Chapter 40: The Candle of All Living Beings, the Embryonic Form of a Divine Ability

The man in the suit returned the gesture and said loudly, "Yes, Master, we have come from very far away, having heard of your reputation."

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

Without going inside, it would be impossible to carry out subsequent actions.

Upon hearing this, Abbot Shou'e chuckled and said, "Amitabha, it just so happens to be time for a vegetarian meal. All who arrive are guests; please, everyone, come in."

After speaking, he turned and walked inside.

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

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

Walking along the path, one could hear the sound of scriptures being chanted, specifically the [Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vow Sutra] and the [Great Compassion Mantra].

Jiang Yan knew this so well because he used to follow his grandfather to help out at other people's funerals, where he helped copy a few volumes 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 shining from behind its head. It was surrounded by macaques, all gathered under a peach tree, holding crimson peaches and sharing them with rabbits and humans.

But no other animals were to be seen.

Rabbits—is that some kind of religious metaphor?

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

Jiang Yan took a few curious glances, then suddenly discovered...

That eyeball moved slightly.

If not for the capture by the Lamp of Ashes, he would have almost thought it was a hallucination.

Alive?

Jiang Yan was shocked, but seeing the indifferent reactions of the others, he did not speak, merely glaring back at it.

This action happened to be seen by Xiao Bai, who was walking at the very back. Seeing that Xiao Hei was not paying attention, she quietly made a face at him.

Jiang Yan smiled slightly at this, then turned his head away without responding further.

This young girl was naive and overly sympathetic; she could easily be deceived.

If the interaction were too frequent,

one might accidentally end up in a situation of being forced to repay a favor.

Otherwise, where would those tropes in movies come from, where a young hero falls into trouble and develops feelings after being saved by a young maiden?

"Ugh!"

Xiao Bai watched Jiang Yan's indifferent reaction, her mouth pouting like an angry little hamster.

The temple was divided into the front, middle, and back courtyards, the main hall, the side chambers, and the back mountain.

The vegetarian meal was in the main hall.

It was called the Hall of Zen Resolution.

The interior was paved with red stone bricks, the walls carved with numerous reliefs of Buddhas, and massive peach tree pillars stood upright. In the center sat a gilded bronze statue of a monkey.

It sat in the lotus position, holding a peach the size of a head in its right hand, its expression compassionate. Every detail was executed perfectly, but strangely...

Its eyes were hollow; they had not been dotted.

"The Monkey King was kind-hearted, spent his life upholding justice, suppressing evil and eliminating demons, and protecting weak creatures. To suppress a great demon, he even transformed his body into a mountain. After he died, he still bore abundant peach fruits to share with all living beings.

To commemorate him, we built this temple to worship him and offer incense. It is only a pity that due to our lack of skill, we dare not dot his eyes."

Abbot Shou'e sat at the head, introducing the origin of the Monkey King Temple with a nostalgic expression.

After finishing, he clapped his hands.

Novice monks brought out trays and placed them in front of Jiang Yan and the others.

"Dear pilgrims, come and taste the signature vegetarian meal of our Monkey King Temple."

Abbot Shou'e said with a smile, "It is peach jam made from fermented blood peaches from the back mountain, spread on steamed buns, along with peach gum soup and the radishes and greens we grow ourselves."

The little novice monk in front of Jiang Yan stared fixedly at the food on the tray, unable to stop himself from swallowing his saliva.

It was as if he were enduring a great temptation.

Although it looked, smelled, and tasted delicious, none of the people present started eating.

Abbot Shou'e watched this scene and asked curiously:

"Eat, why aren't you eating? Wasting food is not good, or is it... that you are unwilling to eat peaches?"

As he said this, Abbot Shou'e narrowed his eyes, and dense Sanskrit characters appeared on the surface of his skin, constantly intertwining.

Above the eaves, the roar of a beast could be faintly heard.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly dropped to freezing point.

To eat or not to eat?

If they ate it and it was poisonous, what if it triggered a mutation?

If they didn't eat it, they would end up fighting on the spot; even if they could escape the temple, it would be very difficult to complete the subsequent missions.

For a moment, everyone was in a dilemma.

"Since the Abbot is so warmly inviting, I must have a good taste!"

The man in the suit spoke, signaling others not to move yet. Before entering the temple, he had said he had a special ability to detect food.

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

Soon, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed:

"Delicious!"

He finished it in a few bites and continued to taste the rest of the vegetarian meal.

"As long as the guest likes it."

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

Seeing that the man in the suit was fine, the sisters Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai also began to taste the food.

Since everyone else dared to eat, Huang Mao naturally would not back down.

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

"Not bad."

Then, he began to wolf it down, and not satisfied, he asked for several more portions, showing no restraint at all.

'Still a... glutton.'

The man in the suit and Huang Mao frowned as they watched. They had thought this sickly ghost who appeared out of nowhere might be hiding his strength.

But after observing for a long time... he seemed to have nothing special about him.

His spiritual energy was also very weak.

Huang Mao truly hadn't expected... that such a starving ghost still existed in the modern era.

"Rude fellow."

Xiao Hei snorted, unable to stand Jiang Yan's lack of manners.

Beside her, Xiao Bai rested her chin on one hand, finding this guy quite interesting.

He had something she lacked and longed for...

Freedom and ease!

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

"The Monkey King only suppressed the demons, he did not kill them. Therefore, that fellow has been sending out minions, trying every possible way to destroy the statue. I will state the three rules you must follow while in the temple."

"One, you may walk around and visit the temple during the day, including the back mountain, but after the sun sets, you must not leave your side chambers, even if you hear sounds outside the door, do not pay them any mind."

