Star Martial Soaring Cloud

Night had fallen, and the campfire had gradually burned to ashes, leaving only a few sparks flickering in the darkness.

Wang Xiao and Xiao He, both slightly drunk, leaned against the rock wall and gradually fell silent.

Half an hour later, Xiao He leaned against the rock wall and glanced at Wang Xiao beside him out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that Wang Xiao was steady and breathing deeply, he confirmed that he was fast asleep before slowly opening his eyes. The alcohol in his eyes had completely dissipated, leaving only clarity.

He stood up quietly, moving very slowly, even deliberately minimizing the sound of his clothes brushing against the rock wall, for fear of disturbing the sleeping Wang Xiao.

Then, he walked towards the nearby habitat, squatted down beside Zhao Shuheng, and gently patted the other's shoulder.

Zhao Shuheng, whose injuries were the least severe and who had taken the Righteous Qi Pill from the Haoqi Pavilion, was now completely fine. He woke up with a pat from Xiao He, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "Senior Brother Xiao, what's wrong?"

"Yuheng, come with me." Xiao He's voice was very low, his gaze quickly sweeping in Wang Xiao's direction, his tone tinged with urgency, "Brother Lu is already fast asleep, let's take this opportunity to get the seedlings of the Immortal Ephemeral Flower. When he wakes up at dawn, we'll give him the seedlings."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shuheng instantly understood Xiao He's thoughts, nodded, and quietly got up without disturbing Wen Wen and the other person who were still fast asleep beside him.

The two exchanged a glance, identified the location of the fairy epiphyllum seedling, and then stepped lightly into the night, quickly disappearing into the hazy shadows.

Not long after they disappeared, Wang Xiao, who had been fast asleep, slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were clear and bright, showing no trace of drunkenness.

He looked in the direction Xiao He and the other man had left, shook his head helplessly, but a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Men's tacit understanding is sometimes like this; they rely more on actions than words.

That is why, even complete strangers, they can still become fast friends and enjoy drinks together.

Wang Xiao stood up quietly, picked up a piece of charcoal, and used the remaining embers to write a line on the smooth stone wall: "Thank you for your hospitality. I am deeply grateful. Our journey to the Demon Island has been full of opportunities. Farewell, and I hope we will meet again."

He glanced again at Wen and the other person who were fast asleep not far away, then his figure flashed and disappeared into the night as silently as a raccoon in the dark.

Before dawn, the Demon Island was shrouded in a hazy morning mist, with only the vague outlines of the distant mountains visible, and the air filled with the faint scent of grass and dew.

Wang Xiao sped northward, his figure weaving through the morning mist as fast as the wind.

In the northern part of the Demon Island lies a volcano that has been dormant for thousands of years. Although it has long since ceased erupting, due to the volcanic geology, hot springs of various sizes are scattered around it.

Those hot springs absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, with a constant water temperature and pure primordial energy, which is of great benefit to the physical training and breath harmony of cultivators in the Fish Leap Realm.

Wang Xiao had been traveling for nearly three hours, his clothes were soaked by the morning dew and then dried by the rising sun.

He slowed his pace, regulated his breathing, and looked into the distance—the terrain ahead gradually rose, the color of the mountains darkened, and the exposed dark red rocks were faintly visible, which was a characteristic of the volcanic region.

Following this direction, it will take about half an hour to reach the hot spring area.

Wang Xiao was planning to find a hot spring to relax when he suddenly heard a noisy commotion coming from not far ahead, mixed with the roars of monsters and a rough human voice.

"Hmm?" Wang Xiao concealed himself, found a good hiding place, and thought to himself, "It seems there are indeed more cultivators in the northern part of this Demon Island."

He peered out and saw three strangely shaped demons surrounding a monk on a wide, rocky beach.

These three demons were all similar in appearance to humans, but they had obvious animal characteristics: the one on the left was burly, covered with brownish-yellow mane, with a protruding mouth revealing sharp fangs, and a pair of large, copper-bell-shaped eyes that shone with ferocity; it was clearly a dog demon.

