The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

As the days passed, the trees on both sides of the library remained evergreen.

A single figure always sits by the window, day after day.

Looking at the ink stick that had been used up again, Chu Guanmeng couldn't help but mutter, "When will that monk come again? The ink stick he gave us a year ago is almost worn down."

Lin Du had no time to be distracted. She didn't bother to dip her brush in ink and kept writing until the ink dried and only drag marks remained before putting down her pen and suddenly standing up.

The table was piled high with books on both sides, most of which were not in the language of Zhongzhou. Lin Du had thoroughly mastered the language of Yunmolu in just three months. Afterwards, she repeatedly read through most of the Buddhist scriptures and materials that Wei Zhi had found for her. By piecing together the text on the jade slips, she calculated that there were almost several thousand sheets of waste paper.

This is not the first time Lin Du has drawn up a formation based solely on text.

In her two lifetimes, she had calculated countless arrays, and Yan Ye had set up many strange and incomplete arrays for her, but none of them had made her repeatedly deduce the array with only 149 characters on that jade slip for so long.

That's not a Taoist formation.

That belongs to Buddhism.

The name of that realm, when translated directly from the written form, can be understood as "Extinction."

Extinguish the three delusions, transcend birth and death.

Later in the modern world, people called those two words Nirvana, or sometimes Parinirvana.

"I'm done calculating."

The moment she stood up, the accumulated, scattered drafts were swept up by a gust of wind and floated into the air.

Lin Du reached out and grabbed him. "Let's go find Wei Zhi."

The fluffy ball, who was still bored, suddenly stood up, its eyes wide, "You're finally going to see him? There are only three cans of wine left in the house."

"That's because you drank it secretly. I drink one cup every night before bed, but you drink a whole basin. He's practically emptied the entire Tantric wine cellar." Lin Du casually used his spiritual power to put the things back in their original positions and began to carefully organize the array stones.

Weigh, cut, shape, categorize, and place separately.

Chu Guanmeng commented, "This is the most accurate prediction I've ever seen you make."

"I didn't want to either, but he gave me just too much." Lin Du replied sincerely. "This is a mistake. A human life is precious. I don't care about myself, but he's a big client."

Chu Guanmeng scanned Lin Du's storage ring with her divine sense and sighed seriously, "You know what, the things the monk has brought over over the past year are almost half of his collection, not even counting the things that have already been used and the strange and unusual spiritual plants that have been stored in the sect."

After confirming that everything was ready, Lin Du went to pick up his bodyguard and they went out together.

The city where the Yunmolu Esoteric Sect is located is not much larger than Dingjiu City in Zhongzhou, but once you step into it, you can feel that it is very populous.

Hou Cang followed behind Lin Du with his arms crossed, nagging, "You've only been better for a few days, why did you have to come to Yunmoro?"

"Just a friendly reminder, I've been better for three months," Lin Du said.

"Excuse my bluntness, but because you've been spending all your time reading in the library, your recovery hasn't been good. Your pent-up emotions have caused a month's delay before you were allowed to use your divine sense. And once you could use it, you just kept calculating and calculating." Hou Cang spoke very quickly. "Is there anyone who recuperates like this?"

"Yes, it's me." Lin Du looked at the people coming and going, his gaze falling on the backs of the pilgrims.

It was a family, old and young. The elderly woman was with two little girls, wearing a dusty apron around her waist. The woman prostrated herself every three steps, her head covered in dust. The two little girls pulled a wooden cart behind them, on which all their family's wealth was piled up and bound.

Presumably, their small wooden carts were their homes on their pilgrimage to the heart of Tantric Buddhism.

The little girl turned her head and saw two people whose clothes were out of place with those around them. Their dark eyes were fixed on them. When Lin Du smiled, they grinned back, their faces were dark and shiny, and their teeth were snow-white.

In front of this family were a few scattered ascetics, dressed in rags, with disheveled hair and bare feet, kneeling in worship.

The ascetic monks of Yunmolu often choose Tantric Buddhism as their final destination, making pilgrimages to each of the eight major sects.

"What do you think they're asking for?" Lin Du suddenly asked.

