Chapter 46: Xinhui

Chapter 46: Xinhui

"The Buddha?" Li Huowang tilted his head back, staring in dumbfounded horror at the colossal entity before him, a sprawling mass of flesh at least twenty meters high.

Regardless of what the Buddha looked like in the old monk's eyes, to Li Huowang, it was a gargantuan, twisted, and deformed mountain of pink flesh, its toad-like skin smeared with thick, viscous blood.

Bizarre and malformed reproductive organs, swathed in gore, thrust in and out of the nauseating hide, writhing ceaselessly as the creature's body undulated.

Such a grotesque and revolting abomination was now entirely covered with monks, squirming and wriggling just like the beast itself.

These monks ecstatically inhaled the pink mist spewing from the creature's innards, their faces flushed with fervor and their breaths ragged as they used their own flesh and blood to fill every crevice of the "Buddha."

From women to their own kind, from beasts to the monstrosity before them, the monks of Zhengde Temple seemed to be pushing the limits of their physical depravity step by step.

"What do you think? Huge, isn't it? This stone Buddha is the largest I've ever seen!" the oblivious old monk praised, standing off to the side.

Li Huowang's body went rigid; he had always assumed that villains like Danyangzi were profoundly heretical in this world, shunned by the orthodox mainstream.

Since the monks of Zhengde Temple harbored a grudge against Danyangzi, he had thought that even if they weren't entirely righteous, they would at least adhere to some code of conduct.

But his assumption was fundamentally flawed! There was no such thing as orthodox or heretical! Perhaps all other cultivation methods in this entire world were equally grotesque!

The feud between Danyangzi and these monks might not have been a clash of good and evil at all! It was likely just two factions fighting over territory!

Whatever their true motives were, one thing was certain: everything the old abbot had said earlier was a lie! He had been deceived!

"What Universal Salvation Grand Fast! That old monk is definitely lying! No, I must leave this hellish place as quickly as possible!"

Li Huowang turned his head to look at the old monk, who remained oblivious to the anomaly, though he had no idea why the monks' illusion had no effect on him.

What was certain, however, was that he had not yet been discovered, and he had to make full use of this advantage if he wanted to escape.

Forcing himself to suppress any abnormal reactions, Li Huowang composed his expression and turned away. "It's alright, nothing special. I'm heading back now."

With that, Li Huowang strode out of the main hall and stepped into the sickening sculpture yard outside.

The mountains of flesh around him continued to undulate in waves, but he pretended not to see them and kept walking forward.

"Hey! Daoist, don't go! You've come all this way, why the rush?"

The old monk called out, running out of the hall to catch up. "The food here is quite good too. How about we go eat together in a bit? The deep-fried tofu here tastes even better than meat."

Feigning a hint of impatience, Li Huowang quickened his pace while the old monk continued to chatter incessantly by his side.

Just as Li Huowang was about to walk past the mounds of flesh, a towering figure blocked his path.

It was a burly, stern-faced monk, a full head taller than Li Huowang, staring down at him in utter silence.

"Reverend Master, is there something you need?" Li Huowang asked coldly, though his heart instantly clenched in his chest.

The tall monk leaned forward gradually, scrutinizing Li Huowang with meticulous care.

Then, a sight that sent a shiver down Li Huowang's spine unfolded: a distinctly supple and agile black tentacle, lined with suckers, slithered out from the monastic burn scars on the monk's crown, stretching longer and longer.

The bizarre appendage writhed slowly around Li Huowang's head like a sea serpent swimming through the air, as if sensing something.

"Amitabha, mercy upon us. Benefactor, your heart is not pure."

At these words, the writhing mounds of flesh around them suddenly froze, and the monks all turned to stare fixedly at Li Huowang.

"He knows I've seen through the illusion! It's now or never!" Seeing the situation spiraling irreversibly out of control, Li Huowang steeled his heart, reached back with one hand to draw his sword, and slashed fiercely at the tall monk before him.

With a tearing sound, the tall monk's tentacle and robes were instantly cleaved apart, spraying a steady stream of yellowish-green pus.

With a soft clack, a pill flew into Li Huowang's mouth; he pushed off the ground with both feet, launching himself three meters into the air, and charged toward the nearest earthen wall.

The moment Li Huowang moved, everything around him underwent a violent transformation; the monks leaped down from the flesh mounds, roaring as they pursued him.

But that was not enough; the ground suddenly trembled violently, nearly knocking everyone off their feet.

Having already vaulted onto the wall, Li Huowang instinctively glanced back, only to see the colossal "Buddha" smashing through the wooden doors of the main hall, rolling relentlessly toward him!

"Run! Get out of this temple! They can't possibly let the entire populace of Xijing City see the true face of the 'Buddha'!"

Clinging to this conviction, Li Huowang sprinted toward the main courtyard, the clamor behind him growing ever louder, but he could no longer afford to care.

One man running, a horde chasing; empowered by the pill, Li Huowang's stamina was astonishing, and though he faced several perilous close calls, he managed to evade capture.

Just as Li Huowang was about to round the final corner to the gates of Zhengde Temple, a familiar face blocked his path. It was Xinhui, the abbot of Zhengde Temple.

Without a moment's hesitation, Li Huowang reached into his robe for his dao bell, but the next second, his hand froze; the bell that could summon Lord You was gone.

"Amitabha, Benefactor Xuanyang, are you looking for this?" Xinhui asked, holding the dao bell in his palm, his expression as calm and unhurried as ever.

Before Li Huowang could answer, Xinhui walked slowly to his side and pressed the bell back into his hand. "Benefactor, this object is ominous; you must use it with great caution."

Then, instead of questioning Li Huowang, he turned to face the horde of monks who had just caught up and reprimanded them. "Silence! You are men of the cloth; what is the meaning of this unseemly panic?"

"Abbot! It is not that we wish to panic! It is this disciple of the Xuan sect who suddenly attacked Senior Brother Jianwei!"

Hearing this, Abbot Xinhui turned back, looking at Li Huowang with a puzzled expression. "Benefactor Xuanyang, is this true? Why did you suddenly attack a disciple of our temple? Was he lacking in his hospitality?"

Looking at the sea of bald heads before him, and then down at the recovered dao bell in his hand, Li Huowang was momentarily baffled, unable to comprehend what the other party was doing.

They all knew he had seen everything, so what was the point of this charade?

After a moment's thought, Li Huowang decided to lay his cards on the table. "Abbot Xinhui, you have a grudge against Danyangzi, and I killed him. Even if you don't thank me, there's no need to silence me permanently, is there?"

"Rest assured, I will keep my lips tightly sealed about everything I saw in this temple and tell no one."

"Besides, my word alone could never shake the reputation of your Zhengde Temple."

However, upon hearing Li Huowang's words, Xinhui's expression grew even more bewildered. "What did the benefactor see? This old monk cannot make heads or tails of your words."

Both parties stood frozen in place, and for a moment, a profound silence fell over the scene.

"Hm? What's going on? Could it be that the abbot isn't in league with those things?" Harboring this doubt, Li Huowang slowly recounted everything he had witnessed.

"Absurd! Utter nonsense!" This was the first time Li Huowang had seen Xinhui lose his temper; the two white whiskers beneath his nose twitched slightly like dragon tendrils, and his overwhelming aura instantly forced the monks behind him to bow their heads.

(End of Chapter)