Chapter 294: True and False Wanted Criminals

Ye Jinglan looked at Ye Chen as if he were an idiot and said, "This id... Brother, I know a doctor who specializes in brain diseases. He's very skilled and lives in Kite Alley in the south of the city. I suggest you go see him!"

Ye Chen said, "There's nothing wrong with my brain..."

"Really?" Ye Jinglan asked, surprised. "You've hidden it well, brother!"

Ye Chen: "..."

Gu Mo fully agreed with Ye Jinglan. He also felt that Ye Chen seemed to have some mental issues. As someone who had awakened past life memories and possessed a super cheat, he had never imagined himself as one of those protagonists in novels, who could simply shake their bodies and exude an aura of dominance, making everyone bow before them. However, he also hadn't imagined that one day he would meet someone with such a belief.

Seeing Ye Jinglan and Gu Mo both looking at him with expressions of concern for the mentally challenged, Ye Chen waved his hand and said, "Great Hero Gu, Lord Ye, please don't misunderstand. I mean no harm. It's just that I don't have many strengths, but my luck is incredibly good, unbelievably good. How can I put it? Even the protagonists in storytellers' novels aren't as lucky as I am!"

Ye Jinglan said, "So what?"

Ye Chen continued, "My luck is inexhaustible and it wildly radiates to those around me." As he spoke, he pointed to the brothers Chang Qi and Chang Liu, saying, "These two, for example, used to be very ordinary jianghu practitioners in our Chu kingdom. But ever since they followed me, they've encountered countless opportunities, becoming jianghu grandmasters in just two or three years. There are many such examples. I have friends all over the Chu kingdom, and countless people vie to be my friends. Anyone who becomes my friend will see their luck improve, and those who join me can easily stumble upon opportunities, with their cultivation soaring. If they want to make money, money will pour in like a hen laying a whole nest of eggs..."

Ye Jinglan interrupted Ye Chen, saying, "I've heard the rumors about Ye Chen, the Man of Destiny. You don't need to emphasize it. Brother Gu is already the strongest in the world. He lacks neither money, nor martial arts, nor opportunities. He is the greatest opportunity himself. Why would he need to join you?"

Ye Chen hurriedly said, "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand, I'm not forcing anything. It's just that, I don't know why, but the first time I saw Great Hero Gu, I felt deeply moved. I inexplicably felt as if my luck had materialized, as if it were moving. Don't you think that's strange? So, I just feel that Great Hero Gu and I must have some fated connection. Of course, it's normal for Great Hero Gu not to want to join me; I was just asking. However, with your talent and intelligence, Great Hero Gu, combined with my luck, it would truly be extraordinary. Even the strongest in the world needs to keep improving, right?"

Gu Mo smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for your kind offer, but I don't need it."

Ye Chen sighed, looking disheartened, and said, "That's truly a pity, a great loss. Well then, I'll be going!"

Immediately, Ye Chen left with Chang Qi and Chang Liu.

However, just as he reached the cave entrance, he suddenly turned around and said with anticipation, "Great Hero Gu, are you really not reconsidering? I'm not joking. I can truly feel my luck pouring out like water right now, overflowing constantly. Are you really sure you don't want any?"

Gu Mo chuckled, "Then you should be careful. Don't let it all flow out, or you might become unlucky!"

Ye Chen said, "My luck is just overflowing; it won't run dry."

"Then take care!"

"Farewell!"

Ye Chen left with much regret. He walked out of the cave entrance, grabbed a rope, and ascended.

Watching Ye Chen leave, Ye Jinglan said, "Brother Gu, although this Ye Chen seems somewhat mentally unusual, I must say, this person is truly bizarre. His luck is incredibly good, defying all logic. I heard about him from the Crown Prince. While the Crown Prince was held hostage in the Chu kingdom, he heard many rumors about Ye Chen. After returning, he repeatedly mentioned that this person might become a major threat to our Qian kingdom. So I investigated him. The results of his experiences were simply astonishing: falling off a cliff always led to a great opportunity; casually giving alms to an old beggar turned out to be a martial arts master wandering the world who insisted on imparting all his lifelong knowledge; simply going out for a trip would inevitably lead to him returning with a large collection of rare treasures... It's utterly absurd. And he wasn't lying; indeed, those who associated with him genuinely saw their luck improve, and even becoming his friend brought great rewards. As for those who offended him, he didn't even need to seek revenge; they would naturally suffer extreme misfortune. That's why he's known in the jianghu as the 'Man of Destiny,' rumored to be a born sage carrying the mandate of heaven!"

