Chapter 110: What is the Way

Just as Xie Xiushi stared in shock at the pilgrim who had stood up straight from the ground, the pilgrim suddenly turned his head to look at him.

The head turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees.

The eyes on the pious face looked at Xie Xiushi with a completely vacant, lifeless expression, making his skin crawl.

It was not just this one pilgrim; all the pilgrims on the moss-covered steps stopped in their tracks and turned in unison to stare at Xie Xiushi, who stood at the temple gate.

Pair after pair of dead, dull eyes fixed upon him, yet the expressions on their faces remained profoundly devout.

It sent a chill down Xie Xiushi’s spine.

*Snap.*

A hand rested on his shoulder. Xie Xiushi shuddered, turned, and opened his mouth, unleashing a torrent of raging flames.

"You carry the scent of a Star Official of the Ghost Constellation from Evil Sheep Ridge?"

However, the roaring flames did not have the effect Xie Xiushi had anticipated. They swept over the man’s face without leaving a single trace of a burn.

"These fellows who appear out of thin air from Evil Sheep Ridge really have no sense of decorum."

The one who had tapped Xie Xiushi’s shoulder was none other than Master Huiming, who had previously visited the Xie residence.

Master Huiming lowered the two-pronged, six-ringed monk's staff in his hand; it was this very staff that had blocked the flames erupting from Xie Xiushi’s mouth.

"Since you have already become a monster of Evil Sheep Ridge, do not linger in Mengfu City. Mengfu City is the territory of our Facie Temple, and we have no quarrel with Evil Sheep Ridge. Do not think that just because you are Star Officials descended from the heavens, we would fear you. Even if the Heavenly Emperors themselves came down, we would not be afraid."

Master Huiming’s benevolent, kind-faced expression gradually shifted. A crack split open from the bridge of his nose, and from within, a monstrous face with a green complexion and fangs emerged.

Xie Xiushi’s heart trembled as he gazed at this demonic face, his legs turning to jelly.

"I am merely... giving you a bit of face."

Xie Xiushi had intended to flee in a panic, but he knew that doing so would reveal his flaws to the demon monk. Suppressing the fear in his heart, he forced a cold sneer onto his face as he spoke.

After saying this, Xie Xiushi did not flee immediately. Instead, he walked slowly down the steps, step by step, following the path down the mountain.

"These Star Officials from heaven really think they are someone special after descending to the mortal realm," Master Huiming mocked, his hideous face watching the slowly retreating figure as he extended a long, pinkish-red tongue to lick his sharp teeth.

He tossed the purple-gold alms bowl he held in his left hand into the air.

The bowl emitted a ring of eerie purple light. The pilgrims, who had been standing still, began to move slowly once more, their devout faces masking eyes that now shimmered with an unnatural, demonic violet glow.

"Time to head down the mountain again to find some fresh food."

Master Huiming’s horrific demonic face slowly receded. He wiped the crack on his nose with his left hand, restoring his benevolent, kind-hearted appearance.

Holding his staff, he glanced down at his red cassock, then reached out a hand toward the purple-gold bowl hovering in mid-air. The bowl slowly descended back into his grasp.

Master Huiming wore an amiable smile as he, too, began to walk slowly down the mountain.

Inside the Abbot’s quarters of Facie Temple, Cui Dandan glanced back at the youthful-looking monk who had closed the door, then raised her eyes to look at Master Kongchen, who sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, remaining silent.

"You have sought trouble with my Facie Temple time and again. I have already given you many chances."

Master Kongchen slowly opened his eyes, looking at Cui Dandan with a gaze full of kindness. His tone was equally gentle, devoid of any trace of anger.

"Why did you not give those who died a chance?" Cui Dandan asked, looking at him calmly.

"Demons eating humans is as natural as you humans eating livestock. Did you ever give those livestock a chance? Human civilization prospers, and because you are human-centric, you naturally do not consider the feelings of beasts. Now that the demon path prospers in the Southern Wilderness Province, we do not consider your human feelings either. Besides, without my Facie Temple, how could your Mengfu City remain bright with lanterns night after night, with people living in peace and contentment, without considering the attacks of other demons in the Southern Wilderness?" Master Kongchen smiled faintly, his white beard trembling slightly as he asked.

"Without Facie Temple, there would still be the soldiers of Nanxi County, the Demon-Catching Division, the Demon-Subduing Division, and the Taoists and monks from other temples," Cui Dandan said after a moment of silence.

"The soldiers of Nanxi County? How many demons can they hold off? As for the Demon-Catching and Demon-Subduing Divisions, unless your Ancient Qin Emperor needs materials from demons, would they ever come to this Southern Wilderness Province, a place for exiles? And don't even mention those Taoists and monks; eating a few of them is enough to scare the rest away. This Facie Temple was left to me by monks who fled. Of course, I eventually ate them all. Even the King of the Southern Wilderness does not concern himself with demonic affairs, yet you insist on having this Bodhisattva-like heart and meddling in others' business. Had your Cui family not helped me gain a foothold in Nanxi County years ago, I would have eaten you long ago. You and your Cui family are no different from a lackey helping a tiger."

Master Kongchen sat on his prayer mat with his hands pressed together, looking up at Cui Dandan. No one seeing his benevolent appearance would ever guess the horrific message contained in his words.

"There is a difference," Cui Dandan said, looking at him calmly.

"And what is that?" Master Kongchen countered.

"Compared to their cold, icy hearts, my heart is still warm and possesses a conscience," Cui Dandan replied slowly.

"Since you are so obtuse, the Cui family cannot blame me for eating you, a person of the Four Yin. I let you escape once ten years ago and drained thirty years of your lifespan. This time, you will not escape." Master Kongchen smiled.

Suddenly, countless thick, purple tentacles burst forth from beneath his cassock. Each tentacle was lined with mouths filled with jagged, fine teeth, and the golden Buddhist characters on the walls suddenly began to drip with blood.

The Buddha had become a demon.

Cui Dandan closed her eyes and sighed softly in her heart.

*Boom.*

The door shattered, wood splinters flying.

The countless purple tentacles lunging toward Cui Dandan’s chest were all smashed to pieces by a short, copper rod. Despite its small size, it was wielded by the man who had burst into the room with such intensity that not even a drop of water could pass through his defense.

"So, you are the one who eliminated the Fire-House Ghost of that residence?" Master Kongchen’s expression remained unchanged, even though the countless tentacles emerging from his robes had been beaten into a pulp, splattering purple blood all over the floor.

"It was me," Su Yuanbai said, standing before Cui Dandan with a faint smile.

"Very well," Master Kongchen nodded lightly.

A blood-colored phantom of a monk slowly manifested on the floor, now stained with purple blood. The shredded purple tentacles began to knit themselves back together, and with the force of a violent storm, they lashed out at Su Yuanbai.

The mouths beneath the purple tentacles shrieked, the piercing sound causing a sharp pain in Cui Dandan’s head.