The one in the middle was tall and thin, with messy gray-black fur like straw, pointed ears that stood up, and a wide grin that let out a low growl; it was a wolf demon.

The one on the right is the most peculiar. It is small in stature but has an unusually large head with darting, cunning eyes. Most strangely, its forelimbs are short and weak, almost resting on the wolf demon's back. It is the legendary wolf demon that colludes with wolves.

The besieged monk was extremely rugged: he was over eight feet tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a face full of flesh and a thick beard that almost covered half of his face.

He was wearing an earth-yellow monk's robe, which was stained with some dirt, but he did not look disheveled at all.

He clasped his hands together, muttered incantations, and his body emanated a powerful golden light—clearly the iconic golden body of the Sumeru School of Buddhism.

The Sumeru Sect and the demon race have a long-standing feud.

The disciples of the Sumeru School cultivate the golden body of Buddhism, emphasizing "using strength to overcome strength, and being able to withstand all things in the world." Their strong defense is renowned throughout the land.

The demon race's physical bodies are inherently powerful, making them the perfect test subjects for forging a golden body.

Therefore, most disciples of the Sumeru Sect would go to Loulan City, where humans and demons meet in the Western Wilderness, to cultivate, subdue demons and monsters to temper their golden bodies, and strive to make their golden bodies reach the ultimate level of strength and power.

"Hehe, I didn't expect to run into a lone bald monk on this demonic island!" The dog demon grinned, his voice rough and grating. "This bald monk's golden body doesn't look fully formed yet. It'll be perfect for practicing on him. Absorbing his golden body's energy might just help our master advance his cultivation level!"

The wolf demon grinned maliciously, "That's right! How many of our kind has that bald monk Sumeru taken in? Today we've finally met one! Brothers, let's attack together, tear off his golden body, and skin him alive!"

The wolf demon squinted, its voice sharp as a needle: "Brothers, don't be hasty. Although this bald monk is alone, his Buddhist golden body defense is not weak. We must be careful. Let's exhaust his energy first before we make our move."

The three demon clans slowly approached in a triangular formation, their demonic energy surging and making the surrounding air murky and oppressive.

In contrast, the burly monk remained calm and composed, clasping his hands together and saying in a rough voice, "Amitabha, benefactors, the sea of ​​suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore."

Before the Buddhist words had even finished, a glint of shrewdness flashed in his seemingly honest eyes.

His hands, which were originally clasped together, suddenly snapped together, and a cold light flashed—a dark pig-slaughtering knife had appeared in his hand without anyone noticing!

This butcher's knife is extremely ordinary: the blade is thick and about three feet long, and the edge is polished to a shine, but it is covered with fine scratches, indicating that it has been used for many years; the handle is made of ordinary jujube wood, which has been rubbed smooth and shiny, and a piece of dark red hemp rope is tied to the end, which is clearly the style commonly used by butchers in the market.

Monk, butcher's knife; Buddhist words on his lips, the sneak attack has already begun.

Wang Xiao simply couldn't connect the dots between what was happening before him; even in his dreams, he couldn't have imagined such an absurd combination.

A flash of light, as fast as lightning, and Wang Xiao didn't even see the monk's movements clearly. He only heard a soft "plop" sound, accompanied by the dog demon's mournful scream.

The butcher's knife was completely embedded in the dog demon's abdomen, the blade emerging from its back, leaving a spray of bright red blood.

With a twist of his wrist, the monk turned the hilt of his knife, and the dog demon's screams came to an abrupt halt. Its eyes widened in disbelief, and its massive body crashed to the ground, twitching a few times before falling still.

Is this a monk? Wang Xiao was completely stunned, his eyes wide open.

This monk not only lacked martial ethics and launched a sneak attack, but also openly killed. The key point is that the way he wielded the knife was so skilled, as if he was not killing a demon, but a pig waiting to be slaughtered!