Gu Mo nodded slightly and said, "That is quite absurd."

Ye Jinglan said solemnly, "To be honest, I didn't believe in things like destiny or luck, but this person's experiences are simply inexplicable. However, he's also quite good at bragging, claiming he could feel his luck materializing and even moving! This thing isn't tangible, so how could he feel it?"

Gu Mo, however, shook his head slightly and said, "No, he wasn't bragging!"

"Huh?" Ye Jinglan asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Gu Mo said gravely, "I just saw a special kind of energy on him that was indeed materializing. However, it was an energy on the same level as primordial spirit power, so you couldn't see it. But this thing shouldn't be luck."

Gu Mo wasn't joking; he had indeed seen something on Ye Chen.

Ever since he had mastered the God of War Sutra, his life essence had ascended beyond the Ascension Realm. He could perceive the flow of the world's laws and see many things that didn't exist in the normal world, including luck. Luck was extremely mysterious; even profound fortune tellers could only use specific methods to glimpse the trajectories of others' fortunes, inferring whether their current luck was good, average, or bad.

However, Gu Mo's current life essence transcended the Ascension Realm, allowing him to see the operation of the world's laws, and naturally, to perceive luck. In his eyes, however, luck was like fireflies across the sky; its appearance and disappearance, its waxing and waning, were entirely without fixed patterns. It could not be accumulated through cultivation, nor could it be sustained long-term with spells. At its root, luck was not a tangible form of energy but an abstract concept. It differed from perceptible "qi"; it had no quantitative standard, nor did it follow the rules of energy accumulation and dispersion. It only acted upon people and events at specific times in unpredictable ways. This was an elusive, untouchable presence. Furthermore, while there were differences in good and bad luck among people, luck did not exist in varying quantities, because different individuals would manifest the same luck differently. For example, if two people both experienced recent good fortune, an ordinary person might simply earn some money and remain free of illness, while a merchant might rake in huge profits daily, leading to prosperous business, and an official might rapidly rise in rank, perhaps even reaching the highest positions. Therefore, while luck existed, it was not "qi" (energy) but "yun" (fortune or destiny).

But surprisingly, Gu Mo had just witnessed a very peculiar phenomenon with Ye Chen.

Ye Chen's luck was different from others'.

Other people's luck was an intangible line representing a concept of fortune without quantifiable size, it was "yun." But Ye Chen's was a mass of "qi," true energy, and it was continuously growing.

Consequently, Gu Mo became curious. He mobilized the "Primal Qi" born from the operation of heaven and earth's laws to try and manipulate Ye Chen's special "luck." As a result, the luck truly materialized, being pulled and flowing out by Gu Mo.

Therefore, Ye Chen hadn't lied. His luck had indeed materialized and was flowing out like water. However, the only thing he got wrong was that it wasn't flowing out abundantly after meeting Gu Mo, but rather being pulled out by Gu Mo.

"You can grasp luck?" Upon hearing Gu Mo's words, Ye Jinglan was utterly shocked, even terrified.

Gu Mo waved his hand and said, "No, I can't grasp luck. That thing isn't 'qi'; it's a concept, 'yun.' I can only grasp Ye Chen's luck. His luck is different from others; theirs is elusive 'yun,' but his is genuinely a mass of 'qi.' It's very strange!"

Ye Jinglan asked curiously, "Then, can I see it?"

Gu Mo slightly raised his hand, looking at the sphere he had compressed to the size of an egg, and gently shook his head, saying, "You can't see it, because your realm isn't high enough!"

Ye Jinglan rolled his eyes and said, "You only needed to say the first half; the second half didn't need to be emphasized."

Gu Mo chuckled, "I was just worried you'd get arrogant and want to fight me again after refining the麒麟 bone in a while, so I'm subtly reminding you that there's still a significant gap between us."

Ye Jinglan: "Thank you, but you don't need to say any more."

"No need to thank me, it's my pleasure."

Ye Jinglan pouted, then returned to the main topic, asking, "So, if you've stripped away Ye Chen's luck, what will happen to him?"

"I don't know," Gu Mo said. "I've never seen such luck before; this is the first time. However, conventionally speaking, he should become very unlucky, right?"

Ye Jinglan raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile appearing on his face, "Let that guy gloat; he deserves to suffer terrible luck!"

