Chapter 594: The Venerable Monk and the Demon Master—Dear Friend, How Much Longer Will You Watch the Show?

"Namo Amitabha Buddha!"

With this ethereal and melodious Buddhist chant, the gray-robed elder monk slowly entered the entrance of the Sima family's carriage pavilion.

The moonlight was bright and clear!

The dappled shadows of the bamboo swayed gently among the grove, enhancing the elder monk's serene and solemn aura.

The elder monk's gaze swept over the corpses strewn across the ground, his eyes filled with profound compassion.

He softly chanted again: "Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha Mahasattva!"

This Buddhist chant, like a spring breeze brushing the face, brought a faint comfort to the hearts of all present.

Shen Kuan fixed his eyes on the elder monk, trying to discern his cultivation base, yet found him as inscrutable as an ordinary man.

The elder monk's aura was simply too extraordinary to be that of an ordinary person.

Another master!

Xu Yuexi studied the elder monk's monastic attire, her thoughts deepening.

The lame old man's spirit tightened—he felt a strange familiarity with this gray-robed monk, yet could not recall any specific memory.

Xu Jiangxian stared at the elder monk, his brows slowly relaxing as a meaningful smile curved his lips:

"I never expected that coming to Bianjing would bring me face to face with so many old acquaintances."

"Master, it has been many years—how have you been?"

His tone was like that of old friends reuniting, brimming with warmth and nostalgia.

How many people in all the world could earn the title of "Master" from the Demon Master Xu Jiangxian?

Upon hearing this, the lame old man's gaze involuntarily fell upon the elder monk's gray robes and cloth sandals.

In an instant!

He suddenly remembered, as if struck by lightning, the elder monk's identity.

Master Lianchi of the Southern Buddhist Kingdom!

The Twelfth Patriarch of the Eastern Buddhist Sect, named Xiao Nai, styled Fohui, known as Lianchi—a world-renowned supreme elder monk!

Born into the Brahmin caste of the Buddhist Kingdom, he received ordination at seventeen and was famed for his learning and wisdom.

Influenced by the Dharma, he devoted his heart to the Pure Land.

At twenty-two, he followed worldly customs and married, yet three years later, he decisively renounced the secular world; three years after that, he became a monk at Zhaoqing Temple and received full precepts from the temple's abbot.

He diligently cultivated the Samadhi of Buddha Recitation, taught widely, drew countless disciples, and established a great monastery.

He penetrated the Eight Sufferings of Life, strictly observed the Eight Buddhist Precepts, and received the transmission of the highest esoteric scriptures: the "Three Sutras of Ksitigarbha," the "Yi Jin Jing," and the "Golden Immovable Body Divine Art," achieving mastery beyond creation.

During his travels across the four seas, he created the "Golden Zen Buddha's Jade Hand."

This technique was immensely powerful, supremely yang, unparalleled in the world.

In his youth, he once engaged in a legendary battle against the Demon Master Xu Jiangxian in the north—the two were evenly matched, neither able to prevail.

Later, he entered Zehu Lake alone and drove back a host of demons, earning fame across the land and awe throughout the world!

The world compiled a list of the strongest cultivators of the age; aside from the Scholar's Master, who was truly invincible and thus excluded, and excluding the courts of the four nations, there was one line:

"Four Masters: Two Daoists, One Demon, One Monk!"

The "One Demon" referred to Xu Jiangxian of Changsheng Tian; the "One Monk" referred to Master Lianchi of the Southern Buddhist Kingdom.

These were individuals who had crossed the Nine Realms of Martial Dao, refining their Primordial Spirit to the highest level—true Grand Masters of the World.

The lame old man Shen Qi was stunned.

Both the Demon Master and Master Lianchi had infiltrated Bianjing.

Shen Kuan was paralyzed—within this small carriage pavilion, two world-famous Grand Masters had gathered.

These were not ordinary people one could encounter casually.

What rotten luck was this? He dared not move now, terrified of being caught in the crossfire, trapped between advance and retreat.

This whole mess was Xie Guan's fault—if not for him, none of this would have happened.

Xu Yuexi's eyes gleamed with a faint light.

She knew Master Lianchi was one of the few who could stand against the Demon Master Xu Jiangxian—his arrival might offer her and her daughter a sliver of hope in their dire predicament.

