Chapter 523: Three Accounting Entries

“Alright, little one, you’re next.”

After dealing with A-Bing and A-Huo, Xu Xiaoshou strolled over to the young monk. This fellow, who had appeared out of nowhere, held two supreme Buddhist treasures. That Buddhist ring-saber and that demonic staff were clearly extraordinary items. Such a character with an astonishing background, if not handled properly, could indeed lead to unforeseen karmic repercussions down the line. Therefore, finding an excuse to send him out of the Yuan Mansion was the best option.

“Your name,” Xu Xiaoshou said calmly as he lifted the young monk’s seal.

[Received fear, passive value, 1.]

“Bu, Bule…”

“Bu-Bule? So is it ‘Le’ or ‘Bule’ then?” Xu Xiaoshou asked, arms crossed.

“Bule, Bule.” The young monk timidly averted his gaze. “My monastic name is Bule, not Bu-Bule.”

“Don’t be nervous, I’m not going to eat you.” Xu Xiaoshou offered a kind smile, patting the young monk’s head.

Bule grew even more flustered. He had personally witnessed this guy effortlessly subdue those two peak-Throne-level giants. His life, naturally, wasn’t important. However, to make Bule choose submission like the White Skeletons was something he absolutely couldn't do.

“I will not hand over my soul essence to you!” the young monk declared stubbornly.

“Oh?” Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, “Then you must know where this is, right?”

“Your… your Yuan Mansion space?” Bule ventured hesitantly.

“Mhm.”

“So, so what?”

“So, your life is now in my hands!” As Xu Xiaoshou spoke, his smiling eyes narrowed, and a cold glint suddenly flashed in them. He said chillingly, “Wanting to kill my junior sister without reason, that’s a very serious crime. Tell me, should I just slaughter you on the spot, or… imprison you in this space for life?”

[Received fear, passive value, 1.]

Panic flickered in young monk Bule’s eyes, and his face instantly contorted into a bitter expression. “It’s not like that, it’s not like that… I merely saw demonic energy on that female benefactor and thought to help purify it. I didn’t mean to kill your junior sister!”

He was close to tears. Being in someone else's Yuan Mansion space was akin to entering their Throne Domain. Under the spatial suppression, even if Bule had more tricks up his sleeve, the moment the opponent willed it, he wouldn't be able to use any of them. Moreover, even if he could ambush and knock out Xu Xiaoshou in front of him, behind him… A-Bing and A-Huo were still watching menacingly! Even if, taking another ten thousand steps back, A-Bing and A-Huo could somehow be defeated by him as he wished… how would he get out? With his current strength, he had the capability to break through space and enter the spatial void streams. But without a Throne-level master’s control over the Dao of Heaven, how could he emerge? At best, he would just enter the spatial void streams from the Yuan Mansion and be lost there for a lifetime – merely a different place to await death!

“Demonic energy… purify?” Xu Xiaoshou looked at the young monk, then frowned and glanced back at his junior sister. To be honest, he also felt that his junior sister had been acting increasingly strange lately. But since when did his own junior sister need someone else to purify her?

“Monks don’t lie, isn’t that what they say?” Xu Xiaoshou asked.

“Mhm, mhm.” The young monk nodded frantically.

“Alright, then I’ll ask you something.” Xu Xiaoshou paused, then said, “You said my junior sister has demonic energy and you tried to purify it. So after purification, can this thing be completely eradicated? Will she die?”

“It can be eradicated!” Bule nodded furiously.

“And then?” Xu Xiaoshou sneered, “You haven’t answered my second question! Will she die?”

Bule immediately looked embarrassed, hesitation clouding his face. He mumbled, barely audible, “It’s… it’s possible…”

“It’s possible she might die?!” Xu Xiaoshou’s voice immediately rose in volume.

“No,” the young monk sheepishly shifted his gaze. “It’s possible she *could* survive… is what I mean.”

Xu Xiaoshou: “…”

He was stunned. So, little guy, the consequence of your purification and eradication of demonic energy isn't that they *might* die, but that they *might* survive? How in the hell is that the same concept? Even if it were the former, you shouldn’t be messing around like that, alright?!

“What are you hoping to gain by purifying demonic energy?” Xu Xiaoshou suppressed his irritation and sneered, “Surely not for some so-called ‘justice’?”

Hearing this, Bule’s face immediately became devout and solemn, as if on a pilgrimage. He pressed his palms together reverently and said, “Half is for peace in the world, and the other half is for cultivation.”