"You! You bald monk! You actually launched a sneak attack!" The wolf demon was startled by this sudden turn of events and took two steps back, pointing at the monk with a face full of anger and disbelief. "What kind of monk are you? Using such despicable means! You dare call yourself a disciple of Buddhism?"

Before the wolf demon could finish his angry rebuke, the monk's smile widened.

He pulled out the butcher's knife, drawing out a string of blood droplets, and then slashed again with his backhand.

The blade flashed again, so fast that its trajectory was impossible to see; it was still an unreasonable sneak attack!

"laugh--"

A line of blood bloomed on the wolf demon's neck, and its head fell to the ground with a thud. Blood gushed out like a fountain, and the headless body crashed to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, both demons had perished.

The monk chanted "Amitabha" while ruthlessly killing someone. The contrast was so stark that Wang Xiao was dumbfounded, with only one thought in his mind: Who is the real demon?

The remaining wolf demons, seeing the situation was dire, were terrified and dared not linger.

It let out a strange cry, and its body suddenly transformed into a black shadow. It turned around and fled into the distance. Although the wolf demon was not good at fighting, it was known for its cunning and speed. At this moment, it was fleeing at an astonishing speed.

"Trying to run?" The monk sneered, flicking his wrist as the pig-slaughtering knife in his hand flew towards the wolf demon's back.

With a "thud," the butcher knife accurately pierced the wolf demon's buttocks.

A sneak attack is one thing, but to use such a cunning and despicable move? Wang Xiao felt a chill run down his spine.

The wolf demon let out an extremely shrill scream, staggered and fell to the ground, its body twitched a few times, and then it stopped breathing completely.

Three cuts, three demons—all clean and efficient pig-slaughtering techniques.

After dealing with the three demons, the monk flicked the blood off his butcher knife, his movements so practiced that not a single flaw could be found.

Then he looked up and shouted in the direction where Wang Xiao was hiding, "Friend, since you're here, come out. You've been hiding in the back watching for so long, how about we have some dog meat together?"

Wang Xiao was startled. He thought he had hidden himself very well and concealed his aura perfectly, but he never expected that the monk would discover him.

This monk's intuition is so sharp!

Now that he had been discovered, Wang Xiao no longer hid.

He flashed out and looked at the monk in front of him with a complicated expression. He clasped his hands in greeting and said, "I am Lu Yang, greetings, Master."

"Lu Yang? What a nice name." The monk grinned, revealing two rows of neat white teeth, quite incongruous with his rugged appearance. "This humble monk is Yuan Kong. You can also call me Monk Yi Dao."

As he spoke, he picked up a dead tree, dug a hole in the open ground, and lit a fire.

Then he walked to the dog demon's corpse and skillfully began to process it—skinning it and removing its internal organs, his movements fluid and graceful, clearly indicating that he was used to doing this kind of thing.

Wang Xiao stood aside, dumbfounded.

Killing animals is one thing, but to actually eat dog meat?

What kind of monk is this?

He couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Master, what's wrong with you...?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Kong looked up at him, mistaking him for admiration for his methods, and smiled smugly: "These few little demons are nothing to mention."

As he continued processing the dog demon's corpse, he explained, "The way demons enter Demon Island is different from how we human cultivators behave. Among the demon race, those who reach the peak of the Fish Leap realm can become demon generals. Demon generals usually have several lower-level demons parasitizing them, called demon soldiers, who are mainly responsible for taking care of the demon general's daily life. In their eyes, this is a status symbol. If one can break through to the Dragon Gate Divine Realm, one can become a demon king, and that is the true overlord of a region."

"The three I just killed were parasitic minor demon soldiers, their cultivation was only at the initial stage of the Fish Leap, so they were easy to deal with. If their demon general comes, it won't be so easy. However, it will take at least a few hours for the demon general to discover that his subordinates are missing." Yuan Kong cut the cleaned dog meat into large chunks, skewered them on tree branches, and roasted them over the fire. The grease dripped into the fire, making a sizzling sound, and soon a rich aroma of meat wafted out.

