The world I hear is completely different from yours.

However, looking at the corpses on the ground, Shuten-dōji understood the thoughts of his subordinates to some extent. After all, several of his subordinates had been killed by Yagyu Kojirō because they had not transformed in time. So, with the mentality that they might die if they did not transform, these subordinates naturally activated their curse seals and transformed into demons at the slightest disturbance.

"It seems that after we complete the mission, we'll have to wipe out the entire village to avoid disrupting our plans for tomorrow!" Shuten-dōji thought to himself, then turned and walked toward the largest inn in the village, his huge claws stomping heavily on the corpses on the ground, staining them with crimson blood.

"What's going on?! Why are demons attacking here?!" A samurai guarding the village cried out in terror, a chill running through him. This small village, being an annex of Heian-kyo, naturally had a garrison of armed forces sent by Heian-kyo to maintain order. However, it consisted of only a few samurai with ordinary swordsmanship and several foot soldiers wielding spears. Their fighting strength was perhaps even less than that of Yagyu Kojiro, so how could they possibly deal with these monsters that had transformed and entered a berserk state?

Roar! ! !

As everyone panicked, a three-armed monster charged forward, its tough skin and immense strength smashing through the foot soldiers' trembling spear defenses. It plunged into the crowd, wreaking havoc, and finally grabbed a samurai, grabbing his head and tearing at it! It was as if a fanatical health enthusiast were frantically gnawing on the antlers of a live stag's head! Or as if a watermelon addict couldn't wait to cut the watermelon and was instead biting into the rind!

Snap! Snap! Snap! Under the demon's sharp fangs, the unfortunate man's skull exploded instantly, white brain matter and blood splattering everywhere! The surrounding survivors, witnessing this scene, were all terrified and screamed in panic as they scattered in all directions!

The collapse of the armed forces fueled the despair of the villagers, leading to an even larger exodus! The entire village was soon filled with cries for help and screams!

"It's about time! Now is the perfect opportunity for the holy monk to descend from the mountain and save all living beings!" Tian Qing, disguised as a handsome monk, estimated the time and walked out of the hotel amidst the expectant and hopeful gazes of the many travelers, leaving behind only a resolute back view.

In the eyes of many travelers, the holy monk's calm demeanor in the face of demonic attacks, and his knowingly venturing into danger, revealed the Buddhist demeanor of a high-ranking monk. Their previous contempt and incomprehension towards the holy monk had all turned into admiration and respect. Now, even if Tian Qing said that his name was a demon in disguise, these travelers would believe it without question!

"Unfortunately, because there are too few people, the reputation energy I received is pitifully small!" The Holy Monk Tianqing put on a solemn expression on the surface, but in his heart he was full of complaints: "If only this era didn't have WeChat, QQ, Douyu, Weibo, or self-media, otherwise, based on my noble act just now, I should have been able to become a popular internet celebrity with millions of fans in an instant, right?"

Despite my inner complaints, the plan to grind reputation will still proceed as usual!

Facing the villagers who were fleeing in panic and the demons who were going berserk and hurting people, the holy monk's whole body radiated a dazzling light!

Illusion*Meditation! This caused all the villagers to unconsciously calm down, so they could properly watch the holy monk's performance!

Illusion Focus! A harmless illusion, yet it drew everyone's attention to the Holy Monk, as if a spotlight were shining on him! In that instant, the Holy Monk Tianqing became the center of everyone's gaze! More captivating than those beautiful idols dressed simply with bunny ears and cat tails!!

Illusion*Radiance! Under the blessing of this illusion, the figure of the holy monk was filled with a sacred light in everyone's eyes. Even the holy monk's bald head appeared so bright and dazzling, and the originally blue Obelisk Titan was glowing all over. Its huge body was like a super-large lighthouse shining in the night sky, instantly illuminating the entire village!

