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Chapter 188 Coincidence
The moment Zhou You entered the room, he was greeted by a strange smell.

It was like a strong smell of blood mixed with perfume powder; on the one hand, it was extremely foul, but on the other hand, it always carried a certain sweet scent.

...It's incredibly nauseating...

But Ben Shan seemed to be used to it, and ran in, then whispered a few words in the ear of a monk wearing heavy robes.

The indoor lighting wasn't weak, but the sudden change in light still made Zhou You squint before he could see the scene inside clearly.

The first thing you see is a meticulously crafted slaughterhouse.

It is described as exquisite because everything is meticulously categorized. Organs, leather, and hair are all carefully grouped together, and everything is exceptionally tidy, with no trace of blood or dirt.

Even by modern standards, this place would be worthy of a three-star hygiene rating.
Except that the animals being slaughtered were not ordinary livestock.

A monk sat at the innermost side, placed a cleaned set of intestines into an earthenware jar, picked up a handkerchief to wipe his hands, and then carefully applied some perfume powder that only women would use to his palms before raising his head.

however.

What was revealed in the candlelight was an inverted triangular head that resembled a snake.

It's not an exaggeration to say that its head was a complete inverted triangle, covered with scales, and what you could see when its mouth opened and closed wasn't a human tongue, but the forked tongue of a venomous snake.

—Wait a minute, when did Tantric Buddhism start taming demons?

Zhou You frowned, then used the Jing Shen Feeding Bait Spell—but couldn't detect the slightest trace of demonic energy.

The other party seemed to be used to this kind of gaze, and the snake monk said with a smile.

"Don't mind it. I'm practicing the methods of the White Umbrella Goddess, and my appearance is due to the distortion and erosion caused by this. Because I'm the only one among our sects who chose this form, it's quite rare. By the way, you're the reinforcement sent by the Luo'an Sect, right? You seem to be..."

The monk gently covered his mouth and laughed sweetly, like a woman.

"She's really young."

Zhou You did not answer.

Amidst the laughter, he vaguely sensed a strange aura, like some kind of slimy worm gradually climbing onto his body.
The next moment, the voice of truth rang out.

"Om!"

The blood waves reversed, instantly pulverizing the strange aura.

Zhou You frowned and said coldly.

"May I ask, sir, what does this mean?"

However, to his blatant hostility, the snake-headed creature merely chuckled and waved its hand.

"Don't mind it, I was just testing you. Your Luo An Sect is a reclusive sect, and I don't know many people there. This is the only way I can determine the truth."

Zhou You looked at the man's face disguised as a woman and suddenly laughed.

"So, may I ask what you've found out?"

The snake's head continued to laugh.

"Your Excellency's mastery of the six-syllable mantra is unparalleled; you must be a member of my esoteric sect, not to mention you possess scriptures bestowed by the Dharma King. Alas, many things have happened recently, and communication with the higher-ups has suddenly ceased. I was somewhat startled; it was my fault. Please forgive me, sir."

Zhou You didn't pay attention to the words that were sometimes male and sometimes female, which sent chills down his spine, but suddenly frowned.

The purple-robed man recognized it as the Blood Curse Sanskrit chant, which startled him greatly. He thought it was the highest level of inheritance from the High Mountain Secret, but how did it become an ordinary six-syllable mantra in the head of this venomous snake?
Is it a matter of perspective, or intentional?
Zhou You stared at those narrow eyes but still didn't say anything. Instead, Ben Shan, who was standing to the side, hurriedly spoke to the snake monk in a flattering manner.

“Master, you can rest assured. How could the person I found be wrong? This gentleman is very knowledgeable about our affairs. Although he has not yet been ordained, he has profound insights into the scriptures and has taught me quite a bit along the way.” —Wait a minute, when did I teach you anything?

Zhou You turned his head slightly, but only saw a face as ingratiating as a Shar Pei.

After thinking for a moment, he understood what was going on.

It boils down to four words.

It's nothing more than 'seeking credit and rewards'.

In order to gain credit for asking for help and to make up for the previous conflict with himself, Ben Shan went so far as to fabricate a lie.

However, after hearing his disciple's assurance, the snake monk's gaze softened considerably. He stood up from his seat and bowed to Zhou Youxing.

“Jialuopa, Great Lama, Du'en.”

Zhou You recalled what was recorded in the Susiddhikara Sutra and what Zhengde had mentioned to him before. He slightly curved his palms into a lotus shape and returned the greeting.

“The Luoan School, a wandering monk with hair, Songyang.”

There was not a trace of awkwardness in his speech and manner of greeting—to be honest, this was the real reason why Zhou You dared to risk coming in to fish in troubled waters.

The translator of the Susiddhikara Sutra originally intended to deal with the secrets of the high mountains, so he wrote about the situation of each school in great detail. In addition, with the introduction and supplement of Zhengde, as well as the support of his own basic acting skills, he also wrote about the situation of each school.
...It might not be easy to infiltrate one's own faction, but it's relatively easy to infiltrate a different faction.

After all, you have to know that before this Dharma King's strong consolidation, the eight factions were at best estranged from each other, and at worst fought to the death!
Upon witnessing this display of etiquette passed down through generations of the Luo An sect, the skepticism in the Viper Monk's eyes lessened further.

He spoke in that androgynous tone.

"I sent out this request for help half a month ago, and I thought your big-nosed man was going to refuse the imperial decree. Oh well, as long as someone comes, that's fine—I'm not good at fighting myself, and my magic is completely suppressed by Zhengde. I desperately need someone to lead those scoundrels."

However, Zhou You suddenly interrupted.

"No rush, tell me about the current situation first."

Upon hearing this, the snake monk was taken aback, then nodded knowingly.

"Indeed, I was too hasty. You're new here, so let me explain things to you first."

The venomous snake monk smeared some more incense powder on his face and then casually said...

"First, there's the situation at the temple. About twenty days ago, the temple suddenly lost contact with the outside world. However, the life lamps of His Holiness the Dharma King and all the masters are safe and sound. It should just be that the ritual of the Three Altars Dharma Assembly has reached a critical point, and they are temporarily unable to spare the time. Therefore, the entire Shuanghe City has been temporarily taken over by me, the person with the highest rank."

The words were quite normal, but Zhou You still vaguely sensed a hint of unease in the monk's face.

However, before Zhou You could have more time to spy, the venomous monk spoke again.

"Then there's Zhengde. He was personally ordered to be captured by the Dharma King and all the masters. At the same time that something happened at the temple, he inexplicably appeared a hundred miles away from Shuanghe City. Although we couldn't contact the temple, I didn't dare to be negligent. Unfortunately, that monk Zhengde somehow obtained an Arhat relic, which not only completed his own Dharma practice but also allowed him to use the Hell Realm without hindrance. He's as slippery as an eel. Not only did we fail to catch him, but many of our people also died."

At this point, the snake monk sighed and then spoke.

"—So I had no choice but to send messages to see if I could find someone to help me, while trying to use magic to seal off Zhengde's hell path—fortunately, it has finally worked recently. Not only did you come to help, but my method of polluting the area with human lives has also finally taken effect, sealing that monk Zhengde in Changliu Village, not far from the city."

Upon hearing this, Zhou You frowned slightly.

It wasn't that he suspected the venomous monk—in fact, after those few proofs, the monk's hostility towards him was now almost nonexistent.

He sensed something was wrong about another aspect.

Isn't all of this a bit too coincidental?
(End of this chapter)