Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 423: Chapter 56 The Demon Buddha Yu Shen
 

Outside Puzhi Temple, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Wei Dongliu coldly surveyed the assembly of monks, silent.

He could not make a move, for his current identity was that of a Demon Lord. If he acted and failed to kill all the monks instantly, his mysterious persona would collapse.

The Flying Asura bowed its head with a sinister chuckle, also remaining silent.

It, too, could not make a move, for it teetered on the brink of evolving into a drought demon. Revealing even a sliver of its aura would invite a Heavenly Tribulation.

The monks in green robes glared in fury, yet held their tongues.

They could not make a move either, as reinforcements had not yet arrived. They couldn’t rashly deplete their strength here, offering their enemy an opportunity to exploit.

The monks in Blood Robes stood silent and sinister, without a word.

They couldn’t act, for doing so might bring suppression from the demon Buddha within the temple. They had to patiently wait until the demon Buddha entered nirvana.

Jiang Liyan huddled in the back with a tight face, silent as well.

She was holding back laughter, finding the sight of these people eyeing each other, with none willing to act first, utterly ludicrous and entertaining.

Of course, in Jiang the Witch’s eyes, it was only a matter of time before Wei the Demon Lord grew impatient and was likely to smack Puzhi Temple into oblivion…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Ɲ0νǤօ.ƈο

“Who is the visitor?” An elderly voice suddenly came from within the temple, “You may come in for an audience.”

The monks in green robes were greatly alarmed, with someone yelling:

“Uncle Master Ming Jing, no!”

“It’s fine,” said the person inside the temple, and then said no more, only the thudding of a wooden fish continued.

On the Asura Path side, the monks in Blood Robes grew restless too, but soon calmed down under the fierce gaze of their leader.

“That man is Wrathful Vajra Li Zhong,” Jiang Liyan transmitted to Wei Dongliu using the Heavenly Demon’s Subtle Sound Technique. “Among the disciples of the Foundation Establishment Realm in the Asura Path, Gu Lie is the most powerful. However, Gu Lie never interferes with the authority of the Vajra in the Foundation Establishment Realm. The disciples mostly follow Li Zhong’s command, and thus in the sect, Gu Lie is often referred to as ‘Silent Vajra,’ and Li Zhong as ‘Wrathful Vajra.’

Wei Dongliu’s thoughts shifted subtly, and he saw that Gu Lie was still lowering his eyelids, silent, while Li Zhong looked over coldly, showing no intention to act… Clearly, he was still concerned about the individual inside the temple.

The sound of the wooden fish in the temple was incessant, and seeing that Wei Dongliu seemed to have no intention of entering, the monks in green robes visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, in the next second, Wei Dongliu lifted his head and stepped forward, walking towards the temple.

The monks: ………

Jiang Liyan and the Flying Asura, one on each side, followed Wei Dongliu’s steps, and as expected, they encountered no obstruction.

Crossing into the temple, Wei Dongliu looked around, only to see that the interior was fairly clean, with little dust on the blue stone floor tiles, and the air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.

An old monk in gray sat cross-legged on a cushion, hands simply resting on his knees, with a wooden fish in front of him.

Strangely, though nobody was striking it, the wooden fish emitted a constant clacking sound from within.

“The demon Buddha Yu Shen?” Wei Dongliu asked coldly.

“Amitabha,” the old monk said with closed eyes, “This place has only ordinary monks. If you are looking for the demon Buddha, you’ve mistaken the wrong person.”

“My lord,” the Flying Asura interjected, “his body is filled with an overwhelming aura of evil, and karmic obstacles wrap around him. I can even smell it… He is that demon Buddha!”

The old monk fell silent for a moment before replying:

“What of the evil aura, and what of karmic obstacles? Cause from yesterday, fruit of today, must be examined.”

Wei Dongliu obviously understood his meaning—the past killings were too numerous, which is why he had renounced the title of demon Buddha and retreated into the temple with only a lamp and a wooden fish for company.

With this in mind, he was not in the mood for idle chatter and cut straight to the point:

“Does the master know of the White Jade Capital Secret Realm? And do you have knowledge of the Hell Path?”