Gu Mo shook his head, "I'm not sure yet. This is also the first time I've encountered something like this. I'm not even certain if this mass of 'qi' is truly luck. I'll take it back and study it thoroughly!"

Ye Jinglan chuckled, "Alright, let's move the items first. I'll send someone to follow Ye Chen and see if he really becomes very unlucky!"

At the same time, Ye Chen, who had returned to the Corpse Cocoon Cave market town, suddenly felt a chill throughout his body, then sneezed several times in a row.

Chang Qi quickly asked, "Young Master, have you caught a cold?"

Ye Chen shook his head slightly and said, "No, I just suddenly feel like my clothes have been stripped off!"

Brothers Chang Qi and Chang Liu looked bewildered.

"It's nothing," Ye Chen waved his hand and said, "It's just, today is a bit strange. According to past experiences, that cave should have been a place of opportunity for me. Why did I get nothing?"

Chang Qi asked, "Young Master, could it be that it was originally your place of opportunity, and Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan came to take advantage? Was it you who originally triggered it?"

Ye Chen waved his hand, saying, "We were caught in a 'ghost wall' earlier, and it was only lifted after Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan arrived. It should have been a pre-arranged plan of theirs."

Chang Liu also said, "They didn't just stumble upon it. I saw very clearly from outside that Gu Mo and his group brought many tools and headed straight here; they clearly had a purpose."

"This is very strange," Ye Chen said. "I actually got nothing. What exactly went wrong..."

"Young Master, be careful, this bridge isn't very stable!"

Just as Ye Chen was deep in thought, he heard Chang Qi's warning and realized with a start that he had unknowingly walked onto an old wooden bridge.

However, he didn't pay it any mind, chuckling, "Don't worry, nothing will happen. I never encounter accidents!"

Chang Qi and Chang Liu thought about it and indeed, that was true. In the years they had followed Ye Chen, they had seen many bizarre things happen around him. Let alone this bridge, which was still in use, they had seen many precarious bridges that coincidentally collapsed just as Ye Chen passed by. When it came to Ye Chen's luck, they couldn't help but be convinced.

The two said nothing more and followed Ye Chen forward.

Just then, with a "snap," a wooden plank suddenly broke.

Fortunately, all three were skilled martial artists and immediately used their light-body techniques to leap onto the next plank. However, no sooner had they landed than that plank also broke. All three frantically grabbed the bridge railing, ready to leverage themselves.

Yet, in that instant, the railing also broke, and before the three could find other leverage points, the entire bridge collapsed.

With a "rumble," the three fell directly into the rushing river.

"Don't panic," Ye Chen remained composed, saying, "It seems there's an opportunity for me in this river..."

Before Ye Chen could finish speaking, a crocodile suddenly lunged.

Chang Qi quickly drew his sword and struck.

But the next moment, dense swarms of crocodiles, at least two hundred of them, suddenly emerged from the river surface, all furiously surrounding them.

"Go!" Ye Chen, Chang Qi, and Chang Liu simultaneously slapped the water, channeling their internal energy to propel themselves out of the water, barely dodging the crocodile attack.

Even then, Ye Chen remained calm, chuckling, "It seems this is no small opportunity. I'm about to..."

"Rumble!" "Rumble!" Just then, rocks from the mountainside above the river suddenly collapsed, huge stones raining down like hail, directly pushing the three into the water. The immense force continuously increased, pressing them down to the riverbed.

Fortunately, the river was very deep, and the three, despite being weighed down by the boulders, were not immediately crushed to the bottom. During their descent, they found an opportunity to escape, swimming rapidly and continuously dodging the falling rocks.

After much struggle, Ye Chen finally managed to surface from the riverbed. However, before he could even catch his breath, his legs were suddenly entangled by an iron chain swept along by the rushing river. His heart immediately leaped with joy, "As expected, a great opportunity! I..."

He immediately reached out to grab the iron chain.

At that very moment, another huge stone fell from the sky, directly hitting him on the head.

With a "clang," blood instantly splattered from Ye Chen's head. His mind became chaotic, and he mumbled, "This is definitely a heaven-sent opportunity..." Then, he immediately lost consciousness.

"Young Master..." Brothers Chang Qi and Chang Liu quickly swam over. However, just as they were about to grab Ye Chen, the iron chain wrapped around Ye Chen's feet was suddenly pulled by the turbulent river, and he instantly sank.

"You..." Then he floated up again.

"...ng..." Then he sank again.

"Young..." He floated up again.

"...Master..." Then he sank again.

