A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

A middle-aged monk approached, scratching his bald head, and asked cautiously:

"Elder Zhenying, our temple has become like this overnight. How are we going to explain this to the outside world? There was no earthquake or flood. It doesn't make sense."

Zhenying, without even lifting her eyelids, began to speak, her fingers twirling prayer beads:

"They said a gas pipeline leak caused an explosion that destroyed the temple."

The middle-aged monk was taken aback: "Huh? Coal... gas pipeline?"

Zhenying glanced at him: "Later, find a few quick-witted people to go to the warehouse... oh, the warehouse is gone too. Then go to the back mountain, find some scrap metal, and stage a scene. Make it look convincing, but not too fake."

"At least the insurance will pay something. Every little bit helps."

The middle-aged monk was stunned, and after a long while, he stammered:

"Oh, okay, sure."

I have the utmost respect for this unassuming and uniquely insightful abbot.

High, it is high!

"Alright, everyone go ahead and get busy." Zhenying waved her hand.

Then, he turned and looked at the old monks beside him, whose faces were bruised and swollen, but who were still able to move—

They were all high-ranking members of Jinshan Temple, his fellow disciples.

"My fellow senior brothers and junior brothers."

Zhenying lowered her voice and her expression became serious:

"Let's leave the temple affairs as they are for now. But there's one thing that concerns the future foundation of Jinshan Temple, and we old folks need to discuss it carefully."

His gaze fell on Faming, who lay on the ground in the distance with vacant eyes, and he sighed.

"Faming, you should come too."

……

A moment later, in a meditation room that was still relatively intact but had been emptied out, leaving only a few broken windows and a door panel.

Several old monks, along with Faming, who was helped in by two young monks and was sitting against the wall, sat together.

The atmosphere was even heavier than the ruins outside.

"Fa Ming."

Zhenying spoke first, her gaze calmly fixed on her once most prized disciple, now practically a cripple:

"The root cause of this catastrophic disaster at Jinshan Temple today, could it be your inner demons?"

Faming's body trembled almost imperceptibly.

He slowly raised his empty eyes to look at his master. His lips trembled a few times before he spoke hoarsely, his voice filled with endless regret, resentment, and a trace of fear that even he himself was unwilling to admit:

"Yes... Master. It's all that wretched child... it's all his fault!"

"He somehow acquired the ability to predict destiny!"

Faming practically roared out those three words, his eyes bloodshot.

"Everything that happened today, from his arrest to the 749 Bureau coming to our door, to the flooding of Jinshan, to the bandits raiding our home, and finally to his attack on me... it was all part of his meticulously planned scheme! He saw it all along!"

"The ability to foresee destiny?!"

These three words exploded like thunder in the small meditation room!

The faces of the old monks changed instantly, filled with surprise, shock, and disbelief!

Even Zhenying, whose eyes were as calm as a dry well, suddenly showed a very intense fluctuation!

"This...how is this possible?!"

A withered old monk exclaimed, "The six supernatural powers of Buddhism are extremely rare! How could someone with only a mental demon possibly comprehend them one after another?!"

Another tall, thin old monk chimed in, his voice trembling:

"He previously attained the ability to read minds! That's why he saw through our schemes back then, leading to his defection from the temple! And now... now we have someone with the ability to read destiny?!"

"When did these six supernatural powers of Buddhism start popping up like cabbages at the market down the mountain, one after another?!"

Zhenying raised her hand and gently pressed it down, silencing her fellow disciples' astonishment.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a long sigh.

That sigh was filled with indescribable complex emotions: regret, helplessness, relief, and a deep-seated, cold resolve.

"It's my fault too."

Zhenying spoke slowly, her voice low and deep.

Under the astonished gazes of his fellow disciples and Faming, he stretched out his withered fingers and slowly untied the hem of his old kasaya, pulling it open to both sides.

Beneath the robe was not aged skin.

Instead, it was covered with dense, twisted, and eerie rune patterns that shimmered with a dark red glow!

The runes were deeply imprinted on his skin and flesh, wriggling slightly like living things, exuding an extremely sinister aura that was completely incompatible with the purity of Buddhism!

"This is……?!"

Fa Ming's pupils shrank sharply. Although his cultivation had been destroyed, his eyesight was still sharp, and he could tell at a glance that the runes were anything but simple.

