Spirit Vessel

“Whoosh!” On top of the stone steps outside of Ancient Path Shrine, a wave of light appeared.

A beauty slowly emerged after the light dispersed.

“So magical, that Feng Feiyun knows spatial laws and techniques. Rumor has it that only Sacred Spirit Palace has access to this type of teleportation runes.” Chan Ling’er rushed down the mountain. 

This place was too close to the shrine and the heretics might spot her so time was of the essence.

At the ridge, she met a monk in a white robe. He was quite young, around twenty years of age - extremely handsome with perfect features.

He meditated beneath a pine tree, surrounded by a Buddhist glow with numerous auspicious images. Next to him was a white wooden basket with several paintings and old scrolls - clearly a traveling monk.

Yes, this monk was strangely handsome, red lips and white teeth, full of spirituality. He certainly couldn’t be that much inferior to the most handsome man in the world.

He seemed to be resting beneath the pine tree. After seeing her, he stood up, palms together and bowed his head to ask in a respectful manner: “Fellow Buddhist, may I ask if this place is Ancient Path Mountain?”

His voice was full of Buddhist affinity, giving off a masterly aura despite his tender age - quite in tune with the heavenly dao.

Ling’er was in a rush but for some reason, she felt something stronger than when seeing a Buddha statue in the hall of worship. She placed her palms together and returned the gesture: “This is indeed Ancient Path Mountain.”

The monk said: “My Dharma name is Formless. I am a traveler from Rapture Shrine by the west and had heard the villagers down the mountain talk about Ancient Path Shrine, a tranquil place of worship. I came for a visit, hoping to have a discussion with the great monks here.”

“Brother, please leave this place at once! Ancient Path is no longer a place of worship and has been occupied by evil. They are murderers who eat human flesh, turning the shrine into hell on earth!”

She didn’t know why she wasted so much time with this strange monk but felt that he was wrapped in a vast Buddhist affinity, even greater than Buddhist Supreme Wu.

This monk hated evil above all eyes. His eyes became serious: “They want to take over a Buddhist holy ground in broad daylight? This is not acceptable. I shall go expel them.”

Ling’er didn’t want him to lose his life: “You won’t be able to…”

“Fellow Buddhist, say no more. A Buddhist is not afraid of evil. Even Buddha will roar to battle when necessary.” He picked up his basket and turned into a white ray. In the next second, he landed right outside of the shrine.

“So strong despite his age… from Rapture in the west? How come I haven’t heard of it before?” She ran towards Beastmaster while thinking about what he had said earlier - a Buddhist is not afraid of evil. Even Buddha will roar to battle when necessary.

He showed no sign of fear against the monsters, a real Buddhist. ‘Why am I afraid? Is my Buddhist attainment not strong enough yet?’

***

Qian Qiusheng stared at Feiyun for a bit before smiling: “Your Excellency, well said. A man certainly wouldn’t share his women with anyone else.”

The two heretics who wanted to go in became unhappy and backed off.

“What is the second round?” Feiyun sat down again, his expression soothed. 

Qiusheng smiled: “I came up with the first so the second round is yours, Your Excellency.”

Feiyun didn’t refuse: “Very well, then we’ll have a battle of divine intents.”

“Hmm, that might not be proper, Your Excellency, your cultivation is…” Qiusheng had strong cultivation so his divine intents were tough too.

Feng Feiyun was only a fourth-level Heaven’s Mandate so it didn’t matter how strong his divine intents might be, he still wouldn’t be a match for Qiusheng.

A contest of divine intent was relatively dangerous. Just one mistake could end with someone turning into a fool, or even bleeding from seven orifices till death.

Though Qiusheng was confident in winning, he didn’t want to heavily injure Feng Feiyun. Provoking the two monsters behind him wasn’t a good thing for Senluo.

“Life Walker, you think I’m not qualified to be your opponent? My divine intents were strong enough to break the camp master’s seal, it won’t be an easy victory for you.” Feng Feiyun took the initiative.

He shot out forty shining rays from his forehead, akin to the stars. They gathered into a circle before turning into a great hammer, aiming straight for Qiusheng’s head.

His intents far exceeded everyone’s imagination. The quaking power rang like a massive gong.