"Actually, under normal circumstances, the demon race doesn't easily participate in the Demon Island Trials. They have their own Kunlun Secret Realm, where the opportunities are no less than those on the Demon Island. But some demons are arrogant and want to come to the Demon Island to meet our human race's young masters and prove that the demon race is the king of this world and that humans should submit to them." Yuan Kong said while turning the skewers, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.

Wang Xiao then realized that there was another reason why the demon race entered the Demon Island, and he was slightly surprised.

But he was more concerned about Yuan Kong's behavior and couldn't help but ask again, "Master, aren't monks supposed to refrain from killing and eating meat? What you're doing..."

"Oh, you mean this?" Yuankong waved his hand dismissively, picked up the salt shaker beside him, sprinkled some salt on the dog meat, and said, "This humble monk is practicing the Buddha's teachings. The Buddha said, 'Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot.' Look, I killed them first, and then chanted scriptures to help them pass on. Isn't that putting down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot?"

"Huh? You can explain it like that?" Wang Xiao was completely stunned, his mouth slightly open, unable to close it for a long time.

He thought to himself: Is this the Buddha's way? What kind of way does the Buddha cultivate?

Although he had cultivated himself on Qixing Mountain since childhood, he had heard the story of "laying down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot", but he had never heard such a subversive understanding!

This monk's thought process is truly bizarre.

Yuan Kong, however, was completely unaware that there was anything wrong with his explanation. Instead, he said matter-of-factly, "Of course! I have been cultivating like this for twenty years and have never felt there was a problem."

He put down the salt jar and began to tell Wang Xiao about his experience: "Brother Lu, don't disbelieve me. The temple where I live is surrounded by many people. During festivals, they slaughter pigs and sheep to worship their ancestors. But their pig-slaughtering skills are really too clumsy. Once, during the New Year, a family in the village was slaughtering a pig, but they didn't kill it with one stroke. The pig got frightened, broke free, and ran into our temple."

"You didn't see what happened back then, it was an absolute stunner. The pig was running ahead, blood was spurting behind, and the villagers were chasing after it, making the whole temple a chaotic mess. Luckily, I was quick-witted and grabbed the butcher's knife, rushed over and delivered the final blow, killing the pig and stopping the farce!" Yuan Kong said, his face full of pride as he recounted the incident. "The moment I held the butcher's knife, I felt an unparalleled connection with it, as if it had been made for me."

"From then on, I began to study the art of slaughtering pigs. Over time, my skills became so refined that I could kill pigs with a single, swift stroke, without the pig even uttering a sound. That's how I got the nickname 'One-Knife Monk.'" Yuankong patted the slaughtering knife beside him, his eyes filled with affection. "You see, my skill not only benefits the people around the temple but also reduces the suffering of pigs. Isn't that Buddhist teaching?"

"Back then, the abbot of the temple had the same expression as you do now, thinking that I was blaspheming Buddhism." Yuan Kong smiled. "But after I explained the reasoning to him, he couldn't argue with me, so he simply stopped interfering and even allowed me to practice Buddhism while slaughtering pigs. The abbot said that Buddhism is boundless and not bound by form; as long as you have good intentions, whatever you do is Buddhist practice."

Wang Xiaoqiang feigned composure, but his heart was in turmoil. He finally understood that this monk Yuankong was an "outlier"—not only did his behavior differ drastically from that of Buddhist disciples, but his understanding of Buddhism was also so unconventional.

"Actually, this humble monk believes that this is the true essence of Buddhism. The Buddha's purpose is to help people. By helping the people slaughter pigs, I am helping both the people and the pigs. This is the most authentic form of Buddhism imaginable." At this point, Yuan Kong lowered his voice, leaned closer to Wang Xiao, and said mysteriously, "Secondly, this humble monk thinks the Buddha is too hypocritical. He should be more honest like this humble monk, saying what he means and not engaging in all that pretense."

"What...what kind of explanation is this?" Wang Xiao was so shocked that he was numb and even stuttered.

This monk has already given him countless shocks, and now he can even come up with new tricks—not only are there new interpretations of Buddhism, but now he even dares to question the Buddha.

