Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 21 Sword Heart as One
Three hundred miles away, there is a mountain called Cold Mist Mountain, and on the mountain is an unnamed temple.

People from all around know that there is a Master of Suffering in the temple who is dedicated to saving all sentient beings.

Those who pray for a child will become pregnant in the same month; those who pray for wealth will receive gold and silver in the middle of the night; and even those who pray for high academic achievement will at least become a scholar.

Such miraculous power has made this nameless little temple extremely popular, bustling with activity every day like a market.

The believers all wanted to ask this Master of Suffering to send them some blessings so that they could live a better life.

Master Ku'e was also compassionate, and he would meet with devout believers every day to help them solve their problems.

However, today was different. The believers who had prepared to rush to the temple to be the first to offer incense before dawn were all blocked outside. An invisible golden light blocked everyone, and no one could enter the temple gate.

The crowd assumed it was Master Ku'e manifesting his divine power, so they knelt outside the temple and kowtowed repeatedly. Even after they finished, they were unwilling to leave, hoping that when the golden light dissipated, they would be the first to rush into the temple so that Master Ku'e could see their piety.

Inside the temple, Master Ku'e sat in the main hall. Beneath the Buddha statue, the high monk clasped his hands together and chanted scriptures, while behind him stood a woman in a pale yellow robe, none other than Su Chunyi.

The pursuit of the murderer spanned three hundred miles without pause, and after searching tirelessly for half the night, they finally arrived at this place.

The sword's intent was directed at the suffering monk before him, but Su Chunyi did not immediately attack; he wanted to get to the bottom of things. The Qinghe Sword Sect had strict rules and would never allow the wrongful killing of an innocent person.

Even though Buddhism is now considered either a demonic or unorthodox sect, Su Chunyi still needs solid evidence before taking action.

They had barely entered the temple gates, and before they could even state their purpose, the monk of misfortune sealed off the temple and expelled all the believers.

Su Chunyi stood with his sword in hand and asked, "Master Ku'e, what is the meaning of this?"

The monk chanted "Amitabha," then said to Su Chun, "Benefactor, you are filled with murderous intent. Whatever your purpose, please do not harm others."

Su Chunyi was puzzled. This monk did seem to be compassionate, but could he really be a demon who killed people to practice his skills?
However, Su Chunyi believed that the sword intent he had painstakingly cultivated was tied to this monk, and that the resentment of those innocent people who had died tragically was all attached to him. If he sensed carefully, he could even hear the sound of wailing and crying coming from the monk's robe.

Su Chunyi had been training diligently at the Qinghe Sword Sect since childhood and was not good with words, so he asked directly, "I came here with my sword to track down the demon who has harmed countless people. Master Ku'e, are you related to that murderer?"

The monk shook his head and said, "This humble monk has never harmed anyone."

"We are both practitioners. If the master has not harmed anyone, how do you explain this robe that is stained with resentment?"

"All beings are foolish and suffer. When I try to save them, I naturally become tainted by the resentment of ordinary people. Amitabha."

After Master Ku'e finished reciting the name Amitabha, a layer of golden light appeared on his body, making him appear as if he were the golden body of Buddha.

Su Chunyi frowned. This supernatural ability seemed somewhat unusual, resembling a Buddhist supernatural ability recorded in his sect's scriptures. However, the Qinghe Sword Sect's scriptures were too vast and complex for Su Chunyi to memorize entirely, and he couldn't recall it in such a hurry.

Master Ku'e, bathed in Buddhist light and looking solemn, asked Su Chun, "You are filled with murderous intent, is it for killing? It seems you have also broken the precept against anger. Why not let me chant some sutras to dispel the evil thoughts in your heart?"

Su Chunyi retorted, "Upholding justice and eliminating harm for the people, how can there be any evil intentions?"

The monk continued, “You are a practitioner, and should not be tainted by worldly affairs. It is unwise to take on karma that is not yours. Foolish actions breed evil consequences, and this is evil thought. If you do not get rid of it soon, you will surely suffer retribution.”

Su Chun felt that the monk was spouting nonsense, but she was not good with words and did not know how to refute him.

Just as they were about to change the subject and find out whether the monk was the real culprit, they saw golden light appear on the monk's body, with an additional layer of golden light on top of his original golden form.

"A spell like the power of words?! No, this is Zen of speaking! You're a demon of the Nirvana Sect!"

