Chapter 622: Stone Statue

Ren Yidao's brain short-circuited for three seconds before his eyes widened in shock, and he let out a discordant shout.

"Ah!!?"

"Hunyuan Heavenly Maiden!"

【"Mm."】 Zhong Ling nodded slightly, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly; she was very satisfied with Ren Yidao's reaction.

Ren Yidao looked at her reaction, and his expression became even more bizarre.

In other words, you are actually my disciple's great-grandmother of unknown generations?

If I am only one generation older than my disciple, then doesn't that mean...

You, this fellow, bringing this up at this time—are you deliberately trying to take advantage of me?

Looking again into Zhong Ling's eyes, he indeed saw the playful amusement contained within them.

She was doing it on purpose!

What a vicious woman!

She is truly not human.

However, could it be fake?

My disciple is a Hunyuan Body, and you are the previous Hunyuan Body—is it really such a coincidence?

Ren Yidao glanced at her suspiciously, but ultimately felt that such a mysterious existence would not lie about this trivial matter, nor would she need to play such petty tricks just to win a verbal spat.

"So you actually didn't die back then?"

【"Neither living nor dead, I luckily found a way to be reborn."】

But the Hunyuan Heavenly Maiden, or rather Zhong Ling, seemed unwilling to discuss this matter; she waved her hand with a cold face and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

And this time, no matter how Ren Yidao called out, she gave no further response.

After revealing her identity, she believed that no matter how foolish Ren Yidao acted, he would not do something as terrible as throwing the Divine Path Bell into a cesspit.

... Hmm, Ren Yidao could only pinch his nose and admit that her guess was correct.

Helpless, Ren Yidao could only choose to give up, throwing out a classic loser's remark with a truly pathetic air: "You just wait!"

If you don't look at the monk, you must look at the Buddha.

For the sake of Zhang Mang, he would give Zhong Ling some face.

Just a little bit.

I won't throw it on purpose!

Spirit Mountain.

Or, following the withering of the Buddha and the Fox Immortal taking charge, it should be renamed Immortal Fox Mountain at this moment.

Mingxin, with a fox face and human body, arrived before the Bodhi tree and bowed slightly to the figure sitting cross-legged in front of it.

Ahead, the Demon Buddha had changed his appearance; he was no longer the terror that shook the heavens with demonic might, nor was he as calm as he had been before in front of the house on Spirit Mountain.

He sat quietly in place, like a stone statue.

He had truly turned into a stone statue.

It seemed as if thousands of years of wind and frost had passed over him in an instant, covering him in thick dust.

It was as if time had finally noticed this fish that had slipped through the net of the River of Destiny, and was compensating for all the tens of thousands of years he owed.

He was no longer immortal.

Time would erode his body, take away his lifespan, and destroy his soul.

Death was approaching him.

Step by step, the pace was slow, but unwavering.

And the Demon Buddha did not regret it; instead, he turned into a stubborn stone to resist, extending this point in time as much as possible.

Before finishing what he truly needed to do, he could not just decay like this.

Mingxin was not an Immortal and could not understand this feeling of changing from immortal to finite, nor did he know how other Immortals would treat such a situation.

But he could understand that this was definitely not a simple choice.

He must have hesitated for a long time when making this decision, ultimately paying a great price and choosing this path of no return without looking back.

Mingxin understood why he would do this.

Because he was atoning for his sins.

No matter how firm the Demon Buddha was in his words, he had indeed brought harm to this world, causing countless people to die prematurely.

He had no regrets, but he felt guilt.

The Demon Buddha who sought to destroy the Buddha could be indifferent, but the one after the destruction of the Buddha... cared.

Even if what he could compensate for was only an insignificant part, he was striving to repay it, attempting to wash away the Evil on his body.

Mingxin bowed again to pay his respects to this existence who was hard to distinguish as Buddha or Demon, but he was stopped by someone else halfway through his bow.

"You need not do this; this is his own choice."

"Whether it is right or wrong, leave it for future generations to judge."

"Do not worship him; he has not fallen at this moment, he is still waiting for a timing that requires him to burn everything away... and only then can he truly welcome his own liberation."

You dull fellow!

But... yes, this is you, the same as in the past, never having changed a single bit.

Chijiao raised his hand and pressed it on Mingxin's shoulder, making him lift his head, and shook his head, saying: "Moreover, your identity now is not Mingxin but the Fox Immortal; you must pay attention to this point."

Mingxin also understood this principle and was clear about the identity he represented; he was just about to open his mouth to explain, but he suddenly froze after seeing Chijiao's appearance: "World-Honored One, you are..."

"Just a small change."

At this moment, the monk Barefoot had also changed his appearance; he took off that crimson Buddhist monastic robe and changed into a simple dark blue Daoist robe, looking vastly different from before, retaining only that shiny, bald head of his.

As for why Chijiao retained his past of having served as a Protector in Buddhism, that was because... ahem!

"Buddhism has become the past; the Fox Immortal does not need a Buddhist Protector, but she certainly needs a Protector, or perhaps an attendant."

As he spoke, Chijiao immediately bowed to Mingxin and said respectfully, "Chijiao of Xianhu Temple, pays respects to Lord Fox Immortal."

Chijiao's gesture was no longer palms pressed together, but a respectful Daoist salute; this sudden change left Mingxin somewhat flustered for a moment, but he quickly stopped his movements and controlled his body to nod at the kneeling Chijiao.

"World-Honored One, please rise."

The relationship between the two would certainly need to be shown to others in the future; doing this was more about getting used to this current identity early on.

"However, I still have one thing I wish to ask."

"Lord Fox Immortal, please speak freely. If this one knows, I will certainly tell all."

Mingxin turned his head to look at the Demon Buddha who had turned into a stone statue, then looked at the Western Desert land now filled with vibrant vitality, and looking at every Believer, he asked in a low voice, "May I ask, World-Honored One, how can one find a way to have the best of both worlds in this world?"

Is there any method in this world that can achieve perfection?

"It is hard to say." Chijiao sighed softly and shook his head.

How could such a thing be so simple to achieve?

If there were, why would we people have to take such risks?

"It is just that, if it were that person... perhaps he might be able to find that method."

Mingxin thought for a moment, nodded, and smiled, chiming in, "That is indeed so."

"Leaving in such a hurry this time, it turns out it was to return and search for a method."

In reality, the journey home for Ren Yidao and his group was very smooth; there was no dawdling, no accidents occurred, and by teleporting the whole way, they quickly returned to the Divine Path Sect.

After dropping off the dead weight, Ren Yidao did not stop for a moment and charged straight to the Qingzhuan Dojo.

As soon as he entered, he shouted at the inside:

"Hey!"

"You crooked-headed, squinty-eyed stone monster!"

"Show your true form at once!"