Chapter 1026: Unfathomable Tofu Heavenly Venerable

"Tofu Heavenly Venerable?"

The young novice monk gasped in disbelief as the entity dwelling within the sword recounted its past, realizing this was an incredibly momentous existence.

He racked his brains for a long time, yet he could not recall any ancient figure of immense power who bore the title of "Tofu."

"Alas, so be it, so be it. It seems that even I cannot escape the fate of becoming anonymous to the passing ages."

The Tofu Heavenly Venerable heaved a long sigh, though whether he lamented the ruthlessness of time or reminisced about that era of carefree liberty remained unclear.

"It is only a pity that my existence is bound by too heavy a web of karma. Should I appear in this world, I fear it would trigger an earth-shattering celestial war, reducing this tiny Western Heaven Temple to mere ruins."

"What... what should be done then?" The young novice monk had never imagined that a sword he had casually picked up would involve such grand affairs, and he trembled with fear, terrified of touching upon some great karmic catastrophe.

"I currently reside temporarily within this immortal sword precisely to dissolve this karma. As long as you, little monk, do not leak word of my existence, nothing shall happen."

"That is well, that is well. My lips are sealed tight, and I absolutely will not speak a word of Senior's matters to anyone," the young novice monk said hurriedly.

"That is for the best."

With those words, no further sound came from the sword, leaving it uncertain whether the Tofu Heavenly Venerable was simply disinclined to speak or had drifted into a slumber.

Having learned of the Tofu Heavenly Venerable's origins, the young novice monk dared not be negligent, much less entertain any thoughts of abandoning the immortal sword; he cradled it with utmost care and crept back to the meditation quarters.

Inside the meditation quarters was a large communal bed that accommodated six or seven people; the young novice monk quietly found a clean, long strip of fabric, wrapped the green-bladed sword, located his spot, and placed it by his pillow before finally laying down to sleep.

……

"Xinding, why did you take so long to use the latrine last night?" a companion asked as they woke in the early morning and the young novice monk was putting on his clothes.

He had been dazed with sleep the previous night and could not remember exactly how long the young novice monk had been gone, only feeling that it had been quite a long time.

"Amitabha, a monk does not speak falsehoods."

"And so?"

"And so I cannot say," Xinding said earnestly; the matter of the Tofu Heavenly Venerable could not be spoken of, otherwise it would cause the destruction of the Western Heaven Temple, and he now bore the heavy responsibility of saving the temple.

"Huh?"

Waking in the early morning, the young novice monk dressed, ate a light breakfast, attended morning lessons to chant scriptures, and carried water, chopped wood, and swept the courtyard alongside the other chore-monks; only after completing all of this did he sit in meditation to enter a state of stillness.

"Little monk, are you practicing visualization?" The muffled, ancient voice of the Tofu Heavenly Venerable echoed from the immortal sword, noting that the young novice monk possessed a foundation in cultivation, roughly around the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

Before Xinding lay a yellowed illustration of an Arhat Subduing Demons, and he was visualizing this image to stimulate his divine sense.

The cultivation world universally utilized visualization methods to grow divine sense; the method Meng Jingzhou used, which involved constantly suppressing instinctive impulses to grow divine sense, was employed by an extreme minority.

The young novice monk was instantly startled and looked left and right, only to find that neither his senior and junior brothers sitting in meditation nor the deacon uncle-master had heard the Venerable's voice.

"Stop looking around, this is transmission via divine sense; others cannot hear it."

Only then did Xinding reply, "In response to the Venerable, yes."

"This is the most rudimentary visualization map. If you wish to obtain a better one, you must contribute to the temple and exchange merit points for it."

Xinding smiled shyly, "But this Arhat Subduing Demons illustration is already very good. It is said to have been passed down from the ancient era."

What lay in Xinding's hands could naturally not be the original piece, but merely a rubbed copy of the ancient visualization map.

"Such a thing dares to call itself a visualization map." The Tofu Heavenly Venerable shook his head, snorting in disdain at Xinding's visualization method.