"You..." "Master..." He continuously floated and sank, drifting into the distant darkness, with Chang Qi and Chang Liu frantically chasing after him.

The Plague God had left behind many valuable items, including various rare treasures, elixirs, poisons, and more, many of which existed only in legends.

Under Ye Jinglan's arrangements, the items were smoothly transported out of the Ghost City. Gu Mo selected some elixirs and rare treasures that would aid Ye Jinglan's cultivation and gifted them to him. As for the other items, he kept what was useful and entrusted Ye Jinglan with selling the rest for money.

However, for Gu Mo, the most valuable treasures were the books left by the Plague God. Although the most important one, the *Poison Scripture of Heavenly Will* created by the Plague God, had already been taken by him, given the Plague God's level of medical knowledge, any other medical texts he collected would also be extraordinary. Gu Mo already possessed near-grandmaster level medical and poison skills, with a very solid foundation. With his current cultivation realm, learning these medical and poison arts from the Plague God was quite straightforward.

For the time being, however, what attracted Gu Mo more was the mass of "luck" he had extracted from Ye Chen.

After returning to Ye Jinglan's residence, Gu Mo began to study that mass of energy. He even tried to cut and integrate that energy into other people, but found it impossible to merge.

He continued this research until evening. He stopped not because night had fallen, but because Su Ziyou had arrived.

As soon as Su Ziyou entered the room, he put on a wronged expression, pulling at Gu Mo and recounting his grievances with sniffles and tears.

But Gu Mo didn't fall for it. He pushed Su Ziyou away and said, "Brother Su, just tell me directly. Don't pull these stunts in front of me. You, hard-pressed? You're a dignified Assistant Minister of the Dali Temple. And now, who in the imperial court doesn't know that you and Ye Jinglan are the Emperor's 'Hum and Ha Generals,' constantly receiving favor? You're ostensibly the Assistant Minister of the Dali Temple, but in reality, the Minister of Dali Temple barely handles affairs. For you to cry about your difficulties here now is simply too fake!"

Su Ziyou chuckled, "Well, isn't this just setting the stage with some pity first, so it's easier to ask for your help next?"

"The Evil Ghost Bone-Marrow Case?" Gu Mo asked.

Su Ziyou nodded, saying gravely, "Originally, although this case is serious, it wasn't exactly urgent. After all, the immediate priority is to ensure the smooth progress of the Crown Prince's Investiture Ceremony and to find the Cold Mountain Treasury. Everything else can be put on hold. Brother Ye is mainly responsible for security patrols, ensuring the smooth operation of the Investiture Ceremony, while I am responsible for finding the Cold Mountain Treasury. But today at noon, you had Brother Ye send someone to remind me that you foresaw the evil ghost's identity might be more complex than just the bone-marrow case, which worried me. You equated the evil ghost to a wanted criminal of the Grand Manager or Human-Faced Demonic Beast level; in that case, the matter is definitely not just about some commoners dying. I have reason to suspect it's aimed at the Crown Prince's Investiture Ceremony. Otherwise, why would it be such a coincidence? If anyone else said the evil ghost's importance should be compared to the Grand Manager or Human-Faced Demonic Beast, I would scoff. But coming from your mouth, Gu Mo, it's authoritative. I imagine there are people in this world who would question the world's strongest person's judgment of wanted criminals, but no one would question the assessment of wanted criminals by Gu Mo, the Qian Kingdom's Great Hero and Bane of Wanted Criminals!"

Gu Mo pouted, "Don't flatter me so much. It lacks any subtlety."

Su Ziyou grinned.

Gu Mo then said, "Since you're only coming to me now, you must have screened cases during the day, right?"

Su Ziyou nodded and said, "Based on the signs of the Evil Ghost Bone-Marrow Case, it can be confirmed that this evil ghost is a master of disguise, capable of achieving a level of uncanny realism. Starting from this aspect, and considering the influence comparable to the Grand Manager or Human-Faced Demonic Beast, there were none. If we purely consider influence, there are currently five within the Qian Kingdom, but they either don't meet the criteria or are definitively not in the capital."

Gu Mo asked, puzzled, "Then why are you asking me for help? What kind of help? If you can't find anything, how can I?"

Su Ziyou chuckled, "You are the bane of wanted criminals; any wanted criminal you set your sights on surely can't escape."

"That's just a joke among jianghu peers," Gu Mo said. "Besides, even if it's true that no wanted criminal can escape from my hands, how long did it take? The Investiture Ceremony is only half a month away!"