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, the holy monk, seemingly a Buddha descended to earth, stood before the colossal radiant warrior and slowly spoke, his voice booming and clear, reaching the ears of everyone: "Amitabha!! This humble monk comes from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East! On my way to the Western Paradise to seek the true scriptures!!" At the same time, the colossal radiant warrior moved, smashing a demon who couldn't dodge in time to pieces with a single punch!

"This true scripture is called the Great Boundless Social Harmony True Scripture, which can deliver you from all suffering and subdue all demons! Before this true scripture, no demon or evil spirit can become a demon again!" With the holy monk's Buddhist declaration, the Light Giant Warrior unleashed his full power, swatting the surrounding demons into mincemeat as easily as swatting mosquitoes or ground squirrels!

"This... how is this possible?" Shuten-dōji stared in shock at the sky filled with holy Buddhist light and muttered to himself. Faced with this overwhelming power, he couldn't even see how his demon subordinates died!

With a deafening crash, in just a moment, the once arrogant Shuten-dōji was utterly crushed by the Giant God Soldier!

..............

P.S. Second update! Please continue to add to your favorites and recommend! O(∩_∩)O

Chapter Ten: Kaguya-hime and Orochimaru, who don't understand human nature!

When all the demons were vanquished, the holy monk walked back to the inn as if he had done nothing more than a small task, ignoring the grand spectacle. After a long while, the villagers finally came to their senses and erupted in enthusiastic cheers, their voices filled with the joy of escaping death and their gratitude towards the holy monk!

"Congratulations, player! Your reputation in this village has reached the Exalted level!" Tian Qing sat in her room, silently playing a system notification in her mind. At the same time, she observed the Divine Rune in her consciousness. As the Holy Monk's reputation reached its peak in the village, the Divine Rune began to gradually receive a small amount of reputation energy from the villagers. The rune, which had been completely dimmed, began to show a faint glow.

"Although the number of people in the village is not large, so the amount of reputation energy received is not much, once tonight is over, the holy monk's reputation will gradually spread. Those who witnessed the holy monk subduing the demon will naturally spread the holy monk's deeds widely. Therefore, I think that after a while, I will be able to gather enough energy to travel through time again!"

But tonight's gains don't stop there! Tian Qing coldly looked at the small piece of flesh in her hand. It was something she had taken from Shuten-dōji's corpse the moment she killed him. It contained the key to these people's transformation into demons: the Sage Art Seal!

"Godly runes, begin analysis and deduction! Then modify this seal according to my requirements!!"

As an alien, Princess Kaguya completely lacked understanding of human nature! Just like Orochimaru, who later buried himself in research, they subconsciously believed that as long as they could grant others great power, their research on the cursed seal would be considered a success. However, they were completely oblivious to the importance of appearance!

Those who transform by activating the cursed seals are so ugly that their first impression on people is that of monsters! In addition, the berserk behavior of some people who cannot control the power of the cursed seals after transformation further solidifies the image of demons and monsters in people's minds.

So these two clueless guys have no idea how important appearance is to humans! You know, even when you're buying apples, you know to choose the ones that look good, let alone people!

Therefore, Tian Qing ordered the main divine runes to analyze and deduce the curse seal, preparing to create a mark exclusively for Buddhism, in order to further promote the holy monk's Dharma and accelerate the enhancement of the holy monk's reputation. The main directions for improving the mark are only two: First, those who have been imprinted with the Buddhist curse seal must not become increasingly bizarre or monstrous after transformation; instead, they must become more aesthetically pleasing. Men must be handsome and muscular, women must be radiant and curvaceous—in short, exceptionally good-looking, comparable to celebrities and heartthrobs, so that everyone around them can immediately recognize them as righteous heroes from a prestigious sect!

You see, ugly people with great power are monsters and demons in people's eyes, while handsome men and beautiful women with great power are heroes! That's the importance of appearance! Can you imagine a Wonder Woman who's as fat as a mountain of flesh?

