Chapter Eighty-Three: The Toothless Old Monk

  Bai Qi's heart was filled with anxiety, and just now, for an instant, he had the feeling of being stared at. Even with the Qing Emperor's clothes, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't be discovered. This was Bai Qi's first time forming a dark spirit, and in that brief moment, he gained insight into the heavens and earth, suddenly possessing a certain state.

  This state won't last long, it will dissipate after a few hours.

  Bai Qi was quite certain, it wasn't an illusion.

  Good fortune has arrived, Bai Qi immediately opened the escape route. However, this time, no matter what, he couldn't shake off the person tailing him. The speed of his water escape was extremely fast, but the shadow behind him wouldn't go away.

  He had refined his spiritual energy, and his mental powers could sweep across a range of over ten miles. However, Bai Qi was afraid that others would follow the trail of his spiritual energy to attack him, so he didn't dare to investigate, and could only flee hastily. As they fled again for over two hundred miles, the river flow suddenly stopped, and a mud embankment appeared in front of them, with a dammed lake accumulating on the right side.

  Bai Qi brought Zi Hong rushing out of the water's surface and saw in front of them, on the shore, a small temple leaning against a giant green rock.

  The temple gate has collapsed, the red walls have turned black, and more than half of the tiles on the eaves have fallen off.

  There was only one threshold that shone brightly, as if it had been trodden on thousands of times, emitting a yellowish-red light. On this threshold sat an old monk, leaning against the broken door and drinking a bowl of thin porridge.

  That old monk had no need, his face was full of wrinkles and furrows. The broken bowl he held had lost its glaze, the edge of the bowl and his teeth were a matching sight, both were missing many.

  Bai Qi pulled Zi Hong and turned around to leave. This broken temple couldn't hide people, he wasn't those heroic guests from the jianghu, didn't want to implicate this monk who was about to take his last breath.

  "Two benefactors, passing by is already a fate, please leave some incense." The old monk suddenly spoke up, placing the broken bowl inside the threshold and standing up.

  Bai Ji stopped in his tracks, knowing that this monk was strange. He opened his mouth and said: "Nowadays monks even want the incense money from Taoist priests?"

  "The red lotus, white water lily and green lotus leaf, Buddhism and Taoism are originally one family."

  Bai Qi smiled and said: "Since we are one family, come in and sit down. However, if you lose your life because of this, don't blame me."

  The old monk smiled calmly and beckoned with his hand for Bai Qi to enter.

  This small temple has only two entrances, and after entering the gate, there is a courtyard. The houses on both sides are dilapidated, and the main hall in front appears to be very dimly lit. As soon as Bai Qi's yin spirit was formed, he saw at a glance that the Buddha enshrined in the great hall was a big Buddha with his feet stepping on a red lotus. The appearance of this big Buddha is exactly the same as the jade Buddha in his own Nareck.

  It turned out to be a monk of the Red Lotus Pure Land Sect, and Bai Qi's heart was already clear.

  "Old monk, since you want to give alms, I have two things for you." Bai Qi said, taking out the Tianmo Mirror and the Red Lotus Jade Buddha.

  The old monk cast his eyes on the Red Lotus Jade Buddha for a moment, but still stared at the Sky Demon Mirror and sighed.

  "Benefactor, Luo will be his nephew..."

  "He's dead." Bai Qi replied curtly.

  The old monk shook his head and didn't go to take the Tianmo mirror and the jade Buddha. He went in front of the Buddha, bowed his head, took a fire starter, and lit a crystal lamp. The faint light of the lamp came on, and a dim yellow glow appeared in front of the Buddha statue.

  The old monk lit the lamp, pointed to the mat on the ground and said: "Please sit down, Master, and have some simple food." After finishing speaking, the old monk went to the door, brought over that broken bowl, picked up two pieces of broken tile from the ground, poured a little of the remaining porridge into each tile slot, and placed them in front of Bai Qi and Zi Yong.

  Zi Hong swept his sleeve and furrowed his brow, saying: "It's dirty."