Su Chunyi's expression suddenly changed, and sword light swirled around her body, protecting her vitals.

The monk sighed and said, “You are plagued by evil thoughts and do not understand the profoundness of my Mahayana Buddhism. My Nirvana School saves all sentient beings; how can I be an evil person?”

"Your Nirvana Sect's salvation of all living beings is nothing but the slaughter of the innocent?!"

The sword light arrived with the sound, landing on the monk Ku'e. Once Su Chun recognized the monk's identity, he no longer hesitated and was determined to kill him on the spot. The Nirvana Sect was, in fact, a demonic sect.

This sect claims to "lay down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot," using this as a pretext to recruit evil people from all over the world and commit heinous crimes.

Back then, the Nirvana Sect Master died by the sword of the Qinghe Sword Sect Leader. The two sects not only had opposing stances, but also deep personal grudges.

Recognizing that this was a supernatural technique of the Nirvana Sect, and seeing the monk's resentment and the warning from his sword, Su Chun had no further doubts and was about to kill the villain.

The sword light struck the golden aura protecting the monk, producing a tremendous roar that sent dust flying throughout the entire temple.

However, only one of the two layers of golden light on the monk Ku'e's body was broken, and he remained unharmed.

Su Chunyi showed a surprised expression. She could clearly sense that the monk's cultivation was not as good as her own, but her full-force sword strike could not even break through the monk's protective golden light.
The monk Ku'e laughed and said, "To resort to violence at the slightest disagreement—that's the true face of your righteous path. If you can't win an argument, you kill to vent your anger. Who is the demonic path then?"

Su Chunyi remained silent, but another layer of golden light appeared on the body of the monk Ku'e.

This is the Zen of speaking.

Buddhist supernatural powers are mostly related to precepts or a kind of contract. By fulfilling certain conditions, one can obtain effects similar to magic.

This "open mouth Zen" seems to be a matter of words becoming law, but Su Chunyi remembered that her elders had mentioned that as long as one could refute the other party's fallacies, one could directly break their power.

But how can you debate scriptures with a monk?
As if seeing through Su Chunyi's thoughts, the monk Ku'e spoke again, mocking, "Benefactor, you know the secret of this 'Opening Zen,' yet you're thinking of reasoning with this humble monk? You're not trying to distinguish right from wrong, but only to defeat this humble monk. Your motives are impure, and you harbor malice. What kind of reasoning are you arguing about? Your words don't match your heart. Foolish people will never see through this, and you will never be able to break through my flawless golden body."

Seeing another layer of golden light appear on the monk Ku'e's body, Su Chunyi pursed her lips tightly. This Zen master was indeed powerful; her sword energy just now hadn't held back at all, but it could only cut through one layer of golden light.

The monk kept talking, each word accompanied by a ray of golden light. As the stalemate continued, Su Chunyi's spiritual energy could not keep up with the consumption.

As for debating scriptures, Su Chunyi couldn't help but think of Chen Ye, whom she had just met.

"If he were here, he could probably break the monk's silence with just a few words. He must have missed a lot by only practicing asceticism in the mountains."

Su Chunyi felt a pang of emotion, but quickly regained her composure.

Although years of arduous training have made Su Chunyi less eloquent, it has not been a waste of her time.

The elders of my sect have said that when encountering the supernatural powers of the Nirvana Sect, one cannot refute them with reason, but must break their golden body in another way.

Su Chun pointed her fingers like a sword, and a blue lotus bloomed from her fingertips. The brilliant sword blade emerged from the lotus, instantly suppressing the golden light on the monk Ku'e's body.

"Using your body to nourish the sword?! Aren't you afraid of the sword's backlash? At that time, even your soul would be damaged!"

The monk was utterly shocked.

Su Chunyi is turning her physical body into a scabbard, nurturing the flying sword within her body. Although this greatly increases the power of the magic weapon, the pain of the sword energy surging within her body is unbearable for most people.

Even among the Qinghe Sword Sect, probably few would cultivate using such an extreme method.

"The heart of the sword is the heart of the heart. As long as we are of one mind and our hearts are both righteous, how can we be hurt?"

With her sword in hand, Su Chunyi shone with light, like a fairy descending to earth.

"Devil, suffer death!"

The Azure Lotus Sword thrust out towards the monk Ku'e, and countless sword lights bloomed like lotus flowers.

(End of this chapter)