Chapter 591: Madness and Sanity (33 Today 1w)

"At the very beginning, I didn't take it to heart, but later on, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind: I wanted to let the Daoist sect replace Buddhism as the faith of the mortals in the Western Desert."

Listening to Mingxin's whisper, Ren Yidao understood in his heart; as expected, he had kept a portion of his master's legacy and had not handed it all over to him.

This was human nature, and Ren Yidao was not at all surprised by it.

However, he had not expected Mingxin to have such an interpretation of his master's last words.

Changing the heavens and replacing the Dao...

"Perhaps, Master Jinglian's meaning was not to change Buddhism into the Daoist sect, but to let that person be replaced?"

Regarding this, Mingxin nodded with difficulty.

"It should be so, but I previously had fear in my heart, so I deliberately ignored this possibility."

Everyone knew clearly who the biggest problem lay with.

The Fozhu.

He could be called the source of all evil in the current chaos of the Western Desert.

Therefore, in the theoretically best-case scenario, as long as the ringleader was executed, the remaining problems would be easily solved.

Of course, this was only the theoretically best-case scenario.

In most cases, it was at most just replacing one Fozhu with a new Fozhu, and everything remained the same.

The noble sun hanging in the sky was the rare minority; dragon slayers becoming dragons was the majority in this world.

"However, hearing you say this, I am suddenly a bit interested in your master. Opportunities are rare, so why don't we talk about your master? What kind of monk was he?"

"According to what you said, before he passed away, he had actually already been bewitched and corrupted by the Fozhu, so how could he have left such last words?"

"From your description, he didn't seem to be affected much; he was a very traditional monk, even somewhat unique. You all farmed your own land, didn't rely on offerings from outsiders, didn't go out to beg for alms, and even taught you to take the initiative to help others."

Such clear-headed last words were somewhat different from Ren Yidao's imagination of the current monks in the Western Desert.

He was too clear-headed.

"Then I would like to ask, Daoist, what do you think the cultivators of the Western Desert today should look like? Indistinguishable between good and evil?" Having recovered, Mingxin shook his head and said softly:

"Indeed, when the Fozhu opened the altar to preach, everyone was bewitched, but that effect was not permanent. After more than a decade, those influences have become very, very low."

"Except for a small portion of people who were willing to fall into the Demon path, most monks are clear that they are falling; they just have no way to turn back..."

A dozen years of time was like a dream, a chilling nightmare.

When they woke from the dream, they discovered that the wrong things had already been done, and the Evil had already been committed...

Turn back?

There was no longer any chance to turn back.

Thus, most monks chose to wallow in their degradation, pretending they remembered nothing, and continued on like this.

"Although my master's strength was not high, his attainment in the Buddhist Dao was very high. In this regard, I received his true inheritance."

"Master was clear-headed very early on. At that time, he had not yet committed a major mistake and still had a chance to turn back. He had thought about waking more people up, but several attempts ended in failure, and in the end, he gave up completely."

"He could not wake more people up, but he was also unwilling to commit more mistakes, so he could only restrain his every word and action."

"Why not leave?" Ren Yidao frowned and asked, "Since he was already clear-headed, why not leave the Western Desert Divine Continent completely? Going to other Shenzhou would be much better than staying here."

"Master never considered this point. To him, the Western Desert was home. If even he left, it would be handing his home over to others, and there would be no true monks left in this world."

Ren Yidao thought for a moment, and in the end, did not continue this topic, instead saying: "So according to what you said, there are actually still normal monks in the Western Desert?"

"There are, but they are very, very few, and it is hard to tell from their appearance. When the abnormal becomes the mainstream, the original mainstream becomes the abnormal." Mingxin sighed, his smile somewhat bitter, "In the eyes of the current Western Desert, people like us are the fake monks. They need to disguise themselves and hide their true faith in the depths of their hearts."

How pathetic.

"This situation is almost over, isn't it?"

What?

Ren Yidao spoke leisurely: "I will help you obtain enough Buddhist Heart, and you will use your own Buddhist Dharma to convince the Fozi, and finally, relying on your Buddhist affinity with the Fozhu, you will eventually become the Fozi, and then change the current situation, isn't that right?"

Hearing Ren Yidao's words, Mingxin slowly raised his head, was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "Indeed, it is almost over."

Yes.

It is almost over.

I will end all of this.

Jiexing passed through door after door and walked down along the steps.

This was the prison of Spirit Mountain.

The cells were full of bones; withered yellow skeletons were piled into heaps, and the air was filled with the smell of decay, making one feel nauseated.

The walls were covered with thick dust, and the ground was also in the state of bones; the bones were piled into small hills, and occasionally creatures like rats ran by, making hair-raising sounds.

The entire prison appeared dark, damp, and foul-smelling.

It was hard to imagine that underneath the magnificent Spirit Mountain above, there would be such a scene.

This place originally held demons with great Evil, but now it held a group of monks.

A group of monks who were unwilling to associate with the wicked and unwilling to fall into the Demon path.

They sat in silence, having no reaction to the Fozi walking by; they closed their eyes, their fingers slightly twisting, silently reciting scriptures.

Jiexing did not need to hear; just by looking at their lip movements, he knew which scripture they were reciting.

He had once been the most outstanding one among them, otherwise, he would not have been qualified to become the Fozi.

But now, that most outstanding Fozi had become the greatest accomplice to evil.