Secondly, many people lack the aptitude to control the energy of the cursed seal, causing them to enter a berserk state after transformation and indiscriminately harm others. This is an inherent flaw of the cursed seal itself that is difficult to overcome. Therefore, to completely solve this problem, Buddhist cursed seals must contain embedded personalities of righteous individuals. Once these hosts transform, their personalities are directly replaced! In this way, no matter how wicked these people were originally, even if they were evil spirits who committed murder, arson, and the extermination of their entire families, as long as the Buddhist cursed seal is activated, they will immediately become righteous fanatics with hearts turned to the light! They are the perfect example of someone who lays down their butcher's knife and instantly becomes a Buddha!

In this way, not only can the side effects of the curse seal be resolved, which is conducive to establishing a positive image for Buddhism, but it can also demonstrate the powerful ability of Buddhism to convert evildoers. As for the minor problems such as the constant alteration of the host's personality leading to personality splits or mental derangement, those are so-called inner demons, caused by insufficient Buddhist cultivation. No one would imagine that this has anything to do with the Buddhist curse seal!

"As soon as this Buddhist mantra appears before the world, it will surely elevate the holy monk's reputation to its highest point!" Tian Qing looked at the main divine runes that were constantly deducing the mantra in his consciousness, quietly waiting for tomorrow to arrive.

...................

Late at night, the gates of Heian-kyo were already closed, and no one could enter or leave. However, the towering walls and the soldiers on guard were meaningless to birds that were adept at flying. In the night sky, a carrier pigeon silently glided across the horizon and flew into a Shinto shrine.

In the basement of the shrine, Okuni, dressed as a shrine maiden, knelt before the statue and prayed softly. After a long while, she stood up and looked back at the subordinates who had rushed over. Without surprise or joy, she asked, "What happened? Why did you rush over to see me in such a hurry?"

"It was Shuten-dōji! Tonight he led several members of his combat team to attack that so-called holy monk, and they're all said to be dead now! According to the villagers, the holy monk summoned a giant god that crushed Shuten-dōji and his men to death!!" the subordinate stammered, his face pale.

They had all witnessed Shuten-dōji's strength; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was currently the strongest in Shintoism. But such a powerful figure had been killed in an instant. Just how strong must this so-called holy monk be? Moreover, that holy monk was scheduled to come to the shrine tomorrow to test his demon-subduing skills against the shrine maiden. How could they not be anxious?

"Don't panic!" Okuni calmly rebuked. "A few demons posing as Shinto members were killed by the holy monk. What does that have to do with our Shinto religion? What evidence does that holy monk have to accuse us of Shintoism? You must know that our Shinto religion has been rooted in Heian-kyo for hundreds of years. Do you think those daimyo and nobles can conclude that we have ties with Kaguya-hime's demons just based on a few pieces of clothing and items?"

As a deeply rooted indigenous religion, Shintoism had long since developed a large number of followers in Heian-kyo, accumulating a vast network of connections and wealth. No one could have imagined that Shintoism would so resolutely abandon all of this and join Princess Kaguya's ranks! Therefore, as long as Shintoism persists in denying this matter, the daimyo and nobles will only believe that a few cunning demons stole Shintoism's items and intended to incite infighting between Buddhism and Shintoism!

Chapter Eleven: The Holy Monk and the Impoverished Young Man Who Wants to Join Buddhism!

Following the analysis of the priestess Akuni, the previously uneasy subordinates suddenly realized that the situation wasn't so bad after all. Although they had lost several combatants, it hadn't affected the Shinto Church's plans at all. Seeing the priestess Akuni's relaxed and confident judgment and her expression of having everything under control, the anxious subordinates gradually calmed down and went back to prepare for tomorrow's competition.

Only after all his men had left did A-Guo's previously confident expression darken. He slammed his fist on the floor and muttered, "A bunch of useless trash who's good for nothing!"

How could the loss of those combat personnel not affect the Shinto Church's plans? It was only in order to stabilize morale that A-Gui had to pretend to be indifferent. If even A-Gui, the strongest priestess, were to panic now, then the entire Shinto Church would probably fall apart tonight!

