All Heavens: Sharing Talents with Countless Mes

"Alright. Your life is saved." Chu Yang wiped his sweat and gave Shi Tou, who was staring in disbelief, a tired but extremely relieved smile.

Tang Sanzang also opened his eyes, looked at the small grass breathing steadily, put his hands together, and said with utmost sincerity, "Well done."

Stone stared blankly at his sister, seemingly unable to believe what was happening before his eyes. He carefully stretched out his dirty hand and gently placed it under the grass's nostrils.

When he felt that faint but extremely warm breath spraying onto his fingers, the tears that Shi Tou had been holding back for so long finally burst forth.

He suddenly collapsed onto the haystack and burst into tears. This was not the desperate wailing he had heard before, but rather a cathartic release of pent-up emotions finally seeing a glimmer of hope.

"Little grass...the little grass is alive...big brother...thank you...thank you, God..."

Chu Yang patted Shi Tou's back and stuffed the meat bun, which had gotten a little cold, back into his hand.

"Stop crying. Wake your sister up and tell her to eat this bun. What she needs most right now is food."

Stone nodded frantically, wiped away his tears, and gently nudged Grass's shoulder.

"Little Grass... Little Grass, wake up... Brother brought you something delicious..."

As the stone called out to her, the little grass's long eyelashes trembled slightly. Finally, with great difficulty, she opened her large, lifeless eyes.

"Brother..." Xiaocao's voice was extremely weak, like a mosquito's hum, "So cold...so hungry..."

"It's not cold anymore! It's not cold anymore! Brother has a meat bun! Eat up!" Stone hurriedly tore open the meat bun, revealing the extremely tempting meat filling inside, and carefully handed it to Xiaocao's mouth.

The aroma of meat wafted through the grass, and a primal craving instantly ignited in her previously dull eyes. She opened her chapped lips, took a greedy little bite, and swallowed it without even chewing.

Watching Xiaocao munching on the bun like a starving kitten, Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Seng all felt a sharp pang in their hearts.

"Stone."

After Xiaocao ate half a bun and her complexion became slightly rosier, Chu Yang sat on a broken brick, his expression becoming extremely solemn.

"Now, you have to tell your brother everything. Why did your sister fall victim to this evil Gu poison? Who in Tianfeng City is targeting poor children like you?"

Upon hearing Chu Yang's question, Shi Tou's hand, holding the remaining half of the bun, trembled violently, and a deep-seated fear flashed in his eyes.

He glanced at Chu Yang, then at the imposing Sun Wukong beside him, and finally gritted his teeth, revealing a secret in an extremely hoarse voice that shocked the three of them.

“It’s…it’s the ‘Good Heart Hall’ in the east of the city…it’s the great philanthropist Lin…”

"A great benefactor?" Sun Wukong exclaimed in surprise, "A great benefactor would give your sister such a deadly poisonous insect?"

Stone shook his head desperately, and tears fell again.

"No... The poor people in the city all say that Lin Dashanren is a living bodhisattva... Every month he makes donations at the Shanxintang, giving porridge to those who have no food, and even giving 'holy water' to sick children..."

Stone sobbed as he recounted his story in fits and starts.

It turns out that there was an extremely wealthy man in Tianfeng City named Lin Wanguan, whom everyone in the city respectfully called "Master Lin the Great Philanthropist". This Master Lin was not only charitable, but also built a very grand "Hall of Benevolence" in the east of the city, which was dedicated to taking in orphans and providing medical treatment and medicine for the poor.

A month ago, Xiaocao developed a high fever after getting caught in the rain. Shitou had no money for medicine and, having nowhere else to turn, carried Xiaocao to the Shanxintang for help.

The manager of the Shanxintang Temple received them with great enthusiasm. He not only gave Xiaocao a bowl of so-called "holy water" to drink, but also gave Shitou ten copper coins so that he could buy some good food to nourish his sister.

After drinking the holy water, Xiaocao's fever miraculously subsided, and she even felt better than before. Shitou was incredibly grateful to Lin the Great Philanthropist, believing he had truly encountered a living bodhisattva.

However, the good times didn't last long.

Just half a month later, Xiaocao's health began to deteriorate rapidly. She became thinner and thinner, more and more sensitive to the cold, and terrifying black blood vessels began to appear under her skin.