Hou Cang was taken aback. "Asceticism, that's their cultivation, refining their body and mind?"

After Lin Du withdrew his gaze, Hou Cang asked, "Why did you have to come here?"

"Because Wei Zhi hasn't appeared for ten days, the seal has been broken." Lin Du looked at the location of the Tantric sect on the distant high ground. White pagodas stood tall, surrounded by densely packed small houses. The high ground was scattered and particularly magnificent.

Just then, a bell rang.

Hou Cang realized that the demonic energy seal had been broken, but the Buddhist cultivator who had appeared in the sect almost every few days for the past year did not come.

The implication was clear—Wei Zhi had been detained.

When the two arrived at the Tantric temple, they presented the token of the Supreme Sect, and the Buddhist monk guarding the gate hurriedly reported this to his superiors.

The ascetic monk arrived at the top of the mountain, before the Buddhist gate, at that very moment.

Someone asked him, "What is the purpose of this arduous practice?"

The man performed a Buddhist salute, then slowly began to speak, his voice hoarse, "Amitabha, may you be safe and well."

Lin Du happened to be welcomed here and glanced at the ascetic monk for a moment.

The man had bright black eyes, and after seeing Lin Du's attire, he bowed again.

Lin Du raised his hand and returned the greeting.

Hou Cang suddenly couldn't quite describe his feelings. He fell behind by a step and watched as Lin Du's figure and the ascetic monk's figure crossed paths, one still climbing upwards, the other having already reached the finish line.

He turned around suddenly and glanced again at the densely packed, prostrate masses at the foot of the mountain.

He suddenly remembered the two sentences Lin Du had once said.

"I'm willing."

I have no regrets.

He was deeply shaken, and suddenly remembered the look in Lin Tuan's eyes when they first met.

What he once thought was a unique affection, now, when he thinks back on it, is just like the way the ascetic monk and Lin Du looked down at all living beings.

Calm, profound, and as vast as the sea.

Hou Cang suddenly lowered his head, and the heavy feeling that had been weighing on his heart turned into water vapor in the blink of an eye.

It turns out that he had mistaken the truth from the very beginning.

Oh, the common people...

Cangli was originally an orphan found by Lin Tuan and named Cangli.

Cangli means that all living beings are like lush grass and trees, full of vitality.

And he himself, Hou Cang, Hou Tu Cang Sheng, Hou Tu bears all living beings.

It turns out... he wasn't Cangli's later disciple, but rather the people supported by Houtu.

Hou Cang previously thought that Lin Tuan's explanation was only brought up when he questioned it, but that's not actually the case.

Lin Tuan had already told him.

She never showed favoritism; she always loved all.

But he used to hate it so much and desperately try to capture her attention. Now, however, he inexplicably feels that a saint should act this way.

"Senior brother?" Lin Du turned around and called out to Hou Cang.

Hou Cang looked up and met Lin Du's concerned yet suspicious gaze. "Oh, I'm checking the terrain."

In case of a prison break, we should at least look at an escape route map.

Lin Du beckoned, and Hou Cang strode over to her side. "Huh?"

"Don't worry, senior brother. They are now respectfully inviting us in, and they will also respectfully present us with a great gift in a little while, asking us to help them relieve the danger."

Lin Du transmitted these words using his divine sense.

Hou Cang's eyes widened. "Huh???"

As expected, after the Tantric Buddhist monks invited them in, Lin Du got straight to the point, "I have a way to persuade Wei Zhi to offer himself to the demon."

The monk who came to serve tea trembled slightly in his hand. "Ah?"

How did someone who isn't a cultivator from the Supreme Sect know this? Do people from the Supreme Sect have such a wide range of business?

"Hmm." Lin Du's gaze was calm and firm.

"Then, what solution do you have, benefactor?" the monk asked cautiously.

"I'm a professional at persuading people. Although I haven't attended a single seminar, I'm really good at talking."

The monk didn't believe it; he thought the people from the Supreme Sect had come to cause trouble.

