Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

He released one hand, easily maintaining his balance against the monk Zhongtong's sword intent with just one hand while gripping the sword. His smile seemed to say:

So you really did go all out, huh? Sorry, I was just pretending.

The monk Zhongtong's expression suddenly froze, and Chu Ming used his free hand to stroke Zhongtong's bald head.

"You've lost a single hair, so of course hitting you wouldn't cause any damage~ By the way, to answer your earlier question, I did say I'd take down one of you with one sword strike, but I didn't specify which strike, so you can't..."

Is this the sword strike I'm about to deliver?

The Lunar Eclipse Heavy Sword in Chu Mingkong's hand seemed to be doused with oil, and the extreme Yin Fire spiritual energy on it suddenly surged and burned fiercely. The aura of extreme Yin power was changing rapidly, becoming more and more similar to the depths of the Extreme Abyss.

The blood-red blade in the hands of Abbot Zhongtong, blessed by the Blood Blade Bright King Palace, was now being rapidly corroded like thin ice meeting a raging fire. He tried to replenish it with his blood energy, but he couldn't do it at all!

Those places touched by his extreme yin flames are no longer under Zhongtong's control!

"I heard you've all been wondering how my godfather died and what my cultivation level is. Well, you're the lucky one chosen. Come and experience it for yourself!"

Another burst of flames erupted, and the Moon Eclipse Heavy Sword slashed down. The unharmed bald head of the monk Zhongtong flew off his sturdy body and was then swallowed up by the extremely Yin Fire spiritual energy, which had suddenly increased in intensity, and vanished into thin air.

Even the resilient self-healing ability of the Divine Soul Realm couldn't be utilized, and he died directly from nothingness!

The last time Chu Mingkong fought against an enemy at the Divine Soul Realm was against his adoptive father, the Old King Chu. He remembered that he had completely annihilated him back then, but it had taken a lot of effort.

In the short time it took for his Thousand Lantern Turtle Shell to shatter, he had already had a lot of his cultivation energy taken away by Zhi'er and his sister Yunhan.

This time, the monk Zhongtong disappeared without a trace, and there were no signs of relics like teeth or other artifacts used to bind the soul. It's likely that he's truly dead.

Chu Mingkong turned to the remaining two monks and asked:

"What are you waiting for? All your efforts are wasted, why are you still standing there without making a move? Do you think I'll call out Yuehe, and you're waiting for her to appear?"

YTO Express and STO Express were shocked. ZTO Express had gone all out and hadn't underestimated the enemy in the slightest, yet it had been cut off so easily?!

Their reaction was also extremely quick; they darted to the left and right of the Arhat statue, intending to invite Arhat Abu Nan and Arhat Fa Xin Bu Dong to come and subdue the demon.

The moment their palms touched the Arhat Buddha statue, the statue actually reacted!

Chapter 252 Monks really can drop gold coins

Two golden Buddha statues emanated a strong aura of power, with Buddha mudras appearing in their hands. The light and shadow in their eyes, which were bathed in golden water, changed unevenly, as if they were twisting their eyes to look at Chu Mingkong.

Chu Mingkong was not intimidated. He had already learned a lot and knew that he could theoretically run away without fear of the Arhats. On the contrary, the Bodhisattva statue in the middle was worth being wary of.

This is an enemy beyond his ability to handle.

However, it seemed that the Bodhisattva statue did not respond to them.

"Perfect timing, I'd like to test just how strong Luohan is." Chu Mingkong prepared for battle; his strongest attack at the moment was the sword strike that had just killed Zhong Tong.

In a short period of time, I will not be able to mobilize my Extreme Yin Fire Spiritual Energy to the level of the Deep Abyss again, and I will not be able to fight against an Arhat, but I can still test the waters.

However, it seemed that Chu Mingkong had no chance to make a move. A Taoist aura emanated from somewhere outside the mountain peak, completely erasing the aura of the golden Arhat statue, and layers of gold powder fell off the Buddha statue.

This means that the consecration effect is lost, and the Buddha statue becomes nothing more than an ordinary clay figure, mediocre and without any magical creation within it.

Chu Mingkong extended his senses and realized that the aura was emanating from the three Taoist statues that had been discarded earlier.

Yuantong and Shentong were completely thrown into disarray. Unwilling to accept their previous composure, they could no longer continue their rambling conversation. With Zhongtong's corner cut off by Chu Mingkong, their coordination was lost, and their combat strength would drop significantly. They would not be able to withstand Chu Mingkong, who could easily cut down Zhongtong with his sword!

They rushed to the golden statue of the Bodhisattva, trying to beg for help, but there was no response whatsoever.

"Why not? Even if it's rejected, the golden statue will still react. How can we let it be like this!"

Shentong Express spotted a flaw!

It's the hem of the Bodhisattva statue's skirt! The young monk who was pouring gold for the statue said he had no more gold and couldn't finish pouring the last bit, so he was sent to town to collect incense money.