Stone carried his younger sister to the Good Heart Hall again for help. But this time, the manager coldly turned them away, saying that Xiaocao was unlucky and had been tainted by an incurable evil spirit, which even Buddha could not save. Not only that, the manager also gave Stone one tael of silver, saying it was a "funeral expense" for Xiaocao given out of the compassion of the great philanthropist Lin.

"I don't want his filthy money! I just want my sister to come back to life!" Stone cried as he threw the half-eaten, dirty bun on the ground. "Later I learned that there are many poor children in the city, like little grass... They went to drink holy water... Before long, they will all turn into little grass... and eventually freeze or starve to death..."

"What about the children's parents? Didn't they report it to the authorities?" Chu Yang's eyes were already extremely cold.

“Reporting it was useless…” Shi Tou wiped away his tears. “The government said it was a plague in the city. And… and the philanthropist Lin gave five taels of silver as ‘compensation’ to every family that lost a child… Many poor families couldn’t even afford to eat… After receiving that five taels of silver, they… stopped complaining. They all said that the philanthropist Lin was a good man, and that it was Heaven’s fault for sending down the plague…”

"boom!"

A loud bang.

Tang Sanzang slammed his fist hard against the earthen wall beside him. The sharp clod of earth instantly cut his knuckles, drawing blood, but he seemed to feel no pain.

"Five taels of silver to buy a life?!" Tang Seng's voice trembled with extreme anger. His hands, which he used to use only to strike the wooden fish, were now clenched into fists, his nails digging deep into his flesh.

"What a living bodhisattva! What a great philanthropist! Using charity as a guise, he uses these insidious worms to suck the life force from children! This is no charity hall, it's clearly a slaughterhouse of demons that devours people without spitting out the bones!"

Tang Sanzang suddenly stood up, and his tattered hemp robe moved without any wind. An unprecedented and extremely fierce Buddhist rage erupted from his body.

"Wukong! Benefactor Chu!"

Tang Sanzang turned his head, his eyes bloodshot, and stared at the two men. His voice boomed like thunder in the cramped shack.

"These demons in human skin are a hundred times more hateful than the monsters of Lion Camel Ridge! Today, this humble monk is determined to meddle in this matter! Even if Lin Wanguan has a powerful background, this humble monk will still tear down his Charity Hall and rip off his hypocritical mask!"

Sun Wukong looked at the furious Tang Sanzang, and was first stunned, then a wildly arrogant smile appeared on his face.

"Hahaha! Master! Your temper is becoming more and more to my liking!" Sun Wukong pulled the golden cudgel out of his ear, twirled it twice in his hand with great excitement, creating a gust of wind. "I'm good at killing demons, but I'm even better at killing these beasts in human skin! Let's go! To the east of the city!"

Chu Yang stood up, glanced at Xiao Cao who was still munching on a steamed bun, and then looked at Shi Tou, whose face was full of shock.

He reached out and gently tapped Stone's forehead. A faint stream of pure Yang energy entered Stone's body, instantly relaxing his tense nerves. "Take a nap, little guy. When you wake up, there won't be any more man-eating bodhisattvas in Tianfeng City."

Shi Tou felt his eyelids grow heavy, so he hugged half a bun, leaned against the haystack, and fell into a deep sleep.

Chu Yang set up an extremely well-hidden defensive formation around the shack, ensuring that not even a fly could get in.

After doing all this, Chu Yang turned around and drew the Sword of Slaying Karma from his waist.

The blade gleamed with an extremely cold, seven-colored Buddhist light in the dark shack.

“Brother Monkey, Master. This Lin Wanguan is just a mortal. He absolutely cannot create such a high-level evil thing as the ‘Life-Devouring Gu’. Behind him, there must be an old monster who desperately wants to devour life force to cultivate.”

Chu Yang's lips curled into an extremely cruel sneer.

"Using someone else's flowers to offer to Buddha, siphoning the life force of poor children. What a shrewd business deal. Let's go, for our digestive exercise tonight, let's go to this 'Good Heart Hall' and properly perform a ritual to help this 'great philanthropist' pass on!"

The night wind grew even fiercer.

The night market in the center of Tianfeng City was still brightly lit, and the noise reached the sky. The high-ranking officials and nobles were still in the restaurants, raising their glasses and reciting poems.

But in those dark corners where the glittering lights don't reach.

Three menacing figures, carrying a furious rage capable of overturning the entire city, silently disappeared into the darkness, speeding towards the "Hall of Benevolence" in the east of the city, a place revered as a holy site by countless poor people.

East of Tianfeng City, Shanxintang.

