Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

"So it's Young Master Ning." Shen Jue collected his thoughts and nodded slightly.

"It's getting late. Young Master Ning, are you waiting for someone at the inn's entrance?"

Ning Caichen shook his head, a slightly embarrassed look on his face: "I'm not waiting for anyone."

"It's because the room rate at this inn is too high. I'm short of money and am hesitating about whether to go outside the city and find a dilapidated temple to spend the night."

"A dilapidated temple?" Shen Jue raised an eyebrow and said, "There is one outside the city, but that place is not suitable for spending the night."

"Master, are you referring to Lanruo Temple?" Ning Caichen's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly dimmed again.

"To be honest, I had heard before I came that Lanruo Temple is haunted."

"But I believe that if you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear from ghosts knocking at your door in the middle of the night."

"I was thinking of going to take a look, but halfway there I heard that the place had been unsettled lately, and several passing merchants had died, so I didn't dare to go."

As Shen Jue listened to Ning Caichen's rambling, his gaze inadvertently swept around his surroundings.

The beggars who used to be squatting on the street corner were gone, replaced by two or three furtive figures peeking out from the alley entrance.

Further away, it seemed that even more people were gathering in this direction.

These people were clearly not there to worship Buddha.

Shen Jue withdrew his gaze and gave Ning Caichen a smile.

His smile was gentle and compassionate, like that of a highly enlightened monk saving all sentient beings.

"If Young Master Ning doesn't mind, please come with me tonight."

"This humble monk is going to Lanruo Temple to take care of some business. The temple is spacious, so one more person won't be a problem."

Ning Caichen was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, repeatedly bowing and saying, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"

Shen Jue smiled and waved his hand. He glanced at the growing crowd at the alley entrance, and his smile deepened.

He subconsciously clenched two fingers, as if recalling the feeling of smashing the thugs in the past.

"Let's go to Lanruo Temple." Shen Jue lay back down, his voice lazy and casual.

"Walk slower so that the people behind can keep up."

The leader of the eighteen Arhats nodded knowingly and whispered, "Rise."

The Buddhist chariot slowly turned and headed towards the north gate.

The eighteen people deliberately slowed their pace, as if taking a stroll.

Ning Caichen carried a paper lantern and followed closely beside the Buddha's carriage.

Unaware that his words about the haunted Lanruo Temple had been clearly heard by the greedy eyes that were surging from all directions.

In the darkness behind the Buddha's carriage, more and more figures are gathering.

Like a group of sharks that had smelled blood, they emerged from every alleyway of the county town and silently followed behind the Buddhist palanquin.

Leading the way were Hei Juedao, Zhang San, and Zhou Bopi's three groups.

The three groups together numbered over a hundred, each wielding knives, axes, and clubs, their eyes gleaming with greed and cruelty.

"Boss, they've gone to Lanruo Temple!" The henchman's voice trembled with excitement.

"That place is in the middle of nowhere, perfect for a strike! It's like heaven is helping us!"

Hei Jue Dao grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

He glanced at the golden Buddhist chariot leading the way, then at Zhang Mazi and Zhou Bopi beside him, and the three exchanged a knowing look.

"Keep up," Black Three Knives whispered.

"When you reach Lanruo Temple, stop the monk and the scholar."

The night is getting darker.

The Buddhist chariot slowly drove out of the north gate and headed towards Lanruo Temple deep in the dense forest.

Behind him, more than a hundred thugs followed silently like a black venomous snake.

Shen Jue lay on the lotus platform, his eyes half-closed, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He reached out a hand and gently patted the armrest of the lotus platform.

"We'll assign someone to do it later."

"May those benefactors be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

The eighteen Arhats nodded in agreement. Ning Caichen, who was standing to the side, broke out in a cold sweat, feeling that these monks beside him were probably not bad people.

"Benefactor Ning," Shen Jue smiled slightly upon seeing Ning Caichen's fearful expression.

With a mere wave of his hand, Ning Caichen was uncontrollably propelled onto the Buddha carriage and knelt before Shen Jue.

"what!"

"Big monk, are you a monster?!"

"Don't eat me!"

"I'm so skinny, I barely have any meat on my bones! I wouldn't taste good!"

Ning Caichen was so frightened that he trembled and shouted.

Shen Jue smiled and said, "This humble monk is not some kind of demon."

"The purpose of this trip is to investigate the true nature of the old demon of Lanruo Temple."

"I wonder if Young Master Ning could do this humble monk a favor?"

Ning Caichen suddenly stood up with a start, frantically shielding his back, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at Shen Jue.

He recalled the very bad rumors about those senior monks.

It is said that a handsome and high-ranking monk like Shen Jue is always a two-way plug.

His gentle and unassuming scholarly nature was exactly what those monks wanted.

Seeing Ning Caichen's terrified expression, Shen Jue's face darkened. He felt that among all the Shen Jue, he was the first to be misunderstood to such an extent.

At this point, Shen Jue immediately lost interest in explaining to Ning Caichen.

With a casual pat, Ning Caichen knelt back on the Buddha carriage.

"Kid, I'll guarantee you'll reach the Grandmaster realm. Now, go deep into Lanruo Temple and investigate the true nature of that Tree Demon Granny."

"It would be even better if we could lure out the Black Mountain Demon."

"Don't even think about running around. This monk has placed a restriction on you."

"If you run around recklessly, you'll end up like the people behind you."

Before Ning Caichen could react to the meaning behind Shen Jue's words, he heard a muffled loud noise from behind.

The sound was strange; it didn't sound like metal clashing or rocks collapsing.

It was more like something was instantly crushed by an incredibly powerful force.

He instinctively turned around to look.

Under the moonlight, an Arhat from Jinshan Temple slowly retracted his right fist.

A layer of pale golden energy swirled around the Arhat's fist, like the blue smoke rising from a red-hot iron.

Before him, there were no living people left.

The Arhat slowly raised his right fist.

The pale golden energy swirling around his fist suddenly surged, bursting forth like a small sun in the night.

He made no unnecessary movements, simply taking a step forward and swinging his right fist out horizontally.

One punch, just one punch.

The moment the internal force left the body, a visible white channel was torn open in the air.

The pebbles and fallen leaves on the ground were swept up by that overwhelming force and surged to both sides like waves.

The hundred or so thugs blocking the way of that punch didn't even have time to show any fear before they froze the moment the force hit them.

The next moment, the bodies of more than a hundred bandits exploded simultaneously.

More than a hundred plumes of blood mist bloomed at the same moment, turning the entire night sky crimson.

The shattered flesh and bone fragments mingled together, turning into a sky full of red dust, like a silent rain of blood, falling down in a flurry.

Moonlight pierced through the blood mist, casting an eerie red glow.

A layer of even, dark red liquid had accumulated on the ground, the last traces left by more than a hundred people in this world.

One punch, and a hundred are wiped out.

On the Buddhist palanquin, Shen Jue didn't even lift his eyelids.

Ning Caichen, however, saw it clearly.

When the Arhat swung his fist, his expression remained indifferent, as if he had just crushed not a hundred lives, but a swarm of annoying mosquitoes.

A drop of blood fell on Ning Caichen's forehead.