Longzang

Chapter 265 The End of Dharma Era

The cauldron in Wei Yuan's hand shone with golden light, and not only the cauldron, but he himself was also bathed in golden light. What blocked Yue Sheng's strike was not Wei Yuan's cauldron, but the golden light enhanced by the mage.

Yue Sheng was not surprised by this. He pointed at the monk and laughed loudly, saying, "Your Pure World and Immaculate Dharma Body are indeed as powerful as before. But immaculate, immaculate—as long as there are sentient beings, where in the world is there an immaculate Pure Land? With these people on your Pure Land, it is no longer a Pure Land. Watch as I shatter your golden body!"

Yue Sheng pointed his long sword at the villagers, but they looked at him indifferently, no one was afraid, and some even spat.

Moon Saint wasn't annoyed. She smiled and said, "Year after year, you supply the temple with the best food, but do you know what kind of Buddha is enshrined in this temple?"

The villagers looked at each other, seemingly never having considered this before. Wei Yuan also had his own memories: he remembered having to perform morning prayers every day, but it was always in the courtyard. The monk would bring out his ritual implements and never let anyone into the temple.

The temple was always dark; even passing by the entrance, one couldn't see what was inside. The monks were busy every day, sometimes copying scriptures, sometimes explaining Buddhist teachings to the villagers.

However, the villagers didn't really listen to what the monks were saying. The scriptures were too long and convoluted, giving them headaches to ponder. It was simpler for them to make offerings every day and ask the monks for blessings. Many villagers didn't mind doing heavy work from morning till night, but listening to monks chanting for a while would give them a headache.

No one initially thought there was anything wrong with the temple. It's simple, there's a Buddha statue in the temple.

But when Yue Sheng said that, Wei Yuan felt something was wrong. Why had he never burned incense in front of the Buddha?
The Moon Saint then said, "You've offered so many incense offerings, don't you plan to see who they're all being offered to?"

One villager muttered under his breath, "What's the big deal? The worst that can happen is that the mage eats him."

Several people immediately chimed in, "The monk has blessed us for so long, it's only right that we receive some offerings."

"The Dharma Master hasn't become a Buddha yet; he's still a mortal with a physical body, so of course he needs to eat!"

Amidst the chaos, Wei Yuan quietly pulled the girl to his side and whispered, "If anything unexpected happens, you must run with me!"

The girl rolled her eyes at him and said, "In all these years, when has there ever been an accident? You just want to lure me to a secluded place to do *that* to me."

Wei Yuan was both amused and exasperated: "You're so ugly, I have no interest in you!"

A terrifying glint suddenly flashed in the girl's eyes, and her voice changed: "You dare say I'm ugly?"

For some reason, upon hearing that authoritative, aloof, and cold voice, Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. Just then, the Moon Saint's blade flashed again, striking the small temple and interrupting Wei Yuan's strange sensation.

The small temple also emitted a golden light, blocking the attack. Yue Sheng said to the villagers, "You see, I can't go in now. But you can! Don't you say you worship Buddha? Go in and see for yourself!"

One of the women hesitated and said, "There's probably something inside, isn't there?"

The village chief immediately rebuked, "Don't talk nonsense! There must be a reason why the sorcerer won't let us see. This wolf demon has ill intentions. No one is allowed to go in!"

Moon Saint was very patient and said, "If there are no ghosts, why are you afraid to show them to people? Or is it that someone thinks you are too stupid and doesn't want you to see the truth?"
But everyone has the right to know the truth. Your destiny should be in your own hands, not decided by the monks and the village chief.

San Kui suddenly said, "The village chief has been inside the temple. What's inside? Why won't you let us in?"

"You dare disobey me?" The village chief glared at San Kui, raised his cane, and brought it down hard. Blood immediately streamed down San Kui's head. San Kui touched the blood on his head, somewhat incredulous.

Suddenly, a woman rushed over and tackled the village chief to the ground. She was strong and vigorous, while the village chief was old; the heavy fall left him unable to get up for a moment. The woman held onto the village chief tightly and shouted at San Kui, "Hurry up and go into the temple! Once you're inside, you'll be the village chief!"

San Kui gritted his teeth and rushed into the small temple.

"How could this be?" San Kui exclaimed in surprise from inside the temple.

The village chief, in a panic, cursed under his breath and slapped the woman hard across the face. Suddenly, the woman became enraged, grabbing the village chief's head and slamming it heavily against the ground!
The village chief froze, and blood slowly seeped from the back of his head.