“Forty!” Qiusheng was astonished and quickly summoned his own - ten divine rays. They formed their own domain and exuded tinier strands that engulfed the hall.

He was worthy of being the leader of the four walkers and a ninth-ranked wisdom master. The divine intents were immense, capable of connecting to the runes of heaven and earth. Though he only had ten, they divided into thousands of tiny strands, capable of striking someone else’s soul.

Wu Qinghua was horrified by both of their divine intents. Heaven’s Mandate cultivators shouldn’t possess such powerful mental abilities.

All in all, these heretics were mighty, especially the four walkers. They couldn’t be weaker than their infamous predecessors from two thousand years ago.

However, the most shocking of all was Feng Feiyun’s divine intents. Anyone else facing Qiusheng would have dropped over backward already. Feiyun’s intents changed in an unpredictable manner - gathering and dispersing, turning into a hammer, mirror, then sword…

The battle gave off an extremely dangerous feeling despite being mental in nature. Strange images appeared in the hall in this evenly-matched duel.

Suddenly, a thunderous lion roar encompassing the fury of Buddha detonated from outside, nearly rupturing everyone’s eardrums. Feiyun’s divine intents might have been crushed if they weren’t incredibly strong.

Qiusheng didn’t fare much better and had damage as well. He sent out one of them and said: “What’s going on?”

The heretics flew outside to check, surging with evil aura. 

The sad lament of a young monk came in before any heretic could report back: “The world gives birth to myriad creations for the sake of men. We should appreciate this and be merciful, following the right path. A man-eater is no different from a beast.”

The monk titled Formless stepped into the shrine and saw the roasting monks on top of the bonfires. Sorrow birthed from within as he held back his tears.

Wu Qinghua herself turned pale from seeing these cruel images. However, Formless only felt sadness, completely unintimidated. Furthermore, he wasn’t sad about the roasting monks but rather the ones eating them.

Nothing is sadder than men losing their humanity.

“Monk, look at how pretty you are, I bet you will taste good.” A half-step Giant sitting in front of a bonfire unleashed a ten-meter palm strike crashing down from above.

Formless stood proudly while carrying his basket. He shook his young and handsome face before walking straight for this heretic while murmuring: “One step, one atonement; one step, one lotus.”

He became exuberant with a Buddha appearing above him. The palm strike struck his head but only managed to blow his robe sleeves lightly, almost like a gentle breeze.

The half-step was startled. ‘What the hell is this Buddhist art?’

He stood up, wanting to make a move again. However, Formless was already standing before him. The monk placed his white-snow hand on his head.

What came next astounded the crowd. This hand of his carried the immensity of a Five-finger Mountain, enough to stop this half-step from moving at all.

When Formless pulled back his hand, the half-step’s body became increasingly transparent from a refinement process with a white lotus in the center.

The wind blew and his body along with the lotus disappeared without a trace.

“Shit! Jing Sanque got sent over by his Buddhist art!” An old man as thin as a stick leaped out. 

He was both knowledgeable and powerful. Golden rays shot out from his eyes as he stared at the monk: “Monk, who the hell are you?!”

“I am Formless.” The monk placed his palms together; his white robe free from impurities. His body looked like a sacred Bodhi tree exuding unspeakable holiness and stateliness. 

The monks still alive in the shrine kneeled on the ground with nothing but reverence in their eyes.

“Do you know who we are? You dare to mess with our business?!” A heavily-tattooed man took out a coffin with a bloody shade, full of cold energy inside.

“A Buddhist is never afraid. I traveled a total of 288,000 steps from Rapture to this place, watching the lives of men along the way. Though my title is Formless, I do not wish to be formless. When I saw injustice, I became angry. When I saw evil, I wished to cross them over. When I saw monsters, I wanted to kill them. Before becoming a Buddha, one must toil as an ox for men first. I will take on the butcher’s knife to kill all evil. My journey towards Buddha-hood will never end until all evil is gone.”

His voice was a vast, auditory expanse. The lamps in the shrine were suddenly lit up by an invisible force, and they burned brilliantly.

The chants of Buddhism echoed in the mountains, washing away the sins in these halls. The initially frightened monks started chanting again, finding themselves to be rid of fear.

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