“Oh?”

“Cultivation?” The young monk nodded. “Yes, I must cultivate diligently so I can save my master.”

“My master…” Tears welled up in his eyes. “My master, he… he must still be alive!”

Xu Xiaoshou: “…”

Who asked you to get emotional? Whether your master is dead or not, what does that have to do with me? He lowered his voice and said, “So, your main goal in doing this is to cultivate and save your master, which is why you want to purify everyone who *might* have demonic energy?”

“Not ‘might’!” Bule asserted. “It’s ‘definitely’!”

“Definitely?” Xu Xiaoshou snorted. “You’re that sure?”

“Yes!”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“I couldn’t possibly be wrong!”

“Oh?” Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow in surprise, then suddenly snapped, “You might not be wrong, but you’re just going to go on a killing spree after merely one glance? How is such behavior any different from the demonic path, which covets quick cultivation?”

Xu Xiaoshou had already inquired about the Mu Zixi incident. He also knew that this young monk in front of him had simply encountered his junior sister by chance and then relentlessly pursued her. Without any deductions, he tried to ‘purify’? If it hadn’t been for A-Jie being right beside Mu Zixi, it’s highly probable that what he would be seeing now would only be his junior sister’s purified corpse.

“I am not a demonic cultivator!” Bule’s eyes flared with anger, and he raised his head.

“Not a demonic cultivator…”

“Hmph!” Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes. “Whether you’re a demonic cultivator or not isn’t judged by your words, but by your actions. Acting without reason, not even asking for the cause… Have you ever considered whether the person you intend to purify might actually be innocent? In other words, do you really think someone who truly possesses demonic energy would be seen through by a little guy like you?”

Young monk Bule’s face faltered, and he lowered his head. “I… I have my own judgment. You wouldn’t understand.”

Seeing the monk’s reaction, Xu Xiaoshou knew that he was, after all, too young. “Having his own judgment”… Isn’t that just a self-deceiving excuse?

“Little one, you have an obsession. It’s almost becoming a mental demon.” Xu Xiaoshou shook his head and said earnestly, “Perhaps your intentions are genuinely good, to save your master. But the process is too extreme.”

“What do you know? You know nothing, and you want to lecture me too?” the young monk suddenly snapped, raising his head in anger.

“Too…” Xu Xiaoshou keenly noticed that word, but paid it no mind. He put his hands behind his back, looking at the young monk’s resentful gaze, and slowly paced in a circle, saying: “Although I’ve never cultivated Buddhism, I do know a thing or two about your so-called Buddhist path. Let me tell you, listen closely, alright?”

“Hmph, then go on and say it.” Bule pouted, not believing for a moment that Xu Xiaoshou could utter anything sensible. Debate Buddhism? Would he, a genuine Buddhist disciple, lose to this outsider?

“Alas.” Seeing his expression, Xu Xiaoshou could only sigh. “Then I won’t bother with any shallow principles; I suppose you’ve already grown tired of hearing them.” He stopped pacing, his gaze sharp as he stared at the young monk before him. “First, it’s clear you must be a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple, otherwise you wouldn’t possess such cultivation and strength. However, for the sake of your so-called goal of saving your master, you have essentially trapped yourself. Buddha-nature is about enlightenment. If your spiritual cultivation isn’t high, it’s like being unable to comprehend the true Great Dao of this world. You can purify demonic energy and cultivate quickly, but it will only allow you to break through to the peak of the Higher Spirit Realm at most. What then? When you reach the realms that require comprehension of the Dao of Heaven, your cultivation will only stagnate, or rather, it will be impossible to advance even an inch…” Xu Xiaoshou leaned closer, his eyes curving into a smile. “Doesn’t that sound very fitting for your current state?”

Bule froze.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive!”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes!”

[Received deception, passive value, 1.]

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. Indeed. Even in Buddhist cultivation, one cannot simply purify demonic energy endlessly and expect to rapidly increase their cultivation speed. It’s like an ordinary Spirit Refiner. If taking pills could make one a Grandmaster or a Throne, why would they need to comprehend the Dao of Heaven? What Bule lacked was precisely this aspect of spiritual character.

