Chapter 46: Heart Wisdom

"Buddha?" Li Huowang looked up, dumbfounded, at the enormous creature before him, a vast pool of living matter at least twenty meters tall.

Regardless of what the old monk envisioned, the "Buddha" in Li Huowang's eyes was a colossal, twisted, deformed mountain of pink flesh. Its skin, resembling a toad's back, was covered in viscous blood plasma.

Grotesque, malformed reproductive organs, enveloped in blood plasma, extended and retracted from its nauseating skin, writhing continuously as its body pulsated.

This bizarre and repulsive entity was, at that moment, entirely covered in similarly writhing, naked monks.

Oblivious, these monks inhaled the pink mist spewing from the creature's body. With exhilarated expressions and rapid breaths, they used their own flesh and blood to fill every crevice on the "Buddha," their bodies twisting in sync with its pulsations.

From women and their own kind to animals, and now this entity, the monks of Zhengde Temple seemed to be progressively pushing the limits of their physical endurance.

"Isn't it magnificent! So grand! This stone Buddha is the largest I've ever seen!" the old monk, completely unaware, stood to the side, praising it.

Li Huowang's body stiffened. He had always believed that villains like Danyangzi were truly evil in this world, rejected by the mainstream.

Since the monks of Zhengde Temple were enemies with Danyangzi, he had assumed they, while perhaps not entirely righteous, at least followed rules.

But his assumption was fundamentally flawed! There was no such thing as "righteous" or "evil" sects! Perhaps all other cultivation methods in this world were equally bizarre!

The enmity between Danyangzi and these monks might not be a conflict between good and evil at all! It was likely just two factions fighting for territory!

Regardless of why they were doing this, one thing was certain: the old abbot's previous words were all lies! He had been deceived!

"What 'universal salvation'?! That old monk must be lying! No, I have to get out of this cursed place as soon as possible!"

Li Huowang turned to look at the old monk, who seemed to notice nothing amiss. He didn't understand why the monk's illusionary techniques had no effect on him.

But one thing was clear: he hadn't been discovered yet. To escape, he had to make good use of this advantage.

Li Huowang forced himself to suppress any abnormal reaction, composed his expression, and turned away. "It's alright, just so-so. I'm heading back now."

With that, Li Huowang strode out of the main hall into the nauseating carving area outside.

The surrounding flesh mountains continued to writhe undulatingly, but he pretended not to see them and kept walking.

"Hey! Daoist, don't leave yet! You just got here, what's the rush?"

The old monk ran out of the hall as he spoke, hurrying to catch up. "The food here is quite good too. How about we have a meal together later? The fried tofu here is even tastier than meat."

Li Huowang feigned a slight impatience, quickening his pace, while the old monk continued to chatter beside him.

Just as Li Huowang was about to leave the area of the flesh mountains, a tall figure blocked his path.

It was a large, solemn-faced monk, a head taller than Li Huowang, who stared silently at him.

"Master, is there something you need?" Li Huowang asked coolly, but his heart instantly clenched.

The tall monk gradually leaned forward, scrutinizing Li Huowang closely.

Then, a sight that made Li Huowang's heart tremble occurred: a distinctly soft, flexible black tentacle with suction cups emerged from the monk's bald scalp, where a tonsure mark would be, and grew longer and longer.

The bizarre tentacle, like a sea snake swimming through the air, began to coil slowly around Li Huowang's head, as if sensing something.

"Amitabha. Benefactor, your heart is not pure."

As soon as he spoke, the writhing flesh mountains around them suddenly ceased movement, and all the monks engaged in depraved acts collectively stared at Li Huowang.

"He knows I saw through the illusion! I'll fight!" Seeing the situation rapidly turn irreversible, Li Huowang steeled himself, drew his sword with one hand, and swung it powerfully at the tall monk in front of him.

With a tearing sound, the tall monk's tentacle, along with his clothes, was instantly severed, spewing yellow-green pus.

*Plop*, a pill flew into Li Huowang's mouth. He pushed off the ground with both feet, soaring three meters high, and dashed towards the nearest earthen wall.

The moment Li Huowang moved, everything around him began to change drastically. Monks on all the flesh mountains leaped down, roaring as they chased after him.

But that wasn't all; the ground suddenly quaked, nearly making everyone lose their footing.

Li Huowang, who had already leaped onto the wall, instinctively turned his head and saw the enormous "Buddha" had crashed through the main hall's wooden doors and was rolling towards him!

"Escape! Get out of this temple! They can't possibly let all the citizens of Xijing City see the true face of their 'Buddha'!"

Driven by this conviction, Li Huowang rapidly raced towards the main temple building. The sounds behind him grew increasingly chaotic, but he could no longer afford to pay attention.

One man fled, a group pursued. Having consumed the pill, Li Huowang possessed astonishing stamina. Although he had several narrow escapes, he managed not to be caught.

Just as Li Huowang rounded another corner and was about to reach the entrance of Zhengde Temple, a familiar face blocked his path: Xinghui, the abbot of Zhengde Temple.

Without hesitation, Li Huowang reached into his robes for the Daoist bell that could summon Old Master You. But the next second, his hand froze—the bell was gone.

"Amitabha, Benefactor Xuanyang, are you looking for this?" Xinghui asked, holding up the Daoist bell. His expression remained calm and unhurried.

Before Li Huowang could answer, Xinghui slowly walked to his side and placed the bell back into his hand. "Benefactor, this item is inauspicious. You must use it with caution."

Instead of questioning Li Huowang, he turned to face the approaching monks and reprimanded them. "Silence! You are all renunciants. What is the meaning of this frantic behavior?"

"Abbot! It's not that we are frantic! This Xuanmen disciple suddenly attacked Senior Brother Jianwei!"

Hearing this, Abbot Xinghui turned back to Li Huowang and asked with a puzzled expression, "Benefactor Xuanyang, is this true? Why did you suddenly attack a disciple of this temple? Was he negligent in his care?"

Looking at the group of bald monks before him, then at the Daoist bell he had recovered, Li Huowang couldn't understand what they were trying to do.

They clearly knew he had seen everything, so what kind of act were they putting on?

After a moment's thought, Li Huowang decided to lay his cards on the table. "Abbot Xinghui, you have a feud with Danyangzi, and I killed Danyangzi. Even if you don't thank me, there's no need to try and kill me, is there?"

"Rest assured, I will keep everything I saw in this temple strictly confidential and tell no one."

"Besides, with just my word, I couldn't possibly shake the reputation of your Zhengde Temple."

However, upon hearing Li Huowang's words, Xinghui's expression grew even more perplexed. "What did Benefactor see? This old monk truly doesn't understand."

At this, both sides froze in place, and the scene fell silent for a moment.

"Huh? What's going on? Is the abbot not involved with those things?" Puzzled, Li Huowang slowly recounted everything he had witnessed.

"Nonsense! Utter fabrication!" This was the first time Li Huowang had seen Xinghui angry. The two white whiskers beneath his nose trembled slightly like dragon's tendrils, and a powerful aura instantly compelled the monks behind him to lower their heads.