Some villagers were afraid, some watched from the sidelines, but most rushed into the small temple. Wei Yuan was also very curious, so he followed the crowd into the temple.

In the center of the temple stood a Buddha statue, its head bowed and eyes downcast, its golden body now tarnished. Yet the Buddha statue looked remarkably young, just like the monks when they were meditating.

The temple actually enshrines the monk himself? Wei Yuan suddenly had an inexplicable sense of unease. The offerings on the altar showed signs of having been eaten, while the shrine where the Buddha statue was placed was covered in dust. There was a spiderweb in the corner, but the spider had disappeared somewhere.

Suddenly, a crack was heard, and a crack appeared on the top of the Buddha statue, from which blood slowly seeped out!

Wei Yuan suddenly sensed something and rushed out of the small temple. The woman had already stood up, looking blankly at the village chief lying on the ground, repeatedly saying, "I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to..."

Someone died in the village...

At this moment, part of Wei Yuan's consciousness found it unbelievable—how could someone die in the village? Especially the village chief, whom everyone feared and who could attack whomever he wanted. The other part of his consciousness felt the sky had fallen and that he needed to immediately find a position or fortifications.

Wei Yuan began to look around.

At this point, the villagers were more focused on the Buddha statues in the temple and somewhat indifferent to the village chief's death. They pointed at the statues and asked the monk, "Is this you?!"

The young monk simply sighed and said, "It's me."

"Did you eat all our offerings?"

The monk nodded.

The villagers were immediately enraged and shouted, "You've eaten so many of our offerings, what happened to the Pure Land of Dharma Wisdom you promised us? Open the gate right now, we want to go to the Land of Ultimate Bliss to enjoy happiness!"

The crowd shoved and jostled the young monk, urging him to open the gates to heaven. Several people were even slapping the monk's bald head hard, making a crackling sound.

The monk closed his eyes slightly, neither resisting nor arguing, letting them push and slap him.

Wei Yuan suddenly grabbed the girl and ran towards the village, their destination being the tallest, largest, and most sturdy house in the village: the village chief's house.

Yue Sheng squatted beside the village chief, watching him breathe his last. Suddenly, he burst into laughter, but as he laughed, his voice turned into a sob: "Lian Xin, your Immaculate Body has finally been broken!"

He pushed aside the villagers, pulled the monk up to his face, and in front of him plucked a handful of silver wolf fur from his body, scattering it on the ground. Instantly, it transformed into hundreds of silver, half-human, half-wolf monsters.

"Your Dharma body has been shattered, and cracks have appeared in the Pure Land of Buddha. My children are all mortals, without any magical power. They can kill these villagers! Once everyone is gone... um?"

Only then did Yue Sheng realize that the two loving young people had actually started running away early in the morning and were now almost inside the village chief's house. Yue Sheng was furious and immediately pointed at the two of them. At that moment, more than ten wolf demons rushed into the village and pounced on the village chief's house.

The Moon Saint then continued, "...Once everyone in the village is dead, you'll have to begin your next reincarnation. Sooner or later..."

At that moment, a loud bang interrupted Yue Sheng's words again.

Suddenly, a long beam of fire shot out from inside the village chief's house, and the wolf demons that had rushed in were all sent flying back, their tendons and bones broken, and they were seriously injured.

Moon Saint's eye twitched slightly, and with another flick of his finger, dozens of wolf demons charged into the village again. He then continued speaking to the monk, "...Sooner or later I will pull down your Pure Land of Lapis Lazuli and make it mine!"

The monk looked at him, a hint of sadness and pity in his eyes, and slowly said, "Is this really what you wanted to say?"

Yue Sheng was taken aback and said, "If it wasn't me who said it, then who could it be you?"

Inside the village chief's room, the girl stared blankly as Wei Yuan put away an empty cylindrical tube, then pulled out an even thicker one. One end of the tube had a honeycomb-shaped network of holes, each revealing the tip of a flying sword. The sword tips were slightly whitish; they were Wei Yuan's latest flying sword, White Silk.

Wei Yuan said apologetically to the girl, "That was an old product, a bit rough. This is the latest generation."

Wei Yuan continuously produced flat, square cauldrons in his hands, which he inserted into the ground inside the house. With a few pieces, he set up a shelter. Then he placed a round pipe on the shelter, with more than ten flying swords aimed at the door of the house from the pipe's opening.

P.S.: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

(End of this chapter)