The scale of this building was even larger than the city lord's mansion. In front of the tall, vermilion gate stood two enormous Buddha statues made of pure gold. Above the gate hung a purple-gold plaque bestowed by the emperor, inscribed with the four large characters "generous and charitable".

Even in the dead of night, the entrance to the Shanxin Hall remained brightly lit. Two rows of servants, armed with fire and water sticks, stood guard outside the door like wolves, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

In the backyard of the Shanxin Hall, there is an extremely hidden underground palace.

There was no opulent splendor outside, only an extremely pungent smell of blood and a nauseating stench of decay.

In the very center of the underground palace, there was a huge pool of blood. The pool was filled with an extremely viscous black liquid, and countless illusory souls in extreme pain struggled and wailed in the liquid.

Above the pool of blood, a gaunt old man, draped in a black cloak, sat cross-legged in mid-air. His skin clung tightly to his bones like dried tree bark, and his deep-set eyes emitted an extremely greedy, eerie green light.

At the edge of the blood pool, a portly, smiling middle-aged man knelt on the ground with utmost respect. He wore an extremely luxurious Shu brocade robe, and his ten short, thick fingers were adorned with dazzling gemstone rings.

This person is none other than Lin Dashanren, the "living bodhisattva" in the hearts of countless poor people in Tianfeng City.

"Ancestor, of the hundred 'Holy Water' Gu worms released this month, sixty have already matured and been harvested. The remaining forty should also show signs of life in the next few days." Lin Wanguan reported with extreme obsequiousness, his fat face showing no remorse whatsoever, only an extreme thirst for power and wealth.

The old man, suspended in mid-air, took a satisfied breath of the black mist emanating from the blood pool and let out a chilling, eerie laugh.

"Hehehe... Good, very good. The life force of these young boys and girls is the purest of all. With the nourishment of this life force, my 'Soul Devouring Technique' will soon be complete! Once I break through that realm, what is this small Tianfeng City? The entire Tang Dynasty will be mine!"

The old man suddenly opened his eerie green eyes and stared at Lin Wanguan below.

"Little Lin, you've done well. Once I, your ancestor, have mastered my divine skills, you will enjoy wealth and honor for the rest of your life, and live as long as the heavens!"

Lin Wanguan trembled with excitement and kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you for your grace, Ancestor! Thank you for your grace, Ancestor! I will do my best to find more 'containers' for you!"

"boom--!!!"

Just as Lin Wanguan was kowtowing repeatedly...

A terrifyingly loud roar suddenly erupted from the front courtyard of the Good Heart Hall. The entire massive underground palace trembled violently at the sound. The black liquid in the blood pool was blasted into towering waves several meters high!

"What's going on?!" Lin Wanguan was so frightened that he sat down on the ground with a thud, his fat face trembling wildly.

The old man suspended in mid-air also frowned, and a chilling light flashed in his dark green eyes.

"Such a violent fluctuation of spiritual energy! How dare someone trespass on the territory of my Soul Devouring Ancestor?!" The old man sneered. "Little Lin, go and see which reckless rogue cultivator dares to cause trouble in Tianfeng City. It just so happens that my blood pool is still missing a few cultivators' souls as medicinal ingredients!"

The front courtyard of Shanxintang.

The two extremely tall pure gold Buddha statues had been smashed to pieces, turning into a pile of twisted scrap iron scattered on the wide bluestone square.

The vermilion gate of the Shanxin Hall, which was said to be impervious to swords and spears and made of thousand-year-old ironwood, has completely disappeared. Only an enormous hole remains, its edges still smoldering.

Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Sanzang walked arrogantly into the courtyard filled with hypocrisy and evil, stepping over the broken wood and gold nuggets scattered on the ground.

"Who goes there! How dare you force your way into the Shanxin Hall! Are you tired of living?!"

Dozens of guards and martial arts masters, wielding knives, spears, and halberds, surged out from all directions, surrounding the three men in a fierce and menacing manner.

Chu Yang looked at these thugs who were usually so arrogant but were now acting as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and a cruel sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

He didn't draw his sword; he simply extended his right hand casually and snapped his fingers crisply.

"Snapped."

"boom--!"

A ring of dark red lotus karmic fire, centered on Chu Yang, spread outwards rapidly along the ground.

Those servants who charged at the forefront didn't even have time to scream before they were instantly incinerated, weapons and all, upon contact with the karmic flames, reduced to puffs of fine ashes! (End of Chapter)