“Blindly pursuing so-called cultivation speed will only lead you deeper into a quagmire and be counterproductive! This purifying demonic energy, this saving your master… You’re wrong!” Xu Xiaoshou spoke emphatically, his voice like a resounding bell, striking directly at the young monk’s heart. “With an obsession like yours, even I, an outsider to the Buddhist path, know that this is ‘greed’! You’ve violated the precept of greed, do you understand?!”

Young monk Bule’s face instantly turned pale. His own martial uncles had also said similar things before. But at that time, he wasn’t so persistent, so it wasn’t obvious, and he didn’t want to admit it. Now, however, he was purifying more demonic energy than before, yet his cultivation speed was actually decreasing…

“What ‘you’?” Xu Xiaoshou interrupted with a frown, “You should refer to yourself as ‘this poor monk.’ Don't get confused, calm yourself, I still have more to say!”

Bule raised his head, his paper-white face etched with fear. “What more to say…” he mumbled unconsciously.

“You said ‘too’ earlier, didn’t you?” Xu Xiaoshou smiled confidently and said, “If I’m not mistaken, your Buddhist predecessors had already seen through my arguments and explained them in detail to you. But! Even though you clearly knew everything, you are still so fixated on this so-called ‘purification of demonic energy,’ so fixated on saving your own master. You even went so far as to secretly take your sect’s supreme Buddhist treasures and leave without permission, just to pursue this so-called cultivation…”

“I didn’t steal them!” Bule choked out, angrily. “This ‘Buddha-Slaying Blade’ and ‘Hell-Void Demonic Staff’ were left to me by my master! I merely took them out openly!”

“Oh.” Xu Xiaoshou nodded slightly. So they were his master’s… “So, that’s the only point you can refute me on?” He smiled and said, “What about the rest? Your martial uncles and grandmasters guided you out of the fog, and your response to their warnings was to secretly leave the sect?”

Bule’s angry expression froze, and he couldn’t say another word.

“Hmph!” Xu Xiaoshou sneered, “For the sake of this so-called cultivation, you’ve already fallen deep into it yourself, yet you’re unaware! You met my junior sister…” He pointed back at Mu Zixi and continued, “My junior sister already taught you a lesson, even taking your demonic staff as a form of punishment, yet you still haven’t repented. Acting so impulsively, refusing to listen to advice, stubbornly wanting to solve problems your own way, yet your eyes are blinded by adversity. Look at you now…” Xu Xiaoshou pointed to the Yuan Mansion space and said, “You’re so down on your luck that you’re imprisoned by me, do you realize that? The precept of anger, little brother, you’ve broken another precept, do you understand?”

Bule stumbled back several steps, completely overwhelmed by the words. He struggled to look up, disbelief in his eyes. “You, how do you know so much…?”

“This is a lot?” Xu Xiaoshou burst into loud laughter, his voice like thunder, unrestrained and flamboyant. “Ignorant of reason, unable to distinguish right from wrong; twisting good and evil, blurring black and white! You don’t even investigate, you just see demonic energy and immediately think of ‘purification.’ How many years have you cultivated Buddhism? Just because you left the sect and no one is warning you, have you completely forgotten your fundamentals? Stupidity!” Xu Xiaoshou slapped his thigh, pointed at the young monk, and sighed with a look of profound disappointment. “The Three Buddhist Precepts – greed, anger, and ignorance – you’ve violated them all. Why are you even cultivating Buddhism? You might as well just give up!”

The young monk crumpled to the ground with a thud. He felt as if something was lodged in his heart, making it difficult even to breathe.

“Pfft!” The next second, he abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood. The young monk, who had been soft and tender moments ago, was now suddenly enveloped in a faint black mist.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. “Demonic energy? This guy, did he really fall into a mental demon?” He was momentarily speechless. That’s it? That’s all? It wasn’t like he had gone too far, right? How did he get demonized? By the way, if this little guy dies here, would that be a big problem…? Thinking of the two supreme Buddhist treasures, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly panicked. It would be a huge problem!

“Hey, hey, hey, are you alright? Hang in there, little brother!” Young monk Bule painfully closed his eyes, and in an instant, demonic markings spread across his cheeks. He immediately clasped his hands together, and golden Buddhist light burst forth from his body. Immediately after, a towering Buddha apparition, dozens of meters tall, appeared behind him. This Buddha apparition had lowered eyebrows and eyes, exuding majesty without anger, with one finger pointing to the sky and the other to the earth. As soon as it appeared, it caused the small space of the Yuan Mansion to begin to crack.