"Since you have encountered me, it proves you share a karmic bond with me. I shall impart to you a true ancient visualization map, lest you lose face for me if word gets out in the future."

Using his divine sense as an imprint, the Tofu Heavenly Venerable branded an image into the young novice monk's mind.

"This is?!"

As Xinding closed his eyes, the divine sense imprint of the Tofu Heavenly Venerable manifested within his mind.

It was a golden divine dragon soaring between heaven and earth, a natural sovereign born to rule; it was more domineering than any painting of a true dragon Xinding had ever seen in books, and with a single furrow of its brow, it summoned celestial lightning that filled the sky, as though heaven and earth altered according to its will.

"This is one of the five founders of your Buddhist sect. I once met him a few times; this visualization map can be called the Yinglong Visualization Map."

One of the five founders of the Buddhist sect!

Hearing those words, the young novice monk's heart shuddered violently; was the founder of the Buddhist sect not the World-Honored One? How had it become five in the mouth of the Heavenly Venerable?!

Xinding focused his visualization on the Great Venerable Yinglong, only to find that the stimulative effect on his divine sense far surpassed that of the Arhat Subduing Demons illustration!

Generally speaking, the stronger the figure in the visualization map, the greater the impact of their deeds on the world, and the closer the connection to the visualizer's cultivation technique, the better the effect of the visualization.

For the effect to be this potent meant that the true dragon in the visualization map possessed a profound connection to Buddhist dharma, and its status within the Buddhist sect was absolutely high beyond belief!

It truly was one of the founders of the Buddhist sect!

Xinding increasingly felt that the Tofu Heavenly Venerable was unfathomably deep; this casual gift had completely overturned his understanding.

"May I ask the Venerable, what exactly is the matter with the five founders of the Buddhist sect?"

"Your cultivation is too low; it is not yet time for you to know the secrets of the ancient era."

"Yes."

From the perspective of visualization methods, Lu Yang was actually practicing visualization as well, except that he visualized a living person, the Immortal Fairy, rather than some drawing.

This was equivalent to Lu Yang practicing visualization at every single moment, so his divine sense naturally far exceeded that of his peers.

"Speaking of which, I still do not know what you, little monk, are called."

"This novice monk is called Xinding, a chore-monk of the Chore Courtyard."

"Subduing the mind-monkey to stabilize the universe; a fine dharma name."

With the mysterious and unfathomable Tofu Heavenly Venerable granting him the ancient visualization map, Xinding felt his divine sense cultivation advance by leaps and bounds, experiencing a sense of exhilaration he had never known before.

As several days passed in succession, Xinding's divine sense grew increasingly powerful, and his entire spirit and vitality underwent a transformation, though the other chore-monks who interacted with him daily failed to notice this subtle change.

On this day, as Xinding concluded his visualization and stepped out of the meditation quarters, a pebble suddenly flew through the air, aimed directly at his forehead.

Sensing it ahead of time, Xinding tilted his head and flashed aside, dodging the strike.

"Junior Brother Xinding, after a few days, your agility has become quite formidable?" several chore-monks laughed dismissively, the leading chore-monk still clutching a few pebbles in his hand.

"So it is Senior Brother Xincheng." Xinding responded calmly, acting as though he did not know Xincheng had intentionally thrown the pebble at him, making Xincheng feel as if his punch had landed on cotton, completely unable to exert his strength.

"It's Xincheng, why is he here?"

"Don't you know yet? The selection for the Martial Monk Courtyard is imminent, and he is currently plundering merit points everywhere to exchange for items to prepare for the selection!"

"I also heard that he is acquainted with a senior brother from the Martial Monk Courtyard, who gifted him a remnant map of the Fragrant Elephant Crossing the River."

"What? To think it is a remnant map of the Fragrant Elephant Crossing the River; that is a visualization map we couldn't afford even if we worked as chore-monks for half our lives!"

"Indeed, Junior Brother Xinding is likely in trouble."