“White Jade Capital,” the old monk pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, “is just a facade.”

“The White Jade Capital is just the surface of the secret realm?” Wei Dongliu asked in surprise. “So, there really is a deeper secret realm within?”

“Amitabha,” the old monk sighed. “What benefit is there in listening to fanciful words? All is governed by Karmic Law.”

Once the opponent rolled out the “Karmic Law” trump card, Wei Dongliu knew he was unwilling to talk more and continued his inquiry.

“What about the Hell Path? I heard the Hell Path possesses information about the White Jade Capital. How can I find them and exchange information with them?”

This time, the old monk fell silent even longer.

“Who are you?” he suddenly asked in return.

“Wei Dongliu.”

“What do you seek on the Hell Path?” the old monk opened his murky eyes and asked, “Ordinary cultivators would avoid them at all costs, so why would you go looking for them?”

“Master seems to have some reservations about the Hell Path,” Wei Dongliu probed.

The old monk did not answer but said:

“First tell me, what is your purpose for seeking the Hell Path.”

“I just want to inquire about some information regarding the White Jade Capital,” Wei Dongliu said nonchalantly.

“Lies,” said the old monk.

“I’ve heard the secret legends of the Hell Path before, and I’m very curious,” Wei Dongliu continued.

“Still lies,” the old monk continued.

Wei Dongliu, powerless, knew that these ancient beings who lived for hundreds or thousands of years were all extremely cunning; ordinary excuses would never fool them.

“I indeed have matters to attend to on the Hell Path,” he could only resort to the “limited truth tactic” and said, “As for what it is, I’m afraid it’s inconvenient to disclose.”

What he said this time was indeed the truth, so much so that the old monk did not call out his lie again, but after a long moment, he finally said:

“Wei Dongliu, do you believe in fate?”

“Fate?” Wei Dongliu fell silent.

If you asked him subjectively whether he believed or not, he certainly wouldn’t believe. But is this something that doesn’t exist if you don’t believe in it?

Look at the Kunlun Mirror, look at Shi Liuli!

After much thought, Wei Dongliu could only ambiguously reply:

“Believe and it exists, disbelieve and it does not.”

The old monk: ……….

He mulled over this for a long time, and then suddenly burst into laughter:

“That’s exactly it, indeed it is! To think that I, who have pondered for half a lifetime, would be enlightened by you here.”

“The so-called fate, the more one is obsessed and fixated, the more it binds and shackles one.”

“On the contrary, if one leaps out from the start, then one will not be lost in it…”

The old monk cackled with a string of baffling words, and even someone as experienced as Wei Dongliu didn’t understand what this demonic Buddha was saying.

But soon, he no longer needed to ponder the meaning of the other’s words.

Because the demonic Buddha Yu Shen suddenly reached out and plunged his hand into his own chest!

Then he fiddled carefully for a while with a cracking noise, and finally snapped off a bloody rib and casually handed it to Wei Dongliu:

“Take it.”

“What is this?” Wei Dongliu said with distaste.

“Aren’t you asking about the Hell Path?” the demonic Buddha Yu Shen smiled and said, “This is the key to making contact with the Hell Path.”

Wei Dongliu: ?

He took the bloodied rib, wondering if this was something to gnaw on or to feed to a dog.

“Amitabha,” the demonic Buddha Yu Shen stroked his chest, and the wound immediately disappeared, “Believe and it exists, disbelieve and it does not.”

“If you want to find the Hell Path, you must believe in fate; if you don’t want to be manipulated by it, you can’t believe in fate.”

“Remember well the words you’ve spoken yourself.”

After saying that, he waved his sleeve, and Wei Dongliu, Jiang Liyan and the Flying Asura were pushed out of the main hall by a gentle physical force.

Immediately after, they saw all the monks outside, whether clothed in blue or in blood robes, fixing their unwilling, annoyed, greedy, covetous gazes on him.

“How is Master Ming Jing?”

“Have you already obtained the sarira?”

“The sarira is a treasured relic of our sect, it must not fall into the hands of outsiders!”