The elder monk walked step by step toward the group.

His steps were steady, as if each one struck a chord in the hearts of all present.

Xu Yuexi, her daughter, and the three guards involuntarily drew closer to the elder monk, drawn by the aura of compassion and tranquility emanating from him, feeling an inexplicable sense of safety.

Behind the Demon Master stood Zhu Zhiqian, then the lame old man and Shen Kuan.

The two sides stood "clearly divided!"

Like two forces facing off in equal measure.

The elder monk spoke: "Amitabha Buddha—I never expected that after so many years of absence, I would find you here in Bianjing. I thought you had secluded yourself in the northern ice plains."

Master Lianchi slowly raised his head; his eyes seemed filled with golden lapis, crystal clear, radiating the vow to liberate all sentient beings.

The sinister atmosphere within the pavilion vanished, replaced by serenity and peace.

Xu Jiangxian's gaze grew even more weathered, filled with the imagery of all things withering, evoking an indescribable weight and oppression.

Their auras subtly pulled against each other, forming an invisible standoff—even falling bamboo leaves hung motionless in midair.

Those nearby were enveloped by this immense aura, unable to move, as if trapped in deep mud.

Zhu Zhiqian's eyes burned with hunger—he craved such power, convinced that with it, wealth, fame, and women would flock to him, kneeling at his feet.

The lame old man knew the power of a Grand Master well—he had seen his master's terrifying might, and these two were no less renowned than his lord.

Fortunately, he himself was at the Ninth Rank, able to barely resist.

Fortunately, he was originally at the Ninth Rank, so he could still barely resist.

Shen Kuan's condition was dire—his Nascent Soul Star Opening cultivation was like a tiny boat in a storm.

He felt himself being guided by the Dharma, yearning to become a monk and renounce the world.

Then, he felt the imagery of all things decaying, the heavens unleashing slaughter—his mind surged with murderous intent.

The clash of these two opposing mental states tormented him, as if his head would explode, his star-mark on the forehead flickering erratically.

The tug between two different mental states tortured him, making his head feel like it would explode, his forehead's star mark flickering erratically.

The elder monk slowly closed his eyes, and the opposing auras vanished.

The atmosphere instantly lightened; all were freed from the suffocating pressure.

"Congratulations, disciple—your cultivation has broken through precisely because it was shattered, died, and then reborn. You have attained a realm never before reached by the Demon Sect in a thousand years."

Xu Yuexi understood these words most deeply—she, too, came from the Golden Family of Changsheng Tian, intimately familiar with its rules and traditions.

The Golden Family was built on survival of the fittest, where blood consumed blood to enhance strength.

A family steeped in filth, generations practicing incestuous marriages—even fathers marrying their own daughters—to preserve the purity of their bloodline.

To awaken their bloodline, they murdered their own kin and friends.

Those born with the Golden Blood were naturally suited for cultivation; the strongest among them even manifested divine traits like "Golden Eyes" and "Golden Hands."

Fathers viewed their children as meat on a chopping block, food to be consumed to elevate their bloodline.

Xu Jiangxian was her same-father elder cousin—how extraordinary he was! Among the eighty or so of their generation, he alone killed his father, perfected the Golden Bloodline, became head of the family, and seized mastery of the Demon Sect.

It was because of this that she fled the grasslands.

It was precisely because of this that she escaped the grasslands.

The Demon Master Xu Jiangxian did not choose to become lord of the grasslands, to enjoy supreme glory and power.

Instead, he chose to pursue a higher realm.

To break free from the constraints of the Golden Bloodline, he removed his own Golden Blood, destroyed his cultivation, and began anew.

Xu Jiangxian smiled: "Master Lianchi, you flatter me."

His eyes held a touch of reflection: "I thought, after leaving the ice plains, there was no one left in the world who could match me—except those few."

"Yet the first old acquaintance I meet after emerging from seclusion..."

"And you, Master, have also advanced further."

Master Lianchi softly recited a Buddhist verse: "Bodhi has no tree, the bright mirror is no stand; originally there is not a single thing—where can dust alight?"

"At my age, I have finally understood the Scholar's Master's teaching: 'Do not seek outside.'"

Mention of the Scholar's Master brought a flicker of wariness to both their eyes.

