Chapter 880: Taking the Precepts (6)

The bounty hunter lifted his head, and on his blood‑stained face countless expressions flashed—confusion, incomprehension, bewilderment… and anger.

"Rupert's monster, and the Step‑Away People—how many worlds have you destroyed?! In front of me, what's the point of pretending to be a good person? You think what you've done can be erased just like that? You were born to be monsters of slaughter! I've said it before: bounty hunters will hunt you to any corner of the galaxy!"

She Mo took it and left without looking back.

0089 diagnosed all the procedures, but could not find any quantifiable system upgrade.

——

Fullmetal Alchemist.

"0089… it… why did it stop running the Anti‑Organic Equation?"

Ai Dehua stared in disbelief at the fading red light in the robot's eye; after experiencing the Emperor's War in the simulated universe, he was quite clear that 'emotion' could not possibly affect an inorganic lifeform influenced by the Equation.

During the war, organic and inorganic life became husband and wife; the robot wife could pierce straight through her husband's chest, showing how negligible the influence of 'language' and 'emotion' is in the inorganic life program.

"Brother, it… might have had an awakening." A Er Fen Si's voice came from the empty armor.

"An awakening? Inorganic life? Or an inorganic lifeform affected by the Anti‑Organic Equation?"

Ai Dehua found it hard to connect the two for a moment; although inorganic life also has its own thoughts, to him the Anti‑Organic Equation is just a program that deprives those thoughts, and 0089's willingness to shut it down voluntarily means the Cinnabar Wheel Temple's doctrine has completely overridden the Equation's influence.

"Emperor Lu Pote once thought that organic life's calculations were full of errors. But in fact, the Cinnabar Wheel Temple's doctrine has a far deeper influence than the calculations of inorganic life…… achieving the optimal solution of blood and fire in the universe through precepts—a way of calculation Rupert would never have imagined."

Ai Dehua lowered his head and murmured: "This might just be the limitation of that mechanical genius."

——

"What is stopping the slaughter, stopping the Anti‑Organic Equation from running? The power above slaughter truly exists. 0089 demands to receive the precepts, to study further."

"Disciple who has taken refuge 0089, though your karmic obstacles are not cleared, you still have room for salvation. The teacher is absent; today I, the Wise Assembly practicing monk She Mo, make an exception to grant you the Five Precepts of the Cinnabar Wheel Temple, hoping you will sever evil karma. Now, follow me in reciting the precepts."

She Mo closed his eyes and devoutly chanted: "I come from emptiness, for the sake of all beings; therefore, I do no harm and do not propagate."

"I extinguish affliction, see the poison of karmic retribution; therefore, I am neither greedy nor hateful."

"I know the truth of suffering, the arising of life and death; therefore, I am not negligent, awaiting nirvana."

After the chanting, She Mo felt out a precept ring from his luggage and handed it to 0089: "Put this ring on; from today on, you are a disciple of the Cinnabar Wheel Temple. I bestow upon you the Dharma name 【Shan Shi】. The precepts are the law for self‑discipline; if even the law in your heart cannot bind you, the turbid world's flood will leave you no room to resist."

"Once the precedent of breaking a precept is opened, countless excuses will sprout along the cracks, like addictive poison, eroding the original bottom line into a thousand holes, leaving no room to turn back. Remember, breaking a precept won't destroy your body, but it will make you suffer defeat after defeat on the path against the blood‑fire cycle. What we seek is not victory of the flesh, but invincibility of the soul."

"Shan Shi: 'Confirmation: disciple will keep the teachings in mind.'"

"Agreement complete. I will observe the five precepts of non‑harming, non‑propagation, non‑greed, non‑hatred, and non‑negligence, and keep my promise to She Mo. I will study the scriptures of the Cinnabar Wheel Temple, and I will attain the power above slaughter. No doubt."

——

Dragon Clan.

"Shan Shi…… I remember this title."

"Oh?" Angre shifted his gaze over.

Chu Zihang recalled the Buddhist scriptures he had seen in the academy: "'Shan Shi' itself is a Buddhist term, meaning 'truly reaching the other shore'; 'Shan' means good, 'Shi' means to go; together they form one of the Ten Honored Titles of the Buddha."

"How do you even know this?" Compared to Chu Zihang, Kai Sa felt in an instant that his years at the academy had been wasted.

In the academy's Dragon Clan History Studies course, there was research on scriptures concerning the Dragon Clan of ancient India, which involved Buddhist scriptures from the 1st to the 5th century CE; I had browsed through them, wanting to see if there were any traces of Dragon Clan history. Chu Zihang said.

"If that's the case, perhaps the culture of the Cinnabar Wheel Temple is related to Earth's Buddhist culture?" Angre lowered his gaze; if true, this would be major news capable of shaking the academic world.

"It could also be a coincidence; given the countless galaxies and civilizations in the universe, it also means there are countless possibilities. Since it's a possibility, there is a probability of coupling. Perhaps the Cinnabar Wheel Temple's cultural system also contains the concept of 'Buddha', except that their Buddha refers to a certain star deity. Everyone in the temples practices by emulating that star deity's deeds, aiming to fulfill the star deity's ancient vow."

——

In the next memory, Shan Shi and She Mo arrived at a territory, where the fervent Annihilation Gang surrounded them on all sides, curiously sizing up this uncommon pair from head to toe.

"Tsk, these two guys are really boring, not even a decent show of resistance. How am I supposed to get excited?"

"You two, don't ever let the brothers down."

"Shan Shi: 'Patrons, we carry no possessions; our only spaceship was destroyed by your attack. Logic: killing us would yield no benefit.'"

"She Mo: 'I hope you all turn back to shore; do not stain yourselves with more karmic offenses.'"

A few members of the Annihilation Gang couldn't help laughing: "Karmic offenses? You talk as if you've seen this thing called karmic offenses—how much does it weigh, what does it look like? Bring it out to open our eyes!"

"Another member of the Annihilation Gang jeered: 'Listen up, you two—the only real things in this universe are meteors falling from the sky, the flames of the Antimatter Legion, and the gun in my hand.'"

"Shan Shi: 'Note: please add the Anti‑Organic Equation.'"

She Mo looked at it with a complex expression and shook his head.

Shan Shi recognized the topology of her expression—it was 'pleading'. She did not want him to break the precepts for this.

"She Mo: 'Do you still remember our purpose? We need a monk to deliver the petition to the Immortal Vessel—but it doesn't have to be me.'"

"Record: after spending 0.0019 seconds in calculation, I understood She Mo's strategy. By sacrificing himself, he created an escape opportunity for me."

"Shan Shi spoke calmly: 'I refuse to carry out the order.'"