  Bai Qi also looked strange, this old monk gave him the porridge he had left over for himself and Zi Hong, saying it was some kind of vegetarian meal. Could it be that he was seeing things? For no reason at all, eating an old man's leftovers wasn't very appealing.

  The old monk sighed and said: "Forget it. Everyone knows the art of physiognomy, but who can take a golden lotus from the fire? I'll let you off for the sake of the Jade Buddha."

  The old monk said, his greasy sleeves brushed against the tiles, and a spider accidentally fell off. Bai Qi's eyes widened, and he saw that in the two clusters of greasy leftovers, each had bloomed a red lotus flower.

  The red lotus bloomed and withered, producing a lotus pod. The lotus pod was a pale green color and emitted an alluring fragrance. Bai Qi felt that within the lotus seeds, there was a mysterious power contained. That power was not at all inferior to his own Reverse Scale Crystal. Bai Qi only sniffed the scent, and the newly condensed Dark Spirit grew several times stronger.

  If it were someone else, this kind of growth wouldn't be anything special. But Bai Qi's yin energy was extremely powerful, and at the moment of its condensation, it had already reached the peak of the Hua Shen realm. All that was left was to slowly polish and refine it, seeking opportunities to break through to the Yang Shen realm.

  A lotus flower, only bearing eighteen lotus seeds. Zi Hong took one and swallowed it directly, her swordsmanship advanced soon after, needing to expand her yin spirit, strengthen her divine consciousness, in order to take her swordsmanship to the next level.

  Bai Qi didn't care about that, and opened his mouth to swallow the eighteen lotus seeds, sending them into the mysterious space. The green lotus in the fire immediately absorbed these eighteen lotus seeds, using the demon fire to continue tempering.

  The old monk saw Bai Qi swallowing the lotus seeds and couldn't help but say, "Donor, each of these lotus seeds is equivalent to the full Buddhist power of a high-ranking arhat monk. Eating them like this would be a waste."

  Bai Qi said: "That red lotus jade Buddha is still yours, and the Red Lotus Pure Land Sect too. I don't even have a flesh wound, let alone a few lotus seeds."

  The old monk lowered his eyebrows and clasped his hands together in a gesture of gratitude, saying: "Thank you for your guidance, benefactor. This old monk has no valuable possessions, but I was indeed too attached to this thing."

  Bai Qi raised his head and looked towards the outside of the temple gate. Upstream, a colorful boat floated down, with silks and bamboos fluttering on it. On the bow of the boat, four maidens danced, their faces beautiful and elegant, like celestial beings.

  The boat came to a stop in front of the muddy shore and a woman walked down from the bow towards the broken temple.

  The woman walked with a swaying gait, her long skirt fluttering, on the muddy and watery road ahead, yet not a speck of mud stained her. She arrived at the temple entrance, looked inside, and saw that it was empty, except for a lone green lantern in front of the Buddha statue, which flickered as if about to go out.

  Wang Wei Qingchen frowned on the boat and said: "Xiao Qiao, if the monk is in the way, kill him."

  "Yes, my lord." Xiao Qiao bowed slightly and took out a long sword from behind her back. The length of the sword was almost equal to that of a large spear on the battlefield, just over two zhang. The body of the sword was light and thin, nearly transparent. The pattern on the sword seemed like flames burning, presenting an orange-red color.

  Bai Qi saw the woman draw her sword in the temple, and secretly wondered to himself, what kind of person is this Emperor? His subordinates are all such outstanding heroes. This woman's abilities are probably similar to those of his master sister, and her magical powers may even surpass hers by a margin.

  Xiao Qiao held a sword in both hands and shouted towards the temple: "The little one who killed the big snake, come out and accept your death, don't implicate innocent people."

  Bai Qi lost his smile, and the people at the emperor's gate that night also became stern. However, he didn't continue the conversation, and the old monk picked up the broken tile, saying to Bai Qi and Zi Hong: "Two donors, don't make any rash moves, the person wearing it is called Wei Qingchen, a fake immortal."