“Holy crap… an apparition?” Xu Xiaoshou was utterly bewildered. Wasn't this power the ‘power of apparitions’ he had witnessed from Zhang Taiying? He still remembered the three-headed, six-armed ‘Empress Apparition’ back then; even when he and Xin Gugu simultaneously went berserk, they couldn't harm it in the slightest. If A-Jie hadn’t kicked it in mid-air, perhaps the fate of the City Lord’s Mansion would have been different. This young monk… has one too?

“It’s over, this guy’s background is seriously incredible!” Xu Xiaoshou was no longer the ignorant rookie he once was. He knew that the ‘power of apparitions’ was bestowed by either a Grand Void or a Demigod. For young monk Bule to be able to materialize such a Buddha apparition behind him in such a orthodox manner, there had to be at least a Grand Void-level power behind him!

“Stay calm, don’t panic, big brother will save you.” Xu Xiaoshou lunged forward, pulled out A-Jie’s stone, and pressed it against him.

“Absorb…” He had barely uttered a word when he was directly flung back by the Buddhist light. Even the stone in his hand was blasted into the chaotic mist.

“Mama…” A-Jie cried out in pain, materialized, and shot out of the mist. However, upon seeing the apparition before him, it also froze.

“C-crack—” Cracks spread across the void. It probably wouldn’t be long before the entire Yuan Mansion split open.

“What should I do? What should I do?!” Xu Xiaoshou’s mind raced. Under the power of the apparition, he couldn’t even touch young monk Bule.

“Mama?” A-Jie instantly appeared beside him and slowly raised its foot.

“You mustn’t, you mustn’t…” Xu Xiaoshou was so scared that he immediately pushed the leg back down. If it kicked, the other party would be gone instantly. What could have originally been attributed to the other party’s problems would undeniably become premeditated murder!

“The one who tied the knot must untie it!” Xu Xiaoshou looked at the Buddha statue, his mind set, and also pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Little benefactor, the sea of suffering has no bounds, turn back and you will find the shore; only when obsession becomes emptiness can it cease!”

What should have been a playful, experimental remark, upon hearing it, Bule’s body trembled. The sea of suffering has no bounds, turn back and you will find the shore… Bule’s brows were tightly furrowed. What echoed in his mind at that moment wasn’t just Xu Xiaoshou’s words. It was also the earnest pleas of his various martial uncles and grandmasters. The same eight characters. But… turn back? Master, what about Master? Struggle appeared on his face, and the demonic markings deepened.

Xu Xiaoshou’s head began to ache. Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind. “Do you think your master would be happy to see you like this? He became that way for you, and this is how you repay him – by becoming demonized?” Xu Xiaoshou himself didn't know what ‘that way’ meant. But this young monk’s strong obsession with saving his master surely meant there was a story behind it. No need to spell it out. Just enough to awaken him would suffice.

As expected. When the words ‘master’ were mentioned, the surging demonic energy around the young monk froze. His contorted face relaxed. Hot tears streamed from his tightly closed eyes.

“Master…” With a murmur, Bule collapsed to the ground, all demonic energy vanishing.

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Only then did Xu Xiaoshou dare to rush over and help the little guy up. “You’re still young, it’s normal to make a misstep. Who doesn't stray from the right path sometimes? You’re not me, so you can’t be as insightful, can you?”

The young monk’s flowing tears paused, and his body stiffened.

[Received contempt, passive value, 3.][Received gratitude, passive value, 1.]

“Thank you…” He eventually whispered, “Benefactor Xu, this poor monk has been enlightened.”

“Good to hear, good to hear.” Xu Xiaoshou said, still feeling a trace of fear. He swore he would never meddle again. If you’re going to die, don’t die in my Yuan Mansion space! Apparitions… Grand Void powers… What the heck are all these things? How did they all end up in the White Cave?

“Feeling better?” Helping the young monk stand up, Xu Xiaoshou pulled out a jar of honey. “Want a taste?”

“Uh, no thank you.” Bule’s face flushed, and he immediately turned his head away. “I’m not a child anymore.”

“Cough, cough, this is a spiritual medicine, not candy!”

“Uh, no thank you.” Bule still refused. He performed a hand seal, and golden spiritual power enveloped him, instantly expelling all lingering demonic energy from his body. Xu Xiaoshou watched in amazement but didn’t ask further. What he was more curious about now was… “Who is your master?” What kind of person could train an underage child to this extent? And what kind of person could make such a naive young fellow go to such lengths, even nearly becoming demonized, just for them!