In a moment of desperation, Yuantong took out a rare and precious piece of gold from his storage prayer beads, as if to make up for this last bit of deficiency.

But after a waft of intoxicating fragrance, the gold dog-head in his hand disappeared, replaced by a dagger stuck in his palm, coated with a dark poison.

Feng Ying appeared beside Chu Mingkong, still digging at the gold nugget in his hand.

"Why does it feel like Mingkong is here to lead me on a treasure hunt? This is such a large piece of gold nugget. Although it's just a common item, this size is quite rare!"

"It's all the same. After killing someone, you always have to see what treasures they dropped." Chu Mingkong shrugged.

At the foot of the Bodhisattva statue, Yuantong felt a pang of regret. Why had he sent that little monk to the town to collect incense money? If this mistake hadn't occurred then, he wouldn't be in such a predicament now.

But Yuantong had no time to regret it. A sharp pain shot through the wound on his palm, the pain reaching the depths of his soul. Without hesitation, he used his hand as a knife and cut off his injured wrist.

He had already taken the fastest, most ruthless, and most thorough approach, but the pain persisted. Reciting Buddhist exorcism mantras was useless; he could barely utter a complete sentence.

"What...what kind of poison is this?!"

The dagger vanished, returning to Fengying's hand, where she tossed it around like a toy, saying mockingly:

"How does your Blood Blade King's Buddha Fruit feel, that fragment of his Abyss Core? Shouldn't you feel quite close to it? Why do you look so pained? It's really scary~"

Yun Han also appeared there, holding a fragment as well, and attacked Shen Tong, who was trying to escape. Having witnessed Yuan Tong's miserable state, Shen Tong naturally wouldn't sit idly by and let the fragment touch him, even if it was a fragment of the Blood Blade King's Buddha Fruit.

The Golden Bell Qi protected Shen Tong's body, and some of the Qi transformed into the Iron Shirt Robe on his body, but Xiao Yunhan's spiritual realm was much deeper than his.

Although it took some effort, he managed to break through Shentong's multiple layers of protection relatively easily. Fragments of the Abyss Core were embedded in his tough skin, leaving wounds with ease.

On this devastated mountaintop, screams of agony echoed.

Neither of the two monks wanted this outcome. Even if they ended up dying, it wouldn't matter. At most, it would be a pity for their cultivation, but they would never show any cowardice or shame and let Chu Mingkong see them and let him show off. That would be more unacceptable than their deaths themselves.

However, they could hardly bear the pain. The pain of losing a hand or foot was far more than that. Moreover, unlike Yuehe and the others who deliberately suppressed their injuries, the wounds from the Abyss were unbearable when they struck their souls.

Moreover, this kind of injury is fatal, even for experts at the Divine Soul Realm.

If Xiao Yunhan and Chu Mingkong had been more quick-witted and used the fragment earlier, perhaps the old King Chu could have died more quickly, instead of spending so much time being slowly simmered to death.

"Aren't you two quite eloquent? Why don't you continue your spiel? Condemn me for this karmic retribution, and tell me what kind of suffering you're experiencing in your spiritual practice. Tell me more."

Amidst the screams of the two monks, Chu Mingkong kicked the two Arhat statues off the cliff, watching them smash to pieces.

Immediately, he walked behind the golden statue of some unknown Bodhisattva, circled around it, and kept saying it was a pity.

"Is this due to poor detail, an overly thick white robe, or perhaps the female bodhisattva's buttocks are simply not very flattering... there's hardly any curves to them!"

Feng Ying and Xiao Yunhan stared at him speechlessly. They had thought he was pondering something important, given how intently he was examining the golden Bodhisattva statue, but it turned out he was just staring at its backside...

Before long, Chu Mingkong and the others did not finish them off. The screams of the two monks stopped. The Abyss Wounds, which had directly struck their souls, had completely annihilated them, returning them to nothingness in the true sense, leaving them with no possibility of reincarnation.

During this time, Chu Mingkong acted as a laborer, moving the three clay statues that had been carried away by the bald men back to their original positions.

"This can be considered revenge for Qing Ning and Qian Qian. What are you doing, Feng Ying?"

"Go ahead and loot. I'm curious about what Buddhist monks at this level have in their prayer beads. It's a pity that you killed one monk with a single sword strike, and now there's no loot to be found." In any case, as far as Feng Ying is concerned, his personal savings are definitely not as good as those two monks'.

After following Chu Mingkong, he didn't do much training or exploration. The number of times he twisted his waist and swayed his hips was more than the number of times he practiced assassination with a dagger. His storage bracelet didn't increase much, but his cultivation level kept rising...

Feng Ying shattered the storage bead, and its contents fell out.

The ground was covered with gold and silver jewelry, piled up like a small mountain. Much of it had rolled down the mountainside. Some of the money was marked with donation notes from different believers, indicating that they had pocketed it all.

Then there were some women's clothes, belonging to different women, probably souvenirs from when the masters were imparting Buddhist teachings.

