Killing Monks

"As for tonsure?" Guangyuan paused. "Is not tonsure considered a defilement of the purity of Buddhism?"

"But as far as I know, there is one person who has never been ordained, yet is revered as a patriarch by monks all over the world."

The old monk's expression changed completely.

"You!!" He pointed at Guangyuan, "You slander the Buddha, spouting wild words! You are utterly despicable!"

He suddenly waved his hand.

"Get them out!"

Before he could finish speaking, two monks darted out from behind him, one on the left and one on the right, and pounced on Guangyuan.

The little Buddhist temple's signature move is the "Diamond Leg"!

The two men swung their legs, bringing with them a golden gale as they came rushing in. One leg swept towards Guangyuan's lower body, while the other chopped towards Guangyuan's head.

They moved up and down in perfect coordination.

The two men's realms are similar to Guangyuan's.

According to Buddhist classification, it is the "Realm of Form and Hearers"; according to the Northern Zhou classification, it is the "Realm of Humanity and Wind and Thunder". Internal energy can be projected out of the body, forming a palm strike from a distance or a protective aura, making it difficult to be harmed by ordinary swords and blades.

Guangyuan did not retreat but advanced.

He sidestepped the kick aimed at his lower body, and at the same time raised his hand to meet the kick coming at his head with a palm strike.

The palms and legs collided, producing a muffled thud.

Guangyuan took a half-step back to dissipate the immense force, and at the same time, he shifted his palm, redirecting the opponent's power to the side. The monk couldn't stop in time, his kick missed, and he fell forward.

Another person pounced from the side, delivering another sweeping kick.

Guangyuan's footwork was ever-changing, his figure like a willow catkin in the wind, swaying and fluttering, yet he always managed to dodge those sharp leg shadows at the last second.

He used both hands to push and guide, borrowing and transferring the strength of the two men to each other, making them restrain each other and causing the fight to become increasingly chaotic.

The concepts of withering and flourishing become increasingly harmonious in his hands.

Harvest what is withered, and let what is flourishing grow. In the balance between harvesting and releasing, use the opponent's strength against them.

After a few exchanges, the two monks were panting heavily and their steps were unsteady. Guangyuan seized an opening and struck one of them in the chest with his palm.

"Bang!"

The man stumbled back several steps, then sat down heavily on the ground, clutching his chest and gasping for breath.

While the other man was still in a daze, Guangyuan had already moved in and elbowed him in the ribs. The man groaned and bent over, clutching his ribs.

The two men were defeated and forced to retreat.

Guangyuan stopped and stood up, looking at the old monk.

Two monks collapsed to the ground groaning, while the rest of the monks looked terrified and none dared to step forward.

Having endured the harsh realities of life in the martial world, he was no longer the clueless novice he once was.

The old monk's face darkened.

Based on those few moves alone, he had to admit that this young man did indeed have the confidence to come and demand an explanation.

However, even Buddhas fight over a stick of incense, and people fight over a breath of air.

The Prajna Temple was originally guarded by an old monk. There were hardly any pilgrims all year round, and it was dilapidated, so he turned a blind eye to it.

As monks, we should always leave people a way to survive.

But at the end of last year, the old monk disappeared and was replaced by a mute.

The mute man first gave the incense money, and occasionally gave porridge to the poor.

After a while, everyone in Qujiang County knew that there was a mute master at Prajna Temple who was very kind-hearted, and that Prajna Temple was very efficacious.

He knew that this small temple, which didn't make money but instead lost money and made its name through "involution," might one day be noticed and funded, turning into a second small Buddhist temple!

That's why he exchanged a few words with the county magistrate.

The county magistrate had profited handsomely from introducing some merchants to the small Buddhist temple to lend him "incense money," and closing down the Prajna Temple was a simple matter of a word.

I thought that was the end of it.

Who knew that two months later, this monk would appear.

The old monk sized up Guangyuan, his mind racing with calculations.

From a cost perspective, it's not worth fighting with this person.

If we lose, it'll be embarrassing. If we win, we won't gain anything.

But two tigers cannot share one mountain.

This mountain cannot accommodate two temples. If this monk is allowed to grow too powerful, where will the smaller Buddhist temple find a place to stand in the future?

These thoughts flashed through his eyes.

He slowly raised his hand and took off his monk's robe.

The monk's robe fell down, revealing a strong and muscular body!

Beneath his bronze skin, muscles bulged like the gnarled roots of an old tree, each vein concealing explosive power.

That was a body forged through countless trials and tribulations, the kind of physique only the Thirteen Protectors' Horizontal Training could produce.

He served in the army in his youth, honing his skills for over a decade in the Northern Zhou army. Later, he left the monastic life and became a monk, bringing his martial arts prowess with him into Buddhism. He combined it with the Vajra Leg technique, creating his own unique leg style.

It's not called Vajra Legs.

It's called "Heavenly Dragon Leg".

The old monk looked up at Guangyuan, his gaze sharp and piercing.

The next moment, he moved.

He stomped his right foot hard on the ground, and the bluestone slab cracked open with a "crack".

He leaped into the air like a small mountain, his right leg sweeping out with a whooshing sound, faintly carrying the roar of a dragon!

That was a sharp whistling sound produced by the penetrating qi and friction with the air.

Golden gale swirled around his legs, forming a phantom dragon shadow that slashed down at Guangyuan!

"The dragon nods!"

That kick was powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks.

Guangyuan neither dodged nor evaded the kick.

He didn't even raise his hand to block.

He just stood there, letting the leg shadows, accompanied by the sound of a dragon's roar, rain down on him!

"Bang!"

The shadow of a leg slammed hard onto his shoulder.

The old monk was overjoyed, but his expression suddenly changed.

wrong.

His force seemed to have hit a ball of cotton, soft and yielding nowhere. That power, capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

"receive."

Guangyuan uttered a single word softly.

His aura suddenly subsided, as if he had transformed into a bottomless abyss. The old monk's power was forcibly gathered, compressed, and condensed into a single mass by him using the power of "Withering and Flourishing".

The old monk tried to pull his leg away, but found it firmly stuck and unable to move.

"change."

Guangyuan uttered another word.

His feet sank suddenly, and the force that had been gathered poured down his body, through the soles of his feet, and into the bluestone slabs beneath his feet!

"boom--!"

Amidst the deafening roar, the entire gate of the small Buddhist temple trembled.

The half-foot-thick bluestone slab, starting from Guangyuan's feet, was covered with cracks that spread outwards like a spider web.

The cracks continued to spread, extending to the gate piers on both sides and to the foundation stone of the mountain gate.

"Splash!"

Pebbles flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.

The gate of the small Buddhist temple was half collapsed.

Guangyuan withdrew his hand, dusted off the dust on his shoulder, and looked up at the old monk.

"Old monk, have you eaten?"

Based on the nameless inner method of the old Taoist, it encompasses the "gathering" of all things, and uses the "One Thought of Withering and Flourishing Sutra" as the "transformation".

This is the "gathering" and "transformation" that Guangyuan has come to understand during his months of wandering the world.

It's a pity he didn't grasp the subsequent "luck" and "release," otherwise he wouldn't have been able to transfer his power to the ground beneath his feet.

Upon hearing this, the old monk's face turned ashen.

He took a deep breath, then leaped into the air, rising three zhang (approximately 10 meters) into the air.

With a somersault in mid-air, headfirst, he swung his right leg in a wide arc downwards, shouting, "Dragon Decapitation!"

This kick was even more vicious and powerful than the last one.