“Master…” Bule’s eyes flickered with remembrance as he murmured, “Buddha of Resentment. My master’s Buddhist title is ‘Youyuan’.”

Youyuan… Bule… Xu Xiaoshou secretly rolled his eyes. What in the world was all this? He had never heard of them.

“Alright.” He patted the young monk’s backside and straightened up. “Now that that’s settled, it’s time to settle our accounts.”

“What accounts?” The young monk looked bewildered.

“The account of you pursuing my junior sister!” Xu Xiaoshou spread his hands. He wasn’t someone who would yield just because the other party had a powerful background. “Without reason, and before figuring out right from wrong, you almost took my junior sister’s life. Tell me, how should we settle this score?”

The young monk’s face crumpled. “I don’t have any money.”

“Heh heh.” Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. “I’m not a greedy person. You pursued my junior sister, and she took your demonic staff as a warning. So, consider this matter settled?”

“Huh?” Bule looked up incredulously. “How can you lump those together?”

“Then how do you want to discuss it? You don’t have money, and I can’t exactly strip you and feed your clothes to dogs, can I?” Xu Xiaoshou’s face hardened.

“You…” The young monk was choked into silence. He thought of how the other party had just enlightened him. If it hadn’t been for Xu Xiaoshou, not only the ‘Hell-Void Demonic Staff’ but his entire being would have truly been lost.

“Alright.” Closing his eyes in sorrow, Bule chose to nod. This was repayment! He kept telling himself, this was repayment, an act of gratitude!

“Good, then the first account is settled. Now, let’s talk about the second.” Xu Xiaoshou rubbed his hands together.

“There’s more?” Bule’s eyes widened, and his rosy cheeks, having returned to their normal color, were filled with shock.

“Of course!” Xu Xiaoshou said matter-of-factly, “Counting the previous big explosion, I saved you once. Then, my earnest and tireless persuasion to enlighten you and free you from demonic control was another time. And then, when you were about to fall back into the demonic path, I enlightened you with a single sentence, significantly boosting your spiritual character and completely severing the root cause of falling into the demonic path – that’s another time. These three times, adding up to three separate incidents…” Xu Xiaoshou pulled out the dazzling Buddhist light-infused ‘Buddha-Slaying Blade’ and said, “Asking for one of your blades isn’t too much, is it?”

Bule: ???

“How can you do that?! I already gave you my demonic staff! This is my last blade!” His face flushed crimson.

“Alas.”

“Little brother, you still haven’t comprehended! All is emptiness, all is emptiness…”

“What is ‘all is emptiness’?” Xu Xiaoshou’s face was solemn as he sincerely said, “I’m doing this out of good intentions, so you can completely cut off the thoughts related to the Three Precepts! Look at me…” He pointed to his face. “Just looking at this face, and recalling what I just said, do I look like someone who would harm you?”

Bule: “…”

[Received affirmation, passive value, 1.]

Dropping his hand, Xu Xiaoshou held the blade horizontally, shaking his head speechlessly. “So, even now, you still can’t comprehend? At a time like this, you’re still clinging to this blade? The precept of greed! The ‘precept of greed’ I just talked about, did you forget it the moment I turned around? Are you pig-headed? Are you incredibly foolish?! No wonder your martial uncles and grandmasters couldn’t get through to you!” Xu Xiaoshou’s face was filled with exasperation.

Young monk Bule was bewildered. He looked at the blade, then glanced at Xu Xiaoshou again, feeling as if he had been led into some kind of logical loop, but couldn’t figure out how. “This can also count as the precept of greed?”

“If not the precept of greed, could it be the precept of lust?” Xu Xiaoshou retorted.

Bule: “…”

“Good.” Xu Xiaoshou put away the blade, bent down with a smile, and said like a demon, “Now, let’s settle the third account.”

“Still, still more?” The young monk slammed onto the floor with a thud.

[Received doubt, passive value, 1.]

“Of course!” Xu Xiaoshou pointed to the sky above the Yuan Mansion and said, “Strictly speaking, you are currently imprisoned because you offended me earlier. But, seeing your repentant appearance, my compassion has also greatly arisen.” He tilted his head, smiling. “Now, I want to let you out, but karma always cycles, and even if it’s a good deed, I don’t want to form a karmic connection with you. So, tell me, what other price can you pay?”