"So many useless things, it seems only these few cultivation techniques are useful. But these Buddhist cultivation techniques can't be practiced casually, right?"

Chapter 253 The Jade Pool Immortal Bath

Chu Mingkong didn't think the cultivation manual he carried with him was anything good, especially since the Buddhist sect was such a large organization. The original texts of the cultivation manuals and scriptures were mostly stored in the scripture pavilion. You could only go in and take a look when you wanted to. If you couldn't comprehend anything within the allotted time, you would be told "You don't have enough Buddhist affinity" and then kicked out.

However, Yun Nongyu was an exception. She carried the original texts of the two bedroom arts with her, fearing that the Taoist sect's insiders might take them out again. It was better to keep them with her at all times.

Therefore, scriptures that can be carried around are inherently less valuable.

Chu Mingkong sat down on the ground and moved closer to Feng Ying, watching her flip through the small stack of cultivation manuals she had gathered. She first picked up a broken string of prayer beads:

"It's engraved with... the 'Colorless Golden Light Salvation Mantra,' which can deliver those who are not of this world from illusion. This should be intended for Yuehe, right?"

Yuehe also came over at this time. It seems that she is also very interested in the spoils of war. She had been "hiding" quite far away the whole time.

This was Chu Mingkong's insistence on arranging it, because he was afraid that these monks might have some means to target Yuehe. Therefore, he dared not let Yuehe show herself. Even if it was to provide support, Chu Mingkong told her in advance that she should just shoot a cloud-piercing arrow.

"Some of these scriptures bear a strong Buddhist imprint and should not be practiced casually. Even after studying them, one should not attempt to comprehend or meditate on them, as this could lead to self-destruction and the development of the inner demon of seeking refuge in Buddhism," Yuehe cautioned.

Chu Mingkong smiled and tried to lighten the mood:

"Of course, I'm not interested in the bald guys' techniques. Right now, isn't this just about taking stock of the spoils? It's good to feel a little smug for a while."

Feng Ying continued to take stock. This time, she focused on the paper and cloth books containing the martial arts manuals, confirming that they were indeed not precious items. They were just some very basic manuals, which could even be described as mortal martial arts, and could barely be considered as a few sets of Buddhist boxing techniques.

Among these cultivation techniques, there was even a book called "Outline of Transmission of Techniques." As soon as Chu Mingkong saw the name, he suspected that it might be some kind of secret technique for transmitting skills.

Suppressing his curiosity, Chu Mingkong barely managed to read about ten pages before nearly fainting. It turned out that the "transmission of Dharma" in this "Outline of Dharma Transmission" was actually the transmission of Buddhist teachings and the absorption of Buddhist followers into one's own lineage.

Among them is the saying, "When a commoner is in trouble and asks for help, you can explain a few words to him, but you cannot help him in every way. You must test his sincerity. This is a test... As the saying goes, sincerity can move mountains. If you do not offer gold or stone as a sacrifice, you cannot be considered sincere."

Chu Mingkong mentally translated a sentence: When commoners ask for your help, you can say yes, but you can't help immediately; you have to express your meaning subtly.

You have to pay more, and then you'll be more sincere about the money.

"No wonder the two abbots of the Mingwang Palace, who don't even have a palace master, are so rich. It's clear that the people in the Pure Land are quite wealthy." Chu Mingkong clicked his tongue in amazement.

Ignoring these mundane objects, Feng Ying picked up an ancient jade slip, but it was "unopenable," and he couldn't know its contents. He had no idea what was going on.

"Let me take a look," Yuehe said, taking the jade slip and deducing its contents. He was about 80-90% certain that "this is an incomplete jade slip containing a cultivation technique, but it is of a very high grade. It is the 'Jade Pool Immortal Bathing Technique.' I don't know the specifics. My deductions are limited by this world, so I can only confirm this much."

Feng Ying looked at Chu Mingkong with a subtle expression and chuckled:

"The name of this cultivation technique sounds just like what Mingkong wants. Mingkong, you wouldn't have come here specifically for this, would you?"

Feng Ying's joke was somewhat damaging to his reputation and character, but it must be said that Chu Mingkong also felt that the name of the technique was extraordinary, just like... the Goddess Bathing Massage Technique.

"The Jade Pool is said to be located in Kunlun." After looking for so long, the older sister finally spoke.

"So, does that mean I should go back and ask Nongyu?" Chu Mingkong said apologetically as he put the item into his pocket.

He scavenged the remaining techniques, ignoring those with Buddhist influences like the "Golden Bell Cover," and finally left only the technique "Ultimate Freedom, Demon and Self are One."

The medium for this cultivation technique is somewhat abstract: a withered hand with fingers shaped like those of a flower maker. The skin is clearly dry and shriveled, but there is no sign of decay. If you gently touch it, the sensation that comes to mind is delicate and smooth.

This is a woman's hand!

Upon seeing this, Yuehe rarely showed a look of surprise. Having watched it with him for so long, she found it hard to imagine that these were treasures that two bald men could store.