"Two, you need not mind the bell ringing in the middle of the night, but once the bell rings after dawn, you must wake up and join the morning chanting; do not stay in the side chambers."

"Three, you must eat the peach-based vegetarian meal every day. This is the medium through which the Monkey King bestows alms upon all living beings, and it can dispel and restrain demons."

"Do not worry, most of the time I am in the [Hall of Zen Resolution] practicing my vows. If you encounter demons, you only need to call my name, and they can be easily suppressed."

How domineering!

This thought crossed everyone's minds.

After the dinner, they were led by the novice monks to the side chambers, which had simple bedding and were cleaned very well.

The group gathered in Jiang Yan's room to discuss countermeasures.

"This Abbot Shou'e, even if he isn't in the Dharma Seed Realm, he isn't far off," the man in the suit sighed and said, "Huang Mao, your exploration progress should have increased, right?"

Huang Mao nodded, his face showing joy: "It's already at 3% after hearing the story. I didn't expect it to be this simple."

The man in the suit agreed: "It seems the core of this mission is to find the suppressed demon. If we can eliminate it, we might be able to get an A-plus rating."

Huang Mao analyzed calmly: "The Monkey King could transform his body into a mountain; he must be at least a peak Dharma Seed expert. His opponent should be at the same level, but the temple doesn't look dangerous, not even as much as some Grade B Turbid Flow dungeons."

"Huang Mao makes sense."

Xiao Hei looked appreciative and offered a conjecture: "Then it is highly likely that the temple will change after nightfall."

Huang Mao nodded: "Very likely."

The group discussed with him as the center.

As for Jiang Yan, he had automatically been relegated to a peripheral character.

He did not speak out of turn and listened silently.

Beside him, Xiao Bai was curiously observing his reactions.

Xiao Hei said: "We had better follow the rules. It's best not to go out tonight. Let's wait until tomorrow during the day to tour the temple and the back mountain, and after understanding the layout, we can consider the matter of night exploration."

As she spoke, her gaze paused on Jiang Yan for a split second.

She was worried that he was a dangerous element.

"See you tomorrow."

After chatting for a while, the group said their goodbyes and left one after another.

However, Jiang Yan discovered that although they lived in different locations, they were heading in the same direction; barring any accidents, they were likely going to find Huang Mao.

Because he appeared to be an unstable factor and his strength was mediocre, he had been excluded from the small circle.

He was not qualified to know the more detailed plans.

He was only responsible for lying flat.

The Coffin Spirit poked its head out of his pocket and said indignantly, "Master, these people are truly too much. If you hadn't stopped me, I would have buried them all."

It looked like a fierce little puppy protecting its master.

Jiang Yan stroked the Coffin Spirit's head—or rather, its coffin lid—and said calmly, "People are naturally creatures that seek advantages and avoid harm; it is normal to dislike troublesome things. I would do the same myself, so I cannot blame them."

The Coffin Spirit hummed a few times and changed the subject: "Master, are we just going to stay in the room then? I brought a deck of cards, which is perfect for passing the time!"

These items were all entertainment facilities the Coffin Spirit had prepared for its master after he started lying inside.

The main focus was on maximizing comfort.

Once it studied how to receive a signal, it would move a television inside.

It could not be worse than a so-called hotel.

"No, I still have things to attend to," Jiang Yan smiled, his thoughts stirring.

The Lamp of Ashes emerged from the void, burning with a faint, ghostly flame.

Above the lamp, the soul of the Fly Child, the size of an ordinary fly, kept fluttering about but could never escape the range of the candlelight.

It could only watch helplessly as its body began to melt and gradually collapse.

Jiang Yan looked down at the Fly Child and asked, "What is Gaoshan Jun's purpose in the present world?"

His voice was very soft, but to the Fly Child, it sounded like a thunderclap; it was so frightened that it fell into the lamp oil, its wings stuck by the wax, and it froze instantly.

It raised its head, looking at Jiang Yan, who appeared as magnificent as a giant Buddha, and trembled all over.

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

Could it be...

Was the person before it the human incarnation of a reincarnated Buddha?

All-knowing? All-powerful?

It begged, "Buddha, please spare me. I don't know anything; I just happened to be lucky enough to escape from Shaolao Mountain..."

'Lucky again?'

Jiang Yan sneered and continued to burn it with the candlelight, but the answer remained the same. He turned to interrogate it for other intelligence regarding Shaolao Mountain, and only after confirming there was no remaining value to be squeezed out did he refine it.

Rustle!

The Fly Child's soul melted, and once again, several streaks of blue-gray energy appeared, exactly the same as those from the soul of the Mountain Lady back then.

But before they could be captured, they collapsed on their own and dissipated into the void.

"What exactly are these things?"

Jiang Yan frowned, vaguely feeling that these mysterious energy streaks hid a secret.

Especially since these demons that had escaped did not seem to know of the existence of these energy streaks?

What exactly was Gaoshan Jun's purpose?

While he was deep in thought, the Fly Child's soul had already condensed into a white candle.

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

It was called—the Method of Transforming Sentient Beings into Candles.

The Lamp-Burning Purgatory used the karma and souls of sentient beings as fuel for the candles.

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

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

Different grades of candles had different abilities.

Once a white candle was lit, it could increase one's own luck and soul power, and grant the ability to perceive a target's emotions and malice, similar to Telepathy.

But it could only perceive them vaguely; to achieve the effect of mind-reading, one would have to burn a massive amount of white candles.

Lasting for three days.

Around six thousand words; continuing to ask for monthly tickets, follow-up reads, and recommendation tickets. The follow-up read ratio for this book is indeed a bit miserable. I am working hard to update, please keep reading.

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(End of this chapter)