Chapter 23: Finally Lost Composure

Monk Ku'e chanted "Amitabha," intending to debate the Dao with Chen Ye.

As long as the Golden Body protects him, he can withstand the power of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Even if he only holds out for a few more moments, there might be a turning point.

Regardless of the Righteous or Demonic Paths, cultivators all seek immortality and will never give up easily.

Although Chen Ye had taken the pill, his eardrums had not fully healed; he only vaguely heard the phrase "Amitabha" and thought this demon was still a principled person, chanting "Amitabha" even as death approached. That copy of the *Sutra of the Earth Store Bodhisattva's Fundamental Vows* must have some connection to him.

Speaking of which, it all relied on this treasure.

Knowing that even Su Chunyi's sword talisman could not harm the scripture by so much as a hair, Chen Ye knew it was definitely a supreme treasure; he just did not know why Monk Ku'e could not use it.

Just now, Chen Ye had used the Transport Technique to use this scripture to block the Vajra Pestle, activating its power in advance, which allowed him to successfully survive Monk Ku'e's desperate final struggle.

At present, he did not know where the scripture had been blasted to, but there was no rush; once he dealt with this demon, he could search for it slowly later.

Chen Ye did not respond, but Monk Ku'e gained an extra layer of Jin Guang, which surprised Chen Ye a bit; did this demon still have a hidden move?

At this moment, Hearing Mo Ci patted Chen Ye's shoulder and wrote on the rock with a piece of charcoal: "This Monk practices the Open-Mouthed Zen Divine Art of the Niepan Sect."

Chen Ye glanced at it and asked in confusion: "Open-Mouthed Zen? I have only heard of Closed-Mouthed Zen."

Hearing Mo Ci was stunned for a moment; what kind of Divine Art was Closed-Mouthed Zen? Why had he never heard of it?

However, this was not the time for idle chat, so Hearing Mo Ci reminded him again: "This Open-Mouthed Zen is mysterious and unfathomable; it is said that as long as one speaks, the Golden Body becomes indestructible and ten thousand methods cannot invade."

Chen Ye smiled and said: "If that is truly the case, how was his physical body beheaded by Miss Su?"

Hearing Mo Ci very much wanted to roll his eyes; it was said to be invulnerable to ten thousand methods, but could the sword techniques of the Qinghe Sword Sect be generalized like that?

The master and disciple communicated secretly while Monk Ku'e, shimmering with Jin Guang, actually stabilized his stance and locked horns with the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Chen Ye asked in confusion: "Does this Open-Mouthed Zen mean one can plate the Golden Body just by muttering to thin air?"

Hearing Mo Ci shook his head and wrote four characters: "I don't understand either."

Chen Ye felt helpless; his teacher indeed possessed average skills and average knowledge.

Although Monk Ku'e had temporarily gained a chance to catch his breath, such a stalemate was not a solution; no matter how powerful or low-consumption the Open-Mouthed Zen Divine Art was, it ultimately required spiritual energy.

His soul and spirit had already begun to weaken, so spiritual energy was used up one by one, whereas the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was a magical treasure with array assistance, providing a continuous flow of spiritual energy.

If this continued, death was inevitable for him.

He must find a way to kill the person who set the trap; while he still had some strength left, he should lure that person out.

Since this person dared not meet him face-to-face, their cultivation must be far inferior to his own, so he must force them out. As long as they got close enough, he could still squeeze out his last bit of strength and kill them with a spell.

Monk Ku'e's eyes darted around; after thinking for a moment, he spoke again: "Benefactor, since you intend to harm my life, why do you dare not come out and meet me? If you also know this matter cannot see the light of day, it is not too late to turn back to the shore and withdraw the array."

Chen Ye looked at Hearing Mo Ci; his ears were still ringing, so he could only let Hearing Mo Ci help relay the message.

Hearing Mo Ci, feeling helpless, could only write down what Monk Ku'e said on the stone.

After reading it, Chen Ye's face was full of confusion; did this monk not see the situation clearly, or was his brain a bit broken? He spoke as if Chen Ye were the victim.

With a pit full of corpses, countless resentful souls within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and the extremely vicious Evil Curse Spirit Child, having committed such atrocities, how could he have the face to tell others to turn back to the shore?

"Master, are all people from the Niepan Sect so shameless?"

Hearing Mo Ci answered matter-of-factly: "How can one be a demon if one cares about face?"

Chen Ye understood; since the other party truly had no shame, Chen Ye would not stand on ceremony either. Hiding behind the stone, he shouted loudly: "Amitabha, Venerable Master, you misunderstood. I do not intend to harm you, but to invite you to ascend to the Blissful Land early. The world is a sea of bitterness; the sea of bitterness is boundless, and turning back to the shore is the way. How to turn back? Of course, it is to die. I have done this with great sincerity; please do not misunderstand, Venerable Master, and enter my Ten Thousand Souls Banner sooner."

After hearing this, Master Ku'e's eyes widened; these were all his own words!

However, having cultivated the Open-Mouthed Zen for many years, Master Ku'e continued: "Then why do you not meet me? You wish to save me, yet you dare not see me?"

After a good while, Chen Ye replied again: "Amitabha, I seek no reward and do not need the Venerable Master to remember my appearance to repay my kindness. To let you have fewer worries, it is better if I do not come out."