  "Monk, aren't you afraid?" asked Zi Hong.

  "A single lantern of glazed pottery is a Buddha land of ten thousand miles. In this temple, no one can harm you, unless the Emperor himself comes that night."

  Bai Qi only then noticed that the lamp lit by the old monk, the dim light only shrouded the three people's bodies, and did not scatter evenly. The old monk had put away the Tianmo Mirror, but had not put away the Honglian Jade Buddha. The four shadows all pointed inward, looking somewhat eerie.

  Xiao Qiao saw that no one responded, so she clapped her hands and changed to holding a sword in both hands. With a burst of energy from her feet, she charged towards the dilapidated temple. Her first step took her to the front of the temple gate. On her second step, her long sword rose into the air, and by the third step, Xiao Qiao's long sword came crashing down, targeting the main hall where Bai Qi and others were hiding.

  Three steps, one sword. This little Qiao did not use the Sword Controlling Technique, but instead attacked like a martial artist. However, Bai Qi felt that the heavenly energy outside the temple had all gathered onto the slender sword during these three steps. The two-zhang-long sword slashed down, its destructive power several dozen times stronger than when Little Qiao first drew her sword.

  That two-zhang-long sword, when lifted up, is still light and airy, but when it cuts down, it is already heavy as a mountain.

  Zi Hong saw it with his own eyes and thought to himself, "If I were to use the Qing Si Sword Pill, I would also be able to unleash such power. However, if I were to use a sword, it would be absolutely impossible." It seems that there is still much about the way of the sword that he has yet to comprehend.

  Xiao Qiao's sword, the old monk didn't even lift his head to look, the long sword fell directly into nothingness. Bai Qi saw the long sword break through the roof, with a terrifying power, and disappeared.

  This feeling was too strange, Bai Qi almost released the Six Yang Thunder Sword Aura given by his master to counter it. That one sword, stirred up the air machine in Bai Qi's body.

  Such a terrible blow, the swordsmanship that overwhelmed the mountains and rivers, disappeared when it came into contact with that light.

  Xiao Qiao grasped the hilt of her sword with both hands, only to find that the front half of the long sword had disappeared. She was shocked and exerted great force to pull out the sword. From within the colorful boat, Wei Qingchen's voice came: "Xiao Qiao, let go."

  Xiao Qiao's eyes were filled with tears, and her slightly red face was covered in sweat. She relaxed her grip, and the long sword was completely absorbed into the void.

  Wei Qingchen appeared beside her and said gently: "Xiao Qiao, it's not your fault, I was the one who misjudged."

  "You gave me this sword..." Xiao Qiao choked back a sob.

  "Just rebuild one and that's it." Wei Qingchen didn't say take the sword, he looked at the dilapidated small temple with a serious expression.

  "It turned out to be a monk from the Honglian Jingtu Sect. Wei Mou had never offended me, why did he hinder me from doing things?"

  The old monk finally spoke up and said, "It's nothing but cause and effect."

  "Once you've provoked the Emperor of the Night, even the Buddha would be entangled in karma. Monk, leave now, for in the Middle Kingdom, there is no place for Buddhism to take refuge."

  "Wei Shi Zhu, if you agree to one thing, Hong Lian Jing Tu will leave Zhongzhou immediately and never come back."

  "Oh, what's up."

  "Come under my door and receive precepts,"

  "Hah, the monk is joking, Wei Mou likes the worldly splendor, can't eat vegetarian food, can't recite scriptures, and can't leave women. " Wei Qingchen said while observing the broken temple, he only saw a lamp shadow in which three people sat on a mat, their faces blurry, their aura distant."

  "I don't eat vegetarian food, I don't recite scriptures, is that okay? As for women, it's just physical attraction; my lawful wife has only just passed away."

  Lian Zi Hong couldn't help but burst out laughing, this monk is interesting. Wei Qingchen wanted to engage in a battle of wits with him, definitely won't be able to win. Buddhist divine power, Tongue Recognition, one word can make the tongue shine like a lotus flower, even the dead can be spoken back to life.