"Brother Lu, think about it. Buddha always tells the story of cutting off his own flesh to feed the eagle," Yuan Kong analyzed earnestly. "But there's a problem with this story! The fact that this story has been passed down means what? It means that he knew he wouldn't die before feeding the eagle! If he really died from cutting off his own flesh, how would this story have spread? Isn't this blatant bullying of honest people?"

"He even claimed this was the Buddhist principle of 'If I don't go to hell, who will?' If he's so righteous, why doesn't he feed bears? Why doesn't he feed tigers? Why does he have to feed eagles?" Yuan Kong curled his lip, his tone full of disdain. "In my humble opinion, the whole story of cutting flesh to feed eagles is just a show he put on, designed to make everyone believe in his Buddhist teachings. Utterly hypocritical!"

Wang Xiao was completely speechless.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found himself at a loss for words.

"Are you...are you sure you're a Buddhist disciple?" Wang Xiao finally managed to squeeze out these words after a long pause.

"Genuine and authentic!" Yuan Kong patted his chest, then put his hands together in a standard Buddhist salute and chanted, "Amitabha, my Dharma name is Yuan Kong, I am a disciple of the Sumeru School, and I am a student of Abbot Xuan Chen of the Sumeru School."

He had barely finished speaking when he abruptly turned to look at the dog meat on the fire and exclaimed, "Oh no! I was so engrossed in our conversation that the dog meat almost burned!"

He rushed to the fire and hurriedly turned the skewers. His previous serious demeanor as he lectured on Buddhism vanished instantly, replaced by the anxious expression of a street butcher.

Wang Xiao stood aside, staring blankly at the absurd scene before him.

This monk Yuankong was simply the most absurd person he had ever met.

In no time, the dog meat was roasted until golden brown and crispy, and a rich aroma filled the air, making one's mouth water.

Yuan Kong picked up a skewer of the best-roasted dog leg and handed it to Wang Xiao, saying enthusiastically, "Brother Lu, try my handiwork! This is the number one roasted dog leg from the Buddhist tradition—I guarantee you'll want more!"

Wang Xiao looked at the lackey being offered to him, then at Yuan Kong's expectant eyes, and felt conflicted.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Xiao changed the subject and tentatively asked, "Master, you...you don't still drink, do you?" In his opinion, this monk Yuankong had even killed animals and broken his vows, so drinking was probably no problem for him either.

"No way!" Yuan Kong waved his hands repeatedly, his tone firm and tinged with pride, "Drinking affects one's career! This humble monk doesn't drink a drop!"

Wang Xiao was taken aback, somewhat puzzled: "Affect your career? What career?"

"Of course it's a serious matter of slaughtering a pig!" Yuan Kong said matter-of-factly. "The reason my knife skills are so precise is entirely due to a clear mind and steady hands. If I were drunk, my hand would tremble, and I wouldn't be able to kill the pig on the first strike. Wouldn't that ruin my reputation as the 'One-Knife Monk'? To protect my name, I don't drink a drop of alcohol!"

Wang Xiao: "..."

Seeing Wang Xiao's blank expression, Yuan Kong assumed he admired his persistence, smiled smugly, picked up his skewer of dog legs, and began to eat it in large mouthfuls, his mouth dripping with oil. He kept exclaiming, "Delicious! So delicious! This dog demon meat is different; it's much more fragrant than ordinary dog ​​meat!"

Wang Xiao didn't want to ask any more questions. He thought to himself, "Hey, aren't you a pig butcher? How come you're even killing dogs now!"

After a while, Wang Xiao remembered what the three demons had said earlier—"It's not easy to find someone who's alone"—and asked, "Master, why are you all alone on this demon island?"

Upon hearing this question, Yuan Kong stopped chewing, sighed, and said in a low voice, "A monk does not lie. Every family has its own troubles."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao almost choked on his own saliva, thinking in surprise: What? Jiajia? You're married? How many more surprises do you have in store for me, you monk?