The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 499 Do you know what's being suppressed beneath Jiyuan Temple? (First Update)
At this moment, Ku'e was wearing a tattered abbot's robe, and his face was withered.

His eyes were bloodshot and his body was shrouded in thick black energy; this was his true form after he became a demon.

He looked coldly at the phantom of Guicang, his eyes filled with disdain and ruthlessness.

His tone carried a twisted familiarity: "Zang'er, do you think you can compete with this old monk for control of your body?"

"If it weren't for the fact that you have a better foundation as a Buddhist disciple than I do, allowing me to be reborn and reach an even higher realm, I would have already completely devoured your consciousness!"

The illusory image of Guicang slowly opened its eyes, its face now showing a complex pain.

He looked at the suffering, his voice carrying an almost sorrowful calm: "Amitabha."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Buddha's light within his sea of ​​consciousness seemed to dim slightly, and a heavy silence filled the air.

Gui Cang's gaze fell on the illusory figure of suffering and old age, as if he were looking at an old friend who was both familiar and unfamiliar.

"When I first entered Jiyuan Temple, I was just an ignorant mountain boy, and I didn't know that you were the abbot of Jiyuan Temple."

“You came over to me with a smile, patted my head, and personally enlightened me, teaching me to recite the Diamond Sutra and guiding me step by step in cultivating the basic mental techniques of the Subduing Demon Golden Bone.”

At this point, Guicang's illusory figure paused slightly, and the Buddhist light around him rippled subtly.

He raised his hand as if trying to grasp something, but only held onto nothingness: "I remember once I was too eager for quick success in my cultivation, which caused my spiritual energy to run rampant in my meridians, and I was in so much pain that I was rolling on the ground."

"You stayed by my side all night, using your own Buddhist power to gradually sort out my disordered spiritual energy."

“When dawn broke, your eyes were bloodshot, but you still smiled and handed me a warm piece of vegetarian cake, saying, ‘Cultivation is like walking; you have to walk slowly to stay steady.’”

“Even the year my mother passed away.” Guicang’s voice suddenly lowered, his eyes welled up with tears, and his tone was choked with barely concealed sobs.

“You personally performed the ritual for her passing, and you even patted me on the shoulder and said, ‘Birth, aging, sickness, and death are all part of the cycle of reincarnation. Living well is the best comfort for the deceased.’”

Gui Cang's voice trembled slightly, and the tears in his eyes finally slipped down, turning into golden specks of light and dissipating into his sea of ​​consciousness.

“Back then, you were compassionate and gentle; you were a ‘living Bodhisattva’ in your disciples’ eyes.”

"But I never expected that someone like you would be so eager to attack me in front of my mother's mourning hall on the day I severed my obsession and advanced to the Spirit Severing Realm."

"You used my mother's memorial tablet as a lure, laid down a forbidden spell, and forcibly invaded my sea of ​​consciousness when my cultivation was unstable, attempting to seize my body and covet my foundation!"

The illusory image of suffering stiffened, a fleeting panic flashing in its eyes—an instinctive reaction to having its sore spot touched.

But this panic was quickly overshadowed by an even stronger madness. He suddenly raised his hand, and black energy surged around him.

He interrupted Guicang sharply: "Shut up! What do you know! Those were all preparations I made for the Great Dao!"

"Compassion and the bond between master and disciple are all shackles! Only power, only becoming a supreme and powerful being, can control one's own destiny!"

"Do you think I'd willingly do those pretentious things?" Ku'e's voice grew increasingly agitated, and black energy coiled and slithered around him like a venomous snake, as if trying to devour him entirely.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at Guicang, his tone filled with years of suppressed resentment and madness: "The world only knows that the Palace Master of Tianhuang Palace is at the Earthly Supreme Realm, but they don't know that I also stepped into this realm many years ago!"

"But what happened in the end? That thing caused my cultivation to plummet, dropping me from the Earthly Sovereign realm back to the Spirit Severing realm, and I could barely maintain my current level!"

"That thing?" Guicang's illusory consciousness frowned slightly, a hint of doubt rising in his heart.

Ku'e seemed not to hear his question, only concerned with venting his rage: "You're not the abbot, you wouldn't know what's suppressed beneath the entire Jiyuan Temple!" "All the resentment and malevolent energy crystals that Jiyuan Temple has collected over the generations are actually meant to feed it!"

"This Tower of Obsession is just one of the thirty-six towers. Each tower is a vessel to nourish it, and also a bargaining chip for this old monk to return to the Earthly Sovereign state, or even go further!"

His voice grew increasingly hoarse, and countless distorted phantoms of vengeful spirits even emerged from the black mist, as if they were the embodiment of the madness in his heart.

"We cultivators work so hard, all for the sake of achieving immortality!"

"I've lived for tens of thousands of years, and my lifespan is about to end. Am I just going to watch myself turn into a handful of dust?"

"I also want to live longer and return to my peak. Is that wrong?"

Guicang looked at him quietly, his eyes no longer showing the pain from before, but only a calm compassion.

He slowly shook his head, his tone firm: "This disciple truly does not know what lies beneath Jiyuan Temple, nor does he know what you mean by 'it'."

"But I do know one thing: Buddhism is never about binding, but about guiding. Power is not for controlling others, but for protecting them."

"In your quest to regain your former glory, you have ruthlessly harmed your fellow disciples, exploited the deceased, and succumbed to demonic influence, betraying your original intentions and falling into the abyss of evil. Everything you have done now is entirely your own fault!"

"Nonsense!" The illusory consciousness of the Bitter Calamity was completely enraged, and the black energy around its body suddenly exploded, sweeping through the sea of ​​consciousness like a black tsunami.

He suddenly waved his hand, and countless black chains condensed from the black mist.

The chains, covered with spikes and venomous runes, coiled wildly around Guicang's illusory consciousness like a venomous snake poised to strike.

"My plan is not yet complete. I originally intended to use your comprehension to advance further and completely control the foundation of the Buddha's disciple!"

"But now the situation has changed. That brat Zhou Qing is eyeing us covetously from the outside, so we have no choice but to devour you in advance and use your consciousness to forcefully break through to the next realm!"

The illusory image of Guicang did not retreat in the slightest. He put his hands together and began to recite the Diamond Sutra again.

This time, the scripture is no longer simply defensive, but carries a resolute power to "punish evil and promote good".

His body suddenly radiated a burst of Buddhist light, forming a solid light shield that blocked the first wave of impact from the black chains.

The sounds of "bang bang bang" echoed continuously within his sea of ​​consciousness as the black chains struck the light shield, scattering countless sparks.

The Buddha's light and demonic energy eroded each other, emitting a hissing sound, like a life-or-death struggle between two extreme forces.

"With your meager strength, you think you can defy this old monk?" A hint of mockery flashed in the eyes of the illusory consciousness of the Bitter Calamity, and it increased its power output once again.

The black chains' attacks grew increasingly fierce, their spikes constantly scraping against the surface of the light shield, leaving deep marks.

Cracks quickly appeared on the light shield, as if it would shatter completely at any moment.

The illusory image of Guicang's consciousness was pale, clearly struggling to hold on.

For years, his consciousness had been suppressed in the deepest part of his mind by the suffering, constantly subjected to the erosion of demonic energy and the torment of pain, leaving him extremely weak.

At this moment, forcibly waking up and resisting, each time he activated the Buddha's light, it was as if he was overdrawing his last bit of life force, and even the phantom around his body began to show subtle transparent fluctuations.

(End of this chapter)