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

Chapter 58 One Palm Shatters the Heavens

Chen Ye had considered many possibilities for turning things around, but he never imagined that he could change his fate through knowledge.

It's just that Chen Ye chose a rogue cultivator as his master, and Mo Ci didn't understand the significance of these things, so Chen Ye just took it as ordinary. Now that he thinks about it, if the Ksitigarbha Sutra could make the Incense Burning Sect spare no expense to obtain it, then the scriptures he memorized could also make all the major sects in the world fight tooth and nail for them.

Although the Nirvana Sect is a heretical sect that has distorted the scriptures, they certainly won't let go of the original Buddhist scriptures.

Of course, it's also possible that they could directly extract Chen Ye's soul. If they dare to take the risk, Chen Ye would be powerless to stop them.

So we have no choice but to take a gamble, hoping they won't dare to do anything reckless.

Normal people shouldn't let their thoughts run wild.

Chen Ye is just a rogue cultivator who can be easily manipulated. We can just capture him and interrogate him slowly. There's no need to risk destroying some of this treasure.

This would give Chen Ye a chance to negotiate, and perhaps he could get Su Chunyi back to her freedom.

As long as Su Chunyi can return to the Qinghe Sword Sect alive, the Qinghe Sword Sect will definitely send someone to rescue him. The longer he can delay, the greater his chances of survival will be.

This plan may seem risky, but it is the best option.

Now it all depends on the attitude of this disheveled monk—will he negotiate, or will he forcibly search his soul?
Chen Ye's heart raced, and he felt involuntarily nervous.

This is strange. Before, he felt calm because he thought he was going to die, but now that he feels there is a glimmer of hope, Chen Ye is panicking.

It seems that my spiritual practice is not yet complete, and I have not truly taken life and death lightly.

Chen Ye, however, did not receive the answer he wanted.

The disheveled monk said, "Benefactor Chen, you misunderstand. I am not a member of the Nirvana School. My Dharma name is Fangyuan, and I come from Cixin Temple."

Cixin Temple?
Chen Ye asked doubtfully, "But you said that Monk Ku'e is your disciple!"

Su Chunyi couldn't help but say, "That monk Ku'e used the Nirvana Sect's supernatural power, the Opening Zen, there's no mistake. Moreover, only the demons of the Nirvana Sect would indiscriminately kill innocent people. Although Cixin Temple is a heretical sect, it has never committed any evil deeds in the past years!"

Monk Fangyuan sighed and said, "Cixin Temple originated from the Nirvana Sect, and the sect's supernatural powers are naturally similar in many ways. Ku'e is indeed my disciple, but many years ago he fell into the demonic path, betrayed Cixin Temple, and joined the Nirvana Sect."

"I have been tracking this wicked disciple for over eighty years. Unfortunately, I am not good at divination. After he makes a move to harm people, I often find myself missing, and he escapes back to the Nirvana Sect. It was only after he died and his soul was extinguished that I sensed something and came to the vicinity of Cui County. I did not come here seeking revenge, but rather to thank you two for cleaning up the mess for my Cixin Temple."

Chen Ye was confused by what the monk Fang Yuan said. Wasn't this monk here to seek revenge?
Chen Ye hurriedly asked, "Master Fang Yuan, if you are not here for revenge, why are you torturing us like this?"

Chen Ye and Su Chunyi were both acting like this just now, I don't believe this monk didn't see it, he was clearly doing it on purpose.

Monk Fangyuan smiled apologetically: "It's my fault, it's my fault. I only met a disciple of the Burning Incense Sect on the road, and I just wanted to ask for directions, but he attacked me. Everyone knows the relationship between the Burning Incense Sect and the Qinghe Sword Sect, and I thought..."

Chen Ye hurriedly asked, "Wei Changsheng? That kid ran into your hands?"

Monk Fangyuan nodded and explained, "I gave him a small punishment as a warning, and after finding you two, I let him leave on his own. In short, it was all my fault. You two are both kind and righteous people, and I kowtow to you to apologize."

After saying this, the monk, whose cultivation was unfathomable, actually knelt down in front of the two of them and kowtowed three times.

This really put Chen Ye in a bind. He was angry, but the monk Fang Yuan's apology was quite sincere; yet, he wasn't angry either, as the journey had been filled with fear and trepidation.

Sigh, it's all Wei Changsheng's fault.

