Killing Monks

The imagery in the scriptures is profound; the gist is that a single thought can cause all things to wither and decay in an instant, leading to their demise.

A single thought can revive dormant life and restore it to its youthful vigor.

When this method is practiced to a high level, one can freely control the "age state" of one's own flesh and blood, as well as the vitality of others, from the heart.

As the scriptures flowed, Guangyuan gradually came to understand.

The seemingly ageless "divine monk" before us, Xin Chi, has, with great perseverance and wisdom, permanently "fixed" his life state at the "point" of exquisite balance between the two opposing forces of "withering" and "prosperity".

He is not ageless, but he no longer grows or decays.

It seems withered yet not withered, it seems flourishing yet not flourishing, it is neither withered nor flourishing.

This "Sutra of One Thought of Withering and Flourishing" is so profound that it has reached the realm of form... no, not the realm of form, but the realm of formlessness!

It can be considered one of the top martial arts techniques in the martial arts world, and its value is immeasurable!

If the fanatic was willing to use such top-notch esoteric skills as payment for "handling trouble," then the "trouble" represented by that "Mirror of Karma" must be far more troublesome and dangerous than imagined.

The heavier the "reward," the more it indicates that the mirror is a hot potato.

After reciting a scripture, the believer slowly opened his eyes, his eyes, which seemed both young and old, looked at the two of them and asked:

"After listening to it once, how much of it did you understand?"

Lu Fei was still immersed in the grand and profound imagery of the scripture, feeling numerous thoughts swirling in his mind, yet unable to grasp them all clearly.

He scratched his head, somewhat uncertainly saying, "I've probably... grasped three or four parts? No, perhaps five? The subtleties are truly difficult to fully describe."

Guangyuan remained silent for a moment before speaking: "I understand about five or six parts of it. I understand the meaning of the scripture."

He paused, looked directly at the believer, and said, "But I don't agree."

"To have grasped five or six parts of it is already a sign of exceptional comprehension, far surpassing that of ordinary people!" Xin Chi looked at Guang Yuan with undisguised admiration.

He then smiled and said, "It's alright if you don't agree now. Things change, and so do our thoughts."

"Perhaps one day in the future, you will understand the deeper meaning."

He thought Guangyuan was a stubborn and principled young monk.

As he spoke, he stood up, and the spotted dog immediately stood up as well, sticking close to his leg.

"Today, the karmic connection has been fulfilled. This old monk has put an end to a matter on his mind, and I feel great!" He laughed heartily, and with his dog, he disappeared from Guangyuan and Lufei's sight in just a few steps.

Or, as he put it, he prefers dealing with dogs to dealing with people.

Lu Fei gazed in the direction where Xin Chi had disappeared, his heart still pounding with emotion, unable to calm down for a long time.

What happened today was truly bizarre!

First, they encountered danger in the canyon and narrowly escaped death. Then, they were able to see the legendary and mysterious "ageless monk" in person. Finally, they were able to hear such profound and mysterious supreme scriptures!

This is an incredible opportunity and a great fortune that everyone in the martial arts world dreams of!

He couldn't help but pat Guangyuan's shoulder hard, excitedly saying:

"Bald monk! We've had incredible luck today! This is simply..."

Guangyuan, however, was not as excited as him.

His gaze shifted from the direction where the believer had disappeared, sweeping across the still-dead canyon below.

In the valley, those figures who were just fighting frantically were now completely cold, lying haphazardly in the blood and dust, silently telling the story of the tragedy that had just occurred.

"What kind of opportunity or good fortune is this?" Guangyuan's voice was somewhat cold, interrupting Lu Fei's excitement.

"If only our bodies were lying among them."

Upon hearing this, Lu Fei felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, and all his excitement and enthusiasm instantly vanished.

He followed Guangyuan's gaze to the bottom of the valley, where the scene of carnage once again assaulted his senses.

Just now, they were so immersed in the joy of hearing about the profound skill that they almost forgot the origin of this skill, which was built on the price of dozens of lives, and they themselves almost became one of them.

A chilling fear crept up my spine.

So close... so very close.

If Guangyuan hadn't handled the situation properly, there would surely be two more corpses among the silent bodies in the valley right now: one belonging to a busybody wanderer from the martial world, and the other to a young monk who betrayed his temple and murdered his master.

"So, now you understand why I insisted on demanding payment from him, right?" Guangyuan looked at the tragic scene in the valley. "That old bald monk is definitely not a kind and compassionate person."

Lu Fei was taken aback: "You mean... he's a bad guy?"

Guangyuan shook his head: "It's not particularly bad."

On the surface, he taught the Guangyuan Buddhist soldiers martial arts, but in reality, he treated human life as worthless, treated the Buddhist soldiers as a joke, and condoned the tragedy.

How could someone like that think he's a divine monk and a good person?

Thinking of this, Lu Fei felt another chill run down his spine.

"Shall we continue on our way?" he asked tentatively.

"Don't panic," Guangyuan said. "Let's bury these corpses first."

In the valley, the other sober martial arts practitioners had already left.

They fear falling back into the chaos and inner demons.

The others, however, were afraid that one of them had killed someone. There were only the two of them in the valley.

The Great Lake Valley is named after the Great Lake. If these corpses pollute the Great Lake, it could become an even greater disaster.

Upon hearing this, Lu Fei also calmed down, said no more, and silently stepped forward to help.

Both of them were martial artists, and their strength far surpassed that of ordinary people. Although the task was not small, their movements were quite swift.

They found a shady slope, dug up the soil, placed the corpses side by side, and buried them properly.

During the process, they also found a number of scattered weapons, hidden weapons, and some gold and silver valuables on the corpses.

Lu Fei gathered the swords and knives together and tied them into a pile. Looking at the gold and silver in his pocket, he smiled bitterly:

"Why do I feel like our actions... are a bit like those of vultures?"

As Guangyuan was covering the remains with the last handful of soil, he said, "We put in a lot of effort to collect their remains, preventing them from being left to rot in the wilderness and polluting the water sources."

"I took these unclaimed items as payment, and I have a clear conscience."

Lu Fei thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Just as he was about to leave, Guangyuan's gaze swept across a crevice in the rock and caught a glimpse of something unusual.

He bent down and picked it up. It was a letter that was mostly soaked in blood. The envelope was written in delicate but slightly messy handwriting: "To be opened by Peach Blossom Villa in the North of the Mountain".

The bloodstains had long since dried and turned black. It was unknown which unfortunate wanderer had fallen here, carrying a letter that might never be delivered.

Guangyuan held the letter and remained silent for a moment.

He carefully folded the letter, wiped away the bloodstains from the edges of the envelope, and solemnly placed it in his bosom.

"If fate allows, and you happen to pass by Peach Blossom Manor in the future, please deliver the letter for him," Guangyuan said to Lu Fei.

Lu Fei glanced at him, said nothing, and simply nodded.

This monk, at times, is as hard-hearted as iron, and decisive in killing.

Sometimes, however, I do these seemingly pointless "trivial things".