Lin Du spoke up, "Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant, but do you have any other methods? Can you forcibly bind him? He has already achieved the Golden Body and was once ranked third on the Chongxiao Ranking. As long as he fights desperately and fights to the death, there will never be another Buddha's disciple in this world."

She sat calmly in her seat, her words resonating within the ebony hall: "He is all alone. You do not know what he cares about, what his weakness is. He cannot be exploited for personal gain, nor can his principles be shaken."

But now, I have arrived.

There is only one me. You may not believe me, but you have no choice but to believe me.

These words stunned not only the monks and Buddhist practitioners present, but even Hou Cang himself.

How could he not see that Lin Du still held Wei Zhi's weakness, and was Wei Zhi's last concern?

The monk remained silent for a long time before placing the tea on the table next to Lin Du.

"You're right. I grew up with him, but I still don't know what he wants."

"That's a natural Buddha bone. He was born with knowledge. He can memorize a scripture after reciting it once. He can remember thousands of scriptures after reading them once. At the age of seven, he could speak eloquently and explain the Buddha's meaning. He was the most respected among the eight schools of thought in the debate on scriptures."

"No one expected that he would later become the so-called demon monk you all talk about, who would devour dragons to cultivate a golden body, burn down his own meditation room, and travel outside the sect, and no one could catch him."

"He seems to understand everything, yet he just doesn't understand his destiny, the profound mysteries of Buddhist practice, the great compassion and eternal salvation of all beings. You say he can explain it clearly, so why doesn't he understand it himself?"

After speaking, the monk gave a bitter smile. "If you were a Buddhist disciple, you should have understood long ago that you should help all sentient beings escape the sea of ​​suffering. But you don't understand. If you don't understand, are you still a Buddhist disciple?"

Lin Du lowered his eyes. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Being generous with other people's money is not only unfair to them, but also utterly pointless to oneself'?"

The monk shook his head, put his hands together, and chanted a Buddhist prayer: "If I possess Buddha relics, I will offer my body to feed evil spirits."

Lin Du laughed. "So you don't understand."

She stood up, her gaze pressing down on the other person. "Wei Zhi, originally Lou Wei Zhi. The Lou royal family wants the national crisis to end, and your Buddhist sect also wants the world crisis to end, but you all place your hopes on one person."

Do you really believe that one person can save all living beings?

Lin Du smiled. "Do you really think that what you consider self-evident is reasonable? All beings have attachments. If you didn't, you would have become a Buddha by now. He is merely a disciple of the Buddha, not a Buddha. Why shouldn't he have attachments?"

"Being trapped by attachments and unable to achieve complete enlightenment, thus failing to be reborn in the Pure Land, is not true wisdom. How then can one be a Buddhist disciple?" The Dharma Master replied with his hands clasped together and his eyes lowered.

Lin Du shook his head. "So it still comes down to the fundamental issue. He is the one you all have been hoping for, the one who jumped off the source of demonic energy and completely sealed the evil energy. You can only hope that he can save all living beings, and that I can make him let go of his obsession."

"Not everyone in this world should accept the mission they were born with."

"His obsession is not about his mission at all, but about whether he has the right to make his own choices."

"It's not that he deserves it or wants it, but that he's willing to do it."

The monk finally had no more arguments to make. "Master Lin Du is indeed eloquent, but I wonder, did you come here also for the sake of all living beings?"

Lin Du finally laughed. "Master, it's true that you care about the common people, but there are no free persuaders in the world."

The monk couldn't help but say, "Benefactor, this is a sacred Buddhist site."

"In this sacred Buddhist sanctuary, I don't talk about money, I talk about fate," Lin Du accepted naturally.

"The weight of my connection with Wei Zhi is immense, and severing that connection should come at a cost of immense weight, shouldn't it?"

"After all, I charge money for my services so that I don't get entangled with you in any karma." Lin Du's expression was upright and he seemed very convincing.

The monk then understood; indeed.

Those who are responsible for having more children than allowed by law are often entangled in karmic consequences, hence the hefty fees charged, which serve as the settlement of a transaction.

Hou Cang then realized that Lin Du had come to ask for money.

Lin Du finally met Wei Zhi.

Before even entering the meditation room, Lin Du sensed a powerful restriction.