Why did you attack someone who was just asking for directions?
It would have been one thing to take action, but to drag them into this mess as well.

Since the monk had already knelt down and kowtowed, Chen Ye couldn't say anything more. It wasn't that he was truly so magnanimous, but rather that the monk's cultivation was simply too high. What could he do if he was dissatisfied?

It's already a blessing that they're willing to reason with us.

Chen Ye could only say to Monk Fangyuan, "Master, just ask directly next time. There's no need to scare us juniors like this."

Monk Fangyuan got up from the ground, wiped the pebbles and mud off his forehead, and explained, "It was a misunderstanding. However, I did not mean to make things difficult for you two. I just need to find the person who killed my disciple as soon as possible, so I had no choice but to force you two to tell the truth."

"As soon as possible?" Chen Ye sensed something was amiss and asked, "If Master has come to repay a debt of gratitude, why the rush?" Monk Fangyuan replied, "Of course I have come to repay a debt of gratitude, but others have come seeking revenge. Benefactor Chen, as I just mentioned, my wicked disciple has betrayed Cixin Temple and joined the Nirvana Sect."

Chen Ye pondered this and asked in surprise, "You mean, the Nirvana Sect will seek revenge on us?"

“Amitabha, Benefactor Chen is indeed a wise man, understanding so quickly. This humble monk was worried that the person who killed my disciple would be hunted down by the Nirvana Sect, which is why I rushed over here. I could only hurriedly force the two of you to tell the truth. The Nirvana Sect and I both know about Ku'e's death at the same time, perhaps even sooner than I do. If this humble monk delays too long, I'm afraid it will be too late.”

Although he was somewhat skeptical, Monk Fangyuan's explanation lessened Chen Ye's resentment.

It's hard to hate someone who traveled a long way to save your life.

Even though the monk Fangyuan said he came to repay a debt of gratitude, Chen Ye accepted the favor.

Having another friend with high moral character is always a good thing.

I just don't know just how high a level this Master Fangyuan has reached.

Chen Ye couldn't help but inquire, "May I ask what level of cultivation you possess, Master?"

The monk Fangyuan put his hands together in prayer.

“Amitabha, thanks to you benefactors for cleaning up the inner demons of Cixin Temple, this humble monk was able to break through and has now reached the Void Returning Realm.”

The Returning to Emptiness Realm was a realm Chen Ye had only heard of but never witnessed, and he had no idea how powerful it was.

Just as they were about to ask for details, they heard Monk Fangyuan sigh, "What a pity, what a pity, it has delayed us for some time. Please rest for now, my two benefactors. I will go and deal with the evil monk from the Nirvana Sect."

Chen Ye and Su Chun exchanged glances, neither of them sensing anything amiss.

But as soon as Monk Fangyuan finished speaking, three bright lights appeared in the distant sky.

As the meteor-like light drew closer, Chen Ye and Su Chun also heard the soul-stirring demonic sound.

"Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha immediately!"

"Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha immediately!"

……

This is that trick again; the Nirvana Sect loves to use this phrase all the time.

Moreover, the person who used the demonic sound this time was far more powerful than the monk Kuayi, and the sound could be heard from dozens of miles away, making Chen Ye and Su Chunyi dizzy.

This time, however, there was no need to rupture one's eardrums. All that was heard was the monk Fangyuan chanting, "Amitabha, it is you who should lay down your butcher's knives!"

The voice was like a resounding bell, instantly suppressing all the soul-snatching demonic sounds.

Chen Ye and Su Chunyi also recovered and saw that the monk Fang Yuan was radiating golden light, and a Buddha phantom emerged from behind him, which in the blink of an eye transformed into a golden body ten feet tall.

The radiant Buddha raised his right hand, as if gathering all the light around him into his palm. In an instant, the world lost its color, and the night sky suddenly darkened three degrees.

The Buddha's palm slammed towards the three demonic monks.

There was no flying blood and flesh, no mournful cries of magical artifacts; it was as if someone had used a brush dipped in ink to gently erase the three distant points of light.

Only after the light disappeared did a giant handprint appear in the night sky.

With just one palm strike, the sky was shattered.

Seeing the power of that palm strike, Chen Ye completely believed what Monk Fang Yuan had said. If he hadn't come to save people, he would have become a star in the sky long ago.

(End of this chapter)