Although the Shinto cult's high-ranking members readily became collaborators after witnessing Kaguya's power, the cult had been deeply rooted in Heian-kyo for many years, and its members were a diverse and complex group. Therefore, most of the local middle and lower-ranking members did not actually support the high-ranking members' decision. It was only because the Shinto cult's high-ranking members sent a powerful military force that these subordinates were forced to participate in the rebellion.

In other words, opinions within Shintoism were not entirely unified, and many members were unwilling to pledge allegiance to Kaguya-hime. They were only forced to act against their will due to the force of Shuten-dōji and others.

Therefore, after losing the suppression of those combatants, it is questionable whether Aguo can continue to drive these subordinates to participate in the rebellion plan! If Aguo's behavior just now was even slightly off, these already unwilling subordinates would probably immediately go and inform the daimyo and nobles!

"We can't wait any longer! These men are completely unreliable; it's hard to guarantee there won't be informants during this time!" A-Guo quickly made a judgment and said to the corner of the room, "Plan changed! Now you leave the city immediately and have our troops march towards Heian-kyo. At the same time, activate the spies we planted earlier to open the city gates for our troops!!"

"Understood!" a shadowy figure hiding in the corner replied, then hesitated before adding, "Your Highness, should we really launch an attack prematurely? Although we do have a chance to capture Heian-kyo, our war preparations are not yet complete, and we lack sufficient siege equipment. I'm afraid the fortresses and sentries along the way will inflict heavy casualties on our troops!"

"As long as we can take Heian-kyo, that's all that matters! That's what we promised Princess Kaguya!" Okuni said viciously. "To accomplish this mission, it doesn't matter how many losses our Shinto Church suffers now; we will surely gain even more in the future!"

Okuni had personally experienced Kaguya's power, and that power called chakra deeply shocked her. Therefore, she believed that the future would definitely be the era of chakra. So, in order to please Kaguya, who would one day unify the world, Okuni decided to mobilize all the troops that the Shinto Church had secretly accumulated over the years, preparing to launch an attack on Heian-kyo ahead of schedule, just like a gambler betting his entire fortune on the gambling table!

"Yes! As you command!" the voice said, and then disappeared from the room.

.................

The position of captain in charge of guarding the city gates was a coveted and highly lucrative post that many envied. Therefore, even though he was a distant relative of the daimyo, Captain Tokugawa had to spend a great deal of money and use every means at his disposal to obtain this position.

Of course, the return on this investment was also quite substantial. By extorting money from the city gates, Captain Tokugawa quickly recouped his initial investment and made a fortune. As a result, he lived a very comfortable life during this period. Not only did he earn a lot of money, but many people also approached him, offering him money and women and showering him with attention, all in the hope that he would make an exception for them when necessary to facilitate their smuggling.

For example, tonight, a Shinto Onmyoji who was on good terms with him invited Captain Tokugawa to drink at the best brothel in town. They drank until late at night, and the drunken Captain Tokugawa stumbled into the room with the help of several beautiful women.

After an unknown amount of time, Captain Tokugawa was suddenly awakened by a cacophony of shouts. Struggling to get out of bed, he shook his head, which was still hungover from drinking too much, and yelled, "What's going on?! Why is it so noisy outside?!"

Amidst the shouts of the Tokugawa squad leader, a trusted guard stumbled in, panting, and said, "Captain, something terrible has happened! Just now, while you were away, the vice-captain led his men to open the city gates, allowing the Shintoist forces to storm into Heian-kyo!"

Before Captain Tokugawa could even react to what was going on, the Onmyoji who had been drinking with him walked over, followed by a large group of followers wielding sharp blades, who coldly stared at Captain Tokugawa.

"You...you're planning a rebellion?" the Tokugawa squad leader asked in a hoarse voice.

“It’s not that we ‘want to rebel,’ we’re already ‘rebelling’!!” the Shinto Onmyoji replied, plunging a knife into the heart of the Tokugawa squad leader.

........................

The next day, when Qing came out of her room, ready to go to Heian-kyo to spread Buddhism at the invitation of the daimyo, she found that everyone in the inn had a panicked expression.