The Tantric sect is still afraid of him.

No one is afraid of a madman who has no worries or weaknesses.

Madmen are reckless and willing to go all out.

Wei Zhi sat upright on the futon. Beside him, a person dressed in a red kasaya was chanting something to Wei Zhi. Behind him, a Buddhist monk in a yellow robe was striking a wooden fish and chanting scriptures in a low voice.

The man, dressed in a jade-colored kasaya, sat in the middle. He was slender and upright, with his eyes lowered, unmoving, like a flower blooming on a cliff in the frost, completely out of place in this warm-colored world.

"Stop!" Lin Du's voice broke the chanting, extremely abrupt.

Wei Zhi looked up at Lin Du. The sunlight streaming into the room illuminated his amber eyes.

The Buddhist disciple, who hadn't raised his hand for the previous seven days, slowly raised it, clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and nodded slightly, "Master Lin Du."

In that instant, the abbot of the Tantric sect suddenly saw that the dust particles, following the beam of light, all fell onto the Buddha's disciple's jade-colored robe, and tranquility was gone.

Along the path from which the beam of light came, stood a man in green robes, with white hair and gray eyes, like a snow-covered mountain. He was clearly a Taoist cultivator, yet he exuded a Zen-like aura.

"I promise you," Wei Zhi said. "I promise you, I will seal the source of the demonic energy with my own body."

Before the abbot could answer, Wei Zhi continued, "But I have a request."

"Over the years, thanks to me, Tantric Buddhism has flourished, and the amount of donations and the number of believers are countless."

"I preach the scriptures, chant, and perform rituals for you, one after another, one person after another."

"Now I must go and save all sentient beings."

He spoke gently, like water flowing down a snow-capped mountain, calmly cascading over rocks, almost without a sound, yet stirring a surging tide in the hearts of the others.

"But I still have one wish to fulfill."

"That obsession is tied to only one person, and now the only way to sever that obsession is with an object."

"I urge the abbot to give her all my belongings, including all the seven treasures in my meditation room, the pond of carp and lotus flowers I raised since childhood, and the grove of trees behind the house that I have maintained since I was a child."

"What I mean is, I want to give her the world I once had."

The abbot paused for a moment, then immediately said, "Alright."

The Buddhist cultivators behind the abbot were also stunned. The quality of the items in this meditation room was extraordinary. There were even gifts from the other seven Buddhist sects, and the quantity was not small. The Lotus Flower was a sacred object in the sect and was always by its side. The Enlightenment Pool was also a top-level spiritual pool. The forest behind it was full of rare exotic flowers, plants and trees, as well as various trees that were thousands or even tens of thousands of years old. They were extremely spiritual and produced a lot of heavenly spiritual plants.

Isn't this price too high?

But the abbot had already agreed, so there was no reason for him to go back on his word.

Hou Cang understood completely when he saw this.

Lin Du and Wei Zhi are putting on an act here, trying to profit from both sides. One says money can sever cause and effect, while the other says material things can sever thoughts. They're really something, with solid reasoning and evidence.

He remarked that people really need to know how to speak.

Junior Sister must know that her sect was giving away massive amounts of talismans, pills, and defensive artifacts for free in order to save the people on the border, and that her sect's internal treasury was visibly depleted. That's why she came to the Buddhist sect to make a quick buck.

As expected of my junior sister!

Wei Zhi stood up, and as the abbot followed closely behind, he suddenly spoke, asking a question to this nominal master and adoptive father for the first time alone.

“Abbot, when I was young, I asked you why everyone said that I was born to save people, so that I could complete their unfinished lessons, carry them across the river, and protect them from disasters. You said that this was my destiny and that I should not have any anger. You made me copy the sutra a hundred times. I wanted to learn kung fu, but you firmly refused and punished me with many slaps on my hands.”

"Do you still think so now?"

The abbot raised his eyes, clasped his hands together, and said, "I should liberate all sentient beings. Having liberated all sentient beings, there is not a single sentient being who has truly been liberated."

Wei Zhi watched him finish reading, then turned to Lin Du and said, "In that case, I have no further questions."