Monk Ku'e quickly added: "Benefactor, such behavior damages the reputation of the Qinghe Sword Sect. If your sect elders find out, can you pass the Heart-Questioning Art? Now that I am already a residual soul, even if your cultivation is slightly weaker, we are evenly matched. Why not release the restraints so I may witness the number-one Qinghe Sword Art of the world!"

In Monk Ku'e's view, the one hiding aside setting the trap must be allied with that yellow-robed woman of the Qinghe Sword Sect; one pursued, one set a trap, intending to annihilate him here.

For people of the Righteous Path, moral kidnapping and goading methods were particularly effective.

Even if this young man looked cunning, once he brought up the rules of the Qinghe Sword Sect, he would have to show some concern.

Sure enough, a voice of Chen Ye's anger and frustration soon came from behind the green stone: "My good senior sister, we agreed not to expose our identities; you are truly useless for success but good at causing failure. Fine, since you already know my background, I cannot ruin the reputation of the Qinghe Sword Sect..."

Hearing Chen Ye say this, Monk Ku'e immediately became happy.

Indeed a junior from a famous righteous sect; just a bit of cleverness, and a few words were enough to make him hot-blooded and lose his head.

However, being able to hide one's identity and set a trap was already good; at least he had some intelligence. It seemed his cultivation was far inferior to that yellow-robed woman, and wanting to establish merit, he used such unsavory methods. Now that he was exposed, he could only act according to righteous rules.

Heh, so-called Righteousness is nothing more than this.

Monk Ku'e secretly circulated his spiritual power, preparing to strike and kill Chen Ye the moment he appeared.

But then he heard Chen Ye say: "For the sake of fairness, I will release the restraints of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and fight you fairly. This battle concerns the reputation of my Qinghe Sword Sect; you may exert your full strength. If I lose, it is simply that my skills are inferior, and you need not worry about my sect elders troubling you."

Hearing this, Monk Ku'e was at a loss between laughter and tears.

This young man, is he this stupid?

He originally thought luring him out would be enough; he did not expect the young man to voluntarily lift the trap. Was he truly afraid of being held accountable by the Qinghe Sword Sect elders?

However, Monk Ku'e naturally would not refuse such a benefit and immediately praised loudly: "Excellent. At such a young age, you already have this sense of responsibility; indeed a high disciple of a famous great sect. If you release the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, I will let you have three moves."

"Good, wait. I will release the Ten Thousand Souls Banner right now."

Chen Ye chanted the incantation; a surge of black qi churned on the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and the resentful souls diffusing out were indeed slowly drawn back into it.

Monk Ku'e also made his preparations; as soon as the shackles on his body were removed, he would fly directly behind that green stone and strike Chen Ye dead.

However, after waiting and waiting, listening to Chen Ye chant the incantation for half a day, the chains on his body remained, with only some of those resentful souls withdrawn.

Monk Ku'e hurriedly urged: "Hurry and withdraw this Ten Thousand Souls Banner!"

Chen Ye replied: "Do not be impatient. As a disciple of a famous righteous sect, how could controlling the Ten Thousand Souls Banner be so easy? I am indeed striving to cast the spell."

These words sounded somewhat reasonable, but Monk Ku'e immediately sensed something was wrong.

This young man had snatched his magical treasure; how could he possibly not know how to control the Ten Thousand Souls Banner? He must be an expert in this.

"Not good! This young man is cheating!"

Monk Ku'e was about to struggle when he felt the chains on his body suddenly tighten; a stronger power surged, almost dragging him directly into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Fortunately, the Open-Mouthed Zen Divine Art was still active, and with the Golden Body protecting him, Monk Ku'e stabilized his stance.

But under this pulling, the Golden Body's radiance weakened considerably.

Chen Ye said regretfully, "Tsk, has he discovered us?"

Monk Ku E immediately burst into curses: "Shameless beast! Full of lies, straight to the Tongue-Pulling Hell..."

As Monk Ku E cursed loudly, Chen Ye only heard a buzzing din, so he asked Hearing Mo Ci, "Master, what is this demon head saying again?"

Hearing Mo Ci looked at the large green stone already covered in writing; finding no space left to write a long treatise, he simply wrote three characters: "He's anxious."

Chen Ye laughed heartily, then said, "Let him grow anxious slowly; the sun is about to rise. I don't believe this evil spirit can withstand the sun's direct scorching."

When the master and disciple had discussed how to deal with this demon head, they had already settled on a plan: mainly to "drag it out." As long as Chen Ye could prevent this demon head from seizing his body and withstand its final counterattack, they only needed to wait calmly. A spirit soul without a physical body is like a rootless duckweed; it cannot hold out for long in the end.

When this demon head appeared, it was already dawn; after all this turmoil, the sky had grown slightly bright.

Just wait for the sun to rise and scorch him thoroughly; even one at the Profound Mystery Realm would suffer great damage to his vital energy.

Thinking thus, Chen Ye simply ignored Monk Ku E's shouting, took Hearing Mo Ci, and quietly moved to another location to prevent this demon head from launching a final counterattack in a desperate bid for mutual destruction.

Yet Chen Ye was ultimately too cautious; just as Monk Ku E was cursing loudly, the Jin Guang on his body suddenly shattered without warning. He could no longer withstand the pulling of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and his spirit soul was drawn into it.

The supernatural power of this Open-Mouthed Zen requires self-consistency; the reasoning must be on one's own side, and the state of mind must be calm, the so-called "unmoved by the eight winds," sitting steadily upon the Golden Lotus Throne.

But once the heart's defenses are breached, the Golden Body is broken as well.