"Holy Monk, something terrible has happened! Just last night, those traitors of the Shinto Church defected to Princess Kaguya and suddenly launched a rebellion. They stormed Heian-kyo under cover of night, killing daimyo and many nobles. Now everyone is in a state of panic and doesn't know what to do!" The coachman ran up and chattered on about the news he had just received.

Just as everyone was in a state of panic, a man dressed as a samurai rushed into the inn and knelt down before Tian Qing: "Holy Monk, please accept me as your disciple!!"

"Oh? Then why did you choose to become a Buddhist monk?" Tian Qing asked, while silently activating her listening ability.

"Because I witnessed the true essence of Buddhism last night, my heart is now drawn to Buddhism!" The samurai knelt on the ground and said sincerely.

His clothes then spoke softly: "No, it's just that he is the youngest son of the daimyo, and now he is the only one left in the daimyo family. Therefore, he is afraid that the Shintoists will come to kill him, so he plans to become your disciple and try to escape with your help."

Chapter Twelve: From this day forward, you are the Buddhist monk Zhizang.

After hearing two completely contradictory answers, although the holy monk maintained a smile on his face, Tian Qing cursed inwardly: "Damn it! I knew these nobles were all traitors! None of what they said could be trusted! They said they were devoted to Buddhism, but they just wanted to take this opportunity to escape their pursuit?"

Despite the criticism, Tensei would still accept the samurai. The reason was simple: as the last surviving member of a daimyo family, this young samurai possessed the right to inherit the daimyo's title and would naturally become a banner against Kaguya-hime's group. As his master, Tensei would naturally have the opportunity to "use the emperor to command the nobles," and by relying on this opportunity, Tensei would naturally have the chance to gain more prestige.

If this samurai were to successfully become a daimyo, then the reputation of the monk Tensei would surely rise accordingly, becoming famous throughout the land. However, if the samurai were to die tragically along the way, then Tensei's compassionate act of intervening in the crisis to preserve the last spark of the daimyo family from the pursuit of the Shintoists would still earn him considerable positive recognition.

All Tianqing had to do was deal with some Shinto thugs who came looking for death for the samurai. For a Buddhist monk who had already clashed with Shintoism, this was simply a matter of convenience, making it a very profitable investment for Tianqing.

However, for such cunning nobles, it's best to teach them a lesson first and dampen their arrogance! Tian Qing thought to herself.

As the samurai waited anxiously, the holy monk silently took out a razor: "Since you wish to enter my Buddhist order, you should shave your head and practice, while also abiding by the precepts and rules of Buddhism. Can you uphold them?"

Seeing that the holy monk truly intended for him to become a monk, the young warrior panicked. He had only planned to practice with his hair intact, intending to escape once the situation calmed down; he had never considered a life of asceticism with a bald head. However, despite his deep reluctance, he was now in a difficult position and could only grit his teeth and reply, "I will uphold all the precepts!"

"Very good!" The holy monk's razor danced up and down, shaving the young warrior completely bald. "Now that you have joined the Buddhist sect, you naturally need a Dharma name. My Dharma name is Tang Sanzang, and you happen to belong to the 'Zhi' generation in Buddhism, so I will give you the Dharma name 'Zhi Zang'!"

"Thank you, Master. From this day forward, I will be a wise burial master!" The young warrior knelt down respectfully and said.

Seeing the monk Zhizang's respectful demeanor, the holy monk nodded and said with satisfaction, "Zhizang, I suppose you had already made preparations for leaving. Now let's set off immediately. Don't worry about the pursuit by the Shintoists; I will ensure your safety!"

............................

A few days later, shocking news spread throughout the world: the Shinto religion, which had been rooted in Heian-kyo for hundreds of years, had suddenly betrayed the daimyo and sided with Princess Kaguya, and even launched a rebellion, killing the daimyo and all his clansmen. This news terrified all the lords and samurai who opposed Princess Kaguya, and they all condemned the Shinto religion's shameless behavior.