"I know," Su Ziyou nodded, "I've come to you for help mainly for two reasons. Firstly, I really am trying my luck, because when it comes to wanted criminals, there's genuinely something uncanny about you. Secondly, among the wanted criminals I screened, there isn't a complete lack of candidates who meet the criteria, but I can't confirm their authenticity. This person is both in the capital, has influence comparable to the Grand Manager or Human-Faced Demonic Beast, and is indeed a master of disguise."

Gu Mo asked, perplexed, "Then, isn't that obvious enough?"

Su Ziyou said solemnly, "However, this person has one point that doesn't meet the criteria: he is currently in prison, which doesn't fit the conditions for committing the crimes."

"So, what do you mean?"

Su Ziyou said gravely, "I'd like to ask you to verify his identity. I suspect that the one in prison might be a fake. However, the Six Gates, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and even the Imperial Preceptor, Old Celestial Master Zhang, have all previously verified his identity."

"Who is it?" Gu Mo asked.

"The Demonic Monk Dabe, who caused a great stir in Chang'an City twenty years ago!" Su Ziyou said. "This person was the previous abbot of the Great Brightness Temple in the Chu kingdom. He came to our Great Qian's Chang'an City under the guise of exchanging Buddhist scriptures. At that time, this Demonic Monk Dabe's status in Buddhism was equivalent to Old Celestial Master Zhang's influence in Taoism today. Although our Qian kingdom's Taoist school is flourishing, the Buddhist school's influence is also significant. When this Demonic Monk Dabe arrived in the capital, it was naturally a top-tier event for Buddhist followers. But who could have imagined that this dignified Buddhist master, who arrived so grandly, was actually harboring ill intentions? He incited believers in Chang'an City, many of whom were court officials or their families, intending to shake the foundation of our Great Qian imperial court. When he was finally exposed, he even more maniacally incited his followers to commit a tragic mass suicide of thousands, under the pretext of ascending with the Buddha. Finally, he was captured by a joint force of many court experts and has been imprisoned ever since!"

Gu Mo asked, puzzled, "So ruthless? Why wasn't he killed?"

Su Ziyou said, "There are two reasons. Firstly, he knows the truth about the Chu imperial family's immortal descendants, and the court wants to extract that information from him. Secondly, for a person of Dabe's caliber, his value alive is always greater than dead. For instance, now, as we are at war with the Chu kingdom, and Buddhism is thriving there with immense influence, we can use the Demonic Monk Dabe as leverage. The Chu court would have to pay a price to appease their people. This time, for the Crown Prince's Investiture Ceremony, Chu sent Princess Xiao Ziyin herself, mainly to negotiate the exchange of battlefield captives for the Demonic Monk Dabe. One Demonic Monk Dabe could be exchanged for hundreds, even thousands, of our Qian kingdom's sons!"

"I see." Gu Mo suddenly understood.

Su Ziyou said, "It's just that, analyzing this Evil Ghost Bone-Marrow Case now, it seems possible that it could be the Demonic Monk Dabe. So, I'm feeling a bit anxious and would like to ask you to verify it. You are currently the strongest in the mortal realm; your methods are surely incomparable to the court's!"

Gu Mo slowly said, "Alright, I'll go with you then."

Although he said that, Gu Mo already knew clearly in his heart that the Demonic Monk Dabe currently in prison was a fake. This was because the system had already prompted him: "Detected new target," "Wanted target - Dabe? Evil Ghost?", "Mission Level - Six Star," "Mission Reward - Max Level Sword Across Worlds." The wanted information for Demonic Monk Dabe and the Evil Ghost overlapped. However, Gu Mo didn't know how to directly explain to Su Ziyou that he already knew the demonic monk in prison was fake, so he agreed to go along.

Immediately, Su Ziyou led Gu Mo away.

However, to Gu Mo's surprise, Su Ziyou did not take him to places with prisons, such as the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, or the Six Gates. Instead, he led him into the Imperial City, heading straight for the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

Su Ziyou explained, "The Demonic Monk Dabe's identity is extraordinary, and keeping him in any ordinary place isn't safe. It's not that we're worried Chu could arrange for someone to raid the Heavenly Prison, but rather we're concerned about poisoning or other methods that could lead to the demonic monk's death. After all, a living demonic monk is of greatest value to our Qian kingdom, but not necessarily to Chu. And by imprisoning him in the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, it's unlikely anyone could guess his location, and even if they did, it would be useless. The Imperial Astronomy Bureau has been guarded by the Old Celestial Master for many years, and even now, though he has stepped down as Supervisor, he still recommended another highly skilled Taoist master to preside here."