Neither moved to attack.

Xu Jiangxian stood with his hands behind his back, calm and composed, like a scholar strolling through a garden.

The elder monk clasped his hands together, clad in a thin gray robe, its sleeves fluttering gently in the wind.

Xu Yuexi tightly gripped Sima Muqing's hand; both knelt to the ground.

Xu Yuexi pleaded to Master Lianchi: "Please, Master Lianchi, save our lives!"

The three guards also bowed deeply before the venerable elder monk—before a Grand Master, they dared not show the slightest disrespect.

Xu Jiangxian smiled faintly, turning his gaze to Master Lianchi: "Today, I am merely settling family affairs—Master, are you here to stop me?"

Master Lianchi shook his head gently: "I came to Bianjing on someone's request. That person once saved me—I owe him this debt."

An invisible force gently lifted Xu Yuexi and the others to their feet.

The elder monk's voice sounded again: "No need for such formalities—rise."

Hearing this, Xu Yuexi's tears spilled forth; she, who had been plunged into despair, now saw a glimmer of hope.

Xu Jiangxian looked up at the sky, then changed the subject:

"The Gathering of the Hundred Flowers has begun—Master, wouldn't you like to go see it? It is a rare spectacle indeed."

"The Feast of a Hundred Blossoms has already begun—surely the Master wishes to go see? It is a rare grand event indeed."

"This woman carries the Golden Bloodline; it is truly difficult for me to leave so easily."

"If we clash here, others will surely reap the benefits of our conflict."

Though brief, the exchange between the two revealed a subtle balance and unspoken understanding.

Xu Yuexi and the others looked tense.

The old monk merely shook his head.

Seeing this, Xu Yuexi finally exhaled in relief.

Xu Jiangxian smiled and said, "Master, if you've come to Bianjing, surely you wish to know what that Confucian has truly planned? After arranging affairs in the mortal realm for seven hundred years, then hiding behind the scenes—what is his purpose?"

He raised his head to gaze at the bright moon hanging high above the nine heavens, his tone calm and composed:

"Isn't the very thing we all seek the phrase 'Ascension'? After years of arduous cultivation, we strive to transcend this mortal world."

The middle-aged man stared intently at the lotus pond and said:

"This world is filled with strife and suffering; there is no true pure land, nor the legendary Buddha realm."

"Master, don't you wish to go to that legendary Pure Land and see for yourself?"

The old monk's gaze flickered with rare surprise, and he murmured softly:

"Ascension to the Pure Land!"

Xu Jiangxian said gravely, "In my Sacred Gate, the Yellow Dao Patriarch ascended from this world."

"I, Xu Jiangxian, also harbor deep longing, wishing to carry on the legacy of those before me."

Upon hearing this, the old monk fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The Confucian is the one in this world who most desires ascension."

Xu Jiangxian nodded gently.

At that moment!

The lame old man suddenly spoke up, respectfully saying, "Master Mo and Lotus Pond Master, I mean no offense, but may I be allowed to depart? I have no wish to be drawn into this conflict."

Shen Kuan quickly added, "I too, I shall take my leave at once."

Xu Jiangxian looked at the two and smiled faintly. "You two came here to kill, didn't you? Now that the main players have arrived, you wish to leave?"

His gaze shifted toward the nearby carriage pavilion, laden with implication.

His voice was quiet, yet echoed like a reverberation through the empty pavilion:

"Young friend, how much longer will you watch this play? Why not show yourself?"

The old monk had long sensed another presence hidden nearby, and spoke:

"Namo Amitabha Buddha!"

～

～

A middle-aged man's voice echoed around the carriage.

"Young friend, how much longer will you watch this play? Why not show yourself?"

His voice was gentle yet powerful, carrying an undeniable authority.

The boy hidden in the shadows of the carriage slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze revealed a calmness and steadiness utterly unlike his years.

Meanwhile, the carriage driver, terrified by the conversation, had curled into a corner, clutching his ears tightly.

"I can't hear anything... I hear nothing..."

～

【You hear the voices outside from within the carriage.】

【The voices come as if from the horizon, echoing around the carriage.】

【A Thousand-Li Voice Transmission!】

【You face this situation... Decide.】

(End of Chapter)