hand and actually found this fellow quite interesting.

He possessed something she lacked and longed for...

Freedom and unconstraint!

After the vegetarian meal, Abbot Shou'e explained the rules for living in the temple.

"The Monkey King merely suppressed the evil spirits, he did not kill them, so that fellow has been constantly sending minions, trying every way to destroy the statue. This poor monk will state the three rules everyone must follow within the temple."

"One, during the day the temple can be wandered and visited freely, including the back mountain, but once the sun sets, under no circumstances may you leave your guest room; even if you hear sounds outside the door, do not pay attention."

"Two, do not mind the bell tolls at midnight, but when the bell rings after dawn, you must wake up and perform the morning prayers together; do not stay in your guest room."

"Three, every day you must eat the vegetarian meal made of peaches; this is the medium by which the Monkey King bestows blessings upon all beings, capable of dispelling and suppressing evil spirits."

"Everyone need not worry; most of the time I am practicing precepts and cultivation in the 【Jiechan Hall】. If you encounter demons or monsters, simply call my name, and I can easily suppress them."

How domineering!

This thought arose in everyone's minds.

After the dinner ended, they were led by the novice monks into the guest rooms, which contained simple bedding and were cleaned very thoroughly.

Everyone gathered in Jiang Yan's room and began discussing countermeasures.

"This Abbot Shou'e, even if he is not at the Fa Zhong realm, is not far off." The man in the suit sighed, saying: "Huang Mao, your exploration rate should have increased, right?"

Huang Mao nodded, his face showing joy: "It reached 3% after hearing the story; I didn't expect it to be so simple."

The man in the suit agreed: "It seems the core of this mission is to find that suppressed evil spirit; if we can eliminate it, we might obtain an 'A' rating."

Huang Mao analyzed calmly: "The Monkey King can transform his body into a mountain; he must be at least a peak Fa Zhong expert. His opponent should be of the same level, yet the temple does not look dangerous, not even as dangerous as some Turbid Flow Grade-B instances."

"What Huang Mao says makes sense."

Xiao Hei looked on with appreciation and proposed a hypothesis: "Then it is highly likely that the temple will undergo changes after nightfall."

Huang Mao nodded: "Very possible."

Everyone conducted the discussion with him at the center.

As for Jiang Yan, he had automatically been categorized as a marginal character.

He did not speak out of turn, listening silently.

Xiao Bai, sitting nearby, curiously observed his reaction.

Xiao Hei said: "We had better follow the rules; it is best not to go out tonight. We should wait until tomorrow daytime to tour the temple and the back mountain, and only consider night exploration after understanding the layout."

While speaking, her gaze paused for an instant on Jiang Yan.

She worried in her heart that he was a dangerous element.

"See you tomorrow."

After chatting for a while, everyone took their leave and departed one after another.

But Jiang Yan noticed that although they clearly lived in different locations, they walked in the same direction; without surprise, they must be going to find Huang Mao.

Because he appeared to be an unstable factor and his strength was merely average, he was excluded from their inner circle.

He had no qualification to know the more detailed plans.

He only needed to lie flat.

The Coffin Spirit poked its head out of the pants pocket, indignantly saying: "Master, these people are truly too excessive; if you hadn't stopped me, I would have buried them all."

It looked like a vicious, protective puppy.

Jiang Yan patted the Coffin Spirit's head... the coffin lid, his expression calm: "Humans are by nature creatures that seek benefit and avoid harm, disliking troublesome matters; this is very normal. I would do the same myself; I cannot blame them."

The Coffin Spirit grunted a few times, then changed the subject: "Master, shall we just stay in the room then? I brought playing cards; we can use them to pass the time!"

These things were all entertainment facilities the Coffin Spirit had prepared after the Master lay inside.

The main goal was maximum comfort.

Later, it would research how to connect a signal and bring a television in.

It could not be inferior to so-called hotels.

"No, I still have matters to attend to." Jiang Yan smiled, and with a thought,

the Lamp of Ashes materialized from the void, burning with a faint candle flame.

Upon the lamp, the Fly Child's soul, the size of an ordinary fly, fluttered continuously, yet could never escape the range of the candle flame.

It could only watch helplessly as its body began to melt, gradually collapsing.

Jiang Yan looked down at the Fly Child and asked: "What purpose does Lord Gaoshan have in the mortal world?"

The voice was very light, but to the Fly Child it sounded as if heavenly thunder had exploded, frightening it so that it fell into the lamp oil, its wings stuck by the wax oil, instantly solidifying.

It raised its head, looking at Jiang Yan, who loomed like a giant Buddha, and trembled all over.

How did the other party know about Shaolao Mountain and Lord Gaoshan?

Could it be...

Is this figure before me the mortal vessel of a Buddha's reincarnation?

Omniscient? Omnipotent?

It pleaded, "Buddha, I beg you, spare me! I know nothing; I merely got lucky and escaped from Shaolao Mountain..."

'Lucky again?'

Jiang Yan sneered, continuing to burn with the candle flame, yet the answer remained unchanged. He then interrogated the Fly Child for other information about Shaolao Mountain, and only after confirming no further value could be extracted did he refine it.

Rustle!

The Fly Child's soul melted, and several streams of cyan-gray qi, identical to those previously found in the Mountain Lady's soul, appeared once more.

But before he could capture them, they collapsed on their own and vanished into the void.

"What exactly is this?"

Jiang Yan frowned, vaguely sensing that these mysterious qi streams hid a secret.

Especially since these fleeing demons and monsters seemed unaware of the existence of these qi streams?

What exactly is Gaoshan's purpose?

While he pondered, the Fly Child's soul had already condensed into a white candle.

This was one of the abilities of the Lamp of Ashes.

Named—the Method of Transforming Sentient Beings into Candles.

The Lamp of Fire Hell uses the karma and souls of sentient beings as fuel candles.

The higher a being's own karma and merit, the higher the grade of the candle born.

Candles are divided into five colors: white, red, purple, gold, and seven-colored.

Candles of different grades possess different abilities.

Once a white candle is lit, it can increase one's own luck and soul power, and grant the ability to perceive the target's emotions and malice, similar to the Mind-Reading Divine Art.

However, the perception is only vague; to achieve the effect of true mind-reading, one must burn a vast quantity of white candles.

For three days.

About six thousand words. Continuing to ask for monthly votes, continued reads, and recommendation votes. The ratio of continued reads for this book is indeed quite dismal. I am working hard to update; please continue reading.



(End of Chapter)