"Who is it?"

"The top expert in Cangzhou, fifth on the Qian Kingdom's Heaven Ranking, True Person Lingxu of Pure Yang Temple!" Su Ziyou said.

Gu Mo was slightly stunned, not expecting it to be an acquaintance. However, upon reflection, it made sense. With Dragon-Tiger Mountain's Celestial Master's Residence sealed off and the Old Celestial Master in seclusion, there was indeed no one more suitable to be the Supervisor of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau than True Person Lingxu, the second leader of the Taoist sect. Back then in Cangzhou, when they were investigating the leader of the Green Leaf Hall, and it eventually led to the Old Matron Lin of the Seven Great Clans, Gu Mo fought a tough battle at Pure Yang Temple. It was also there that he obtained the raw materials for the Grand Void Flying Sword, and Gu Chudong even consumed highly sought-after spiritual elixirs like candy at Pure Yang Temple. After that incident, Pure Yang Temple frequently praised Gu Mo in the martial world. If the Canglan Sword Sect was considered the Qian Kingdom's foremost Gu Mo fan club, then Pure Yang Temple was definitely second.

Unfortunately, after inquiring, he learned that True Person Lingxu was not currently at the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

Soon, led by an official from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, they arrived at the underground prison on the fifth level beneath the Star-Picking Tower. In a particularly sturdy cell of copper walls, iron barriers, and various special spell formations within a water prison, Gu Mo saw the fake Demonic Monk Dabe. The individual wore a very tattered monk's robe, sat cross-legged in the iron cage, chanting with closed eyes, his white beard long enough to reach his belly. What impressed Gu Mo was that after being confined in this dark, silent underground for twenty years, the person's mental state seemed perfectly normal, which was truly absurd.

Although he knew this was a fake, Gu Mo was still curious how this person had managed to deceive all the experts in the Qian Kingdom, even Zhang Dao-yi.

Immediately, Gu Mo unleashed the Demon Heart Seed Grand Law, directly entering the fake Dabe's sea of consciousness with his primordial spirit power to control his spiritual sense.

However, in that instant, Gu Mo was shocked to discover that this fake Dabe was actually a peerless master who was just one step away from forming a primordial spirit. His spiritual essence was no weaker than the top ten experts on the current martial arts ranking.

"How is this possible?" Gu Mo was greatly alarmed. If a fake could possess such cultivation, wouldn't that mean the real Dabe was at the Half-step Ascension or Ascension Realm? Gu Mo had only encountered four such masters so far: one was Ling Xiao, the previous strongest person in the world, and the other three were on Penglai Island, now known as the Red-Clothed Figure and the Zither Master (the Grand and Second Island Masters), and Yu Jinghong, who left behind a memory. Even Su Qianqiu, currently ranked second in the world, and Zhang Dao-yi, ranked third, hadn't reached the Half-step Ascension Realm. This meant it was unlikely that the Demonic Monk Dabe of twenty years ago would have reached that realm; at most, he would be on par with Zhang Dao-yi and Su Qianqiu.

But the problem now was that this individual before him possessed a realm comparable to Su Qianqiu and Zhang Dao-yi.

"This is not the cultivation realm a fake should have." Gu Mo felt puzzled. Then, he pointed a finger from a distance, sending a stream of true qi onto the "fake Dabe," which instantly permeated his limbs, bones, and meridians.

Even more surprisingly, although this person's internal energy was sealed and his dantian blocked, preventing him from cultivating for twenty years, the true qi sealed within his dantian was still the exceptionally pure Prajna Immeasurable Scripture internal energy, which only abbots of the Great Brightness Temple could cultivate. Gu Mo recognized it because he had discussed Dao with Master Liansheng many times and was very familiar with this internal energy. Moreover, Gu Mo himself commanded multiple Buddhist martial arts and was very familiar with the aura of Buddhist internal energy. This "fake Dabe" not only possessed Prajna Immeasurable Scripture internal energy, but the sheer vastness of his internal energy, even after twenty years without cultivation, still placed him among the top tier in the world today. Even if he couldn't enter the top ten, he was not far off.

Just then, the "fake Dabe" slowly opened his eyes, smiled, and said, "Benefactor, there's no need to test me further. This poor monk is Dabe, and Dabe is this poor monk!"