Fortunately, the daimyo's youngest son escaped the calamity because he was leading a team to guard the outer villages. He then became a disciple of the Buddhist holy monk Tang Sanzang and, with the monk's help, successfully escaped Heian-kyo! The Buddhist holy monk's compassionate actions earned the respect of everyone who heard the news! Immediately, the Buddhist holy monk's reputation soared, and he became the recognized leader of the anti-Kaguya-hime alliance!

"Accepting this disciple was indeed a very worthwhile deal! I was able to gain so much reputation, and the rate at which the reputation is increasing is still increasing!" Tian Qing silently sensed the main god rune in his consciousness. At this moment, the main god rune was continuously absorbing reputation energy, as if parched land was drinking the rain and mist sprinkled from the sky.

"Perhaps I should invest a little more in this cheap disciple now?" Tian Qing pondered, looking at the Buddhist incantation seal that had been analyzed and deduced in the main god runes.

"Master, there's a small village ahead. Shall we rest there for a while?" Monk Zhizang pulled back the carriage curtain and asked respectfully. After receiving the holy monk's nod of agreement, he led the entire group toward the village.

During his time on the run, the monk Chizang, relying on his status as the only surviving son of the daimyo, gathered a number of ronin and subordinates along the way. As a result, the escape team now had nearly twenty sword-wielding samurai and more than ten carriages, making it a fairly large group.

However, for some reason, the Shinto Church did not send anyone to hunt down the fleeing group along the way. They only encountered a few ignorant bandits who tried to stop them, but after being hacked down by the samurai with swords, they encountered no further obstacles.

"Could it be that Shintoism didn't even notice me at all?" Monk Zhizang thought dejectedly, filled with frustration. "Then all my efforts to deliberately join the Buddhist order and seek the protection of holy monks were in vain? I even shaved my head and became a monk for that! Not only can I not drink alcohol or eat meat, but I can't even touch women!"

Frustrated as he was, the current monk Zhizang dared not tell the holy monk that he wanted to return to secular life. Otherwise, the holy monk, who was skilled in subduing demons, probably wouldn't mind letting him know what a wrathful Vajra was like.

Just as the monk Zhizang was leading his entourage slowly into the small village, Tianqing suddenly lifted the curtain of the carriage: "Zhizang, come here to your master for a moment."

"Master, what is it?" Monk Zhizang hurriedly ran to the carriage and asked.

Tian Qing glanced at the seemingly ordinary villagers around him, secretly sneering, but on the surface he maintained the solemn expression most often seen on holy monks: "Zhi Zang, you have been a Buddhist for many days now, so I am going to bestow upon you a set of Buddhist teachings for subduing demons and monsters, so that you may continue to spread the Dharma for Buddhism. Are you willing?!"

"This disciple is willing!" Monk Zhizang answered loudly with great joy. Being able to possess the power of the holy monk was a very important reason why he wanted to become the holy monk's disciple!

"Divine Rune! Consume some reputation energy to create a Buddhist incantation seal!" Tian Qing silently chanted in his heart, then stamped the Buddhist incantation seal that appeared in his hand onto the forehead of the monk Zhi Zang like a stamp! For Tian Qing, whose reputation was constantly rising, such a small energy consumption was completely acceptable; consider it an additional investment in a potential stock!

Chapter Thirteen: The Schizophrenic Underwear and Bao Zheng!

"Master, what did you imprint on my forehead?" Monk Zhizang asked in surprise, not immediately understanding what the holy monk was doing.

It was a curse mark shaped like a crescent moon, imprinted on the monk Zhizang's already slightly dark skin. Combined with his original square face, this made the monk Zhizang look very similar to Bao Zheng.

It wasn't that Tianqing intentionally wanted the monk Zhizang to cosplay Bao Qingtian, but because Tianqing's main divine rune was a basic version missing many configurations, not only did the Buddhist spell seals produced have certain time and usage limits, but even the appearance of the produced Buddhist spell seals varied. This time, however, a crescent-shaped spell seal was produced.