Jiexing was silent, not attempting to speak to them; they would not pay attention to a traitor like him.

They never would.

Also because they were all caught by his own hands one by one.

And he was not here this time to reminisce with them.

Jiexing continued deeper inside, finally stopping before a cage, and said indifferently to the Prisoner within: "Great Elder, have you cleared your head yet?"

Yes, the one currently in the cell was not one of those monks who remained untainted by the mud, but the former Sect Master of the Joy Zen Sect.

After waking up, Zen Master Qinghuai, who was unwilling to speak, had been sent to this place by Zen Master Tunjin.

It was hard to say whether there was any deliberate retaliation involved in this, but his actions did not meet with opposition from others, because anyone with a discerning eye could see that Zen Master Qinghuai's state was clearly somewhat wrong.

"……"

Zen Master Qinghuai seemed not to have heard his words, making no reaction at all, still leaning silently against the wall, staring blankly ahead.

"What exactly happened?"

Jiexing looked at the silent Zen Master Qinghuai and pursued coldly: "What exactly did you encounter?"

"Answer me."

"I know you are clear-headed; silence cannot solve any problems. No matter what happened, you must tell me."

"This is the will of the Fozhu."

Finally, Zen Master Qinghuai seemed to react to these words, slowly raising his head to look at Jiexing.

"Fozhu……"

"Yes, the Fozhu." Jiexing frowned, feeling that his state was absolutely abnormal, very much like someone who had lost their soul.

Because his son died?

That shouldn't be it, wasn't he still very spirited before he left?

"What exactly did you encounter?"

"Encountered…… what?"

Zen Master Qinghuai's brows were tightly locked, then he suddenly began to laugh, saying in a strange tone: "Bodhi tree, moon, Red Foot, white fox, Bodhi tree, Red Foot……"

Jiexing had been listening carefully at first, but later his expression changed, and his brows locked tightly.

He was mad.

Tsk.

He had originally thought that Zen Master Qinghuai was just injured and unwilling to tell others about his encounter, but he hadn't expected him to have gone completely insane.

What on earth did he encounter!?

And what did these images represent?

Especially the "Bodhi tree" among them, which made Jiexing care all the more; could it be that blood Bodhi in the hands of the Fozhu?

"Tsk!" After repeatedly questioning for a long time without getting any results, Jiexing finally gave up; he clicked his tongue in anger, then turned and left directly.

Let this fellow continue to be mad here.

This useless thing!

Clang.

After Jiexing left, the cell door closed tightly, and the entire prison fell back into absolute darkness.

And in the darkness, those monks remained motionless, continuing to chant scriptures; over the long passage of time, they had long since adapted to such darkness.

They were not mad, because they still had faith in their hearts; an unchanging faith was protecting their souls from being devoured by the darkness.

And the new resident in the darkness, listening to the scriptures constantly entering his ears, saw his eyes gradually regain their luster.

Zen Master Qinghuai's eyeballs moved, but that was all they did; he made no further movements.

He was indeed mad, and now he was merely slightly clear-headed.

"……Bodhi tree, white fox."

Not long after Jiexing left, Zen Master Qinghuai, locked in the cage, muttered in a dispirited manner:

"I saw it, I saw it……"

"Everything will end!"

"White fox, white fox, white fox……"

……

……

"Yo! You finally decided to come back."

Yaoyue looked at the two who had returned much later than usual and teased: "Did you two go out on a date?"

Ren Yidao glanced at her sideways and said casually: "Heh, are you jealous?"

"Tsk!"

Having suffered a loss once before, Yaoyue did not fall for it this time; she wisely chose to ignore this topic and instead said: "We've waited long enough, haven't we? How much longer do we have to keep waiting?"

"How long?" Ren Yidao thought about the time upon hearing this and nodded: "It's about time; Mingxin's state of mind has also completely stabilized, and we can leave very soon."

"Speaking of which, how is that remnant soul you snatched last time coming along? Is there any more information?"

"None left; that guy's reaction was too fast. I only snatched two souls and one spirit; the information remaining inside isn't enough." Yaoyue curled her lips, and a remnant soul that looked illusory appeared in her hand.

Ren Yidao had only intended for her to give the other party a small punishment at the time; he hadn't expected her to be like this, snatching two souls and one spirit directly after confirming the other party's malice.

This operation was truly a bit too brutal.

But thinking about it carefully, it seemed to fit the style of Luoyue Peak quite well—never holding a grudge overnight; any grudge was repaid on the spot!

And the source of this brutal rule was this girl who looked harmless to humans and animals.

The source of all evil!

"So what exactly did you collect from his soul?"

Ren Yidao was truly just asking a normal question this time, but he didn't expect Yaoyue's complexion to suddenly change.

"You Evil disciple!" Yaoyue glared at Ren Yidao with flushed cheeks, gritting her teeth: "You, you, you!!! What do you want your master to say!?"

"Hmph! I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Then, Yaoyue turned her head and ran off, abandoning that remnant soul and leaving Ren Yidao standing there, blinking incessantly.

"... Huh?"

???

Wait!

Why are you reacting so strongly? I haven't even asked anything yet... No, wait, I just asked a simple question, didn't I?

"No, seriously, what exactly did you see in his soul?"

Ren Yidao grabbed the remnant soul, deciding to take a good look with his own eyes...

"Holy crap!"

"Joyous Zen!"

Then, he looked even more intently.

"Let me properly criticize this!"