"This is a secret technique passed down through generations of my Jinshan Temple lineage. It cannot be recorded on inanimate objects, nor can it be remembered; it can only be imprinted on human skin."

"It is said to have been created by Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism."

Its name is...

"The Magic of Feeding".

"The wonder of this method lies in its ability to actively draw out the demonic thoughts in a cultivator's heart, and then use secret techniques to nurture and nourish them, ultimately... to create a near-realistic demonic body for them."

"Once the demonic body is formed, it can unleash secret techniques. It can transfer all the distracting thoughts, karmic obstacles, and dangers of backlash from inner demons that arise on the host's path of cultivation to this demonic body."

"The host, on the other hand, will gain a clear and pure mind, and on the path of cultivation, he will be free from inner demons and achieve twice the results with half the effort."

He looked at Faming, a faint trace of regret flashing in his eyes:

"I originally intended to wait until you reached the five trials in your cultivation, then use this demonic body to take your place and endure those tribulations. You, in turn, could use this method to safely overcome the five trials and achieve liberation."

"This is... a technique to deceive Heaven."

"My intention was to end this law in my generation."

Zhenying closed her eyes, her voice filled with deep exhaustion and self-reproach:

"This method is contrary to the principles of Heaven and will cause endless hidden dangers."

"But I... was too greedy."

He opened his eyes, looked at Faming, and said with a wry smile:

"Your aptitude is unparalleled in my life. Jinshan Temple has waited for hundreds of years to finally find a promising candidate like you who has the potential to attain liberation and become a Buddha in this world."

"But your character is indeed flawed; you are prone to attachments. The three calamities can be remedied by attaining the Bodhisattva stage, but these five difficulties..."

"After much deliberation, I still couldn't resist this greed. I used this method on you, hoping to pave a smooth road to heaven for you."

"But despite all my careful planning, I didn't foresee..."

Zhenying's voice finally trembled slightly:

"That inner demon's cultivation aptitude is actually superior to yours!"

"He learns everything quickly, grasps concepts instantly, and can apply what he's learned to other situations. What you've mastered, he can quickly learn as well, and may even surpass you."

"I never expected that he could comprehend telepathy and see through our schemes."

"One wrong step leads to another. In the end, the tiger was raised to become a menace, which backfired and brought disaster upon the entire Jinshan Temple."

"well……"

That sigh seemed to drain all his energy and spirit, making him age ten years in an instant.

"Senior brother! This is not solely your fault!"

The dry-faced monk suddenly spoke, his voice excited:

"Any of us, faced with Faming's talent and the decline of Buddhism while Taoism is rising, would have made the same choice!"

The tall, thin old monk nodded emphatically, a look of worry on his face:

"Excellent! Senior brother, that fellow from Longhu Mountain has already overcome four of the five tribulations! He only needs to overcome the last one to attain liberation and become the Ancestral Celestial Master!"

"As for our Buddhist sect... that venerable one on whom so much hope was placed is stuck in a love triangle, unable to make any progress for nearly a hundred years, and is almost ruined!"

"If this continues, the status of Buddhism in the cultivation world will plummet! This is absolutely unacceptable!"

The old monks spoke one after another, their emotions running high.

Clearly, the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism, and the prejudices between different schools of thought, are their real deep-seated anxieties.

Zhenying listened silently, and only after they finished speaking did she slowly raise her hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

The last trace of emotion on his face vanished, leaving only an icy calm.

"There's no point in arguing about things that are in the past."

"Now, my Jinshan Temple lineage has suffered a great loss of vitality and reputation after this calamity. Let alone competing with Longhu Mountain, it would be as difficult as climbing to heaven even if we wanted to maintain our current status within the Buddhist community."

His sharp gaze swept over the crowd:

"More likely, it will be suppressed and swallowed up by other covetous Buddhist temples, eventually becoming a minor one, or even losing its lineage."

These words made all the old monks' hearts sink.

"Senior brother, what do you mean...?"

A fat old monk asked tentatively.

Zhenying slowly clasped her hands together, and the cold, resolute light deep within her eyes grew brighter and brighter:

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

"My mind is made up."

"From this day forward, the 'Feeding Magic' will be listed as a core tradition of Jinshan Temple."

"It shall be taught to all disciples who have entered the sect."